Am Anfang stand ein Zukunftsroman: H. G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" erschien 1898 und gehört seit seinem Erscheinen zu den bahnbrechenden Werken der angelsächsischen Kulturgeschichte. Was mag Steven Spielberg gereizt haben, diesen Stoff im Jahr 2005 auf die Kinoleinwand zu bringen? Ist die Vorlage überhaupt geeignet für eine "Spielbergisierung"? Und warum spielt ausgerechnet Tom Cruise die Hauptrolle des Vaters Ray Ferrier, der seine Kinder beschützt und dadurch erwachsen werden soll? - Ketzerische Fragen eines Spielberg-Bewunderers im "medienheft" v. 29. Juni 2005 ...

NEW YORK TIMES LESSON PLAN

REVIEWS REVEALED: Writing Movie Reviews

BASED ON THE ARTICLE: Another Terror Attack, but Not by Humans, By A. O. SCOTT,June 30, 2005 URL: » http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20050630thursday.html

OVERVIEW OF LESSON PLAN: In this lesson, students discuss the benefits or drawbacks in consulting movie reviews. They analyze movie reviews from The New York Times and create a list of features in effective movie reviews. They then write their own movie reviews based on this list.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE: 1 hour

OBJECTIVES: Students will: 1. Discuss how helpful a movie review may be when deciding to watch a movie. 2. Analyze a movie review from The New York Times by reading and discussing the article "Another Terror Attack, but Not by Humans." 3. Generate a list of features of a movie review. 4. Individually write their own movie reviews.

RESOURCES / MATERIALS: -student journals -pens/pencils -paper -classroom board -various issues of The New York Times (at least one per pair), including Arts sections containing movie reviews -copies of the article "Another Terror Attack, but Not by Humans," found online at » http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20050630thursday.html (one per student)

ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES: 1. WARM-UP/DO NOW: Upon entering class, students respond to the following prompt in their journals (written on the board prior to class): "If you are thinking about seeing a particular movie, would you consult a movie review for a recommendation? Why or why not? What types of useful information can a movie review offer you? List as many as you can." After a few minutes, allow students to share their responses. Survey the class to see how many students have consulted a movie review before and how helpful it was. Then as a class, discuss the following questions: How often do young people consult movie reviews before watching a movie? What aspects about movie reviews make them a positive or negative influence on your decision to watch the movie? Explain to students that they will be reading a review from The New York Times about the movie "War of the Worlds" and discussing the organization and content of the review. ...

Geoffrey O'Brien: Cold Comfort. In: New York Review of Books, Volume 52, Number 13, August 11, 2005
» http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18153