Writing a Movie Review I will give you some tips using the movie “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

How to get started You will want to comment on the following aspects of the movie: Background Comparisons Information Plot summary Specific commentary Your final evaluation

Background: Some general information about the film and its place in the genre (eg. action/adventure, romantic comedy, fantasy, science fiction, mystery/suspense, horror)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Based on the Stieg Larsson trilogy (first book in the series has same title) Writer is Swedish, wrote 3 books in trilogy then died suddenly of heart attack Mystery/suspense/thriller Film produced and filmed in Sweden American (Hollywood) film in the works for production next year

Comparison: What genre is it? What are some other films in this genre that are similar? How does the film fit into its genre? What are some examples within the film that prove it is in this genre

Dragon Tattoo: Mystery/thriller/suspense Mystery around the disappearance of a prominent family’s niece Compare to Catch Me If You Can where the anti-hero Frank Abagnale, forger, is chased by FBI agent

Information: Who are the actors, director, writer, producer, etc.

Dragon Tattoo Main character, Lisbeth Salander, played by Noomi Rapace; investigator Blomvkist played by Michael Nyqvist) Directed by Niels Arden Oplev

Plot summary: Give enough detail to create interest, but don’t go on forever about what happens Don’t give away the ending! This element should not be the majority of the review; it should be balanced with the other elements

Dragon Tattoo: Mikael Blomkvist is hired by a Swedish industrialist to investigate the disappearance of his niece 40 years ago He allies with Lisbeth Salander, a dragon-tatooed, heavily pierced computer hacker to solve the crime

Specific commentary: Evaluate the acting, directing, writing, etc. Be sure to give examples from the film to back up your judgments

The director brings his skill from creating previous televised police dramas in Denmark The film has been breaking box-office records across Europe

Final Evaluation: Just how good is this movie? Would you recommend it? What can people expect from it?

Dragon Tattoo: Not a minute wasted Unique mystery Chilling landscape captured in screenplay Unconventional hero: tiny, tattooed, pierced, law-breaking Be sure to see it!

Writing up your review Try to balance each of the above elements fairly equally Don’t spend way too much time on any one element

Language Write in your own voice Make it personal Your voice should sound like you are talking to someone about this movie It’s okay to use slang! You want it to sound conversational, not formal and academic

Tips Try to “grab” the readers’ interest with your topic sentence and be sure to state your opinion about the movie in this sentence Make sure your details are organized logically Your concluding sentence should restate the topic sentence/opinion (in an original way, of course!)