Movie Reviews

American actors, British accents

2008-07-22T21:25:00.002-03:00

British actor Hugh Laurie still stuns a lot of native speakers with his impecable American accent when he plays grumpy Dr. House on TV. But how good are Hollywood stars when they need to put on their best British accent? Here's an L.A. Times article that analyzes some of the best - and worst - accents in recent years.

Indiana is back

2008-05-22T10:50:00.002-03:00

So our favourite archaeologist/action hero has come back for more adventures. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull opened worldwide on May 22nd and one of the big questions is: after so many years, was it worth the wait? Well, here are two reviews analyzing this latest Lucas/Spielberg enterprise. Read the article and watch the video comment. Do the critics share the same opinions?

Celebrities' real names

2008-04-29T15:52:00.005-03:00

We may know teenage actress Miley Cyrus by her TV character's name, Hanna Montana, but not many people are aware that her real name is Destiny Hope Cyrus. And British actress Helen Mirren ('The Queen) is actually Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov. Many Hollywood stars choose to adopt a different name early in their careers, sometimes because they sound common, other times because they are difficult to pronounce, occasionally because there is already an artist with the same name.

Here's a fun quiz to check if you can identify some famous people's actual names. You'll be surprised...

Who are they?

2008-04-24T01:57:00.001-03:00

Who are these 12 movie stars? Watch the slideshow and see if you can recognise them. Then click on 'comments' and check your answers. It's fun! :-) .

And here's another fun quiz with some other famous people!

Actors and their movies - a cool quiz

2008-04-14T18:01:00.009-03:00

How much do you know about Hollywood actors and actresses and the movies they were in? Answer this quiz and find out!

For the students who have been practising asking questions with and without auxiliaries (do, did, etc.), notice how the questions were made there...

Get ready for Pangea Day - May 10th

2008-04-07T15:13:00.008-03:00

Technology may be helping the world get smaller, but people are still a long way from understanding each other. So here's a question: If you had the entire world's attention for just a few minutes, what story would you tell?

This is the idea behind Pangea's Day, an event that will gather viewers in six different places in the world (Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro) and be broadcast live through the Internet, television, digital cinemas and mobile phones.

Anyone can participate, uploading their own films on YouTube or getting involved in many different ways. To learn more about Pangea Day, visit the official website.

100 unforgettable film soundtracks

2008-03-31T17:28:00.001-03:00

"Duh dum, duh dum, duh dum, duh dum..." Is there anyone who does not recognize the two notes played over and over announcing the appearance of the terrible white shark in Spielberg's classic movie 'Jaws'? Do names like Ennio Morricone and John Williams ring a bell?

A good soundtrack can help make a movie unforgettable. Here are, according to British newspaper Sunday Telegraph, 100 memorable soundtracks everybody should know.

And here's music composer Randy Newman (Toy Story, Boogie Nights, The Full Monty) in a video interview, talking about his writing style.

Historically innacurate...

2008-03-24T13:07:00.010-03:00

Movies are really about fun and entertainment, but isn't it nice when we can learn something from them as well? Film directors and scriptwriters, however, often exercise their 'artistic license' to re-create History as it never happened. Here is an interesting list showing the ten most historically inaccurate movies, Hollywood style. Can you remember any other? Tell us about it and say where they've gone wrong!

Paul Scofield - a man for all seasons

2008-03-20T09:06:00.007-03:00

He was considered one of Britain's greatest actors of all times, in the same league as sir Laurence Olivier, sir John Gielgud and Richard Burton. Paul Scofield, who died yesterday at age 86, received an Academy Award for his portrayal of sir Thomas More in the film 'A Man for All Seasons'. Based on Robert Bolt's acclaimed play, it's the story of Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor, who refuses to approve of the king's divorce to his first wife Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn. It's a great play (and quite short, in only two acts) and you can read it clicking here.

Here's a scene from the movie 'A Man for All Seasons', in which sir Thomas More talks about respecting and following the Law. You can click here to read the extract of the play first (it's only slightly different from the film script).

Getting accents right

2008-03-15T10:14:00.002-03:00

It seems that some actors can do it and some can't. Meryl Streep, one of Hollywood's greatest living actresses, is well-known for her ability to master almost any accent perfectly; Kevin Costner, on the other hand, tried to sound British while playing Robin Hood but sounded, well... like Kevin Costner trying to sound British.

The L.A. Times has published a list of Hollywood stars who have managed - or not - to give their characters a credible foreign accent. But here is a young aspiring American actress named Amy Walker who has received raving reviews from YouTube viewers for her apparently flawless 21 different accents - in less than 3 minutes. What do you think? You can also listen to Amy's interview on NPR clicking here.

See also:
Improving your accent (funny video)

Jackie Chan: where action meets comedy

2008-03-13T10:23:00.000-03:00

Unlike most martial arts action heroes, Jackie Chan prefers his films to add a bit of physical slapstick comedy that is typical of old-time actors like Buster Keaton. For years Chan has enjoyed an incredibly successful career as an actor, director, writer, producer of his own films, but he is also known for his lovable character and for the fact that he usually does his own stunts (and after injuring himself countless times, most insurance companies refuse to insure him now).

His fights, however, are carefully choreographed and he wants people to see his movies as family entertainment rather than violent action films that made Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Segal famous.

Here is a TV interview (the host is German but the conversation is actually in English) with Jackie Chan and a gap-fill activity to practise for the CPE exam.

Cinema or DVD?

2008-03-10T16:09:00.007-03:00

Do you prefer watching a film at the cinema or renting/buying the DVD? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Listen to Todd and Mark talking about their preferences and answer the question after each part - you can select more than one correct option. If you prefer, you can also listen to their conversation while reading the transcript.

The 100 sexiest movie stars

2008-03-07T14:24:00.006-03:00

Hollywood loves lists, right? So who are the 100 sexiest movie stars of all time? Find out who they are and why they've made it to the list, and read about your favourite actor or actress. Is there anyone you think should have been included but was actually left out? Tell us clicking on the 'comments' link!

See also:
The 100 best adapted screenplays

Vocabulary: what's the word?

2008-02-20T15:35:00.004-03:00

Would you like to practise some vocabulary related with making movies? Take this BBC quiz and check how much you know!

Get ready for the Oscars!

2008-02-20T13:46:00.002-03:00

The Academy Awards are just around the corner (this year's ceremony will be held on the 24th February) but how much do you remember about last year's winners? Take this short quiz and find out!

Vocabulary quiz: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

2008-02-11T18:19:00.000-03:00

The movie 'Crouching tiger, hidden dragon' helped turn talented director Ang Lee into one of the most respected directors in the film industry. It also shot its leading actor, Yun-Fat Chow, to international stardom, even though he was already an acclaimed actor in his native Hong Kong and received several awards. Here's a short vocabulary activity: complete the review of this Academy Award winner with the words given. If you need a hint, click on the question mark (?) next to each blank. Then click on 'check' to see how many words you got right.

Nicole Kidman, movie star

2008-02-01T16:36:00.000-03:00

Nicole Kidman is one of Hollywood's biggest names today. The 40-year-old Australian actress has starred in many different types of films, from light comedies like Bewitched to thrillers (The Others) and critically acclaimed productions such as Cold Mountain and The Hours, which gave Nicole her first Academy Award. But audiences probably remember her best in Baz Luhrman's musical Moulin Rouge, where she plays the beautiful courtesan Satine and shows that she can also sing.

Learn more about Nicole Kidman listening to this recording (good for pre-intermediate students!). There are also some comprehension questions to help you, and an accompanying audio script.

Click here to watch a clip of Nicole and Robbie Williams' duet version of Something Stupid, originally recorded by Frank and Nancy Sinatra.

Adding sci-fi to your favourite movie

2008-01-19T10:44:00.000-03:00

It seems that there is no limit to imagination once you've mastered the use of Photoshop! After inviting internet users to make their favourite Hollywood stars pose as models for famous Renaissance artists, the website Worth 1,000 words launches a new challenge: can you add a sci-fi element to a movie that was definitely not packed with obvious computerized effects? Here's what people have been doing.

See also:
Renaissance pop

Adapting novels: the pressures on the screenwriter

2008-01-15T07:21:00.000-03:00

The top Golden Globe winners this year were movies whose screenplays were adapted from novels (Ian McEwan's Atonement, Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men and Jean-Dominique Bauby's The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) and a Broadway musical (director Tim Burton's adaptation of Sweeeney Todd). How hard is it for screenwriters to adapt books and plays to the big screen? What kind of pressures do they face? Read more about that in this article published by the Associated Press.

See also
an interview with screenwriter John Milius about his adaptation of the novel Heart of Darkness, which became the film Apocalipse Now.

A film review: vocabulary practice

2008-01-10T07:54:00.000-03:00

When we talk about a film, we often need to use some specific vocabulary related to the world of cinema. Read this review and choose the best word to complete each blank. This is good exam practice for advanced students. Then check other suggestions of vocabulary acitivies below.

See also
Movie expressions: a quiz

Vocabulary: film genres

2008-01-08T16:40:00.000-03:00

What kind of movies do you like? Do you enjoy watching horror films or thrillers? Or maybe you prefer a drama? How many different film genres can you find in this wordsearch game? Can you think of a movie for each one of them?

Check also
Film genres - an activity
Mary Poppins or Scary Mary?

Talking about a plot

2008-01-07T10:25:00.000-03:00

In English, film reviews always include some information about the plot. In order to make it more interesting and 'lively', we usually tell the story using present tenses. Look at this summary of a film, Letter to Brezhnev and write the verbs in brackets in the correct present tenses.

The worst movie remakes

2008-01-05T08:52:00.000-03:00

There are always lists of 'best' and 'worst' anything in the film industry, and here is another one: what are the 25 worst remakes in movie history? The list, of course, includes a number of thrillers and horror films, by far the most common genre of choice - apparently, studios and directors feel that audiences can't get enough of being scared... Take a look at the AOL article: do you agree with the author? Would you include (or remove) any of the movies listed?

See also:
The return of the Pink Panther

Charlie Chaplin - The Tramp

2007-12-27T20:23:00.000-03:00

He was one of the most influential actors in the history of cinema, a great comedian, director, producer and composer. Is there anyone who does not remember the Tramp, the vagrant with the manners of a gentleman and a heart of gold? Charlie Chaplin died on Christmas Day 30 years ago, in Switzerland; here's a scene from one of the many classic films he made - The Gold Rush (1925).

The biggest box offices in 2007

2007-12-26T16:15:00.000-03:00

An ogre, a rat, a wizard, a superhero, Captain Jack Sparrow... Which of these characters was in the highest grossing film at the box office this year? Find out on this top 10 list and check the links for trailers, reviews and technical information.

The Golden Globe Awards

2007-12-23T01:10:00.000-03:00

The 2008 movie awards season starts on January 13 with the Golden Globe Awards. Seen by many as a preview of who might eventually win an Oscar a month or so later, the GGs are, however, a bit different from the Academy Awards: movies and performances are divided into two main categories - drama and musical/comedy - and TV productions are also contemplated. Here are the nominees for next year's edition. And here is a reading (scanning) activity to help you practise finding information in a text.

Read also:
What I've learned watching Hollywood films...

Film company logos - exam practice

2007-12-15T13:41:00.000-03:00

Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Twentieth-Century Fox, Universal, Paramount, Columbia Pictures. You probably recognise their logos immediately at the beginning of each film, don't you? There was a time when film studios were more famous and more important than the actors or directors that worked for them. Here is a text that tells us more about film company trademarks. It is also an exam practice activity, in case you are preparing for the CAE exam.

More exam practice:
How we read (CAE level)
How to irritate people (CAE level)
Passive smoking (CAE level)

Crossword puzzle: film vocabulary

2007-12-13T19:06:00.000-03:00

Here is a fun crossword puzzle for advanced students to revise specific vocabulary related to the world of movies. Click on a number to get the clue, type your answer in the box and click on 'enter'. If you need help, try the 'hint' button. Good luck!

Try also:
BBC crossword puzzle - cinema
Quiz: talking about films
Wordsearch: test your vocabulary about films

Renaissance pop

2007-12-11T17:07:00.000-03:00

If today's pop stars and Hollywood celebrities were to pose as models for famous Renaissance artists, what would they look like? This is the challenge the website Worth1000 presents to internet users/artists, inviting them to send their versions of famous masterpieces. Take a look at what people have done and click to see the original paintings.

See also:
What Van Gogh painting are you?
Women in art
Women in film

Are you a couch potato?

2007-12-11T10:04:00.000-03:00

How much TV do you watch every day? What kind of programmes do you usually watch? How many TV sets are there in your house? And, more importantly, who in your family 'has the power' over the remote control? :-) Take this Guardian quiz and find out if you are a hopeless couch potato!

Read also:
TV family hour: not what it used to be...

Controversial films

2007-12-09T11:56:00.001-03:00

Politics, sex and religion are topics that are bound to raise more than a few eyebrows every now and then. Hollywood knows that all too well, so the decision to produce a controversial film is often a difficult one. Of course, controversy sells, but there seems to be a delicate balance between how one should deal with a controversial theme without enraging some specific groups.

Here's a list with the 25 most controversial films of all time, madeby Entertainment Weekly. Look at it and then answer a few questions clicking here.

Read more:
The Da Vinci Code: is the film more polemic than the book?

Mary Poppins or Scary Mary?

2007-12-03T14:11:00.000-03:00

A movie trailer often tells us a lot about the film genre - whether it's a comedy, a drama or a horror story. Sometimes, however, a clever manipulation of the scenes can be quite misleading! Do you remember Mary Poppins, the Walt Disney family musical which gave Julie Andrews an Academy Award for her role as the nice (though unusual) nanny? Well, look at this fake trailer and see what the film has become... What elements contributed to the change? Think about the music, the rhythm and choice of images and the lines written between them!

TV and movie writers go on strike

2007-11-05T14:17:00.001-03:00

Maybe you'll think it's déjà vu ("Isn't that the same episode that was aired last week?") and now you are as lost as those guys in Lost, maybe you'll notice there's been an increase in the number of reality shows on your television. Well, you're probably right. This is all due to a TV and movie writers' strike which started today threatening to bring to a halt several ongoing shows. Their most important demand this time isn't for better salaries, but a bigger share in the profits made by production companies when the programmes are sold on alternative media, such as DVD and the internet. Read (and watch the news story) about it clicking here.

Top 15 movie misquotes

2007-10-27T22:34:00.000-03:00

Some things actors said in films have become classic movie lines. You probably remember Humphrey Bogart's famous "Play it again, Sam!" in Casablanca. But did he really say that? Some very well-known quotes were actually never there, at least not in the way we remember them. Take a look at this top 15 list of movie misquotes and find out what the actors really said...

The Wilhelm scream

2007-10-17T12:26:00.000-03:00

Hollywood spends millions of dollars every year producing blockbusters filled with special effects, right? But some things never seem to change... One of the most classic movie clichés is the Wilhelm Scream, which first appeared in a 1951 production. Since then, a lot of directors have used exactly the same scream in their films and TV programmes. It may sound frightening when heard once, but when edited (like in this video), it sounds, well... silly! Can you recognize the films? What other movie clichés can you think of?

Hollywood gets serious for the autumn

2007-10-09T18:02:00.000-03:00

If summer in Hollywood means blockbusters and "easy-to-see" films, autumn tends to be the season for more serious productions, the ones that critics will want to keep an eye on in order to anticipate potential Oscar material. This article (with audio available) discusses some of Hollywood's newest releases, from animations like Bee Movie to novel adaptations from best-sellers such as The Kite Runner.

A young man's journey into the wild

2007-09-28T12:06:00.001-03:00

In 1992, young Chris McCandless decided to leave his house and family and move to the Alaskan wilderness, living in an abandoned bus for four months. His adventure ended tragically, and a few years later journalist/writer Jon Krakauer wrote "Into the Wild", which has now been adapted to the cinema and directed by actor-turned-director Sean Penn. In this interview, Krakauer talks about his book and his own adventures when he was in his twenties. You will also find an excerpt of the novel and links to scenes of the movie (Real Audio).

Film vocabulary: crossword puzzle

2007-09-27T22:16:00.000-03:00

Check some important vocabulary related to the world of movies with this BBC crossword puzzle!

Try also
Quiz: talking about films
Wordsearch: test your vocabulary about films

The hardest novels to film

2007-09-22T20:52:00.000-03:00

Many people thought "The Lord of the Rings" would never be made into a film - there were simply too many characters and intricate stories in it, and it would be impossible to re-create Middle Earth. Well, director Peter Jackson proved them wrong with his very successful adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic novel. So are there any books that are 'unfilmable'? That's what this article discusses.

Why most books fail as movies

2007-09-20T18:17:00.000-03:00

Can books really be successfully adapted to the big screen? Blogger Laremy Legel doesn't think so, and he explains why in this blog post at film.com. Do you agree with him?

A movie game

2007-09-05T15:09:00.000-03:00

Here's an online game to test your knowledge about films and film stars. Can you place their names in the correct positions so that they match up with the films they starred in?

Reviews in four words!

2007-08-31T14:42:00.000-03:00

Can you write a film review using only 4 words? That's the idea when you visit The Four Word Film Review, a website where anyone can submit their summaries and impressions about a movie - provided they have no more than four words! About twenty thousand films have already been reviewed, some of hilarious results.

Example of a review of Madagascar: "Zoo animals run wild!"

Film classification

2007-08-30T10:52:00.000-03:00

We all know that some movies could be unsuitable for young children, some should only be seen by adults, etc. Film classification systems may vary from country to country, but their purpose is usually to help parents decide whether or not their kids should see a certain movie. In Britain, the British Board of Film Classification is responsible for this classification in the U.K; in the U.S., the organisation in charge of film ratings is the Motion Picture Association of America . Click on the links and scroll down the pages to learn about each system.

Films dictate what kids read

2007-08-29T08:24:00.000-03:00

What do children read nowadays? A recent poll suggests that reading habits among kids are dictated by what's being shown on the big screen, making Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings some of their favourite books. This article, taken from the British newspaper The Guardian, discusses the issue.

Read also:
Why movies make readers

Movie sequels

2007-08-26T07:49:00.000-03:00

Shrek the Third, Spider Man 3, Die Hard 4, Bourne Ultimatum. Hollywood doesn't seem to be willing to risk it and has been making more movie sequels than ever. Jeannette Catsoulis analyzes the phenomenon in this article published in the New York Times. What do you think? Can sequels be as good as the first film of a series? What are the ingredients of a good 'movie 2'?

Working with summaries

2007-08-18T12:49:00.000-03:00

We don't want to give too much away when we write about a movie, but reviews usually include some information about the plot, the characters and the setting. Read the summaries below: which films are being described? Which words or expressions helped you decide? What did you learn about each film? Here are the titles: A Time to Kill - The Golden Compass - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - Jurassic Park - Pride and Prejudice - The Boys from Brazil

On a remote island, a wealthy entrepreneur secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening the attraction to the public, he invites a top paleontologist, a paleobotanist, a mathematician/theorist, and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park - and help calm anxious investors. However, their park visit is anything but tranquil as the park's security system breaks down, the prehistoric creatures break out, and the excitement builds to surprising results. Based on Michael Crichton's best-selling novel. Written by Robert Lynch

This tale of love and values unfolds in the class-conscious England of the late 18th century. The five Bennet sisters - including strong-willed Elizabeth and young Lydia - have been raised by their mother with one purpose in life: finding a husband. When a wealthy bachelor takes up residence in a nearby mansion, the Bennets are abuzz. Amongst the man's sophisticated circle of friends, surely there will be no shortage of suitors for the Bennet sisters. But when Elizabeth meets up with the handsome and - it would seem - snobbish Mr. Darcy, the battle of the sexes is joined. Written by focus features

When Tonya Hailey, an innocent little African-American girl is raped and beaten by 2 beer-guzzling rednecks, the town of Clanton, Mississippi is shocked. Her father Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) is outraged, and figuring he could not see those boys set free, decides to take justice into his own hands and kills them in the court house, in front of numerous witnesses. Now it up to Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) to get Carl Lee off the hook. He has people that help him, (Oliver Platt, Sandra Bullock, Donald Sutherland) but he is up against tough D.A. Rufus Buckley (Kevin Spacey). Will he be able to prove that a black man can get a fair trial in Mississippi? Written by Alexis LSmith

Based on the play by Tennessee Williams: A party is planned for the 65th birthday of family patriarch 'Big Daddy', but not everyone is in a festive mood. Big Daddy's son Brick, a one-time star athlete, has a drinking problem and has become cold towards his wife Maggie, though she still desperately loves him. Brick's older brother Gooper and his wife hope to gain control over Big Daddy's estate. Big Daddy himself is just coming home from a clinic where he has been tested for cancer. When his doctor tells the family the results of the tests, the family's accumulated lies, frustrations, and secrets quickly begin to come out. Written by Snow Leopard

Barry Kohler, a young Nazi hunter, tracks down a group of SS officers meeting in Paraguay in the late 1970s. The Nazis, led my Dr Mengele, are planning something. Old Nazi hunter, Ezra Lieberman, is at first uninterested in Kohler's findings. But when he is told something of their plan, he is eager to find out more. Lieberman visits several homes around Europe in order to uncover the Nazi plot. It is at one of these houses he notices something strange, which turns out to be a horrible discovery. Written by Rob Hartill

Lyra Belaqua, living in Oxford's Jordan College, is not but a young girl living among scholars. Her world may seem diverse, from physical embodiments of souls that take the shape of an animal, but similar with people around you to become friends and enemies. She is thrown into a perilous adventure when she overhears a conversation of an extraordinary microscopic particle, Dust. This particle is said to unite different worlds, and is feared by many who want to destroy it forever. As Lyra is flung into the middle of this horrible struggle, she meets wondrous creatures both big and small, and villains who are not what they seem. Gobblers, that kidnap children, will turn out in the most unexpected places. And a magical compass of gold that will answer any question if one is skilled enough to read it. Lyra's adventure continues throughout these three books, and the first is about to be told. Written by Reaz

Movie expressions: a quiz

2007-08-17T10:32:00.000-03:00

Here is an interesting quiz with expressions we always see in film reviews. Try the activity and improve your vocabulary!

Film genres

2007-08-16T09:15:00.000-03:00

What kind of films do you enjoy watching? Do you prefer comedies? Do you enjoy adventure, horror, or are you a science fiction fan? There are many ways of categorising films. Look at the movies in this slideshow. What genres are they? You may get some ideas by checking Google and Yahoo portals; Dmoz also offers some suggestions, and here you find explanations and examples of films in each category.

Working in a movie

2007-08-03T23:54:00.000-03:00

Here is Matt, from the United States, explaining the routine of a movie actor. Listen to the interview and answer the questions (you can select more than one option). You can also click on 'transcript' to access the written text.

Quiz: language of films

2007-07-27T21:43:00.001-03:00

What did you think of the movie? Take this quiz and learn some useful expressions to talk about films in English.

Hangman: movie titles

2007-07-08T13:01:00.000-03:00

Movie titles are often translated in Brazil, so here is a challenge: can you guess the name of each film before you're hanged? Try this fun hangman activity and find out!

Quiz: Whose line is it?

2007-06-27T09:49:00.000-03:00

"Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By'." Many people recognise this famous line from the movie Casablanca. Here is a fun quiz to test how many quotes and famous lines you can remember. In each set of 4 lines, write the corresponding number of the film after each sentence. Then click on 'score' and check your results. If you want to go on, choose 'try another set'. Good luck!

Listening: what movie is it?

2007-06-25T22:31:00.000-03:00

Listen to someone talking about six different movies. After each part, choose which film he has talked about, by clicking on the correct poster. Then take a look at the tapescript down the page. What verb tense does he use when summarizing the movie plot? What's the effect on the listener?

Movie review: Pride and Prejudice

2007-06-23T08:38:00.001-03:00

Have you seen "Pride and Prejudice", the film adaptation of Jane Austen's celebrated novel? Watch the review and decide: what are the most important elements of this review? How would you re-write it to be published in a newspaper? How would you adapt it to be posted on a blog? Here is an example of a written review published in The Guardian. How similar/different is it from the video version? Which characteristics of a typical film review can you find in each one?

Test your vocabulary about films

2007-05-15T16:53:00.000-03:00

How many words related to 'film' can you find in the grid? Test your knowledge trying this fun wordsearch activity. This is what you need to do:

- Choose the level of difficulty you prefer
- Highlight the words by clicking on the first letter of the word you've found
- Drag the mouse to the last letter.
And pay attention to the time limit! Have fun!!!

Films for the summer/winter

2007-04-29T12:14:00.000-03:00

Temperatures may be slowly going down in Brazil, but Americans and Europeans are getting ready for the summer. That's the time of the year film studios choose to release their blockbusters and sequels, more often than not aimed to entertain teenage audiences.

Following a trend in recent years, there are a lot of sequels to watch (Ocean's Thirteen, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Spider Man 3, Die Hard 4, Shrek The Third...); with film budgets mounting to hundreds of millions, producers seem to be happy to bet their money on what has already been tested and approved.

Read about new summer releases in Britain in this article published in the Guardian. Which of them are you looking forward to seeing?

Movie posters: a fun quiz!

2007-04-22T21:10:00.000-03:00

Do you ever pay attention to movie posters? Here is a quiz to find out how much you remember about them.

Watching way too much TV???

2007-02-27T22:19:00.000-03:00

Philip Pullman talks about adapting novels to film

2007-02-27T17:37:00.000-03:00

Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) has sold millions of copies around the world. The first volume has now been adapted to the big screen (watch the trailer), directed by Chris Weitz and starring Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman and Sam Elliot. In this article, the writer discusses some of the problems of turning novels into films.

100 Best Adapted Screenplays of All Time

2007-02-16T22:33:00.000-03:00

The American Screenwriters Association released last year a list of 100 Best Adapted Feature Film Screenplays of All Time - films adapted from books. Click on the link to see the list. Do you agree with their choices? Are there any movies missing? Would you remove any film from the list?

Why movies make readers

2007-02-16T17:19:00.000-03:00

This article was published in Time Magazine in 2001. It discusses the fear many parents and educators have of seeing their children consume films, but not books. What do you think? Leave your opinion by clicking on 'comments' below.

Films adapted from novels

2007-02-13T16:52:00.000-03:00

Turning novels into movies is very common practice in the film industry, and not only in Hollywood! Last year, for example, we had The Da Vinci Code, Perfume, The Devil Wears Prada, The Kite Runner, to name just a few. How do you feel about novels being adapted to the big screen? Do you prefer to read the book before seeing the film? Do you agree with those who say that the stories always lack something when they are adapted to the cinema? Can you remember any successful or unsuccessful examples?

Join us in our thread at Chinswing and record your voice message. And check what the others have been posting!

Read also:
Film review: The Da Vinci Code
Film review: The English Patient
Film review: The Green Mile
Film review: Rumble Fish
Film review: Timeline
Film review: Under the Tuscan Sun

The Road to the Oscars

2007-02-13T14:23:00.000-03:00

Are you ready for the Academy Awards? The ceremony is going to take place at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, on February 25th. Have fun and test your knowledge about the Oscars trying our quiz! Good luck!

What I've learned watching Hollywood movies...

2007-01-29T21:24:00.000-03:00

What can we learn from Hollywood movies?

- There is always a pilot, or a doctor, or an armed off-duty police officer on board of a plane.
- Aliens usually speak English and have the same colloquialisms.
- Anyone who says he can’t speak English well will speak it fluently, only with a thick accent.
- Deadly reptiles will always attack a woman first, even if she’s in the presence of thirty men.
- Asteroids travel through space making a noise like a powerful but subdued engine. Explosions in space make noise.
- A cough is a symptom of terminal illness.
- Movie characters driving in the city will get to park wherever they like when they get to their destination.
- Film cars never start the first time when you’re running away from the bad guy.
- There’s always an open window downstairs when a storm begins. Storms only happen in the middle of the night.
- A dying person’s last words will always be coherent and significant.
- In any type of sport movie, a player on the field can look up into a crowd of 1 billion and immediately spot their loved one.
- The hero always manages to defuse the bomb 3 seconds before it goes off.
- Movie characters’ suitcases are always weightless when they have to carry them.
- When a villain seems dead, he never is. He will always be allowed one, and sometimes two resurrections. The hero will frequently see him coming, even if his back is turned. If he doesn’t, a friend will finish the villain off.
- You’re very likely to survive any battle in any war, unless you show someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.
- If hero or villain takes an elevator, villain or hero can beat it by taking stairs, even if the trip is 20 floors.
- If a character uses martial arts rather than a weapon, his opponents will always face him one-to-one. Spare bad guys may dance around the fight taunting our hero, but none will engage until his predecessor has been disposed of. And if it’s an oriental martial arts film, they will fight in perfect one-two rhythm and form, hit-block-hit-block.
- The hero’s best friend/partner will usually be killed by the bad guys three days before retirement. If the hero is a white male and has an assistant/sidekick who is either not white or not male the assistant/sidekick will die, preferably in an act of heroic sacrifice.
- Any apartment in Paris will have a view of the Eiffel Tower.
- In a swordfight, you can always parry behind your back, and you must always find a set of stairs to fight on so that the loser can roll down them and die at the bottom.
- Many musical instruments –especially wind instruments and accordions- can be played without moving the fingers.
- The police will never question the hero, even if he kills lots of bad guys.
- When someone lights a match in a dark old house, the single match has the power of a 1000 watt bulb! If they light an old oil lamp, it will also have a vast amount of power.
- Thunder and lightning always happen at the same time.
- If there are two women involved in the movie and one is blond, the other brunette, the blond will be the sexy bombshell who accidently ends up with the guy and the brunette will either end up being the villian or the loser, even though she has the brains of a Rhodes Scholar! (Thanks, Linda!)

Read also:
What you learn watching "300"

What the critic says

2007-01-28T19:25:00.000-03:00

Do you ever take into consideration what the critics say in their reviews before you decide to see a film? How much do you 'trust' their judgement? Join us in our forum and tell us what you think!

Click on the link below and then on the heading ("Reviews").
Reviews

Alejandro Iñárritu talks about his film, Babel

2007-01-27T10:08:00.000-03:00

The Mexican film director Alejandro González Iñárritu talks about his latest film Babel, the challenge of making a film spoken in four languages, and about people's need to communicate.

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Have you seen the film? Tells us your opinion, clicking on 'comments'!

To view the trailer, go to http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/babel/trailers.php and click on "watch now"

Our project

2007-01-12T15:44:00.000-03:00

Hello and welcome to our project! This blog is part of a master's research on collaborative writing using different internet tools. The aim is to analyze the process of collaboration among advanced students while they write film reviews using blogs and wikis. I also want to investigate whether this collaboration can have any impact on the quality of their final work.