Indiana is back

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?

Vocabulary quiz: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

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.

Talking about a plot

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.

Hollywood gets serious for the autumn

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.

Reviews in four words!

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!"

Working with summaries

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 review: Pride and Prejudice

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?

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

Films adapted from novels

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