Film Review

Blog Post

We are learning how to write a quality blog comment for the Toki Pounamu Film Festival

The 'Inside out' resources on this page were developed by the awesome Fiona Grant from the Manaiakalani Trust.

Compare and contrast film reviews for "Inside Out" to identify vocabulary we could use to improve the quality of our own film festival blog comments.

Learn:

What is a film review?

View and read the film reviews for the movie 'Inside Out' to learn more about how film reviewers write.

Reviewers are sharing their opinion about how effective a film is, so that readers can decide whether they'd like to see it.

Inside Out Trailer.mp4

Inside Out Video Review by Dom Corry TV1 Breakfast.mov

Inside Out Video Review by Gerry Kids First Film Critic.mp4

Watch, Read and Listen to Online Reviews for the film "Inside Out"

Written reviews include an option to listen while you read. Open any review and click the speaker icon to read along.

Make your own copy of this slideshow.

Select one film that you liked, and write your review, focusing on explaining each of the five elements of a film in detail. You can see the films from all of the schools in our cluster below.

Create and Share:

Use the information on your slides to create either a written review for your blog, or you could film yourself reading out your review, then post it to your blog.

Film Festival Review

For teachers: Reading and writing film reviews for literacy development:

Smart Relationships‎ > ‎Toki Pounamu Film Festival

Writing a quality blog comment for the Manaiakalani Film Festival

Having previously identified criteria for quality blog commenting learning is designed:

to increase the depth of engagement students have with texts
to support small group discussions and engage with ideas in the texts at a deeper level
to extend vocabulary and learn that words and the way they are used can evoke an emotional response
as a further opportunity to engage learners in Smart Relationships through quality blog commenting within an existing programme of learning.

Talking about Texts - Prepare learners for exploring the texts

Think about a film you have watched recently and take a minute to share with a buddy. Would you recommend the film? Why or why not? Be specific, describe what elements of the film appealed… or not. Keep it short, no need for wider feedback or sharing i.e. groups of 2-3

Reading the texts

How will you engage students in actually reading the texts? Share the purpose of exploring the reviews. How will you scaffold learners that may need support with the text?

Comparing and contrasting film reviews will help us identify elements of film we could comment about and specific vocabulary we could include in our comments.

Take time to explore the reviews, your choice (independently or with a small group 2-3max)
As you explore the film reviews be alert and note the elements of the film the reviewers describe e.g. music, editing, costumes, acting, characters
What do the reviews have in common? Are their ideas similar or different?
Have you seen this film? Are your views or different?

Engaging with the text - Learners collaborate to create a word bank (groups 2-3)

Google doc one person makes a copy and shares with their group.

Record words that the reviewers used to describe what they liked about the film.
Encourage connections between the words (vocabulary) and the elements of a film.

Narrative: What the film is about - the story, characters, and world

Cinematography: How the shots are framed, lighting, colour, movement, closeups, wide, shots, camera angles

Sound: dialogue, sound effects, and music

Scene: Sets, locations, actors, props, costumes, light, and shadow

Editing: How the film is cut - the length of the shots help tell the story

Share and compare with your group ( 2-3 maximum) Add any new words from others in your group.
Has anyone in your group seen the film? Can they contribute additional ideas?
One person from each group moves to another group to share and compare vocabulary and add new words to their Google doc. Returns to original group to feedback.

Writing a quality blog comment takes practise

Learners explore a selection of films from past Manaiakalani Film Festivals.
Using our quality commenting criteria and their film festival word bank, practise crafting a blog comment on a copy of their Google Slide
Share with a buddy. Encourage learners to feedback with each other using our quality commenting criteria. As you observe learners feeding back check in they are referencing the commenting criteria and specific vocabulary to support the feedback i.e. using the actual vocab from the criteria and elements of a film. Does this need to be modelled? Consider opportunities for learners to share/model this via the projector.
Learners submit comments to the blog when they are confident their comment is ready to share.
Sharing Word Banks - add collaborative word banks to a Google Drive folder and embed on your site for all learners to access.
Printed with room for handwritten additions (use vivid and in large font) temporarily displayed on the wall for quick and easy reference.
Leading up to the film festival in Week 5, learners practise blog commenting, crafting on their doc, exchanging feedback and posting.

Do you need to revisit How to post a blog comment?

Argumentation and Critical Literacy - Aaron Wilson (University of Auckland, Woolf Fisher)

Consider Aaron Wilson’s recommendations for extended discussion utilising film reviews to explore viewpoints and argumentation.

Design opportunities that enable small group discussions.

Consider reviews for the same film and explain reasons why and why not parents should take their children
Critically evaluate the reviews in terms of argumentation e.g. “which of the reviews present the strongest arguments for viewing/not viewing the film” or in terms of persuasiveness (this would link to analysis of language features and potentially to critical literacy).
Choose a film that they either liked/disliked and explore competing viewpoints