Sight and Sound: The art of the synopsis

I've been reading Sight and Sound every month since the mid 90s - mostly through the local libraries -  and I'm still quietly impressed by the review crew's ability to write short synopses for every movie they review.

Each new film gets one, and while some of them are terse to the point of obliqueness, others give you all the info, and some straddle that line. It ain't always easy, summing up an entire film in a couple of paragraphs. You can usually only get pure plot, and all the art and mood and everything else can get dealt with in the actual review, which doesn't have to trip over its own recap.

I've always liked the style, and there are films I've seen clips and trailers for, and read the synopsis, and that's all I ever need. Because if I can't get to the cinema, I can count on Sight and Sound to deliver.