Steffen,
As already mentioned, Bordwell's _Making Meaning_ (1989) is a good
starting point from which to theorize film reviewing. Bordwell
identifies the four functions of a film review (journalism,
advertising, criticism, rhetoric) and the four components of a film
review (plot synopsis, abbreviated set of arguments, background
information, and evaluation).
In regard to evaluation, we can use Bordwell's other work to identify
the underlying assumptions that implicitly guide a film reviewer's
evaluation, especially their assumptions concerning motivation (the
relevance of or justification for a particular narrative event or
technical device). Bordwell identifies four types of motivation:
compositional, realistic, intertextual, and artistic.
Any theorization of film reviewing needs to take account of what type
of motivation a reviewer bases his/her evaluation, because this
determines what they think of as a 'good film'. I've tried to theorize
film reviewing (and especially evaluation) in my book _Film Studies_
(second edition, 2003) where I analyze several film reviews using
Bordwell's work.
Warren Buckland
Latest book: "Directed by Steven Spielberg:
Poetics of the Contemporary Hollywood Blockbuster"
Editor, New Review of Film and Television Studies:
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/17400309.asp
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