In this project students will be asked to publish a review of a film of their choice. The review will include a synopsis, some positive and negative comments on elements of the film as well as a critical approach to characterization.

Here's a guideline to write a film review

WRITING A FILM REVIEW

Here are the directions to write a convincing film review. Make sure you respect them!

1. Give key information about the movie in a similar table:

Name of movie, year of release:

Cast:

Director:

Studio:

Genre:

Running Time:

MPAA Rating:

Reviewer’s rating (1 to 5 stars):

2. Give a title to your review: it can indicate if the review will be positive or negative, you can play with words to make it funny or different.

3. Introduce your review with an opening paragraph : summarise briefly the film and give early suggestions about your general view of it (positive/negative);
don’t give details about the ending or else no one will go and see the film!!

4. Write the body of your article:

a) Paragraph 1 – Positive things you thought about the film: what did you like? Why? Use descriptive words, think about the story, setting, effects used, music used…

b) Paragraph 2 – Negative things you thought about the film: what didn’t you like? Why? Comment on the same type of things that you mentioned in paragraphs

c) Paragraph 3 – Characterization : talk about the characters, did you like them? Did the actors play them well? Other impressions of the characters, will certain audience members be able to relate to certain characters? How? Will certain audience members not like certain characters? Why not?

5. Conclude your article with your final comments : general comments that summarize your view of the film, you may want to say something inspiring to get the reader to want to go out and see the film or you might say something derogatory to encourage them NOT to go and see it!

Don’t forget to use vocabulary from the Cinema Vocabulary worksheet!

Here are other expressions to help you:

  • give your opinion:

I would be tempted to say that… We may wonder if… As a matter of fact, we could assume (= suppose) that…

It seems to me that… I personally think that… To my mind…

I was pleased/surprised/relieved (soulagé)/shocked/outraged to see that…

  •  describe the movie/the story and the actors/the characters:

Positive

Negative

the film

the story

unexpected plot twists (retournements de situation inattendus), suspense, plot (intrigue)

brilliant, powerful, serious, larger-than-life, marvellous, spectacular, moving, captivating, thrilling, hilarious, thought-provoking, provocative, amazing

excessive violence, confusion, imitation, cliché

bloody, awful, fake, unoriginal,

disappointing, mind-numbing = boring, shocking, outraging

the actors

the characters

convincing, surprising, moving, admirable

beautiful, noble, vibrant, introspective, true to life, ambitious, determined, blasé,

easy-going = relaxed, humorous = witty

unconvincing, not credible, pitiful, disappointing, boring

loud-mouthed, flawed = imperfect, distrustful, dangerous