In this lesson,
we are going to examine a film review and look at the evaluative language
used in the review.
Look at the
following pictures and describe them out loud in as much detail as possible.
.
..........
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2.- Key
Vocabulary
In the
picture on the right..
In the picture on the left..
Wooden (adjective)
Wooden horse
Crowd
Armour
.
3.- Your
turn…
The pictures
are from a film. Look at the following questions and answer them out
loud using as much detail as possible.
What type
of film do you think it is?
Do you
like these types of films?
.
4.- Teacher
talk time (Video)
You have
now had the opportunity to see two pictures. These two pictures have
come from a specific film. Do you have any idea what film they are from?
They
are from the film ‘Troy’.
Your teacher
is now going to describe the two pictures in detail. Listen carefully!
.
.
5.- Listening
(Listening)
You are now
going to hear a film review of Troy. Listen to the film review once
and answer the following question.
5.1.- Does
the reviewer recommend the film?
(to
see the answer click on the table; double click return)
.
5.2.- Now
listen again and answer the following questions.
(to
see the answer click on the table; double click return)
.
5.3.- Look
at the tapescript and find all of the adjectives in the text that are
used to describe the film and characters. Decide if they have a negative
or positive meaning.
(to
see the answer click on the table; double click return)
.
5.4.- Tapescript
Listening
TROY
A review
by Andrew Mansfield
The film
Troy, made in 2004, was inspired by Homer’s Iliad, an epic work
originally written over 28 centuries ago. Homer’s Iliad describes
the horrors and brutality of war. In this modern-day film, however,
director Wolfgang Petersen takes a different look at the story –
through the eyes of the real people caught up in a terrifying experience.
In
order to achieve such realism, Petersen chose to focus on the people,
especially the raging Achilles (played by Brad Pitt) and the honourable
Hector (Eric Bana). There is much historical detail, impressive recreations
of Troy and the wooden horse and more than 2000 ‘extras’.
There are also some spectacular battle scenes but the story remains
intimate and human.
Both
Brad Pitt as Achilles and Peter O’Toole as King Priam have huge
presence on the screen but it is Eric Bana as Hector who is brilliant
throughout the film. With his nobility and gentle authority, Bana is
far more convincing and far more heroic than anyone else. His final
confrontation with Achilles is one of the film’s most important
moments – the most thrilling fight of all.
The
film is long and it has had its criticisms. Some people don’t
approve of the differences between Homer’s ‘original’
and what is shown here. But to my mind, although Homer wrote stories
based on truth, we don’t know the real truth. The film Troy is
another look at those stories. And by focussing on the human angle of
this epic story of love and war, in my opinion Petersen has crafted
an impressive film.
Extract adapted
from Chapter 3, Total English, Student’s book, Upper Intermediate
Level (Longman)
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6.- Pronunciation
practice (video)
.
.
6.1.- Listen
and write the words in the correct column according to the word stress.
(to
see the answer click on the table; double click return)
.
6.2.-
Practise saying the words, paying special attention to where the stress
falls on the word.
. 7.-
Language Focus – Evaluative Language (Adjectives)
The adjectives
that you have examined in this lesson have all been used to describe
something/someone. It is very important, when you speak or write in
English, that when describing things you don’t simply use the
adjectives ‘good’ or ‘nice’. Instead at this
level, you should use a range of different adjectives, like the ones
we have seen in this lesson.
7.1.- Fill
in the gaps with one of the adjectives from the list. There may be more
than one possibility.
(to
see the answer click on the table; double click return)
8.- Your
turn to review a film or book
Talk about a film or book that you have seen /read recently. Answer
the following questions and try to include adjectives from exercise
5.3.
- What
was the title of the film?
- What was the film about?
- What were its strong points?
- What were its weak points?
- Would you recommend the film?
Key vocabulary
It’s
called…
It’s by….
It stars…
It’s based on…
It lasts one and a half hours
The story is very…
It’s about…
The best/worst thing about it is….
One weak point was….
I’d recommend it to anyone who…..
.
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