This review is dedicated to the ungodly acts of reigning Gods of Mouthshut. Yes you guessed it right. This review will describe why some people in?Hall of Fame? have written some not so useful reviews(and definitely not something to emulate). I will try to suggest what not to do while writing a review. I think it is a good way to learn.
Let me start with the king ?Premjit?, who is characterized by excellent sense of humor and almost perfect timing.
Five worst movies of Shahrukh
In this review our king has used his tried, tested, and not yet patented(get it patented soon) formula of letter writing style of writing reviews. This is the funniest review on this site but then where is the problem? Well?that?s the problem the fun part in this review has overtaken the utility of the review. How do I say that? That?s because I reached the first true comment in the comments section after reading 19 comments(the one written by?onion?). All other comments were poor attempt at imitating Premjit, that?s why I say Premjit should get it patented.
Onion very truly wrote that Premjit had exaggerated the bashing under the disguise of fun. And, I think, Premjit actually ended up listing some of the better movies of Shahrukh in the review. By the end of it, the review became more of a platform for Shahrukh bashing than to discuss his worst five movies.
Learning - Fun shouldn't overrule utility.
Next in my list is the one written by Spookay, for which he has made a record of sort for the highest number of comments.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J K Rowling
This review is an excellent piece of art, with only one problem, it lacks Spookay?s views. Spookay took all the pain to keep the entertainment alive by putting his comments in the brackets(though I found them irritating), but just forgot to put his views. I agree, being a review about a book, the story should have occupied the major portion, but not to an extent that out of 1141 words review, not even 65 words are written for opinions, and those too are not supported by reason. The review looked more like a story telling session than a review to me. I am not amazed that this review has been garlanded with all kind of praises in the comment section. Do I need to tell why I am not amazed?
Learning - Opinions are important.
There is one movie buff on this site, whose name is Muneeb alias Mouthshutdotcom. His reviews, in general, are excellent place to find all the information about movies, are extremely timely, are very well organized, are reliable, are irrelevant as far as recommendations are concerned, as he is always positive, but that doesn?t matter, as they serve the purpose well. Then where is the problem? Well?the problem lies in his habit of extending the reviews to the comments section. I will take example of one of his reviews
LOC? Kargil
This review of his has generated the maximum number of comments therefore I have picked this up, though it doesn?t matter. This review is 6550(approx) characters long(including the comment section), so is well within the permitted limit. However, he has deliberately taken good 1300(approx) characters in the comment section. And, I think it is to prod readers to write in the comment section. Well?Muneeb, you may find it clever but, as a reader, I find it irritating.
It?s like reading half the article on the front page and searching for the rest somewhere in the hidden interiors of a newspaper. Also, this practice makes the review less useful because it gives a chance to the reader to assume that what?s written inside the comments section is not useful enough, which in your case is?the work done by the crew? and?the conclusion?. I am most interested in'the conclusion' than anything else, and?the work done by the crew? is equally important for me. Why do you want to make my life miserable?
Learning - Don't disrupt the continuity
Koshish alias Bhumi is described as the most emotional person on this website, which I think is true too. But, by reading some of her reviews, I think that?s not her problem, it?s something else altogether.
Best n Worst 2003
This review is written by Bhumi. Actually, it?s less a review and more an authoritative sermon, and that?s I think what her problem is. I have generally found that emotional people are the most eloquent writers, though may not be cogent. But, this review of hers is neither eloquent nor cogent. It?s more like a verdict.
In this review, she has given her choices for the best and the worst of Bollywood, without actually describing why? Reason may not necessarily be the domain of hard hearted people; it?s very much a matter of choice, which Bhoomi seems to have tastefully discarded. At the best, Bhoomi?s opinions in the review can be called unnecessary digression into unadventurous and boring locales.
Learning - Emotions or no Emotions, reason should not be compromised.
Last but not the least, Cousin2, is one of the simplest writer on this site, her reviews, even if not extraordinary, are useful. But, that only happens when she writes on a topic under review. She, pretty often, writes on a completely different subject all together, in disguise of writing on topic under discussion. Initially, I found this happening in her review on Napster, and then I checked back, and found the same thing being repeated again in at least some other reviews, including the one where she got highest number of comments. I have chosen that review for discussion.
Five worst reviewers on Mouthshut
Lyla used this review as a platform for writing about her opinions on what not to do on Mouthhsut. I understand Lyla?s association with Mouthshut and her feelings for the site. But isn?t using a platform for furtherance of disguised objectives also wrong? This is really unfortunate to have happened from the seniormost member on the site. I think Suyog was right in his comment on this review.
Learning* - Review is useful only if it's pertinent to the topic of discussion. *
Regrets to those who were waiting for a positive review from me, you will have to wait for some more time:)
