Journalism 132: Favorite Reviews
JOUR132: FAVORITE REVIEWS Music:
http://www.complex.com/music/2015/03/album-review-kendrick-lamar-to-pimp-a-butterfly
I like this review because the writer goes through a handful of specific songs on the tracklist and describes it in depth. I’m also a fan of the references he makes to other artists/people from different eras.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTmHuavOXNg
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/kendrick-lamar-untitled-unmastered-20160304
This is a review on music artist Kendrick Lamar's new album. I appreciated some of the language that was used ("We're up to our molars in data-seas of dissonance..."). I also really liked the way that the author, Will Hermes, included bits of lyrics from different songs he talked about in the article. It helped me as the reader to understand more fully what he meant as someone who hasn't listened to the album yet. I think it is important to include some background when it comes to music artists, just as Hermes did when he mentioned Lamar's last album. I also liked when he mentioned Kanye West, because it made it relevant and it set up some type of comparison for those who may like or dislike West's newest album.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6zWp5Ix5mk
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/11/review-adele-25-album
I enjoyed this review of Adele’s 25 because it isn’t just a writer going on-and-on about how sad Adele is. Instead, there are statistics, and little tidbits of information that support how and why the album has been so successful.http://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/18004-twigs-good-to-love/
This review is on a single track and I love how in depth he goes with it. Reviewing music is the thing that got me into journalism and these guys were my gateway. He also assumes the reader has a certain level of intelligence and awareness of the music climate as it is today, which is a common practice within this publication that I love.http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21553-ritual-spirit-ep/
Written for Pitchfork by Katherine St. Asaph, this review takes on Trip-hop legendary group, Massive Attack’s new EP entitled Ritual Spirit on February 4, 2016. Generally, in my opinion, Pitchfork tends to be really harsh when reviewing electronic music artists of any kind. That said, St. Asaph tries to be a bit more forgiving of the shortcomings of the EP. I liked this leniency because, while there should be a barometer of quality for consumable art forms, specifically looking for flaws instead of interpreting the music is something Pitchfork does too often. One of the things that really stood out for me is the shift of comparison from other things out in the landscape of Trip-hop (read: trip-hop is dead) to other Massive Attack work and work of the current and former members. It tries to give the EP a fair shake for what it is instead on a complete work.http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21415-a-man-alive/
I really enjoy pitchfork reviews because the are really objective. They also review pretty much everything so I always know where to look.http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/jay-z-magna-carta-holy-grail
Tinymixtapes reviews tend to be a little overwrought but I appreciate their humor and ability to go in depth.
https://www.youtube.com/user/theneedledrop
Not written, but I love theneedledrop. I refer to his videos when I want an idea how to frame my reviews.http://djbooth.net/news/entry/logic-1-listen-review
I really enjoy DJ Booth's one listen album reviews because it gives the listener a sense of what to expect and you can then see if you feel the same way when you actually listen. These reviews also come without the influence of any other reviews.
Movies:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/04/movies/zootopia-review.html?_r=0
This review for the Disney movie, Zootopia, appeared in the New York Times on March 3 of this year. It was reviewed by Neil Genzlinger and I enjoyed it because it reviewed the movie by highlighting its strongest points and only talking about things that have been used in trailers. Even when it does talk about specific scenes it does not go into enough detail that the scene would be spoiled. It also acknowledges that while this is a kid’s movie, it does not necessarily only appeal to kids, an important distinction to make as sometimes the trailers can make it easy to dismiss. The reviewer makes it appoint to judge the movie by its merits and not to belittle it because of the target audience. Maybe it does not seem like that far reaching of an accomplishment because any reviewer worth their weight knows that Pixar movies have depth and this one being overseen by John Lasseter is no different.http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/zootopia-20160303
I was pleasantly surprised by this review, being that the topic was an animated movie aimed at children. From the beginning my attention is captured ("The last thing you'd expect from a new Disney animated marshmallow is balls"). I appreciated that the author, Peter Travers, took the time to carefully give a synopsis of the plot. Once again, for readers like myself who haven't seen the movie this is extremely helpful. Towards the end of the article, a reference to Trump is made. This definitely caught my eye and made me laugh, which made this article memorable to me.
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/06/inside-out-review-pixar/396311/
As this review is of a Disney Pixar film in makes sense to reference the past Pixar filmed. I like that his review laid down a few comparisons. I also like the use of specific examples.
http://thedissolve.com/reviews/1663-inside-out/
This publication is now out of business but while they were kicking they were the only place I went for movie reviews. They share a very similar taste and style with pitchfork in that they have a strong grasp of their demographic and don't dumb anything down for the sake of the lowest common denominator. I guess that didn't pan out too well for them but I admired them for it.http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/straight-outta-compton-20150813
This is an interesting review because of it’s casual (and colorful…) use of language and overview of the film. I not only agree with his opinion at the end of the review, but I feel that it’s a valid opinion to share with his readers.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/carol/review/
Not sure if you’ve seen or heard about the movie Carol, but it is a beautifully done period-piece by Todd Haynes. The reason I picked this review, is because Robey’s criticism of it reads more like a love letter than a conventional positive review. He highlights some of the most poignant parts of the film with same delicate wordplay that Phyllis Nagy used to pen the screenplay.http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/eye-in-the-sky-20160309
I meant to watch this film at the Cinequest Film festival, but wasn’t able to make it to opening night. I like this review for two reasons. One, it just discusses the film, the acting and the scripts. And two, it leaves out any war/anti-war subtext from the writer.
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/18/sisters-reviews?iid=sr-link4
I like how the author really knows the audience and is completely honest. He admits that it will probably be overshadowed by Star Wars, but it's still worth it. He not only reviews the overall movie, but the comedy of the main actresses.
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-spirited-away-2002
I always read Ebert's reviews to get an alternate opinion on something I've watched
http://www.fandango.com/movie-reviews
TV:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/arts/television/tv-review-bride-prejudice-fyi.html?ref=arts&_r=0
This review was interesting because it gives a complete overview of the show and some background of the story behind the show. I also liked that it had a picture because it gave me a visual to look at while reading the review.http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/i-am-cait-season-2-871520
I liked how honest this review was. I feel as though a lot of people are fond of Caitlyn, as am I, but she is only human after all. This review of the new season of her show I Am Cait, was honest about how it may be a bit of a letdown after the whirlwind of excitement that was the first season. Author Frank Sheck calls it "essentially an extended coffee klatch among Caitlyn and her tribe". Sheck goes on to poke some fun at the overly dramatic thing that is reality television. "The first part revolves around Caitlyn uncomfortably discussing her sexuality and making an important revelation - cue the dramatic music and commercial break - about her future dating life." Overall the article felt refreshing and gave me a true feel as to what I can expect from the new season.http://www.ew.com/recap/scandal-season-5-episode-9
This review I really enjoyed because it really described the show in detail without confusing the audience. It was entertaining and compelling to read. I also liked how the writer broke it down by individual characters and then tied it all together by laying out the plot.
Restaurants:http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/17/dining/pizza-moto-review.html?rref=collection%2Fcollection%2Frestaurant-guide&action=click&contentCollection=undefined®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest-stories&contentPlacement=10&pgtype=collection
Although the writer spent a majority of the review commenting on the oven of this pizza place, I think he did a great job at the general overview of the food and experience. He provided vivid descriptions of the food, down to the sauce the pizzas used.http://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/restaurant-review-the-revamped-scratch-bar-is-a-head-scratcher-6684407
I liked this review story because the author used his language like he was speaking to the reader and there were also pictures in it so that I was able to see what he was talking about. Although it was a little lengthy I did enjoy the fact it had pictures.http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g33020-d342103-Reviews-Falafel_Drive_In-San_Jose_California.html
This review was cool because it had all different kinds of reviews and it was different because I have actually been to this place. I could relate to many of the reviews and there wasn’t really a bad one. There were also pictures too so I enjoyed looking at those.http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-new-las-vegas-restaurants-20160310-story.html
I really enjoyed how the writer summarizes each restaurant individually while still using full detail of what you need to know. It was also interesting how the three restaurants were tied into one theme even though they were each different.Video Games:
http://www.giantbomb.com/reviews/undertale-review/1900-715/
This one is a video game review but I feel that Giant Bomb is the future of written criticism. They are fully embracing the notion of personality-based journalism, which lends itself perfectly to something like reviews where knowing the writers likes and dislikes informs you how how your mileage may vary from theirs.
http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/03/01/the-legend-of-zelda-twilight-princess-hd-review
This is a review for the HD remaster of Twilight Princess for the Nintendo Wii U, written by Jose Otero for IGN.com on March 1, 2016. There are a few things about this review that I really liked, the biggest one being that it acknowledges the original game released ten years ago on the Nintendo GameCube and the reviewer points out the some of the more obvious changes and upgrades to try and make the game playable by todays standards (in terms of graphical fidelity) and judges it under the microscope of being essentially a pretty re-release. The other important portion of the review is that the reviewer also points out flaws of the game, not necessarily because the game might be broken, but rather because there is only so much you can do to a re-release without altering the entire game.