Movie time for the holidays
by
Marcus
Posted on 24 December, 2011
I offered 3 Christmas movies for my classes to
watch ("Grinch" with Jim Carrey, A Christmas Story (the rifle one), and
Burl Ives "Rudolph"). Only one class didn't like the Rudolph one, but
the other classes that chose it enjoyed it. I also gave them the choice
to choose other movies if they didn't care about a Christmas based one.
Here are the results. I teach in China, and basketball is big here.
I'll give 5 star ratings based on how I think they will be received in
the classroom.
"Like Mike" - 5 classes chose this one and all enjoyed it. 5 stars
"School of Rock" - 3 classes chose this one and there was an average
appreciation, some of the humor was hard to understand. 3 stars
"10.5 Apocalypse" - 2 classes chose this one, but only one had a chance
to see it. They said they will probably choose another next time. It's
a long drawn out drama movie made for TV. There are some cool special
effects, but not enough. I may remove it from my library if the second
class has the same response. 1 star
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 - Rodrick Rules" - 2 classes chose this one and
enjoyed it as much as Like Mike. I teach high school students and
recommend 2 because Rodrick is in high school. Watch the first one
first if you have younger students. Both are great. 5 stars
"Deja Vu" - 2 classes chose this one, and it is also difficult to
follow, but has a Matrix like style to it. It's actually one of my
favorite movies, but it's probably a better movie to talk about too than
just watch. 2 stars
"Flipped" - 2 classes chose this one. Surprisingly, they liked it a lot and it wasn't too difficult to follow. 3 stars
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" - 2 classes chose this one. It's
pretty easy to watch even though the language is hard to follow. 4 stars
"The Day After" - 2 classes chose this one. They could follow it, but
like Deja Vu, I think adding discussion parts between scenes might help
them appreciate the movie more. It's one of the better natural disaster
movies. 3 stars
"Back to Future 1" - 1 class chose this and enjoyed it, even though it
is an older movie. Maybe I will offer "Teen Wolf" at a later time, but
personally that's not a great "quality" one. It's only because it has
basketball scenes and they can recognize the actor. 4 stars
"Big Daddy" - 1 class chose this one. Funny movie, but not for kids. There is some crude humor. 4 stars
"Charlotte's Web" - 1 class chose this one. They also enjoyed it, but I
think it is better for younger students (elementary and middle school).
3 stars
"Homeless To Harvard" - 1 class chose this one. A bit of an emotional
movie, and the guys at times drifted off. This movie along with
"Finding Forrester" could be used in discussions. 2 stars
"Jumanji" - 1 class chose this one. They didn't have enough time to
watch any of the exciting parts yet. However, they did follow it and I
think it is worth offering. 4 stars
"Radio" - 1 class chose this one, it has a similar tone as Rain Man, and
students showed average appreciation for it. They will probably be
interested in watching it if they have already seen their favorites. 3
stars
"The Pursuit Happyness" - 1 class chose this one, good for higher level students. 3 stars
"Year of Yao" - We have yet to see this one, it's more of a documentary.
Again, it's only on the list because it is basketball and being in
China the students want to see it.
"Meet Dave" - They chose this one before when I described movies to
them, but none of the classes chose this one to watch yet. I'd
recommend it. Even though it is for a younger crowd, I think it is a
good movie for English learning. 4 stars