cae movie review

Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE): How to Write a Review

Introduction.

A review may be about a book, magazine, film, play or concert; it may also be about a product or a service. A review in the C1 Advanced Writing paper does not merely ask for a general description of the thing reviewed, but requires an evaluation of its suitability for a particular purpose or audience. The target reader is specified in the task, and candidates should be encouraged to use this information when choosing appropriate ideas and language to include in their response.from: Cambridge English First Handbook for Teachers

Get Your Free C1 Advanced Writing Cheat Sheet Now!

Reviews are fun.

Reviews are fun because reading reviews is fun. Who doesn’t enjoy a few opinions from other people before making the decision on which restaurant to go to, which film to watch or which book to buy? Also, in our day and age, we are constantly looking at social proof for a wide range of topics so reviews are much more natural to us than they were only a few years ago when the internet wasn’t everywhere so you might even have written about a few of your own experiences online.

What a typical review task looks like

Speaking from my experience as a teacher and preparing numerous students for the exam, I can say that most review tasks look pretty much the same. The structure is very very similar and once you know what to look for, you can use it to your advantage by saving a lot of time and going into the test ready and calm.

You might ask yourself why it is so important to know who you are writing for, but this tells you exactly if you should use formal, neutral or informal language. Imagine you had to write to your boss or the director of your school. You would choose a more formal style than if you were writing to your friends. In our example, we should choose something that is more of a neutral style. After all, we don’t the people on the website, but we want to keep it light and as interesting as possible.

How to organise your review

Now that we know what the task’s topic is, what exactly we need to include and the tone we should write in, it is time to look at the structure of a review. Luckily, this can be repeated from review to review and you simply have to change the content depending on the topic and main points.

Always plan your review

I say this in every article I write here on teacherphill.com and I’m going to say it again in this post because it is such an important piece of advice. Unfortunately, many candidates simply ignore or forget about it and find themselves in the official C1 Advanced exam nervous and unprepared so I want you to include this in your practice.

The different parts of a review

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – a review Have you ever been so passionate about something that you would sacrifice your very best years for it? Would you even put it ahead of your family and friends? In the film Mandela: Lond Walk to Freedom we get not only a glimpse of Nelson Mandela’s life, but rather dive deep into who he was and how he changed a whole country.

While the whole film captivated me throughout, there was one aspect that truly stood out to me. Nelson Mandela and his second wife Winnie had a one-of-a-kind relationship driving each other to continue and grow the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa even after Mr Mandela was captured and imprisoned . It is a testament to their dedication and partnership and something that a lot of us can learn from. Despite having a strong and driven partner in his wife, I still used to be astonished by the fact that someone would simply sacrifice themselves and give up a big part of their life to help others, but this biopic made me reconsider. Witnessing a segregated society and all the racial abuse the black community had to endure during apartheid, there was no other option for Nelson Mandela than to stand up and fight for equality .

I’ve highlighted some of the more important language features for you. At the beginning of each paragraph, I play with contrasting statements (while, despite) as this keeps the reader guessing. I also tried to use some vocabulary that is specific to Mandela’s life (anti-apartheid movement, sacrifice themselves, segregated society, racial abuse…had to endure, stand up and fight for equality) and some words and expressions to make the review more interesting for the reader (one-of-a-kind, captured and imprisoned, it is a testament to…, astonished).

Conclusion/Recommendation

All in all, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom gives some incredible insight into the life of one of the world’s most famous and influential personalities of the 20th century. It would be a shame not to watch it so I highly recommend that you check your favourite streaming service or buy the film as soon as you can and I promise you won’t regret it.

How your review is marked

Now it is up to you, similar posts, reading skills – 7 great tips to improve, cambridge c1 advanced (cae): reading and use of english part 8, cambridge c1 advanced (cae): reading and use of english part 2, cambridge c1 advanced (cae): how to write an email/letter, cambridge c1 advanced (cae): reading and use of english, cambridge c1 advanced (cae): how to calculate your score.

Breakout English

How to write a film review

Writing a review is an option in many different English language exams, and films are such an obvious choice for reviews, so knowing how to write a film review is pretty important. It’s a great topic for the classroom too. Everyone watches films and there is a lot of opportunity to teach vocabulary, either film-related vocabulary or film review adjectives. I like to start off a class about films with some chat, or my personal favourite, the Movie Music Quiz , which also now has an excellent Movie Picture Quiz version too.

The structure of a film review

Like any writing task, it’s essential to know the structure of a film review before you start writing. A basic film review template shows you how to write a film review using a simple structure. Film reviews for First (FCE) and Advanced (CAE) Cambridge exams, as well as Trinity ISE exams, should all use a 4 paragraph structure. Another thing to remember is that your review should always have a title, and that title should include the name of the film.

Introduction – Essential details and mini-summary
Summary – A description of the film and some important details
Analysis – An evaluation of different elements
Conclusion – Your opinion and a recommendation

Introduction

In the introduction of a film review, it is crucial to mention the film title and the names of the director and the main actors. A brief summary of the film’s plot and background information can also be included, but it should not give away too much detail. The introduction should engage the reader and entice them to continue reading the review. Additionally, it is important to mention the genre and target audience of the film, which will give the reader an idea of what to expect.

In the summary section, the film review should give a comprehensive but concise description of the film, focusing on the plot, characters, and any significant events. The summary should be written in a way that does not give away the ending or spoil the film for the reader. It is important to maintain objectivity and not include personal opinions in this section. This section should provide enough detail for the reader to have a clear understanding of the film without giving too much away.

The analysis section is where the reviewer can showcase their critical skills and provide an in-depth evaluation of the film. The review should examine various elements of the film such as the script, direction, cinematography, acting, and special effects. You could also make a comparison to similar films in the same genre. The analysis should be written in an objective style with the opinion only showing through the language used.

In the conclusion, the reviewer should give their personal opinion of the film, summarising their thoughts on its strengths and weaknesses. They should also consider the target audience and whether they believe the film will appeal to them. Finally, the reviewer should provide a clear recommendation. The conclusion should be concise, leaving the reader with a clear understanding of the reviewer’s overall opinion of the film.

Using adjectives in reviews

Reviews are a great way to show off your language with impressive adjectives. If you read a film review in a newspaper or magazine, you’ll notice that the reviewer rarely, if ever, gives an explicit direct opinion. However, their opinion of the film is always crystal clear. This is through the use of adjectives.

Many adjectives have a clear connotation. They are either perceived as positive or negative. Compare these two examples. Which one is a positive description and which is negative?

It’s a first-rate experience with an imaginative plot and a star-studded cast.
The second-rate writing combined with weak performances is typical of this director’s work.

When using adjectives in a film review, it is important to choose words that accurately convey the reviewer’s opinion. Adjectives with strong connotations, either positive or negative, can be very effective in expressing the reviewer’s thoughts about the film. However, it is also important to use a variety of adjectives to avoid repetition and keep the review interesting. The use of adjectives can also help to paint a picture of the film, allowing the reader to get a sense of its atmosphere and tone.

The materials

Many exams, such as the Cambridge First (FCE) and Advanced (CAE) exams, as well as Trinity ISE exams, require students to write a film review as part of their writing task. These materials will provide students with a solid understanding of the structure of a film review and help them to develop their writing skills. This will give them the confidence they need to write a review that meets the requirements of the exam and impresses the examiner.

The materials will help you learn how to write an introduction, summary, analysis, and conclusion of a film review. You will also see a range of useful adjectives that you can use to express your opinions in their reviews. Finally, you will get an opportunity to practise writing film reviews, which will help you to develop your skills. Then you can check your answers with the samples provided in the answer key. Whether you’re preparing for an exam or just looking to improve your writing skills, these materials will provide you with everything you need to write a great film review.

1 thought on “How to write a film review”

Interesting and useful material to be used in class. thanks!

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How to Write a Review for Cambridge C1 Advanced

How to Write a Review for Cambridge C1 Advanced_Oxford House Barcelona

Posted on 28/09/2022
Categories: Blog
Tags: C1 Advanced , CAE , Cambridge Exams , Writing

Are you planning to take the Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) exam?

If so, you will need to complete two pieces of writing during the Writing paper. Part 1 is always an essay , while part 2 gives you two different questions and you must choose only one of them to complete. One of these may be a review.

As writing the perfect review for part 2 can be quite tricky, we have created this handy guide with everything you need to know to impress your examiner and get top marks in your exam.

Let’s get started!

Before you Begin

Imagine this! It’s exam day, you turn the page and see this question:

How to Write a Review for Cambridge C1 Advanced_Oxford House Barcelona_Exam question

Question taken from Cambridge English Language Assessment website . (September 2022)

What is the first thing you need to do after reading your question? Well, you need to consider the following things:

Who is our reader? This helps you know what style to write in.
What is the topic? What are you writing a review for?
What do you need to include? Which questions do you need to address?

We recommend you read the question carefully and underline the key information.

Now that you understand the question, it’s time to plan your review.

Three Steps to Writing the Perfect C1 Advanced Review

Step 1: plan it.

Planning your review is one of the most important steps so you don’t waste time correcting any big mistakes later!

Think of a book or film which focuses on somebody who has made an important contribution to society. When you have one in mind, you can start thinking of the structure of your review. Take a look at the example structure here:

1. An interesting title

2. An introduction

3. A summary of the plot

4. What did I learn about the person’s life from the book/film?

5. How did the book/film help me understand why this person made their important contribution?

At this stage, it is important to also think about the vocabulary you want to use. Remember to use advanced C1 vocabulary in your review (try to avoid ‘very’ and ‘really’).

Here is some advanced vocabulary that you can use to describe films and books:

How to Write a Review for Cambridge C1 Advanced_Oxford House Barcelona_Positive and negative review

Step 2: Write it

Now that you have your plan, it’s time to start writing!

Firstly, think of a title. You can keep it simple if you cannot think of anything too creative. For example, it could just be the name of the book or film that you’re reviewing.

Next is the introduction. A nice feature to use here is a rhetorical question . This is a question you ask your audience to grab their attention, for example:

Have you ever watched a film that has had a long-lasting impression on you?

Or you could include a general statement about the book or film:

The film Super Size Me received glowing reviews from critics. Spurlock’s story is eye-opening and gives the viewers some food for thought .

You could also give some background information about the film or book:

The plot of the film Super Size Me centres around Morgan Spurlock, a director who conducts a social experiment to highlight the effects of consuming McDonald’s fast food for an entire month.

Now you need to move onto the main paragraph. Here you should summarise the plot of the film or book. For example:

At the beginning of the film, Spurlock undergoes a medical examination to ensure he doesn’t cause long-lasting irreversible damage to his health. Throughout the month, he only consumes McDonald’s meals…

After briefly describing the plot (remember, no spoilers!), you can address the two questions.

For the conclusion, you need to sum up your thoughts on the book/film. You can do this by using some of the phrases below:

– Taking everything into consideration,…

– All things considered,…

Step 3: Check it

Checking your writing is probably the most important step. You don’t want to avoid losing out on points over tiny mistakes, right?

Here are some points to think about while checking your review:

Have I answered all the questions?
Have I stayed within the word limit?
Have I used the appropriate writing style?
Is my spelling correct?
Have I used punctuation correctly?
Have I used advanced vocabulary and a good range of grammar?
Is everything connected and coherent ?

Useful Grammar

Make sure you are using a range of grammatical structures in your exam. Your grammatical accuracy as well as your grammatical range are both taken into consideration by the examiner.

Take a look at some of these grammar points that you will most likely come across in the C1 Advanced exam:

Conditionals

Cleft sentences

Modal verbs

Remember that you will also need to know these for the reading and use of English section of the exam, so it’s a good idea to brush up on your grammar!

Top CAE Writing Part 2 Exam Tips

Here are some important exam tips to help you feel more prepared when writing your review:

You have 90 minutes in total for the whole exam
Divide your time equally between part 1 and part 2 of the writing exam
For part 2, use 10 minutes to plan , 25 minutes to write , and 10 minutes to check
You have a word count of 220 and 260
The review could be for a film , book , hotel , magazine , restaurant or a product

Remember to get plenty of sleep before your exam so you feel well rested for the big day. Good luck!

Looking for Help with your CAE Exam Preparation?

If you’re looking for guidance and feedback to help you pass your Cambridge C1 Advanced exam with confidence, then take a look at our exam preparation courses . Classes are dynamic and practical and our friendly professional teachers will help you get the score you need.

Glossary for Language Learners

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

Gripping (adj): something that holds your interest (usually a story).

Cliffhanger (n): a story which is exciting and suspenseful because you don’t know what will happen next.

Fast-paced (adj): lots of exciting action happening quickly.

Letdown (n): a disappointment.

Second-rate (adj): not impressive, mediocre.

Eye-opening (adj): some information that is new and surprising.

Food for thought (exp): something worth seriously thinking about.

Undergo (v): to experience something, usually something unpleasant or a change.

Irreversible (adj): cannot be reversed.

Coherent (adj): a piece of text that is clear and is connected well.

Brush up on (pv): to improve your knowledge of something that you may have forgotten a little.

adj = adjective

exp = expression

pv = phrasal verb

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Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) Writing: How to Write the Review

April 19, 2024
Cambridge C1 Writing

What you will find in this guide:

Writing a C1 level review is a critical skill for anyone preparing for the Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) exam. The C1 review isn’t just a review; it’s a tool for the examiners to see how proficient you are in writing, and for you to express your personal opinion about something you’ve experienced, be it a film, a holiday, a product, or a website.

But first, let’s review some key info about writing a review for Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE):

Sure, here’s some information about the task of writing a review in the Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) exam:

The main purpose is to describe and express a personal opinion about something that you have experienced (e.g., a film, a holiday, a product, a website, etc.) and to give the reader a clear impression of what the item discussed is like.
The structure of a review typically includes a title, an introduction, main content, and a recommendation 1 .
You need to consider who is the target reader is.

Sample C1 Review

A travel website has asked you to write a review of a holiday resort you have been to, explaining what kinds of people the resort is likely to appeal to, and which aspects of the resort you would most recommend to other visitors. You should also suggest at least one way in which you feel the resort could be improved.

Write your review.

Potential Challenges of Writing a C1 Review

Here are some potentially challenging factors:

1. Understanding the Task

According to the C1 Advanced (CAE) rubric, task achievement is very important to get a C1 level score 1 . And fulfilling what the task wants you to do is impossible without knowing what the task requires you to do. Sometimes, candidates do not read the task carefully and write about a similar topic without realizing that they are doing the wrong task!

2. Time Management

Though other exams (TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, iTEP) provide significantly less time to do the writing task, Cambridge C1 Advanced gives you enough time to write your review. However, some still find the allocated time insufficient. If you think the time is not enough for you, you need to work on your time management skills.

3. Language Proficiency

The C1 Advanced exam tests high-level English proficiency including accuracy in language use and the use of a range of simple and complex grammar and vocabulary 2 . Though most candidates possess good knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, maintaining accuracy and relevance at the time you are writing your review may be challenging.

How to Write a Review for the C1 Advanced (CAE) Exam: A Step-by-Step Guide

Let’s break it down into simple, easy-to-follow steps.

Step 1: Analyze Your Task

In this step, you need to carefully examine the instructions or requirements of the task you’ve been given. Look for two main components: a description part where you have to describe something like a film or book, and a discussion part where you need to give an opinion and/or make a recommendation. Additionally, identify the target reader, which could be a general audience, a specific demographic, or someone with particular interests.

Step 2: Decide What You Want to Write About After understanding your task, you need to decide on the subject of your review. It could be a book, a movie, a trip, or any other experience that fits the task requirements. Think about the main features of the subject—what stands out about it? This could include plot points, character development, cinematography, writing style, destination highlights, etc.

Step 3: Write an Outline to Organize Your Thoughts Creating an outline helps you organize your ideas and ensures a logical flow in your writing. Start with an introduction to set the stage for your review. Then, include a summary of the material you’re reviewing, your critique where you analyze its strengths and weaknesses, and finally, a conclusion that sums up your thoughts and potentially offers a recommendation.

Step 4: Decide About the Vocabulary and Grammar to Use in Each Paragraph This step involves carefully selecting the vocabulary and grammatical structures for each paragraph. Aim for a balance between complexity and clarity. While it’s essential to demonstrate your proficiency in language, avoid using overly complex language that could make your writing seem artificial or difficult to understand. Tailor your language choices to the target reader identified in step 1.

Step 5: Start Writing With your outline and language decisions in mind, start writing your review. Follow the structure outlined in your outline, and remember to incorporate your chosen vocabulary and grammar appropriately. Be descriptive yet concise in your descriptions and critical yet constructive in your analysis.

Step 6: Revise, Edit, and Proofread Once you’ve completed your review, take the time to review it for any errors or areas where you can improve clarity. Check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. Ensure that your review is easy to read and understand for your target audience. Proofread your work thoroughly before finalizing it.

Let’s Answer the Sample C1 Review Question

Sample outline.

Target audience = couples, families, solo travelers Serene ambiance amidst lush greenery
Recommendations = Praise for staff hospitality Highlight of resort facilities and recreational activities
Recommendation = for on-site restaurant Improvement
Suggestion = Enhancing Wi-Fi connectivity across the premises

Sample Vocabulary

Impeccable of values
Tantalizing

Sample Answer

Review: Tranquil Haven Resort

Nestled amidst the lush greenery of the countryside, Tranquil Haven Resort is a serene retreat that offers a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. My recent stay at this idyllic resort left me rejuvenated and thoroughly impressed. Here’s why:

Tranquil Haven Resort caters to a diverse range of travelers seeking solace in nature’s embrace. It’s ideal for couples looking for a romantic getaway, families yearning for quality time together, and solo travelers seeking peace and tranquility. The resort’s serene ambiance and abundance of recreational activities make it equally appealing to both adventure enthusiasts and those simply wanting to unwind.

One of the highlights of my stay was the impeccable service provided by the staff. From the warm welcome at check-in to the attentive assistance throughout my stay, their hospitality truly enhanced my experience. Additionally, the resort’s well-maintained facilities, including the swimming pool, spa, and hiking trails, offered ample opportunities for relaxation and recreation. Moreover, the on-site restaurant served delectable dishes crafted from fresh, locally sourced ingredients, tantalizing the taste buds with every bite.

While my stay at Tranquil Haven Resort was near-perfect, I believe enhancing the Wi-Fi connectivity across the entire premises would further elevate the guest experience. While disconnecting from technology is often part of the allure of a countryside retreat, reliable internet access is essential for guests who may need to stay connected for work or communication purposes.

In conclusion, Tranquil Haven Resort exceeded my expectations in every aspect, from its serene ambiance to its exceptional service. Whether you’re seeking relaxation, adventure, or simply a break from the ordinary, this resort is sure to provide an unforgettable experience. With a few enhancements to the Wi-Fi connectivity, it would undoubtedly be a flawless haven for travelers seeking solace in nature’s embrace.

Understanding the CAE Writing Rubric

The Cambridge C1 Advanced Writing paper is scored based on four key criteria 1 :

Content : This assesses how well you have fulfilled the task, if all the content is relevant to the task, and if the target reader is fully informed.
Communicative Achievement : This checks if the writing is appropriate for the task, if it uses the right register and tone, and if all the points are communicated effectively.
Organisation : This looks at the way the text is organised, if it uses the right conventions of the communicative task, and if the text is coherent and cohesive.
Language : This assesses the range of vocabulary and grammatical structures, the level of accuracy in their use, and the appropriateness of the language to the task.

The Writing paper of the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam consists of two parts: One Essay and one task where you can choose your task from given options.

You are required to choose one type of writing in the second task. Your options are: Writing a letter, an email, a proposal, a report, and a review.

The Writing paper is assessed based on your control of a range of language, correct use of grammar structures, specificity of words or structures to express your ideas, and the effective use of functional language to persuade, agree, or compare

Omid Kalantar

Omid Kalantar is an English Language Teaching (ELT) professor and researcher at Universidad Nacional de Educación (UNAE) in Ecuador. He has extensive experience coaching exam candidates prepare for TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge C1 Advanced, iTEP, PTE, and Duolingo for more than a decade. He is also a former Cambridge Examiner. His expertise and research interests include various issues in applied linguistics, advanced level language proficiency, fluency, accuracy, and complexity in language production, English for Specific Purposes (ESP), materials development and curriculum design, and psycholinguistics. A complete list of his scholarly articles can be accessed on Google Scholar linked below.

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Lesson Plans and Ideas

Cambridge CAE – Writing Part 2 (review)

Do you know of anyone who has changed the world for the better? Someone who has positively impacted society? Using a free CAE writing exam, we will discuss the topic and teach advanced students how to write a successful review. All while following the writing assessment criteria.

The other day, I was preparing an advanced lesson plan for one of my General English students. I usually look for inspiration all around and often go to my all-time favourite coursebook – English File C1.1 by Oxford Publishing. One of the units deals with book and film reviews and gives a wide range of vocabulary that can be used to describe them. That’s when I felt inspired to use this class and adapt it to my CAE student – a passionate acting student, interested in art, literature and films.

I want her to be engaged in the topic and at the same time, I want her to learn how to answer each part of the Cambridge exam successfully. That’s why I headed to the Cambridge English website and downloaded their free C1 Advanced Handbook for Teachers , which offers free exams and explanations for successful writing exams. I’m always up for using free official resources and adapting them to my class. I feel like this is the most insightful and reliable source you can find.

The lesson plan and the presentation with all the links needed to complete the class are available to download for free at the end of the post!

The lesson starts by showing posters of six impactful films and asking students about the people shown in the pictures and what they may have in common. I tried to include some classics ( Schindler’s List ), some oldies ( Gorillas in the Mist ) and some new films ( Hidden Figures ). All of them are quite well-known, and your students should have seen at least a few of them. The common factor is that they tell stories of people who had a positive impact on society. If your students watched some of those films, you can elicit examples of the ways in which they impacted society. Ask if they know of anyone else, famous or not, who also made/is making a difference in the world.

Show a picture of Audrey Hepburn and ask if anyone knows who she is. As the picture from Breakfast at Tiffany’s is one of the most iconic in the world, your students should be familiar, at least with her image. Say that you’re going to watch a short video on Audrey Hepburn. Ask to predict who she was: Audrey Hepburn – an international m__________ s__________, f__________ i__________ and h___________ . Watch the first 20 seconds of the video, Audrey Hepburn – International Superstar, Fashion Icon, & Humanitarian by Biography, and elicit the answers (movie star, fashion icon and humanitarian).

Read eight questions about Audrey Hepburn and watch the whole video (you can turn on the subtitles if necessary). Students answer the questions with short answers. Did they know about the humanitarian side of Audrey Hepburn? Were they surprised? Ask if the video convinced them to read a biography about Audrey Hepburn’s life.

Read a book review (you can find it in the C1 Advanced Handbook for Teachers, page 45). Ask if this review convinced them to read the book. Do they think that it’s a good review? What would they change about it? The most common answer will be the lack of paragraphs and many spelling errors. Students divide it into four paragraphs (introduction, point 1, point 2, recommendation) and correct any errors they can find.

After reading the review, say that this is a piece of writing based on a real Cambridge exam task. Ask to predict two main points of the exam task. Show the exam task and see how close they were to the real answer.

Present the writing assessment scale and explain how it works. The maximum number of points students may get in each part is 20 points – 5 points for content, 5 points for communicative achievement, 5 points for organisation and 5 points for language. Students read the answer one more time and score it out of 20. Check and discuss their answers. Compare their scores to the one given by the Cambridge examiner. Are they surprised by any of the comments? Not only does this task explain any doubts about the scoring system, but it also shows how strict or lenient the examiners are. Remind them about the importance of having clear answers, as examiners read tens of identical pieces of writing, and clear organisation will be reflected in their final score.

Set the homework task. Students think about the film or book that focused on a person who made an important contribution to society. Brainstorm some ideas and if you have enough time, students may plan their answers and present them to you and the rest of the class.

Click below to download the lesson plan and the presentation.

Published by joannaesl

A CELTA certified ESL teacher based in Altea, Spain. I share my experience regarding teaching in Spain, getting into ESL from scratch, but I also like to prepare lesson plans and classroom content. View all posts by joannaesl

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CAE Review | C1 Advanced | 14 Key Steps To Success

Table of Contents

Almost every day students ask me "Rory, how can I answer the C1 Advanced: CAE Review question in the exam?" However, before answering this question. Let's first answer another question, "what is a CAE Review?"

A CAE Review is a writing task from part 2 of the C1 Advanced (CAE) writing exam. However, reviews do not always appear in the exam. This is because in part 2 you only write one answer from three different questions which are based on 5 different writing tasks.

What are the chances of the CAE Review appearing in the exam?

Sorry, this section is available for CAE members only. Register/upgrade here >>

Where to begin?

Often students don't know where to begin with review writing, but luckily, you found me.

This page will lay out how to prepare for and write a review to get the examiners jumping up and down with joy.

Answering this question well , might affect whether you pass or fail the C1 Advanced exam. So make sure you follow the information on this page to ensure you get the highest marks possible!

CAE Tip: Register/upgrade to 'Gold' access this tip now >>

Right, enough prittle prattle (informal way of saying 'idle talk').

Examiners’ Marking Criteria

If you understand how the examiners mark your review, you will know how to get high marks for each criterion. This is imperative if you want to pass the CAE review.

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How to pass C1 Advanced CAE Writing Part 2 Review

Write down important notes from the video below in the relevant fields of this worksheet . You should keep this worksheet open in a separate internet tab and keep adding information to it from the rest of this page.

CAE Review Video Summary and Transcript

I hope you enjoyed the video above. Some students prefer to learn by reading rather than watching videos and so I thought it would be useful to outline the most important parts of the video for you. These are the steps you should follow if you want to pass the C1 Review writing:

Before the Exam:

Watch and understand how examiners mark the CAE writing paper ( see this video ).
Learn and remember what the examiners want from a CAE review (see ' review advice ' below).
Do lots of practice examples. Use sample exam papers to help with this. If you are doing a computer based exam, make sure you write your practice answers on computer. If you are doing a paper based exam, make sure you write with a pen or pencil on a sheet of paper. When you have finished your practice answer, count how many words it is. If it is within the word limit, remember how much space it has used on the page. If you do this a few times, you will know approximately how long your writing needs to be in the exam and you do not need to waste time counting how many words you've written.

During the exam:

Spend the first 2 minutes reading the question and underlining the important information and who the target reader is (see ' review question ' below).
Spend 5 minutes planning your answer. Think about the type of language you will use and how you will link your key ideas together (see ' CAE review plan ' below).
Take 30-35 minutes to write your answer. While writing, think about the type of language you will use (see ' CAE review vocabulary ' below). Examiners like to see you use complex grammatical structures and vocabulary, even if they are not executed perfectly. Make sure you answer all the required parts of the question. When you make a point, try to back it up with further information and focus on how you can link your points together nicely.
Save 3-8 minutes to read over your work at the end. Try to read your work from an outside perspective. Make sure that the points you want to make are clear and obvious. Sometimes they are obvious to the person who wrote them, but not to a person who is reading the work for the first time. Have a look at this page for some common errors which students make at C1 Advanced .

CAE Review Advice

I would advise adding the most important bits of information from this section to your worksheet here .

This is from a Handbook which Cambridge instruct teachers to use when preparing their students. You can learn this yourself and be in exactly the same place as a teacher. I truly believe that you can train yourself to pass the exam if you know the right resources to use and you can access this document here .

What this shows us is that you need to use descriptive language but you also need to tailor your writing to the target reader. Think about this when deciding what type of language to use (see 'review vocabulary' below) and whether or not your ideas are appropriate. Try to practise with review questions which target different readers. Write and Improve is a good website with a variety of questions.

This is also good advice. When you are reading different types of reviews, try to check how the language differs from one review to another depending on the target reader. Check to see if you can find any reviews written by published or well known authors. If you find any of these reviews, check whether they give recommendations and try to copy the style of these and the language they use in your own writing.

When practising before the exam, focus on the descriptive and explanatory language you use.

CAE Review Example 1

https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/images/167804-cambridge-english-advanced-handbook.pdf

These are the words I would underline from this question.

So, from the words I've underlined, see if you can answer these questions on a separate piece of paper:

Who is the target reader?
What are you reviewing.
What are they key points you need to address?
The target reader is a website.
You are reviewing a book or film about a person who has made an important contribution to society.
There are 2 key points you need to address: 1. Did you learn anything new about this person's life? 2. Did the book or film give you a better understanding as to why this person did what they did?

CAE Review Task - Plan

So with those points in mind, I'd like you to write down a plan for this review here .

It is really important that you do this because when you've done that, you can compare it with my review plan below.

In the exam I would recommend trying to write a review of something real as this will be a lot easier to write about.

My CAE Review Plan

Here is a plan I made for this question. Don't worry if yours is very different, this is just how I would write my plan to help me in the exam.

Sorry, this section is available for members only. Register here >> or log in >>

C1 Advanced Review Answer

Write down the mistakes you found in the answer above on this page >>

Examiners' Assessment Scale Template

Complete the assessment scale below based on the answer above. Print it off here , or complete an online version of this assessment scale here >>

Student's Answer With My Corrections

Did you know that a simple book can change the way you perceive (remove the word ‘the’ here because you are speaking about life in general) life? No sooner had (you should write ‘had’ here because you started reading before you ‘realised’ which was in the past) I started to read 5 a.m Club than (you need to write ‘than’ here) I realized that something in my life needed/had to (I think this should also be in the past, you read in the past then you realised your life had to change) change. I would like to introduce you few line about this (you should remove the words 'few line about this' and replace it with 'to this, ') such a wonderful book and how it (you should repeat the subject 'it' here) increased my productivity on a daily basis (we normally say 'a daily basis' rather than 'my daily basis') .

On the one hand, I have learnt how I can manage my time practising ( you should say 'practising' with an 's' rather than a 'c' here because we are using the verb form of 'practice' not the noun form. This is a very common mistake which students and even native English speakers make) the morning person routine. This routine consist s of waking up at 5 am every day ('consists of' is an example of a collocation. We use lots of collocations in English. If you don't know what a collocation is, watch this old video I made. I give lots more examples of typical C1 Advanced collocations on my website) . Honestly, I (remove 'was') struggled the first time (remove 'which') I read about that because I never thought that I would be capable of doing it (you should always say capable of + verbing) . As it is said: ‘If you want, you can’ and it’s what I did. I was able to wake up at 5am, breaking my daily routine, and setting a new habit which took me 21 days to adopt ( you could also say 'which took 21 days until I adopted it'. Make sure you know the difference between 'adopt' and 'adapt' ) .

On the other hand, I learnt that if I would like to take advantage of my time, I should follow some productivity techniques which help (be careful not to jump between present and past verb tenses) me to complete all my daily goals. (It might be worth revising 'would like to have + past participle and 'should have + past participle). Sounds easy, but it is not. I started creating a calendar where I put blocks of 1 hours during my working hours. Then, I selected blocks where my concentration was higher, and I assigned the most critical tasks to these hours . For the rest of the blocks, I assigned the remaining tasks which were less important. It is wonderful the way I can complete tasks now!

After 21 days, I realized that my daily routine had changed a lot! (It is better to use past perfect in the last sentence because your routine changed before the realisation). I discovered that I had (had?) more time to spend with my family plus covering all the my daily tasks successfully. Would you like to learn the daily routine of the author of this book? Do not miss the opportunity, and follow him on his social networks.

This is a good attempt at the writing task. Although you have made some language related errors, you have tried to use a good range of language which you will be rewarded for in the exam.

Examiner's Assessment Scale With My Comments

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C1 Review - Pass or Fail

Let's add up the marks:

Content: 1/5

Communicative achievement: 4/5

Organisation: 4/5

Language: 2/5

Total: 11/20

Remember there is an examiner's assessment criteria video above which you should watch if you have forgotten how examiners mark your writing.

This review is part 2 of the CAE writing paper. If we assume the student got 12/20 for part 1, the essay, then they would have got 22/40 in total.

This would mean the student would just fail this section of the exam by 2 marks. You need 24/40 to pass this exam paper. You can still pass the exam even if you fail one section as long as your average across all the exam papers is high enough. This page gives more detail on CAE exam marks .

CAE Review - Example 2

You see this announcement on a website which is particularly popular with university students and young adults. The website is called ‘Great People’:

Review Wanted

Send us a review about a person who, in your eyes, has had a great influence on the world.

How did this person influence the world? What can we learn from this person’s character?

Write your review in 220-260 words.

Before you read the sample answer below, you should open this sheet and write down any mistakes you find while reading the answer. You should also open this document and write your marks and comments for the sample review.

STEPHEN HAWKING:the life of a genius

World renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76. The British scientist was famed for his work with black holes and relativity, and wrote several popular science books including A Brief History of Time. This scientist has also written several other books including：1.The Large Scale Structure Of Space-Time 2. A Brief History Of Time 3. Black Holes And Baby Universes And Other Essays 4. The Universe In A Nutshell 5. On The Shoulders Of Giants. The Great Works of Physics And Astronomy 6. God created the integers 7. George's secret key to the Universe 8. George's cosmic treasure hunt 9. George and the Big Bang 10. The Grand Design 11. My brief history. He has made many important discovers over the years, and has even been named the most influential person of the century.

Besides all of that, he was also an actor, he appeared in many movies and shows such as: Star Trek The Next Generation and The Simpsons. Sadly, no man is perfect, At the age of 22 Professor Hawking was given only a few years to live after being diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease. The illness left him in a wheelchair and largely unable to speak except through a voice synthesizer.

They praised his "courage and persistence" and said his "brilliance and humour" inspired people across the world. “We will miss him forever.”

C1 Review - Mistakes & Corrections

Have a thorough read of the mistakes and corrections, followed by the examiner assessment scale below. This will help you understand how to write a C1 Advanced review.

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C1 Review Sample 2 - Final Marks

Content - 1 Communicative Achievement - 2 Organisation - 2 Language - 2

Total: 7/20

Unfortunately this writing would require the student to get 17/20 in part 1 to achieve the C1 level for the writing exam paper (24/40). This is not an easy task.

Learn more about what marks you need to pass here .

C1 Advanced Review Vocabulary

"Did you know.....?" - It's good to ask a question in the review to make the reader more interested in what you're saying.

"...I really recommend + verbing"

"I highly recommend + verbing"

"must-see" - we use this phrase when we state that somebody must watch a film or television series.

"give it a miss" - this means do not watch or read the book/film/television series.

"It will have you in hysterics" - this means when you cannot stop laughing.

"I advise you..."

"...gives a great account of..." - this means the book/film summarises or describes something very well. You can switch the word 'great' for a different adjective to give the phrase a different meaning.

"...gives a remarkable performance as..." - this is normally used to talk about good acting by a particular person.

"the plot was dull..." - this means the story line was boring.

"the acting..."

"the character..."

"one strength/weakness..."

Read another CAE Review Sample

Read my CAE Writing Samples e-book . In the book you will find 21 sample writings that my students sent me. I marked the writings based on the examiner assessment scale and gave each writing my feedback and critique. Take a look now >>

Submit a Review

Send a CAE Review to me via my CAE Writing Assessment Service >>

I will mark it for you and give feedback 🙂

Classroom Activities

Check out this page for some online instructions and forms for you and your students to complete on computer.

If you prefer to print out worksheets for the classroom, the instructions below will be better for you:

Complete this worksheet with the most important information from the video and advice above.
Read this example review question then write a plan for it here . You should try to do this within 5 minutes.
Print and read this example review answer. Write down any mistakes you find.
Compare your mistakes with the ones I found here .
Complete this assessment scale for the review.
How similar is your assessment scale to mine?

Watch the video below and complete the exercises:

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CAE Review – Phrase Sheet

Follow me on twitter @ RobbioDobbio

This is essentially the same as my CPE sheet but with the title and word limit changed. Download it here:

Use: all your colourful vocabulary:

for films/books/restaurants use the name/title or if think up an imaginative title using an idiom/expression.

1. Read task, underline content points.

2. Divide content points into paragraphs: Intro, décor, ambiance, service, food, recommendation.

3. WHAT do you want to say? Add your notes to each paragraph in simple form.

4. HOW are you going to say that? Brainstorm advanced grammar and vocabulary for each note.

5. Forms and conventions: Title paragraph titles, fixed introduction.

6. Write! Remember

Personal anecdote to grab attention. Introduce name of book/film, restaurant + location, course, TV show etc.

find the time to…, however when I do take time out of my hectic schedule, I like nothing more than…

bit of a , the news that … had opened a new restaurant/released a new film/book had me . So last week I with a friend

before I approached … with a sense of trepidation, not knowing what to expect. Soon however, all my fears were allayed.

a page-turner / a white-knuckle ride / a tearjerker / a laugh a minute / I couldn’t put it down.

a slow start / a gentle introduction /gripping climax / nail-biting conclusion / cliff-hanger ending/ a shocking twist in the tail

The book is set in _______(place/time)

The action takes place in ______ (place/time)

the present day (now)

an alternate reality where vampires / wizards walk the earth

a sleepy village in the USA

the bustling city of New York

The plot centres around / focuses on (the adventures / lives of _________)

The plot follows the adventures of _________(character name)

Villain / hero / heroine / anti-hero / main character / protagonist

The characters are believable / well-crafted / a bit 2 dimensional.

An all-star cast

heavily influenced by the films of..

glowing reviews

startling originality

suspense builds up

a polished performance

a bold experiment

an accomplished actor

an unmitigated disaster (bad film)

a dazzling display of his/her talents

made a lasting impression on me.

Brought a tear to my eye

Like watching paint dry (boring)

I was on the edge of my seat (exciting)

A blockbuster (big commercial film eg Superman)

… sets off an amazing chain of events

Gripping film (exciting)

The director/author evoked a magical atmosphere

… awakened my interest in…

Hold my attention

Capture the audience’s imagination.

Spectacular set-pieces (main action scenes)

… is cast in the role of…

… is miscast in the role of…

…gives a(n) (un)convincing performance as…

The film is let down by a clichéd script.

Hearty mealWholesome food

Piping-hot

Succulent/juicy (meat)

Creamy

With a kick (spicy)

Crunchy/crispy

Well-seasoned

Packed with flavour

A steaming plate of..

Hungry/starving/ravenous/famished

Bustling eatery(restaurant)

Lively atmosphere

Service with a smile

A plate piled high with..Mouth-watering

To die for

Heavenly

To lick your lips in anticipation

Roast

Pan-fried

Grilled

Steamed

Freshly-baked

To feast/gorge on (eat a lot of)

To eat/drink to your heart’s content

Devour/gobble up

Aromas wafting from the kitchen

Cheap – economical/reasonably-priced

Expensive – pricey/costs an arm and a leg

€20 a head (per person) Killer Lines: Were I to sum up … in one word, it would be…

… left a lot to be desired (wasn’t good enough)

…more than lives up to the hype (is as good as everyone says it is)

… is by far and away the best … you’re likely to … this year

… really raises the bar (sets a higher standard)

… sets the benchmark for other (others will be judges against how good it is)

… ticks all the right boxes

… holds up well in comparison with …

…comes off badly in comparison with … Grammar check list Have you included?

· An inversion (not only/no sooner/seldom)

· An inverted conditional (Were we to…)

· A participle clause (Being…/Having gone…)

· A double comparative (The more we… the more)

· A cleft sentence (What is most crucial is…)

· Idioms

Author: Tim Warre

Barcelona based English Teacher, blogger and sometime actor and director. View All Posts

2 thoughts on “ CAE Review – Phrase Sheet ”

Pingback: Vocabulary on films and restaurants | AVANZADO 2 Cristina's Blog

Incredibly useful, cheers Tim!

Cambridge English: Advanced

Check out students' answers to Flo-Joe's CAE Writing tasks with a teacher's feedback

Writing Class

Writing Class: Review

Task type: review.

Question You see the following announcement in a magazine:

Have you read a book or seen a film that has a central character whose life is affected by an event or decision they make early in the story.

What did you learn about the person's character? Did the book or film help you to understand how the person was affected by this event or decision?

Send us your review for our next issue.

Write your review for the magazine readers. (220-260 words)

Makeover: Anja

Read Anja's answer to this question below. Try correcting the piece of writing yourself first: use the marking codes to think about what might be wrong (or what's good) about the piece of work. Then when you're ready, click the green buttons in the text for our feedback.

To the '60s and back again

One of the most intriguing books I have read recently is "11/22/63" by Stephen King, published only a few years ago. Not being '.

enthusiastic ' as this makes the sentence less awkward.

the science-fiction genre, I was instantly hooked regardless.

The story is set both in the present and the 1960s with the main character Jake Epping setting out to prevent the assassination of JFK. Jake Epping is an ordinary English teacher at a high school in Maine, divorced, no kids. As a time traveller he is determined to honor the pledge he made to his dying friend to stop Lee Harvey Oswald from shooting the 35th president.

Not only does Jake's initial and rather spontaneous decision to step back in time reflect traits of his character, but it also '

Judging from his behavior ' this critical moment

this critical moment as well as in key situations later in the plot, Epping seems to be a decisive, brave, loyal and responsible kind of person. However, he repeatedly risks his mission and altering the future radically by first falling in love with a woman named Sadie Dunhill and then feeling recurrently tempted to spill all his secrets to her. The book ends with Epping putting the world's fate first and his feelings and personal happiness last.

In conclusion, I think the book paints quite a positive and heroic picture of its protagonist. While I do not feel uncomfortable with this approach, I deem the ending rather exaggerated in terms of Epping's altruism.

This is a very good answer Anja. You've given a summary of the person's character and the impact on him of the decision to save JFK. The review is written in an appropriate format and in an engaging style that would hold the reader's attention throughout. It's clearly organised. Starting with an introduction to the book, two main body paragraphs and a well-crafted conclusion bringing the review to a close. Good use of cohesive devices to link your ideas and sentences together. Finally, you have used language flexibly and shown your ability to describe simple and complex ideas clearly. I have made a couple of stylistic comments, which I think helps a couple of sentences flow a little better, but these are subjective rather than corrections. Well done!

Marking Code

/\ Word(s) missing

- Omit word

C Capitalization

O Organisation

P Punctuation

PE Poorly expressed

R Register/Formality

SS Sentence Structure

T Tip (Not wrong but a suggestion)

WF Wrong form

WO Word order

WT Wrong tense

WW Wrong word

CAE Info and Practice

Cae resources to buy.

No good can ultimately come from a movie that is as obsessed with wind chimes as “Cake.” That constant tinkle-tinkle should be a warning that what starts off as a medical drama with a healthy nasty streak won’t be able to resist slapping a bandage on all the badness in the end.

But it is worth sitting through just to watch Jennifer Aniston pull off a performance of a lifetime. The funny lady has gone dramatic before to fine effect in such indie outings as 2002’s “ The Good Girl ” and 2006’s “ Friends With Money .” But not like this. You won’t be able to take her eyes off of her, which is a good thing since it will take a while to notice that the film surrounding her starts to go soft around the edges until it collapses all together. Like an underdone, well, cake.

Aniston certainly doesn’t need an Oscar nomination to validate what she achieves as a chronic pain sufferer. It is not so much that she doesn’t wear makeup or her hair is limp and greasy. Or that squiggly scars are plastered on her face and limbs, the cause of which takes a ridiculous amount of time to be revealed in dribs and drabs. It’s the desperate-for-relief look in her eyes and the way that every move she makes is an ordeal. Even the small groans and grunts she regularly emits are more agonizing in their restraint than a full-out scream would be.

As well-off L.A. divorcee Claire Simmons, she is cranky. She is bitter. She is highly inappropriate, especially when she sleeps with her gardener. She lies to get what she wants and steals to get what she needs – which usually are Percocet and maybe OxyContin with a voluminous chaser of white wine. Even those who are paid to be nice and caring, like her swim therapy instructor, can’t stand to be around her. If Raid manufactured a human repellant, it would be called Claire.

In the very first scene she gets kicked out of her touchy-feely support group led by an insufferably simpy leader (a nearly unrecognizable Felicity Huffman ) for expressing her admiration for a member named Nina who summoned the nerve to leap off a freeway overpass to her death. The domino effect of weeping that her words induce is sickly amusing. Claire is basically the Bad Santa of patients.

The one humanizing slice of “Cake” that is tolerable is Claire’s relationship with her Mexican housekeeper, Silvana (the terrific Adrianna Barraza, who was Oscar-nominated for 2006’s “ Babel ”). The natural-born nurturer might be a saint as she puts up with Claire’s rudeness, awful behavior and constant demands. But she isn’t stupid. Probably the best sequence in “Cake” is when Claire tells Silvana she has to drive her across the border to replenish her supply of illegal pills at a Tijuana pharmacy. The clerk offers to stash the drugs in a holy statue. “I have problems with anything religious,” Claire gripes. “You have bigger problems,” he rightfully notes. However, a restaurant encounter where Claire comes to Silvana’s rescue suggests there is some hint of kindness lurking beneath that brittle exterior.

If “Cake” were just the Claire and Silvana show, it might have been more tolerable. The see-saw act between privileged mistress and tolerant worker is in its way intriguing, since Silvana is far richer in what matters than Claire. I would even allow room for the cameos by that freakish opossum who pays nocturnal visits to the backyard pool.

But there is a plot to tell and Cake starts to fall flat every time Claire hallucinates that Nina’s ghost has materialized in the form of Anna Kendrick oozing mean-girlish attitude to discuss the ins and outs of pulling off a suicide. Clearly, Claire is suffering from please-put-me-out-of-my-misery envy in a very big way.

Director Daniel Barnz and writer Patrick Tobin allow matters to get truly questionable when Claire hunts down and hangs out with the sad husband ( Sam Worthington of “ Avatar ,” with cute Aussie accent intact) and wee son that Nina has left behind. Romance isn’t exactly in the air, yet there is a connection. Will Claire clean up her act or simply have a doozy of a meltdown? Or both? Or will a shady stranger suddenly show up and agree to bake her a cake to better justify the title of the movie?

It doesn’t matter. I like Aniston’s Claire. I rank her right up there with Frances McDormand ’s Olive Kitteridge, Edie Falco ’s Nurse Jackie and Robin Wright ’s First Lady on “House of Cards” as damaged women you shouldn’t necessarily admire but can’t help but love.

Susan Wloszczyna

Susan Wloszczyna spent much of her nearly thirty years at USA TODAY as a senior entertainment reporter. Now unchained from the grind of daily journalism, she is ready to view the world of movies with fresh eyes.

Anna Kendrick as Nina
Sam Worthington as Roy
Adriana Barraza as Silvana
Felicity Huffman as Annette
Lucy Punch as Nurse Gayle
William H. Macy as Leonard
Jennifer Aniston as Claire Simmons
Britt Robertson as Becky
Chris Messina as Jason
Mamie Gummer as Bonnie
Daniel Barnz
Kristina Boden
Michelle Harrison
Patrick Tobin

Director of Photography

Rachel Morrison

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‘His Three Daughters’ Turns a Familiar Family Drama Into the Best Movie of the Year

By David Fear

You may love your family, though you might not like them very much, and just because you’re kin doesn’t mean you have anything in common. Take, for example, the three grown siblings who find themselves forced to share the same air in His Three Daughters. There is Katie ( Carrie Coon ), a Type-A control freak who’s a Karen by any other name, as well as a lover of red wine and passive-aggressiveness. There is Christina ( Elizabeth Olsen ), the resident peacekeeper and, much to her sisters’ chagrin, a longtime Deadhead. (Even with John Mayer? “Sure,” she replies. “Family’s family.”) And there’s their half-sister Rachel ( Natasha Lyonne ), a pothead who still lives at home and makes a living by parlaying bets on football games.

Which also means they’re trapped together, these three wildly different souls with their own fears and anxieties and axes to grind, in a place with too much personal history. This reunion means everyone will begin rehashing old grudges and reopening old wounds. Everyone has their excuses, their coping mechanisms, and their reasons for not making nice. Each of them is starting to mourn the loss of their dad in their own respective way. Each of them is collectively ready to blow a gasket.

Editor’s picks

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There are others orbiting this battlezone: the apartment complex’s security guard, Victor (Jose Febus), who keeps kindly asking Rachel to not toke up outside; Dad’s main caregiver, Angel (Rudy Galvan), who has a way of getting under Katie’s skin (“Angel of Death is more like it!”); Rachel’s boyfriend, Benji ( Babylon ‘s Jovan Adepo), who had his own bond with the old man and sees through the way the sisters treat his perpetually stoned sweetheart.

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Jacobs has always been a great director of actors, as well as the unsung auteur of 21st-century Amerindie cinema — everything from his 2008 breakthrough, Momma’s Man , to 2020’s French Exit suggests a sensibility that’s filled with both clear-eyed and cockeyed humanism. He’s given his cast a hell of a stage on which to rage here, and is smart enough to know that they’ll carry this tale of slouching toward forgiveness and letting go of the past. But Jacobs also knows when to make his presence known as well. There’s a sequence near the end that is both graceful and devastating in equal measure, a bit of directorial sleight of hand that aims right for your heart and hits the bull’s-eye. Between his ability to chart the routes of pain and grief and the triumph of the Coon-Olsen-Lyonne triumvirate in bringing these complicated women to life, the film feels like an instant classic of character-driven psychodrama. Tolstoy said every family was dysfunctional in its own way. His Three Daughters reminds you that ties that bind — and occasionally strangle, and often heal you — are also all too familiar and universal.

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‘Went Up the Hill’ Review: Vicky Krieps and Dacre Montgomery Confront Trauma (and Each Other) in Chilly Ghost Story

Kate erbland, editorial director.

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Like most classic fairy tales and nursery rhymes, the story of Jack and Jill — who so iconically “ went up the hill to fetch a pail of water” — is pretty scary. Jack and Jill are simply going about their daily lives, chores and all!, when Jack takes a tumble and Jill follows right behind. Jack gets up, makes it home, and is patched up. We don’t hear anymore about Jill. We don’t know how she fares.

Fortunately, however, for as much as Van Grinsven leans on vibes (read: heavily ), he’s also cast a pair of compelling performers to add real dimension to this particular apparition. We first meet Jack ( Dacre Montgomery ) as he’s chugging his way to (oh, geez, fine, OK, we get it) a foreboding hill that he must climb to get to the world’s least appealing funeral. Set in remote, color-sapped New Zealand, we know the house he’s entering is moneyed and luxe, but it’s also deeply unwelcoming and, in the most charitable of words, looks a hell of a lot like something we’re more likely to find in “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.”

Its inhabitants are not much better. Jack sneaks in during the last rites of recently deceased artist Elizabeth (who we never “see” and never really come to know, even as she will lord over nearly every frame and feeling of the film ). Elizabeth, we’re told by her grim sister Helen (Sarah Peirse, with a sneakily great performance ahead of her), left behind her “two greatest loves” when she passed: this house, and her wife Jill ( Vicky Krieps ). When she catches Jack’s eye, we get it just as clearly as he does: he was not included in this list of loves.

Despite Jack’s insistence that it was Jill who invited him to the event, it’s obvious Jill has no idea who the kid is, but that might be the least of her worries. Mired in her grief, she takes to sleeping next to Elizabeth’s casket, and when she asks Jack to say, she makes too tragic a figure to leave. Even in this state, Krieps cuts a formidable figure, a magnetic presence who Jack rightly believes is the only living person who can explain who his mother was. The key, of course, is living. Because Jack and Jill are not alone in the house, and each night, as they crumple into feverish sleep, they are visited by a spectral force: Elizabeth, who soon starts taking over their bodies at her leisure.

Whether you believe in possession will likely dictate how far you’re willing to ride with “Went Up the Hill,” and while Van Grinsven and co-writer Jory Anast struggle to unspool some key elements of said possession (though the “rules” of it eventually snap into place in the final act, a big help), Krieps and Montgomery sell the hell out of it. Early moments with the performers steep us in their mannerisms and motivations, so when Elizabeth “takes over,” the result is both a feat of acting and genuinely upsetting. But is it real ?

“Went Up the Hill” premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.

Want to stay up to date on IndieWire’s film reviews and critical thoughts? Subscribe here to our newly launched newsletter, In Review by David Ehrlich, in which our Chief Film Critic and Head Reviews Editor rounds up the best reviews, streaming picks, and offers some new musings, all only available to subscribers.

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‘April’ Review: Abortion Drama Is a Singular Horror Show

Venice Film Festival: Director Dea Kulumbegashvili’s distinct film follows an OB-GYN who performs illegal abortions in Georgia

Don’t let the name fool you: “April” is a wintery affair. By far the most uncompromising vision to play at this year’s Venice Film Festival, director Dea Kulumbegashvili’s slow cinema horror show might also be the most audacious. That audacity translates less by way of length or provocation – Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist” and Harmony Korine’s “Baby Invasion” have those laurel locked up – than by way of self-assurance, from the filmmaker’s steadfast belief in her own creative gambit to her audience’s willingness to immerse themselves within.

This is, in so many words, a swing for auteur enshrinement so crystalline in intent that it namedrops Mikhail Kalatozov’s “The Cranes Are Flying” and visually cites Jonathan Glazer’s “Under the Skin” from the very jump.

Kulumbegashvili can reasonably wager on her film’s long-term prospects once it meets the right crowd (“April” boasts the producing support of Luca Guadagnino, who showered Kulumbegashvili’s prior effort, “Beginning,” with just about every eligible prize when he headed the San Sebastian jury in 2020), but the diverging festival response between Kalatozov’s 1957 Palme d’Or winner and Glazer’s 2013 subject to boos and jeers reflects the shakier outlook for such formal extremes upon immediate arrival.

Of course, the film is all too conversant in those particular risks, capping an opening prologue that finds a humanoid monster slinking into a pitch black abyss with a depiction of live childbirth for an infant that (narratively, at least) doesn’t last minutes in this world. Shot from above and leaving nothing to the imagination, the extended sequence has a jolting effect, at first shocking with a clinical view of the single act that unites us all (don’t worry those born of Cesarean, Kulumbegashvili later circles back to cover that as well) before lingering long enough for us to wonder why an act so common should remain so obscure.

the-brutalist-adrien-brody-felicity-jones

Viewed in a certain way, “April” can be described as a character study centering on Nina (Ia Sukhitashvili), the OB-GYN-turned-scapegoat upon that tragic turn. Only we don’t actually see Nina’s face fully lit in close-up until the one-hour point, nor do we hear her name spoken aloud before the penultimate scene. Instead, Kulumbegashvili overlays perspectives, collapsing her camera, her lead, and her audience atop one another. If not fully assuming the first-person, the film often frames interactions in near POVs that hew the character’s general eye-line and position in space at a given time.

Even when it breaks or plays with that framing and blocking device, “April” subsumes the main character’s Hippocratic view into all aesthetic choices. As a doctor, Nina is, rather by definition, a clinical pragmatist; she treats the symptoms and tries to resolve the problems in front of her. That one of those issues is the complete lack of (legal) family planning in this devout and rural patriarchy doesn’t really faze our physician. Somebody’s going to do it, she figures; might as well be the one with medical training. As with that early birthing sequence, the film translates this same clinical reasoning in visual terms, confronting elements often left off-screen and casting them in cold light.

Time and again, Nina confounds the patriarchal order by refusing it recognition, but she pays the price for her insolence, from a transactional sexual encounter turned violent once she asks for reciprocation, to the career put in danger once rumors of her extracurricular medical services begin to swirl. That career is all she has, as the price for living beyond the reigning order is a life of solitude and abnegation. The director’s almost-but-not-quite POV compositions accentuate that solitude, framing characters in conversation or sexual congress as completely isolated forms.

Shirking exposition until absolutely necessary, “April” follows Nina over a nominally condensed period of just a few days, all destabilized by long takes that curdle and warp the felt passage of time. We see her with a hospital superior whose overly familiar questions might hint at workplace harassment until we learn of their shared past and undimmed flames. We see travel across vast plains whose great expanse belies a cloistered world where everyone is up each other’s business, and we see her at work, both on the clock and off. As it builds a rather deliberate pace, the film implicates and includes us in Nina’s sense of trudging responsibility until we finally see her face in full as her eyes beam at the sight of a healthy newborn, and better understand the passion that guides her.

Lest we slip too close to realism, Kulumbegashvili often returns to that opening homunculus – a stooped figure with a spine protruding from mounds of melted flesh that might be a version of Nina finally removed from all the human impulses still anchoring her, or maybe something completely different (a wink to that goop deformed thug from “Robocop?” Who knows — this is an open text). To that end, the odd sight adds a final, unresolvable question to a film that continually makes formal leaps assuming that the audience drawn in will work alongside to catch up. That takes a certain mad audacity, and a level of belief both in self and in the audience that flatters – and bewilders.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Review: Tim Burton’s Return To The Afterlife Is A Hysterical And Heartfelt Return To Form

This new adventure with michael keaton’s trickster demon is an example of reverent nostalgia done right..

Michael Keaton looking back with a sly smile on his face, as a shrunken head minion stands before him, in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Any time a movie like Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is announced, fans of the original are usually the first to ask a question familiar to anyone who’s worked on a legacyquel: “Why?” With several decades passing since director Tim Burton ’s horror-comedy blockbuster struck it big, the many false starts of this return trip to the afterlife have only upped the ante of anticipation. Now that the hour is finally upon us, I can gladly say that those of you who never said die on a Beetlejuice sequel will not be disappointed, as Burton and company’s love and respect for the 1988 original is shown off in every fiber of this tale. It’s a great example of understanding why that movie worked and how to bring it back for a new generation to behold.

Jenna Ortega looking terrified in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

Release Date: September 6, 2024 Directed By: Tim Burton Written By: Alfred Gough & Miles Millar Starring: Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Justin Theroux, Monica Bellucci, Arthur Conti, Jenna Ortega, and Willem Dafoe Rating: PG-13 for violent content, macabre and bloody images, strong language, some suggestive material and brief drug use Runtime: 105 minutes MORE: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: Release Date, Trailer, Cast, And Other Things We Know

There’s a refreshing lack of overthinking when it comes to how Beetlejuice Beetlejuice picks up the torch. Lydia Deetz ( Winona Ryder ) is hosting her own TV show focused on (what else) ghost hunting. An enterprising boyfriend/producer ( Justin Theroux ) encourages her, and she has a daughter, Astrid ( Jenna Ortega ) who thinks she’s a fraud... and it ends up being the worst time in the world for a death in the family to send our strange and unusual protagonist back home.

Using the death of Charles Deetz (played by Jeffrey Jones in the original) as the catalyst for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s new tangle with the undead, the film delivers double doses of mother/daughter dysfunction that work rather well together. Just as Lydia and Astrid are engaged in a debate over whether the former's gift of seeing the dead is an actual thing, Lydia and step-mother Delia (Catherine O’Hara) clash in their grief. And before things get too comfortable, Beetlejuice ( Michael Keaton ) rears his head, as the return of his almost bride has stirred up some commotion in the hereafter.

Tim Burton has basically made another Beetlejuice movie, and that’s a high compliment.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice isn’t a legacyquel that’s overburdened with new backstory or lore in an attempt to “outdo” the original movie. Instead, Tim Burton’s new adventure in death is another point in time in this universe that delivers the sort of mayhem you’d expect. That’s not a complaint either, as trying to match the anarchic energy of the first Beetlejuice was risky. Seeing Michael Keaton’s happiness in turning loose the juice once again is perhaps the greatest sign that this entire enterprise was a good idea done right.

There are no grand reinventions used as a loophole for continuation. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice operates on similar principles to those that were laid out before, just with a couple new wrinkles to the guidelines of living vs. dead relations that fit the narrative. Burton’s return to his landmark horror-comedy alongside Wednesday collaborators/writers Alfred Gough & Miles Millar is a welcomed revisitation of familiar characters and situations, while giving us some freshness to enjoy in the process.

Doubling down on the carnival-like atmosphere of the afterlife and the musical-adjacent laughs of the first movie, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a long awaited follow up that smartly avoids feeling like a rerun while also playing some of the hits. Yes, “Day-O” gets a shout out as a clever easter egg, but it’s also an effective laugh in how its used. When it comes to the new musical moments that transpire, the numbers are executed at full throttle, with new deep cuts that may unexpectedly land square in the audience's heart.

Even with the entire cast of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice being in tip top shape, one performer almost steals the entire movie.

With a killer ensemble that sees Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder returning to match wits with worthy newcomers Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe , and Justin Theroux, there’s no shortage of fun in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice . And a good piece of the magic comes from Ryder and Ortega’s chemistry as a mother/daughter duo. Though the reunion of the Wednesday lead and Tim Burton may have sounded like a no-brainer, Ortega is thankfully given a break from the “spooky” energy her loyalists recognize her for.

Astrid Deetz is a good example of the double edged sword that is presented through the new additions roped into Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s cast. Giving Lydia a daughter works as a chance to push the story along, while also organically recalling where Winona Ryder’s character was in life at a similar age. It’s a complication that makes sense, because Astrid’s skeptical nature is inherently challenged by her mother’s history, intriguing us to think about how she’d handle the existence of Beetlejuice once he pops up.

Sadly, not all of the new characters present are given enough room to really add to the big picture. This is by no means the fault of the actors, as the busy plot of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice adds one too many would-be adversaries and oddballs. Both Justin Theroux’s Rory and Monica Bellucci’s Delores represent the same sort of obstacle to the plans of Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). The advantage that Rory is given is that even when he’s not present in the main thrust of the unfolding chaos, he’s still able to add comedic touches here and there.

The same sadly cannot be said for Delores, although her inclusion as a looming threat isn’t a total waste. Rather, there’s not enough of Monica Bellucci’s presence to live up to her role as a well-renowned femme fatale in the world of the afterlife. The inclusion of Beetlejuice’s old flame is a novel idea, but its execution falls short when compared to her living counterpart in Rory.

At the same time, the stacked deck of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s cast seems to have changed the game for two performers in particular. Michael Keaton gleefully faces off against humans fresh and familiar with his trademark zest, and his request to keep his amount of screen time relatively close to his run in the first picture was a wise move.

However, it’s actually Catherine O’Hara’s Delia Deetz that damn near steals the movie from everyone else. Already an icon of the avant-garde artists of the world, O’Hara’s series fixture just might build an even greater fanbase, thanks to her unique grieving process and how it affects her family.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice knows the magic words to say when crafting a horror-comedy that’s done with heart.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice works as a next chapter in the mythos as it isn’t trying to “make a universe,” but instead acts as a worthy successor. That much can be said even with the inclusion of a couple stray characters that don’t totally pay off, because the original Beetlejuice did that same thing and people still loved what it was trying to do. If you think this long awaited sequel is going to help this world make more sense on a story level, you’re going to be disappointed.

I encourage audiences to venture into Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as viewers experienced its 1988 predecessor. Back when the brand name meant nothing, and people didn’t know what to expect, this supernatural sideshow earned love as a living manifestation of chaos barely held together by plot. For Tim Burton and company to have achieved that feat again, after almost four decades of waiting, feels like enough of a victory for those who have been looking forward to more of the same.

Sidestepping the trend of merely resurrecting a storied IP without a good enough reason to continue, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice exists purely out of love. Seeing Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara taking such pleasure in reprising their characters should stand as all the proof one could need that things were in good hands. But experiencing a rejuvenated Burton engaging in live-action, stop motion, and practical effects storytelling all over again is where the true payoff lies.

People wanted “another Beetlejuice ,” and that’s exactly what’s arrived. You could very easily watch these movies back to back, and leave the room with a smile on your face. No matter when you start celebrating Halloween on the calendar, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice feels like a well-deserved cinematic kickoff to the season proper. And as always, anyone with a passing fascination for the strange and unusual is welcome to the show.

Mike Reyes is the Senior Movie Contributor at CinemaBlend, though that title’s more of a guideline really. Passionate about entertainment since grade school, the movies have always held a special place in his life, which explains his current occupation. Mike graduated from Drew University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, but swore off of running for public office a long time ago. Mike's expertise ranges from James Bond to everything Alita, making for a brilliantly eclectic resume. He fights for the user.

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CAE Writing

Writing will be the second part of your Certificate in Advanced English exam. CAE Writing is 90 minutes long and it consists of two separate tasks:

In CAE Writing Part 1 you have to read three points on a topic and then write an essay based on two of them. In your answer you have to point out which of the two points are more important. Your essay has to be 220-260 words long.

For CAE Writing Part 2 you get three different assignments to choose from. There are four possible types of assignments: a proposal, a review, a report and a letter. Again, it must be 220-260 words long.

CAE Writing Assessment Criteria Writing Part 1 Writing Part 2 — Review — Report — Letter — Proposal

You might want to read advice on basics of essay composition before moving to the exam tasks.

CAE Writing Assessment Criteria

Your Writing score depends on four different aspects:

Content. How well you is your writing at achieving the task. Have you developed all the points required by the task?
Communicative Achievement. How appropriate is your writing in terms of style. Have you used the right register ( formal or informal )? Does your writing fill the style requirements of your text type (report, review, essay, letter)? Do you understand the purpose of the text you’re writing?
Organisation. How logically you structure your text (introduction, body paragraphs, conclusion). How well you connect your ideas in the text ( cohesion ).
Language. Your grammar and vocabulary. How diverse is your choice of grammar structure? Is the vocabulary you use fairly varied? Do you make any mistakes in both and how much do they affect understanding the idea you convey?

Writing Part 1

We will use an example task as an illustration:

You have watched a TV programme about scholarship and who should get in in your country. You have made the following notes:

Who should receive scholarship?

People with exceptional academic performance
Foreign exchange students
Members of low-income families

Some of the opinions expressed in the programme:

“Students have to earn their right for free education.” “Children of parents with low income are usually more diligent learners.” “Students from abroad should feel welcomed in our country.”

You should write an essay for your tutor discussing two groups of people that should get scholarship. You are free to use any of the opinions from the programme if you like, but you should use your own words whenever possible.

Your introductory paragraph should state the topic of your essay and its purpose. It is recommended to make it clear which two points (out of three) you will be writing about. Alternatively you may choose to state that in the first sentence of each body paragraph. It is possible to use both approaches together — then you will have to make sure to paraphrase these statements. Avoid making your introduction too long — 3-5 sentences is an optimal length for your opening paragraph.

Body paragraphs are the tools which you use to deliver the key message of your essay. As you will be writing about two different points it is natural to dedicate one paragraph to each point. You are advised to keep body paragraphs approximately the same size — both points should be developed equally well. Some of the tasks require you to choose which of the two aspects is more important, and to state the reason for it being more important. In that case it is acceptable to make one of the paragraphs slightly bigger. This can be done both in the body paragraph and conclusion.

Your conclusion is commonly the shortest of all paragraphs. Most students tend to write a slightly paraphrased version of ideas already mentioned in introduction or body paragraphs. This is a valid technique and there is nothing wrong about it. It is especially useful when you have exhausted the topic and therefore you have nothing else to contribute to the text. Another possible approach is to introduce extra ideas as shown in the example essay below.

CAE Writing Part 1 Sample Essay

Tuition fees have never been low — on the contrary, only the chosen few can comfortably afford paying their studying costs. To participate in a scholarship programme has always been every student’s aspiration. Not only does the scholarship spare serious expenses, it also looks good on one’s CV. In the paragraphs below I will explain my opinion on why members of poor families and students with outstanding marks should be getting preferences for scholarship programme participation. Young people from families with insufficient means are generally unable to to pay for their education. Conversely, children of financially-sound households are more likely to get into scholarship, as they usually have much better secondary education — not to mention their parents being well able to cover tuition fees. These facts eventually lead to further widening of the wealth gap between the rich and the poor, entailing a number of social and economic issues. Such opportunity inequality could be mitigated by lowering the scholarship requirements for the less wealthy. Prospective students with impressive academic records should not be discouraged from continuing their education by charging for it. Considering their mental aptitude and zeal, these young people are very likely to become highly-qualified professionals, potentially making an appreciable contribution to society. Therefore they ought to be eligible for scholarship participation even if they do not meet other, non-academic requirements. Provision of scholarship grants is not an easy task. The decision-making system should be fair and impartial, ensuring that only the most worthy and needy have their academic expenses taken care of by the government. It is only then we can ensure that the programme serves its initial purpose. (272 words)

Writing Part 2

The second part of CAE Writing gives you a choice of three different tasks to choose from. It is recommended to practice at least two out of four possible tasks (Review, Report, Letter and Proposal).

Your paper should be between 220-260 words long. Going over the limit is not penalized, but potentially leads to more mistakes. However if your text is under 220 you will have points deducted from your overall score.

CAE Review is about providing details on the task subject, giving your opinion and recommending (or not recommending) to see/watch/read it. Your review can be on a variety of things such as books, movies, plays, events and much more.

Your writing can be either formal or informal . It is clear from the task which register you are supposed to use. Whichever you use, you should be consistent and stick to one register throughout the whole essay.

Suggested CAE Review Structure

Use the introductory paragraph to name what you are going to be reviewing, state its genre (i.e. a science fiction novel, a horror movie, a vaudeville performance and so on). It is possible to write about author’s other notable works if there are any. To make your introduction more engaging, you may briefly state your general impression on it. Make your introduction at least three sentences long.

Your first body paragraph should give a short summary of the reviewed material. Give a brief overview — plot, setting, actors, general idea. Avoid giving your opinion in this paragraph — you will do this in the following passages.

Second and third body paragraphs can be used to describe good and bad points respectively. Unlike CAE Writing Part 1 your paragraphs don’t have to be of same length — if you liked the described thing then your paragraph with good points will be naturally bigger than the other one. In the negative points paragraph you can name things that could be changed to improve the quality of the product.

Conclusion will contain your general impression and your verdict. Use this paragraph to sum up the good and bad points to make an objective assessment of the reviewed material. You may then recommend or dissuade your readers from seeing/attending it.

An example CAE Review task to illustrate these points:

CAE Writing Part 2 Review Sample

The title I am going to review is a rare example when the movie manages to trump the book it is based on. Today I am reviewing Fight Club by an infamous American novelist Charles Palahniuk — his most widely-known, universally acclaimed work. It is a daunting task to find a person unfamiliar with the movie. The plot engages you from the very start — a young professional finds his apartment destroyed by an explosion of unknown origin. Agitated, he phones his newfound acquaintance Tyler whom he had met on the plane. They see each other at a bar and the story becomes increasingly complex, yet pleasantly effortless to follow. Through its narrative a number of problems are tackled – self-identity, peer pressure, middle-life crises and some other. The characters are likeable and easy to relate to. Both acting and directing are superb. But what makes it better than the book? The only objective fault I could find in the book was the order of events. It goes back and forth, which at times proves to be confusing. The movie manages the sequencing much better. Other than that the book is brilliant — vigorous prose that manages to evoke strong images. The movie however is so good that the book tends to slightly fade in all its glory. People tend to read the book after seeing the adaptation, thus coming with high expectations that can be hard to meet. To sum this up, I would recommend reading the book nonetheless. It may seem inferior in some respects, but it does help to understand the main theme of “Fight Club” better. (266 words)

CAE Review tips

The task clearly stated that you will be writing to your tutor, which implies use of formal register.
As you write review you will inevitably use words meaning “good, bad, very” and so forth. It is important to know as many synonyms to very and other general words .
To get more idea of what a review should look like check some user reviews: For movies go to www.imdb.com and click on any movie. Then scroll down to see the user reviews. Click to see the full list of reviews like this one. Please note that these reviews do not follow the required CAE Review format — they are to give you some ideas and vocabulary examples. For book reviews try www.goodreads.com . Just like the previous site you have to choose a book and read other people’s thoughts on it. The top-rated reviews are at the top of the main page.

CAE Report task is giving your opinion on a subject or assessment of a situation. The difference between CAE Review and Report tasks is that your report should be as objective as possible. Another important difference is that CAE Report should have clear headings for each paragraph.

CAE Report has to be written in formal English. Check this page on formal vocabulary to avoid making any mistakes or inconsistencies.

Suggested CAE Report structure

In your introductory paragraph you state the subject your report will be about. It is usually done by paraphrasing the information you are given in the task (see example report below). You may also state the main points of your report to make it easier for your reader to navigate through it.

As it was mentioned before, each of your paragraphs should have a separate heading. For body paragraphs each heading will be an aspect of the thing your report is about. For example, if your report is on a local school, your headings could be:

Staff . This paragraph will be about the school’s teachers and other personnel
Classrooms . Description of school premises and facilities
Curriculum . How the teaching process is organised.

The names of your headings don’t have to be that straightforward — you can show some creativity there. Make sure that the meaning of your headings is clear — your reader should understand the content of the paragraph from the heading.

Your conclusion sums up the points mentioned above and provides a general assessment. You can voice your recommendations and suggestions if the task says you to do so.

To help you structure your report you can write out possible headings. A properly structured text is much easier to write and more pleasant to follow. Use your draft paper to write up an outline plan, but do not spend too much time on it — 2-4 minutes are usually enough to come up with a solid heading structure.

CAE Writing Part 2 Report Sample

You have completed your internship at a big company. As a part of your job placement programme you should write a report to your employment counsellor. In your report you should describe the company you worked at, the problems you encountered and propose any additional training you feel is necessary.

Introduction For the past three months I had been working for Escom Limited, the biggest law firm in our town. I have participated in real working environment, gained new skills and made acquaintances with people from the industry. In this report I will sum up my experience in this company. Escom Structure The company has a well-defined tier system. Being an intern I started at the first tier with everybody except other interns being my superiors. To get used to this strict hierarchy proved to be a serious challenge but eventually I adapted to it. Such system has its merits — as you move up the ranks you get access to more documents, legal tools and get to interact with senior staff. Even though the system has its downsides it is nevertheless very effective and efficient. The Challenges As an intern I had to perform a wide array of tasks. I had to interact with the company’s clients, fill in various forms, go through tomes of legal data and sort the mail. Unfortunately some of them had no relation to my field of study whatsoever — oftentimes I would get asked to bring in some take-away food or fix a malfunctioning computer. Some of the tasks proved to be too daunting for me, but overall I think I did just fine. Improving Myself Having completed my internship I could finally see my professional shortcomings. There are many things to improve on — first and foremost I have to work on my social skills. I found it difficult to talk to clients that I see for the first time and it is a must to make them feel comfortable. I should also study up on the recent law amendments — at times I found myself unaware of the latest developments in legal proceedings. Conclusion I have thoroughly enjoyed my brief stay with the company. Even though the system has its downsides it is nevertheless very effective and efficient. (274 words)

CAE Letter/E-mail

This type of task presents a certain situation that you have to write a reply to. CAE Letter is one of the more diverse type of tasks, as it can vary greatly in content of the letter as well as the required style and register. For example, a letter to your friend is going to be rather informal and its content will be narrative. Conversely, a letter to a manager of a restaurant should stay stylistically formal as well as factual.

Narrative or factual?

The terms “narrative” and “factual” can be a bit confusing – after all, when we talk or write about something, we tell a story (we narrate) and we include facts. That is true indeed, and both styles include elements of one another. In fact, they overlap considerably. However, there is a difference.

Narrative style (Informal letters/e-mails)

Narrative style focuses on the subjective aspect of your writing. It is about making your writing piece more emotionally engaging. It is more appropriate when you want to make the reader interested in what you are writing.

You can use a number of devices to engage your reader. The two most used ones in informal types of CAE Writing are exclamation and question marks. The former makes your message stronger and more emphatic. The latter can be used for a rhetoric question (one that requires no answer) or to make the reader more included in the narrative:

Hey, how have you been? I heard that your last music album was an immediate success. Really great to hear that!

16 thoughts on “CAE Writing”

I appeared on CAE exam last month in part 2 of writing I forget to mention part number in the answer box and I did e-mail part one with full format etc .it will create any problem??

Hello Waqas! I believe you shouldn’t feel too worried about it, unless it is not clear from the context of your answer!

There is clearly a mistake on the report section. Instead of the example of the report there are two reviews. Would it be possible to fix it? Thank you very much!

Thanks you, fixed that. We seem to have some text missing here, we will have to look into this at some point 🙂

Hello, in the writing part of the exam, I did not finish my review (I only managed to write an introduction and one paragraph, but my essay was complete). Although, I am confident about other parts of the CAE exam. How does this issue affect my overall score. Does it prevent me from getting the certificate?

Hello, Jessica. You get a choice of 3 different types of writing in Part 2, you can just choose something else. In fact, you might not get a review in the three offered tasks at all. Usually students struggle with reviews as it requires a more specific set of vocabulary, so many choose to skip it and not spend their time on it.

Hello I have realized that both my essay and my letter consist of approximately 310 words each. Could it affect my score drastically? Or is it appropriate to put down more than 260 words (310 in my case) if I would like to cover all the points of the task?

Hello, Julia! As per Cambridge CAE Handbook: “Guidelines on length are provided for each task; responses which are too short may not have an adequate range of language and may not provide all the information that is required, while responses which are too long may contain irrelevant content and have a negative effect on the reader. These may affect candidates’ marks on the relevant subscales.”

In other words, the examiners might see excessive length as poor ability to organise your writing. I would recommend against going over 280 words. Your ability to write concisely and convey a message through fewer words is a skill they expect you to have at CEFR C1 level. I hope this answers your question 🙂

Hello I would like to ask you if you think writing an email to a club organiser at your college is supposed to be an informal or a formal email? You know the whole name of the organiser and the note said something like: “You can choose the next 2 movies that we will watch next Tuesday. Tell us your ideas!” I wrote an informal letter but I’m not sure if it’s right. Thank you for any answers!

Hey Barbora! Generally, exclamation marks like in “Tell us your ideas!” indicate that it would be informal. Moreover, the general context of the text hint at a more relaxed style, so sticking to informal register is the way to go. Therefore, you have made the right call!

Hello. Unfortunately, I have exceeded the word limit of the writing (a lot). I am worried that they will deduct points. Do you perhaps know how many points or what impact it has? please be detailed. Thank you very much.

Hello Hosi, I am sorry I missed your message at first. Exceeding your word limit considerably can be punished both directly and indirectly. The former way is to see it as inability to express your ideas in a structured and compact way. Indirectly you might get a penalty for all the possible mistakes that come with those extra sentences. It is a part of the four assessment aspects, so at best it accounts for 1/8th of your mark. So unless your general planning and structuring was absolutely terrible (I hope it’s not!) you should not be too worried about this.

Hi, I attended the CAE exam just last week. I made a silly mistake in Writing part 2 when I jotted down the wrong number of the assignment (I chose letter and wrote down the number for proposal). Will this somehow affect my scores? Also, I’d like to ask, I was supposed to write a letter to all of my customers telling them about my company (what does it do, what makes it different, benefits for new customers) etc. is formal letter appropriate in this context? Thanks a lot for your answer!

Hey Dionne, hope you’re doing great! To answer the first part of your question – no, it probably won’t affect your mark as it should be evident from the context of your answer which task you chose for the second part. As for using formal register when writing to your customers – yes, you definitely made the right call! Please let me know how it went as soon as you get the results.

Hi! I attended CAE writing exam today and in Part 2 I chose to write a review BUT instead used the report structure, using subtitles ☹️. Also, I didn’t have the time to write a conclusion. Will I receive any points for Part 2? Thank you!

Hello Monica! Using titles is not punished directly. You should be fine, provided these titles add cohesion rather than confusion to your writing. You will probably get slightly lower mark for failing to include a conclusion on the grounds that the potential reader will not be “fully informed” (Content criteria). It might also affect your Organisation score. I wouldn’t worry too much about getting zero points as it is never the case with Cambridge exams. Please let us know how it goes when you get your score!

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It Sure Is Nice to Have Ben Stiller Back

The last time we saw David Gordon Green, he was lost in the muddle of a cursed Exorcist sequel , which he’d made after a trio of interesting but wildly uneven Halloween movies . Onstage at the Toronto Film Festival world premiere of his new comedy Nutcrackers , the director admitted that the “inevitable darkness” of four horror flicks in a row had gotten to him; the Ben Stiller–starring Nutcrackers , Green said, was born of his desire to make “a movie without cynicism and viciousness.” He’s certainly done that, but in its own weird way, Nutcrackers reconfigures some of those previous films as well; it feels like an amalgamation of all the various stages of Green’s career.

One wonders if the sweetness and light of Nutcrackers was also what brought Stiller out of the woodwork, since he hasn’t done many high-profile parts since 2017’s one-two punch of Brad’s Status and The Meyerowitz Stories . Here, he plays Michael Maxwell, a Chicago real-estate developer who drives to small-town Ohio (in his yellow Ferrari, naturally) to take care of his four unruly nephews, who’ve been left orphaned and alone on a dilapidated farm after the deaths of Michael’s sister and her husband.

Wild, unkempt, and uncouth, the home-schooled kids are played by a quartet of real-life brothers: Homer, Ulysses, Arlo, and Atlas Janson, four vivacious nonprofessionals from rural Ohio who apparently inspired Green to make the film in the first place. The kids don’t speak much and they feed themselves on uncooked blocks of ramen, cheese puffs with ketchup, and popsicles dipped in … well, something. They roam around a farm filled with cats, dogs, hogs, guinea pigs, snakes, and chickens that scramble and slither in and out of their ramshackle house. Nutcrackers might be a goofy comedy, but when Michael is confronted by a silent nephew wearing a giant rabbit mask, or when he chases a chicken with a giant knife while the kids chant, “Pluck it, cook it, put it in a pot!” we can see how this might not actually be that far removed from Green’s unorthodox attempts at horror.

Workaholic city slicker Michael isn’t planning to be in Ohio for long. He just needs to watch the boys for a few days while the local children’s services rep (Linda Cardellini) lines up a new foster home. Stiller, who has a knack for playing everyday guys who somehow can’t help but act like total jagoffs, brings the right mix of relatable decency and cold calculation to the part; this is not one of his signature performances, but it’s certainly nice to have him back. Even as Michael grows to bond with the kids, he accelerates his efforts to find them a foster home, never once contemplating the possibility of caring for them himself. “I guess it’s true what Mom said about you then,” says one of the kids. “What did she say?” Michael asks. “She said you were incapable of love.” See, you can say that to a Ben Stiller character. He won’t fight back. He remains one of American cinema’s funnier objects of humiliation and abuse.

The narrative outcome of Nutcrackers is aggressively (some will say insultingly) predictable. We can sense the plot gears locking into place when Michael discovers that his sister had a much-loved dance school that’s since been abandoned. But here’s where it helps to have a director like David Gordon Green. For all the strange directions his career has taken him since he first burst onto the indie scene with understated small-town dramas like George Washington (2000) and All the Real Girls (2003), Green has never entirely abandoned the improvisatory spirit of his early work, be it in Apatovian fantasias like Pineapple Express or gentle indie comedies like Prince Avalanche , or even in the oblique and digressive Halloween Ends . He has a gift for infusing boilerplate material with just enough formal and emotional anarchy to make us wonder if the movies have suddenly left reality behind. And then there’s his love of faces — his ability to see the ordinary extraordinariness of real people — which elevates his work beyond a mere narrative accounting of what happened to whom and where. The familiar contours of Nutcrackers might deceive us, but its inspirations and interests crystallize its restless, independent spirit. It feels like both a summary and a homecoming for this strangest and most American of directors.

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Screen Rant

Michael keaton explains why 1 underrated quentin tarantino movie is simply "great".

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Ahsoka's First Meeting With Luke Imagined In Haunting Star Wars Art

One 20-year-old star wars story proves the clones would never have turned on the jedi willingly, 10 best mcu quotes from its stars that weren't in the movies or shows.

Michael Keaton speaks out regarding his opinions on one key Quentin Tarantino movie. Tarantino has been a notable name in Hollywood since the 1990s, making his breakout film Reservoir Dogs in 1992 . Since then, Tarantino has gone on to direct notable works including Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill movies. The director's most recent film was Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood , which was released in 2019 to largely positive reviews.

In a Wired autocomplete interview, actor Keaton explains why he thinks Tarantino's Jackie Brown is so great.

Speaking on his Tarantino film, Keaton noted that " Jackie Brown's great ! " The actor went on to laud how th Tarantino film " broke everything down to its simplest form ," by " telling just a very simple narrative ." Beyond the film itself, Keaton had a lot of great things to say about Tarantino himself, mentioning " all of his movies are great ." Check out the full quote from Keaton below:

Jackie Brown, I don't know if you've seen Jackie Brown lately. Jackie Brown's great! I mean, all of his movies are great, but it kind of broke everything down to its simplest form, telling just a very simple narrative and that vibe. It has some of the greatest shots I've ever seen, and a great, great soundtrack. Yeah, Quentin's great.

Why Jackie Brown Is An Overlooked Tarantino Film

Jackie brown was overshadowed by pulp fiction.

Jackie Brown is a 1997 Tarantino movie that sees Keaton in the role of Ray Nicolette. Like Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs , the film has a superstar, outstanding cast that helps elevate the work. In Jackie Brown , this cast included Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, and Robert De Niro. Forster was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but the film did not receive any other Academy Award nods. Jackie Brown did receive good reviews, getting an 88% Tomatometer from Rotten Tomatoes critics.

Jackie Brown has been a largely overlooked entry within Tarantino's filmography , for the director is far more recognized for works like Reservoir Dogs , Kill Bill , and Pulp Fiction . Pulp Fiction 's release just three years earlier is likely a huge part of why Jackie Brown is underrated. Pulp Fiction gained both instant traction and long-term cult film classic status, becoming the most major Tarantino film to come out of the 1990s. Comparatively, Jackie Brown seems to be a much lesser film.

Keaton makes a good point about how Jackie Brown tells its story in the " simplest form ." Pulp Fiction , on the other hand, has a non-linear, intertwining narrative that takes great liberties with structure and form. Audiences and critics saw what Tarantino was stylistically capable of with Pulp Fiction , so Jackie Brown could thus seem to be playing it safer. This is not to say that Jackie Brown is inherently worse, and perhaps Keaton is right that those who overlooked Jackie Brown should give it another look.

Source: Wired / YouTube

Jackie Brown

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Jackie Brown is a 1997 crime thriller directed by Quentin Tarantino. Pam Grier stars as a flight attendant who outsmarts the authorities, her boss, and a ruthless killer after smuggling cash for a gunrunner. The movie counts with an all-star cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Robert De Niro, Robert Forster, Michael Keaton, and Bridget Fonda.

How to write a review? | B2 First (FCE)

You always have to do two things describe and discuss something, for example, a film , a book , a restaurant , an experience or whatever the task might require you to talk about. Also, you have to make a recommendation at the end of your text.

Unlike an essay a review should be written in an informal or neutral register, this means:

you CAN use phrasal verbs ,
you CAN use idioms
you CAN use contractions
you CAN be creative!

Check our Writing Guide below – to see how to write an FCE review in detail.

B2 First (FCE) Review: Structure

Use the name of the , or .

Identify what you are reviewing ( , ).
Try to catch the reader´s attention (ask a question).

Describe the book, film, restaurant

Comment on the questions you have been asked

Summarize your review with a recommendation

FCE, CAE, CPE

Practice, write & improve, b2 first (fce) review: writing guide.

We will use the example FCE review topic below:

You see this announcement in your college English-language magazine.

Book reviews wanted Have you read a book in which the main character behaved in a surprising way?

Write us a review of the book, explaining what the main character did and why it was surprising. Tell us whether or not you would recommend this book to other people.

The best reviews will be published in the magazine.

Write your review (140-190 words)

Step 1: Briefly analyse the given topic…

The first thing you need to do is to underline a description part -in other words, just find what needs to be described.

Secondly, find a discussion part – in other words, try to find the specific points you need to comment on in your text.

Finally, find the target reader so you know exactly who you are writing for and who is going to read your review.

You see this announcement in your college English-language magazine. (our readers)

Book reviews wanted Have you read a book in which the main character behaved in a surprising way? (to describe)

Write us a review of the book, explaining what the main character did and why it was surprising. ( to comment)

Now we have all three elements we need to write a great review:

You need to describe: Book in which the main character behaved in a surprising way

You need to answer/discuss:

What did the main character do?
Why it was surprising?

Who is the target reader: college English-language magazine.

We know now that the target readers are students, teachers and probably parents so the writing style should be neutral or informal.

We don’t need to be too formal because after all some of the readers are students, but we also don’t want to be too informal as some of the readers are teachers and parents.

Now we can start building our structure and writing a review.

Step 2: Title

The review should start with the title, and there are few simple ways to write it:

imagine you’re reviewing a book you can write: [Title] by [Author]
if you were reviewing a restaurant you could write: [name of the restaurant] – a review

Title (book): Dark Souls by Stephen King (by) Title (restaurant): Taco Bell in London – a review (a review)

We will use this title in our guide : TITLE : Time Machine by Adam Smith

Tip : Nothing prevents you from writing something more unique but it has to point to what you are going to review.

Step 3: Introduction

The other function of your introduction is to engage the reader . You can do it by asking a question.

Make your introduction at least 2 sentences long.

INTRODUCTION: What would you do if you could travel back in time? Most people would probably meet their great-great-grandparents or watch how the amazing pyramids in Giza were built, but Tom Lee, the main character of the novel Time Machine by Adam Smith finds himself in a completely unexpected situation and he has to make a very difficult decision that will change history as we know it.

– question

– details about the book and main character

Step 4: The body paragraphs (main content)

The body paragraphs are the main parts of your review so they should be the longest and carry most of the information. Also, here you describe the points you’ve found in (Step 1)

You can use idioms , and phrasal verbs – neutral/informal language is appropriate for your target reader – students and teachers.

See the example below, in which we dedicated one paragraph to one point.

[Who is the main character and what did he do? – describe]

Tom, a teacher in a little town in Rotherham, finds a mysterious time portal in the back of a ragged diner which takes him back to the year 1935. He soon realises that every time he goes through the portal he gets to the exact same point in the past. Eventually, he makes the unexpected decision to stop Michael James Newton from brutally killing President John F. Kennedy on 22.11.1963.

[Why it was surprising? – comment]

It seems to me that Tom could choose many other and more personal things to do, but he decides to try and change history to a degree that he cannot predict . In my opinion , that came definitely unexpected an d if I were in his position I probably wouldn’t even consider a task this far-reaching.

– own opinion

– descriptive/interesting vocabulary

– relevant details about the main character and book

TIP: What if you don’t read books?

Don’t waste your time looking for a to match your review. it doesn’t have to be real!

And yes that may sound difficult: you have to invent a book and then write a review about your invented book!

So instead take a you like, take a you like and transform them into books. That’s simple!

Step 5: Conclusion / Recommendations

Finally, we need to make a recommendation because after all, that’s the only reason why anyone would read a review they want to know what the reviewer thinks about the book , film or restaurant .

A good final paragraph of a review does exactly two things

it includes a recommendation
and a final sentence to round off the review

CONCLUSION: I definitely recommend “Time Machine” to everyone who has already read some of Adam Smith’s novels as well as to those who like stories with twists and turns around every corner plus you get some modern history on top of that. For me, it was absolutely worth reading and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

See full review…

Full review.

Time Machine by Adam Smith

What would you do if you could travel back in time? Most people would probably meet their great-great-grandparents or watch how the amazing pyramids in Giza were built, but Tom Lee, the main character of the novel Time Machine by Adam Smith finds himself in a completely unexpected situation and he has to make a very difficult decision that will change history as we know it.

It seems to me that Tom could choose many other and more personal things to do, but he decides to try and change history to a degree that he cannot predict. In my opinion, that came definitely unexpected and if I were in his position I probably wouldn’t even consider a task this far-reaching.

I definitely recommend “Time Machine” to everyone who has already read some of Adam Smith’s novels as well as to those who like stories with twists and turns around every corner plus you get some modern history on top of that. For me, it was absolutely worth reading and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Check your (FCE) Review

B2 first (fce) review: model answers, model answer 1.

You have seen this notice in your school library:

REVIEWS NEEDED We want to buy some new books for the library. Have you read a good book in English recently? Write us a review of a book you enjoyed, explaining why you liked it and why you think it would be a good choice for the school library.

We will use your reviews to help us decide which books to buy

Model answer

THE THIEVES OF OSTIA

„The thieves of Ostia‟ by Caroline Lawrence is the first in a series of books entitled„The Roman Mysteries‟ and I think it‟s an absolute must for the school library.

The book is set in the Roman port of Ostia nearly two thousand years ago. It tells the story of Flavia and her three friends, and their attempts to discover who has been killing the dogs of Ostia and why. It‟s full of mystery and excitement, and the plot has many twists and turns, which make you want to keep reading.

The book is aimed at ten – to twelve – year – old native English speakers, but it is very popular with older children and would be ideal for teenagers studying English. What‟s more, it gives a fascinating insight into life in Roman times, so readers learn about history as well as improve their language skills.

After finishing „The Thieves of Ostia‟, students will want to borrow further books from the series. By buying it, then, the library would be doing a lot to encourage students to read more in English

Model Answer 2

You have found the following advertisement online:

RESTAURANT REVIEWS WANTED!

Have you been to a great restaurant lately? If so, send us an honest review of the restaurant explaining what you liked and disliked of the place as well as its location, staff and how it looks on the inside.

We will publish the first 20 decent reviews we get!

Foster’s Hollywood

Being a huge fan of traditional American fast food and restaurant styles, it’s no wonder that my favourite restaurant in Granada is Foster’s Hollywood.

Located smack in the middle of the city, this fast-food chain serves a wide variety of mouthwatering, American dishes at a reasonable price. These range from typical Tex-Mex nachos or French fries to more elaborate meals like traditional, homemade Bourbon steak. And if you’re hungry, it’s the perfect place to go, as their servings are absolutely huge!

Another cool thing about this place is its magnificent decor. If you’re a film buff, you will quickly fall in love with this place, since all the walls are covered in famous movie posters! Apart from that, it’s got a spacious dining hall, super friendly staff and an outdoor terrace which is absolutely fantastic on summer nights!

The only negative thing I can say is that it is right next to a gym, which sometimes makes me feel guilty for eating so much!

Nevertheless, Foster’s Hollywood offers delicious meals in an unbeatable atmosphere, so you should definitely give it a try. I promise you won’t regret it!

B2 First (FCE) Review: Example Topics

Example topic 1.

Your teacher has asked you to write a review for a book you have read recently. The best reviews will go in the school magazine. Review the book giving your opinion and say whether or not you would recommend it.

Example Topic 2

Your teacher has asked you to write a review for a film you have seen recently on DVD or at the cinema.The best reviews will go in the school magazine. Review the book giving your opinion and saying whether ornot you would recommend it.

Example Topic 3

At school, you are building a tourist website in English. Your teacher has asked you to write a review of arestaurant you have eaten at in your town. Review the restaurant giving your opinion and saying whetheror not you would recommend it.

B2 First (FCE) Review: Writing Checklist

After writing your text, you can check it yourself using the writing checklist below.

How to do that? Simply check your text/email by answering the questions one by one:

Have I covered all the key information required by the task?
Have I written only information which is relevant to the task?
Have I developed the basic points in the task with my own ideas?

Communicative Achievement

Have I achieved the main purpose(s) of the text (for example, explaining, persuading, suggesting, apologising, comparing, etc.)?
Have I communicated a balance of straightforward and more complex ideas?
Have I used a suitable style and register (formal or informal) for the task?

Organisation

Have I used paragraphs appropriately to organise my ideas?
Have I used other organisational features appropriately for the genre of the text (for example, titles, headings, openings, closings, etc.)?
Is the connection between my ideas clear and easy for the reader to follow? (For example, have I used appropriate linking words, pronouns, etc. to refer to different things within the text?)
Are the ideas balanced appropriately, with suitable attention and space given to each one?
Have I used a wide range of vocabulary?
Have I avoided repeating the same words and phrases?
Have I used a range of simple and more complex grammatical structures?
Have I correctly used any common phrases which are relevant to the specific task or topic?
Is my use of grammar accurate?
Is my spelling accurate?

More than Practice Tests

B2 first (fce) review: tips.

Make sure you have at least 4 paragraphs.
Choose an appropriate title.
The introduction will talk about what’s being reviewed.
Use a relaxed , friendly , chatty style.
You can use contractions such as I’m, I’ve etc..
Use a new paragraph for each point you want to make.
In the concluding paragraph give your opinion.

B2 First (FCE) Review: Grammar & Vocabulary

The grammar and vocabulary that you need unfortunately depend heavily on the type of question you get.

One thing you can do though is to make sure your grammar and vocabulary are related to the tasks . So for example, if you are writing a review about a film make sure your vocabulary is related to films.

So include words like “s cripts, director, cast, plot, setting, special effects, and stunts”

If you want to mention who directed the film or who played the part of a certain character then make sure you use the passive “The film was directed by Y”. “The the protagonist was played by X”.

If you are talking about an experience and you need to describe the experience then make sure you use narrative tenses because obviously this experience happened in the past.

This means you need to use the past simple, the past continuous and the past perfect. For example “I checked into the hotel at 10 am. I had been travelling all night and was feeling exhausted. The hotel staff were very welcoming and made me feel at home”.

B2 First (FCE) Review: Useful Phrases & Expressions

We will finish it with some useful vocabulary mostly used to organize information. Although it is taking a shortcut, if you learn several expressions for each paragraph in each type of text that could be on your exam, you will certainly be able to create a very consistent and well-organized text.

Giving background

This show stars… The play is directed by… The film is about… It‟s set in………. The story is based on (a book…) It‟s about….. There are many memorable characters including …. The main theme of the film is…..

Expressions that introduce a contrast

On the plus side,… On the down side,… On the one hand,… On the other hand,…

Recommending

Overall, I‟d recommend… All in all, the film was… I wouldn‟t hesitate to recommend… I wouldn‟t encourage anyone to … I would recommend this film to anyone. Although I enjoyed it, I would not recommend it for…. It‟s one of the best (shows) I’ve ever seen. Although I am not normally keen on (musicals),I am glad that I decided to go. The (film) lifts you out of your everyday life

B2 First (FCE) Review: Frequently Asked Questions

Who will read the review.

Your review will be read by readers of a magazine.

What is the purpose of the review?

The review is intended to give information to the reader which will help them decide whether to attend the event themselves.

What style should I use?

Use a style similar to an article that is likely to interest the reader.

What information should I include?

Give essential information about the story, cast, band members, etc. Say what you like and didn‟t like about the performances. Make a recommendation to the reader about whether or not they should go.

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Rebel Ridge Review: A Killer Action Thriller That Masterfully Builds Tension

One month into production, Jeremy Saulnier's new Netflix movie "Rebel Ridge" lost its star. Saulnier, who broke out in a big way with his second feature "Blue Ruin" and followed it up with the equally memorable "Green Room," had cast "Star Wars" actor John Boyega as the lead of his new action thriller. But then Boyega left the production, citing family reasons. It seemed like a devastating blow: Boyega is an extremely talented actor, and the prospect of him working with a filmmaker like Saulnier was exciting. But now that "Rebel Ridge" is finally here, I can say that things worked out perfectly for the film, because Boyega's replacement, Aaron Pierre, is a movie star in the making. Pierre has appeared in Barry Jenkins' acclaimed Prime Video series "The Underground Railroad," and had a brief but memorable turn as rapper Mid-Sized Sedan in M. Night Shyamalan's deliciously silly thriller "Old," but "Rebel Ridge" feels like the movie that will launch him into the stratosphere. He's electric here, commanding the screen with a tense physicalicity and a magnetic presence. We can't take our eyes off this guy; every move he makes has our attention.

The only potential wrench in this star-making performance is the fact that "Rebel Ridge" is destined to go right to Netflix instead of theaters. It has been said that we don't really have movie stars anymore, not in the old fashioned sense at least, and I think the fact that so many movies get dumped onto streaming these days has something to do with that. You can't help but think that if "Rebel Ridge" had come out more than a decade ago, and played in movie theaters across the country, Pierre would blow up in a big way. I can only hope "Rebel Ridge" doesn't fall victim to Netflix's dreaded algorithm and get lost in the shuffle, because this baby deserves an audience. Saulnier, who specializes in movies about how violence begets violence, has crafted a meticulously engaging action thriller that builds, and builds, and builds. The first hour in particular is among one of the finest things Saulnier has created: a tense, fat-free, no-nonsense chain of events that draw us deeper and deeper into a story of one man with a particular set of skills pushed to the edge.

In press notes for the film, Saulnier speaks of "Rebel Ridge" as a throwback. "As a filmmaker, I dig grounded '80s and '90s action films that not only deliver on spectacle, but succeed in tying on-screen mayhem to a real and true emotional component," the director said. "Smaller scale, bigger impact. Less veneer, less artificiality. They're rooted in a 'kick up the dust' level of craft and authenticity that I don't see often in the current space, and I was interested in making a film more like that." It will be easy to compare "Rebel Ridge," which is ultimately about a military man facing off against villainous cops, to the original "Rambo" film, "First Blood." There are also shades of the first season of Prime Video's hit series "Reacher," as well as every Western you can think of about a mysterious gunslinger who rides into a small town and bucks up against the law. But Saulnier isn't being derivative. He's putting his own unique spin on this sort of story, and the results are killer.

Rebel Ridge is about a loner battling corrupt cops

As "Rebel Ridge" begins, Pierre's character, Terry Richmond, is riding his bike into the small Southern town of Shelby Springs. Wearing earbuds, Terry is unaware that a cop car is slowly creeping up behind him. And then — WHAM! The car deliberately hits Terry, knocking him off his bike. Immediately, we are tense. Terry is a Black man in a small Southern town, suddenly being confronted by cops. Terry knows the deal: he's as calm and courteous as he can possibly be. He shows unwarranted respect to the cops who get out of the car and confront him, even though they were clearly in the wrong. Terry's deference to these lawmen doesn't have the intended effect, though: they cuff him and search him, and are surprised to find a paper bag full of a large sum of money. All the money Terry has in the world.

Terry calmly and sensibly explains that the cash is bail money: his cousin has recently been arrested, and Terry has serious reason to believe that if the cousin is transferred from the county jail to prison, his life will be in danger. Terry is clearly telling the truth, but the cops willfully refuse to buy it. Instead, they agree to let Terry go with a warning — and keep his money in the process. They tell him he can try to file a claim to get the money back, but it will likely do no good: no matter what Terry tries here, the cops are going to walk away with his cash. Terry has one of two options here: he can admit defeat and walk away a free man, or he can do everything in his power to get that money back.

Simply walking away wouldn't result in much of a movie, so Terry heads into town to try to find someone who will listen to reason. He speaks to court clerk Summer (AnnaSophia Robb), who is sympathetic but tells him he's more or less screwed. He also confronts the local good old boy police chief, Sandy Burnne, played with perfect grinning menace by Don Johnson. Burnne seems like he's willing to strike a deal with Terry, but then quickly shows his true, vile colors. Time and time again, Terry tries to do the right thing. He's calm, he's collected, he's cool. He doesn't want to cause a ruckus. But we know where this is building. We've seen too many movies to not know that sooner or later, the law is going to push Terry too far, and when we learn he's an ex-Marine who specializes in kicking ass, we shudder with anticipation of the bloodshed to come. But Saulnier isn't playing by the same tired old action movie rules here. He's trying something different.

Rebel Ridge subverts our action movie expectations

To say more would enter spoiler territory, so I'll tread carefully. What you need to know is that while "Rebel Ridge" is an action movie, the action is different than what we've come to expect from most Hollywood fare these days. For one thing, when Terry engages in hand-to-hand confrontations with characters, it looks rough and raw. These aren't the highly choreographed fight scenes of the "John Wick" franchise — they're sloppy and clumsy, which is what actual fights tend to look like in the real world. On top of that, Saulnier is deliberately avoiding a certain kind of bloodshed that we've come to expect — and a part of me wonders how that will go over with some viewers. When you strip "Rebel Ridge" down to its brass tacks, it's ultimately a movie about a Black man facing off against not just corrupt cops, but an inherently corrupt system. Saulnier's script doesn't overtly paint the cops as virulent racists, but the implications are there. As a result, there's a kind of implied catharsis in the idea of seeing a highly capable, highly skilled Black man fighting these creeps. But Saulnier seems to have designed the film to subvert our base need to see Terry lay waste to everyone who dares to push him too far. The fact that Saulnier has primarily made movies about violent men doing violent things only heightens our expectations.

That's not to say "Rebel Ridge" denies us the pleasures of watching Terry beat the living hell out of some people. The action is a release; it's a full boil after a slow simmer. Saulnier is deliberately building the tension here, and the first hour of the film, where Terry comes to town and finds trouble at every turn, no matter how hard he tries to avoid it, is dynamic and exciting. Indeed, this first hour works so well that the back half of the film suffers slightly as a result — Saulnier can only build things up for so long before he has to start paying them off, and the pay off isn't quite as engaging as the build.

Despite this, "Rebel Ridge" delivers the goods. Pierre is the film's true weapon, and the movie wouldn't work nearly as well as it does without his cool-as-hell performance. The actor has striking eyes, and Saulnier realizes this, using lots of close-ups of Terry's face as he silently works things out. Terry seems to be constantly weighing the odds in his head, calculating his next step with pinpoint precision. Because of Pierre's deliberate performance, we can sense the gears turning in his mind. "Rebel Ridge" perfectly showcases the skills of its director and star. Saulnier is very, very good at what he does, and so is Pierre, and the two of them working together has produced explosive results. Don't let "Rebel Ridge" slip through the Netflix cracks.

/Film Rating: 8 out of 10

"Rebel Ridge" is streaming on Netflix on September 6, 2024.

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‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Review: Delightfully Undead Again

Tim Burton has brought the band back together — Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, even Bob the shrunken head guy — for a fun but less edgy sequel.

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Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, in a black-and-white striped suit with wild hair and white makeup on his face.

By Manohla Dargis

After more than three decades and assorted ups, downs and spinoffs like an animated series and Broadway musical , most of the key players in the original “Beetlejuice” band — Tim Burton, Michael Keaton , Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Bob the shrunken-head guy — are back together. A lot has predictably changed along the way, yet one of the enjoyable aspects about reunion tours is that when a group has charmed its way into your consciousness, like this one did back in the day, a.k.a. 1988, you don’t mind (too much) its sporadically sour notes and slack timing.

And, so, enter the dependably delightful Ryder as Lydia Deetz, the onetime Goth Girl whose family got into so much trouble the last time. Dressed in her customary black, from bangs to booted toe, her face as ethereally pale as ever, Lydia is the host of a paranormally inclined TV show, “Ghost House With Lydia Deetz,” and now a minor celebrity. She puts on a good front on camera, but Lydia remains a haunted soul, and now there’s more than memories of Beetlejuice (Keaton) that plague her: She’s a widow, and her daughter, Astrid (Jenna Ortega), is an eyeball-rolling, heavy-sighing mini-me of gloom, one who’s just itching to have her world rocked.

Burton seems anxious to do just that, and he gets this party started without ceremony, cranking it into nicely morbid life as the characters make their introductions. Among these is the first film’s most clueless chucklehead, Lydia’s stepmother, Delia (O’Hara), an arty artist with an outsize ego and cruel lack of talent. Lydia is on warmer terms with her, partly because she needs someone on her side, given that her father is soon dead; he’s dispatched early in a satisfyingly bloody animated sequence. (The character was played in the first film by Jeffrey Jones, who pleaded guilty in 2010 to not updating his registration as a sex offender .)

Her father’s death becomes the excuse for Lydia and the rest to return to the family’s old shrieking ground, a hillside fun house with an airy porch and troublesome pests. Once there, Burton cuts loose his cheerfully malignant clowns, and the characters settle down to business with magic portals and visitors from beyond. In bland strokes, Burton et al. also toss in a few romantic complications, partly, it seems, because someone here believes that female characters require love interests. One entanglement involves Lydia and her producer-boyfriend, Rory (Justin Theroux, farcically insufferable), a mindful kick-me-sign; the other, less developed one concerns Astrid and a local cutie, Jeremy (Arthur Conti).

I don’t know why anyone thought that Beetlejuice needed any kind of love interest outside Lydia, his old crush. Whatever the case, Monica Bellucci turns up as his ex, the latest in a line of showy Burton vixens. Given her character’s soul-sucking toxicity, it’s hard not to wonder if the filmmakers are making a joke about bad divorces. Bellucci doesn’t have much to do but look hot, which is easy. Like Willem Dafoe — who’s predictably diverting playing a hammy (totally canned) dead actor — Bellucci is attractive filigree, something to admire amid the chats, chuckles and appealingly humble practical effects that still carry the touch of the human hand.

The greatest special effect remains Keaton’s Beetlejuice, however attenuated. The original movie was at once a funfair and a comic family meltdown with heart (and other body parts), but what pushed it joyously over the top was Keaton. With his deathly white face and electric-chair shock of hair, Beetlejuice had been designed to seize your attention (and maybe evoke Jack Nicholson in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”). What held you rapt, though, was Keaton’s exciting expressive range and unpredictability. With his wild eyes and raspy growl, he pushed and pulled at your affections, and made you wonder about the guy under the get-up. He seemed borderline dangerous, which gave the film frisson. Even as “Beetlejuice” playfully hit its genre notes, Keaton’s vocalizations — he spat words and all but scatted — and his twitchy physicality kept the film from slipping into the generic.

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How to write a review?
Step 3: Introduction. Use the introduction to identify the thing you are going to be reviewing, and state its genre (i.e. a science fiction novel, a horror movie) or location (if it's a restaurant or a hotel). The other function of your introduction is to engage the reader.
Review
Article navigation: CAE Review Example: Music CAE Review Example: Contributor CAE Review Example: Holiday A review is written traditionally for an English-language magazine, newspaper or website. The main purpose is to describe and express a personal opinion about something which the writer has experienced (e.g. a film , a holiday. a product, a website etc.) and to give the reader a clear ...
15 Example Review Topics (PDF) (Writing)
Take a short 5-minute test to find out your level of English and which certificate is right for you. 15 Example Review Topics - Download PDF Writing A review is one of the possible text types in the second part of the writing. It is written traditionally for an English-language magazine, newspaper, or.
Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE): How to Write a Review
Just leave your name and email address below. Yes, I want my free PDF! In the C1 Advanced Writing exam there are two parts. Part 1 always requires you to write an essay while in Part 2 you can choose from different text types. Apart from reviews, you can also decide to pick a proposal, a report or an email/letter.
How to write a film review
Film reviews for First (FCE) and Advanced (CAE) Cambridge exams, as well as Trinity ISE exams, should all use a 4 paragraph structure. Another thing to remember is that your review should always have a title, and that title should include the name of the film. Introduction - Essential details and mini-summary.
How to Write a Review for Cambridge C1 Advanced
Here are some important exam tips to help you feel more prepared when writing your review: You have 90 minutes in total for the whole exam. Divide your time equally between part 1 and part 2 of the writing exam. For part 2, use 10 minutes to plan, 25 minutes to write, and 10 minutes to check. You have a word count of 220 and 260.
Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) Writing: How to Write the Review
Sure, here's some information about the task of writing a review in the Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE) exam: The main purpose is to describe and express a personal opinion about something that you have experienced (e.g., a film, a holiday, a product, a website, etc.) and to give the reader a clear impression of what the item discussed is like.
Cambridge CAE
Using a free CAE writing exam, we will discuss the topic and teach advanced students how to write a successful review. All while following the writing assessment criteria. ... One of the units deals with book and film reviews and gives a wide range of vocabulary that can be used to describe them. That's when I felt inspired to use this class ...
Cambridge C1 (CAE)
Watch the rest of our Cambridge C1 Writing course at the link below ↓↓↓ https://www.udemy.com/course/cambridge-english-c1-cae-writing-part-2-review-2021/?ref...
CAE Review
Let's first answer another question, "what is a CAE Review?" A CAE Review is a writing task from part 2 of the C1 Advanced (CAE) writing exam. However, reviews do not always appear in the exam. This is because in part 2 you only write one answer from three different questions which are based on 5 different writing tasks.
Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE): How to Write a Review
Let me take you into the depths of writing the best reviews possible for C1 Advanced (CAE). I go through a practical example to show you how to analyse a tas...
A movie review CAE by Nicole Hooks on Prezi
A Movie Review Gold Advance 701 A review ACT 1 A review In the CAE part 2 one of the options available to you could be a review. You may be required to write a review of: a film a book a holiday a museum a coursebook (yawn) Today we're going to focus on a film review. ACT 2 Style of. Get started for FREE Continue. Prezi.
CAE Review
Film/TV reviews:General: An all-star cast. heavily influenced by the films of.. glowing reviews. startling originality. suspense builds up. a polished performance. a bold experiment. an accomplished actor. an unmitigated disaster (bad film) a dazzling display of his/her talents. made a lasting impression on me. Brought a tear to my eye. Like ...
An example student 'Review' for the CAE (Cambridge English Advanced
The review is written in an appropriate format and in an engaging style that would hold the reader's attention throughout. It's clearly organised. Starting with an introduction to the book, two main body paragraphs and a well-crafted conclusion bringing the review to a close. Good use of cohesive devices to link your ideas and sentences together.
Cake movie review & film summary (2015)
As well-off L.A. divorcee Claire Simmons, she is cranky. She is bitter. She is highly inappropriate, especially when she sleeps with her gardener. She lies to get what she wants and steals to get what she needs - which usually are Percocet and maybe OxyContin with a voluminous chaser of white wine. Even those who are paid to be nice and ...
PDF CAE Writing Review
CAE Writing Paper 2 Part 2 - Review A REVIEW may be about a book, magazine, film, play or concert; it may also be about a product or a service. A review in the Cambridge English: description of the thing reviewed, but requires an evaluation of its suitability for a particular purpose or audience.
Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE)
Get the key information on Writing Part 2 for the Cambridge C1 Advanced. We look at scoring, strategies and task types. Then we get to work on writing review...
Movie Review: Netflix's tight, taut and tension-filled 'Rebel Ridge' is
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CAE Review. CAE Review is about providing details on the task subject, giving your opinion and recommending (or not recommending) to see/watch/read it. Your review can be on a variety of things such as books, movies, plays, events and much more. Your writing can be either formal or informal. It is clear from the task which register you are ...
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How to write a review?
Use the name of the film, book or restaurant. Introduction. Identify what you are reviewing (actors, director etc..). Try to catch the reader´s attention (ask a narrative question). 1st body paragraph. Describe the book, film, restaurant. 2nd body paragraph. Comment on the questions you have been asked. Conclusion.
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'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice' Review: Delightfully Undead Again
Going into this movie, I wondered if the entertainingly unrepressed can ever return. No, it cannot, ever — but I still giggled. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Rated PG-13 for supernatural high-jinks.

Cambridge C1 Advanced (CAE): How to Write a Review

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What a typical review task looks like

How to organise your review

Always plan your review

The different parts of a review

Conclusion/Recommendation

How your review is marked

How to write a film review

The structure of a film review

Introduction

Using adjectives in reviews

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