Class #12 - A Few Movie Sub-genres

At the end of the first semester of Screen English, we will cover famous genres like Westerns, Dramas & War Movies. However, today we will talk about a few movie sub-genres.

Bruce Lee

Martial Arts Films (sub-genre of Action)
Martial Arts Films feature characters training in martial arts, such as Kung Fu or Karate, and using their skills to fight their enemies. These films usually have many fight scenes, and the hero of the film (almost?) always succeeds in defeating the bad guys. Dangerous stunts are a feature of this type of movie. While there are some famous martial arts movies, many tend to be B-movies (low budget films), and the actors are usually more well-known than their individual films.

A few famous martial arts actors are Sonny Chiba (Japanese), Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

'Best of' Sonny Chiba

Top 10 Bruce Lee Moments (WatchMojo.com)
Top 10 Jackie Chan Moments (WatchMojo.com)
Top 10 Jet Li Moments (WatchMojo.com)

Two famous movie titles:
Enter the Dragon (1973) opening scene, featuring Bruce Lee
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) trailer, directed by Ang Lee

Some more recent martial arts actors:
Michael Jai White
Donnie Yen
Jason Statham
Scott Adkins

Disaster Films (sub-genre of Action)

Disaster Films are movies where the story takes place during a disaster of some type. The disaster may be a natural disaster, such as a tornado, earthquake, tsunami, or fire, or it may be an accident, such as an airplane crash or shipwreck. The story is usually based on how the main characters escape from or cope with the disaster. Often, they must rescue their family members or crew as well. Nowadays, CGI can be used to create realistic visual effects of disasters.

The Best Disaster Movies of All Time A-Z
IGN's Top 10 Disaster Movies
Top 10 Disaster Film Cliches (Watchmojo.com)

Kevin's Pick: Das Boot (1981), a German disaster/war movie about a German submarine crew during World War II.


Biopics (Biographical Films; a sub-genre of Historical Movies)
Biopics show the life of a historical person. Biopics try to give viewers a historical perspective about a famous person, but often the details are fictitious. Most of the dialog is created by writers, except when there are famous quotes. Below are some famous biopics.

Gandhi (1982) - about Mahatma Gandhi, India's famous civil rights leader, starring Ben Kingsley
Chaplin (1992) - about Charlie Chaplin, the silent movie comedian, starring Robert Downey Jr.
Ray (2004) - about blind singer, songwriter, pianist Ray Charles; starring Jamie Foxx
The Iron Lady (2011) - about UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, starring Meryl Streep
Malcom X (1992) - about Malcom X, the American civil rights leader, starring Denzel Washington
42 (2013) - about Jackie Robinson, the pioneering black baseball player, starring Chadwick Boseman (also Harrison Ford)
Ali (2001) - about Mohammed Ali, the boxer and international icon, starring Will Smith
The Theory of Everything (2014) - about Stephen Hawking, the disabled physicist; starring Eddie Redmayne
Jackie (2016) - about Jackie Kennedy, starring Natalie Portman
I, Tonya (2017) - about figure skater, Tonya Harding, starring Margot Robbie
The U.S. vs Billie Holiday (2021) - about Billie Holiday; starring Andra Day
A Beautyful Day in the Neighborhood (2020) - about Mr. Rogers; starring Tom Hanks
Elvis (2022) - about Elvis Presley

Concert Films (sub-genre of Documentary)
Concert Films document the concerts of famous artists or the performances of famous comedians.

Woodstock (1970) - trailer; the legendary1969 upstate New York outdoor concert; featuring artists Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Sly & the Family Stone and many more
           Top 5 Rockin' Facts about Woodstock (WatchMojo.com)
Stop Making Sense (1984) - greatest concert film by Jonathan Demme, about the Talking Heads
Gimme Shelter (1970) - trailer; about the Rolling Stones concert at Altamont. Inexplicably, the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang was hired to do security. Four people were killed, including one stabbed to death by a Hell's Angel.
Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) trailer; Michael Jackson's rehearsals for a concert tour that never happened due to his untimely death
The Last Waltz (1978) - famous Martin Scorsese concert film featuring The Band, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Neil Young, Van Morrison and more.
Queen: Live in Budapest (1986) -trailer

(Stand up comedy film) Eddie Murphy Raw (1987) - trailer; the #1 comedy concert film

More recently:
Homecoming: Beyoncé (2019) - Beyoncé
Rolling Thunder Review (2019) - Bob Dylan
Never Say Never (2011) - Justin Bieber

Courtroom Dramas (also called Legal Dramas; a sub-genre of Dramas)
The story involves lawyers trying to defend their clients. There is usually little "action" but a lot of dialog, as much of the story takes place in court. Suspense is created as viewers wonder about the verdict.

Top 10 Movie Lawyers  (WatchMojo.com)

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - Top 10 Trivia; about racial prejudice; starring Gregory Peck
12 Angry Men (1957) - trailer; about a jury; starring Henry Fonda
Philadelphia (1993) - trailer; about HIV discrimination; starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington
A Few Good Men (1992) - trailer; a military trial; starring Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson
My Cousin Vinny (1992) - trailer; a comedy starring Joe Pesci and Marissa Tomei
Erin Bockovich (2000) - trailer; starring Julia Roberts
Kramer vs Kramer (1979) - trailer; about divorce; starring Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep
Primal Fear (1996) - trailer; starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton
The Verdict (1982) - trailer; starring Paul Newman
The Rainmaker (1997) - trailer; starring Matt Damon and Danny DeVito
A Time to Kill (1996) - trailer; starring Matthew McConaughey
A Civil Action (1998) - trailer; starring John Travolta

Some famous movie catchphrases. Match them with the correct movies on the handout. Top 10 Movie Catchphrases PDF

• May the force be with you.
• I'll be back.
• Say hello to my little friend.
• I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.
• You can't handle the truth.
• Bond. James Bond.
• Yippee ki yay.
• Show me the money.
• Go ahead. Make my day.
• There's no place like home.

Top 10 Movie Catchphrases (WatchMojo.com)

_________

Conjunctions Practice

• Conjunctions online exercise 1
• Conjunctions online exercise 2
• Conjunctions online exercise 3

_________

🔥 Hot Seat 🔥 today:  Erika, Hayate, Kosei, Kaito H., Yuri

_________

To Do List:
1) Watch some videos from at least two of the subgenres above (there are 5, so please choose 2, from Martial Arts, Disaster, Biopics, Concert Movies, Courtroom Dramas).
2) Make a blog post about 1 (one!) of the subgenres. Explain why you are interested in that subgenre.
3) Do the Top 10 Movie Catchphrases PDF 
4) Do the Conjunctions Practice online exercises 1, 2, 3

There are 3 classes remaining in this seminar - 7/7, 7/14, 7/21. It's hot, but you should not have many absences!

Class #11 - Horror

Horror films are made to frighten and surprise you. Below are some features of the Horror genre. Not every Horror movie has all of these features.

• Scary
• Surprising
• Disgusting, often with gory scenes of blood, killing and dismemberment
• Darkness and shadows
• Ambiguity
• A buildup of suspense that ends with a sudden shocking image or violent action
• The audience is often aware of a danger that the character does not know about
• Tries to touch the primal fears of people, such as fear of insects, sharks, ghosts or dying in a horrible and violent way
• An eerie soundtrack that sometimes features screeching sounds, creaking sounds, and screams, as well as spooky atmospheric music

Some of the following may appear in a Horror film: ghosts, monsters, serial killers, vampires, demons, aliens, zombies, and psychologically disturbed people.

Kevin is not a big fan of this genre, so he can't recommend many. However, the following are well-known and interesting and will be featured in class. Check them out if you can!

Psycho, The Exorcist, The Shining, Sixth Sense, The Others

A short horror film; Amy's Torch
torch = flashlight (懐中電灯)

Danny in the hallway scene from The Shining

Get Out (2017) trailer

5 Horror Movie Trailers PDF / Online Exercise
Print the PDF or write answers on a blank piece of paper. Then put your answers on the online form and submit it to Kevin.

5 Horror Movie Trailers
Psycho (1960) trailer
The Exorcist (1973) trailer
The Shining (1980) trailer
The Sixth Sense (1999) trailer
The Others (2001) trailer

The actor in "The Shining" (above) is one of America's most revered and well-known actors. Watch the clip on Jack Nicholson's Top 10 Acting Performances and fill in the blanks on the worksheet.

If you'd like to know more about the actor Jack Nicholson, read his biography. / 日本語

Capitalization Practice
Kevin will talk about the rules of capitalization (when to use capital letters or small letters). Capitalization Practice Exercise

_________

🔥 Hot Seat 🔥 today:  Haruka, Reo, Kei, Haruto, Ren. (on deck; Yuri)

_________

Blog Post
Make a blog post about horror movies, any of the trailers above, or a horror movie that you've seen.

To Do List
1) Watch trailers
2) Do the 5 Horror Movie Trailers PDF and online exercise
3) Capitalization Practice Exercise
4) Hot Seat: Haruka, Reo, Kei, Haruto, Ren (maybe Yuri)
5) Write a blog post re. horror movies
6) Fix problems with your blogs (customize, etc.)

About blogs ...

Many people did not make a post about comedy movies (or Marilyn Monroe). Please do it. You can post about a Japanese comedy if you like.

Free and nice images on Pixabay.com (log in with Google)

Example of a customized blog (from 2020 Blog Zemi)

These blogs need to be customized:

• Akane
• Yuri
• Keisuke
• Tomohiro
• Hayate

These blogs have the same background as other students; let's customize!

• Haruka
• Hiroki
• Ryusei

• Daichi M.
• Kaito H.

These people need to fix image files:

• Ryoga (romance)
• Yuri (sports)
• Keisuke (sports +)
• Tomohiro (documentary; this is a fake image)
• Haruka (sports; English image please)
• Daichi M (English images please)
• Kaito H. (English images please; documentary spelling)
• Terumasa (comedy; also English images please)
• Haruto (the Beatles ?)
• Reo (English images please)
• Hayate (sports; are you selling DVDs?)

This blog image has no connection to the writer and no connection to movies:

• Hiroto

These people needs to fix the blog title:

• Reo
• Ryusei

This person needs to write blog posts:

• Erika

Class #10 - Comedies

Characteristics of Comedy films:

• Situations are exaggerated. (誇張された)
• The comedic talents of the individual actors are critical to the success of the movie. The jokes and gags are usually designed to emphasize the unique talents of the comedians.
• Comedy is one of the oldest movie (and stage) genres. Shakespeare wrote comedies. Silent movies were often comedies.

Slapstick humor - Emphasizes physical mishaps, such as falling down, getting hit on the head, getting covered in paint, water or mud, or getting hit in the face with a pie.

Today:

1. Introduction to the comedy film genre
2. Watch the clip from Rush Hour 3 and do the listening exercise.
   Rush Hour PDF / Rush Hour online exercise
3. Watch the Bad Grandpa trailer and do the listening exercise; Bad Grandpa PDF
4. Watch the slide show about Marilyn Monroe, famous Hollywood star of the 1950s
5. Watch Top 10 Most Iconic Marilyn Monroe Style Moments video
6.  Watch the EdPuzzle clip below from "The Seven Year Itch" and answer the questions. You must click 'submit' after each question
7. Hot Seat: Akane, Hiroki, Daichi S., Ryusei, Kaito T. (maybe Yuri)

Marilyn Monroe slideshow

Free time? Watch these videos.

Top 10 Comedic Performances by Serious Actors (WatchMojo)
Top 10 Most Iconic Marilyn Monroe Style Moments (WatchMojo)

EdPuzzle - The Seven Year Itch, featuring Marilyn Monroe

_________

🔥 Hot Seat 🔥 today:  Akane, Hiroki, Daichi S, Ryusei, Kaito T. (on deck; Yuri)

_________

To Do List:
1) Rush Hour 3 online exercise (after watching clip and writing answers on paper)
2) Bad Grandpa listening exercise in class with handout
3) Watch Top 10 Most Iconic Marilyn Monroe Style Moments video
4) The Seven Year Itch - EdPuzzle
5) Blog Post about Comedies

Class #9 - Sports Movies

Today ...

• Actor presentations
• Kevin's 13 Sports Movies worksheet with links to movie clips

Characteristics of Sports Movies
A sports film, obviously, is one where a sport and its athletes are featured heavily in the movie. For the viewer, excitement is often generated by the question of whether the athlete or team will win in the end. On the other hand, unlike a real game or season of sports, there is usually a story in the movie that is compelling regardless of whether the athlete or team wins. For this reason, favorite sports movies can be watched multiple times, even if the outcome is already known.

One very common theme of sports movies is the idea of the underdog (the weak player or team) that overcomes great odds to succeed in the end. The underdog doesn't always win the final match, as that would be too predictable. However, the underdog usually does well enough to justify the hard work of the players and leave the viewer satisfied that the participants got what they deserved.

Sports movies are sometimes based on true events, such as Eight Men Out, about the Chicago White Sox scandal of 1919, when the players conspired to throw the World Series. They can also be comedies (Cool Running) or serious (Million Dollar Baby). Another sub-genre is the sports documentary.

There's an extensive list of sports movies on Wikipedia:

Kevin's recommended sports movies are (in no particular order):
Raging Bull, Hoop Dreams, Bull Durham, When We Were Kings, Eight Men Out, Field of Dreams, Million Dollar Baby, The Wrestler, Moneyball and Jerry Maguire.

Two other movies, Rocky and  The Big Lebowski, are also recommended. Rocky is recommended because it's a classic sports movie that was very influential. However, the pattern has been imitated so many times, that it may seem to be a cliche. One must keep in mind that Rocky was a pioneer for many films that came later. It's also a much better film than the Rocky sequels. The Big Lebowski is not really a sports film. However, the bowling scenes in this movie are legendary.

Sports Movie Clips & Trailers
Hoop Dreams (1994) trailer
Bull Durham (1988) clip
When We Were Kings (1996) trailer
The Endless Summer (1966) clip
Million Dollar Baby (2004) trailer
Field of Dreams (1989) trailer
The Wrestler (2008) trailer
Raging Bull (1980) trailer
Jerry Maguire (1996) trailer
Eight Men Out (1988) trailer
Rocky (1976) trailer
The Big Lebowski (1998) clip

Some recent sports movies:
The Way Back (2020) trailer; basketball movie, starring Ben Affleck
Battle of the Sexes (2017) trailer; tennis movie, starring Emma Stone, Steve Carrell
Foxcatcher (2014) trailer; starring Steve Carrell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo
Rush (2013) trailer; Formula 1 racing movie, starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl
Moneyball (2011) trailer; baseball movie about the Oakland Athletics manager, Billy Bean; starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt
42 (2013) trailer; about Jackie Robinson, the first black player in the MLB
I, Tonya (2017) trailer, about Tonya Harding, figure skater involved in a scandal
Ford v Ferrari (2019) trailer, racing, starring Matt Damon, Christian Bale
Creed (2015) / Creed II (2019) trailers; boxing; starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan
Athlete A (2020) - trailer; Netflix documentary about sexual abuse in U.S. gymnastics
King Richard (2021) - trailer, tennis; starring Will Smith; about Serena and Venus Williams

Great bowling clip:
Jesus (from the Big Lebowski; 1998) clip

Top 10 Inspirational Sports Movies (Watchmojo)

Top 10 Sports Biopics (Watchmojo)

Sports Activity PDF

Directions
1) Try to guess from the movie titles which sport each movie is about; answers will be given in class
2) Watch the trailer or clip for each of the movies on the handout
3) Listen for the lines in the list below. Which movie is each line from? Write the number next to the title.

Match the movie line to the correct movie title. Look for clues to which sport it is! (The letters B, M, E tell you where in the clip to find the quote.)
1. Oh, no. He's shaking off the signs.  (B-M)
2. Show me the money!  (B)
3. No. I want a player who’s got the guts not to fight back.  (M-E)
4. Cause you had the talent to become a good fighter … (B-M)
5. I am not saying that women don’t belong on the court. Who would pick up the balls otherwise?  (B-M)
6. Two words: re – match  (M)
7. Mark it zero. Next frame.  (M)
8. “What do you hope to achieve, Mark?” “I want to be the best in the world.” “Good.”  (B)
9. I done something new for this fight; I murdered a rock. (B)
10. All I ever dreamed about was playing in the NBA.  (M)
11. I'm the best. I can take more than anybody.  (B)
12. You can’t tell how good a wave is until you actually ride it.  (B)
13. Stop talking to her. That girl is your enemy.  (B)

B = beginning; M = middle; E = end; B-M = between beginning and middle; M-E = between middle and end

_________

🔥 Hot Seat 🔥 today:  Yuri, Hiroto, Aoi, Keisuke, Sho

_________

Blog Post about Sports
Make a post in your blog about one of the Sports clips you watched this week. Or you can write about a movie in the Sports genre that you actually saw. Please write more than one sentence!

To Do List
1) Sports Activity
2) Hot Seat
3) Blog post about Sports
4) Make your movie blogs complete and up to date:
  * add Action and Romance posts
  * customize your blog
  * make sure title and description are correct