Film reviews

Listen to the film reviews to practise and improve your listening skills.

Do the preparation task first. Then listen to the audio and do the exercises.

Preparation

Transcript

Obviously, this is the sequel to Fun in the City, which is a film I didn't like so it's fair to say my expectations were low. So, you could say I wasn't disappointed, as it met my expectations. It was awful! It was so awful, I'd rather not spend any more time on it by talking about it. But, that wouldn't be a film review and I think I owe you all a review to save you wasting your money going to see it.

So, it starts off with this big wedding scene. And, I won't go into why, but the whole scene is just there so they can make this one joke. It's not even a funny joke ... it's just, ah, it's just terrible. It's got nothing to do with the rest of the film. Anyway, it starts there. Then, instead of the characters and the plot staying in New York where the original film was set, one of them wins a ticket to India and decides to take all her friends. It's what directors do when they've run out of ideas … let's take our characters on tour!

Anyway, they gossip, cry and shop, and they repeat this until the end. No real people would ever act like this. I didn't have any sympathy for their problems or even care what happened to them. Don't go and see it, you'll only encourage them to make another sequel. The world doesn't need three of these films. Please save your money and go and see the other big film this week: Twilight Mirror.

So, if you're a fan of the book it's based on, you're probably as excited as I was about this. For everyone else, this is a film fans have been waiting ten years to see. I have to confess, I was a bit nervous. I'd seen the posters and they didn't look right. I didn't love them at all. And I wasn't sure about the actors they cast either. So I went in not sure what to expect. But … I loved it.

One thing I really liked about it was the pace. They went backwards and forwards between the real world and the computer world and it worked really well. The special effects brought the computer world to life and I totally believed in it. But, more than that, I felt emotionally connected to the story and the characters. The whole film worked on so many levels. It reminded me of going to the cinema as a child – how much fun that was. I can't recommend it enough.

Task 1

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Task 2

Exercise

Discussion

What was the last film you watched? What did you think of it?

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Language level

B2 Upper intermediate

The last movie I saw was Paddington 2. I was impressed by this movie because the characters were amazing, and the pace of the story keeps you on hold. The story talks about a bear ‘Paddington’ that lives in London. Paddington wants to buy a popup book for his aunt Lucy’s birthday but he doesn’t have enough money so he starts working as window cleaner. One day while he returns back home from work he sees stealings the book and tries to catch the thief. Unfortunately he has been arrested for the theft and the family tries to catch the real theft. But now I don’t want to spoiler the film to you. I can't recommend it enough!

The last movie I saw was Shutter Island. I was impressed by this movie because the characters were amazing, and the pace of the story keeps you on hold. , the story talks about the internal conflict experienced by a man who is a psychiatric patient, on a personal level, the film affected me a lot since I have a brother with a mental disorder.

The last film I watched at the cinema was The Irishman. I had great expectations because of the cast and the director, and I bought the ticket two weeks before it went on, but it was so frustrating that I left the room after 90 min. It was time enough to understand that it was no originality at all and it had a boring plot that didn't trigger my interest in him. In fact, the film was nominated for many categories in the Oscar, but went home empty-handed... I'd like to ask a question: why does the reviewer say "I can't recommend it enough" in the end as she liked so much the second film? Thank you

Hello rerre,

The expression I can't recommend it enough is quite common in reviews. It means that however positive the reviewer is, the film is still better. In other words, it's impossible to exaggerate how good the film is.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you for your explanation! It's surprising that that expression has a positive meaning.

The last film i watched was'Wildlife'. I thought that partners should has considerations for each other decisions as regard facing life's challenges.

Well, that was a long time ago, to be more precise,2016. 4 years ago. The name of the film was "Jumanji". I liked that film a lot. I had no expectations or wishes, I've never heard of that film before. I heard that the 1. part of it was filmed in 90s but that's all I knew. All around, it was a very, very, very good film.

So this is good but I can not do the Task 1/2 and Trancsript. I do not know why I try it with out log in and with log in and on the mobile and I can not open it... But it is okay. I can talk about Marvel films I love them. Captain America and Guardians of galaxy everyone know this.. It is the best and Im waiting on new BlackWidow. It will be in April. But Im really scared I can not go to cinema because CO-VID19.

Hello SlarkCZ

I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I'd suggest updating the browser on your mobile and/or trying a different web browser. You could also try another device if that fails.

Hope this helps you.

All the best

Kirk