английский / How to write a film review
.docxHow to write a film review
Credits (first page only): Title, year, genre, director, screenwriter, music or soundtrack, main actors.
You might find useful to look at: http://www.rottentomatoes.com (overview) or http://imdb.com/
1. TITLE. You can use a catchy title. It can indicate whether the review will be positive or negative. You can play with words to make it funny or different.
2. Paragraph 1. Opening paragraph. You can summarise the film. Make sure that your summary makes sense to a reader who does not know the film. Do not refer to specific scenes and do not try to explain everything. You must also include the next items, but not as different parts (they may be included in your description of the story)
Place and time: Where does the action take place? When does the action take place? (present time, 19th century…) Is the story chronological (according to the order of time) or flash back?
Background: society, country, people (age, culture, social class...)
3. Paragraph 2. Positive things you thought about the film. What did you like? Why?
4. Paragraph 3. Negative aspects. What didn’t you like? Why?
5. Paragraph 4. Characterization. Talk about the characters: physical description, psychological description, age, nationality social/personal background.
6. Paragraph 5. Final comments: general comments that summarize your view of the film. You may want to say something inspiring to get the reader want to go and see the film or the opposite.
Vocabulary. Common words and phrases that you may want to use in your review are: spectacular visual effects, excessive violence, breathtaking, heart-warming, slow-moving, action-packed, unexpected/predictable, original/unoriginal, the film was a very moving portrayal of …, I was impressed by …, it is a mixture of …, it has a twist at the end, this film is a classic, wonderful, the film is set in …, it is based on a novel by …, the film has great stunts , etc.