I wish Christopher Null’s enlightening new book, Five Stars! How To Become a Film Critic, the World’s Greatest Job, had been available back in days of yore when I started writing movie reviews. Reading it would have cleared up any confusion I had about what's involved in this exciting profession; and it might have helped me avoid some costly as well as embarrassing mistakes. Even now, after spending ten years as a film critic, I find Null’s book extremely valuable as a resource for ways to perform my job better.

Drawing on his extensive personal experience as a professional film critic and founder of filmcritic.com, one of the largest and most successful movie websites on the Internet, Null gives readers a splendid crash course in film history and the mechanics of filmmaking in addition to detailed information about writing reviews, breaking into the writing profession, setting up a website, getting on screening lists, obtaining free DVDs, handling criticism, interviewing celebrities and much, much more.

Null’s list of 300 “must-see films” for aspiring critics (included in the Appendix) is especially interesting. “By no means is this list meant to represent the best films ever made,” he explains. “Rather it is designed to offer a mix of great films, highly influential films (whether great or not), classic missteps, and obscurities that will make you seem incredibly wise when writing your reviews.”

Here’s a peek at some of the movies on Null’s must-see list:  All about Eve, Battleship Potemkin, Blade Runner, Birth of a Nation, Caddyshack, Dirty Dancing, The Day the Earth Stood Still, El Mariachi, Enter the Dragon, The Grapes of Wrath, The Maltese Falcon, Modern Times, Nosferatu, Rashomon, Singin’ in the Rain, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Vertigo, Waking Life. Readers will have fun checking on how many of the 300 movies they’ve seen -- and many will be surprised by a few titles making it to this eclectic list.  

Null, a member of the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS), presents excellent samples to illustrate each section of his book. The terrific reviews, letters, interviews, etc. scattered throughout are not only enjoyable to read but also very helpful. And his lists of studio PR contacts, independent distributors and specialty video/DVD distributors should come in handy for anyone just getting started in the business.     

This well-written book is essential reading for wannabe film critics -- and a valuable resource for those of us who already have “the world’s greatest job.”

Five Stars! How To Become a Film Critic, the World’s Greatest Job” is published by Sutro Press. For further details or to order Null's book, go to www.sutropress.com.