Talking about films and books

1. ADVANCED I
Isabel Bastida & Ana Mena, EOI
Cartagena

3. • Which is a … docudrama?
… blockbuster?
… psychological thriller?
… chick flick?
… biopic?
…slapstick comedy?
• What other film genres can you think of? And novel genres?
KEY: docudrama – The Impossible, blockbuster – Avatar, psychological thriller –Hannibal, chick flick- Love Actually, biopic – Thatcher,
slapstick comedy- Life of Brian.

4. Adapted from Clockwise Advanced, OUP

5. 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.

6. In groups, say which adjectives suggest a negative opinion.
Student A
action-packed depressing
pacey
entertaining overrated
poignant predictable
iSmtupdreesnsti vBe offbeat
hilarious flat dated
gripping insightful epic
thought-provoking slow-moving
moving
Which adjectives would you use to describe a … chiller
… sleeper
… weepie/ tearjerker
… whodunit
KEY: A (overrated, depressing, predictable, corny=clichéd), B (slow-moving, flat, soppy= overly sentimental, dated)

7. Adapted from Clockwise Advanced, OUP

8. 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
KEY: kind/ type/ sort about in directed ending
• 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
KEY: set shot/filmed based received

9. 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.
KEY: lately/ recently of-any-worth think lived-live liked/enjoyed/hated scene

10. 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.
KEY: At the beginning through in the end (finally)/ at the end (of the film)

11. CAN YOU GUESS THE FILM?
The story of a group of stripping and out-of-work, out-of-shape
British steelworkers who, in the process of perfecting their
dance
act (to the thump of a wonderfully incongruous disco beat),
learn
a thing or two about masculinity. Brightly acted and
casually
hilarious, the film exploits this gimmick in witty, trenchant
ways
that are always generous, never cruel.

12. Based on Peter Benchley's best-selling novel, Steven
Spielberg's
1975 shark saga set the standard for the New Hollywood
popcorn blockbuster while frightening millions of
moviegoers out
of the water. One early summer night on fictional Atlantic
resort
Amity Island, Chrissie decides to take a moonlight skinny
dip while
her friends party on the beach. Yanked suddenly below the
ocean
surface, she never returns.

13. EXPRESSING LIKES AND DISLIKES
Listen to the following
conversation
and note down who liked, didn’t
like
or didn’t read each book. Which
bo o k
d o e s Am y d e c id e to re a d ?
Now listen again and make notes
about the reasons way they liked
or
didn’t like each book.
The Girl with
the Dragon
Tattoo
Amy
Barbara
Carl
The Life of Pi
Amy
Barbara
Carl
Pride and
Prejudice
Amy
Barbara
Carl

14. Put the words in order to make sentences to
express likes and dislikes
I’m / novels/ fan / big / detective / of / a
I’m a big fa n o f d e te c tive no ve ls
really/ I/ it/ main/ What/ character/ the/ was / about/ liked
Wha t I re a lly like d a bo ut it wa s the m a in cha ra c te r
not/ I’m / on/ novels/ keen/ detective/ that
I’m no t tha t ke e n o n d e te c tive no ve ls
get/ couldn’t/ it/ just/ into / I
I jus t c o uldn’t g e t into it
Stand/ couldn’t/ I /it
I c o uldn’t s ta nd it
Really/ I’m/ fantasy/ into/ not
I’m no t re a lly into fa nta s y
thing/ it/ the/ love/ The/ I/ writing/ about/ is
The thing I like a bo ut it is the writing

15. Rewrite the sentences
1.- I liked the plot of “The Da Vinci Code”
(What/liked)
Wha t I like d a bo ut the Da Vinc i Co d e wa s the p lo t
2.- Reading e-books on my computer hurts my eyes
(I/ stand)
I c a n’t s ta nd re a d ing e -bo o ks o n m y c o m p ute r
3.- I really like reading anything by Stephen King.
(I/ into)
I’m re a lly into a ny thing by Ste phe n King .
4.- Gossip magazines aren’t my favourite thing to read.
(I/ fan)
I’m no t a big fa n o f g o s s ip m a g a z ine s
5.- I like the way his lyrics sound so natural.
(thing/ is)
The thing I like is the wa y his ly ric s s o und s o na tura l.

17. SPEAKING
Choose a film or book you like/ don’t like and include the information in
the chart below. 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?
Use expressions from the pwp presentation