By Susan Turkel

Image of movie theater by Nathan Engel via pexels.com

Are you taking a film studies class… or just looking for a good movie to watch on Friday night? Depending on your interest, come to (virtual) Falvey for help finding a film review or some film criticism!

The library has put together a guide to finding both reviews of movies (typically found in newspapers, magazines, and on websites), and works of film criticism, which are scholarly works on films and filmmakers that are usually found in scholarly books and journals.

Film reviews are usually published soon after a film or DVD is released. They describe the film and provide some sort of evaluation, to help potential viewers decide whether to watch the movie. Film criticism or film critique is more analytical, and may include references to film theory and other kinds of literary or cultural theory.

The Finding Film Reviews guide offers links to free websites like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, which collate film reviews and provide “what to watch” lists. The guide also provides links and search tips for using library-subscribed academic resources that delve into film studies scholarship.

This guide and many others are linked from the Library’s How-to Guides list, which is linked under Research Services at the top of every page. You’ll find tips there on finding information in various formats, getting your scholarship published, annotating PDFs, using e-books, and more.

As a reminder: Falvey offers access to thousands of streaming films for your edification and viewing pleasure! Please visit the Streaming Video at Falvey guide for more information.

If you need more help finding film reviews, film critiques, or any other type of information, please contact your friendly librarian. We are always happy to help!

Susan Turkel is a Social Sciences Librarian at Falvey Memorial Library.