1. Become a Film Critic

2. For this project, you are going to choose a film to watch, write a film review about the movie and record a “vlog.”
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3. Reviews are an interesting way to give and get opinions about movies
Reviews are an interesting way to give and get opinions about movies. Some people like to read review of movies before they go see it, so they can find out if it might be good or not.
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4. For instance, let’s say a new movie comes out called Godzilla Attacks New York. You think to yourself, maybe that would be a good movie to see.
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5. But you wonder how good it is… After all, maybe it’s just 2 hours of Godzilla thrashing about in the water…
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6. You might look to your local newspaper or go online to find a movie reviewer that you trust.
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7. Some reviewers even use a star system to rate their movies.
Sometimes these folks are called movie critics. If you find a critic who has your same taste in movies, you might read their review of Godzilla.
Some reviewers even use a star system to rate their movies.
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8. If your favorite reviewer gave the film 4 stars or “2 thumbs up” maybe you buy a ticket on Friday. If they give it 1 star, maybe you stay home.
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9. Books
Restaurants
Plays
Shows
Music Albums
Movies aren’t the only things that critics like to review. You might also see reviews on…
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10. More recently, some movie critics have started to read their reviews in front of a camera and take videos of what they had to say. People call these video blogs or “vlogs.” That’s what we will do.
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11. Now for this project, I’d like you to either: A) Pick a movie you have never seen B) Pick a movie you have seen but rewatch it with this project in mind. As you watch the film, I want you to take notes on the movie using the form on this website.
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12. But how do you write a review? Well, there are a few techniques….
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13. Readers want to know generally what its about
But they don’t want to know so much that the ending is given away
For instance, you want to tell your reader what the movie or play or book is about, but be careful…
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14. If it’s a murder mystery that takes place among a rich, English family in the 1920s after the war…well, those are good things to tell.
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15. But if you mention that the butler kills Mr
But if you mention that the butler kills Mr. Woodenbury with a knife in the final scene…well, your readers might not appreciate that! They might want to be surprised.
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16. Try to give a sense of what you are reviewing without giving it all away.
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17. You also want to explain why you liked or didn’t like the movie
You also want to explain why you liked or didn’t like the movie. *Was the acting good? *What is beautiful to look at? *Were there a lot of funny parts? *If it is an animated movie, how does the animation look? *Was it suspenseful or scary? *Did it make you happy or sad?
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18. Funny Scary But you want to explain WHY.
Here are a couple ways not to do it…
Funny
Wow this movie was so funny! It was really, really funny. It made me laugh, it was so funny.
Scary
OMG, this was a really scary movie. I can’t believe how scary it was.
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19. Why are those two reviews not so great?
Ask Yourself…
Why are those two reviews not so great?
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20. We can see the reviewer was impressed, but they didn’t say WHY
We can see the reviewer was impressed, but they didn’t say WHY. Here’s a better review… Toy Story is a really funny movie. For instance, there is a running joke in which Buzz Lightyear, an action figure who doesn’t realize he is just a toy, keeps acting like a real astronaut who really is in a distant galaxy. Because he is acting like he’s so important, everyone in my family was laughing like crazy!
See how we told WHY it was funny and told a part WHEN it was funny!

21. If it is animated or “live action”
You can also tell some information about the movie. For instance, you can tell:
The names of the actors
If it is animated or “live action”
If it is rated G or PG or R
How long is it?
Who is the director?

22. To find out some of this information you may need to do an Internet search. The website IMDB.com is a good one since it has info on every movie ever!

23. So remember…A film review should try to include…
An introduction
Facts about the movie
A summary of what happens in the movie
Your opinion about the movie with specific examples
A summary or conclusion
So remember…A film review should try to include…
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24. A restaurant review might discuss such things as…
The main courses
The side dishes
The beverages
The atmosphere
The waiters and waitresses
Its location and parking
A restaurant review might discuss such things as…
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25. It wasn’t funny
It didn’t make any sense
The acting was really bad
It was so boring
And again, it’s not just enough to say “the movie was bad.” WHY was it bad?
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26. And you can add a rating system to your reviews if you want
And you can add a rating system to your reviews if you want. You might use stars or tomatoes or thumbs up or anything else you would like to use.
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27. Now take a look at the sample review we gave you….
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