First Movie Review
Look back at your “List of Top Ten Motion Pictures” and select one title that you are inspired to write a review about. You may prepare your review based solely on your memory of the movie, but it’s recommended that you watch the film again so that it’s fresh in your mind before writing.
Use as a guide the three to five descriiptive words and brief descriiption of scenes that you included in your original list for this selected title, and write one to two pages about your selected film.
You may want to include a brief plot summary of the action and events of the movie’s story, but this should be done only to demonstrate and support your independent observations about the themes, and any cultural or social significance that you identify in the picture.
Additionally, you should discuss any elements of the film that stand out to you, such as actor performances, costume and set design, shot composition, lighting, editing and pacing, music, etc. And don’t worry if some of these terms or ideas sound new or foreign to you — that’s okay at this point. The idea is that your manner of talking about films will likely change and develop throughout the course. You don’t have to provide details about those elements of the movie for this review, though you may if you are comfortable. This is just an early opportunity to record your current film language and literacy so you can be aware of how it will develop in the course.
To advance your work, you may want to look online for recent film reviews of current releases. See how critics like A.O. Scott at The New York Times, Owen Gleiberman at Entertainment Weekly, Peter Travers at Rolling Stone, David Sims at The Atlantic, and Anthony Lane at The New Yorker handle their discussions of the movies they review. Each has their own style and tastes, which are reflected in their reviews. But also notice the similarities in how they discuss cinema generally, and whether this may help inform your own tastes and interests.
And remember, movie reviews aren’t always positive! Of course, the title you will have chosen is from among your list of Top Ten Favorites, so presumably it is already a film you love. But maybe the film made the list for nostalgic reasons. Is there anything you would see a bit differently about the film when you look at it again through a critical eye? And what in the film is even more enhanced when examined a bit more closely? This is all worth exploring in your review, which is to say that your review can certainly acknowledge that it’s not your first viewing.
Happy screening…!
My List of 10 film (pick one)
A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001, 2h 15m)
Emotional, Biography, Drama
Scene: He tells Alicia, “She [the little girl] never gets old.”
Star Trek: First Contact (Frakes, 1996, 1h 51m)
SciFi, Time Travel, Aliens,
Scene: Moby-Dick
X-Men (Singer, 2000, 1h 44m)
SciFi, Racism, Mutant, Superhero
Scene: Any with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen
The Matrix (Wachowski’s, 1999, 2h 16m)
SciFi, Mind-Bending, post-apocalypse, dystopia
Scene: Neo waking up from The Matrix.
When Do We Eat? (Litvak, 2005, 1h 26m)
Comedy, Jewish, drug humor
Scene: Farther reconciles with his family towards the end of the film.
The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch (Steiner, 2018, 1h 34m)
Comedy, Jewish, matchmaking
Scene: Meeting the Rabbi in Israel
Enemy of the State (Scott, 1998, 2h 12m)
Dark, Thrilling, paranoia, deep state
Scene: Will Smith: Actually, I believe the term “shyster” is reserved for attorneys of the Jewish persuasion. I believe the proper term for me is “eggplant”.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Meyer, 1982, 1h 53m)
SciFi, Strong Villain,
Scene: Kirk and Kahan
A Serious Man (Cohen’s, 2009, 1h 46m)
black comedy, Jewish, Drama
Scene: Larry Gopnik’s frustration when visiting the Rabbi’s.
Men in Black (Sonnenfeld, 1997, 1h 38m)
Comedy, SciFi, Aliens,
Scene: Immigrants from Mexico scene at the beginning of the movie.