At the movies... with vocabulary!

Do you enjoy watching movies? If the answer is yes, then I hope you get to watch them in English sometimes – it will help you improve your vocabulary!

Reading movie reviews is also a great help. Let’s take a closer look at positive and negative adjectives which are very frequently used:

Positive Adjectives

Spectacular effects
A compelling drama
An eye-opening story
High-tech action
Lighthearted comedy
A heart-pounding thriller

Negative Adjectives

Mediocre visuals
Overly melodramatic
Cliché-ridden script
Monotonous plot
An unimaginative story
Lacklustre acting

Lesson by Krista

Now, try to figure out what the words in CAPITAL LETTERS mean in the context of the sentences below:

• 1. I’m not in the mood for a serious movie. A LIGHTHEARTED comedy would be great!
  
  cheerful and optimistic
  easy to understand
  flowing
  
  
• 2. Susanne wasn’t too impressed by the actors. She said they were LACKLUSTRE.
  
  untalented
  lacking brilliance and vitality
  amazing
  
  
• 3. Fantasy stories are usually very creative, but this one was terribly UNIMAGINATIVE!
  
  lacking in imagination; dull
  dramatic
  upsetting
  
  
• 4. The plot was so MONOTONOUS that my dad fell asleep half way through the movie!
  
  hypnotic
  moving
  boring
  
  
• 5. My attention was captured from the very start. The first scene was too COMPELLING.
  
  interesting and admirable in a powerful way
  exciting and full of action
  causes distress and sadness
  
  
• 6. The HEART-POUNDING thriller we watched last week had us holding tight onto our seats.
  
  dramatically exciting
  causes anxiety and worry
  depressing
  
  
• 7. I was put off by all those MELODRAMATIC scenes. They were completely over the top!
  
  silly action
  intriguing acting
  exaggerated and overemotional
  
  
• 8. What an EYE-OPENING story! I really should get down to reading the biography.
  
  awareness of something negative
  easy to understand
  unexpectedly astonishing and wonderful