Writing Project #3/#4: Critical Review of a Film

Choosing a Topic Critical review of a feature-length film (i.e. a film that has been shown in a commercial theatre or on commercial television). Choose a film that is available on videotape/DVD. You must be able to view the film several times as you are planning and writing this assignment. Do not choose a film you saw years ago and hope to remember enough about it to be successful with this paper!

Finding Tapes/DVD’s Tapes may be borrowed free of charge from the ECC library or rented from local video stores. If you do not have access to a VCR, the ECC library has them available for in-library use. Some classes may choose to go to a local movie theater together to see their films, especially in fast- track Saturday class sections.

Paper Particulars Due date: by last class meeting if not earlier. See syllabus. Length of paper: words/3-5 pages plus Title and Works Cited pages

Format & Presentation of the Paper This final writing assignment for the course should include each of the following in the order listed: Title page Final draft of essay with appropriate pagination Works cited page (list correctly formatted bibliographical entries for the two film reviews and the film itself) Photocopies of two published film reviews (for the same film the student is reviewing)

Prewriting & Planning Activities Find and photocopy or print out two published film reviews for the film which you have chosen to review for ENG 102. The reviews should be a minimum of six paragraphs long. Do not use the very short paragraph-length film summaries published in many newspapers.

Paragraph by paragraph instructions follow …

Organization of the paper This critical review writing assignment allows you to utilize many different rhetorical modes to convince the reader of the merit, or lack thereof as may be the case, of the film you are analyzing. Below are the things that must be included in the organization of your essay and that must be adequately developed.

Hook/attention-getter One or two sentences designed to wet our appetites for the rest of your paper is appropriate here. It can be an observation, quotations, anecdote, or facts of some kind. Length: (1-3 sentences)

Introduction Indicate the exact title of the film (underlined). Give the publication information for the film including year of publication, director, major actors, and production company or studio. Length: (3-5 sentences)

Paragraph two Briefly summarize the action or plot of the film in no more than five (5) sentences. Length: (maximum of 5 sentences)

Paragraph three Briefly summarize the response the two reviewers had to the film. Use the reviews you photocopied for class. Identify the reviewers by name and indicate their credentials as reviewers if possible. Be sure to use appropriate internal documentation for any direct quotations or obvious personal opinions of the reviewers that you use in your paper. Length: (6-15 sentences)

Paragraph four Identify any weaknesses you see in the film. Weaknesses can be in the area of the story line or plot, the acting abilities of the cast or any member of the cast, the directing, the cinematography, or anything that might detract from our enjoyment of the film. Length: (minimum 5 sentences)

Paragraph five Identify the strengths of this film. The same areas as listed for the paragraph of weakness can be addressed as appropriate. Length: (minimum of 6 sentences)

Paragraph six Evaluate the film and explain whether the strengths outweigh the weaknesses or whether the weaknesses outweigh the strengths. In other words, is the film worth our spending the time to see it? You are making a judgment and/or recommendation in this paragraph. This is the conclusion to your essay but it is also your thesis sentence by the way. You will be using a reverse order for organizing the essay. Length: (minimum of 5 sentences)

Note about Submitting ALL Assignments Please remember that all assignments, including this one, must be submitted by the appropriate due dates in order for you to pass this course. See your course syllabus for this policy statement.

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