FILMSADVANCED IIsabel Bastida, EOI Cartagena

1. Identify the films.

1. Identify the films.

• Which is a … docudrama? … blockbuster?

… psychological thriller? … chick flick? … biopic?

… slapstick comedy?

• What other film genres can you think of? And novel genres?

Adapted from Clockwise Advanced, OUP

2. Describing a film

2. Describing a film Work out the meaning of the expressions in bold.

• It was a box office smash in America, and made millions of dollars, but in this country it was a flop.

• It has become a cult film for a certain group of cinema-goers, but it doesn’t appeal to a mass audience.

• The opening sequence starts with a close-up of the heroine on the train.

• I planned to see the film after reading all the rave reviews in the papers, but seeing the trailer at the cinema put me off going.

• It tells the tale of a family of immigrant workers and is a bleak portrayal of life in turn-of-the-centurty New York.

2. Describing a film In groups, say which adjectives suggest a negative opinion.

Which adjectives would you use to describe a … chiller … sleeper … weepie/ tearjerker … whodunit

Student A

action-packed depressing pacey entertainingoverrated poignant predictable impressivewell-received offbeat intelligent corny

Student B

hilarious flat dramatic soppy gripping insightful epic datedthought-provoking slow-moving brilliant moving

Adapted from Clockwise Advanced, OUP

3. Talking about films

3. Talking about films

DESCRIBING FILMS

• What _______ of film is it? It’s a kind of romantic comedy• What’s it _______ ? It’s basically about his fall from

grace• Who’s _______ it? Matt Damon plays the lead• Who’s it _______ by? Woody Allen• Did it have a happy _______ ? No, I was in tears at the end

• It’s _______ in America in the 1950s• It was _______ in New Zealand• It’s _______ on a novel by Graham Greene• It’s _______ seven Oscar nominations

3. Talking about films

DISCUSSING FILMS

• Have you seen any good films _______ ?• What did you think _______ it?/ Is it _______ good?/ Is it _______

seeing?• What did you _______ of the camera work/ the special effects?

• It _______ up to my expectations/ It didn’t _______ up to my expectations

• I _______ the score/ the cinematography• I liked the _______ where he carries her draped in a sheet.

3. Talking about films

DESCRIBING THE PLOT

• Focus on form . Which verb form is used to recount events more vividly?

He starts off as a general … he becomes a gladiator and has to fight for his life … he ends up being killed.

• Complete the sentence with the correct preposition

_______ the beginning she doesn’t like him but halfway _______ the film he saves her dog’s life, and _______ the end they get married.

4. YOUR TURN

3. Your turn

SPEAKING

Choose a film or book you like/ don’t like. Make notes about the following. Work in groups and persuade the other students to see or not to see your film/ to read or not to read your book

FILM BOOK

Actors, film director, setting

Characters, writer and setting

Main events of the story Main events of the story

Special features Special features

Why you like it/ loathe it Why you like it/ loathe it

Do you recommend it? Do you recommend it?