1.

INTRODUCTION

a) What do you like reading?, What types of films do you like? What do you
understand by the term literatura? And by cinema?

b) Look at the following list of genres.

- Which ones are fiction and which non-fiction?

- Which ones refer to Cinema? And to Literature? And to both of them?

- Is there any genre you haven’t read / seen yet? Why?

- Choose five of these genres. Could you associate each of them to a title of a book /
film?

autobiographies biographies blogs crime stories

diaries essays history memoirs
novels history movies plays poetry
romances sci-fi stories short stories detective novels
travel writing thrillers cartoons documentaries

c) Read the following opinions about cinema and literatura. Do you think they are
positive or negative?

- Gladiator was mind-numbing.

- When I saw Titanic I was bored to death, I am sure I nodded off more than once.

- Star Wars was action-packed.

- I think Avatar was fast-paced.

- Hitchcock’s film keep me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

- I don’t like Woody Allen’s film because they move at a snail’s pace.

- I don’t like Harry Potter, but the last film has really good reviews. I’ll give it a try!

2. READING & VOCABULARY

I love watching movies. I like a lot of different genres. No matter what my mood is, I
can always find something that fits the bill. When I’m feeling down, I sometimes like a
good comedy. My favorite are romantic comedies. The plot is pretty simple. A boy
meets a girl and there are road blocks to them getting together. The lead actors are
usually likable people, the supporting cast give comic relief and villains are people we
love to hate. In the end, though, there is usually a happy ending. Romantic comedies,
or comedies in general, can be predictable but they’re also pretty entertaining. I don’t
go out of my way to see slapstick or physical comedies that much. But, once in a
while, I catch a good one on TV.

I like dramas, mysteries, and action and adventure stories, not to mention
documentaries. My favorite are movies that have surprise endings that throw you for
a loop. Just when you thought you had the whole thing figured out, there’s a plot
twist. Good screenwriters or directors can pull it off.

However, scary movies just don’t do it for me. But, there is one exception. I like
movies by the director Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock was born in England but made most
of his films in the U.S. Before he died in 1980, he made a lot of movies that are now
considered classics. Most of them are nail-biters; some are misteries and some are
horror stories.

The scariest movie I think he made and that I’ve ever seen was a movie called Psyco.
The movie is set in a seedy motel called Bates Motel. The main character owns the
motel and lives there with his mother. Strange things happened at this motel. People
check in, but sometimes, they don’t check out. One day, a very pretty woman checks in
to the motel. We know something bad is going happen to her. Sure enough, we see
her get murdered. At the very end, we find out who the murderer is. It’s one of those
surprise endings. Just when you thought you have it figured out, it turns out to be a
shocker. I won’t spoil the ending for you if you haven’t seen it. I recommend it,
though; and I give it a big thumbs up. But, be warned. It’s not for the faint-hearted.

1. Read the text above. Are the following sentences True (T) or False (F)?

a) The speaker admits she prefers comedies when she feels a bit sad. _______

b) She prefers movies with a predictable plot. _______

c) She likes all types of horror movies, especially those directed by Alfred Hitchcock. __

d) She warns readers that Hitchcock’s films are not advisable for people with heart
problems. _____
2. Read the text again and find an expression in bold that matches each of the
definitions below.

a) Secondary roles or parts. _____________________________________

b) Achieve something or make it successful. ___________________________________

c) When actors do funny things like falling down, hitting each other, etc. to make
people laugh. _______________________________________

d) Make it stop being fun, entertaining or successful. ___________________________

e) Expression used to emphasize the importance of something that you are adding to a
list. ___________________________

f) Something that makes you feel very nervous, tense or anxious. _________________

g) To Have a positive and good opinion of something. ___________________________

h) Obstacle or situation that prevents something from happening. _________________

i) Make you feel amazed or confused. ________________________________________

3. WRITING / SPEAKING: a book / film review

Reviews are short descriptions of books, films, plays, TV programmes, etc. They are
written to inform readers and viewers, and to give them your opinion /
recommendation about whether (or not) they should read a book, or see a film / play /
etc.

Reviews are usually found in newspapers, magazines, blogs, fórums, webpages

specialised in cinema, or e-mails. The style you use depends on the medium and the
target reader, so can range from formal to semi-formal.

3.1. STRUCTURE:

A review should consist of:

a) an introduction in which you summarise all the background information of the book
/ film / etc. (i.e. title, name of author / director, type, setting, etc.);

b) a main body consisting of two paragraphs: on about the main points of the plot,
presented in chronological order, and another including general comments on the plot,
the main characters, the acting, the directing, etc.
 Note: You should not reveal the end of the story to the reader!!

c) a conclusion in which you recommend or do not recommend the book / film / play /
etc.

A) INTRODUCTION

Paragraph 1 background information (title, name of autor / director, type of book / film, setting, etc.)

B) MAIN BODY

Paragraph 2 main points of the plot

Paragraph 3 general comments

C) CONCLUSION

Paragraph 4 recommendation

3.2. LANGUAGE USED: You normally use present tenses and a variety of adjectives to
describe the plot and make your comments more clear and to the point.

To make your review stylistically rich and varied in language, consider the possibility of
using: relative clauses, adverbs, as well as wide range of adjectives and vocabulary
specific to book / film reviews.

Remember to include links to connect ideas (beyond the usual “but, because, and,
or”)!!!

Other useful expressions may be:

A) Background:

The film / book tells the story of…

The film / story is set in…

The book / novel was written by…

The film is directed by…

It is a comedy / horror film / love story / thriller / etc.

The book / film is based on (the life of / etc.)…

B1) Main points in the plot:

The story concerns / is about / begins…

The plot is (rather) entertaining / boring / thrilling /…

The plot has an unexpected twist.

B2) General comments:

It is rather long / boring / confusing / slow

The cast is excellent / awful / unconvincing

The script is dull / exciting

The author’s writing style is confusing / boring / amusing / full of detail

It is beautifully / poorly / badly written.

It has a tragic / dramatic end.

The reader / audience will certainly / thoroughly enjoy

It is well-written / well-acted

(A famous actor / actress) plays the part of

The starring role is played by…

C) Recommendations:

Don’t miss it. It is well worth seeing.

It is well worth buying / reading

I wouldn’t recommend it because…

I highly / thoroughly recommend it.

It is bound to be a box-office hit.

It is bound to be a best-seller.

Wait until it comes out in video.

It is a highly entertaining read.

It’s a bore to read.

4. BOOK REVIEW SAMPLE

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner of Khaled Hosseini’s deeply moving fiction debut is an illiterate Afghan
boy with an uncanny instinct for predicting exactly where a downed kite will land.
Growing up in the city of Kabul in the early 1970s, Hassan was narrator Amir’s closest
friend even though the loyal 11-year-old with “a face like a Chinese doll” was the son
of Amir’s father’s servant and a member of Afghanistan’s despised Hazara minority.
But in 1975, on the day of Kabul’s annual kite-fighting tournament, something
unspeakable happened between the two boys.

Narrated by Amir, a 40-year-old novelist living in California, The Kite Runner tells the
gripping story of a boyhood friendship destroyed by jealousy, fear, and the kind of
ruthless evil that transcends mere politics. Running parallel to this personal narrative
of loss and redemption is the story of modern Afghanistan and of Amir’s equally guilt-
ridden relationship with the wartorn city of his birth.

The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner begins in the final days
of King Zahir Shah’s 40-year reign and traces the country’s fall from a secluded oasis to
a tank-strewn battlefield controlled by the Russians and then the trigger-happy
Taliban. When Amir returns to Kabul to rescue Hassan’s orphaned child, the personal
and the political get tangled together in a plot that is as suspenseful as it is taut with
feeling.

The son of an Afghan diplomat whose family received political asylum in the United
States in 1980, Hosseini combines the unflinching realism of a war correspondent with
the satisfying emotional pull of master storytellers such as Rohinton Mistry. Like the
kite that is its central image, the story line of this mesmerizing first novel occasionally
dips and seems almost to dive to the ground. But Hosseini ultimately keeps everything
airbone until his heartrending conclusion in an American picnic park.