READING TASK: MULTIPLE MATCHING 10

Answer questions 1-17 by referring to the magazine reviews of films.

For questions 1-17, answer by choosing from the films A–F. Some of the choices may
be required more than once.

A - Blues Brothers 2000

B - Journey to the Beginning of the World

C - City of Angels

D - Dad Savage

E - Mojo

F - The Wedding Singer

For which of the films does the reviewer state the following?

1. It is inspired by a film by another director. C

2. It will eventually appear on TV. E

3. Its complexity is a problem. D

4. One of the actors gets the most out of an uninspiring role. F

5. It is a follow-up to an earlier film. A

6. It is not likely to be a commercial success. E

7. The public has already had a chance to see it in a different medium. E

8. There are some impressive scenes which are of no significance to the narrative. A

9. It is more successful than other films of its kind. C

10. One of the characters in the film is likened to the director. B

11. There is no justification for setting the film in the past. F

12. The lives of the characters are mirrored in the scenery. D

13. The director reveals unexpected talent. C

14. The main strength of the film is the acting. F

15. The camera is used with daring restraint. B

16. The director is expected to achieve future successes. E

17. It has an unusual setting for a film of this kind. D

CRITICS GIVE THEIR PERSONAL OPINIONS OF FILMS THEY HAVE SEEN

RECENTLY

A Blues Brothers 2000

Eighteen years after the original Blues Brothers movie, director John Landis and his co-
writer Dan Ackroyd have decided to revive the franchise. Unfortunately, the thrill has
gone, although the music is as brash and energetic as ever and Elwood’s stunt driving
continues to astound.

Sequences such as the huge, ghostly skeletons of cowboys galloping across the night
during the Blues Brothers’ spirited rendition of ‘Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)’
look stunning in themselves, but have no bearing on the story.

Blues fans will doubtless relish the wealth of musical talent on display (it’s a far richer
array than the first film’s). Over time Blues Brothers 2000 will probably attain the same
massive cult status as its predecessor, but only the most indulgent of audiences is likely to
be happy with this sequel.

B Journey to the Beginning of the World

This is not Manoel de Oliveira’s final film – the tireless 90-year-old director has since
made a follow-up. However, it was the last appearance of Marcello Mastroianni, playing a
film director called Manoel, to all appearances a representation of Oliveira himself.

Oliveira is arguably the most marginal of Europe’s major directors, especially for British
audiences – his only previous release here (and then only just) was 1993’s Abraham
Valley.

However, on the festival circuit Oliveira is revered, as much for his longevity as for his

varied and highly eccentric output. The film’s opening section offers us something
dauntingly simple, shot with audacious economy – a series of close-ups of people talking
in the back of a car. It promises a sort of film symposium in the guise of a road movie:
after all, on most road trips, there’s little to do but talk and watch the scenery. At times,
Oliveira simply has his camera gaze out of the car’s rear window as the road recedes.

C City of Angels
Although it is not without flaws, City of Angels stands out from the dreary succession of
recent Hollywood remakes of European movies. This is partly due to Dana Stevens’
screenplay and Brad Silberling’s direction, which grab hold of the theme of director Wim
Wenders’ 1987 film Wings of Desire and head off very much in their own direction with
it. Most of all, however, City of Angels pleases because it is quite simply so surprising for
a mainstream Hollywood movie. Designer Shay Cunliffe hits the tone precisely, with the
angels in baggy suits and long black duster coats, which are especially effective when they
gather in some of their preferred meeting places – the beach at dawn and dusk, in the city
library during the day – invisible to all but each other (and us).

There is nothing in Silberling’s previous career – which comprises directing episodes of

LA Law and NYPD Blue for television, followed by the kids’ film Casper – to prepare one
for the confidence with which he handles a film in which tone is all. City of Angels is the
sort of one-off we should surely welcome.

D Dad Savage

Strikingly shot in the bleak flatlands of Norfolk, Dad Savage is a British thriller that
manages to conjure up a whole new cinematic landscape, and populates it without falling
back on the stereotypes of bent policeman and East End gangsters. Making her feature
debut, television director Betsan Morris Evans shows that she can put the wide Super 35
frame to impressive use as well. In the claustrophobic scenes in the cellar (to which the
film keeps returning in between flashbacks), she charts the characters’ changing
allegiances through the way she arranges them across the screen. Above ground,
meanwhile, the wide screen captures the yawning emptiness of the East Anglian marshes,
and hints at the corresponding emptiness of the backwater life Vic, Bob and H are trying
to escape from by turning to crime.

If anything, the structure is a bit too intricate: the transitions in and out of flashback are
jolting, and it’s not always clear whose point of view we’re flashing back from.

E Mojo

Adapted from Jez Butterworth’s acclaimed stage play, Mojo occupies the same strange
netherworld as last year’s little-seen The SlabBoys, directed by John Byrne. Both were
directed by their original writers; and both were brought to the big screen through
television funding, which underlines their ultimate smallscreen destiny. Where Mojo has
the edge on Slab Boys, however, is in the sheer quality of its performances, which
consistently hold the audience’s attention even as the narrative shambles distractingly.

The fact that Mojo’s chances of making much impact among cinema-goers are remote

shouldn’t dampen Butterworth’s obvious enthusiasm. On this evidence, he has enough

talent to suggest triumphs ahead, although one wonders whether the screen or the theatre
will prove more enticing for his trade.

F The Wedding Singer

The Wedding Singer is the third collaboration between the comedian Adam Sandler and
writer Tim Herlihy, and as you might expect from the men behind Billy Madison and
Happy Gilmore, it’s not a particularly clever comedy. The 1985 setting, of no importance
to the plot, is the pretext for some cheap retro humour. But somehow, for all its simple-
mindedness, this turns out to be a very winning romantic comedy. A pleasant surprise is
Sandler’s singing. Playing opposite him is Drew Barrymore, who has managed to become
a celebrity without ever having a lead role in a decent movie. As Julia in this film,
however, she does wonders with an unremarkable part.