Jordie Newton English 103 Analysis of Reviews 12/2/08 A Collision Course? Movie reviews outline what is to come while also providing a synopsis of what to expect of the movie. The movie Crash debuted on May 6, 2005 with many outstanding reviews despite a mediocre box office revenue of close to 55 million dollars. Crash is a movie that puts topics that are normally “pushed under the rug” into the viewers hands. It is without‐a‐doubt an indiscreet movie that resonates the truth of the issue of racism and its role in our everyday lives. This has been the apparent consensus of many critics across the nation. There are three articles that backed up those ideas I found crucial to include in my analysis. They were from the New York Magazine, Rotten Tomatoes, and Robert Ebert. The first review I read was from New York Magazine, by Ken Tucker. Tucker had a great way of bringing in the audience. Through the first few paragraphs he is able to draw the reader in and get them thinking about the shifts that take place in the plot while further intriguing his audience. In the first paragraph he uses a line from the beginning of the movie, “We crash into each other so we can feel something.” Like most viewers who have or will see the movie, he felt this line was out of place and prematurely foreshadowed the events that would proceed to take place in the film. Yet, with his use of summary, he was able to completely turn what you expect to happen around, without revealing too much of the plot. Most of his review I found to be given through theatrical aspects of the movie with traces of his own personal opinions. He delivers examples of this when he says that Crash User 12/8/08 7:15 PM
Comment: This should be on the left. revolves around familial tableaux such as how the cop (Matt Dillon) is always taking care of his sick father. Tucker’s review stood out from the other reviews in that he pointed out a negative aspect to the film. In his second to last paragraph he says all of the shifts in the movie become too much and have a “Rubik’s cube effect” in that people will start searching for more and more shifts and patterns with the characters. In turn he concludes his review positively stating, “It’s a film you won’t stop thinking about, arguing over, debating, after the lights come up.” The second review I found was unique in that the Rotten Tomatoes website allows experienced critics along with the general public to voice their opinions as well as rate the movie. The movie Crash received an average rating of 7.1/10. Through the Rotten Tomatoes website a critic named Prairie Miller, from the Long Island Press, posted her review of the movie. The review for viewers is rather boring. There are no pictures, unlike the other two reviews. Also it is just plain text written out in essay form. This already sets poor ambiances for me as the reader. To catch a readers attention, for me at least, it is much more common that I will choose something that looks interesting. I know the common saying is don’t judge a book by its cover, but sadly enough, almost everyone does. For the actual review however, what it lacked in design it made up for in context. Miller differentiated from Tucker in that she started off with no summary of the movie, but delivered her own opinion first. This provided great transition to when Miller introduced plot from the movie. Miller was to the point and throughout the review gave examples of direct situations that occurred in the movie that reflected back to her point of view. Such examples include when the white cop (Matt Dillon) molests a wealthy Black female (Thandie Newton) in place of his duties as a police officer. This goes back to her idea from the beginning of the review that the U.S. today has been built to please the automotive and oil industries, and not to create people‐friendly, close‐knit communities with the emphasis on human proximity and connectedness. The last and favorite of my reviews was by legendary Robert Ebert. This review is incomparable with the other two. Robert Ebert is clever with his word dictation, detailed with his opinions, and as many who read his reviews know that he has a no‐nonsense style of writing. For this review being only a page long, he packs it with a wealth of information and opinion. He starts off his review with a brief, and to the point synopsis of the plot. Ebert provides a more detailed review of the movie, and the characters than Tucker and Miller. Ebert also goes back and forth between his review and summary. Ebert concluded with his overview of the film. I really like his last sentence when he says Crash is a movie of progress. Ebert says that for anyone seeing this movie it is likely to be moved to have a little more sympathy for people not like themselves. Jordie you do an exceptional job of comparing and analyzing these
reviews. You use quotes to support your points. The one thing you need is
a conclusion.
Bibliography Roger Ebert Movie Reviews. 5/5/2005. Chicago Sun‐Times. 12/2/2008 <http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050505/R
EVIEWS/50502001>. Miller, Prairie. 5/22/2007. Long Island Press. 12/2/08 < http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1144992‐crash/articles/1634122/ >. Tucker, Ken. 5/2/2005. New York Magazine. 12/2/08 < http://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/reviews/11872/>. Box Office Mojo, LLC. 2007. Crash. 12/2/08 <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=crash05.htm.> “Crash (2005).” Crash Movie Reviews. Pictures‐Rotten Tomatoes. 10/18/08. Rotten Tomatoes. 12/02/08 <http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1144992‐crash/>.