外国电影经典影评(英语)

TapescriptsUnit One E.T. the ExtraterrestrialPart II Movie ReviewsPassage OneDirections: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.The movie "E.T the Extra-Terrestrial" made my heart glad. It is filled with innocence, hope, and good cheer. It is also wickedly funny and exciting as well. "E.T the Extra-Terrestrial" is a movie that you can grow up with and grow old with, and it won't let you down. It tells a story about friendship and love. Some people are a little baffled when they hear what it described: It's about a relationship between a little boy and a creature from outer space that becomes his best friend. It works as science fiction, it's sometimes as scary as a monster movie, and at the end, when the lights go up, there's not a dry eye in the house.The movie's hero is one particular little boy named Elliott. He's natural, defiant, easily touched, conniving(纵容的), brave and childlike. A lot of those achievements rest on(依靠) the very peculiar (特殊的)shoulders of the E.T. itself. With its odd little walk, its high-pitched squeals（尖叫声）of surprise, its tentative imitations（模仿）of human speech, and its catlike but definitely alien purring, E.T. becomes one of the most intriguing fictional creatures I've ever seen on a screen. And one of the ways E.T. communicates is to share its emotions with Elliott. That's how Elliott knows that the E.T. wants to go homeE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" is a reminder of what movies are for. Most movies are not for any one thing, of course. Some are to make us think, some to make us feel, some to take us away from our problems, some to help us examine them. What is enchanting about "E.T." is that, in some measure, it does all of those things.Passage TwoDirection s: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.Almost 50 percent of Americans, according to recent polls, and millions of people elsewhere in the world believe that UFOs are real. For many it is a deeply held belief. For decades there have been sightings of UFOs by millions and millions of people. It is a mystery that only science can solve, and yet the phenomenon remains largely unexamined. Most of the reporting on this subject by the mainstream media holds those who claim to have seen UFOs up to ridicule. On Feb. 24, "Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs — Seeing Is Believing" takes a fresh look at the UFO phenomenon. "As a journalist," says Jennings, "I began this project with a healthy dose of skepticism and as open a mind as possible. After almost 150 interviews with scientists, investigators and with many of those who claim to have witnessed unidentified flying objects, there are important questions that have not beencompletely answered — and a great deal not fully explained." "Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs —Seeing Is Believing" airs Thursday, Feb. 24 from 8-10 p.m. ET on ABC. The program will be broadcast in High Definition. This two-hour primetime special reports on the entire scope of the UFO experience —from the first famous sighting by Kenneth Arnold in 1947 to the present day. The program draws on interviews with police officers, pilots, military personnel, scientists and ordinary citizens who give extraordinary accounts of encounters with the unexplained. Also included are the voices of professional skeptics about UFOs, including scientists who are leading the search for life forms beyond Earth elsewhere in the universe.Unit Two Scent of a womanPart II Movie ReviewsPassage OneDirections: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.One of the most overall pleasing movies I've seen, Scent of a Woman wins on all levels--emotional and intellectual. Of course the primary reason it succeeds is Al Pacino, whose Oscar was well-deserved, needless to say. Chris O'Donnell doesn't overplay his part, and in doing so it is realistic and natural. The tango scene, the Ferrari scene, the pseudo-courtroom scene are excellent. Pacino is wholly believable, and although at first he seems overly(过度的)gruff and nasty, we grow to sympathize with him--especially when that twerp Randy insults him cutthroat-style at Thanksgiving. It's obvious that while Slade acts like he doesn't care, his repetitious "hoo-ha" response makes it obvious he does. My favorite line comes during the Ferrari scene (I was laughing so hard when the cop（警察）left, failing to realize Slade is blind.) As Slade careens down the street at 70 mph, Charlie yells, "You're going to get us killed!" Slade answers, "Can you blame me? I'm blind!" On that note, Pacino succeeds marvellously（不可思议的）in portraying（扮演）a blind man. We never doubt for a second that he does, in fact, live in total darkness. Yet others, like the cop, probably the spectators （观众）in the restaurant in the tango scene, don't realize it. Ironically（讽刺的）enough, Slade acts as though he doesn't want to be treated as the proverbial blind man who needs a cane and a guiding arm. However, in the final scene before his charismatic speech, he emerges with a never-before-seen pair of dark glasses, I wonder, was this to throw them off guard?This movie is a modern classic. Some find it too long, but I enjoyed it every minute and didn't actually notice the two and a half hours has gone by. It‘s a wonderful film that I will recommend to all.Passage TwoDirections: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.Scent Of A Woman is an extremely different film from those we have ever seen in cinema before. It tells the story of a "town drunk" who is blind and also had a great service in the United States. Al Pacino plays the blind man and Chris O'Donnell plays the part of Charlie, who is hired to take care of Pacino for a weekend. I found this film humorous in some areas because of the way Pacino's character acts. Al Pacino has never played a character like this before and he executed the part very well! Pacino's eyes are always pointed in the opposite direction he would be looking as if he weren't blind, which is brilliant. Scent Of A Woman's mood and setting made this film enchanting in a sense. It took place in a white and gray sky Autumn mood during a Thanksgiving weekend. O'Donnell attends an Ivy League school and may or may not have witnessed a scheme that involved humiliating a teacher in front of many students. Pacino constructs a list of things he wants to do and at the bottom of the list is killing himself. Scent Of A Woman did well at the Academy Awards, FINALLY giving Al Pacino an Oscar. I was very thankful for the "Academy" awarding Pacino an Oscar, but he should have received one a long time ago for The Godfather, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Scarface, or Glengarry Glen Ross. Hopefully he will receive another one later on in his career. However, it did not recognize Chris O'Donnell for his fantastic acting in this film, which disappointed me very much. This movie is somewhat emotional as well. I would recommend that you rent this film during Thanksgiving or in the fall. Scent Of A Woman is a very unique, entertaining, wonderful film.Unit Three Forrest Gump: A Movie of HumanityPart II Movie ReviewsPassage OneDirections: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.The film Forrest Gump represents the ultimate American dream in a land of opportunity. It is a history lesson that takes the viewer from Alabama, where Forrest Gump, an improbable modern hero and idiot savant, was born, across America, and back again to the fishing village of Bayou La Batre on the Gulf coast. Governor George Wallace is once again seen standing in the schoolhouse door as he vows "segregation now, segregation forever"; Coach Paul "Bear"Bryant, the legendary University of Alabama football coach, recognizing how Forrest can run, makes him a Crimson Tide gridiron star. Eventually Forrest comes home again to his sweet home Alabama (represented also in song) and makes a fortune in a shrimping business. He had promised his "best good friend," Bubba, that he would go into business with him when the two boys returned from the war. But Bubba was killed and didn't return, so Gump gives half of the million dollars he makes to his friend's family in the small fishing village of Bayou La Batre.Based upon the novel by Winston Groom, Eric Roth transformed the book into a screenplay thatgrossed over $636 million dollars and also won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1994. The film affirms possibility and hope: no matter how grim things may seem, it is possible, as Gump says, "to put the past behind you and move on." He shows that a gimpy kid in leg braces can become a football hero, win a Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery in Vietnam, become a Ping Pong champion, crisscross America from sea to shining sea, and marry his childhood sweetheart, who bears him a son to carry on the father's good name.Passage TwoDirections: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.In addition to the Oscar for Best Film, Forrest Gump earned five more Academy Awards. Tom Hanks was voted Best Actor for his masterful portrayal of Gump, and Robert Zemeckis was awarded the Oscar for Best Director. The film also won awards for Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, and for Visual Effects. It is the masterful visual effects that enabled Forrest to shake the hand of President John F. Kennedy, have Lyndon B. Johnson place a Congressional Medal around his neck, meet Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, not to mention John Lennon, Dick Cavett, Bob Hope, Captain Kangaroo, and Chairman Mao. Elvis Presley, the King, even learns to swivel his hips by watching little crippled Forrest dance.Although some critics are not enchanted with the fantastic Gump, the movie affirms the values that Americans hold dear. Forrest's mother exemplifies the ideals associated with motherhood. Over and over, Forrest repeats: "As my Mama always said," and his words reverberate almost as a refrain throughout the movie. "Don't ever let anybody tell you they're better than you," she tells her boy, even though he has an IQ of 75. Life, after all, is a box of chocolates. Even if "you never know what you're going to get," Forrest Gump gives people hope.Unit Four Legally Blonde: A Movie of InspirationPart II Movie ReviewsPassage OneDirections: Listen to the first part of the movie review and then answer the questions.The comedy "Legally Blonde", starring an irrepressibl e Reese Witherspoon, is a new twist on the old adage, "Looks aren't everything".Elle Woods is a super-blonde, super-rich, super-sorority girl from California. When she's dumped by her Harvard Law School-bound boyfriend Warner—because she's too blonde to be considered seriously as wife material: "If I'm going to be a Senator, I need to marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn." —she fights back, after a long cry, nail by manicured nail, first by following Warner to Harvard Law School, abandoning her major in fashion merchandising for something more substantial, then byproving that just because you're blonde doesn't mean you're a joke.Of course, we know that Elle will meet every challenge that she faces and wind up with both a legal career and Mr. Right — even if he's not the original one. But we still root for her all the way because she proves to be a decent and generous person under all the ridiculous surface frippery. Indeed, Ms. Witherspoon won me over right from the start, during Elle's last dinner date with Warner. As he indirectly leads up to his bombshell rejection, her face becomes a symphony of fast-changing expressions denoting agreement and obedience until she breaks down from the shock of Warner's bad news. It's an expertly acted piece of self-parody that never diminishe s her attractiveness.The movie, however, is full of good humor. Based on the novel of the same name by Amanda Brown, "Legally Blonde" is a sassy satire that retains a message: believe in yourself and follow your dreams. Besides being funny, it's an ode to self-empowerment—especially girl power —and its target audience of young women everywhere will gobble it up like the latest glossy edition of Cosmopolitan magazine. (Based on the review by Paul Clinton, CNN Reviewer; Andrew Sarris, New York Observer)(/2001/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/13/review.blonde/)(/node/44717)Passage TwoDirections: Listen to the second part of the movie review and then answer the questions.Elle isn't such an unlikely candidate for Harvard Law; she did, however, have a 4.0 average as an undergraduate majoring in fashion merchandising at the fictional CULA. Moreover, she also has a very impressive background as homecoming queen and sorority president, her signature color is pink, and she's appeared in a Ricky Martin music video. Who could ask for anything more? She's an emblem of diversity!Naturally, she's accepted. Nothing will stop her now as she campaigns all over Harvard to win back her man. Call it blonde ambition."Legally Blonde" becomes a "blonde-out-of-water" story as her snobby fellow law students begin taking bets on how long she'll last. Meanwhile, she discovers that Warner isn't worth all the effort. Succeeding in law school becomes a personal goal, and not merely a means to win back her shallow boy toy. She's a bubbly blonde with brains. Her points of reference may not be Plato and Socrates, but she proves that knowledge about Clinique, Porsches and lip gloss also can come in handy in a classroom or a courtroom.The supporting cast is a winning bunch. Selma Blair is excellent as Vivian Kensington, who has snagged Warner and is wearing his grandmother's six-carat Harry Winston diamond engagement ring on her "bony" finger.Luke Wilson plays Emmett Richmond, a somewhat thankless role as a third-year law student who falls in love with the inner woman beneath Elle's golden locks.First-time feature film director Robert Luketic is an Australian native who has been dedicated to becoming a film director since the age of 15. This debut project sees him well on his way.Full of clichés and pop culture references, and peppered with trendy slang, "Legally Blonde" hasits roots deeply planted in the style of another hit teen comedy — basically, it's "Clueless" (1995) goes to college. Whatever. It's a formula that's well done with plenty of laughs. (Based on the review by Paul Clinton, CNN Reviewer)(/2001/SHOWBIZ/Movies/07/13/review.blonde/)Unit Five A Beautiful Mind: A Movie of CouragePart II Movie ReviewsPassage OneDirections: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.A Beautiful Mind is a 2001 American biographical film about John Forbes Nash, the Nobel Laureate (Economics) mathematician. The film was directed by Ron Howard and written by Akiva Goldsman. Director Howard delivers his finest effort with this extraordinary movie, as his deftness in suggesting the subjective experience of the genius, who's later diagnosed with schizophrenia, makes for an inspirational narrative. It was inspired by a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-nominated 1998 book of the same name by Sylvia Nasar. Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman cannily condenses Nash's story, and the movie manages to dramatize both Nash's mathematical brilliance and his severe psychotic disorder in a compellingly visual manner. The film stars Russell Crowe, along with Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris and Paul Bettany. The movie is a compelling look at one man's genius, his debilitating mental illness, and the fine line between the two.Russell Crowe gets the chance to act his heart out in the movie. Not only does he portray the math genius who won the Nobel Prize in Economics, he portrays such a math genius crippled by schizophrenia. And he ages 47 years!The story begins in the early years of Nash's life at Princeton University, where he struggles to think of an original idea, and where in one of the movie's most gimmicky—and elegant—scenes he develops a theory that will revolutionize economics and mathematics. Nash is eccentric,socially awkward, and extremely competitive. Eventually, he finds the inspiration for his innovative and influential work on game theory. He‘s chosen for a post at MIT, which includes crucial code-breaking work for the US government. There, he meets a beautiful and brilliant student, Alicia (played by Jennifer Connelly). They marry but their happiness is threatened, as Nash descends into madness when he‘s diagnosed as schizophrenic, enduring paranoid and delusional episode s while painfully watching the loss and burden his condition brings on his wife and friends. Crowe delivers a strong performance, and has real chemistry with Connelly. The two make the story about the power of love believable and moving.The film opened in US cinemas on December 21, 2001. It was well received by critics, and went on to win four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress. It was also nominated for Best Leading Actor, Best Editing, Best Makeup, and Best Score. The film has been criticized for its inaccurate portrayal of some aspects of Nash's life.(/m/beautiful_mind/#synopsis)(/wiki/A_Beautiful_Mind_%28film%29)(/movies/capsules/21209_BEAUTIFUL_MIND)(/wiki/A_Beautiful_Mind_%28film%29)Passage TwoDirections: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.Director Ron Howard has created a moving masterpiece, elegantly guiding the audience through John Forbes Nash Junior‘s life starting with Nash as an intense, introverted youth striving for that perfect original idea and ending with Nash as a passionate, patient elderly man battling against his inner demons.Through Howard's skilled hand and via Russell Crowe's amazingly understated yet incredibly touching performance, Nash's achievements and flaws are exposed without portraying mental illness in a clichéd cinematic form. Crowe's Nash is an honest, disturbing look at the price paid by people who suffer from schizophrenia and the toll it takes on families and friends."A Beautiful Mind" lays out the story of mathematical genius John Nash as he enters Princeton, a bright student with a limitless future ahead of him. Obsessed with finding a way to prove he truly matters, he competes with the other students in Princeton's brutally competitive math department, all of whom are searching for one truly original idea. Inspiration strikes him while he's studying in a local bar surrounded by his classmates. As they vie for the attention of a stunning blonde, Nash observes their rivalry and, from that, develops his ―game theory‖. Nash's theory contradicts 150 years of accepted theory and earns him a coveted position at MIT where part of his duty is to teach a course to eager young minds.Jennifer Connelly enters the film as one of those eager young minds, Alicia Larde. Alicia falls for the nervous, socially inept Nash, inviting him to dinner and starting a romance that breathes life into Nash's carefully ordered world. As Nash's mental condition unveils itself, worsening with time, Alicia is the one true thing in his world that remains steadfast and dependable.Russell Crowe exquisitely captures Nash's passion for his wife, his work, and his unending hunger for excellence. Jennifer Connelly again proves she's a talented actress capable of conquering characters with depth and emotion. The brilliant supporting cast, including Ed Harris and Paul Bettany, perfectly create the fuzzy environment where Nash roams. Over the course of little more than two hours, director Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman succeed in unfolding a beautiful story of love, despair, perseverance, compassion and pride the likes of which hasn't been seen on screen in many years."A Beautiful Mind" is easily one of the finest films of the year and deserves the Oscar buzz that surrounds it. The only real Oscar question is whether Crowe's winning last year will negate a nod this year or will the Academy reward what is clearly the best performance of the year with the golden statue it truly deserves. (By Rebecca Murray)(/library/weekly/aa010202a.htm)Unit Six School of RockPart II Movie ReviewsPassage OneDirections: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.A quick glance at the story or trailer tells you that School of Rock is probably the cheesiest excuse for a movie in ages, but if you thought that was a good reason to avoid it you'd be wrong. Jack Black plays the slightly past-it rocker, stuck in a groove of 70s heavy metal rock and roll and refusing to move on – until his (more up to date) band fire him. Struggling to pay the rent, he takes a phone call intended for his schoolteacher flatmate and accepts a job as supply teacher at a top school. Soon he has the kids not only studying the history of rock and roll, soundproofing the room and playing rock instruments, but actu ally competing in a major ‗Battle of the Bands' competition.Unbelievable? Yes. What's more unbelievable is that somehow the whole thing works – Jack Black's over-the-top enthusiasm for his subject is contagious, the edge-of-disaster suspense is continued throughout the length of the movie, and by the end the audience is so desperate to see how the kids (who all play their own instruments by the way) perform in the concert in which seat wetting would probably go unnoticed. Joan Cusack, as the gobsmacked headmistress, delivers a performance that is worth the price of your cinema ticket in itself. Achieving such tears-down-the cheeks laughter and excitement for air guitar music is nothing short of miraculous.School of Rock is a movie that promises entertainment and it delivers. Everything is as it says on the packet. For sheer feel-good factor, this movie is unbeatable– and you can even take the kids!Passage TwoDirections: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.What can I say? I'm a rockaholic. I eat, breath, and dream of classic rock and it's glory days. I listen to only rock radios, and every other morning I go on an AC/DC Binge. Rock is pure, and beautiful. Unfortunately, it's not the only music out there. Pop culture today sucks, putting it nicely. All that stuff out there is ruining the minds of people of today. For a little while it seems rock has disappeared, hiding underneath everything else, being disregarded by fans today.Then 'School of Rock' came along. Dewey Finn (played by Jack Black) is a bum who gets himself kicked out of his own band because of his unruly antics. To top this off, his substitute teacher roommate Ned and Ned's girlfriend Patti begin to nag Dewey for rent money. Dewey can't pay it off. After spending some time trying to sell his personal belongings, a phone call from a prestigious prepschool looking for a substitute teacher catches Dewey's attention and he parades around as Ned, hoping to just walk in, let the kids do what they want, get some money, and be gone like nothing ever happened. Until he finds out that the class of fifth graders he has been assigned to teach are musically and vocally talented. This sparks an idea off in Dewey's mind, thinking that he can turn his group of fifth graders into a rock group so that he can win 20,000 dollars in a contest called 'The Battle of the Bands'. This is a wonderful, classic-rock fueled movie. Jack Black is hysterical as Dewey Finn. The children are all talented, particularly the ones on instruments and vocals.If you want to love rock music, go watch this movie. If not, then you'll have missed out on something great.Unit Seven Matchstick menPart II Movie ReviewsPassage OneDirections: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.The little problem that 'Matchstick Men' has is that there is not a real highpoint in the movie if the ending wasn't there. I think the movie starts as a very good movie. Roy Waller and Frank Mercer are con artists and the movie opens with showing how they collect some money. It is not as great as how George Clooney does it in 'Out of Sight' but it's a lot of fun. After this the movie shows who Roy is, a guy with all kind of weird things. Spasms, panic attacks, compulsive behavior. He wants things clean, he wants things a certain way, or he becomes a little crazy. He has pills for these things but he loses them and this is how he meets Dr. Klein, a psychiatrist.Because of him Roy learns he has a 14-year old daughter Angela, who was actually 24. He wants to care for her, spend time with her, and even reveals what he really is. In a great scene she shows her father and us how she would be if she had the same job as Roy. Roy and Frank have a big job planned where they would collect 80,000 dollars from a guy named Frechette. In a way they are taking money but Roy looks at it differently. He thinks, and he is actually right, that they just give it to him. Because it is all illegal they can't complain after they are cheated.How these three big stories fit in one you have to see for yourself. The middle part is a little slow, but the ending makes up for that. All characters are played very well and Nicolas Cage is great. Ridley Scott has made another fine movie.Passage TwoDirections: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.I just rent this movie from video store, watched it couple weeks ago, and I would have to say this isone of my favorite movies. It has its own atmosphere, pace and nice background music. I enjoyed it very much and would like to recommend you check it out!!! Both Cage and Lohman's acting are great, especially it was quit amazing when I found out Lohman was actually 22 when this movie was filming. She really looks like 14! Cage created a really strange, weird but still cool con man.One of my favorite scenes in this movie is the one where Roy teaches Angela how to con. He is a con man(well, he more would like to call himself 'a con artist'), but is also a 14 years daughter's father now. He teaches her con and is also trying to teach her 'moral' at the same time. This is kind of contradiction and strange, but is interesting way of showing the relationship between them, too. I like that very much.The point of this movie I think is who is 'the vest con artist'. Some are saying this movie is predictable and the ending was not so good, but it was completely unpredictable to me and I really enjoyed it from start to end. I was completely deceived by the movie itself. well, I shouldn't give you them all. Please check it for your self and enjoy it!Unit Eight Mona Lisa SmilePart II Movie ReviewsPassage OneDirections: Listen to the following movie review and then answer the questions.MONA LISA SMILE is a painting of the American society after war. More than that, it shows in a quite brilliant way, though not to heavy, what women's lives were supposed to become after their college graduation. The movie begins with Katherine Ann Watson, a young Art History Instructor, who arrives at Wellesley College for the new Academic Year of 1953/1954. As is said in the movie, she is not coming to "fit in" but rather to make a difference with the brightest women of America. Wellesley College is a very conservative school where Katherine will have to face disappointment toward the school itself, the law of Massachusset, and also her own students. Through this movie, we lightly follow the stories of Betty Warren, Joan Brandwyn, Gisele Levy and Connie Baker. At Wellesley, these young women are learning how to become good housewives, and how to give up on their dreams.When Katherine arrives, she is seeking for open minded women, who through Art History should be able to start thinking by themselves outside the conventional way. Unfortunately, Katherine is dealing with a wall. So Katherine will get reactions from her students. Some will be bad reactions, especially when Betty publishes her editorial about Katherine and her way of thinking. Some will be good and will guide the characters to hope and sometimes to happy endings.This movie opens a lot of interesting discussions, you just have to be open minded to see beyond it (I)really like Mona Lisa Smile in its simplicity and this is the reason why I will see it many other times.。