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Library lessons Terms 1 and 2 Film, book and theatr reviews 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times) 3. Macbeth, Manchester International Theatre (The Telegraph) 4. Inside Out (Empire magazine) 5. Apple and Rain (Olmclibrary) 6. Shrek the Musical (The Independent)

Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

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Page 2: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Library lesson 1 – Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian)

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – review

3 / 5 stars The fourth in Tom Cruise's international-spy series is an efficient and effective thriller – and is given an extra comic dimension by a scene-stealing Simon Pegg

Cinema's most respectable hoodie Tom Cruise is back, slouching moodily out of the poster for the latest enjoyable Mission Impossible caper, directed by Brad "Incredibles" Bird. He is Ethan Hunt, leader of the International Missions Force or IMF – wiry, taut, fiercely focused, unfeasibly buff for a man of any age, never mind 49. He must now lead his crew in disguise, in disgrace, in the shadows, because an event repeatedly forewarned in his mission briefing has come to pass. His team has been disowned by the US government who have invoked something solemnly called "ghost protocol". They have been stitched up for a bombing at the Kremlin and are now on their own, needing to restore their good name in the action-adventure community and, unaided, recapture a nuclear activation device invented by a crazy terrorist (Michael Nyqvist) intent on Armageddon.

In Hunt's team is the gorgeous Jane (Paula Patton), the beta-plus warrior male Brandt (Jeremy Renner), and the comedy one, Benji, played by Simon Pegg, who really rather often manages to steal the movie. (Realising no one likes the ideas he's proposing in a tense strategy meeting, Benji blurts out: "I'm just spitballing here; it's not all going to be gold.") The best sequence is a gobsmacking vertigo nightmare: Ethan has to climb out of a high window of a tall tower in Dubai and inch along the side of the building. That's a very woozy experience on Imax. There's some great gadgetry: particularly a portable gauze camouflage screen that permits Ethan and Benji to creep up a Kremlin corridor invisibly – a very surreal moment. The film sags a little during later scenes in India, and Ethan has a slightly baffling kissing moment with Jane, leaving us unsure exactly how much sexual chemistry we are supposed to expect between Cruise and Patton, given that this tragic widower is still supposed to have tender memories of his departed wife. But it's solid entertainment.

Comprehension

1. What genre of film is Mission Impossible?

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2. Identify the names of two of the actors/actresses in this film.

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Page 3: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

3. Explain in your own words the mission Ethan Hunt is to face in this film.

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4. What is the writer’s favourite scene? Why?

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5. In your own words, explain why you think the writer feels the film sags?

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Vocabulary

Develop your understanding of the following two words taken from the review.

Word class Definition Word in a sentence

Synonym

Taut

Invoked

Page 4: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Language

1. Re-read the review and note down the adjectives the writer uses. Differentiate between the positive and more negative adjectives.

Positive adjectives used to describe the film

More negative adjectives used to describe the film

2. What can you deduce about the writer’s standpoint on the film as a result?

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Page 5: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

3. Look at the following phrases taken from the review. What language feature has been used and to what effect?

Language feature EffectFiercely focused

He must now lead his crew in disguise, in disgrace, in the shadows

Structure

1. How are the ideas in the review built up? Think about the content of paragraph 1 and the content of paragraph 2. What are each of the paragraphs about?

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Page 6: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

2. Why are the words ‘ghost protocol’ in inverted commas?

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3. What function does the semi-colon fulfil here? The best sequence is a gobsmacking vertigo nightmare: Ethan has to climb out of a window of a tall tower in Dubai and inch along the side of the building.

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4. What is the purpose of the embedded clauses in the following sentences?

‘…needing to restore their good name in the action-adventure community and, unaided, recapture a nuclear activation device invented by a crazy terrorist intent on Armageddon.

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‘…and the comedy one, Benji, played by Simon Pegg..’

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Page 7: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Library lesson 2 – Facing Up to It – ‘Wonder’ by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Facing Up to It

‘Wonder,’ by R. J. Palacio

APRIL 6, 2012

By MARIA RUSSO

Born with several genetic abnormalities, 10-year-old August Pullman, called Auggie, dreams of being “ordinary.” Inside, he knows he’s like every other kid, but even after 27 surgeries, the central character of “Wonder” bears facial disfigurations so pronounced that people who see him for the first time do “that look-away thing” — if they manage to hide their shock and horror.

“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse,” he says of his face as the book begins. He’s used to the stares and mean comments, but he’s still terrified to learn that his parents have gotten him into middle school at Beecher Prep and want him to go there rather than be home-schooled. But they persuade him to give it a try — and by the time this rich and memorable first novel by R. J. Palacio is over, it’s not just Auggie but everyone around him who has changed.

Stories about unusual children who long to fit in can be particularly wrenching. At their core lurks a kind of loneliness that stirs primal fears of abandonment and isolation. But Palacio gives Auggie a counterweight to his problems: He has the kind of warm and loving family many “normal” children lack. Among their — and the book’s — many strengths, the Pullmans share the, um, earthy sense of humor that all kids love. Over the years his parents, Nate and Isabel, have turned the disturbing story of Auggie’s birth into high comedy involving a flatulent nurse who fainted at the sight of him, and they persuade him to go to Beecher by riffing hilariously on the name of the school’s director, Mr. Tushman. It also helps that the Pullmans’ world — they live in a town house in “the hippie-stroller capital of upper Upper Manhattan” — is the privileged, educated upper-middle class, that hotbed of parents who hover and micromanage the lives of their perfectly fine children. It’s somehow weirdly satisfying to see what happens when something actually alarming enters this zone of needless anxiety. Palacio carves a wise and refreshing path, suggesting that while even a kid like August has to be set free to experience the struggles of life, the right type of closeness between parents and children is a transformative force for good.

But it’s Auggie and the rest of the children who are the real heart of “Wonder,” and Palacio captures the voices of girls and boys, fifth graders and teenagers, with equal skill, switching narrators every few chapters to include Auggie’s friends and his teenage sister, Via, who wrestles with her resentment, guilt and concern. “We circle around him like he’s still the baby he used to be,” she observes ruefully. And we see the vicious politics of fifth-grade popularity played out as the class bully targets

Page 8: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Auggie and starts a campaign to shun him, culminating in an overnight school trip that turns scary and shuffles the social deck in ways no one could have imagined.

While I sobbed several times during “Wonder,” my 9-year-old daughter — who loved the book and has been pressing it on her friends — remained dry-eyed. She didn’t understand why I thought Auggie’s situation might upset her. “I like kids who are different,” she said. I realized that what makes her cry are stories in which children suffer because they have missing or neglectful parents and no one to take care of them. Perhaps Palacio’s most remarkable trick is leaving us with the impression that Auggie’s problems are surmountable in all the ways that count — that he is, in fact, in an enviable position.

Comprehension

1. Explain, using your own words, what the novel ‘Wonder’ about?

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2. Who is the author of the novel?

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3. Read paragraph three.a) Why does the author describe stories like ‘Wonder’ as ‘wrenching?’

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b) What, according to the author makes ‘Wonder’ slightly different?

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Page 9: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

4. Explain, using your own words, what the author thinks is the core message behind this novel.

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5. In paragraph four, the writer of the review identifies her reaction to the book versus her daughter’s reaction to the book. What reason does she give for these different reactions?

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Vocabulary

Develop your understanding of the following four words taken from the review.

Word class Definition Word in a sentence

Synonym

ruefully

culminating

surmountable

enviable

Page 10: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Language

Look at the following sentences taken from the review and answer the questions attached.

1. ‘Stories about unusual children who long to fit in can be particularly wrenching.’

What does the use of the verb ‘wrenching’ tell us about the potential narrative of Wonder?

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2. ‘Among their – and the book’s – many strengths, the Pullmans share the, um, earthy sense of humor that all kids love.’

What does the use of the noun phrase ‘many strengths’ tell us about the author’s viewpoint on the novel?

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Why do you think the writer has used the spoken language feature of a filler ‘um’ in her review?

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Page 11: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

3. ‘Over the years, his parents, Nate and Isabel, have turned the disturbing story of Auggie’s birth into high comedy..’

How does the adjective ‘disturbing’ add to your interpretation of the novel before reading it?

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4. ‘Palacio carves a wise and refreshing path…’

What does the verb ‘carves’ suggest about the writing process?

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5. ‘But it’s Auggie and the rest of the children who are the real heart of ‘Wonder’’

In using the noun phrase ‘real heart’, what is the author suggesting about the novel ‘Wonder’?

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Page 12: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

6. Palacio captures the voices of girls and boys, fifth graders and teenagers, with equal skill

What is the effect of the verb choice ‘captures’ in terms of how the review writer describes the writing process for Wonder?

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What does the use of the noun phrase ‘equal skill’ suggest about the review writer’s thoughts on RJ Palacio’s story telling?

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7. ‘While I sobbed several times during ‘Wonder’

What does the writer’s verb choice tell us about the emotive impact of the book on the reader?

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Page 13: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

8. ‘Perhaps Palacio’s most remarkable trick is leaving us with the impression that Auggie’s problems are surmountable.’

What does the superlative phrase tell us about the reviewer’s overall opinion of the book?

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Structure

1. Summarise the content of each paragraph below:

Paragraph summaryParagraph 1

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3

Paragraph 4

Paragraph 5

2. What have you learnt about how to structure a review as a result?

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Page 14: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Library lesson 3 – Macbeth, Manchester International Festival review (The Telegraph)

Macbeth, Manchester International Festival, review

A thrilling and cinematically fluid production of Macbeth is a triumph for Kenneth Branagh.

5

Macbeth at the Manchester International Festival Photo: Johan Persson

By Dominic Cavendish

One of Kenneth Branagh’s greatest achievements in bringing Shakespeare to the screen was conveying the gruesome toil of war in Henry V.

And in this thrilling, cinematically fluid account of Macbeth – which tonight marked his long-awaited return to serving the Bard on stage after a more than 10-year absence – Branagh, who co-directs with Rob Ashford as well as taking the lead, doesn’t hold back in plunging us into the harrowing grime of battle.

Taking over, in an inspired act of transgression, a deconsecrated church in Manchester – finally revealed as St Peter’s, Ancoats – the production places its audience on facing banks of seating along the length of the nave. A blast of choral song, a bursting through mud-caked wooden walls of the sepulchral three witches and then we’re in the midst of a protracted, rain-soaked enactment of the opening battle-field scenes. As the earthy playing-area turns into a bog, as drums beats and swords clash, something stirs in the memory. Oh yes, Shakespeare can be really exciting, can’t he?

Page 15: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

While the evening, which hurtles by in little over two hours, brilliantly captures the battle-hardened nature of the world Macbeth inhabits, Branagh, a rugged 52, shows us the vestigial civilisation beneath the martial exterior. He is first full of amicable disbelief, paces alone in breathless cogitation, falters before the act of betrayal - here bloodily shown on the altar itself, snuffing out surrounding candles – and becomes more unhinged and volatile as events are set in unstoppable motion.

Just as it becomes impossible for him to discern where his inner perturbations end and the outer nightmare begins, so it’s fiendishly hard too to establish where the power of his performance, sensationally assured in its vocal command, ends and the rest of the ensemble’s valiant labours take over. Everything seems of an equally potent, atmospheric piece – and Branagh is expertly matched by Alex Kingston as a goading Lady Macbeth whose fortitude finally succumbs to a delirium that answers his own.

Boasting a cast of over 25 and even the wondrous coup de theatre of hell-fire flaming up through the floors, all the night lacks are decent cushions for the crowd – it’s murder on the buttocks. This is a Macbeth, though, that won’t just go down as a highlight of the Manchester International Festival but as one of the Scottish Play’s great revivals. It’s a phoenix-like feather in the cap of Sir Ken, too, comeback Shakespearean king.

Comprehension

1. How many years has it been since the actor Branagh last appeared on stage?

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2. Read paragraph three. What have the production crew done in an attempt to recreate the atmosphere?

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Page 16: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

3. Read paragraph four. Using your own words, summarise how the character of Macbeth changes throughout the course of the play.

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4. Identify two words or phrases from paragraph 5 that suggest the writer of the review is impressed by the performances of the cast.

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5. What one thing does the writer say is missing from the performance in paragraph six?

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Page 17: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Vocabulary

Develop your understanding of the following two words taken from the review.

Word class Definition Word in a sentence

Synonym

fluid

transgression

deconsecrated

protracted

cogitation

discern

perturbations

valiant

fortitude

Page 18: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Language

1. A noun phrase is constructed by the use of an adjective and a noun – e.g. fearless soldier. Identify three noun phrases from the review and comment on the possible effect that these noun phrases are meant to have on the reader.

Noun phrase Effect

2. What is the effect of the cluster of three in this line ‘…As the earthy playing-area turns into a bog, as drums beats and swords clash, something stirs in the memory.’

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3. Why do you think the writer has used the rhetorical question in paragraph 3?

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4. What impression of the play is the reader left with as a result of the metaphor ‘It’s a phoenix-like feather in the cap of Sir Ken’?

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Page 19: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Structure

1. The opening paragraph/s

One of Kenneth Branagh’s greatest achievements in bringing Shakespeare to the screen was conveying the gruesome toil of war in Henry V.

And in this thrilling, cinematically fluid account of Macbeth – which tonight marked his long-awaited return to serving the Bard on stage after a more than 10-year absence – Branagh, who co-directs with Rob Ashford as well as taking the lead, doesn’t hold back in plunging us into the harrowing grime of battle.

a. What is the purpose of the opening paragraph in this review?

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b. How does the review opening seek to hook you in?

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Page 20: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

2. The closing paragraph

Boasting a cast of over 25 and even the wondrous coup de theatre of hell-fire flaming up through the floors, all the night lacks are decent cushions for the crowd – it’s murder on the buttocks. This is a Macbeth, though, that won’t just go down as a highlight of the Manchester International Festival but as one of the Scottish Play’s great revivals. It’s a phoenix-like feather in the cap of Sir Ken, too, comeback Shakespearean king.

c. What is the purpose of the closing paragraph in this review?

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d. How do you think the writer intends to leave the reader feeling at the end of the review? Why?

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Page 21: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Library lesson 4 – Inside Out (Empire magazine)

Inside OutEmotional Rescue

PlotThe emotions of 11 year-old Riley go into overdrive when her family moves from Minnesota to San Francisco.

Review

Pixar is the owner of cinema’s most famous brain trust, a group of wildly different personalities who come together to shape adolescent (and grown-up) hearts and minds through the power of storytelling. It is perhaps surprising, then, that they have taken so long to make Inside Out, a film about a literal brain trust, this one controlling the heart and mind of a kid on the brink of adolescence. What Pete Docter, the driving force behind Monsters, Inc. and Up, and co-director Ronnie del Carmen have done is make a film about what it feels like to be 11 years old, with all the shifting sensations and certainties that entails, through the prism of duelling emotions embodied in lovable cartoon forms. If the idea of dramatising inner lives in animation has precedents, few films have explored the concept with the wit, brio and profound pathos Docter, del Carmen and co. conjure up.

To be sure, Inside Out has trace elements of previous Pixar flicks. It has the mismatched pairings, a support team working to ensure a child’s happiness, the fascination with working practices, and a journey to get home that have figured in the studio’s work for years. But there is freshness here. Inside Out features passages that offer untethered flights of imagination, full of bravura, wit, surealism and invention that touch base with everything from Hieronymus Bosch to Tex Avery. At times it makes Yellow Submarine look like Coronation Street.

The exterior story is a simple one: tomboyish 11-year-old Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) is uprooted from her idyllic hockey-playing life in rural Minnesota after her dad lands a demanding job in downtown San Francisco. But it’s Riley’s inner space that is buzzing. Yellow manic pixie dream girl Joy (a buoyant Amy Poehler) has ruled the roost, keeping the other emotions, Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger

Browse more images »

Page 22: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

(Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling) in check. But with all the change (the move, puberty), Sadness is on the rise.

What’s great here is the simple, lucid logic the screenplay imbues into the set-up. The Emotions dictate Riley’s feelings in a shiny space-age HQ dominated by an enormous control panel — Pixar is enamoured with such consoles: Lifted built a whole short film around one — and festooned with tubes and shelves where memories are moved and stored as gold orbs. The pillars that Riley’s life is built on, such as friendship, hockey and family, are represented as floating islands like the areas in a theme park. It’s one of Docter and del Carmen’s magic tricks that they let us luxuriate and play in this world without letting the pace and urgency of the storytelling flag.

The inciting incident that sees these pillars begin to crumble is a crisis during Riley’s first day at a new school, ejecting Sadness and Joy from HQ into the darkest recesses of Riley’s mind. Here the movie becomes an odd-couple road trip as the pair travel through Long Term Memory, Abstract Thought (here Joy and Sadness are pulled into different iterations of modern art) and Dream Production (realised as an old-school Hollywood studio system), hooking up with Riley’s long-forgotten, elephant-like imaginary friend, Bing Bong (Richard Kind). As they try to make their way back to base, the wit and imagination on show here is simply staggering.

Yet Docter and del Carmen don’t get lost in their fantasy creations. They always keep front and centre the impact of the travails of Joy and Sadness on Riley’s life, making sure it doesn’t become too abstract to be unrelatable. The most affecting human in a Pixar film since Up’s Carl Fredricksen, Riley is a likable pre-teen, trying her best to be strong for her busy-at-work dad while struggling to juggle the newness that has just entered her life. To underline the point, the two worlds are visually poles apart. Inside Riley’s head is an explosion of colour, a riot of vibrancy. Outside Riley’s world, San Francisco is colourless and dull, muted by a permanent Bay-area fog.

It might be a film that will happily exist as a fast food tie-in or an amusement park spin-off but there is underplayed profundity and ambition here. Ultimately it’s a film that dares to dramatise human nature, respecting the complex play of burgeoning emotions and illustrating the role sadness plays in turning children into adolescents. It’s as poignant a portrayal of the loss of innocence as we’ve seen all year.

The arguments will rage over whether Inside Out represents the absolute pinnacle of Pixar. Some (Toy Story) debatably have richer characters. Others (Up) may have deeper reservoirs of feeling. But if you cherish the studio for coming up with bold, original, funny, emotionally resonant ideas executed beautifully, then Inside Out delivers in spades. Perhaps we should be grateful that Pixar came up with the idea at all: if it were Michael Haneke we might have been in for a toon about Self-Loathing, Ennui, Angst, Gloom And Dejection fighting for control of a dying Austrian grandmother. Innen Nach Außen, anyone? 

Page 23: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

VerdictInside Out is audacious as it is silly, as funny as it is imaginative. It’s hard to think of a lovelier way to spend 102 minutes this summer.

Comprehension

1. In paragraph 1, what is the reason it gives for the creation of Pixar?

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2. Read paragraph 2. Identify two similarities that ‘Inside Out’ has to previous Pixar films.

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3. Explain, using your own words, the narrative behind the film ‘Inside Out’.

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Page 24: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

4. Read paragraph 6. How have the producers of the film created a division between the two worlds?

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5. Read paragraph 7. According to the writer, what is the main purpose behind the film ‘Inside Out’?

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6. Summarise the writer’s overall opinion of the film using your own words.

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Page 25: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

VocabularyDevelop your understanding of the following two words taken from the review.

Word class Definition Word in a sentence

Synonym

embodied

precedents

pathos

untethered

lucid

imbues

festooned

inciting

profundity

Page 26: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Language

1. Choose a minimum of three adjectives or noun phrases that the writer employs and comment upon the effect they have on you, as the reader.

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2. Looking at the adjectives or the noun phrases you have chosen, what overall impact does the language used by the writer have on the reader?

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Page 27: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Structure

1. In your opinion, how helpful are the headings employed by this review to the reader?

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2. A range of sentence structures are evident in this piece of writing. Identify an example of each and comment on their usage / effect on the reader.

Example EffectSimple

Compound

Complex

Infinitive start

Sentence starting with a connecting adverb

Page 28: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

3. Brackets are used in this review but often for a different purpose. Look at the following examples and explain why the writer has chosen to use the brackets in each instance.

a. Pixar is the owner of cinema’s most famous brain trust, a group of wildly different personalities who come together to shape adolescent (and grown-up) hearts and minds through the power of storytelling.

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b. The exterior story is a simple one: tomboyish 11-year-old Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) is uprooted from her idyllic hockey-playing life in rural Minnesota after her dad lands a demanding job in downtown San Francisco.

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c. Here the movie becomes an odd-couple road trip as the pair travel through Long Term Memory, Abstract Thought (here Joy and Sadness are pulled into different iterations of modern art) and Dream Production.

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d. The arguments will rage over whether Inside Out represents the absolute pinnacle of Pixar. Some (Toy Story) debatably have richer characters.

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Page 29: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Library lesson 5 – Apple and Rain, book review (Olmclibrary)

Apple and Rain – Book Review

Apple’s maternal grandmother has raised her from infancy because her mother left the family to seek fame and fortune as an actor in America. Now thirteen, she longs for more independence than her loving Nana is prepared to allow, feels alienated from her father and his new family, and wishes her mother showed some interest in her. A crush on an older boy who does not take her seriously, a nasty girl in her class at school and her best friend’s shifting loyalty add to her woes. But when her mother suddenly returns to the quiet English seaside town and invites her to share a flat, her joy is soon felt with guilt. Apple knows how much she has hurt her grandmother’s feelings and views her mother’s smoking, drinking and messy parties critically. She is soon missing school to care for Rain, her emotionally disturbed half-sister, while her mother goes to London for auditions, and both resents and loves the little girl. Apple is sensitive and conscientious with sound principles, narrating events with vivid emotion. Poetry depicts the complex family relationships, moral and social issues. A new English teacher focuses on great poems, encourages discussion and sets written responses for homework. Apple always writes well, but submits surface level assignments while keeping her honest, deep poems private, until the chain of events and her personal growth give her the confidence to share them in class. Apple and Rain is an enjoyable read for the sensitive at heart. Some poems are memorable, contrasting with Apple’s intense storytelling throughout the novel. Sophisticated readers will be left to draw their own conclusions about the motives of Apple’s mother and grandmother and the complexities of their relationship. This book appeals to everyone interested in the reality of teenage lives. A warm hopeful ending will leave you wondering what is temporary or permanent…

Comprehension

1. What does the word ‘maternal’ mean in the opening line?

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Page 30: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

2. Using your own words, what does the protagonist desire at the start of the novel?

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3. Identify three things that Rain does not like about her mother.

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4. Explain, using your own words, your impression of the protagonist, Rain, after reading this review.

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5. Who does the writer think this book will appeal to?

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Page 31: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Vocabulary

The vocabulary is this review is more simplistic than some of the other reviews we have read. Choose five words from this review to upgrade using a thesaurus to help you. Consider the impact of your word choices and the effect on the reader.

Original word Upgraded word Effect on the reader

Language

1. List the adjectives to describe Rain throughout the review below:

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2. Now, looking at the entirety of these adjectives, what overall impression have you formed of Rain from the reading of this review?

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Page 32: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

3. Identify three sentences that you think articulate the writer’s opinions on the book. Highlight the word or phrase that you think shows the opinion.

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Structure

1. The most obvious feature, structurally, is the lack of paragraphs. Based upon your knowledge of reviews and how reviews are structured, where would you insert paragraph breaks?

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2. What is the purpose of the ellipsis in the final line of the review?

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Page 33: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Library lesson 6 – Shrek The Musical (The Independent)

First Night: Shrek The Musical, Theatre Royal, London

'Shrek The Musical', starring (from left) Nigel Lindsay, Richard Blackwood and Amanda Holden

'Shrek': the show that leaves rivals green with envy

By Paul Taylor

The musical adaptation of Shrek – produced by Sam Mendes' Neal Street company and DreamWorks – enjoyed only a limited success on Broadway. For a show that had cost an estimated $25m (£15m), a year's run barely counts as respectable.

But to judge from the giddy glee and hilarity the London version of Shrek The Musical is arousing in its early audiences, it looks likely that we are going to be clutching the all-green, all-singing ogre in a warm embrace for quite some time.

What I love principally about the show, directed with great charm and elating zip by Jason Moore and Rob Ashford, is its delightfully uncynical freshness of spirit. Fairy stories that are about the nature and emotional import of fairy stories can end up feeling stiflingly incestuous. You would have to chloroform me to get me back into that meta-Oz-prequel, Wicked.

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In Shrek the Musical, by contrast, wisdom is gradually attained with a sometimes cheeky, sometimes affecting lightness of touch, pulled along by Jeanine Tesori's jaunty score and the bouncy humour of David Lindsay-Abaire's lyrics and book.

The stage is dominated at the start by giant-sized tomes. Emerging from the door-like covers like unconsciously competitive neighbours are Nigel Lindsay's Shrek (an endearing study of gruff Scots affability and stoicism that turns into something deeper and more vulnerable) and, as Princess Fiona, Amanda Holden (proving that if Britain doesn't always have talent, she does, in a witty portrayal that pokes gentle fun at our heroine's dreamy fairy-tale expectations of life).

With shades of the stage version of Monty Python And The Holy Grail, most of the characters here seem not exactly unaware that they are the denizens of a musical. And it's not just the cheeky digs at other shows either, as when Baby Bear – exiled by the dastardly Lord Farquaad to Shrek's swamp, along with all the other story-book figures – suddenly channels Gypsy and drones "Mama's in the mud/Mama's in distress". No, as portrayed by the hysterically funny Nigel Harman, Farquaad is not just diminutive despot but a manically stage-struck wannabe diva, his little yellow puppet legs strutting forth in an insane, mincing march, his soldiers tightly choreographed into a parade of deranged showbiz cheeriness.

It's sometimes argued that the Shrek franchise rushes children into a premature knowingness. But boasting a spectacular dragon with the ability to launch into fire-breathing flight over the audience and a taste for Tamla Motown, this show will appeal across the board, though Richard Blackwood is disappointingly unfunny as Shrek's side-kick, the Donkey.

Shrek The Musical is a glorious tease, fielding tap-dancing Pied Piper rats and prisoners hand-jiving through wooden stocks. It's genuinely moving, too, in the way it resolves, because love prompts Princess Fiona to accept her ugly ogre side rather than through the usual transformation of plainness into dazzling good looks. As the reprise to "Big Bright Beautiful World" proclaims: "Fairy tales should really be updated." I look forward to seeing this show again.

Page 35: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Comprehension1. Read paragraph 1. Who has collaborated to produce Shrek the Musical?

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2. What reason does the writer put forward, in the early part of the review, for this musical feeling different to other musicals?

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3. Identify three other shows that are referred to across the review.

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4. Read paragraph 7. Explain, using your own words, why the writer feels this show will attract a wide-ranging audience.

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Page 36: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

VocabularyDevelop your understanding of the following two words taken from the review.

Word class Definition Word in a sentence

Synonym

jaunty

affability

stoicism

denizens

diminutive

despot

Language

1. Identify three facts put forward in this review.

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Page 37: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

2. Look at how the writer describes the actors/actress playing the main characters. What words or phrases give you an insight into their performance?

Words or phrases that give you an insight into their performance?

What might a reader think as a result?

Nigel Lindsay (Shrek)

Amanda Holden (Princess Fiona)

Nigel Harman (Lord Farquaad)

Richard Blackwood (Donkey)

3. What is the overall effect of these words or phrases on the writer? Do the descriptions of the performance of these actors / actress encourage and dissuade people from going to see the production?

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Page 38: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Structure

1. Summarise the content of each paragraph below:

Paragraph summaryParagraph 1

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3

Paragraph 4

Paragraph 5

Paragraph 6

Paragraph 7

Paragraph 8

2. How does the structure of this review compare to some of the other reviews we have seen? What else is evident and has anything been omitted, in your opinion?

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Page 39: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

Homeworks

Homework: Due in:Library lesson 1 Think about a film, book or theatre production

you would like to review.

Now list as many adjectives you can think of to describe your opinion about the film, book or theatre production and aspects including characterisation, setting, plot.

Extension: Upgrade at least five of these words using a thesaurus.

Library lesson 2 You have explored how reviews are structured in today’s lesson.

Plan a structure for your own review and write this plan down.

Extension: research further reviews online to discover the most common structure. Seek to emulate this structure.

Library lesson 3 Task A:

Turn the adjectives from your first homework into excellent noun phrases.

Extension: extend these noun phrases using multiple (upgraded) adjectives

Task B:

Re-read the opening paragraph from the review you have explored in today’s lesson.

Now construct the opening to your review.

Extension: Ask 3 people to feedback to you on the quality of your opening paragraph. Does it hook them into reading the rest of the review? Why? Why not?

Library lesson 4 Task A:

Construct a paragraph summarising the plot of your film, book or theatre production.

However, aim to use a variety of sentence structures in your writing. Use a simple, compound, complex, infinitive start and

Page 40: Web viewLibrary lessons. Terms 1 and 2. Film, book and theatre . reviews. 1. Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (The Guardian) 2. Wonder by RJ Palacio (NY Times)

connecting adverb sentence within your writing.

Extension: Review your writing. Is it less than 100 words – if not, how could you reduce this paragraph of writing so that it is?

Task B:

In this library lesson you have been analysing the use of brackets. Construct a paragraph describing the presentation of the characters in your film, book or theatre production review and aim to incorporate a sentence that contains brackets.

Extension: Can you incorporate brackets to fulfil a wide range of purposes?

Library lesson 5 Construct a paragraph on the theme of your film, book or theatre production and how this theme is conveyed through the characters or the setting or any other method.

Extension: how many of the vocabulary words you have defined can you incorporate into your writing?

Library lesson 6 Construct a further paragraph for your review on setting or key moments or any other aspect that you feel is important to the review.

Extension: Review your writing so far. Proof-read for any careless errors and re-draft sentences to ensure they are skilful.

Final copy of your review to be handed the first week back in Term 3 (Jan)