The Movies

The Movies

1. Dialogue

Fred: Nice to meet you, Tim. They tell me you’re a bit of a movie buff.

Tim: Yeah, that’s right.

Fred: So, what are your favorite movies?

Tim: Well my favorite would have to be Gone With The Wind I suppose. I like it because so many things happen in it, and I think Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable were really good together, and she was a really great actress.

Fred: Any other movies?

Tim: Oh, I like most Hitchcock movies, too, because of all the plot twists… Oh, and I thought Titanic was great, as well. What about you?

Fred: Hmm, I’m not sure. There have been so many good movies…. I like comedies, so I guess something with Steve Martin or Adam Sandler in it…..Hang on…I know. My real favorite’s got neither of those guys in it. It’s There’s Something About Mary with Cameron Diaz and Ben Stiller. I saw it again on video last week… It’s incredibly funny, and I’m amazed they get away with so many bad-taste jokes.

What about you, Joanne? What’s your favorite movie?

Joanne: Um…a movie called Somewhere In Time, I guess.

Fred: I don’t know that one. Who’s in that?

Joanne: Christopher Reeve…you know, Superman.

Fred: Oh, yeah. What’s it about – but don’t tell me the ending.

Joanne: Well, he a college teacher, and this old woman gives him a fancy watch at the beginning of the movie, and says to him, “Come back to me.” Afterwards he finds out she was a famous actress, and that she died later on the same day that she gave him the watch. Anyway, he ends up believing they were lovers 60 years earlier….So he hypnotizes himself in the hotel room where he thinks they met 60 years earlier, and goes back in time and relives their romance. It’s a really romantic movie, and the time travel stuff’s pretty thought-provoking.

Fred: Sounds good. What’s it called again?

Joanne: Somewhere In Time.

Fred: Hmm, I’ll look out for that. Anyway, nice to meet you, Tim. See you later on.

2. Links

1. Main theme from Somewhere In Time by Composer John Barry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Reh2dh7I9_I

2. The biggest movie database – the Internet Movie Database (IMDb):

http://www.imdb.com/

3. Name the Actors

Discuss with your partner who each of these actors and actresses named here are. Add some more names if you like. Then try to match the names with the pictures.

Actors

Brad Pitt

Tom Cruise

Keanu Reeves

Russell Crowe

Brendan Fraser

Matt Damon

Ben Affleck

Jim Carrey

Jack Nicholson

Nicholas Cage

Tom Hanks

Bruce Willis

Harrison Ford

Richard Gere

Mel Gibson

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Kevin Spacey

Robin Williams

John Travolta

1.

2. 3.

4.

5.

6.

Marlon Brando

George Clooney

Sean Connery

Michael Douglas

Leonardo DiCaprio

Haley Joel Osment

Robert De Niro

Hugh Grant

Actresses

Julia Roberts

Meg Ryan

Jodie Foster

Sandra Bullock

Gwyneth Paltrow

Cate Blanchett

Angelina Jolie

Helen Hunt

Nichole Kidman

Cameron Diaz

Sharon Stone

Kate Winslet

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Meryl Streep

Goldie Hawn

Renee Zellweger

Sarah Jessica Parker

Charlize Theron

Kate Hudson

7.

8.

9.

10. 11.

12.

Chinese people involved in Hollywood movies?

4. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE MOVIE?

Curtis: What did you think of the movie?

Brenda: I thought it was great. I loved it.

Curtis: You did? I thought it was terrible.

Brenda: Why? What didn’t you like about it?

Curtis: For one thing, it was too violent. There was too much fighting.

Brenda: But, Curtis, it was a martial arts movie!

Curtis: I know, but the story was silly, too.

Brenda: The stories are always silly in those movies.

Curtis: Then why do you like them?

Brenda: They’re exciting. And I like the star.

Curtis: Yeah, but he can’t act!

Brenda: He doesn’t have to act. Those guys are in great condition. Really! It’s almost like watching ballet!

Curtis: I just had a great idea! His next movie should be Swan Lake!

5. Types of Movies

science-fiction war comedy

horror adventure drama

spy biographical western

martial arts romantic thriller

action pornographic (murder) mystery

6. Asking and Giving Opinions

♦ What did you think of the movie?

do the magazine?

Did you like the TV show?

Do it?

◊ I thought it was great. ◊ I haven’t seen it.

think it’s OK. I’ve never read

terrible.

7. Agreeing and Disagreeing

♦ I thought it was great. I loved it. ♦ I didn’t like it at all.

◊ So did I. ◊ Neither did I.

You did? I thought it was terrible. You didn’t? I loved it.

♦ If you ask me, police shows are too violent.

I think

◊ I think so, too. / I ◊ I don’t know about that.

I agree (completely). I don’t think so.

I’m with you. Sorry, but I disagree.

8. Giving Reasons
9. Discuss these questions

1. What types of movies do you prefer? Why do you like them?

2. How do you decide if you like a movie or not?
3. What are the names of some of your favorite movies? Who stars in them? What is each one about? Why do you like them?
4. Who are your favorite actors and actresses? Why do you like them?
5. Who do you usually see movies with, and where?
6. Do you prefer going to the movies or watching a movie at home on video or TV? Why?
7. How do you feel during a horror movie? A romantic movie? A thriller?
8. Would you like to be a movie star? Why/why not?
9. What movie(s) do you want to see next?
10. What type of movie should a boy take his girlfriend to see? Why?

Issues:

1. Do you think the government should censor (cut) nude scenes from movies?
2. Do you think there’s too much violence in movies? What problems can this cause? Are some kung fu movies too violent?

10. Grammar: Embedded questions

Usually we ask a simple question:

What type of movie is it? What is it about?

Who stars in it? Where is it showing?

What time is it on? How is it rated?

è Do you know…?

Can/Could you tell me…?

Do you have any idea…?

11. Conversation skill: Talking about your favorite movie

1. 
   

2. Name of the movie

3. The actors in it

4. The setting (where and when it’s set)
5. What it’s about (in a sentence or two)
6. The roles the actors play
7. What happens in it
8. What you think about the movie

12. 
    

13. Reading: Focus on Ang Lee

Ang Lee, who grew up in Taiwan, has really made an impact on the movie world. Since he studied film at New York University he has directed a number of very successful movies. In Taiwan he directed and wrote the screenplay for The Wedding Banquet, a movie about a gay guy who arranges to get married to keep his parents happy, and he also directed Eat, Drunk, Man, Woman, a film which shows how central food is to Chinese culture.

Some of his more notable English-language movies have been Sense and Sensibility, a period drama set in 19^th century England, starring Emma Thompson, and The Ice Storm with Kevin Kline, Joan Allen and Sigourney Weaver. His most successful movie has been the big-budget martial arts film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which was made in Taiwan and China. It almost won the Oscar for best picture in 2001, and received 10 Oscar nominations and picked up the award for Best Foreign Film.

Critics say the keys to Lee’s success in films are that he is a very good story-teller, and that he is a good cultural observer and observer of how human beings act and relate to each other.