REVIEW

Postive adjectives:
Action-packed: full of exciting events and activity: e.g. an action-packed weekend.
Atmospheric: creating an exciting or emotional mood: e.g. atmospheric music
Compelling: that makes you pay attention to it because it is so interesting and exciting: e.g. Her
latest book makes compelling reading. A compelling film. She gives
a compelling/memorable performance as a village doctor.
Convincing: The acting is very convincing
Enthusiastic and vivid descriptions of the scenery
It's an excellent read. It is both entertaining and educational.
Exhilarating: /ɪɡˈzɪləreɪtɪŋ/ very exciting and enjoyable. Sp. Emocionante: e.g. My first
parachute jump was an exhilarating experience.
Provides a fascinating/valuable/revealing insight into: e.g. the novel provides a fascinating
insight (understanding,vision) into the customs in Mexico.
Gripping: exciting or interesting in a way that keeps your attention. Sp. Emocionante,
fascinante, absorbente.

mesmerizing: /ˈmezməraɪzɪŋ/ having such a strong effect on you that you cannot give your
attention to anything else. E.g. Her performance was mesmerizing.

Impressive: making you feel admiration, because they are very large, good, skilful, etc. Sp.
Impresionante, imponente, excelente:an impressive performance. One of the most impressive
novels of recent years She was very impressive in the interview.
Moving: causing you to have deep feelings of sadness or sympathy. Sp. Conmovedor: e.g. a
deeply moving experience.
Outstanding: extremely good; excellent. E.g. Outstanding performance.
Powerful: effective. E.g. Powerful acting
Stunning: impressive: gave a stunning performance.
mesmerizing: /ˈmezməraɪzɪŋ/ having such a strong effect on you that you cannot give your
attention to anything else. E.g. Her performance was mesmerizing.
Credible
Entertaining
Fast-moving
Innovative
Memorable

Unputdownable: (of a book) so exciting or interesting that you cannot stop reading it.
capture someone's imagination (or attention): fascinate someone.E.g. the project has
captured the imagination of the local public. Not wonder the film has captured the imagination of
audiences all over the world.

enlightening: /ɪnˈlaɪtnɪŋ/ giving information so that you can understand something better.It was
a very enlightening movie.

inspiring: exciting and encouraging you to do or feel something. E.g. an inspiring teacher. The
book is less than inspiring.

Negative adjectives
Clichéd:/ˈkliːʃeɪd/ used so often that it no longer has much meaning and is not interesting: e.g. a
clichéd view of upper-class life.
Excruciating:/ɪkˈskruːʃieɪtɪŋ/ extremely painful or bad.E.g. There are two versions of this
excruciating film. Excruciatingly (adv): e.g. excruciatingly boring.
Implausible: Not seeming reasonable or probable; failing to convince; not believable. Sp.
Inverosímil. E.g. A rather implausible story.
Overhyped: promoted or publicized to excess exaggerating its good qualities, in order to get a
lot of public attention for it: Promoters grossly overhyped the movie.
Sentimental: producing emotions such as pity, romantic love or sadness, which may be too
strong or not appropriate; feeling these emotions too much. Sp. Sensiblero: a slushy,
sentimental love story
Slushy: stories, films / movies or feelings that are considered to be silly and without value
because they are too emotional and romantic. Corny. Sp. Sensiblero: e.g. slushy romantic
fiction.
cheesy:
1. not very good or original, and without style, in a way that is embarrassing but amusing. E.g. a
cheesy horror movie. That’s the cheesiest chat-up line I’ve ever heard.
2. too emotional or romantic, in a way that is embarrassing. E.g. a cheesy love song a cheesy
romance novel.
drippy: boring, stupid and weak or sentimental. E.g. her drippy boyfriend. A drippy love song.

Tedious: lasting or taking too long and not interesting. Boring. E.g. A very long and tedious film.
Unconvincing: not seeming true or real; not making you believe that sth is true: e.g.
I find the characters in the book very unconvincing.
I found the plot rather predictable/disappointing.

Expressions to compare and contrast

Bear a close/a striking/a strong/a slight/little/no resemblance to: e.g. Her latest novel, a
tale of unrequited love, bears little resemblance to her earlier, more philosophical work.
There is little to choose between (hardly any difference between) the two CDs in terms
of quality of production.
The plot of the novel develops along very different lines from that of the film.
There are several obvious/striking similarities between the two films.
There is a world of difference between the two records, despite their shared flamenco
influences.
What sets the film apart from others of the same genre is its ability to make us laugh.
A considerable/huge/marked/slight difference
A close/remarkable/striking/ similarity
Be dissimilar from/to: E.g. Dissimilar from other New York films.
Be very much alike
Be unlike another film
Differ from
One thing compares (un)favourably/ well/badly with another
Develop in a different way from
Have a great deal/little/nothing in common with
Resemble each other

Other expressions
I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the human mind.
One particular strength/ weakness of the film is
The design/production is second to none (the best).
The characterization is not its best feature.
I would strongly advise you (not) to go out and buy/see it.
Do not be put off (to make sb lose interest in or enthusiasm for sth. Sp. Desanimar)by the
title/critics/cover.
It will have you roaring with laughter (laugh very loudly).
I would definitely give it a miss (decide not to do sth.)

in the nick of time: at the very last moment; just in time before something bad happens.
E.g. They escaped from the smoke-filled house just in the nick of time. An unprecedented
catastrophe had been avoided just in the nick of time.

A blockbuster /ˈblɒkbʌstə(r)/ something very successful, especially a very successful book or

film/movie. E.g. a Hollywood blockbuster.

An art film: (also art house film) is typically a serious, independent film not aimed at a mass
market audience. An art film is intended to be a serious artistic work, often experimental and not
designed for mass appeal.

art house: a movie theater that specializes in films that are artistic or experimental rather than
merely entertaining.
Sample sentences
The real-life struggle (a hard fight in which people try to obtain or achieve sth, especially sth
that sb else does not want them to have. Sp. Lucha) of brilliant minds
with schizophrenia /ˌskɪtsəʊˈfriːniə/ and Alzheimer's /ˈæltshaɪməz/ disease may not sound
like the ingredients of an entertaining afternoon's viewing.
Russell Crowe's stunning performance as mathematical genius John Nash and Judi
Dench's moving portrayal of novelist Iris Murdoch will have you rushing out to buy the books
on which these two films are based.
It is in their thematic content that the two films resemble each other most. Both focus
onthe withdrawal (the act of moving or taking sth away or back. Sp. Retirada) of the
protagonists into their own inner world and the effect this has on their long-suffering but
devoted marital partners. Also common to both films is the fact that we witness the two
academics in their youth and old age. Hats off here to Crowe's make up team- he
is remarkably convincing as the sixty-six-year-old Nash receiving his Nobel Prize.
Iris differs from A Beautiful Mind in this respect, relying instead on other actors to play
the vivacious (having a lively, attractive personality) young Iris - a very credible Kate Winslet-
and her stuttering (having difficulty speaking because he cannot stop himself from repeating
the first sound of some words several times; stammering) companion. In addition, unlike the
more linear American film, flashbacks are used to good effect to switch (change from one
thing to another) backwards and forwards between the two contrasting stages of Murdoch's life.
The strength of Iris lies in its powerful acting and mundane (ordinary) realism, with the
novelist seen in her cluttered (full of a lot of things and untidy) Oxford house. However, if, as I
do, you favour something more visually appealing, but no less plausible, then A Beautiful
Mind is a definite must-see.