Before FrankMovieReviews (FrankMovieReviews.com), I spent an entire career gathering data, looking at the data critically, and writing applied science reports.  I was a Certified Industrial Hygienist; industrial hygiene? No one knows what industrial hygiene is; please google it. 

I began writing about movies in 2013, mainly for myself – to remember what movie I saw the night before, how it ended, and what emotion the film triggered.  I started making books of my reviews and giving them as gifts during the holiday season. After three books, that got old, so I started this website.

I’ve seen a lot of movies.  The first movie I remember seeing was The Sound of Music, sitting next to my Mom, there was even an intermission the year it opened.  

I enjoy getting wrapped up in the story and the emotion. 

So, with these movie reviews I’m still doing what I’ve always done. Only now with movies & streaming TV series – gathering data, assessing, and writing.

Please connect, comment, and follow on FrankMovieReviews.com. Here’s a list of movies reviewed.

Frank Riordan

Frank@FrankMovieReviews.com

June 2022

Frank Movie Reviews believes a movie is a complex being in which every detail, nuance, camera angle, and piece of clothing are there to support the story. Every detail must be perfect. It takes mega-money to make a movie, so everything should be perfect. FrankMovieReviews.com tells people – always to deaf ears – that watching a movie a second time is even better. All those intricate details and nuances become more apparent and satisfying during the second viewing. Frank Movie Reviews typically watches a movie twice before writing a review, and enjoys the movie even more the second time. However, one of my rating criteria is, “Did I enjoy the film after the first viewing.”

Rating Criterion used by Frank Movie Reviews:

Did I like the movie after the first viewing? Did the film entertain me, or teach me, move my emotions, scare me, did it do anything? Did I get immersed in the movie and escape reality? If Frank Movie Reviews enjoyed the film after the first viewing, it is accessible and easy to understand, which usually means it is well written and executed.

Story Line / Plot:  Is the story credible? The story doesn’t have to be real, but it must be plausible in some universe. Does the story unfold correctly? Is the point of the story gotten across? Is it a three-act movie, linear, non-linear?

Acting:  It does not need to be Oscar-winning acting all the time. The acting just needs to keep us immersed in the film and be consistent and accurate for the time and place. The actors cannot take us out of the story by their bad acting or terrible look. Is the dialogue concise and valid for the date, time, and location?

Cinematography:  It is not just the pretty pictures. Cinematography for Frank Movie Reviews includes everything, including the lighting, shadows, camera motion, and camera angles. It all should be perfect.

Production Value, Directing, and Editing: Does everything come together as one? Directing and editing set the pace and flow. Is the pace and flow of the film pleasing?  Movies are usually in three acts, 1) The Setup or Intro, 2) The Conflict, there is always some problem, and 3) The Resolution. Is the pace and flow throughout the three acts pleasing and appropriate?

Sound:  Not just the soundtrack music, sound includes all the sound effects, the speaking, and the ambient background music you sometimes are not consciously hearing.

Even though Frank Movie Reviews at FrankMovieReview.com thinks about the above criteria when rating a movie, it is subjective at some point.  If all the film elements coalesce into a satisfying experience, if nothing seriously offends Frank Movie Reviews, and if Frank Movie Reviews can escape reality for a couple of hours, the movie receives two and a half stars.  The film earns more stars by meeting the criteria listed above.