Film review assignment

The idea is for you to interact with the reviews of others. I often (just 15 minutes ago, in fact) read movie reviews of films I haven't seen and may not ever see; I enjoy the act of critical examination, even if ultimately it's not a movie I'll see or that even interests me. (I also like reading book reviews, of course, but additionally I get a kick out of critical reviews of new buildings or painting exhibitions. I have no ability paint or design architecture, but the kind of craft that goes into any of these forms is analogous to the craft that goes into writing, which is my own specialty.)

I want you to "interact with" two reviews by professional reviewers; we can try this, later, with movies you've never seen, but I think it's easier and more useful at this stage of things to have you reflect on a movie you've viewed. Pick something you've seen recently, so you can comment more thoroughly. I want to hear your thoughts on the movie, but I want to read them as a kind of argument or discussion you're having with these other reviewers. (It is to be written in essay form, however—not in dialogue form or some sort of free form.) Ebert does this in some of his essays, mentioning other reviewers and how they perceive something.

On the lower right of this page is a link to the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com). Any movie may be found there; from any movie's site, you can, lower down on the page, link to "External reviews." You should be reading reviews from major newspapers (San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Sun-Times [those are available at ebert.com]) or magazines (Salon, Rolling Stone, the New Yorker (available at newyorker.com), not from unaffiliated reviewers.

This assignment, of 500-750 words, is due next Friday, Sept. 21.

Lesson plans

This is something of an experiment, but I'm posting class lesson plans (as they actually played out, not as I originally planned them) over to the right. There you'll find the terms and concepts we went over on a particular day. You will be expected to know those terms; the definitions are in the glossary I've provided, also to your right.

For those of you who just joined us . . .

If you signed up only recently for The Language of Film and haven't had time to order the assigned book (though there may be copies available at our local Barnes & Noble, and certainly Amazon can get it to you in two days if you want to pay for the rapid shipping), I will have copies on-hand in class for you. Though that's a problem for the first day, as I expect to discuss at least a few things from the book right away, you should have no problem completing the writing assignment by the due date; look at that immediately.

The reading

Make sure you read all of the Roman-numeraled pages in the introductory sections! (As well as the other assigned essays, of course.)

See you soon.

Framed by the camera's lens, I see . . . the summer assignment!

Follow the link to the right to a PDF of your summer assignment. 

Enjoy, and I'll see you in the fall (well, technically, it'll be late summer, but let's not dwell on that).

"Rise of the" Language of Film

If we've learned anything in the last few years, it's that "Rise of the" attached to a film's title . . . achieves absolutely nothing.

Welcome. After a two-year hiatus, "The Language of Film" is now being offered again at MPH. Intended for seniors only, the class will have one section available each semester; the classes will be pretty much the same each semester, though the shortened senior schedule in the second semester means I'll have to move more quickly through certain topics.

Seating is limited. If you're interested, contact the Upper School office.

See you at the movies.

My review/presentation

I posted a link at right to my review/presentation of The Station Agent (delivered in class on Friday and Monday). Mid-way through the review (without any introduction to the scene), I showed a two-minute clip. You may need to set up your scene for us in class, giving it some brief context.

The only thing I changed about the review from its form on Friday was the correction of one mistake and the addition of the comment about the score. It's difficult to comment on everything of value in a terrific film like The Station Agent, but it seemed, on reflection, a poor choice (the result of rushing) to fail to comment on the wonderful music.

That should give you a sense of what I'm after. Please e-mail me (or post here) if you have any questions. If you're presenting on Tuesday and Wednesday, you must see me by Monday to set up your clip.

And to clarify once more for the people who may have, somehow, missed this detail: You are writing and presenting on a movie about which you have not already written.