1.

Talking About Kinds of Film

Kasia: No. I’ve never even heard of it. What kind of film is it?

D: I guess you’d call it a thriller, but it’s also kind of a modern western, because a lot of it takes
place in the desert, or small-town America.

K: Is it scary? I can’t do scary.

D: You might not like it, then.

K: I can’t watch anything violent, horror films, anything like that.

D: So what kind of thing are you into?

K: I like dramas, historical films, things like that. I like stories that focus more on real people. I also
have a weakness for cheesy rom-coms occasionally. What about you?

D: Yeah, I guess we have somewhat opposite tastes! I’m a big fan of horror films, thrillers, and so
on.

In the dialogue, you heard a lot of words for different kinds of films. Do you remember any of the
words we mentioned? We’ll give you a few seconds; try to remember three. You heard:

thrillers

horror films

westerns

dramas

historical films

rom-coms

A western is a film set in 19th century America, often featuring cowboys. ‘Rom-com’ is a short
form of ‘romantic comedy’. Can you think of any other kinds of film which we haven’t mentioned?
Try to think of three more! Any ideas? Maybe you said:

Action, comedy, cartoon, fantasy, musical, sci-fi

‘Sci-fi’ is a short form of ‘science fiction’. Sci-fi films are set in the future, often in space, and
usually feature very advanced technology, like time travel. The Star Wars films are probably some
of the most famous sci-fi films.

Fantasy films often feature magic, dragons, monsters, and things like that. The
Lord of the Rings films are good examples of fantasy films. Does your language
have different words for ‘fantasy’ and ‘sci-fi’? Some languages don’t; if this is true
in your language, be careful with the difference! If someone’s talking about a film,
and you want to know what kind of film it is, you can ask: ‘What kind of film is it?’
You could also say: ‘What sort of film is it?’ To answer, you can just say: ‘It’s an
action film’; ‘It’s a thriller’; ‘It’s a comedy’, and so on. With some words, you need to
say ‘film’ afterwards, like:

action film, horror film, historical film,sci-fi film, With other words, you don’t say ‘film’ afterwards,
like: drama, thriller, musical, western

So, don’t say: ‘It’s a thriller film’; just say, ‘It’s a thriller.’ If you want to ask someone about their
taste in films, you can ask: ‘What kind of films do you like?’ Or: ‘What kind of films are you into?’
Asking ‘are you into’ is a more conversational way to ask ‘do you like’.

So, what kind of films are you into? Can you answer this question with two to three sentences?
Pause the video and try it now!

Next in learning how to talk about movies in English, let’s look at how you can introduce one film
which you’ve seen, and tell someone else about it.

2. How to Introduce a Film

Daniel: Oh really? What was it?

K: Blue Jasmine. Do you know it?

D: Hmm… Sounds familiar. Is that the Steven Spielberg film?

K: No, it was directed by Woody Allen.

D: No, I don’t know it. What kind of film is it?

K: I guess I’d call it a drama, but it’s a bit of a black comedy, too.

D: Who’s in it?

K: Cate Blanchett plays the main character.

D: I’m guessing that if it’s a Woody Allen film, it’s probably set in New York?

K: No, although the main character is a New Yorker.

D: Is it based on a book or anything? I might be mistaken, but I think I read a book with a title like
that.
K: No, I don’t think so.

If you want to know more about a film which someone saw, what questions could you ask? You
might ask things like:

Who was the director?

Who’s in it?

Where’s it set?

Is it based on a book?

Do you know what the question ‘Who’s in it?’ means? This is asking about the actors. It’s a short
way to ask ‘Which actors are in the film?’ Think about a film which you know. It could be
something you saw recently, or maybe a film which you particularly like. How would you answer
these questions? You could say: ‘It was directed by Stanley Kubrick.’

In conversational English, you can also use the name as an adjective, like this: ‘It’s a Stanley
Kubrick film.’ To talk about actors, you might say ‘It stars Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell.’ This
sounds quite formal, so if you want to sound more informal, you can say ‘Samuel L. Jackson and
Kurt Russell are in it.’

To say where and when the story takes place, you could say:

It’s set in Paris in the 1920s.

It’s set in the near future, in an imaginary country which is ruled by corporations.

Finally, if a film is an adaptation of something else, like a book or maybe a video game, you can use
the verb ‘based on’. For example: ‘It’s based on the book by Stephen King.’ OK, now it’s your turn
to talk! Think about a film you know. Use the language from this section to make two to three
sentences to introduce the film and give some basic information about it. Pause the video and do
it now.

How was that? Remember that you can always review a section if you need more time to practise.
Let’s look at our next point in how to talk about movies in English.

3. Talking About a Film You Like

Daniel: Kung Fu Hustle. Do you know it?

D: Yes, many times! It’s one of my favourites.

K: It looks weird, almost like a cartoon.

D: Yeah, you could say that. It’s really original, but mostly it’s just good fun. You’re not meant to
take it too seriously.

K: Is it violent? I can’t watch violent films.

D: Kind of, but the violence is also quite cartoonish. It has quite a touching storyline, too. It’s silly,
but sweet at the same time.

K: Was it popular when it came out?

D: Yeah, I think so. It got really good reviews, and I think it won some awards, too. Want to sit and
watch it together?

K: Sure!

If you enjoyed a film, you could use positive adjectives to describe it, like:

original

good fun

touching

sweet

‘Sweet’ describes a film which makes you feel happy and warm. Often, romantic films are sweet.
‘Touching’ describes something which makes you feel strong emotions. You can also say ‘moving’,
which has a similar meaning. If a film is ‘touching’ or ‘moving’, you’ll probably be thinking about it
for some time after it finishes.

Can you think of any other positive adjectives you could use to describe a film which you liked? Try
to think of three, and write them down. Pause the video if you want more time.

Ready? What did you get? Of course, there are many possibilities, but here are some
suggestions. If a film really makes you think, or if it makes you see things in a new way,
you could describe it as ‘thought-provoking.’ A film which has a realistic story and good
acting could be described as ‘believable.’ If a film is believable, you feel like you could be
watching real people in a real situation. A good comedy film could be ‘hilarious’. ‘Hilarious’
describes something which is extremely funny.

What else could you say about a film which you liked? You might give some details or reasons as to
why you liked it. For example:
The story was really interesting and original.

The acting was amazing—really believable.

It had great special effects and incredible action scenes.

You could also mention what kind of reviews the film got, and whether it won any awards. For
example:

It got really good reviews.

It was nominated for eight Oscars.

It won several awards at the Cannes festival.

OK, now it’s your turn. Your job is to talk about a film you like. Try to make three to
four sentences describing the film and why you like it. If the film won any awards or
prizes, you could mention that, too! Pause the video and make your answer now.
Here’s a tip: it’s always better to practise as much as possible.

So, if you really want to improve your English, don’t just practise once, make
several answers to talk about movies in English. Say each answer out loud several
times, to practise your pronunciation and fluency. Ready? Let’s look at one more
point.

4. Talking About a Film You Dislike

Kasia: Urggh… Awful! I wanted to walk out.

D: Why? What was so bad about it?

K: Everything! It was so slow and boring. Plus, it was so predictable that I could even guess what
they were going to say next.

D: That’s surprising. It got quite good reviews.

K: They must have seen a different film than I did. Also, it was dubbed, and they only used two
voice actors: one for the males, and one for the females.

D: I never understand why they dub films like that. Why not just use subtitles?

K: Yeah, I agree, but I guess people don’t like reading.

D: Was it scary?
K: Not at all! It was quite gory, but it was all done so badly that it wasn’t believable at all. The
special effects looked like they were made on a laptop in twenty minutes.

D: That’s a shame. So, why did you stay to the end?

K: My friends didn’t want to leave.

In the dialogue, you heard several adjectives to describe a film you don’t like. Can you remember
any of them? You heard:

awful

slow

boring

predictable

‘Slow’ means that the story doesn’t develop quickly, or that scenes in the film go on for too long.
What other adjectives could you use to describe a film which you don’t like? You can also take
positive adjectives and make them negative; for example: ‘unoriginal’ or ‘unbelievable’.

Can you think of a film which you didn’t like? Why didn’t you like it? As before, you should try to
give reasons to explain why you didn’t like something. You could say something like:

The lead actor was really bad; he was completely emotionless.

The plot was stupid. Nothing made any sense.

It was completely unfunny. No one in the whole cinema laughed once.

Now, it’s your chance to practise! Think of a film which you saw which you didn’t like. Make two to
three sentences to describe the film and say why you didn’t like it. Pause the video and say your
sentences aloud now.

Finally, let’s see how you can put all of this language together into a longer answer when you talk
about movies in English.

5. Making a Longer Answer

Your job is to make a longer answer using language from this lesson to talk about a film which
you’ve seen. You need to say what kind of film it is, give some basic information about it, say if you
like or dislike it, and explain why. Before you do that, let’s do some examples together! Here’s
one:
I’m going to tell you about the film Gravity, which is one of my favourite films from
the last few years. It’s kind of a sci-fi film, but it’s set in the present day and it
doesn’t feature aliens or anything like that, so you could say that it’s more of a
thriller. It was directed by Alfonso Cuarón, and it stars Sandra Bullock and George
Clooney as two American astronauts. Most of the story takes place in space, in
orbit around the Earth. I really like it because the visuals and the special effects are
incredible; it’s really atmospheric, and it gives you a good sense of the loneliness
and terror of being stranded in space. I would say it’s one of the best space films
I’ve ever seen.

What do you think? Could you make an answer like this? Before you try, let’s do
one more example together:

I never saw Titanic until quite recently. Everyone raves about it like it’s the best film
ever made, but honestly I wasn’t impressed. The cast was good; Leonardo
Dicaprio and Kate Winslet are great actors, but I found it boring. The biggest
problem is that it’s predictable. You know the story beforehand, so there can’t be
any surprises. I also thought it was too long and slow; it’s over three hours, but
there’s not enough plot to fill so much time.

OK, now it’s your turn. Use the language from this video, and look up any other
words you need. Then, make your longer answer and say it aloud, or write it down,
or both! Don’t forget that if you really want to practise effectively, you should make
many different answers, and also practise saying each answer aloud multiple
times.