Tomorrow, When The War Began: YOUR SAY

The article is a review of the Australian-made blockbuster ‘Tomorrow, When The War Began’ by film critic James Joyce of The Newcastle Herald. In the review, he gives credit to the source material from which the film was adapted from, namely the John Marsden series of the same name. He acknowledges that book purists will probably dislike the plot changes, and briefly compares the film’s actual locations to the description of the fictional town of Wirrawee in the book.

He also demonstrates his considerable knowledge of the cinematographer Ben Nott and the debut director Stuart Beattie’s body of work. His observations about the use of voice-over and the unauthentic Australian accents are also valid criticisms of the movie. He also infers, quite resignedly, that the movie aspires to be nothing more than an action movie, before concluding with a cheeky disclaimer under an asterix footnote.

As an online story, it works because Joyce invites the readers to give their opinions on the movie by his questions at the beginning and end of the article. A disclaimer says that the comments will be moderated and will appear “as soon as (the) editor has approved them”. He has also taken the time to personally respond to some of the viewer’s comments, encouraging a level of reader-interaction uncommon for film critics, much less online news reporters.

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http://www.theherald.com.au/blogs/james-joyce/tomorrow-when-the-war-began-your-say/1932590.aspx