My research into fil

1. ~J
naMe Or
rail
hIm.
I
Street Dance 3D
~**
~__~~_ Though it
_ ev,(2,w R
1. A good review should be informative, but if it's good it will also be entertaining.
ar-Ch
should've been seriously Keep three things in mind whilst writing - your readers, the type of rev,iew, and the
naft. this British hip-hop
hoofer hifs the right groove.
purpose of the review.
The likeable Nichola Alleley
stars as Carly, a dancer who
2. Your readers may be beginners - or advanced specialists. You should write
must lead her crew to glory
via collaboration with a posh reviews in different ways, according to the audience. The type of audience is likely tc
ballet school. Faf'liliar plot be determined by the publication - either in print or on the Web.
movf>s, then, but StreetDance
impresses with choreography
that synchs with the 3D effects 3. The kind of publication will also determine the type of review that is required.
and fashion/music choices that . . .. b .
chime with real teen tastes. Make sure you have a clear Idea of the type of review you are writing y getting to
Those who think N-Dubz is know the publication first
a lime scale remover can still
enjoy Charlotte Rampl!ng's .
regal turn as the ballet teacher.4. The purpose of a review is to give an account ofthe subject in question (the book,
Skill~ul.ly pitched at its
market, film play or event) and offer a reasoned opinion about its qualities. Your main task
thiS IS Joyful In a way only the ' , .
profe~sionally grumpy (dads, is to report on the content. the approach, and the scope of the work for the benefit
film critics) could object to. of your readers.
Ellen EJones
5. Reviews will be successful if they have a firm structure:
• Brief introduction
• Description of contents
• Assessment of value
• Comparison with others
• Conclusion
6. You should write in an easy reader-friendly manner.
wqQ (Jklq, ~ CJl ~ ~Cl tCU UJh a.f
-=r ~~ L.t lD· mov,P JhU-{}lJt'e!J reR.ctJ2.A ~tostQA
I~' -Ln~ /-~ QrJrda
six years since For Emma Stone has been on the cusp
Mean Girls, so by for ages, her smoky voice, playful attitude
A star is born our reckoning we're and godsent comic timing marking her out
~- .....•...... due another great in the likes of Superbad and Zombieland.
P.
·(WJ~·····
. ,~..... .. teen comedy, And Olive is the perfect vehicle for her,
RE1.EASED October 22 and 10 and behold, affording her the opportunity to do a little bit
CERTIFlCATE! '/5 here it comes in ofjust about everything. including pieces
DIRECTOR Witi Gluck the guise of Will to camera. a song-and-dance number and
CAST Emma Stone, Pmn Badgley, Gluck's Easy A. atransformation from plain Jane to sultry
Stanlq Tucci, P"trici" Clarkson, Like the others, vixen that, for once, doesn't seem forced.
Al1,anda Bynes, Thomas H,ulen it's deceptively light But Olive's chief weapon is her intelligence.
Cburcb, Lisa KudroIV and breezy stuff, with Gluck and screenwriter Bert V. Royal
RUNNING TIM 93 mins. withits hilarious unafraid to allow her to be the smartest and
PLOT Olive (Stone) is" brightpupil rat-a-tat dialogue funniest girl in the room. Except, perhaps.
getting by at asmalltoum bigh school, - smart and bouncy. it created ahuge star masking perceptive social comment (it's when she's trading barbs with her parents
unnoticedlEy thepopulars. Until in Alicia Silverstone. Four years later, in 1999, a movie which roots for the lillie gill' wUhollt (Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson. so
anotherstudentasks her to help bim 10 Things I Hale About You did the same ~ver getting out the soapbox). Like the delightful you'll want to adopt them) in
hide his homosexu"lity by pretending thing. taking literary inspiration - in this •thers (well, the first two), it uses its source scenes so fun they'll make the seven-year
to have sex IVith him. l1'hen IVordgets case Shakespeare, ai.opposed to Clueless' material well- Nathaniel Hawthorne's The wait for the next great teen-<:om bearable.
around, thefloodgates open, tuming ane Austen vibe - and turning it into Scarlet Letter. which is directly referenced Chris Hewitt
PI Olive into" psemlo:flooz)'. Can she a script with bona fide smarts and chuckles. throughout. And like the others, it's a movie
dearh£7'n"me? ircY'J" while making its lead, tleath Ledger, hot
that skilfully fleshes out its supporting cast, VERDICT Arguably the best teen
t~~:~f~::::· stuff. Five years later, along cam~s
t@an Girls whicb sent I indsay I aban's star
treating the adults, including Thomas Haden
Church and Lisa Kudrow as married teachers
comedy since Clueless, it's easy to give
j
this one an A. Well, A-.
,.EMPIRE HAS A THEORY. rocketing. Temporarily. going through some issues, as actual
''!I'
(T In 1995, Amy Heckerling's Clueless was the
~ first genuinely great teen comedy in years
With us so far? You don't need to be
Robert Langdon to crack this code. It's been
characters, while serving up aheck of a role ****
,/
for its leading lady. And about time, too.
~.~
W

2. (Gun 11'1 en q I n ­
frQme e/eren e.
GlXJtelJ f
Ye-v/£u!J' .'Very
f unny. ~ JC ~~
r r{/ (r h
It great movie lit by to ~ ~ _
astonishing performances,ll f~.
Andrew Male) Empire
o taf
Ctt'e~
o qfQ pmc IS ")1m lookl 9. u~ .
Jt he- d '9 wh at tfO
:---:: 'Q 'J V('J) I e
~ben/~still~r is
actO'· E G
"~JEJ,e greta rhys jennifer
nQ capital gerwig ifans jason le,igh
Q:tt-ws,

3. es e.D.f'"Ch
If the wind changed,
they'd stay like that.
e.
, L.. +,.I:I:.::r,,.:,
MattIIew LeJIand
NO, It's not golden
age for the muslal.
...or have musicals had their day, asks Neil Smith But IS the Inspllatlon
HSM hU brought
mlUlons of kids really
sign of the musical's demise. Another is the way such an evil? Or would
it's been hijacked and mutated into a kid-friendly you rather their happy
cash cow, bereft of one origi nal thought or feet wen! kicking In
memorable tune. heads? And don't be
I'm talking, of course, about High School Musical, dlsslna Endlantftfl
the wholesome, upbeat and utterly asinine Rosie Fletcher
Disney franchise that has made every teen in the Clearly no one was all
US want to start their own Glee club. Time was tIYt bothered whether
So Emma Thompson wants to when musicals had ambition, scale and the daring Audrey Hepburn could
remake My Fa;r Lady, eh? Excuse to tackle difficult subjects (Nazism in Cabaret, urban Cilrry a tune etller,
given that she was
me if I don't dance all night. No violence in West Side Story) through the medium of
dubbed by Marni
doubt Carey Mulligan will make a song and dance. Now it's all about whether NIxon. CtlbGrrt was
delightful Eliza Doolittle, while Zac Efron should tread the boards or shoot hoops, brilliant. and Dancer
Hugh Grant could probably give or whether Miley Cyrus can cut classes without In 7he Doric broke me
Rex Harrison a run for his money if revealing she's Hannah Montana. (1n a good way) but
he winds up taking the Henry To give the Mouse House its due, it did do a lot It's a good thing to
experience a bit of
Higgins part. Truly though, does this war horse to keep the musical alive prior to its recent pure escapist Glee
deserve another canter? Not on the street where resurgence, hit animations like The Little Mermaid, now and again.
Ilive it doesn't - and, with a Ilittle bit of luck,
it won't get one.
Here's what's wrong with musicals today.
us·c I has nn~lF"l Jamie Gnatwn
Musicals, horror
Is anyone remotely bothered whether Miss
Mulligan can Carey a tune? Of course not.
t dl to movies. westems....
they come, they
80, some cydes are
These days no one cares about the singing, as Beauty And The Beast and The Lion King strong. some weak.
anyone who saw Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia! being as much Broadway shows in waiting as 'toon Yes, the current crop
can attest. It's all just big-screen karaoke now, adventures. Enchanted and The Princess And of hoofers hanlly
a chance for Hollywood A-listers to fake versatility The Frog, however, s owed the welli runs dry if compare to the classlcs
of of the '30-'605, but
while doing proper performers out of a job. you draw from it a little too often, something you
Illv. me MGmma MIa!.
Thus we get Johnny Depp doing his best wish the remakers of Fame had realised HlgII SClloo/ Muska'
Anthony Newley in Sweeney Todd, or Eddie Murphy before churning out their flat version of Alan and Nine over deathly
aping James Brown in Dreamgirls. What are Parker's film last year. slienc•. Especially
we watching exactly? Actors bravely stretching Musicals need a reason to exist, and that can't HlgII SClloo/ Muslcal_
themselves into unexplored territory, or indulged simply be to milk money out of an old property
Matt Hobbs
superstars getting paid to wheel out their gathering dust on a studio shelf. Better I have a lot of time for
party pieces? to bring the curtain down for good than have HannaII MoIItGna and
The fact that Daniel Day-Lewis got the lead in the genre suffer a slow, irreversible decline. Or is CGmpRock.
Nine ahead of, say, Mandy Patinkin is but one it just me?