I am always looking for new, exciting books/series and movies. As an experienced scriptreader and writer, I am quite picky and usually decide after 10 minutes if a read or a production is worth my time. I can go with any genre – as long as the story is interesting and the characters are unique and seem REAL.
What do I mean with REAL characters? They are all fake, make-believe, fictional, whatever. Yes. But that does not mean that they shouldn’t have a soul. Depending on the actor that portrays a specific character, you get another feeling from it. I am sad to say that, especially in comedies, almost all characters act and feel the same. They are thus unlikable. You can have an amazing story but if the characters seem FAKE or just blend in with other characters, the audience will notice and their interest to watch further will drop.
If you follow this structure when reviewing a book/movie/series, you will create a valuable piece of information for other people interested in the said Title.
Bonus advice: use as less details as necesarry, don’t retell the whole story!
My CRITERIA
- C (character): I need to CARE for the character. If I don’t care, I’m not going to be motivated enough to read further or watch the next episode (sometimes I just switch series after 5 minutes).
- B (boom): I am also looking for the HOOK, the BOOM! A show has to catch my attention very fast, like in the first 5, maximum 10 minutes. If not, bye-bye (and I rarely give shows a second chance).
- A (action): If C and B work, then I’ll focus on the story. Could it be real? Is there a causality relationship between events or do some things happen out of the blue JUST to help the character/drive the story further? I hate plot holes.
- D (dialogue): I am not that focused on the quality of Dialogue but more on how it has been adjusted to the situation. Sometimes I’ll hear some cliché, supposed-to-be-funny dialogue mixed up in an ordinary/uninteresting situation. The situation has to be funny in order to make me laugh and the dialogue adds another 10% to the laughter.
- E (education): I want to learn something from every show. I want to see important themes being discussed. The show is not about just the main character, but about the whole world!
How about you? What are your criterias?
Here are some reviews I made – in my own style, following the ABCDEs:
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Laura S. Götz 
Characters, plot, setting, style, technique, they all matter, they are very important indeed. Above all, I look for that thing that gives a certain emotion, a special vibe. When talking or writing about it, I try to highlight it, from my point of view, of course.
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