Review Text

 Definition

Review text is an evaluation of a publication, such as a movie, video game, musical composition, book; a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer; or an event or performance, such as a live music concert, a play, musical theatre show or dance show.

Generic Structure

• Orientation
• Evaluations 
• Interpretative Recount 
• Evaluative Summation 

Language Feature

• Focus on specific participants
• Using adjectives
• Using long and complex clauses
• Using metaphor style Review Texy Simple

Example

Text 1

Undead, Unwed, and I also wish I could say unread! Okay, so here I think I have finally sunk to the bottom of the barrel to try to catch up and complete my challenge. I do have a bit of a thing for vampire novels! And that said I bought three different firsts in the series, to see if it would help me catch up and bring me back to target.

Seriously, this was one of the trashiest novels I have ever read! It was OK and fun, but I feel like a complete fraud and fake adding this to the list of books I’ve read this year! But I did nevertheless read it! So it’s going to be added.

Maybe one day when I’ve forgotten how bad this book was and just how trashy, I’ll read a few more in the series! But seriously guys I wouldn’t recommend it!

1. The text mainly tells about ...

A. A vampire novel.

B. A very bad novel.

C. An opinion on a novel.

D. A review on undead and unwed.

2. The second paragraph mainly told ...

A. The writer bought three novels.

B. The writer is fond of vampire novels.

C. The writer thought the novel was very bad.

D. The writer thought the novel was fun and ok.

3. The undead an unwed is ...

A. An horror novel.

B. An romantic novel.

C. Very interesting novel.

D. Not a sequence novel.

Text 2

It was the dawn of science and technology. Anything seemed possible even the creation of life itself. Victor Frankenstein becomes obsessed with this idea and works relentlessly to prove his theories; but the glory he imagined becomes a living nightmare - not only for him, but for hos friends and family too.

Mary Shelley’s gothic horror story-frankenstein - was first published in 1818 and has been the inspiration behind numerous stage productions and films - many of which strayed a long way away from her original masterpiece. Classical comic presenting a full-colored graphic remains true to this classic tale, bringing the original story to life which has never been created before.

This graphic novel is available in two versions: Original Text and Quick Text editions. The Original Text stays faithful to Shelley's original text, while the Quick Text brings the story up to date by presenting the text into a more simplified style so that the tale is accessible to all readers.

The quick Text edition will allow you to soak up a general feeling for characters and locations, while the Original Text version will help you easily slip into the language in which the novel was written.

Even if you're not studying the original, this graphic novel is worth buying. It's a great story, and should be one that everyone has the chance to read. Now, thanks to this release, even those who don't particularly like to read too much are given the chance to find this tale and hopefully it may encourage them to search out the original book too.

As with the previous classical comics, the presentation is first class. The best grade glossy paper really helps to set this graphic novel head and shoulders above the usual comic book releases on the market. Not only, that you also get a pretty comprehensive biography of Shelley; Mary Shelley's family Tree; a feature that explains what life was like in the year of the book's release; and a brief

Look on how Frankenstein has been adapted to many different formats over the years.

1. The text is about ....

     A. The quick text and original text of Frankenstein story

     B. The simplify ed text of the updated horror story

     C. The horror story written by Frankenstein

     D. The original text of the author’s novel

     E. The updated of classical horror story

Text 3

‘Laskar Pelangi’: The Audacity of Hope

This is a movie adapted from a best-selling Indonesian novel. It took 40 days of filming on Belitung Island, Bangka-Belitung province. Involving 12 local actors, it reportedly cost Rp8 billion. With all the efforts of transforming Laskar Pelangi (Rainbow Warrior) into a moving picture, will it satisfy readers’ imaginations?

Laskar Pelangi, the novel, was written by Andrea Hirata in 2005, based on his own experiences. It is about an inspiring teacher and her 10 students in the poverty-stricken Kampung Gantong in Belitung. The poor condition of their school building does not dampen their high spirits and hopes for a better future.

Two years later, the novel became a phenomenon in Indonesia literature. With its humanistic touch, Laskar Pelangi has sold more than 500,000 copies and has won the position of Must-Read Novel in every corner of the nation’s bookshops and media review pages. It has finally overcome the domination of teen-lit, chick-lit and even religious novels, the popular theme of today.

Andrea entrusted the fi lming of the story to the respected figures in the film industry, Mira Lesmana and Riza, as producer and film director. In July 2007, Mira and Riri started the per-production, which took a year to finish. Together with the scriptwriter Salman Aristo they decided to create a different scenario for the film.

6. What is the main idea of the second paragraph?

     A. ‘Laskar Pelangi’ is the story of poor people at the Bangka Belitung province

     B. ‘Laskar Pelangi’ is the story of poor school children of the Belitung Island

     C. ‘Laskar Pelangi’ is about poverty in Kampung Gantong in Bangka Belitung

     D. ‘Laskar Pelangi’ is about an inspiring story towards a better life

     E. ‘Laskar Pelangi’ is about Andrea Hirata

Text 4

Reading the three plots of Marry Higgins Clark in All Through the Night concern a stolen gold ornamental cup, a missing baby, and a will that seems to be deceitful. To solve the mystery, she revives her beloved characters; Alvirah, the former cleaning woman; and Willy Meehan, the plumber who won the lottery.

They left their life in Jackson Heights, Queens, for an apartment in Central Park. The two have fun along the way solving the puzzle. The pace is swift and the story is pure escape – totally fun Mary Higgins Clark. I admit, however, that l am still trying to know what the melody of the song “All Through the Night” sounds like.

This holiday season, put aside your chores and curl up on the couch with All Through the Night. When you close it you will be relaxed and more ready to enjoy the festivities. And then you might just want to tuck a copy into someone’s stocking or gift bag, as well.

1. What is the writer’s suggestion for the holiday season?

A. Left your life for an apartment in Central Park.

B. Put aside your chores and read the novel.

C. Tuck a stocking into someone’s gift bag.

D. Stole a gold ornament and he deceitful.

E. Have fun and solve some puzzles.

2. What intrigues the writer about All Through the Night?

A. lt made her curl up on the couch all day.

B. It made her ready for any festivities during the holiday.

C. She didn”t know the melody of the song in the book.

D. She wanted to escape every time she read the book.

E. She closed it and relaxed.

3. In the first paragraph, the reviewer…

A. introduces the Mary Higgins Clark

B. analyzes the three plots in the story

C. mainly discusses about Alvirah

D. is solving all of the mystery

E. summarizes the characters

Text 5

THE PRINCESS DIARIES

As the hilariously funny tale called The Princess Diaries begins, Mia Thermopolis is just a regular high school freshman at Albert Einstein High School. Well, as regular as you can be when you live in a loft in downtown New York with your flighty artist Mom. And as regular as you can be when your best friend is Lilly, a punky and spunky militant who produces her ownTV show.

As readers can guess from the title, this book takes the form of a diary, written by Mia. Over the pan of a month, she relates her daily woes and embarrassments in heartbreaking detail. As with most teenage girls, Mia thinks she is hopeless, looks-wise. She's tall --- 5’9" --- and klutzy, and not so gifted in the chest department.

Then there is school. One of Mia’s biggest problems is the fact she is flunking Algebra and, to make matters worse, her Mom has begun dating her teacher. Gross.

In the boy department, the cutest one in school has the locker next to hers but doesn't even know Mia exists, even as his snooty girlfriend Lana, a popular cheerleader, torments her. And to top it off, Mia is developing some sort of weird crush on Michael, Lilly’s computer nerd brother.

Then one day, Mia finds out she is a princess. Okay, I know that doesn’t sound bad to most girls, but Mia hates the idea instantly. How does this fairy tale come true? Her father is the ruler of the principality of Genovia and since Mia is his only child, she is next in line to the throne. Her dad sends in the big guns to convince Mia that being a princess is what she is meant to do: her formidable grandmother comes to New York to give Mia "Princess Lessons". And as the word spreads around Albert Einstein High School that Mia is royalty, her life just gets crazier.

The ending of The Princess Diaries is a twisty one and will leave you jonesing for more stories of Mia and the rest of her friends.

Reviewed by Jennifer Abbots

 

1. Who wrote The Princess Diaries?

A. Mia Thermapolis

B. Jennifer Abbots

C. Meg Cabot

D. Albert Einstein

 

2. What is the communicative purpose of the text above?

A. To criticize an art work, an event for a public audience.

B. To entertain and to deal with actual in different ways.

C. To describe the story of the prince's diaries.

D. To present (at least) many different aspects of an issue.

 

3. Which one is true based on the text above?

A. The Princess Diaries was written by Jennifer Abbots.

B. Mia was a student at Albert Einstein High School.

C. The Ending of The Princess Diaries is amazing.

D. Mia was avoided by her friends.

Text 6

To Kill a Mockingbird

By Harper Lee

Warner Books

Reviewed by Rodman Phillbrick

I’ve never been to Alabama, but novelist Harper Lee made me feel as if I had been there in the long, hot summer of 1935, when a lawyer named Atticus Finch decided to defend an innocent black man accused of a horrible crime. The story of how the whole town reacted to the trial is told by the lawyer’s daughter, Scout, who remembers exactly what it was like to be eight years old in 1935, in Maycomb, Alabama.

Scout is the reason i loved this book, because her voice rings so clear and true. Not only does she make me see the things she sees, she makes me feel the things she feels. There’s a lot more going on than just the trial, and Scout tells you all about it.

A man called Boo Radley lives next door. Very few people have ever seen Boo, and Scout and her friends have a lot fun telling scary stories about him. The mystery about Boo Radley is just one of the reasons you want to keep turning the pages to find out what happens in To Kill a Mockingbird.

To Kill a Mockingbird is filled with interesting characters like Dill, and Scout makes them all seem just as real as the people in your own hometown. Here’s how Scout describes Miss Caroline, who wore a red striped dress:”She looked and smelled like a peppermint drop.”

The large theme of the story is about racial intolerance, but Scout never tries to make it a”lesson,” it’s simply part of the world she describes. That’s why To Kill a Mockingbird rings true, and why it all seems so real.

Even though the story took place many years ago, you get the idea that parts of it could happen today, in any town where people distrust and fear each other’s different.

In a just world an innocent man should be found not guilty. But if you want to know what this particular jury finally decides and what happens to Scout and Jem and Dill and Boo Radley and the rest of the people who live and breathe in To Kill a Mockingbird, you’ll have to read the book.

14. Who is the writer of the Novel” To Kill a Mockingbird”?

     A. Scout

     B. Boo Radley

     C. Harper Lee

     D. Atticus Finch

     E. Rodman Phillbrick

Text 7

A Beautiful Mind is a biographical movie about John Forbes Nash Junior, mathematical genius with hard fate. At the beginning of this carrier he has made enormous contribution in the field of Game Theory, which was a revolution in this mathematical area and almost brought international fame to the author. The movie was filmed in 2001 by Ron Howard and today it is called modern classics: a true drama, making you think and evoking emotions.

Such movie, telling us about the life of a famous person, are always difficult to assess, because any such creations somehow pretend to be biographical ones. But in fact they are just a glance of one particular producer on the life of another individual. Of course, much depends on the actor who will perform the role of the protagonist and after watching A Beautiful Mind I will agree with this once again.

17. What is the text about?

     A. The review of ‘A Beautiful Mind‘ movie

     B. The movie of Jhon Forbes Nash’s biography

     C. The Oscar winner in Modern Classic Drama

     D. The contribution in the field of Game Theory

     E. The story about the genius man in the mathematical area

Answer : A

Text 8

CAPTAIN PHILLIPS

Captain Phillips is an upcoming 2013 American biographical action thriller film directed by Paul Greengrass based upon the book, A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous days at Sea, by Richard Phillips with Stephan Tatty, and starring Tom Hanks. It is produced by Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca. The film tells a biopic of merchant mariner Captain Richard Phillips, who was taken hostage for several days by Somali Pirates when the container ship Maersk Alabama which sailed from southern Oman drown along the coast of Somalia and then to Kenya was hijacked in 2009.

Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks), a veteran merchant mariner, still lives in his native New England, and he's a plainspoken family man full of anxiety about the economically bleak new world his kids are facing. When his wife (Chaterine Keener) drops him off at the airport, we can see reverse her. The film then cuts to Somalia, a land of dust and poverty, where the pirates are recruited for their mission as if they were migrant farm workers lining up to be chosen for that day's labor. Greengrass doesn't have to fill in much about the violent, chaotic breakdown of Somalia to let us know that these men have little choice.

The film does not generate quite the same level of excruciating suspense as some of Greengrass' previous triumphs, but it nonetheless holds us hostage as it proceeds. As for the four Somali immigrants, they are remarkably effective in their first professional acting gigs. 

1. What is the communicative purpose of the text above ....

A. To criticise about film Captain Phillips

 B. To entertaint about film Captain Phillips

 C. To give information about film Captain Phillips

 D. To describe about film Captain Phillipss

 E. To explain about film Captain Phillips

Text 9

Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stones

Judged by this first volume, the Harry Potter books are a fine addition to English children's fantasy literature. Harry Potter, orphaned when his parents are killed by the evil wizard Voldemort, is taken in by his aunt and uncle, who are Muggles - ordinary, non-magical people. Harry is rather out of place there, but things improve greatly for him when goes to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry- except that one of the staff is in league with Voldemort.

Part of the attention of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone comes from the familiar but at the same

time exotic setting of an English public school, complete with houses and schoolboy adventures, in which Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione struggle to save the world and win the house cup.

So Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone will be a great Christmas present for kids who haven't read it

yet and it is a book that adults (at least those without stunted imaginations) can read as well.

1. The story of Harry Potter began when ....

A. he became an orphan

B. his uncle and aunt adopted him *√*

C. Voldemort was killed

D. His parents killed Voldemort 

E. his uncle and aunt killed Voldemort

2. When Harry Potter lived with his uncle and aunt,.....

A. he felt uncomfortable *√*

B. he befriended Voldemort

C. things improved in his life

D. He had fantasy about magic

E. he became ordinary people

3. We can conclude from the first paragraph that..... 

A. Harry Potter's parents were muggle

B. Harry Potter lived in a magical place *√*

C. Harry Potter is a relative of Voldemort

D. Harry Potter's parents adopted him as an orphan 

E. Harry Potter enjoyed his life with his uncle and aunt

Text 10

The Halloween Kid

Burgeoning filmmaker Axelle Carolyn showed a lyrical, controlled sense of cinema in her 2011 short film debut The Last Post. Now, the sometime actress, model, and author has created another work of gentle, frightening craft in the Halloween Kid.

The short film features a rhyming, Edward Gorey-esque poem (penned by Carolyn) as its script and story: a tale of a poor, put-upon little boy named Henry who feels more akin to the supernatural creatures of his imagination than the cruel, narrow minded adults and children who permeat his world. But of course, Henry might not be as delusional as we think and, come Halloween, he found his only moments of respite amongst other kids, who are in fact, dead!

That’s pretty much it as far as the Halloween Kind’s narrative goes, but like the Last Post, the film is not about story, rather creating a tiny, perfectly realized universe that aims for more sensitivity than shock, more melancholy than morbid. The music is lovely and whimsical, as in the almost Boris Karloff-like narration by legendary Shakespearean dramatic Derek Jacobi.

The Halloween Kid shows even more promise from Carolyn, who with this beautifully sculpted piece of work is one to watch, not just as a ‘horror-filmmaker’, but as a quality director of movies, full stop.

1. The filmmaker Axelle Carolyn is also …

A. a writer

B. a singer

C. a poet

D. a designer

E. an artist

2. The reviewer’s opinion of Axelle Carolyn’s first movie has been … .

A. negative

B. positive

C. doubtful

D. biased

E. unclear

3. According to the reviewer, the Halloween Kid is … .

A. lovely

B. morbid

C. shocking

D. frightening

E. melancholy