Language arts covers a wide spectrum when you consider our reading and writing adventures. Critically reviewing films and other media productions falls in our spectrum according the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for seventh grade. On Tuesday, January 6, we will travel to the theatre to view Marley and Me. For this week’s reading dialogue journal entry, we will focus our energy on our film review. We will discuss this in class on Monday, January 5 and Tuesday, January 6.
First, you will rate the film on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. You will provide rationale for your rating, which is why you feel the way you do…what supports your opinion. Using specific examples from the film make your rationale stronger.
Second, you will select 3 areas to critique while viewing the film. These areas can range from special effects to themes (life messages) to humor. The sky is wide open. The expectation is that you have 3 specific areas to hone your efforts of critical analysis of the film. You have to cleary identify each area. Explain why you selected the area and it should match your interest as a movie go-er. Rate the area using the same scale 1-10 and provide rationale remembering that specific examples from the film as well as your analysis of those examples and your area make for stronger entries. Questions, comments, post them here. You may opt to do this RDJ digitally using a word program and copy and paste it into a comment. See my example in the comments section.
January 5, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Category Rating 1 (worst) to 10 (best)
Overall 9
Settings 8
Music 10
Themes 10
I reviewed the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I rated the film a 9 overall. It pulled my heartstrings from start to finish. Speaking of finish, the end dropped off leaving you to wonder what became of their daughter and the hurricane pounding the hospital. I liked the addition of the hummingbird and the significance behind it. I selected three areas to focus my attention during my evaluation of the film. The areas include settings, music, and themes.
Settings are crucial in a film because they increase the plausibility of the theme. For the most part, I felt the settings were true to form and time period. They added to the drama. At other times, I found them to be a bit cheesy like the lightning settings. I feel they showcased them in that matter to indicate the time period and add a little humor.
The music was expertly selected. It fit the film like a glove and added to the drama. The piano selections were specifically grand. The patriotic music signified the importance of the close of the war and added irony to the circumstances of Benjamin’s birth. The music selected for the ballet and other dance scenes matched perfectly. It remains a beautiful and magnificent soundtrack.
Themes, life messages, are essential to high quality films. A high quality film should leave the viewer with something to ponder. From the very beginning with the magnificent clock which ticked backwards to honor the fallen soldiers and their families, to Queeney’s acceptance and love of Benjamin, to Benjamin’s birth father realizing his ultimate loss, to the love between Benjamin and Daisy, and I could list much much more, the messages about life and our perceptions of circumstances hit home. The themes presented in this film will carry it for audiences to enjoy throughout the ages.
January 5, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Hey Mrs. L! I have a question, what are some areas do you mean besides the ones that you have posted because I really don’t get that?
January 5, 2009 at 10:54 pm
overall 7
setting 9
music 10
theme 9
January 5, 2009 at 10:54 pm
im confused please explain in class
January 6, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Overall 9
Humor 10
Reality 10
Setting 9
I rated the overall movie, Marley & Me a 9. I rated it that because the whole story was very touching and heart warming. The setting, actors, humor, reality, plot was great. The only problem is that the movie was way off from the book. I only saw 1 or 2 scene from the book in the movie. For example, when marley went to get a role in the movie in the book they didn’t show it in the movie. That scene is one i really wanted to see in the movie. The only scene I really saw from the book in the movie is when he has the necklace that John got Jen.
The humor in this movie was fantastic. All of the humor was so real. What I mean is that all of that stuff could happen. The humor about having a bad dog and his wrongs is great. I laughed though the whole movie except for the end=(. Even though some humor can get out of hand in this movie it didn’t. The humor was not one time not funny. That’s why I rated humor a 10. In the movie when Marley
What I mean by reality is that how real is this story about a bad dog. The story was 100% real. I know that this story is real but I was afraid that since it was a movie they would maybe stretch it a little bit. I was wrong. The director, etc. did great. My grandma had a dog like Marley. It was funny when she was telling me about her dog, it was just like Marley. My grandma’s dog chewed and/or swallowed anything he could get his mouth on. So this dog was a Marley and it was real. So that is enough proof for me. An example from the movie is when Marley is chewing on John’s special pillow. Dogs do that stuff. It’s “real.”
I gave setting a 9 because I like movies that are in 1 or 2 settings but this movie had 3 settings. The setting was everywhere. I really couldn’t keep up. I have to say though, the places they pick were absolutely beautiful. I thought it was great for a dog like Marley. The cool thing is these are the places that the real John and Jen went. They obviously knew Marley and that he was a big, running dog. DUH! Well here is the example that I gave setting a 9. They went from Southern Florida to Boca (sorry, I don’t know if I spelled that right) then to Philadelphia! TOO MUCH!
January 7, 2009 at 1:04 am
hey mrs.lancaster i really like your review it helped me a lot!
EB
ps. guess what… im doing this on my wii on our tv!!! its so cool
January 7, 2009 at 2:45 am
Overall 9
plausible 8
comedy 9
setting 10
I would like to do the rest of this blog on my RDJ.
January 7, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Hey Mrs.L I got it now I am doing humor-7, reality-10, and theme-9.
January 7, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Overall 9
Plausible 8
Comedy 9
Setting 10
Dear Jsaela
Overall for Marley and Me I rated it a 9 because out of all the acting, setting, comedy and everything else I thought was really good her it made a great movie. To me there was just a couple of things that I didn’t like. For example when the dog died that was really sad, but I don’t think they could have had another ending that would relate to the movie as much as that ending did.
Plausible: I rate it an 8 because some of the stuff that happened I couldn’t really imagine it happening in real life like when Marley was hanging out of the car and they had to stop the car right in the middle of the road to get him back in the car. Also when John said we still have the tickets your father gave us to go to Ireland and in the movie it was like the next day they left to go.
Comedy: I rate it an 9 because I thought a lot of the stuff in the movie was really funny like when John took Marley to the dog beach and he let him go and everybody let their dogs go. Also when John’s friend Sebastian uses either Marley or Patrick to try to talk to a girl I thought that was funny
Setting: I rate an 9 because I think Florida was a perfect fit for the movie. Just the weather and how they put everything together like the beach because when I think of Florida I think of the beaches. I also know they do sometime have really bad storms. So I think it was really smart to put a couple of storms in the movie.
Sincerely,
Magic