Movie Discussion - General Statements

In this movie section, we are going to have discussions about movies that we already saw.  This is useful because whenever we come out of a movie theatre, we always ask our friends what we thought about the movie.  Sometimes, it's a simple answer such as, 'It was alright.'  But sometimes, a good discussion can arise from a great movie.  Let's get started...

 Every time I finish watching a movie, I either ask someone, or someone asks me, "What did you think about the movie?"  For the most part, the answer is a simple one line sentence:

 "It was alright."
 "It could have been better."
 "It was pretty good."
 "I liked it."
 "It was entertaining."
 "It was so stupid I almost fell asleep."
 "Lame"
 "Boring"
 "Too unrealistic"

 I can go on for a long time describing movies.  I have listed a few so you get an idea how to answer simple movie questions.

 Besides simple one line answers, there are a few reasons we need to say other things.  It is because either we didn't understand something, want to describe a scene we liked, want to describe a scene that was stupid, or simply go on and on about how great the movie was.

Movie Types - Interactive Practice

Click on Listen All and follow along. After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, become Person A by clicking on the Person A button. You will hear only Person B through the audio file. There will be a silence for you to repeat the sentences of Person A. Do the same for Person B. The speed of the conversation is native speed. Use the pause button if the pause between each sentence is too fast for you. After practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

                                                       

1

Listen All  |    Person A  |    Person B

A: "What type of movies do you like?"  B: "I like comedies. How about you?"  A: "I like action."  B: "Action is fun too."

2

Listen All  |    Person A  |    Person B

A: "What type of movies do you like?"  B: "I like all sorts of movies, primarily drama and science fiction."  A: "That's an interesting combination. How about western movies?"  B: "Western and horror are the two types of movies I don't care for."  A: "Why don't you like horror? They're entertaining."  B: "Some are entertaining, but I find most of them stupid and childish. For example, I don't understand why a person always goes into the house alone when something is suspicious."  A: "Ha ha. I know what you mean. But it's just a movie. They need for the characters to do that."

3

Listen All  |    Person A  |    Person B

A: "Hey, you wanna see a movie tomorrow?"  B: "Sounds like a good plan. What do you want to see?"  A: "How about Legally Blonde."  B: "Ah, my girlfriend wanted to see that movie. I have to take her later so I don't want to watch it ahead of time. How about The Cube?"  A: "Isn't that a scary movie?"  B: "How scary can it be? Come on, it'll be fun."  A: "Ok. I'll give it a try."  B: "That's the spirit. I'll see you tomorrow after class."  A: "Ok. See you tomorrow."

Movie Types - Other Types

Science Fiction:  Futuristic movies like star wars, star trek, theme of time travel, superhuman powers, etc.

 "Many science fiction movies are about the future."
 "The success of a science fiction movie is usually dependent on how much they spend on special effects."
 "After watching a science fiction movie such as star wars, I always wish I lived in the future."
 "Gene Rodenberry and George Lucas are two great people in the Science Fiction world."

 Suspense (Thriller): A movie that intentionally keeps you in a heightened state.

 "I am always on the edge of my seat when I watch suspenseful movies."
 "I can't stand to watch suspenseful movies because my stomach always gets upset."
 "The suspense just kills me."
 "It's so exciting to watch a suspense movie."

 Western:  Old time cowboy movies

 "Western movies are not so popular anymore."
 "Client Eastwood was a popular western actor."
 "Western movies show a little bit about the United States during the early years."
 "After watching The Last Samurai, I always hoped an Asian country will make a movie called The Last Cowboy."

 Commentary / Non-Fiction:  Educational and true.

 "Commentaries and non-fiction films are usually educational."
 "Non-profit organizations usually create commentaries supported by the government."
 "Popular non-fiction films are about chimpanzees and gorillas"
 "Sometimes non-fiction films are sad because of the hidden truth that is revealed."

Movie Types - Comedy and Horror

Comedy:  Funny movies with many jokes or actors acting in a funny way.

 "I love all types of comedy because I love to laugh."
 "Comedy is my favorite because it is very entertaining to me."
 "I like comedy that makes fun of political things."
 "Comedy is so hilarious that I always enjoy watching them."

 Romantic Comedy:  Funny movies with a strong romantic theme.  Opposite to action because usually guys like action and the ladies like Romantic comedies.

 "Many people view romantic comedy movies as chick-flicks."

 Chick = girl
 Flick = movie

 Chick-Flick = a girly type of movie; a movie a girl will like; 'take your girlfriend to' type of movie... or something like that.

 "Romantic comedy is funny movies that involve a lot of romance."
 "I love all the story lines of romantic comedy movies."

 Horror:  Scary movies that will give you nightmares for 3 months.

 "When I was a little kid, I couldn't sleep because of horror movies."
 "Horror movies are not scary anymore."
 "I have yet to see a movie that really scares me."
 "I hate horror movies because I cannot sleep."
 "I always have nightmares after watching horror movies so I try to avoid them."

Movies Types - Action and Drama

In the next three movie sections, we are going to learn about different movie types.  Afterwards, we will cover having discussions about movies that you recently saw.  But for now, let's work on movie types.

 There are many different types of movies.  You probably know them all in your language, but let's learn what they are in English.  Also, we will learn how to say a couple of sentences related to a movie type.  If you disagree with a sentence, feel free to change some words around so they fit what you want to say.

 Although there are many categories, we will learn the most basic 10 types of movies.

 Action
 Drama
 Comedy
 Romantic comedy
 Horror
 Science fiction
 Suspense (Thriller)
 Western
 Commentary / Non-Fiction

 Action:  Movies with lots of fighting, shooting, exploding, etc.

 "What kind of movie do you like?"
 "I like action movies because they are fast paced."
 "Action movies are my favorite."
 "I like all the action movies with a lot of guns."
 "I like fight scenes that are choreographed."

 Drama:  Everyone knows drama.  Like Titanic and Schindler's List

 "What type of movies do you like?"
 "I like all sorts of drama."
 "I like movies that play with my emotion."
 "Drama movies are great because they are the most realistic."
 "The sad drama movies that make me cry."

Movies - Interactive Practice

Click on Listen All and follow along. After becoming comfortable with the entire conversation, become Person A by clicking on the Person A button. You will hear only Person B through the audio file. There will be a silence for you to repeat the sentences of Person A. Do the same for Person B. The speed of the conversation is native speed. Use the pause button if the pause between each sentence is too fast for you. After practicing several times, you will be able to speak as fast as a native.

                                                                         

1
Listen All  |    Person A  |    Person B
A: "I hear Batman is supposed to be good. Do you want to go see it tomorrow?"  B: "I have to eat dinner with my family tomorrow."  A: "We can watch the late show. I think it starts at nine forty five."  B: "That would be great."  A: "What time can you be at the theatre by?"  B: "I can be there by 9:15."  A: "Ok. I'll meet you there."
2
Listen All  |    Person A  |    Person B
A: "What are you doing tomorrow?"  B: "Nothing really."  A: "Let's watch a movie or something."  B: "What's on these days?"  A: "I think they're playing Lord of the Rings"  B: "That sounds pretty good. Let's watch that."  A: "Where should we meet?"  B: "How about at the subway entrance."  A: "Aright. I'll meet you there at one o'clock."
3
Listen All  |    Person A  |    Person B
A: "Hey Steve, what are you doing these days?"  B: "Just working. The same as usual."  A: "Have you seen Shiri?"  B: "No. I haven't seen that yet."  A: "Let's go watch it tomorrow. It's a weekend and you should take a break."  B: "Well, to think of it, that sounds great."  A: "I'll give you a call tomorrow about noon and let you know the time."  B: "Ok. I'll see you tomorrow."  A: "See you."
4
Listen All  |    Person A  |    Person B
A: "What should we do this Saturday?"  B: "Rocky six is suppose to come out this Friday."  A: "Yeah, but I don't know if it is going to be any good."  B: "The only reason I want to see it is because I have seen the previous five."  A: "True. Ok. Let's see it this Saturday."  B: "How about we hook up for lunch at 12:00, and then go see the movie afterwards."  A: "Sounds like a plan. Let's meet in front of Tower Records at 12:00."

Movies - Example Conversation

Let's look at a couple of example conversations before going to the practice section.

 Person A: "Hey John, I'm going to see The Matrix with Peter and Brad.  Do you wanna come?"
 Person B: "When are you guys going?"
 Person A: "We're going to see the eight O'clock showing."
 Person B:  "That would be great.  Where are you guys meeting?"
 Person A:  "We're meeting at the theatre at seven thirty."
 Person B:  "Great.  I'll meet you guys there."

 Person A:  "Hey Jill."
 Person B:  "What's up Mike?"
 Person A:  "I was wondering if you have any plans for tomorrow night."
 Person B:  "Umm... I don't think I have anything special for tomorrow.  Why?"
 Person A:  "Do you want to see The Titanic with me?"
 Person B:  "I wanted to see that.  Yeah.  Let's go."
 Person A:  "What time is good for you?"
 Person B:  "How about seven thirty."
 Person A:  "Sure.  I'll meet you at the theatre at seven.