Movie review plz give feedback

Question

so this the movie review i made for school and my teacher didn't like it. could you guys give me some feedback and check for any mistakes .thanks in advance
The Gods Must Be Crazy
The movie The Gods Must Be Crazy was directed, produced and written by Jamie Uys.
It stars
Marius Weyers as Andrew Steyn
Sandra Prinsloo as Kate Thompson
N!xau as xi
Louw Verwey as Sam Boga
Michael Thys as Mpudi
Nic de Jager as Jack Hind
Paddy O'Byrne as the Narrator
This movie was shot in SA more specifically in the Kalahari Desert in the mid-1980s
The movie is a collision of 3 separate stories- the journey of a Bushman who traveled to the end of the earth to get rid of a Coca-Cola bottle, the romance between a bumbling scientist and a schoolteacher, and a band of guerrillas on the run. The first story talks about the Bushmen, how they found a Coca-Cola bottle and how they plan to dispose of it. The second part of the movie focuses more on the romance between a bumbling scientist and a schoolteacher. In the final part of the movie Louw Verwey and his “guerrillas” try to flee SA which end in absolute and in the end of the movie when Andrew Steyn (aka Marius Weyers ) and Kate Thompson (aka Sandra Prinsloo) start dating is just the icing on the cake.
OK, so in the sample review (which you gave us) the recommendation is really short, and I cannot express how god-awful that movie was in such a few words. I give this movie a 2/10 it just barely missed the lowest score I could possibly give it and I would not recommend this movie to any living being because it can be seriously hazardous to your health ( not really but it is still awful) . Ok so if you are looking for a short review stop reading here, if you want my more in-depth analysis keep reading. This is the part in which I break the movie down; I will talk about the acting, the special effects, CGI usage, the script, their overall performance and their genre
I will start with the acting:
- Acting- The acting in itself is not very bad; it’s actually one of the components that make the movie bearable. If I just had to judge the acting I would give it a solid 6/10 slightly above average. It was good but certainly not the best
- Special effects- as far as I can remember there were little special effects aside from the helicopter explosion so I give it a very bad 2/10 they could have used more which would certainly make the movie more exciting
- CGI- there was absolutely no CGI at the movie, which isn’t that bad. Most of the movies overuse it which gives them worse scores than they deserve. But the bottom line they still didn’t use any CGI so I have to give it a score of 0/10. I also realize that that technology wasn’t present at that moment ( not sure about the date that movies started using it)
- The script- the script was noting exceptional. There certainly were some funny parts like the land rover but nothing really stood out to me and this is the most important part of the movie. The script needs to make you go WAU or HAHA but these moments were rare and even when they happened they wouldn’t last for a very long time and at some points the script I could barely believe that they were actually written by a professional. My first guess was that this script was written by a five-year old. So my final verdict of the script is a disappointing 2/10. It does have some life in it but sadly the good things don’t outshine the bad ones.

- The genre- The movie is listed as a comedy- really a comedy the only laughable thing about this movie was its script and that just sad

- Overall performance- given the extremely bad script the actors performed masterfully, they showed life in their performance but the few special effects and NO CGI is what brought this movie down I’m trying to find good things about this movie that I can write about but aside from the acting noting seems special .So as I stated before I give it a 2/10 and for the record if I could I would give this movie an Epic Fail sticker so that everyone would see how much it sucks and wouldn’t waste spending money to watch this movie. The only reason I didn’t give this movie a 1/10 is because that place is taken by the movie The Last Airbender , but the gods must be crazy is not far from it. The only reason I despise the The Last Airbender more is because I had high hopes at the start of that movie. The anime is awesome so I expected the movie to be as well, boy was I wrong but that’s a story for another review.

If I have to sum it up in one sentence it would look like this. In the movie gods must be crazy the script is god-awful, the acting is mediocre, special effects are pathetic and there is absolutely no CGI, if you want to watch the movie because it’s so pitiful go ahead it’s your own choice but beware I warned you.

Matej Neumann

COPYRIGHT PRIVILEGES
BELONG TO THE
Matej Neumann
Reproduction of this review requires the written permission of Matej Neumann

Agarista · Accepted Answer

Hi matejxx1,
Wow! You are a harsh critic!

Did you really hate it so much? I saw this movie with my parents; I was very little, maybe 4 or 5 years old, we were in a small town at the sea and decided to go to an outdoor cinema theater. It so happened that they were showing "The Gods Must Be Crazy". I don't remember any of the plot, but what I do remember is that people couldn't stop laughing. I guess the perspective on what is funny and what not, changes over time. Many years later, when I was in the States I came across an old documentary at a flee market -- "Animals are beautiful people"; it is by the same director, Jamie Uys, but it is even older than "The Gods Must Be Crazy", I think it dates back to the 1970s. I really liked the way the narrator told the story, it was humorous and wildlife was portrayed differently from what one would expect to see in a documentary; it was "filmed" from a different angle so to say.
About your review of "The Gods Must Be Crazy", fair enough, you think it's awful, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I cannot comment on the film, since I don't remember much of it, but my overall impression of your text is that is somewhat immature. Special effects is not what makes a movie great and in this particular case it is a bit illogical to expect to see any, since the film was made in the 1980s. If your assignment, for example, were to write a review on one of Charlie Chaplin's movies, it would be absurd to complain about the lack of color. One must understand that it was an entirely different film era.
I like the fact that you were honest in your review, most students would write what their teacher wants to read. It doesn't bother me that you dislike the film but I believe you should give more arguments and examples to back your statements up. You say that the script "was laughable" and "was written by a five-year-old", but you don't really explain why. All I get from your "in-dept-analysis" is that you absolutely hate the movie. Writing well is not just about praising something or denying its merits; there must be intelligent, logical reasoning behind it. This is my personal opinion of course, others may disagree with it.

Khoff · Answer

No CGI? The movie was made in 1980, for goodness sakes! Do you think Gone with the Wind is a flop because it lacks CGI?

Even today, there are plenty of movies that don't use CGI because they don't need it for the atmosphere they are trying to create. Next time, maybe you should try judging a movie for what it does have, instead of what it doesn't have.

Khoff · Answer

I'll make some more specific comments on your review:

This part:
The first story talks about the Bushmen, how they found a Coca-Cola bottle and how they plan to dispose of it. The second part of the movie focuses more on the romance between a bumbling scientist and a schoolteacher. In the final part of the movie Louw Verwey and his “guerrillas” try to flee SA which end in absolute and in the end of the movie when Andrew Steyn (aka Marius Weyers ) and Kate Thompson (aka Sandra Prinsloo) start dating is just the icing on the cake.

is just a repetition of this part:
The movie is a collision of 3 separate stories- the journey of a Bushman who traveled to the end of the earth to get rid of a Coca-Cola bottle, the romance between a bumbling scientist and a schoolteacher, and a band of guerrillas on the run.
except for the part I put in bold, which is ungrammatical and confusing.

OK, so in the sample review (which you gave us) the recommendation is really short,
Usually addressing the teacher directly within your review is bad form.

But the bottom line they still didn’t use any CGI so I have to give it a score of 0/10. I also realize that that technology wasn’t present at that moment ( not sure about the date that movies started using it)
If you realize that the technology was not available, why on earth do you think you should criticize the movie for not having it?

there were little special effects aside from the helicopter explosion so I give it a very bad 2/10 they could have used more which would certainly make the movie more exciting

Not every movie needs explosions!! This was a quiet movie, not a James Bond film.

My first guess was that this script was written by a five-year old.

Unnecessarily cruel -- and also dangerous, because one is tempted to say the same of your review.

The script needs to make you go WAU or HAHA but these moments were rare and even when they happened they wouldn’t last for a very long time

Not all comedy is "laugh-out-loud" comedy. You indicate no knowledge at all of subtlety or irony.

The only reason I didn’t give this movie a 1/10 is because that place is taken by the movie The Last Airbender , but the gods must be crazy is not far from it. The only reason I despise the The Last Airbender more is because I had high hopes at the start of that movie. The anime is awesome so I expected the movie to be as well, boy was I wrong but that’s a story for another review.

Then it should not be part of this review!

In the movie gods must be crazy the script is ***-awful, the acting is mediocre, special effects are pathetic and there is absolutely no CGI, if you want to watch the movie because it’s so pitiful go ahead it’s your own choice but beware I warned you.

This is a rambling, run-on sentence. Also, I don't think it's too much to ask that the title of the movie being reviewed should be quoted and punctuated correctly.

I would add that in responding to your post, I found myself replying much more harshly than I usually do. You have a huge "chip on your shoulder" throughout the piece, and your hostility towards your subject makes it difficult to respond to you with equanimity.

Matejxx1 · Answer

thx guys i realize that i could have explained better then i wrote, I see where i made mistakes and i will fix them. this is the first think i wrote for my English class since i join high school( English is not my first language) and i don't really like the teacher there and because i knew she likes the movie i try to be as harsh as i could, but there really weren't that many instructions so i really had no idea what to write about. thx again for the feedback and 2 more question if i could:

1."This is a rambling, run-on sentence. Also, I don't think it's too much to ask that the title of the movie being reviewed should be quoted and punctuated correctly."

i apologize i had no idea that I had to put quotes is it mandatory to do that

2."You have a huge "chip on your shoulder" throughout the piece, and your hostility"

could you explain the meaning of this sentence. I kinda get the picture of it but not the whole thing.
thx guys

Khoff · Answer

Hi, matejxx1. Actually, I'm not sure if a movie title should be italicized or put in quotation marks, but it definitely needs something to set it apart from the rest of the sentence. Also, with "The Gods Must be Crazy," "The" is part of the title, so be sure to include it when you refer to the film.

"You have a chip on your shoulder" is an idiom that means "you are obviously trying to start a fight." What you say here is a good example of it:

matejxx1 i don't really like the teacher there and because i knew she likes the movie i try to be as harsh as i could,

I'm not sure this is the best way to start off in High School. You don't have to agree with everything the teacher says, but "having a chip on your shoulder" will only make things more difficult than necessary.

I would also strongly suggest that you get in the habit of writing correctly when you post on English Forums (and,for that matter, everywhere that's not just texting). It doesn't take a huge amount of effort to spell out "Thanks" and to remember to always capitalize "I" and the first word in every sentence, and it makes a much better impression on the people you are asking for help.

If this is your first book review in an American high school, I'm willing to excuse you for some of the things I pointed out before, like addressing the teacher directly in the middle of the piece. (In general, I think a book review should try to be more objective. It's not so much about whether or not you liked the movie, but rather whether the movie succeeding in dong what it was trying to do.)

Just out of curiosity, what did the teacher say about it?

Matejxx1 · Answer

Hello again and thanks for replying in such a short time I will try my best to write everything as its supposed to be. i got a habit of it when I was playing online games and most people there don't spell everything correctly ( me being one of them).

khoffIf this is your first book review in an American high school

This assignment was kinda hard for me in the beginning because I had never before in my life written a movie/book review and as I said before the instruction that the teacher gave us didn't help me a lot ( I can give you the link and you can see for yourself). Therefor I went to YouTube and checked out some game reviews which helped me but I clearly got some things wrong. My grammar has never been good not even in my native language and I fell that my English would be better if I actually in in an American high school.

khoff (In general, I think a book review should try to be more objective. It's not so much about whether or not you liked the movie, but rather whether the movie succeeding in dong what it was trying to do.)

Yes I 100% agree with you here I totally forgot about this.

khoffJust out of curiosity, what did the teacher say about it?

There is a special Slovenian word that she used that cant be translated to English. Basically she said that I wrote some things that were completely irrelevant. However she needed to focus more on the other students that need more help then me in English.
Thanks again for all your help I really appreciate it.

Anonymous · Answer

Both words are often used ... Is it correct...any one plz help me

Anonymous · Answer

can any help me plz is correct because u are asking about help so your way should be polite end requesting (m farhan)

Anonymous · Answer

I am having a problem understanding what witness protection program is about?  Is it a program to publicly access medical and financial records? or is it a program to watch someone with your friends as someone takes a shower?  HURRY SHOWER TIME!  Please help clarify.  Thanks

Clive · Answer

You have a completely incorrect idea.
Look here. http://people.howstuffworks.com/witness-protection.htm

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