A quick thought.
I think alone of film magazines I’ve seen, only the BFI’s venerable Sight & Sound does anything other than lump the plot in with the review. Sight & Sound gives you three sections.
The first lists extensive credits (though not, if you look closely, complete credits: every song on the soundtrack will be be listed, but only heads of department will be given amongst the actual film-makers).
The second gives the plot, in horrible detail.
The third section is the review.
Unfortunately for those who would really rather not have the plot given away, the review section tends to assume knowledge of the plot summary, rather defeating the object of the exercise.
Now the idea: what I’d like is film reviews (in particular) divided into two sections. The first part to be read before seeing the film, essentially telling you the genre and style, the overall competence and guiding you on whether the film is worth your time and effort.
The second part is the analysis, to be read only after seeing the film in question. This is the part which is happily left out of tabloid reviews, but causes much heartache in broadsheets. Your broadsheet reviewer earns his or her beans through skill at analysis, not awarding stars. And some of the time they’re not just informative but interesting. Separate it out and allow the reader to read the section that is relevant to them at the time.
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