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!)