Fabrizio Piciarelli
Among many films in continuous production, it often becomes difficult to
choose a quality film or the one that best suits our needs. Sometimes, just
an enticing trailer can fool us and push us to the box office with who
knows what expectations. Other times a poster or the cast is enough to help
us make the choice. The result is that we often leave the room disappointed
or even with a bitter taste in our mouths.
In these cases – especially if you are parents and with children – it is
good to learn to familiarize yourself with good cinema through film review
sites or specialized guides. We will spend our money much better and avoid
wasting our time. There are many quality guides and for all levels.
In Spanish, we point out for example:
– Fila siete: it is a portal for
cinema lovers, particularly suited to professional critics and scholars. In
addition to reviews on the latest films and news from the world of cinema,
it also offers a rich archive of material. The moral orientation, although
present, is not the main objective of the portal, which aims more than
anything else to spread and promote a film culture. Surely it is a site of
great quality, very attentive in particular to language and critical
analysis. It’s free.
– De Cine: a portal that offers
beautiful reviews, also from an educational point of view. It is ideal for
young users, thanks also to an impactful and intuitive graphic. It is very
valid for viewers looking for quick tips. In fact, each film offers a list
of suggestions that removes uncertainties or doubts, such as “to make you
laugh”, “to make an adrenaline rush”, “for families and children”, “great
classics”. It’s free.
In English, we point out:
– Screenit: it is a perfect site for
parents who are looking for a predominantly moral direction of film
viewing. The reviews are indeed rich in details on the ethical quality
rather than the artistic quality of the film. Perhaps it may seem
outrageous for those used to judging a film according to other parameters
and needs; however, for families looking for a scrupulous criticism of good
customs and what is appropriate or not for minors is truly a real added
value, difficult to find on other sites. The graphic is not the best, but
effective enough for those looking for the substance and not the effects. A
payment needed.
– Metacritic: the main
characteristic of this site is rich offer, which includes not only film
reviews, but also TV series, music and video games. For each product, the
portal provides a general assessment in the form of a numerical score,
obtained from the average of all the received reviews. These reviews – and
this is its strongest point – are both of authoritative film critics (such
as The Times or The New York Post), but also of common
people registered to the site community. In this way the final verdict is a
good synthesis of the judgment and the sensitivity both of the professional
critique and that of the ordinary spectator. It’s free.
In Italian, we recommend:
– Familycinema.tv: is a portal
that pays great attention to the promotion of positive films, created to
convey important values to the public. It expresses a judgment on the film
both from a technical and artistic point of view, also from an ethical
point of view, through a critique of the values (or weaknesses) of the
film. In this way, the viewer can get a precise idea of the film,
understand what kind of vision the film holds and also understand the
underlying message that the director wants to convey. In addition to the
latest releases, there are special sections dedicated to the great classics
of cinema, home videos and TV series. It’s free.
– Cinemainfamiglia: it is a
site aimed at the general audience of families. The portal offers accurate
reviews of recent films, as well as an archive of almost nine hundred
films. Each film is accompanied by a short comment section, a vote on a
scale of 1 to 10, the possibility to see the trailer and a graphic detail
(in asterisks, from 0 to 4) of situations that could render problematic the
vision or cause an embarrassing evening (violence, tension, sex, adult
themes) with a final indication also on the age of the audience to whom
viewing is recommended. There is also an interesting section on film critic
books. The only flaw is the update. It is not very good about reviewing the
latest films coming out, while it is ideal for a direction and focus on the
great classics. It’s free.
– Scegliere un film: it’s a paper guide and not a website.
It is published by the Saint Paul editions and is available in the
best bookshops and also online. The editor is Armando Fumagalli, Professor
of Semiotics at the University of the Sacred Heart in Milan and is updated
every year. The project began in 2004 and continues regularly every year.
It was born with the idea of offering an orientation to the lovers of
cinema with a critical reading in Christian perspective. Every year they
collect reviews of a vast number of films, released over the course of the
season. Not all of course, but only those most significant, beautiful and
deserving. The judgment on the film is expressed in stars, from one to
five; very useful for those who have little time to read and want to
immediately get to the point. The vote is the result of an overall judgment
that takes into account not only the artistic but also the moral qualities
of the film. In the last edition of 2017 you can find the reviews of the
films Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Denial, La La Land
and Oceania.
It is an undoubtedly ideal guide for those who want to deepen and focus on
quality films of the latest season. An online report of this guide can be
found on the familycinema.tv
website.
