Describing movies

Definitions:

 a box office hit: a financially successful film

 a blockbuster: a film that is a big commercial success
 to catch the latest movie: to see a film that has just come out
 the central character: the main person in a film or book
 to come highly recommended: to be praised by another person
 to go on general release: when a film can be seen by the general public
 a low budget film: a film made with a small amount of money
 plot: the main events in a film or book
 soundtrack: the music that accompanies a film
 special effects: the visuals or sounds that are added to a film which are
difficult to produce naturally
 to spoil – to reveal

Adjectives to describe films:

 action-packed: full of action.

My brother loves action-packed movies. Probably that's why his favourite

film is "Terminator".

 entertaining: funny and enjoyable

 heartbreaking: that breaks your heart and evokes sad emotions.

When my aunt watched "Titanic" she cried all day! It's such a heartbreaking
film.

 inspirational: evoking inspiration.

 tear-jerking: tragic, making you cry.

My sister is very emotional. I would rather watch a comedy with her than a
tear-jerking movie!

 thought-provoking: a book or film that makes you think of new ideas or

that changes your attitude to something.
 Ray Bradbury's novel "Fahrenheit 451" is deeply thought-provoking. I had
to rethink my attitude to legislation and censorship after I read it.

 true-to-life (a real story)

 oscar-winning

Here are some ways you can tell the story (plot) of a film you've seen.

It's set in…(New York / in the 1950's).

The film's shot on location in Arizona.
The main characters are … and they're played by…
It's a mystery / thriller / love-story.

You can tell the story of the film in the present simple tense.

Well, the main character decides to… (rob a bank)

But when he drives there…

Giving your opinion

I thought the film was great / OK / fantastic…

The actors / costumes / screenplay are/is …
The special effects are fantastic / terrible
The best scene / the worst scene is when …
The plot is believable / seems a bit unlikely

Movie Genres

Action – I like action films because they are…exciting, exhilarating, enthralling.

Documentary – They are educational, engaging, challenging. They can teach us

about our world, open our eyes to important issues, inspire us to action.

Animated – Such films are interesting and captivating.

Biopic – Short for ~biographical motion picture~ AKA a biography. Biopics are
fascinating, however some of them distort the truth.

Comedy – They are hilarious, make us laugh, amusing, humorous and hysterical.

Fantasy – Such movies involve magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore,

and exotic worlds and characters.

Horror – This kind of movies are scary, frightening, terrifying, creepy, spine-
tingling, bone-chilling, horrifying.

Science Fiction or Sci-Fi – These movies are imaginative, creative, inventive,

original, fanciful.

Thriller – These are often called ~suspense films~ because they use suspense and
tension so much. They usually involve dangerous situations, and often people die.

Part 1-style questions

How often do you go to the cinema?

Unfortunately we don’t have a cinema near us so we have to go into the

nearest town to catch the latest movie … I usually avoid seeing
popular box-office hits which I’m not always keen on seeing … I
prefer low-budget films … sci-fi especially … and there’s a great cinema I
go to that has frequent showings of films like these …

Do you prefer reading books or watching films?

 Louisa: I’m not really a big reader … I find books quite heavy-going … so
I much prefer to see a film … perhaps it’s the special effects or
the soundtrack … I don’t know … I just prefer a film …

Do old people and young people like watching the same kinds of
films? (Compare the differences.)

Well I think that old people like to watch stories about their country since
they wore so involved in this time period. They also like to watch a variety
of programmes that show the native singing and dancing from different
regions in my country. Young people on the other hand go for the foreign
films, as I already mentioned. There are some films that both young and old
like to watch such as historical movies.

What do you think people can learn from watching films? (or should films be
considered as entertainment only?)

Oh I think that people can learn so much from films. You know there is an
old saying that goes “A wise man learns from his mistakes, but a wiser
learns from the mistakes of others.” Just by watching a movie and seeing
what a character does in certain circumstances, you know whether you
should do something or not.  You can see picturesque sceneries that you
might not be able to see if it were not for movies. So definitely, you can
learn from watching films.

Do you think that film stars deserve the large incomes that some of them
receive?

From my viewpoint, celebrities deserve as much money as they make per

movie or episode. Though actors have a choice to choose between their
roles, but once they have signed something, they have to completely work
their socks off to reach the director’s expectations. They help the director
achieve his dream and only when they are paid, they give their best. Besides,
acting is work, and unlike many jobs, it requires real skill.  There’s a definite
difference in quality between actors of different skill levers. That being said,
it’s hard to justify some of the outrageous price tags of the most famous
actors.  These are not necessarily being paid for their skill, but for their fame
and ability to bring people into theatres. At a certain level, film watchers ‘re
paying for fame instead of talent.

What do you think about censorship?

 I believe in it. I think that some of the stuff that is available to the public is
just pure garbage. Not censoring would be like allowing garbage to be
strewn around your living room. I believe in freedom of speech but I believe
that also goes along with a sense of responsibility of who would be around
to hear it. Some things are just nor all audiences. Maybe censorship can go
too far but if you have a good balance in what is censored it is not such a bad
thing.

Should films be classified before release?

Of course this goes along with my previous answer.  It is considered that
there are certain types of content and portrayal that should be prohibited like
sexual acts accompanied by offensive perversion. Besides, I hope that you
don’t think that I am being too negative on this subject but realistically
speaking expanding the ratings of classifications would not be a bad idea. I
think that the rating system is too simplistic and many more guidelines and
ways to classify movies are long overdue.

Part 2-style task

Describe your favourite movie. You should say:

 what the name of the movie/ film is
 what the theme of the movie/ film is
 why you like it
and describe the story of the movie in brief.

Sample Answer 1:

The name of my favourite movie is 'Casablanca' which was directed by Michael

Curtiz. It was released in 1943 and the story was adapted from a stage-play named
'Everybody comes to Ricks'. The movie starred Humphery Bogart & Ingrid
Bergman and was made in the USA. It was a romantic drama film and the storyline
was set during World War II.

It focuses on a man torn between love and virtue. In 1941 American expatriate
Rick who professed to be neutral by all means met his former lover Ilsa in his
nightclub and gambling den. She was accompanied by her husband, Laszlo, a
renowned fugitive Czech Resistance Leader. They needed a letter to escape to
America, where he can continue his work against the Nazis. German Major came
to Casablanca to see that Laszlo does not succeed. One night Ilsa confronted Rich
in the deserted cafe and asked for the letter. She threatened him with a gun for the
letter and later on confessed that she still loved him. Rick's bitterness dissolved
learning that Ilsa was married to Laszlo before even their relationship began. When
Rick and Ilsa planned to fly together, she could not do so because all of a sudden
she found that her husband was still alive and needed her badly to recover. Hearing
the story Rick calmed down and agreed to give the letter to Laszlo so that he can
fly to America safely. They would take a different path to fly away together. But
finally, Rick let Ilsa and Laszlo fly to America which surprised IIsa very much.

In 1989, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film
Registry a being deemed 'Culturally', 'Historically' and 'Aesthetically' significant. It
is the second best movie of all time based on AFI's 100 best movies of all time.

I've seen the movie more than 2-3 times. The story is excellent, the casting, plot,
acting, dialogues and all other aspects of the movie are superb. The movie deeply
touched me and became the most favourite movie I have ever seen.

Model Answer 2:

Thank you very much for letting me talk about this cue card topic. Interestingly, I
initially thought that it would be so easy to talk about my favourite movie but then
I realised it is not because there are so many things to talk about but the time is
limited! However, I will try.

Well, my favourite movie is 'Citizen Kane', - an American mystery drama by

Orson Welles which is often considered the best movie ever made. Orson Welles
was also its director, producer, co-screenwriter, and the protagonist. This movie
won an Academy Award for Original Screenplay and I believe the screenplay of
the movie makes it so distinctive and brilliant. Considered by many critics,
filmmakers, and fans to be the greatest film ever made, Citizen Kane is especially
appreciated for its cinematography, music, editing and narrative structure, which
have been considered innovative and precedent-setting.

Orson Welles's epic tale of a publishing tycoon's rise and fall is entertaining,
poignant, and inventive in its storytelling, earning its reputation as a landmark
 achievement in the movie industry. When a reporter is assigned to decipher
newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane's dying words, his investigation gradually
reveals the fascinating portrait of a complex man who rose from obscurity to
staggering heights. Though Kane's friend and colleague Jedediah Leland and his
mistress, Susan Alexander shed fragments of light on Kane's life, the reporter fears
he may never penetrate the mystery of the elusive man's final word, "Rosebud."

The film was absolutely a masterpiece and I had several reasons to like it. Acting,
production, cinematography, music, editing and narrative structure, which have
been considered innovative and trend-setting, are the main reasons anyone would
enjoy this movie. It's a kind of movie that we do not watch quite often and for me,
I consider it the best movie I have ever watched.

At the end of the movie, the reporter - who was assigned to reveal Kane's last
word, concludes that he is unable to solve the mystery and that the meaning of
Kane's last word, "Rosebud", and it will forever remain a mystery. As the film
ends, the camera reveals that "Rosebud" is the trade name of the sled on which the
eight-year-old Kane was playing on the day that he was taken from his home in
Colorado. Thought to be junk by Xanadu's staff, the sled is burned in a furnace.
The innocence of childhood and happiness in simple thing are incomparable and
often hold the secret of life, is something I learned from the movie.

You should say:

 What is it
 What is the story
 What did you learn from it
and explain why it is a good/ bad movie.

Sample Answer:

‘A Beautiful Mind’, a film that was released in 2001 from Hollywood, was based
on the story of a real person named John Nash. The movie was directed by Ron
Howard and he was inspired to make the movie from a book of the same title.

The famous actor Russell Crowe acted as the main character of the movie and won
the Oscar for the best actor. The story of the film depicts the life, work and
thinking of a young prodigy called John Nash who developed a paranoid
schizophrenia after he joins the secret cryptography work. The true genius, the
talented and gifted person who had difficulties separating the hallucination and
reality worked towards defining the mathematical relationship that changed the
world. Nash lived two separate lives and one was in his mind while the other one
was the real one. This film portrayed the life and work of a genius who had some
mental illness and yet contributed for the betterment of the world.

The movie told us the story of John Nash who is an interesting person in terms of
his genius and talent. The acting, the production and presentation of the movie was
extraordinary. It was so nicely presented and acted that majority of the critics gave
a positive review of this movie just after it was released.

You should say:

 What the film is about
 Why you like it so much
 What message the movie gives.

It’s quite hard to say what my favourite movie is because there are quite a few to
choose from! But I would say that the one that made the strongest impression
on me is a German film called ‘The Lives of Others’.

This film is set in communist East Germany, shortly before the fall of the Berlin
Wall. At that time, the Stasi, the East German secret police, used to spy on all
kinds of people. The two main characters in the film are a playwright called
Dreyman and a Stasi spy called Weisler, whose job it is to keep Dreyman under 24
hour surveillance. Weisler is supposed to be reporting back to his superiors at the
Stasi in order to discredit the playwright. However, he develops a strong
sympathy for the playwright and his girlfriend, and determines to protect them by
not reporting anything significant. The scenes in the film where it cuts from the
colourful and interesting lives of Dreyman and his friends to the lonely attic where
Weisler is sitting really show the contrast between the two men. The film is shot
in such a way that it makes you believe you are also spying on Dreyman, it even
made me feel a bit guilty!
I like this film because it has fascinating, 3-dimensional characters, and also the
plot has plenty of twists. Right up until the end of the film, we are left guessing
how it could possibly end. It is also very thought-provoking because it makes
you wonder how many people working for the Stasi actually did protect the
people they were spying on.

As for the message it gives, I would say the main message is that we can find
kindness and humanity in the most unexpected of places. The film makes us
realise that nothing is ever black and white! The film also serves as a warning
about the dangers of an oppressive, paranoid regime and is perhaps quite
pertinent in this current age of mass surveillance.

What was the movie?

– When and where did you watch it?

– Did you like it? Why?

Lately, I haven’t had much time to go out for a movie since I’ve been up to my
eyeballs in reports and presentations. Hence, to relax and boost my mood, I rented
some good old movies and made myself some healthy snacks for late night treat.
“Silver Linings Playbook” is one of my all-time favorites and I’ve lost count how
many times I replayed it.

The last time I watched it was a week ago on Saturday night. Oscar nominated
movies were usually not my taste due to their complexity and lack of
entertainment but Silver Linings Playbook was an exception. I’ve always preferred
something a little sentimental, light-hearted, yet meaningful and this movie had it
all. Silver Linings Playbook was an adaptation from the novel written by Matthew
Quick, starring two incredibly talented actors Bradley Cooper and Jennifer
Lawrence. This romantic comedy movie was about two wounded souls who once
again found beauty in the most unexpected place. Pat (Bradley), a former teacher,
was just released from a mental institution and trying to reconcile with his
cheated wife despite his family’s protest. He met Tiffany (Jennifer), a woman with
 problems of her own, and things got complicated. Two people bearing hidden scars
with no hope in the future finally had lights in their lives again. The movie was not
heavy at all but extremely entertaining with some laugh-out-loud moments. No
matter how many times I’ve watched it, I still got emotional every time I replayed
it.  The underlying message was also a shout-out to anyone who believe they
have hit rock bottom: “When one door closes, another door opens”.
Therefore, keep moving forward and don’t lose hope. If anyone run out
of movies to watch, I highly recommend “Silver Linings Playbook” as a change of
appetite.

 Reconcile (v): to make people become friends again after an argument or a

disagreement
 Shout-out (n): a message of congratulation, support, or appreciation
 Hit rock bottom (idiom): to reach the lowest possible level or be in the
worst possible situation