1-2 Page paper

Assignment:

Using the guidelines below (adapted from Garbis and Adams), write a review of any film with the exception of the movies we watched in our class. The movie can be foreign, old, or new, a classic, or a “B” movie—the film choice is up to you but you may not write about films you watched for this class. Be sure to revise for grammar, correctness, and overall presentation. I recommend reading some reviews by Manohla Dargis and/or A.O. Scott (both write for the NY Times).

Film Review Guidelines

• Paragraph 1:  Offer your overall impression of the film while mentioning the movie's title, director, and key actors.
• Paragraph 2:  Briefly summarize the plot of the film.
• Paragraphs 3 & 4:  Assess the film's success in achieving its goal. This is where you should incorporate technical qualities such as those we've learned this semester: narrative, mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, sound, and genre. There's usually a stand-out technique or two that are integral to the delivery of the film's themes/topics. Write about the use of techniques in that regard; do not "name drop" techniques for the purpose of showing me what you know. It's more important that you integrate your knowledge into your review in a logical way. Read a few film reviews to see how the pros do it.
• Paragraph 5: Ending paragraph--your last opportunity to guide the reader.  Offer a clincher that tells the reader to view the film or not. It is your job to make an assessment of the film when you’re a critic – embrace it!

Revise revise revise! Even though this is extra credit, you must turn in a polished piece of intelligent writing in order to earn full credit.