movie review grade 6

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Writing a Movie Review: Teaching Tips and Lesson Ideas

To me, there’s nothing more enjoyable as a middle school teacher than blending films into English language arts classes. I’m a real movie lover, and I find that a good film-based activity is the perfect way to engage students in work on essential ELA skills in the last few weeks of school.

Thanks to Netflix, Disney+, and other streaming services, our students have more access to films than people at any other time in history! But I’ve noticed that even with so much exposure to movies, students need quite a lot of guidance to view films critically and with intention. 

This is why I find an end-of-year film review project to be so useful in the ELA classroom. Most students are natural movie reviewers already. They always come in on Monday mornings buzzing about the movies they saw over the weekend!

With this in mind, I like to tap into their natural instincts to share what they love, and help them learn the step-by-step organizational skills for writing a film review in the process. Here’s how this looks in the classroom:

1. Show Students Film Review Examples

To begin, I like to lead a brief whole-class discussion where we chat about the difference between getting a recommendation from a friend and reading a professional movie review . During this discussion, I point out that there are some specific things that a movie reviewer considers, including cinematography, actors, lighting, and sound.

Once students have the basic idea, I like to show them several examples of film reviews in different formats. If your school receives a newspaper subscription, you could collect and save film reviews to share with your class. Or, you may prefer a more modern approach and search online! Written film reviews tend to follow a similar structure and provide students with a good understanding of what they need to include.

Because most students also enjoy video content, we spend time looking at YouTube reviews as well. I might be dating myself, but I like to show old clips of Siskel and Ebert, the famous “two thumbs up” reviewers from the ‘80s and ‘90s! What I especially enjoy about their style is that they don’t always agree, but their reviews are still effective and engaging.

2. Know Your Audience

As we wrap up this lesson, I ask students to consider the audience of each review. For example, is the review aimed at children, adults, or even a teen magazine? The target audience affects not only tone and style, but also impacts the focus of the review. For example, a teen magazine review might focus on the famous actors of the film. By contrast, a special effects magazine might provide insight into a particular element of the filmmaking process.

3. Teach How to Watch the Film

The next step is to teach students how to watch a film with purpose, rather than simply for pleasure! In an ideal situation, I recommend watching a film twice. The first time is to get an overall understanding of the plot, and then to consider the choices the director and actors made in creating the film.

In the classroom, I like to pause the film frequently and let my students jot down notes. While they are watching, I remind them to consider each scene with an observant eye. I ask:

• What does the director choose to show (or not show)?
• How do the actors convey emotion, depth, and intention through their movements, as well as their words? 

4. Provide Common Vocabulary

As part of a film study, it’s important for students to be able to speak the “language” of movie making. After viewing the movie, I like to take some time to outline some key terms to help students write their reviews.

Words like blockbuster, avant-garde, disjointed, or uninspired can help elevate movie reviews in ELA from “friendly recommendations” to “review quality.” I find a printable list of useful writing terms is especially helpful. This is especially true if you want to avoid the “It was a good movie,” trap! 

5. Provide An Organizational Framework

When it comes to actually writing the review, I like to be quite specific in my instructions, breaking down the review into specific paragraphs .

For example, introductory paragraphs should start by engaging the reader with a strong opinion, thought-provoking statement, or even a quote to act as a “hook.” I like to remind students that the purpose of this paragraph is also to share some basic information about the film. This should include title, director, genre, and setting, as well as a brief plot overview. No spoilers, please!

Next, I have students plot out their paragraph about the main characters of the movie. I like to begin this process by having them reflect on the portrayal of the characters, and whether the actors are well-suited for their roles. As they evaluate the performances, middle school ELA students can support their opinions using evidence and examples from the film.

Because film techniques can vary so much from movie to movie, I like to give quite a lot of freedom in the next paragraph. I ask students to consider the following film techniques and choose one to focus on in detail:

• Camera work
• Sound effects

After they have evaluated film techniques, it’s time for students to flex their ELA muscles and reflect on the overall theme of the movie. In their fourth paragraph, I ask them to consider how the director uses filming techniques, set design, characters, conflict, or other elements to express or develop this theme. I like to guide this paragraph by asking questions like:

• Has the theme been developed effectively?
• Does it have an impact on the viewer, a specific community, or the world?

Finally, it’s time to wrap up the review! In this final paragraph, students need to give the film a rating in whatever “system” they choose. Popular choices in my classroom include thumbs up, stars, or even popcorn kernels on a scale of one to five! As they justify their rating and provide their personal opinions, I also encourage the class to consider what type of person would enjoy the movie.

6. Give Prompting Questions

In my experience, prompting questions help students focus on key things to include in their ELA movie review. I like to remind my students that graphic organizers are a tool for working through their ideas. They don’t need to be filled out in complete sentences, but they provide a useful framework for structuring their review. 

7. Make time For Peer Feedback & Editing

While students always resist the peer feedback and editing stage of the writing process, it really makes a difference in their overall quality of work.

Before they finalize their review, I have students work with a peer for a closer look at the grammatical and structural elements of their movie review. One way to do this is to follow the “three stars and a wish” format. In this activity, each student has to identify three positive things about the writing and one “wish” – an area of improvement.

Alternatively, if you have an established peer editing process in your classroom, this is a great opportunity to use it!

8. Provide Options for Presentation

Now for the fun part – the presentation of the movie review! I believe that students do their best work when they can express choice and voice in their finished product. 

Movie reviews can be shared in a lot of different ways (in the ELA classroom and in real life!). First, I have students select whether they want to share their completed review as a newspaper article, blog post, podcast, pre-recorded video, or even a live presentation in class.

If you’re tight on time, one trick I love is to put students in small groups (I find four works well) and present their reviews to each other. This alternative to whole-class presentations frees me up to circulate among the different groups. You’d be surprised at how much you can see and hear while doing this! At the end of each presentation, I like to have students grade each other using a common rubric. The presenters can self-assess their work as well!

There you have it! I hope you have a blast bringing a movie review assignment into your middle school ELA classroom. Three cheers to the end of the year!

Looking to integrate more videos into your ELA classroom? Check out my suggestions for 7 Ways to Bring Videos Into Secondary ELA .

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Writing A Film Review

Subject: English

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Worksheet/Activity

Last updated

16 June 2016

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This is a very well structured task. Thank you for sharing. It's very very useful.

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Great. I'll use this with my adult learners

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This was perfect for what I wanted to do with my class. Thanks

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English: Writing A Movie Review

What educators are saying

Description.

Are you watching a movie in class and you want your students to write a review of the movie? If yes, then use this helpful package of resources. This is an easy way to get your students to write in your class. It takes something that they like (the movie) and encourages them to do something they may not like (writing).

You get three resources in one:

Resource #1) The Handouts - Structured for independent learning

Resource #2) The Assignment - Step-by-step for independent completion

Resource #3) The Rubric - Simple to use for grading the assignment

This is a comprehensive package of resources and it includes:

• Writing A Movie Review Do's and Don'ts
• How to Format a Movie Review
• What Paragraphs go in a Movie Review
• A Breakdown of the Elements of Paragraphs
• A Graphic Organizer Complete with Headings
• A Word Bank Filled with Helpful Words and Phrases
• Writing A Movie Review Checklist
• And so much more!!

Save Over 50% With A Growing Bundle:

This resource is also included in two of my Growing Bundles

English: Writing Units For The Year

English Curriculum Writing

Looking for other writing units? Try anyone of these:

Writing A Book Report

Writing A Cover Letter

Writing An Email

Writing An Essay

Writing An I-Search Essay Writing A Journal Entry

Writing A Letter

Writing A Newspaper Article

Writing An Opinion Article

Writing A Paragraph

Writing A Personal Statement

Writing Poetry

Writing A PSA

Writing A Report

Writing A Resume

Writing A Sentence

Writing A Speech

Writing A Story

Writing A Summary

Writing A Thesis Statement

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR USE WITH

Select the questions that will work best with your students and promote your educational goals.

Table of Contents

Simulating Student Interest Focusing on Empathic Reactions Characterization

Plot Themes, Messages & Ideas Other Literary Elements

Theatrical Devices and Effects Cinematic Devices and Effects Foreign Films

Questions to Stimulate Student Interest -- Get them Talking and Thinking

• Did you learn anything from this movie? If you did, what was it?
• What is the message of this movie? Do you agree or disagree with it?
• Was there something you didn’t understand about the film? What was that?
• What did you like best about the movie? Why?
• What did you like least about the film? Why?
• Who was your favorite character in the movie? Why?
• Who was your least favorite character in the film? Why?
• Did anything that happened in this movie remind you of something that has occurred in your own life or that you have seen occur to others?
• What were you thinking as you finished watching the film?
• Would you recommend this movie to a friend? Explain your reasons.
• What part of the story told by the movie was the most powerful? Why?
• If you had a chance to ask a character in this movie a question, what would it be?
• If you had a chance to ask the screenwriter a question, what would it be?
• If you were writing the screenplay for this movie, would you have changed the ending? Explain your answer.
• What feelings did you share with any of the characters in the movie?
• Did any of the characters in this movie make you angry? Tell us why.
• Did you come to respect any of the characters in this movie? Who was it and why did you come to respect that character?
• If a psychologist were to look at the actions of [select a character] what do you think the psychologist would say about that character? Describe specific statements or actions that you think the psychologist would be interested in and the conclusions that you think the psychologist would draw from those statements or actions.
• If a priest, minister, or rabbi were to look at the actions of [select a character] what do you think the priest, minister, or rabbi would say about them? Describe specific statements or actions that you think the priest, minister or rabbi would be interested in and the conclusions that you think he or she would draw from those statements or actions.
• What comment is the author trying to make about the culture of the characters in this story?

Empathetic Reaction Discussion Questions:

1. In what ways are the characteristics of the protagonist like your own or those of someone you know?

2. In what ways are the characteristics of the antagonist like your own or those of someone you know?

3. Is the problem to be solved in the film that can be seen in the struggle of the protagonist against the antagonist familiar to you in any way? If so, describe the similarities and differences.

4. What details in the setting of the film are similar to the setting in which you live or in various places you have been? What are those similarities and what are the differences?

5. The problems faced by the protagonist sometimes stray from the central conflict in the film. Describe these problems and show how they are familiar to the problems you or someone you know must face.

6. The personal qualities that help the protagonist solve his or her problem are often a part of the lesson to be learned in the film. What are these qualities and where have you seen them in your own experience, either in your own behavior or in behavior of someone you know?

7. Complications come along and make problem solving more difficult. What complications does the film’s protagonist face that are similar to those you may have faced in your various struggles? What are they, and what are their similarities and differences?

8. Depth of feeling is what makes a film worth watching. Of the many feelings expressed in the film, with which are you most familiar?

9. The resolution to the problem in the film can be satisfying or disheartening. Think about how some of your own problems have been resolved; write about a time when the solution was satisfying and write about a time when the solution was disheartening.

10. The resolution of the film teaches a lesson. How can you apply the lesson in the film to your own life?

11. What was the strongest emotion that you felt when watching the film?

12. Which character did you [admire, hate, love, pity] the most? What was it about that character that caused you to have that reaction?

Questions Concerning Characterization

Note: In some of the questions we have used the term “major characters.” Before asking the questions, have the class identify the major characters. In addition, these questions can also be limited to one or more characters.

Characterization is delineated through (1) the character’s thoughts, words, speech patterns, and actions; (2) the narrator’s description; and (3) the thoughts, words, and actions of other characters. When students analyze character, they should be reminded to have these three sources in mind. Adapted from California English-Language Arts Content Standards – Grade 7, Reading 3.3

1. How are the major characters introduced? What does this tell us about what will happen in the story?

2. [Select an action performed by one of the characters. Then ask.] Explain why [name of character] took [describe the action] . What motivated him or her? [You can then ask:] What did this motivation have to do with the theme of the film?

3. The characters must be credible; how they act and what they say must make sense. What aspects of the personalities of the major characters in this story affect their credibility?

4. Is there consistency in the characters throughout the story? Do their actions follow their natures and ring true?

5. What motivates the major characters? Are their motivations or wants explained outright or revealed over time?

6. Subconscious motives are often the most powerful causes of human behavior. Are there any major characters who act on motives of which they are not aware? Describe any unconscious motives of the major characters and explain how these motives affect the actions of those characters.

7. Are there any relationships between various characters, be they friends, lovers, co-workers, or family members, that are important to the story? If so, describe the relationships that you believe contribute to the story and how those relationships advance the action of the story.

8. What motivates the protagonist in his or her struggle against the antagonist?

9. How does the protagonist work against the antagonist? Recount one specific episode in this struggle.

10. What motivates the antagonist to resist or struggle against the protagonist?

11. How does the antagonist resist or struggle against the protagonist? Recount one specific episode in this struggle.

12. In what ways are the characters’ actions driven by the values endorsed or criticized in the story or by ideas presented by the story?

13. What role does the back-story play in explaining the actions of the major characters? Explain your reasoning.

14. Is there any information known to the audience that is being held back from any of the characters? If there is a hesitation in revealing information to characters, describe it and explain how things change once this information becomes known to those characters.

15. Are there any transformations or changes that occur over the course of the story in any of the major characters? For each transformation or change, describe how it comes about and how it relates to the story’s themes or ideas.

16. When you compare and contrast the protagonist and the antagonist, do you find any similarities between them? Describe these similarities and how they relate to the plot and to the values and ideas presented in the story.

17. When you compare and contrast the protagonist and the antagonist, do you find any important differences between them? Describe these differences and how they relate to the plot and to the values and ideas presented in the story.

18. Are there any reversals of roles played by characters or sudden important changes of circumstances through the course of the story? If there are, how do these reversals illuminate character or lead to changes in character?

19. Which aspects of the protagonist’s personality lead to the resolution of the conflict in the story? Describe them and their effect on the resolution.

20. As the story progresses toward a conclusion, internal as well as external conflicts suffered by the major characters are resolved. Select one of the major characters and describe his or her internal and external conflicts. In addition, tell us how the character’s choices lead to a resolution of these conflicts.

This question can be modified by naming the character which is the subject of the question.

21. Some of the names used in this story tell us something about the characters. What do they tell us?

Questions Focusing on Plot

1. The middle of the story presents ascending difficulties, referred to as complications, which increase the tension and the need for a resolution. Describe one of the story’s complications and show how it serves to push the characters toward more intense action.

2. One way to examine plot is to determine what type of conflict it entails. The classic divisions are: (1) person vs. person; (2) person vs. society, (3) person vs. nature, and (4) person vs. self. Often, more than one of these types of conflict occurs in a story. Using this analysis, briefly describe the conflicts in this story and classify it according to the categories set out above.

3. In terms of rising action, climax, and falling action, describe the structure of the plot, stating when the action stops rising and reaches a climax and begins to fall.

4. Often the central problem in a story transcends the characters; these persons are simply the tools used to resolve the problem. In this story, is there a problem that transcends character and how is it manifested?

5. What instability is there early in the story that is resolved and becomes stable by the end?

6. The action in the story must be believable. Detail a particular event or action that causes another event or has an important effect on a character or a relationship between characters. Describe how this event or action moves the story forward.

7. Is there a back-story, and if there is, how does it advance the main plot?

8. What is the key moment in the story, the scene which brings illumination or an “ah-ha” moment?

9. Although incidents in the story usually return to the main conflict, they often reveal a pattern related to the ideas in the story. This pattern causes the viewers to focus sharply on the story itself. What pattern can be seen in the story?

10. How does the progress of the pattern identified in the story reveal change or growth in the characters?

11. What is the moment of climax, the moment of highest tension, when the solution to the problem is now in sight?

12. The film’s denouement establishes a sense of stability. What happens in this section of the story?

Questions About Themes, Messages, and Ideas

1. The significance of the story is determined by the power of its comment on the human condition. What comment is being made in this movie about what it is to be human?

2. The theme of a story is the general idea or insight about life expressed by the author. Theme is a universal and meaningful concept that emerges from the characters’ actions and from the outcomes of conflicts described in the story. Theme is often thought of as the lesson that the author is trying to teach the reader or audience. More than one theme can be included in a work of fiction; however, there is usually one primary theme that ties together all of the elements of a story. Usually, a theme can be expressed in one sentence. What is the primary or central theme of this story? Use one sentence to describe it.

3. Describe any other themes that you see in this story.

[This question is designed to be asked after question #2.]

4. What themes emerge from the back-story and how do they relate to the theme of the main story?

5. Many stories explore important social or political issues. Describe any specific social or political issues that affect the story. How do these issues impact characters and influence theme?

6. What life lessons can be learned from the choices made by the characters in this story?

[This question can be limited to one particular character.]

7. The conclusion of the story suggests a solution to the conflict that can be applied to the human condition in general. What values or principles that inform the actions of the characters can help people resolve their own life’s conflicts?

8. How does the changing consciousness, the developing awareness of the major characters, affect the story and help the audience discover theme? Explain these shifts in thinking.

[Try modifying the question by naming the character or a group of characters.]

9. Although often considered an artistic flaw, a story can be didactic in that it teaches the viewers how to achieve an end presented as worthy. Explain the use of didacticism in this story and evaluate its success in illuminating an important idea.

10. What are the most dramatic issues relevant to our time that have been presented in this story? Describe the presentation of one such issue and show how it relates to the times in which we now live.

11. Stories can be persuasive. Show how the movie attempts to persuade viewers to accept the particular values or principles that the writers intended to promote.

Questions About Other Literary Elements

1. What is the tone or mood of the story?

2. How does the tone help guide the viewers into an empathic reaction to the story? Explain and give examples of both the tone and the empathy felt by the audience.

3. Evaluate the pacing in the story and how it affects other elements of the story such as theme.

4. What elements of irony exist in the story? How do they serve to move the story forward and how do they assist in illuminating the story’s theme?

5. Stories can be told from the following points of view: first person, third person objective, third person limited, and third person omniscient. From whose point of view is the story told? Explain how the chosen point of view affects the way the story is told.

6. Is the point of view from which the story is told the best choice that the storyteller could have made? Argue your point.

7. A symbol in a story is an object, an animal, a person, an action, or an event that stands not only for itself, but also for something else. Symbols are of two types. Conventional symbols have a widely accepted meaning outside of the story. Examples are a nation’s flag, a crucifix, a Star of David, or a nation’s flag. Other conventional symbols reinforce meaning by reference to a culturally shared conception of the object, animal, action, or event. For example, rain is often a symbol of life or fertility. The fact that a story is set in the spring can serve as a symbol for renewed life or purpose. Other symbols have meaning only within the story. These are called contextual symbols. They usually have no special meaning except within the context of the story. Symbols keep their meaning as an object, animal, person or event, but within the story, they also suggest something else. Describe the symbols used in this story, both those that have meaning outside of the story and those which have meaning only within the story. What does each stand for?

[This question can be modified by naming one or several symbols as the subject for analysis.]

8. Evaluate the story’s use of coincidence, if any. Was the audience prepared for the coincidence or was it off the wall and therefore considered a flaw in the story?

9. The conflict in this film is resolved when one of the characters unexpectedly gets very lucky. Did this sudden event ring true or did it make the story seem less credible?

10. The conflict in this film is resolved when one of the characters unexpectedly suffers some very bad luck. Did this sudden event ring true or did it make the story seem less credible?

11. Explain how the use of flashback in the story provides significant information and served to move the action forward.

12. Find examples of both foreshadowing and echoing in the story and indicate how the use of these devices lead to increased coherence.

13. Does the story include elements of allegory? Explain why you think it is an allegory.

14. Is this story a parable? If so, explain why you think it is a parable.

15. The setting of a story includes the time at which the action of the story occurs and the physical location or locations where it occurs. Settings must be recognizable and have a relationship to the meaning of the story. What is the setting of this story and what are the ways in which the setting contributes to the story being told? Could this story be told in any other time or place?

16. When does the expository phase in this story end? By the end of the expository phase, what have we learned about the characters and the conflict?

17. An allusion is a reference to something outside of the story about which the audience will be familiar. Stories often include allusions to historical, scientific or cultural points of interest. Describe an allusion that you noticed in the story and explain its relationship to the story as a whole.

If the story is rich in allusions, increase the number of allusions that the student must discuss. An alternative question would be to briefly describe an allusion from the story and ask students to explain its meaning and relationship to the story as a whole.

18. Did the film resort to the use of gratuitous violence, explicit portrayals of sexual encounters, or excessive profanity? If it did, how did these scenes affect the story told by the movie?

19. Did the film strain to achieve an emotional pitch? Did it exhibit sentimentality for which there was little or no justification? Which scenes? How could this flaw have been remedied?

20. The action in some movies disturbs the unity of the story or confuses the viewers as to the intentions of the filmmakers. Very often these scenes are left on the cutting room floor but sometimes they remain in the film. Have you noticed such a scene in this movie? Is so, describe the scene and explain why you think it disturbs the unity of the story or confuses the viewers.

21. What does the title of the film refer to and how does it relate to the [insert the name of any literary element] of the film?

Questions Concerning Theatrical Devices and Effects

See Introducing Theatrical and Cinematic Technique . Questions 1, 3 and 4 can be asked with respect to an entire movie or limited to an appropriate scene. Question 2 can be asked of a specific character or a specific costume.

1. How do the sets contribute to the mood the filmmakers are trying to establish?

2. How do the costumes contribute to the image the filmmakers are trying to convey?

3. How does acting choice contribute to the story the filmmakers are trying to tell?

4. How do the props contribute to the image the filmmakers are trying to convey?

Questions on Cinematic Devices and Effects

See Introducing Theatrical and Cinematic Technique . Questions 1 – 3 can be asked with respect to an entire movie or an appropriate scene in a movie.

1. Identify one example of each of the following shots and describe how the shot affected the presentation of the story told by the film: close-up, medium shot, and long shot.

2. Identify one instance of each of the following types of shot angles that were used in this film and, for each, describe how the angle affected the presentation of the shot in which it occurs: low-angle, high-angle, eye-level.

3. Identify one instance of each of the following types of transitions from one shot to another that were used by the editors of this film and, for each, describe how the transition affected the presentation of the film: cut, fade, dissolve.

4. What is parallel editing, also called crosscutting, and what is it used for?

5. How did the editing of the film advance the story that the filmmakers were trying to tell? Explain how the editors achieved this effect.

6. What is point of view editing?

7. Describe the difference between long takes and short takes.

[Another way to ask this question is to show the class a short scene and ask the students to identify the short and long takes and discuss their use in the film.]

8. Analyze the use of music in the movie. Did it enhance the story that the filmmakers were trying to tell? How would you have used music in this movie?

9. Analyze the use of sound other than music in the movie. Did it enhance the story that the filmmakers were trying to tell? What sounds, other than music, would you have used to tell the story told by this movie?

10. Give examples from movies you have recently seen of diegetic sound, non-diegetic sound and internal diegetic sound. For each, describe why the scene qualifies as the particular type of movie sound.

11. What is the difference between “low-key lighting” and “high-key lighting” and what are their different uses in film?

12. What is the difference between “side lighting” and “front lighting” and what are their different uses in film?

13. Film is a composition of pictures rather than words, as one would find in a novel. Which specifically framed shots reveal something important to the story line? Describe the shot and explain its contribution to the story.

14. Describe the use of color in the film. Did it advance the emotions the filmmakers were trying to evoke? How would you have used color in the movie?

Additional Questions for Foreign Movies

Questions 1 – 3 may be expanded to more than one thing or aspect depending upon the film and the abilities of the class.

1. Describe one thing that was universal that you learned from the film.

2. Describe one thing that you learned about the culture of the country in which the film was set.

3. Describe one aspect of the artistry of the film.

4. How might a director from [name the country in which the class is held or a country that the class has studied] have approached the subject of the film?

5. How might a director from [name the country in which the class is held or a country that the class has studied] have approached [name one or more aspects of the film] differently? — In the alternatve: How would this story have been told from the point of view of another culture?

6. Is the story of this film unique to [name the culture of the story shown in the film], or could the story of this film have taken place in another country or setting?

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November 6, 2014 CG Writing Lessons 9-12 , CG Writing Lessons 6-8 , ELA 6-8 , ELA Resources - Activities , ELA Focus - Writing , ELA 9-12 , Core Grammar

Movie review grammar & writing activity, grades 6–12, by: tiffany rehbein.

Last month I shared  simple ideas to make grammar instruction meaningful and enjoyable. My number one tip in the blog post was keeping grammar exercises relevant. Relevancy creates engagement and gives choice, both of which make learning more meaningful for students.

My Movie Review Grammar Activity is an example of a lesson that uses relevancy (and the interests of my students) to make learning more enjoyable. Have students write a movie review about a movie that was made from a book! With this simple grammar exercise, students will tap into their inner movie critic and write a 250-word review that compares and contrasts the book with the movie. You can also modify this grammar lesson to have students write a review of the latest blockbuster!

Download the Movie Review Grammar Activity now.

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Lesson 7: Task: Write a film review

This is the lesson where you put everything together. We want you to write a review of a film.

Writing a Film Review

This is the lesson where you put everything together. We want you to write a review of a film. You will see two examples of film reviews which you can use to help you write your own review. When you’ve finished your review, post it in the comments section and read other participants reviews and tell them what you think. In lesson one we looked at film vocabulary, in lesson three we gave you some advice about using film to improve your English and gave two short reviews of films about football, in lesson four we focussed on the passive which is a common form to use when writing about films, and in lesson six we showed you some websites where you can read lots of film reviews. While you are writing your review, you can go back to these lessons for some help.

What should I include in my film review?

It's up to you! Here is a list of some common things that you see in film reviews. Have a look at the Bend It Like Beckham film review and match the five colours to the things in this list. Is there anything extra included in the review? Is there anything missing?

• The film's title.
• An eye-catching heading.
• The genre (type of film). 
• The audience. Who is the film for?
• The director, main actors, when it was made, has it won any awards?
• The plot. A brief summary that doesn't mention the ending!
• Your opinion.
• Your evaluation.

Film Review 1

Bend it like beckham – brilliant and funny.

How can I describe Bend It Like Beckham? If I had to choose a genre, I would say it’s a romantic comedy-drama sports film!

The film was made in 2002 and directed by Gurinder Chandha who is well-known for films which explore the lives of Indians living in the UK. 

The film is set in London and stars Jess (Parminder Naghra) , who is an 18-year-old girl with Indian parents. One of the main storylines is the tension between Jess, who loves football, and her parents, who don’t allow her to play. Jess’s friend and teammate, Jules, who is played by Keira Knightly (Pirates of the Caribbean) encourages Jess to play despite her parent's wishes. 

The film deals with serious social problems such as sexism and racism, but the film is very funny at the same time! The acting is very good and of course, there is a happy ending! Oh, and David Beckham is in the movie, but you must wait until the end for that! I would give Bend It Like Beckham four and a half stars out of five and definitely recommend you watch it!

Now, look at the second film review. Is it a good review ? What does it include? Is there anything missing?

Film Review 2

Fever pitch – funny, dramatic and a perfect finish.

I love football and I love films, so Fever Pitch was the perfect movie for me. It tells the story of a school teacher who is mad about his football club – Arsenal! The film was made in 1997 and is based on a best-selling book of the same name. The film has also been remade for American audiences based on baseball.

The main role is played by Colin Firth (Paul) one of the UK’s most famous actors. Paul falls in love with a new teacher (Sally) at his school during the 1989/90 football season, one of the most important seasons in Arsenal’s history. The plot follows the ups and downs of Paul’s romance with Sally and the fortunes of Paul’s football team. But who does he love more? Sally or Arsenal? You’ll have to watch the film to find out!

There are strong performances by Colin Firth and Ruth Gemmell (Sally) in this romantic comedy-drama. If you are a football fan you will love this film, but it definitely has a wider appeal, too! I will give it five-stars and not just because I’m an Arsenal fan!

Write a film review

Write a film review in the comments section below.

Write about a film you enjoyed or a film that you didn't like. It could be a recent film or a film that you watched a long time ago.

The film doesn't have to be about football.

Reply to other learners and tell them if you have seen the film. Did you like it? Do you agree with their opinions?

When you have finished, mark the page  complete  on the side of this page and go to the end of week quiz!

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I would say that An Angel at my table is one of my top ten most favourite films. It’s a drama film which directed by Janet Campion and shot in 1990. The film is based on Janet Frame’s three autobiographies. Kerry Fox plays the role of Janet Frame, a famous New Zealander writer and poet. The film is about the life of Janet Frame who was a very clever child until, as a teenager, she was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia and sent to a mental institution……… The story takes place in Australia, New Zealand and the UK in the different parts of Janet’s life. It ’s a flawless masterpiece. The storyline is so beautiful and inspiring and Kerry Fox’s acting is just incredible. I was mesmerized by that shy, intelligent and lonely girl and could totally relate to her. Besides, his movie makes New -Zealand look like the most gorgeous place on earth Another thing I loved about Another thing I loved about the movie was the excellent music score.

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The other side of the door-thriller

the other side of the door is a horror movie that was made in 2016-the stars is Sarah Wayne and Jeremy Sisto and it is directed by Johannes Roberts the movie is set in India and it tells the story of maria whose her son died in an accident and she blame herself because she is the one who caused this accident and therefore she is doing a spell ritual to bring her son back to life Or feel his presence which causes harm to her and her family

I love this film because the plot was interesting as it means don't try to life in past and accept the situation you are in trying to adapt.

That isn't a just horror movie but actually it is a movie Know the consequences of what you do so if you are fan of wisdom movie ,I recommend this movie to you, I give it four star of five Don't miss it .

El Ruby House

El Ruby House is a comedy-drama Movie that was made in 2023. the stars are Kareem abdelaziz and Nour, and directed by Peter Mimi.

The movie is set in Boston and it tells the story of private family event gets leaked on social media, Ibrahim Al Ruby decides to live in a village with his wife and children, far from people and the pressure of modern life. After his younger brother, Ihab, convinces Ibrahim to go back to the city for some important paperwork, the family embarks on a trip full of surprises that is bound to change the lives of the "Rubies".

The film deals with serious social problems, but the film is very funny at the same time! The acting is very good and of course, there is a happy ending!, I love this movie because the plot was interesting. I am also a big fan of Kareem abdelaziz

I would give It four and a half stars out of five and definitely recommend you watch it!

Assel Aswad dramatic - comedian Aseel Aswad is a drama - comdey film. The film was made in 2010 . it tells the story of an Egyptian person (masry) he was live in America along his life .then came back home(Egypt).he surprised about deferent between the life in America VS Egypt. he discovered that deference when he dose some files in government interests school transportation . The main role is played by Ahmed Hilmy(masry) one of Egyptian famous actors share with Anaam Salosa ' Edward 'Lotfy Labib ' Emy Samir ghanim. The film directed by KHaled maray. I would give Asel Aswad four stars out of five and definitely recommend you watch it!

Hatchi: a dog's tale It's a drama film The film was made in 2009 and directed by ( lasse hallstrom ) and the stars are (Richard Gere ) ,( Jason Alexander) and ( Joan Allen) The story is based on Barker who works as a professor and he goes to the university by the train And one day he found a little dog at the train station, he took it home with him and called it ( hatchi ) Then ( hatchi) grown up and it's attachment to the professor ( Barker ) increased, the dog used to drive the professor every day to the train station and wait until his return The dog was very popular with the people at the train station And on day the professor didn't come back to take ( hatchi) home with him So what's happened to the professor and hatchi ?!! Watch the film to know the end This is one of my favorites movies Definitely recommend you to watch it ❤️

Pride and prejudice It's a romance and drama film. It's directed by (Joe Wright) in 2005 the story is based on (Jane Austin's) novel. The film is set in United States . the stars Mr.Darcy (Matthew Macfady) and his best friend Bingley( Simon Woods) Jane (Rosamund Pike), Elizabeth (Keira Knightley),Mary (Talulah Riley),Kitty (Carey Mulligan)and Lydia Bennet (Jena Malone) . The story tells about Mr and Mrs Bennetts five unmarried daughters after the rich and eligible Mr . Darcy and his best friend Mr . Bingley have moved into their neighborhood. While Mr . Bingley takes an immediate liking to the eldest Bennet daughter Elizabeth ,Jane and Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly. You must wait until the end to know what will happen! I like Pride and prejudice and I would like to give Pride and prejudice eight and half stars out of ten and definitely recommend you to watch it ♡

Work it It’s dance comedy film that was made in 2020 . The stars Sabrina carpenter and Liza koshy and Jordan fisher , and it directed by Laura Terruso . The film talk about quinn Ackerman she is a nerd and she want to Join in college duke because was dreaming her like her father because father Quinn joined this college but she can’t because they won’t accept her , she has to do something different, so she will apply to a dance competition and be her team . But my favorite character is jake Taylor in this film . Watching a jake Taylor dance is very funny and fantastic. I recommend this film to watch it who wants to laugh and exciting watch this film , so go to see it with your friends. I give jake Taylor 5 stars because he deserve this 5 stars . Don’t miss it.

I agree with you ♡

John Wick 3. It is an action film directed by Chad Stahelski and the cast includes Keonu Reeves and Scott ADKINS SET IN 2023. The plot is about Johnwick taking his fight against the high table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld. The performance of the cast was thrilling and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats from the beginning to the end. I would give it a four rating and strongly recommend others to watch it.

John Wick 4. It is an action film directed by Chad Stahelski and the cast includes Keonu Reeves and Scott ADKINS SET IN 2023. The plot is about Johnwick taking his fight against the high table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld. The performance of the cast was thrilling and keeps the audience on the edge of their seats from the beginning to the end. I would give it a four rating and strongly recommend others to watch it.

I would like to give a film review about 'Titanic.' It was written, directed and also produced by James Cameron. It is a genre of romance and drama. The film was made in 1997. It's about two characters falling in love during a voyage. The plot was remarkable and brilliant. It was first-rate and I would give it five stars and also strongly recommend those who missed this film to watch it.

I love the Long Shadow movie, an animated series, a comic series about the story of an orphan girl named Judy Abbott, who got a scholarship to Lincoln High School, by someone she doesn't know named John Smith, Judy called him the Long Shadow Owner, because she had never seen anything but his shadow . Her story contains sad clips, but she overcomes all misfortunes. Her story ends with a happy marriage with the owner of the long shadow.

Django Unchained-Action,romantic and comedy.

Django is a action movie and a one of the best movies have directed and it was made in 2012.The stars are Jamie Foxx (Django),Christoph Waltz (Dr.Schultz) and the infinite Leonardo Dicaprio(Candie) and it is directed by Tarantino.The story tells about Django the slave whose wife was kidnapped by Englishmen then Django try to find his wife with Dr.schultz.So can he find his wife ?

I was interested in this movie because the plot is wonderful and graphics is outstanding and i am a big fan of Dicaprio but my favorite characters in this movie is Dr.s schultz .

I think this movie is not for children because there is blood and screenshots +18. I recommend this movie to adults .I give the movie four stars Don`t miss it.

Enchanted - Real world and the animated world collide I am fond of princesses and fantasy world , so enchanted is my favourite film i would say it's animation adventure comedy family romance film it was made in 2007 at New York City it's related PG for some scary images and mild innuendo. It was produced by Alan menken and stephen schwartz and performed by Amy Adams and james marsden its story line is about the beautiful princess Giselle is banished by evil queen narissa from her magical land shocked by this strange new environment,but when Giselle begins to fall in love with a divorce lawyer, Can a storybook view of romance survive in the real world?. I think it's a great choice for a movie night. I would give it five stars.

Jumanji is an amazing adventure movie and its comedy at the same time that was made in2017. The stars are (dwayne Johnson)and (Karen Gillian) and it’s directed by (Jake Kasdan) while a group of teenagers were in detention at school one of them found a video game which took them inside it and they stuck at that video game until they complete the missions I am in love with this movie because it’s make me laugh and excited to watch the end This movie for children and adults so I recommend it for a family night. I give jumanji five stars

Marvel Age of Ultron Its my favourite film cause i like the gerne and from all marvel films its my favourite. i like the characters and i like the plot and everything that happends in the film

avenger is an amazing action superhero film that is made in 2012 in United Kingdom it is directed by Joss Whedon its cast including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner as the Avengers, alongside Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson. i am abig fan of this film and i recommened the all to see this film

Africano Africano is an amazing adventure, comedy movie I have ever seen. It was made in 2001.Ahmed El Sakka and Mona Zaki played the leading role, Hassan Hosny was in it. The movie was directed by Amr Arafa. It was set in South Africa and it tells the story of Badr who workes as a vet. His wish is tragically granted when his uncle who lives in Africa dies and Badr travels to get his inheritance as he meets his cousin Gamila. I love this movie because, the plot was interesting. I am also a big fan of Ahmed El Sakka. Hoever my favourite character in this movie is Gamila . Also the music is fantastic. I highly reccommend this movie, So go see it with your friends. I give it three stars, Do not miss it.

Spider man is my favourite movie

My fav is marvel movies

yes that is a good movies company

World war Z is my favorite movie , It has been my favorite movie since I watched it , it's my favorite movie cause i love zombie movies and every one liked it ; The film was made in 2013 and the director is Marc Forstar He is a German film producer and screenwriter , The film won an Empire award. U.K .The film is set on U.S.A and the star is Brad pett (Gerry Lane), Former United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop a zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatens to destroy humanity itself. it is the best film i had watched it ever I would give it five stars and I recommend everyone to watch it!.

Spiderman no way home It's my favourite superhero and the actor who role the Peter parker is Tom Holland and the other actors played the role very well also i like the genre of this movie it's action. Finally, I think that this movie can watch it teenagers and adults but I don't think youngers can't watch it.

yes its a good one too

Marvels: Endgame is my favorite movie, It has been my favorite movie since 2019, and it has been my favorite because everyone loved Avengers: Endgame, but it’s not just any other superhero flick. It’s actually the best film in the MCU. It’s emotionally resonant. Endgame has a sense of beauty behind all of the action and violence. At the center of the film, it really is a love story. Thor goes back to see his mother before she is murdered by the Dark Elves, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) reconciles with his father, and Steve Rodgers reunites with his wife back in his original time.

The equalizer the equalizer is a realistic action film, where Denzel Washington, plays Robert mccall , the film talks about how robert faked his death in order to live a quiet life, but when he sees a young woman being abused by a Russian gang, he comes out of his retirement to fight crime and reinforce justice, the movie is set in Salisbury, Hamilton, Chelsea, Haverhill, and Boston, Massachusetts and is directed by Antoine fuqua it was released in 2014 has an interesting story, the acting is fantastic, and the special effects are impeccable, to me this movie is perfect, 10/10, i recommend it to everyone, but be warned since it has a lot of violence

end game if you like action movies this movie will be perfect for you the film is talking about the marvel universe Thanos has come to the earth and he wants to take all of the infinity stones and destroy the world then the avengers came to kill him and they make many wars two on earth and one in the space the film was made in 2019 and directed by Anthony Russo The film stars are Robert Downey Jr(iron man) and Chris Evans(Captain America) I would give this film five stars because the film is very Interisting

interstellar 2014 this is an amazing sci-fi movies that was made 2014.Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway & Jessica Chastain. And its director is Christopher Nolan. the movie revolves around the Earth when it becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans. I love this movie because the poly is amazing. I'm also a big fan of Christopher Nolan's works. I recommend this movie to everyone I'm sur that you gonna love it, don't miss it

i had to watch it twice to understand the idea

Twilight Saga

I loved this saga, I saw it many times and today in summer I saw it again and I can't get enough of it. I love the story, the characters and the villains, everything was well done. When I finished the saga for the first time, I did a lot of research on the characters, their lives, relationships etc. I saw a news that they will make a new movie based on Edwar Cullen's point of view, I hope they make it soon.

Mamma Mia! - Who is my father?

If you like musicals and the popular Swedish group ABBA, this is a perfect film for you. Dona is a single woman managing a small family hotel on a little Greek island. Her daughter, Sophie, is getting married and she decides to invite her father to the wedding. The tricky thing is that she doesn‘t know who her father is. The film was made in 2008 and directed by Phyllida Lloyd. It stars Meryl Streep (Donna), Amanda Seyfried (Sophie), Pierce Brosnan (Sam), Colin Firth (Harry) and Stellan Skarsgard (Bill). There is fabulous music, excellent acting and singing and a lot of funny scenes. The plot is funny on one side but there is a serious overtone. I would give Mamma Mia! five stars because I think the film has positive vibes and it is more important than anything else.

Films title: Mission Impossible Fallout is an action movie and is for a person that like action and tension. The Director is Christoper Mcquarrie, the main actors is Tom Cruise,Henry Cavill , Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and more. The film was made in 2018 and it has won Prizes. My little review is that it is nice, entertaining and it´s so nice to watch. The film is about after a mission After a mission to recover a deadly weapon goes wrong, IMF agent Ethan Hunt and his team are forced to work alongside CIA agent Augustus Walker as they must race against time to continue their assignment. When Lane escapes from prison, Hunt must do whatever it takes to capture him once more.

Hello, I'm at school and have to write answers, I think it's good

So I like what you wrote

I am going to talk about Frozen. I don´t like the most of films but i thinked that i wanted to take one that i hated the most, why i hate it is becuse they sing those bad songs all the time and its just annoying.

The Twilight Saga, a franchise you've probably all heard of. But it is actually that good? Here's what I think:

The movies are based on the book series with the same name, written by Stephenie Meyer. I would describe them as your high school-dream books: you've got the romance, the rivalry, the drama, and an amazing story! What more could you ask for. In the first movie from 2008, we see Bella (Kristen Stweart), Edward (Robert Pattinson), and Jacob (Taylor Lautner) live out their triangle-drama just the way we imagined from the books we already know and love!

If you, like me, love watching a cheesy, teenage drama and would like to fall in love with your new favorite vampire family over and over again - I suggest you watch and/or read the amazing Twilight saga, written by the one and only Stephenie Meyer, brought to life by Melissa Rosenberg.

The Bourne identity is really good action spy movie. The main actor Matt Damon is just perfect for his role. This movie is about a good-looking young man suffering from amnesia, trying to find out his identity. On the beginning we can see a fisherman on a boat spots a body floating … When they got him on board, the body turns out to be alive. The friendly fisherman rescued him, gave him some money to go to Switzerland, because he has a capsule embedded under his skin, contains the code to a Swiss bank account. He was welcome in that country, he took a lot of money despite lacking a name or any form of personal identification. Also, he finds several passports, one saying his name is Bourne. The problem was that he really wanted to know why he was in the sea, and his real name, because he noticed about himself that he is not like everyone else. He speaks several languages, has highly trained power observation and memory, know all the spy tricks and was perfect driver. In a fact he was a special agent, he was hired by special service to kill important political people. When he finds out who he really is, he decided to leave his job, because he was a good person, he did not want to kill anyone anymore. And of course, there was a girl, why helped him a lot and he was in love with her. In the end of that movie, he has found his girl Maria and decided to live with her a simple normal life… far away from his past life. I like that movie a lot it has everything. I would definitely recommend that movie.

The book of life It is an animated film directed by Jorge Gutiérrez with a duration of 95 minutes, released in the United States in 2014. It is a legend-like story of two young men, Manolo and Joaquín, who live in a traditional Mexican town and compete for the love of María. Behind that bet are also two spirits, La Muerte and Xibalba, who will take part for each young person, tipping the balance for one of them to know who will conquer the sweet Maria? From that moment on, a very dizzying adventure begins that takes the viewer into the world of the living and the dead with fantastic colors and definition. It amazes so much level of detail and authenticity. The movie offers unique universes. The Book of Life is an entertaining animated film, suitable for children from the age of seven (more or less), it is a fairly elaborate film, with easy and simple content to digest. For me, the film also has authenticity, it is that although there is a stamp of the producer, it does not go beyond the creativity of the author.

I'm not a big fan of superhero films, but the movie Black Panther really caught my attention. It was directed by Ryan Coogler and it came out on February 16, 2018. The film is about a young man name T'Challa, play by the late Chadwick Boseman, who returns home to the African country of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. But when he's tested by a sudden enemy, Erik Killmonger play by non other than the talented Michael B Jordan, he must resolved this conflict because the fate of Wakanda and the world is at risk. With that said, he must gather an army, the Dora Milaje(adore ones) and the lead Okye (Danai Gurria), his wife to be Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) and his brilliant little sister Shuri(Letitia Wright) that must fight with him till the end to defeat their enemy and keep their country safe. Overall the movie was amazing. I like that it appreciated the cultures of blacks in the United States and African cultures. Also the actors and actresses put their heart, soul, mind and body into each of their roles. Last but not least, the customs changes and effects was flawless.

Film title "Eddie the Eagle" Directed by Dexter Fletcher.This movie based on real life of British first ski-jumper Eddie Edwards. Film gives us an idea about the power of encouragement, dedication and passion. All the person should have a target and must try to pass barriers.Then "the light will appear at the end of the tunnel" In my opinion this movie must be watched by all the students who at the beggining of their life journey. Don't give up and try and try again. This is motto of this film.

I learnt about the genre of film. props that characters use to make the movie realistic.

Five feet apart Romance This film is a 2019,directed be Justin Baldony.The stars are Cole Sprouse,Geyly Lu Richardson,Emily Baldony. The movie tells about girl Stella,who was sick on cystic fibrosis.She met a guy Will.He was also ill.But they weren’t allowed to approach each other’s,because they could infecting deadly viruses. But they didn’t heed all the bons... This film is very interesting and exciting. I highly recommend watching this movie to everyone.This story won’t leave anyone indifferent.

The Theory of Everything Drama/melodrama/biography, 2014 This film directed by James Marsh. The stars are Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones. This movie is based on a book. This is the story of the life of the famous physicist Stephen Hoging. Stephen goes to university, where he meets Jane. She became his wife in the future. Then, he learns of his incurable illness. His friends and wife support him. Man tries to fight. They are born children and all are happy in the family. But his health is deteriorating. Stephen makes great discoveries in physics. He becomes known worldwide. This film is very moving and romantic. The most touches is the love of Steven and Jane. I recomend this film everyone because it's very interesting and good. It has strong points.

my favourite film is THE DARK KNIGHT i think is action and drama and crime, itis the most brilliant movie made by nolan, it was awsom movie, full of shoking seens.

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Roald Dahl was by all accounts a singularly unpleasant person, which may explain why he wrote stories that are so fascinating to children. He nursed the grudges of childhood, he distrusted adults, and he was unmoved by false sentimentality. Kids may not feel cuddled by his books, but they sense Dahl is the real thing: He's writing out of strong emotion, and not just to be cute. Consider the character of Trunchbull, in the darkly comic new film “Matilda.” Trunchbull must be a woman, because she is someone's aunt, but she is never called “Miss”--and we see at once that “Mrs.” would be out of the question. She was a champion shot-putter and hammer-thrower in the 1972 Olympics, we learn, before moving on to her current career as the school principal and dominatrix at Crunchem Hall, a fearsome grade school with the motto: “When you are having fun, you are not learning.” To this school comes the heroine of the story, Matilda Wormwood ( Mara Wilson ), a very, very smart little girl whose parents neglect her when they are not insulting her. Matilda, left at home alone all day, has taught herself to read and walked to the library, where by the time she is 6 she has read not only “Heidi” and “Ivanhoe,” but also “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “Moby Dick.” When she tells her parents ( Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman ) she's old enough to go to school, her dad replies: “Nonsense! Who would sign for the packages?” But when he meets the redoubtable Trunchbull he announces that he has at last found the right school for Matilda. Trunchbull, played by Pam Ferris with great zest and well-hidden but genuine humor, is not a nice person. “Sit down, you squirming worm of vomit!” she says to the hapless Matilda at one point, and later calls her “You villainous sack of dog slime!” When a cute little blond girl dares to wearer hair in pigtails, Trunchbull seizes the child by the pigtails, swings her around and hurls her through the air like a hammer in the Olympics--and of course the movie does not neglect to show the girl narrowly miss a spike fence before landing safely in a flower bed. Trunchbull is the kind of villainess children can enjoy, because she is too ridiculous to be taken seriously and yet really is mean and evil, like the witch in “Snow White.” And since most children have at one time or another felt that their parents are not nice enough to them, they may also enjoy the portrait of Matilda's parents. Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood and their older son spend all of their time gobbling food and watching television, and when Matilda says she would rather read, her incredulous father cries, “Read? What do you want to read for when you got a perfectly good TV set right here?” Crunchem Hall is a school that would have appalled Dickens. Children are punished by solitary confinement in a steamy closet with nails sticking through the walls. But redemption comes in the person of a saintly teacher, Miss Honey ( Embeth Davidtz ), who is amazed when little Matilda does difficult math problems in her head, and eventually becomes her guardian and best friend. “Matilda” is not in any sense a “children's movie,” although older children will probably like it a lot. It is a dark family comedy about stupid parents, cruel teachers and a brave little girl, and it is no surprise to find that Danny DeVito not only stars but directed it. Consider that his previous directing credits include “Throw Momma From the Train” and “ The War of the Roses ,” and you sense that he has some kind of deep mordant fascination for dysfunctional families (the family life in his “ Hoffa ” was not exactly functional, either).

There is never a moment (except toward the happy ending) that we sense DeVito is anything other than quite serious about this material. He goes with Dahl’s macabre vision. Whatever it was that hurt Dahl so deeply, he never forgave it, and his children's stories (like “James and the Giant Peach” and “ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ”) are driven by it. DeVito seems to vibrate on the same wavelength. “Matilda” doesn't condescend to children, it doesn’t sentimentalize, and as a result it feels heartfelt and sincere. It's funny, too.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Sweet Dreams

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Clint worthington.

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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Tomris laffly, film credits.

Matilda (1996)

Rated PG For Elements Of Exaggerated Meanness and Ridicule, and For Some Mild Language

100 minutes

Mara Wilson as Matilda

Danny DeVito as Mr. Wormwood

Rhea Perlman as Mrs. Wormwood

Embeth Davidtz as Miss Honey

Pam Ferris as Trunchbul

Based On The Book by

• Nicholas Kazan
• Robin Swicord

Directed by

• Danny DeVito

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Not Another Church Movie Review: Thank You Perry Much

T he good news — pun intended — about Not Another Church Movie is that it’s nowhere near as bad as the Jason Friedberg/Aaron Seltzer atrocities that didn’t just kill the parody subgenre but scorched the earth beneath it for a while. Unlike sheer lazy garbage like Meet the Spartans, Johnny Mack’s Tyler Perry spoof has actual jokes, and not just recreated scenes from other movies. The bad news is it’s still not very well made — Mack’s genuinely funny script is let down by his own pedestrian direction. A former writer for reality TV and awards shows, Mack’s making his feature debut here (actor James Michael Cummings gets a co-director credit at the end), and unless the meta-joke is that it’s deliberately clumsily directed to reflect Tyler Perry’s early films, it feels very much like a first movie full of growing pains.

Hell, even if it is designed to mock Perry’s directorial learning curve, it still doesn’t work as such. Award-show humor requires a different sort of timing than a fiction film, and the editing here veers between too slow, awkwardly sudden, and working around the fact that Jamie Foxx (as God) and Mickey Rourke (as Satan) clearly showed up in front of a green screen for just one day apiece. By all appearances, Foxx couldn’t be bothered (or perhaps paid) to show up for reshoots and ADR, so half his scenes replace him with digital distortion.

Wiggin’ out

Fortunately, the movie has a strong lead in relative unknown Kevin Daniels (Passing Through) in the dual role of Taylor Pherry and his aunt MaDude. It’s a running gag that “Pherry” is said with a silent “p,” allowing the characters to make jokes involving hairy, fairy, and “his P don’t work.” Those aside, the best jokes in the movie involve the not-so-thinly veiled homoeroticism in so many Perry films, and much like them, it never quite comes out and says the obvious.

Daniels plays Pherry as the most perfect human being alive in a storyline that points out the absurdity of all the familial connections in the Perry-verse, as well as all the saintly characters Perry plays out of drag. Chosen by God to become the heir apparent to media and faith icon “Hoprah Windfall” (Luc Ashley), he sets out to write a movie about understanding women and decides to use his own extremely extended family as source material.

In recent years, the Madea movies have become purely broad comedies, to the point that the last one even did a crossover with the Irish sitcom Mrs. Brown’s Boys. So it’s hard to actually parody her as a character — at its best, the banter between MaDude and the Joe character (not played by Daniels) sounds like it could be from a real Madea movie. On the other hand, the Leroy Brown character is ripe for mockery, and Yves B. Claude, who worked with the real Perry on Ruthless, is the right level of exaggeration as “Mr. Leroy Black.”

Holy Rolling

Like all good parodies, Not Another Church Movie is at its best when it mocks things you may not have even realized were tropes. The melodramatic line delivery, multiple-role actors (codirector Cummings plays almost every token white villain), excessively noble victims, meet-cutes, dream dudes, orchestral cues, and every other Perry signature trope come in for skewering. In the tradition of the Wayans brothers parody movies, Mack also milks humor from incongruous ghetto stereotypes in places they ought not to be. Cameo appearances from the likes of Jasmine Guy and Tisha Campbell, meanwhile, feel exactly like some of Perry’s stunt casting.

There is a lot about the movie that works, and the jokes hit more than they don’t (Shake Weights and Oprah’s “You Get a Car!” episode haven’t been topical in years, come on). So why doesn’t it work better? Seldom has a movie felt so in need of another pass in the editing bay — even a Perry movie. Terrible, cheap visual effects make scenes even uglier than the basic cinematography, and a tighter story, either in the script or edit stage, would go a long way to giving the humor the pacing it desperately lacks. Yes, Jamie Foxx has a killer Donald Trump impersonation — what comedian doesn’t? But putting it in out of nowhere as a random aside has little to do with anything except perhaps maximizing every frame of his footage.

Save a Prayer

Still, Not Another Church Movie has enough laughs to possibly become a cult movie in the vein of something like Pootie Tang. Perry aficionados ought to see it at least once, but it looks and feels so cheap that you’ll hate yourself for paying full price. Those waiting for a parody of more whitebread church-based films like God’s Not Dead can keep waiting; the fan base for those is not known for its ability to enjoy self-mockery.

Grade: 6/10

As ComingSoon’s review policy explains , a 6 means “Decent. It fails to reach its full potential and is a run-of-the-mill experience.”

The post Not Another Church Movie Review: Thank You Perry Much appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More .

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6 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week

Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or an avid buff, our reviewers think these films are worth knowing about.

By The New York Times

CRITIC’S PICK

Going ape for another ‘Apes’ movie.

‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’

The latest in this sci-fi series follows a group of rebels as they face off against an authoritarian ruler who has twisted the peaceful teachings of a previous leader.

From our review:

There’s a knowing sense that all this has happened before, and all this will happen again. That’s what makes “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” powerful, in the end. It probes how the act of co-opting idealisms and converting them to dogmas has occurred many times over. What’s more, it points directly at the immense danger of romanticizing the past, imagining that if we could only reclaim and reframe and resurrect history, our present problems would be solved.

In theaters. Read the full review .

A thermal thriller that’s hot and cold.

‘aggro dr1ft’.

This hallucinatory romp directed by Harmony Korine conveys the journey of an assassin entirely through thermal imaging with added digital effects.

Whether it’s the thermal imaging or the augmentation, the visual style renders eyes practically invisible, leaving the actors without an important means of communication. … That absence might account for why “Aggro Dr1ft” is so unengaging on a narrative level, but the monotony might also have to have something to do with the protagonist, a hit man extraordinaire who is also (gasp) a family man. The world’s greatest assassin has been saddled with the world’s most sophomoric internal monologue. “I am a solitary hero. I am alone. I am a solitary hero. Alone,” he mumbles.

Think ‘On the Road,’ but for Gen-Z.

‘gasoline rainbow’.

Five teenagers embark on a road trip to a “party at the end of the world” and encounter many fellow misfits along the way in the latest from filmmakers Bill and Turner Ross.

There’s an uncommon sweetness to this film, which is less about running away from something and more about discovering the road of life is littered with goodness, if you know where to look. There’s a loose, languorous quality to “Gasoline Rainbow,” which the Rosses shot using a mostly improvised format, a collaboration between actors and filmmakers. It feels like a home movie, or a documentary — a capture of a slice of life in which there’s no plot other than whatever happens on the road ahead.

A destination wedding that goes nowhere.

‘mother of the bride’.

At a surprise last-minute wedding, the mother of the bride (Lana, played by Brooke Shields) gets another surprise when she discovers that her daughter is engaged to the son of her ex-beau, Will (Benjamin Bratt).

“Mother of the Bride” is directed by Mark Waters (“Mean Girls”) with an apparent allergy to verisimilitude. Early on, we are told that the opulent Thai ceremony will be bankrolled by Emma’s company (she’s an intern) and livestreamed to “millions of eyes.” These fantasies of pomp and circumstance often serve to make Lana and Will’s budding romance feel like a B-story to the action — although that may be a blessing when the best screwball gag this movie can muster is a pickleball shot to the groin.

Watch on Netflix . Read the full review .

Chris Pine goes off the deep end.

In Chris Pine’s directorial debut, he plays a pool cleaner who is enlisted to help uncover a mysterious water heist.

The sure-why-not plot, modeled on the California water grab in “Chinatown,” is less interesting than the charismatic cast that rambles along with Pine on his excellent adventure. Pine’s yarn was savaged when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, but the sour response is a bit like getting mad at a golden retriever for rolling around in the grass.

Small drama, big stars.

Seeking asylum, a young Nigerian woman (Letitia Wright of “Black Panther”) navigates the complications of applying for permanent residency in Ireland in this drama from writer-director Frank Berry. Josh O’Connor of “Challengers” also stars.

At the beauty salon where she works, Aisha’s rightly cagey as she listens to her customers. But at the shelter, she turns warm, when she gives makeovers to fellow immigrants. As he did for his award-winning prison film, “Michael Inside,” Berry used nonprofessional actors with intimate experience of the system — here, Ireland’s International Protection Office, which processes asylum applications — he wanted to depict. It’s a gesture that keeps the film from lapsing into melodrama.

Bonus review: A rural throuple

It’s not immediately apparent how courtly intrigue figures in “A Prince” (in theaters) , Pierre Creton’s spellbinding French pastoral drama, though sex, death and domination hang palpably in the film’s crisp, Normandy air.

Creton looks to the divine powers and chivalric codes that fuel swords-and-shields epics like “Game of Thrones,” but whittles these elements down to a mysterious essence. Eventually, the film shifts into explicitly sexual and mythological terrain with a B.D.S.M. edge.

The story is slippery by design, loosely tracking the gay coming-of-age of an apprentice gardener, Pierre-Joseph. Throughout the film, a series of wordless and seductively austere tableaux, he forms bonds with various individuals in his rural community. Multiple narrators speak in retrospect, as if looking back from the afterlife at the characters onscreen.

Pierre-Joseph eventually comes to form a throuple with Alberto and Adrien, his mentors. The naked bodies of these much older gentleman appear suggestively weathered next to their younger lover’s sprightly form. Yet there is no mention of taboo. That passion could bloom in such spontaneous and unexpected forms is part of this enigmatic film’s potency.

• Cast & crew
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Between the Temples

A cantor in a crisis of faith finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher re-enters his life as his new adult Bat Mitzvah student. A cantor in a crisis of faith finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher re-enters his life as his new adult Bat Mitzvah student. A cantor in a crisis of faith finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher re-enters his life as his new adult Bat Mitzvah student.

• Nathan Silver
• C. Mason Wells
• Jason Schwartzman
• Dolly De Leon
• 1 User review
• 16 Critic reviews
• 82 Metascore
• 4 nominations

• Ben Gottlieb

• Carla Kessler

• Judith Gottlieb

• Meira Gottlieb

• Rabbi Bruce

• Bar Mitzvah Boy

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia Premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah
• Goofs When Ben realizes he has been eating a cheeseburger, he spits it out, proclaiming that he is kosher. However, if he really kept kosher, he wouldn't have eaten meat in a restaurant that wasn't certified kosher.

User reviews 1

• How long is Between the Temples? Powered by Alexa
• August 23, 2024 (United States)
• United States
• Fusion Entertainment
• Ley Line Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 1 hour 51 minutes

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