Vocabulary for talking about film

1. plot ['plt]
Although the acting was pretty good, the plot wasnt interesting enough to keep me awake.

2. scene ['sin]
I cant watch scenes which are too bloody or violent, I have to close my eyes and wait until theyre finished.

3. (un)likeable ['lakbl]
Honestly the hero of the film was so unlikeable that I didnt care if he lived or died!

4. character [krkt]
It gets on my nerves that there arent enough good characters for older female actors to play.

5. genre ['dnre] / ['nr]

I try to watch different genres but I basically just watch the same type of things .

6. subtitles ['sbtatls]
Apparently many people in the UK dont like to watch subtitled movies since there are almost no foreign-language films in the
cinemas.

7. storyline ['strilan]
The storylines of most Disney movies are essentially the same.

8. box office ['bks 'fs]

Box office profits have supposedly been decreasing because of online video streaming.

9. director [da'rkt]
I have a couple of directors who I follow - I always go to see their new movies even if they get bad reviews.

10. film/movie studio [flm / muvi studio]

Supposedly some of the bigger film studios will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on each of the movies they produce.

11. star in [st: n]

Jackie Chan has starred in and produced many action-comedy movies.

12. (leading) role [lid rol]

Daniel Radcliffe became internationally famous after he took the leading role in the Harry Potter movies.

13. special effects ['spl 'fkts / 'fkts]

Many people enjoy movies with lots of special effects.

14. independant [ndpndnt]

The internet definitely makes it easier for independent film producers to fund, make and distribute movies.

15. shoot [ut]

It took the BBC about six months to shoot a 50-second video for part of their documentary about plants.

16. project [prkt]

If you look at the back of the cinema you can normally see the window which the film is projected through.

17. elements (of sth) [lmnts]

A genuinely scary threat, a likeable leading character and suspense are the elements of a good thriller.

18. sequel / prequel [sikwl / prikwl]

Wasnt Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them a sequel to the Harry Potter movies? - No, I think it was a prequel.

19. set in [st n]

La La Land, which won several awards last year, was set in modern day Los Angeles.

20. based on [best n]

I hate it when horror movies say based on a true story in the opening credits. Its just too scary to imagine that its real.
a. ______________ A style or category of music, TV program or movie. (For example comedy or
documentary.)

b. ______________ To film a movie or TV show.

c. ______________ A company which makes movies; (occasionally) a place where movies are made.

d. ______________ To take the part of the main character in a movie or TV show.

e. ______________ A person in a book or a movie.

f. ______________ Visual tricks or illusions made with computers or props, usually done to make films
more exciting.

g. ______________ Another word for plot; the main events in a movie, book or play.

h. ______________ Parts of something.

i. ______________ Used to tell your listener when or where the action of a story takes place.

j. ______________ A film or story which is made after the original but which is set in an earlier time.

k. ______________ A part of a movie or play (often happening in one place and at one time), similar to a
chapter in a book.

l. ______________ The main events in a movie, book or play.

m. ______________ Not supported by a big company; self-supporting.

n. ______________ To take something from real life and use it to inspire or support a fictional story.

o. ______________ A book or movie which comes after the original and continues the story.

p. ______________ To make light (and shadow) fall on a surface like a screen.

q. ______________ Easy to like. (Or not easy to like.)

r. ______________ The place at a theatre/cinema where people can buy tickets; more generally a way \
to measure the success of a film through counting sales or viewers.

s. ______________ The biggest or most important character in a movie.

t. ______________ Words (usually) at the bottom of a movie screen which translate the words spoken
in the movie.

u. ______________ A person who oversees all of the actors and other staff in a movie or play.
 Questions with film vocabulary - Partner A

1. Who are some famous Taiwanese directors? What films are they famous for?
2. What genres of movies is Taiwan really good at producing? Hong Kong? Japan? Korea?
Hollywood?
3. Many people say that sequels are hardly ever as good as the original movie. Do you agree
with this opinion? Why or why not? Have you ever seen a sequel which was better than the
original?
4. Only one movie had bigger box office success than Titanic, what do you think it is?
5. What books or movies have you read or watched which are based on a true story?
6. Have you ever seen people shooting a movie or TV show in the street? What was it? Where
and when?
7. How do you feel about watching films which are set in the future? Why? What about the past?
8. Have you ever watched a film by an independant film company? What was it like?
9. How do you feel about films with lots of special effects?
10. Do you have a favourite TV or film character? Why do you like this person?
11. What are the advantages and disadvantages of watching movies with subtitles?
12. What movie studios do you know of? What films are they famous for?
13. Which actor would you like to star in the movie of your life?

Questions with film vocabulary - Partner B

1. Are there any movie scenes that you remember very clearly, (either because they were very
good or terrible)?
2. How do you feel about movies that are supposedly based on a true story?
3. Are there any Taiwanese actors who have starred in foreign movies?
4. Which locations in Taipei are commonly used by people shooting movies or TV programs?
5. What are the important elements of a good romantic comedy?
6. Tell me the plot of a movie you saw and didnt enjoy.
7. Can you name any films that were set in World War Two? The future? Taipei? What are they
about?
8. If you go to the cinema do you prefer to pre-book online or pay at the box office?
9. Do you know anyone who has had a crush on a character in a movie or a book?
10. What genre of films do you not enjoy watching? Why?
11. Which films have you seen that have great special effects.
12. What movies do you think have quite weak storylines?
13. Some people think that movie studios which make prequels for their most succesful films are
just trying to take money from their customers and dont care about making good quality films.
Whats your opinion on this?
PASSAGES 2 - U5 - LA - VOCABULARY / GRAMMAR

Finish the sentences - your partner should ask follow up questions to keep the conversation going.

A: One time I experienced something touching was when my roommate cooked dinner for me
because I was feeling a little bit sick.
B: Thats a sweet thing for him to do. What did he cook?
A: Uh, well, it was a long time ago now so Im not sure. I think it was some type of soup.
B: Youre lucky, no one else has ever done anything like that for me.

Someone I think is truly inspiring is

A book/movie/show I found really engrossing was
The last time I watched something riveting was
When I watch or read something that I find moving I
One genre of books/movies that I think is normally pretty formulaic is
A country where there weather is generally quite predictable is
The problem with being a mediocre employee is
A recent movie that I thought was a bit too clichd was
One time that I experienced someone doing something touching for me was when ...

PASSAGES 2 - U5 - LA - VOCABULARY / GRAMMAR

Finish the sentences - your partner should ask follow up questions to keep the conversation going.

A: One time I experienced something touching was when my roommate cooked dinner for me
because I was feeling a little bit sick.
B: Thats a sweet thing for him to do. What did he cook?
A: Uh, well, it was a long time ago now so Im not sure. I think it was some type of soup.
B: Youre lucky, no one else has ever done anything like that for me.

Someone I think is truly inspiring is

A book/movie/show I found really engrossing was
The last time I watched something riveting was
When I watch or read something that I find moving I
One genre of books/movies that I think is normally pretty formulaic is
A country where there weather is generally quite predictable is
The problem with being a mediocre employee is
A recent movie that I thought was a bit too clichd was
One time that I experienced someone doing something touching for me was when ...
DEBATE

DOES HOLLYWOOD HAVE A NEGATIVE INFLUENCE ON THE WORLD?

What are the pros and cons of Hollywood films?

A Hollywood films rely too much on special effects, sex & violence, unadventurous
plots, poor dialogue, weak acting and childish happy endings.

G Hollywood films glorify sex, violence and drugs. They are a danger to the moral
values of all societies and they are a negative influence on young people.

A Hollywood pushes an American style of entertainment on the whole world. This

means that the domestic film industries in many countries are suffering and it also
reduces the overall creativity of the global film industry.
I Hollywood presents a biased and simplistic good vs evil view. In Hollywood films
America is always the good guy in stories based on international conflicts, which
N strengthens negative stereotypes about non-Caucasian people.
Compared to most countries domestic film industries, Hollywood is much bigger
S and has a lot more financial power. Domestic film industries just cant compete
since they cant offer the same big salaries, expensive special effects or huge
marketing budgets.
T
Its unfair to say that all Hollywood films are bad, theres such a wide variety; from
light entertainment to political content and cultural topics. Many Hollywood
movies have high levels of acting and production but with so many films being
made, its not surprising that theres an occasional bad egg.
Hollywood films promote unarguably positive American values which have
F universal importance: womens rights, the evils of corruption, human rights, the
possibility of success through hard work, freedom.
Hollywood creates an infrastructure for developing and promoting the movie

O industry - cinemas, marketing methods, new customers. This doesnt harm local
film industries, it boosts them by increasing the public interest in films.
Many foreign actors, directors and producers move to Hollywood to get their big

R break. This helps gain an international audience for their home countries movies.

Big money doesnt always mean big success. Some low budget movies like The
Blair Witch Project, ($60K), end up having great success, ($248M). Whilst other
big budget films have equally big losses, (a 2001 film version of Final Fantasy lost
around $126M).
If you rely on something you need it. [rl 'n]

If something is unadventurous it is boring and safe, its not new or exciting. [nd'vntjrs]

Dialogue in a movie or story is conversation spoken between two or more ['dlg]

people.

To glorify something means that you make it seem much better or more ['gl:rf]
important than it should be.

The moral values of a society are the things/actions/behaviours that a society ['mrl 'vljuz]
believes to be right, correct or good.

If something has a negative influence on you it affects you or your behaviour in a ['ngtv 'nfluns]
bad way.

A domestic industry is an industry which is local to a specific country. [d'mstk]

A biased view is a view which is unfairly against something or someone. ['bst]

If something is simplistic it is very (or too) simple. [sm'plstk]

International conflicts are arguments or wars between two or more countries. [nt'n()nl 'knflkt]

A stereotype is a generally accepted but simplistic idea of what a person, thing ['striotp]
or group of people/things is.

Caucasians are people with white skin. [k:'ken]

To promote something is to advertise something or to speak in support of [pr'mot]

something.

Something that is unarguable is so clearly true that no one could argue that it [n'gbl]
isnt true.

Corruption is lying, cheating or other bad behaviour by people who have power. [k'rpn]

The infrastructure of a building or system is the very basic structure upon which ['nfrstrktj]
the building or system is build.

A big break is a unexpected sudden chance or opportunity after some time of [bg brek]
working very hard which helps you succeed.

1. Choose five words that you dont know very well and make sentences with them.
a. ..
b. ..
c. ..
d. ..
e. ..

2. With a partner summarise the arguments for and against Hollywood using your own words.
3. Discuss the arguments with a partner - which side do you think has the strongest argument? Why?
 THE BEST FILMS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

1. What do you think are the top films in all of movie history?

2. The BBC culture guide has put together a list of what they believe is the top 10 films of the century (so
far):

1. Mulholland Drive 2001 David Lynch

2. In the Mood for Love 2000 Wong Kar-wai
3. There Will Be Blood 2007 Paul Thomas Anderson
4. Spirited Away 2001 Hayao Miyasaki
5. Boyhood 2014 Richard Linklaker
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 Michel Gondry
7. The Tree of Life 2007 Terrence Malick
8. Yi Yi 2000 Edward Yang
9. A Separation 2011 Asghar Farhadi
10. No Country for Old Men 2007 the Coen Brothers

3. How many of the films on the list have you seen?

4. What genres are represented in this top ten list? What genres are absent from the list?

5. What can you remember about theses films?

6. Have you seen any other films by these directors?

7. What criteria do you think people should use when choosing the top movies of all time/the
decade/the century? (For example: box office ratings, profits, review scores, technical skill, etc.)

8. Why do you think most of the films in the list are from the first decade of the 21st century?

9. Why do you think all of the top ten (and actually all of the top 25) were directed by men?

10. Can you name any female movie directors?

11. What do you think about the ethnic diversity of the directors?

12. Why do you think theres only one animation included on the list?

13. Why do you think there arent any documentaries included?

14. Are there any recently released movies that you think could be added to the list in the future?

15. Which films would you put on your top ten list?
PASSAGES U5 - LA - LISTENING

Check the vocabulary first (match to the correct meanings), then listen to the audio.

plot [plt]
An important part of something.
reflect sth. [rflkt]
Funny.
appeal to [pil]
An evening spent with a romantic partner doing fun things together.
H a key element
[ki lmnt] The main events in a movie, book or play.
E
far-fetched [fa:r ftt] Possible or easy to guess what will happen.
A
T storyline [stri,ln] To be interesting or attractive to someone.
H more often than not Another word for plot; the main events in a movie, book or play.
E [mr fn n nt]
Unbelievable; not likely to happen or be true.
R ideally [dili]
In a perfect situation (x) would be true.
predictable [prdktbl]
To show something, especially something about the viewer.
humorous [hmrs]
Most times; normally.
date night [det nt]

computer graphics Fake; not genuine.

[kmpt grfks]

phoney [foni] To choose someone to play a character in a movie or show.

well thought-out Believable; seeming true, real or trustworthy.

[wl :rt at]
J Using a high level of technical skill.
engaging [nge]
O Flat; shallow, just on the surface and without deep meaning.
credible [krdbl]
S
dynamic [dnmk] Interesting; able to keep (someone) interested for a long time.
H
one-dimensional Carefully planned.
[wn drknl]
Images made on computers.
cast (v.) [ka:rst / kst] UK/US
Very active, full of energy, movement; moving constantly and quickly.
sophisticated [sofst,ketd]

F ensure [n] The quality of seeming or being real.

E engrossing [ngros] Able to keep (an audience) interested.
L outstanding [,atstnd] Able to make people to believe something is real or true.
I
realness [rilns] Extra special or noteworthy; better than the rest.
P
convincing [knvns] To make certain.
E

pleasurable [plrbl] A fight, argument or disagreement.

soundtrack [sand,trk] To keep the action moving and going forward.
D
cast (n.) [ka:rst / kst] UK/US The music and songs that are in a movie or TV show.
A
N drive [drv] Easy to remember.
A memorable [mmrbl] The whole group of people acting in a TV show or movie.
conflict [kflkt] Enjoyable; fun.
PASSAGES U5 - LA - LISTENING

Listen and fill in the gaps using the vocabulary.

In my opinion, a good ____________ is essential. Movies in this genre often have simple
H _________ that are, quite frankly, _____________. When I see this kind of movie I want
E interesting, and even surprising things to happen. Of course, humour is also a ______________,
but I think its important that the ____________ situations and the relationships between the
A
characters are realistic, they have to be believable and funny. Too many times, when a love story is
T
combined with humour the movie becomes _____________, the situations may be funny but they
H dont ____________ things that really happen in life - well, not in my life at least. I also think that
E the best movies in this genre ______________ both men and women, ____________ these movies
R should be perfect for a good _____________. But ________________, they only appeal to women.

For me, the first thing is that a movie in this genre needs to appeal to all ages, not just kids. And I
think that _______________ humour and _______________ stories can help make these movies
___________ for children and adults. Second, a good film makes me forget that Im not watching
J real people or seeing real objects. I know they can do a lot of that through quality
__________________, but I think a _________________, an attractive setting and interesting
O
characters are just as important. But the most important thing to me is the talent. They have to get
S talented people for the voices of the characters. The voices need to give the characters personality
H so that they are, you know, ____________ and dont come across as _______________ or
____________. I mean, isnt that the reason why so many famous actors get ___________ as
voices for these types of movies?

I think that having ________________ special effects is an important part of this genre. Its one of
F the main reasons people go see these movies. Although we know that the events cant happen in
E real life, we wanna feel like they could. Uh, and the ___________ , the realness of the characters is
L important. I think it works best when the characters react to impossible situations in realistic ways.
I It makes us care about what happens to them. And uh, I also think that behind all good movies in
P this genre lies a talented director. A good director gets the most out of the actors and
___________ the special effects are ______________, to make a truly _______________ film.
E
Obviously the singing and dancing need to be good in this genre, so a ______________ of talented
actors is extremely important in my opinion. They need to be able to sing, dance and act, not every
D actor can do all that. Another key feature for me is the _______________, the songs need to
A __________ the plot, but they also need to be _______________ and _______________. What Im
trying to say is that we should enjoy the music for the music itself. I mean, we should want to listen
N
to it again, even when were not watching the movie. And finally, I also think this type of movie
A
needs some sort of ____________ to make it interesting. The characters need to face a problem,
have an argument or something like that, it cant just be all song and dance and happy times.
PASSAGES U5 - LA - LISTENING

Each persons opinion has three or four key points. In the boxes below you can find summaries of their
opinions - each group of four sentences has one from each person. Read the sentences and then write H, J, F
or D next to them.

____ The main selling point for this type of film is new, unique or excellent special effects.

____ A strong, unique or quirky story and the realness of the characters are the most important points.

____ Choosing the right actors is extremely important for these types of films because the cast must
have a variety of different skills.

____ When this type of movie is successful, its normally because the story and the jokes are interesting
for people of all ages.

____ Theres no point having a good film with poor music in this genre - music in these films must be just
as strong as the storyline.

____ One problem that this type of movie often has is that the story often becomes too crazy or too
unbelievable. These films are meant to be about real life situations so its better when the story
seems more genuine.

A fast moving story as well as good locations and characters are more important than having
____
technically great images.

Even though these films dont really represent reality, I think theyre much better when the
____
characters seem like real people.

____ Couples should be able to enjoy them together so its important that both genders think theyre
funny.

____ If these films are made by a really talented director then they can be really amazing.

Having a dilemma or disagreement for the characters to work with can help this type of film from
____ becoming too boring.

Its important to choose actors with the right skills to play the characters in this type of film -
____ choosing the right actor can make the difference between the audience really caring about
character and not caring at all.

In your own words explain what Heather, Josh, Felipe and Dana feel about these films.
How strongly do you agree with what they think?
What are the key elements of movies in your favourite genre?
What problems or weaknesses do films in your favourite genre frequently suffer from?
What do you think is a good movie for a date night?
Can you name a movie... with a great soundtrack? with a well thought-out plot? ...that was
far-fetched? ...that had a really good cast? that had a predictable ending?