Journal 12/06

1. Journal 12/06 • Name the last 3 really good movies you saw. • Have you ever told someone to see a movie? Or NOT to see it? • How’d you like to get paid to do that every week?

2. I give it 5 stars! All About Movie Reviews

3. What is a movie review? • Now-a-days movies are not just a source of entertainment, but also a way to reach into the minds of the people. • Recent developments in special effects and animation in movies have opened up a new frontier and a great way of expressing ideas and thoughts.

4. What is a movie review? • Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. • These critiques appear regularly in newspapers, magazines, media broadcasts and other popular, mass-media outlets. • Academic criticism by film scholars are often published in journals.

5. Why write movie reviews? • Traditionally, film reviews have been seen as a way to assess the artistic merit and public appeal of a movie. • Filmgoers use reviews to help them determine whether to view a particular film. • As the number of film fans following the advice of reviewers grew, film companies saw profits diminish across a broader number of films. • This led film studios to increase budgets to create more interest in a movie prior to the opening. This is why there are now so many advertisements, trailers, and reviews before a movie even comes out.

6. Steps to Writing a Good Review • The first step would be to watch the movie. • Sometimes a movie needs to be watched several times in order to gain a full comprehension.

7. Watch the Movie! • Bring a pad and pen • Arrive on time • Sit through the closing credits. These are important for your review. • Talk it over with someone afterward

8. Watch the Movie! • Take detailed notes as you watch. Record important scenes, conversations, set design, costume design, etc. • You want to be as detailed as possible for your future review and you do not want to forget any important details. • Spell names correctly…research if needed.

9. Steps to Writing a Good Review • THE INTRODUCTION Opening: Catch the Reader's Attention • Think about how advertisements sell movies: "trailers" show you a few seconds of the movie to get you interested. When you begin your movie review, make your own "trailer." If you liked the movie, then your trailer should make people want to see it; but if you didn't like it, the trailer should be something that shows why you didn't like it.

10. Introduction • Don't explain why you liked it or didn't like it; make the reader like or not like the movie by what you describe. Show, don’t tell! • Begin your review by retelling an incident or moment from the movie which you think captures the spirit of the movie as you understood it. • Alternative: Begin your review with another kind of story or interesting fact--about one of the star actors, or about the making of the movie, or about the director.

11. Give Credit • Second Paragraph: Take Care of Business • Near the beginning of the review, you have to tell the reader all the obligatory stuff--the title of the movie, the director, the studio, the main actors, the year it was made (if you watched it on video), the rating.

12. Give Credit • This paragraph tells the reader the things they have to know about the movie. • Also, in one sentence or two, you should explain very simply what the movie is all about--not necessarily what happens, but that might work, too, if you can say it in one two sentences. Think theme here!

13. Re-cap without spoilers! • Third Paragraph: Character and plot summary • What happens in the movie? You shouldn't tell everything that happens--and especially not the ending. • You want to summarize the basic plot of the movie, in more detail than you do in the paragraph above. One way to do this might be to write a sentence about each main character.

14. Re-cap without spoilers! • Do not forget important aspects of the story such as; Time and Place- where does the action take place? When does it take place? Is the story chronological or are there flashbacks? Background- Society, country, kind of people (age, culture, social class etc), historical time, etc. Genre- horror, comedy, romance, drama, thriller, science fiction, adventure film… Characters- physical description, psychological, age, nationality, personal/social background…Characterization

15. From this Moment… • Fourth Paragraph: A Key Moment or Idea • In this paragraph, go into detail about something important that interested you about the movie. • If it was a musical, you should say something about the songs. Or if the soundtrack was good, talk about that. Or write more about one character who was really intriguing. Or retell another big moment from the movie and explain why it is important.

16. From this Moment… • If you think the "idea" behind a movie was really interesting, explain that idea and talk about it a little bit. • In this paragraph, you must go into depth about the movie.

17. …and Ebert Gives it… • Fifth Paragraph: Evaluate the Movie • Do you recommend it or not? • Who will like it (kids or adults)? • The most important thing here is that you must also explain why you are making your recommendation. You must justify your opinion--and that opinion should grow out of what you write in the rest of the review.

18. …and Ebert Gives it… • Give at least two reasons why you liked or didn't like the movie.

19. Requirements • Include ONLY what’s worthwhile • Not more than 600-1200 words • Include the rating (PG-13, etc.) • + why it was rated that way (language, sex, etc.) • Revise, revise, revise !!