It's, Like, Totally About Films! (Total Film)

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	Total Film
Date:	23/01/06 (165 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great features, format and writing style

Disadvantages: Do we REALLY need free gifts? I'm not thirteen

As a big movie watcher, I suppose it was always likely that I would start reading about films as well as going to see them at the cinema. I'd always avoided such things on the basis that a) magazines are overpriced marketing exercises and b) I couldn't see the point of reading all about them. But over the last year or so, I've found myself compelled to read reviews, previews and conjecture that will help me decide whether I need to see a film or not.

It's quite addictive, I have to say. In the film industry, hype seems to be all important these days, so when my expectations are built up to epic proportions, I now want to know whether I'm going to be disappointed or not. Scoop pictures, sneak previews and gossip still hold little interest for me, but as one outlandish project is announced after, I do find myself drawn into the conjecture. This is how I started buying Total Film.

Total Film, published every four weeks, is one of the market leaders, up there with Empire and Premiere. Of the three, Total Film is my favourite because it feels more accessible than the other two. I enjoy the sense of humour exhibited amply by the writing team and simply find the features that I require easier to locate and absorb. It's a glossy little affair, with plenty of pictures and captions to keep me both entertained and absorbed. It also avoids the trap of taking itself too seriously. Empire, for example, is committed to being the "best movie mag on the planet" but a comparison between the two is something like Coronation Street versus Eastenders - both similarly pitched intellectually, but whilst one is having a laugh, the other one is intense about being, well, intense. At around 150/160 pages each issue, Total Film is pretty good value for money at £3.50. There are the usual subscription deals - free DVDs, save 25% etc - but I've never bothered.

Total Film has recently restructured itself slightly in an attempt, as far as I can see, to capitalise on the features people want first - or are more likely to browse when lifting off the shelf in WhSmith. The hype section, named Access, has moved to the front of the magazine and is a blatant attempt to draw readers into its bold, colourful splashes of scenes from forthcoming films. These days, particularly when in competition with the Internet, it seems to be an essential requirement to get the "first scoop" pictures on forthcoming releases and Total Film is a tough competitor. It's all blockbuster stuff - Star Wars, Batman and Harry Potter were long hyped in this section before a cinema release date was even confirmed. Access is essentially the "trailer" equivalent of the cinema - snippets and tasters to whet your appetite for the biggest, most blockbusting releases on their way. It's borderline "nerd" territory, with all the editors seeming to salivate over news of the new Spiderman film or who will direct Xmen 3 but if you're into that kind of thing, Total Film is a "must read".

Rough Cut provides more than titbits but is still essentially a gossip column. There are slightly more in depth interviews and or features about things that are up and coming, but you also have the benefit of articles about big events (like the Oscars or the Cannes festival) plus a few spacefillers. I've never really seen the point of "The Abridge Script" - a regular feature that seeks to condense the script from a well known film into two columns. Like, why?

If a section could be described as "useful" then, for me, it would be the New Films. Reviews of a variety of lengths and depths can be found here, but this is where you go if you want to read a review of the latest cinema releases. Normally, the review will be featured a few weeks before or just on the release of the film but sometimes the publishing schedule seems to catch them out. A full review of the Revenge of the Sith wasn't published until the Summer 2005 (June) issue despite the film having already been out for the best part of a month. Arguably, you would have expected the magazine to feature the film right on or just before the release - a problem that they blame on studio scheduling patterns. This is a problem compensated better by Empire who feature reviews online inbetween publications - something Total Film could consider if they were really desperate.

In terms of the quality of reviews, they're pretty spot on - I would generally only be able to attempt to emulate the style and structure because the authors have struck the perfect balance of wit, information and opinion and they never give anything away. Total Film is guaranteed to be "spoiler-free". Film of the Month is always a dubious title, if only because their film of the month isn't always their favourite film on release. Work that one out! The best part of the reviews in Total Film, however, is the "predicted interest curve" - a graphical representation of the running time showing whether they were Thrilled, Entertained, Nodding Off or ZZZZZ - how useful is that? Only a film that stays in the first two categories will get me to the cinema but sadly only a few of the films reviewed each month have this feature. Come on Total Fillm - do it for them all! Another reason that I generally stick with Total Film is that I tend to agree with what they think - though some dubious recommendations have been made. The editorial team STILL refuse to back down from their four-star rating of Star Wars Episode One and everyone knows that film was crap.

After the reviews and then the charts, the main features start - a topical selection of on-set features of new films, interviews with actors/directors and historical reviews of a certain actor or director's work. Although they're well presented and put together, these things hold only a limited interest for me, purely because what famous people think or say doesn't really bother me. I do, however, love the chart features, which include a themed run down of the top 40 or 50 "somethings" - musicians in films, best scraps, best screen deaths and best villains have all cropped up. Normally, number 50 is left for the public to decide and each letters page will be a deluge of nominations for the previous issue's number 50. Things are getting really nerdy now, right?

Lounge is a sub-section of the magazine devoted to the latest DVD releases. It's a strange section given that normally the film review will be different to that originally published in the magazine. Information on the extra features can be sparse and almost an afterthought proving that films are still why people buy DVDs - not features. Float or Flush is a hilarious appraisal of the latest horror releases - most of which get flushed straight down the toilet and rightfully so. For the ultimate in nerdiness try "Answer Me" - a monthly featurette with questions from readers about who played the chief Ewok and other such information. It's essential reading.

Things I like?

Quality of writing - always entertaining and easy to pick up and put down.

Variety of news - always get the latest gossip.

Advertisements are at least related to the subject matter and don't dominate the whole magazine.

And the Predicted Interest Curve - nerd-movie man and his nerd-mates now argue over their relative curve after the latest screening of a new film. Sheesh.

Things I don't like?

Free gifts - I'm not 12, so a poster of Batman does little for me.

Advertorials - reviews dressed up like reviews when in fact the studio paid for them.

Masculinity - Total Film clearly believes its entire audience is male, heterosexual and gagging for Jessica Alba. Try and bear in mind some of us are gay or female - I'm not averse to totty, you just need to recalibrate the tottometer.

The mark of a good magazine is how many times it gets read. Every issue of Total Film gets read over and over again - I'm surprised that the print hasn't come off some of the pages now. I'm, like, totally addicted to this magazine!

Recommended

Summary: Accessible, humorous, essential reading for the average film nerd