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Find engrossing elements

“You don’t really need to know anything about film theory or cinematography to recognize when something makes you laugh or makes you think,” Yoshida says. Pay attention to your emotions throughout the movie, and determine what prompted those reactions: Was it the script that made you laugh? Was it the way the actor physically embodied the character? Was it the camera movement itself, sweeping from one point to another? These are all elements you can point to later when detailing why you liked the film.

Embrace a critic you love

Though Duralde avoids reading reviews both before he sees a movie and prior to writing his own review, he likes to check in with what his peers have written afterward. Find a cinematic tastemaker whose preferences closely align with or are the polar opposite of yours. “Read a sampling of critics and get an idea of what they’re about,” he says. “Find people who your tastes mesh with, and if they encourage something, you’ll believe them.”

Question everything

Take a curious approach to all aspects of the story, from characters to setting. Frederick likes to begin with believability, even in fantastical settings. “Thinking from your own experience, would someone react like that? Is that real?” she says. “Ask questions about what you’re being presented, and ask whether you can see humans talking to other humans in that way.” Consider alternative scenarios, and question whether the story could’ve ended a different way. This forces you to think critically and confront the things you thought were weak or unrealistic. “Say, why did such-and-such happen? Or why did this happen instead of that?” Frederick says. “Ask questions. Talk about it afterward.” You don’t necessarily need to arrive at the answers — just asking is enough to get you into a more critical frame of mind. And the more you do it, the easier it will be at the next movie you see, and the next one after that.

[ https://gen.medium.com/how-to-watch-a-movie-like-a-film-critic-2caa4f359f79 ]

A3

‘Don’t Look Up’ Review: A Cosmic Disaster

Even such marquee names as DiCaprio, Streep, Blanchett and Lawrence can’t save this feeble joke of a movie

By Joe Morgenstern

A gigantic comet is on track to collide with Earth and will destroy all human life unless it’s knocked off course. So everyone’s terrified, right? Wrong. That was the reaction back in 1998, when Earth was threatened by a gigantic comet in “Deep Impact” and, less than two months later, by an asteroid the size of Texas in “Armageddon.” That was also when dopey, relatively earnest disaster epics could still pull crowds into multiplexes. You’ll find the current comet in “Don’t Look Up,” streaming on Netflix. It’s three to six miles wide, a planet-

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killer if ever there was one, but no one trusts science, government or anything else and people are too distracted to worry. A plausible premise, right? Yes, absolutely, but it’s squandered in a slapdash, scattershot sendup that turns almost everyone into nincompoops, trivializes everything it touches, oozes with selfdelight, and becomes part of the babble and yammer it portrays.

The main perpetrator is Adam McKay. He wrote and directed the film, which rattles on for 138 minutes, has a few good moments (a blissfully silly song, “Just Look Up,” performed in full pop-diva mode by Ariana Grande with Kid Cudi); one eerily arresting performance (by Mark Rylance); and an extraordinary cast (including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Rob Morgan and Jonah Hill), all demonstrating that even they can be unfunny, given sufficient directorial encouragement to comment on the supposed hilarity of their roles.

The crisis begins when Ms. Lawrence’s Kate Dibiasky, a doctoral candidate in astronomy at Michigan State, catches sight of something ominous in the cosmos, the comet that will make her a celebrity before its impact makes everyone toast. “What would Carl Sagan do?” she asks herself. (She keeps a Sagan doll on her desk.) What he wouldn’t do is panic, and neither does Kate. She comes close, but she’s never incoherent, in contrast to her professor, Mr. DiCaprio’s Randall Mindy. A fuddy-duddy ditherer from the Hall of Hollywood Stereotypes, he gets a brief audience with Ms. Streep’s fatuous and incompetent President Orlean, but he can barely articulate the problem. (It doesn’t matter all that much, because she isn’t interested, although later she finds him interesting enough to grope.) Ms. Blanchett’s Brie Evantee isn’t interested either; she’s the lascivious co-host, with Mr. Perry’s Jack Bremmer, of a TV talk show that keeps the chatter light in leaden fashion. (Brie goes beyond groping.)

This might have been great fun if it had been executed with some respect for our intelligence, and for the power of sharpshooting satire, rather than glib nihilism. Kate and Randall do blurt out the truth whenever they can, as best they can, in a brain-fogged cross between “Bulworth” and “Network.” Dividing the country into Don’t Look Up-ers—impact deniers wearing MAGA-like hats—and Just Look Up-ers is a nice antic notion, but it’s never developed into a full-fledged idea. The only character who commands our attention—he’s the villain of the piece and genuinely creepy, as played by Mr. Rylance—is Peter Isherwell, an epicene zillionaire tech overlord combining lofty traits of Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, with a smidgen of Elon Musk thrown in. In a film more suggestive of sketch comedy than social or political satire, there’s a sense of both the actor and the character playing for keeps. Whatever may happen to this planet, Peter will thrive on his own.

[https://www.wsj.com/articles/dont-look-up-review-a-cosmic-disaster-dont-look-up-leonardo-di- caprio-jennifer-lawrence-meryl-streep-kate-blanchett-timothee-chalamet-11640294136 ]

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SECTION B: WORKSHEETS

B1

RESEARCH SHEET: A FILM REVIEW

HEADLINE: _____________________________________________________________

AUTHOR: _______________________________________________________________

PUBLICATION: __________________________________________________________

DATE: __________________________________________________________________

STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

TOPICAL LANGUAGE

Miscellaneous

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B2

FILM ANALYSIS WORKSHEET

Film title

Genre

Director and their intent

Plot and narrative

Main actors, their roles and acting

Supporting actors, their roles and acting

Socio-cultural context (customs, values, religion, politics, class, bias, etc)

Important scenes

Cinematography (composition, types of shots and angles)

Sounds, score, soundtrack

Editing

(length of takes, pacing, rhythm; manipulation of plot time: flashbacks, parallel editing, etc)

Special effects

Miscellaneous

Overall impressions

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B3

FILM REVIEWS PEER EVALUATION SHEET

(Give a maximum of 5 points for each aspect)

NAME OF THE AUTHOR: _________________________________________________

HEADLINE OF THE ARTICLE: _____________________________________________

FILM TITLE : ____________________________________________________________

NAME OF THE REVIEWER: _______________________________________________

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SECTION C: GRAMMAR

C1

COMPOUND ADJECTIVES

Compound adjectives are compound words that act as adjectives.

•Fast-paced

•Well-known

•Old-fashioned

•Yellow-striped

Types of compound adjectives

Not every compound adjective contains two singular adjectives. We realize that sounds a bit confusing, so this chart should explain it more clearly:

As you can see, compound adjectives are defined by what they do, rather than what they contain. Any time two (or more) words become a single term to describe a noun, they’re a compound adjective.

Does a compound adjective always need a hyphen?

Unlike compound nouns, compound adjectives usually need hyphens. But like most grammar rules, this isn’t always the case. Certain compound adjectives don’t need hyphens, even if they come before a noun in a sentence. Here are a few examples of open compound adjectives in sentences:

•As a new lawyer, you should expect to perform pro bono work.

•My sister and I are going to a dub reggae concert at the end of this month.

•When I saw him, he had that “running on empty” look in his eyes.

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And here are a few closed compound adjectives in sentences:

•She bought an overstuffed ottoman for her living room.

•The meat was undercooked, but the broccoli was perfect.

When compound adjectives contain numbers

Usually, compound adjectives that contain numbers need hyphens. For example, you might say:

•The insular culture retained twentieth-century sensibilities.

•We ate a second-rate meal at the diner.

But when the number comes second in the compound adjective, it does not need a hyphen. Here’s an example of this type of compound adjective:

•My brother has Type 2 diabetes.

Using compound adjectives that contain superlatives

Additionally, compound adjectives that begin with superlatives always need hyphens when they’re used before the nouns they’re describing. Here are a few examples:

•It turned out to be a very low-stress job.

•Maria was better-suited to the role than Ryan.

But when a compound adjective containing a superlative comes after its noun, it does not need a hyphen:

•When I filled my tank, the fuel I chose was high octane.

•We didn’t want to wait to eat, so we chose a restaurant that was lesser known than others in the neighborhood.

When a compound adjective starts with an adverb

When a compound adjective starts with an adverb, it doesn’t get a hyphen. Here are a few examples of compound adjectives that start with adverbs and thus aren’t joined by hyphens:

•Neatly pressed

•Overly affectionate

•Warmly received

Differentiating compound adjectives from single adjectives

With other compound adjectives, a hyphen is necessary to communicate that the two (or more) words are working together as a single compound adjective. Let’s go back to an example we used earlier, yellow-striped. Compare these two sentences:

•She drove a yellow-striped car.

•She drove a yellow, striped car.

See the difference? In the first sentence, we picture her driving a car adorned with yellow stripes. In the second, we see a car that’s yellow and decorated with stripes of another color. Also notice how in the second sentence, yellow and striped are separated by a comma.

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That’s because according to the Royal Order of Adjectives, yellow and striped both describe the car’s design and thus, need this distinction.

Compound adjectives in action

Although most compound adjectives are made up of two words, they can contain more. Check out these multi-word compound adjectives in action:=

•I hired a web designer to create a one-of-a-kind website for my brand.

•We won tickets to the new, never-before-seen-in-this-city 3D art exhibit!

You can write a sentence that contains single and compound adjectives to describe the same noun. Building on an example we used earlier, here’s one sentence that does just that:

•The sauna was steamy and dimly lit.

You can also use multiple compound adjectives to describe a noun. When you do this, separate the compound adjectives — and any single adjectives you use — with commas. Take a look at these examples:

•We live in one of the most densely populated, highest-taxed, and most ethnically diverse states in the country.

•She belted out a show-stopping, gut-wrenching solo at the end of the scene.

Compound adjectives can go anywhere in a sentence. There’s no rule that one has to come before the noun it describes or that it even has to appear before or after it consecutively. Take a look at where the compound adjectives are positioned in these sentences:

•“Fast-paced” is perhaps the best way to describe their last baseball game.

•I want pizza for lunch: deep-dish, extra cheesy, lightly sauced pizza with lots of fresh garlic.

Make your writing more well-rounded

Using compound adjectives in your writing is one way to make it more engaging, but it’s not the only way. Engaging writing is coherent, mistake-free and maintains a consistent, appropriate tone for the subject it’s covering. Grammarly can help you make your writing all of that and more—and in doing so, help you become a stronger writer over time.

Adapted from: [ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/compound-adjectives/ ]

C2

Dashes and parentheses indicate an “aside” to the point you are making in your sentence. Although sometimes considered interchangeable, each serves a specific purpose in your writing. Dashes interrupt your writing to insert an interjection or pause, while parentheses gently add information to your point. A word of caution: although parentheses can be used throughout all writing genres, dashes are rarely used in formal academic research.

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Dashes are more common in fiction writing and in more casual texts. Another word of caution: make sure that you are introducing relevant additional information with your dashes or parentheses and that it is not just added for fluff. Strive to be clean and clear in your writing.

In this handout, we have provided some guidelines for using each punctuation mark.

THE DASH

An em dash — inserted by typing Control+Alt+Minus between the words it separates— signals an abrupt break in thought. It can be seen as “surprising” the reader with information. If used judiciously it can mark a longer, more dramatic pause and provide more emphasis than a comma can. If overused, it creates an impression of haste and carelessness and can diminish cohesion in your paragraphs. Em dashes are useful in early drafts to capture thoughts and afterthoughts, but in revising you may need to delete them in favor of punctuation marks that better express your ideas, such as commas (see our handout on Commas for more information). Think carefully before peppering your papers with them.

Tip: When using the em dash in a sentence, you do not place spaces on either side of the punctuation mark, except in some journalistic styles of writing.

If you wish to use dashes effectively here are some guidelines:

If the main sentence resumes, a second dash is needed. Don’t allow a comma to substitute for the second dash, and be sure that your sentence would make sense if the part without the dashes were omitted:

The actors bowed—except for the horse—knowing they blew everyone away!

If the main sentence resumes, a second dash is needed. Don’t allow a comma to substitute for the second dash, and be sure that your sentence would make sense if the part without the dashes were omitted:

The actors bowed—except for the horse—knowing they blew everyone away!

Don’t combine dashes with other punctuation marks:

Inappropriate: They acquired several horses at the fair, —a winner, a loser, and a beerdrinking mare.

Appropriate: They acquired several horses at the fair — a winner, a loser, and a beer drinking mare.

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Use dashes to mark the beginning and end of a series, which might otherwise get confused, with the rest of the sentence:

The three female characters—the wife, the nun, and the jockey—are the incarnation of excellence.

Dashes are also used to mark the interruption of a sentence in dialogue:

“Help! This horse is going too fast,” the actor yelled. “I think I am fall—.”

NOTE: Colons are preferred when introducing a list.

THE PARENTHESES

Parentheses also signify a break in thought, but they mark an addition of information rather than an interruption like dashes do. Rather than a surprise (like dashes), parentheses are a gentler insertion in your sentence. Also like dashes, parentheses should be used sparingly. Too many can break the clarity and flow of your ideas. Another thing to keep in mind is that they are often seen as casual in tone, so make sure they are appropriate for the style of writing you are using. If not, punctuation marks such as commas are often more academically appropriate.

If you wish to use parentheses effectively here are some guidelines:

Parentheses can be used to set off incidental information such as numbers, dates, examples, and references:

The show will run for a staggering seventeen (17) weekends.

A recent study examined wellness practices among Kentucky Derby winning jockeys

(Calamine, 2012).

The use of “human” as a noun (“Humans are sentient beings”) has been criticized.

No mark of punctuation should ever precede a parentheses, but you can use punctuation after the closing parentheses if necessary. The rule is that the parentheses shouldn’t affect the punctuation of the main statement:

After several weeks of exercises (memory and voice), he finally began to feel competent.

If the enclosed matter is the last part of the sentence, the period comes after the parentheses, as in the next example:

Horses should be regarded as assets (but only the working kind).

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