ESO3 & 4: Movie Review

In http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Movie-Review yo can find this infomation and much more.

Before Christmas we are watching a film in the original version. You will have to write a review and here you have some clues on how to do it.

 

STEPS: 

• Before watching, get a notepad to take notes. Movies are long, and you can easily forget details or even big aspects of the movie. Taking notes really helps.  
• Watch the movie, paying attention to details. As you watch, pay attention to the aspects listed below. If you don't know something, don't worry about it. You can easily come back to it later and provide more information. However, while watching try to jot down at least one or two comments about all of the below. (Note: Some of these are open to critique, and some are facts about the movie, such as the name of the film.)

1. Name of the Film
2. Prominent Actors
3. Genre of Film (comedy, adventure, drama, horror, etc.)
4. Setting. Where the movie takes place, the year, and any other information of that sort.
5. An Overview of the Plot.
6. If you've seen other movies by this same director, consider similarities/differences.
7. Direction. Consider the director and how they choose to portray/explain the events in the story. Think about the way they presented the movie to the audience. If the movie was slow, or didn't include things you thought were necessary, credit this to the director.
8. Editing. Was the movie choppy? Also, consider special effects (if the movie had any).
9. Costume design. Did the clothing choice fit the style of the movie?
10. Set design. Did the background look realistic? If the movie was filmed in a real place, was this place well-chosen?
11. Background Music. Did it fit the scenes? Was it over/under-used? Was it nice to listen to, or annoying?

• Begin writing your review. Now that you have a good outline and have all your important information, it's time to begin the actual writing process. t's good to be very explanatory when writing a review, and careful to keep things simple.
• Start with the general information. This should include the film's title, prominent actors, the director, the genre, the setting, and summary. Don't just list everything flat out - find a way to spread out the information in an interesting and informative way. You don't necessarily need to list everything in that order, either.
• Critique the movie. Now that you've explained the general events, the reader has an idea of the movie and it's general theme. You can now begin to add your critique.
  • It's a good idea when critiquing to present both information, and your opinion. For example, you might state something such as, "the music, which was all classical, mixed well with the eighteenth century setting." This gives your reader a good sense of both "what" and "how" (in the sense of how good or bad something was). This is a lot better and more informative then simply saying, "the music worked well with the movie."
  • Explain the reasons for all of your critique, and provide examples. For example, if you didn't like a certain actor, explain what about them you didn't like, and give examples of their bad acting. This "proof" helps your reader understand your viewpoint.
• End the review with something memorable. You want the last sentence to give your reader a good idea of your general viewpoint about the movie. This is a good place to explain whether in general you liked the movie, or not. (For example: " 'The movie' was intriguing and exciting, despite a few less than stellar actors.")
• Read through your review. Make sure your writing is clear, complete, interesting, and is written in a general viewpoint. Make sure that there are no factual errors, and check for any spelling or grammar mistakes. These may seem minor and unimportant, but they actually are very important to your reader, as they may not trust your review if they see you've misspelled a lot of words, or contradict yourself.

Example:

TROY by Richard North (in http://culturespotlight.com/2011/05/film-reviews-troy/) (adapted)

Today I would like to talk about the film, Troy (2004), directed by... and with Brad Pitt and ... starring. Based on one of the most classic stories written and one which has been used to the point of destroying it’s potency. A story of how love and greed can bring out the ugliest side of humanity possible. At its base level the films plot is one of a tragedy.

The original story was written by the historical storyteller and poet Homer.A short layout of the story as portrayed in the film goes like this. Paris of Troy beds The queen of Sparta, two rival nations but with Sparta being part of Greece made them a very real threat to Troy. So when Helen of Sparta leaves her husband for Paris, King Menelaus runs to his brother Agamemnon who through the desire to expand his empire decided to invade Troy. Politics and love stand to destroy everything, however in this war, the Greek warrior Achilles goes through his own journey and finds peace. The story ends with the burning of Troy, the death of Achilles and a broken Greek empire. As I said, a tragedy.

However I do recommend watching this film because the action scenes are fantastic, the story is very gripping and there are many touching scenes that depict how love can conquer all. Altogether, it really is an incredible film. If I was to make a really honest judgement, I would say in my personal view that some of the actors chosen were perhaps not the right choice. This is because in these times of very ugly behavior and warriors, some of the cast members were perhaps an unrealistic portrayal of the times but I do accept that the acting was very good throughout. And on a personal opinion I would take my hat off to Sean Bean (king of Ithaca) and Helen (Diane Kruger), their acting was very believable and full of creative energy.

I certainly enjoyed the film and have watched it many times but a word of warning, it is quite violent, there is some mild sexual activity which is fine for me and probably most of you but it isn’t wise to let young children  watch this film, officially it is rated as a 15+.

Your turn:

1.Analyze the structure: how many separate pararaphs are there? Notice these sections: Introduction, Plot, Opinion, Conclusion.

2.What did the author like? What didn't he like? Notice the opinion expression he uses: In my opinion...

3. Does he recommend the film? Why? To everyone?

4. Make a list of things you want to review in the film (e.g. Love Actually)

5. Write a film review like the one above.