The Literary Present Tense

When you are describing the action or characters in a book or a movie, you must use the present tense.  To a lot of people this doesn't make sense, because -- let's face it -- the wicked witch is dead.  Dorothy threw the water on her, and she melted.  But then, oddly enough, the next time you cue up the Wizard of Oz, there she is, threatening Dorothy.

So, when doing your formal academic essay, or your next book or movie review -- use the "literary present tense".   (In looking for a definition for you, I stumbled upon this site.  While I don't agree with everything they say -- I still wouldn't use "I" in a formal academic essay -- there's a lot to recommend here.)