Transcript Film reviews - School of English and American Studies at ELTE

Film reviews
Focus on the genre most closely
related to forms of creative writing
The Fly
David Cronenberg combines his trademark affinity for gore and horror with
strongly developed characters, making The Fly a surprisingly affecting tragedy.
Considered fairly gruesome in its day, the original 1958 The Fly looks like
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood compared to this 1986 remake. Jeff Goldblum
and Geena Davis star as Seth Brundle, a self-involved research scientist, and
Veronica Quaife, a science-magazine reporter. Inviting Veronica to his lab,
Seth prepares to demonstrate his "telepod," which can theoretically transfer
matter through space. As they grow closer over the next few weeks, she
inadvertently goads Seth into experimenting withhuman beings rather than
inanimate objects. Seth himself enters the telepod, preparing to transmit
himself through the ether -- but he doesn't know that he is sharing the
telepod with a tiny housefly.
• How good an arrangement is putting the critical appreciation at the
beginning of the text? What arguments are there for it?
• Would you put it in a separate paragraph?
• What do you think of a different arrangement in the next slide? (Face/off)
Face/off
The third of John Woo's American-made feature films, Face/Off stars John Travolta as
Sean Archer, an FBI agent obsessed with capturing Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage), a
criminal genius who years before killed Archer's son while trying to assassinate the
agent. Archer's single-minded pursuit of Troy has caused serious harm to his marriage,
but Archer thinks the light may have appeared at the end of the tunnel when a
seriously wounded Troy is captured in a bloody shootout. However, it turns out that
Troy has planted a time bomb, with a biological payload that could destroy the entire
city of Los Angeles -- and Troy isn't about to say where it is. The only other person who
knows the bomb's location is Troy's brother, Pollux (Alessandro Nivola), who is no
more helpful than Castor. FBI scientists hatch a plan: they have developed an
experimental surgery which would allow them to graft Troy's face temporarily on
Archer's head and allow him to question Pollux as if he were his brother. But after
Archer has taken Troy's face, Troy regains consciousness and forces the doctors to give
him Archer's face. Now the criminal mastermind has the FBI at his disposal, and the
lawman is underground with few places to turn. Along with Woo's usual elaborately
choreographed action scenes, Face/Off features a number of notable supporting
performances, including Joan Allen as Archer's wife, Colm Feore and C.C.H. Pounder as
FBI scientists, and Gina Gershon as Troy's loyal but long-suffering girlfriend. John
Travolta and Nicolas Cage play cat-and-mouse (and literally play each other) against a
beautifully stylized backdrop of typically elegant, over-the-top John Woo violence.
Parenthood
This feel-good ensemble comedy tracks a quartet of suburban siblings and their families over
the course of a single summer. Hardworking Gil Buckman (Steve Martin) and his stay-at-home
wife, Karen (Mary Steeenburgen), have just a few months to help their oldest son, Kevin (Jasen
Fisher), overcome his high-strung behavior problems before he'll be relegated to specialeducation classes. Gil's difficult relationship with his own father, Frank (Jason Robards), has led
him to become a would-be super-dad for his three kids, so he takes his son's difficulties more
than a little personally. Gil's sister, Helen (Dianne Wiest), is trying to raise a moody, adolescent
son (Leaf Phoenix) and an independent-minded daughter (Martha Plimpton) with no help from
her well-off ex-husband, who's more interested in his new wife and family. Gil and Helen's sister,
Susan (Harley Jane Kozak), meanwhile, must participate in the too-scripted Big Life Plans of her
anal-retentive husband, Nathan (Rick Moranis), whose overachiever zeal infects even their
toddler daughter. When long-lost brother Larry (Tom Hulce) show up with yet another get-richquick scheme, he brings with him a surprise addition to the family. Screenwriters Babaloo
Mandel, Lowell Ganz, and Ron Howard negotiate their varied subplots with a deftness and
comedic touch that transforms this conflicted clan into a suburban everyfamily. Bolstered by a
delightful cast,Parenthood is a funny and thoughtfully crafted look at the best and worst
moments of family life that resonates broadly.
•
Identify the part in which the critic’s evaluation is strongest in the next two
reviews. Where else in the text(s) does the critic’s point of view come across?
Parenthood key
This feel-good ensemble comedy tracks a quartet of suburban siblings and their
families over the course of a single summer. Hardworking Gil Buckman (Steve Martin)
and his stay-at-home wife, Karen (Mary Steeenburgen), have just a few months to help
their oldest son, Kevin (Jasen Fisher), overcome his high-strung behavior problems
before he'll be relegated to special-education classes. Gil's difficult relationship with
his own father, Frank (Jason Robards), has led him to become a would-be super-dad
for his three kids, so he takes his son's difficulties more than a little personally. Gil's
sister, Helen (Dianne Wiest), is trying to raise a moody, adolescent son (Leaf Phoenix)
and an independent-minded daughter (Martha Plimpton) with no help from her welloff ex-husband, who's more interested in his new wife and family. Gil and Helen's
sister, Susan (Harley Jane Kozak), meanwhile, must participate in the too-scripted Big
Life Plans of her anal-retentive husband, Nathan (Rick Moranis), whose overachiever
zeal infects even their toddler daughter. When long-lost brother Larry (Tom Hulce)
show up with yet another get-rich-quick scheme, he brings with him a surprise
addition to the family. Screenwriters Babaloo Mandel, Lowell Ganz, and Ron Howard
negotiate their varied subplots with a deftness and comedic touch that transforms this
conflicted clan into a suburban everyfamily. Bolstered by a delightful
cast,Parenthood is a funny and thoughtfully crafted look at the best and worst
moments of family life that resonates broadly.
Speed
A terrific popcorn thriller, Speed is taut, tense, and energetic, with
outstanding performances from Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, and
Sandra Bullock. If you don't think Speed is the fastest-moving
adventure film ever made, we challenge you to find a faster one.
Keanu Reeves stars as an LA Bomb Squad specialist whose principal
antagonist is elusive bomber-extortionist Dennis Hopper. Seeking
vengeance after his latest ransom scheme is thwarted, Hopper
presents a personal challenge to Reeves: A wired-for-destruction city
bus, which will detonate if the speedometer drops below 50 MPH.
Playing the reluctant civilian who is pressed into service as the bus'
"substitute driver," leading lady Sandra Bullock became a major star in
her own right. Once Speed gets to the meat of its story, the excitement
never lets up--not even after the boobytrapped bus is out of the
picture.
Speed: key
A terrific popcorn thriller, Speed is taut, tense, and energetic, with
outstanding performances from Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, and
Sandra Bullock. If you don't think Speed is the fastest-moving
adventure film ever made, we challenge you to find a faster one.
Keanu Reeves stars as an LA Bomb Squad specialist whose principal
antagonist is elusive bomber-extortionist Dennis Hopper. Seeking
vengeance after his latest ransom scheme is thwarted, Hopper
presents a personal challenge to Reeves: A wired-for-destruction city
bus, which will detonate if the speedometer drops below 50 MPH.
Playing the reluctant civilian who is pressed into service as the bus'
"substitute driver," leading lady Sandra Bullock became a major star in
her own right. Once Speed gets to the meat of its story, the excitement
never lets up--not even after the boobytrapped bus is out of the
picture.