Learn English Through Movies

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Learn English Movies

Tue, 8 Jan 2013 20:21:44 +0900

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is a comedy movie set in the French Riviera. The main characters are Lawrence, played by British actor Michael Caine, and Freddie, by US actor/comedian Steve Martin. This unlikely duo work very well together in the making of this extremely funny movie.

Lawrence is a high-class con man (confidence man) who tricks rich women out of their money to support his wealthy lifestyle. Freddie is also a con man but on a much smaller scale. He takes great pleasure from cheating any woman out of any amount of money just to survive. When they meet in the small town of Beaumont-sur-Mer, on the French Mediterranean coast, Freddie blackmails Lawrence into teaching him how to behave in high-society so that he too can work in a higher league. It becomes obvious that the town is too small for the two of them, so they have a bet. The first one to extract $50,000 from their next young lady victim, played by the lovely Glenne Headly, is the winner. The loser must leave town and never return. The real fun begins, and there is a nice little twist at the end.

This is a really great movie for learning English. The rate of speech is not so fast, and very clear. We can also hear the difference between British and American accents. This movie breaks down easily into short clips that can be used for detailed study. It is also incredibly entertaining!

O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Learn English Movies

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:34:27 +0900

This is another favorite of mine. It is a great adventure story with lots of little twists and turns. Set in the Great Depression of the 1930s, the story is touching, funny and sometimes a little on the dark side. The cultural references are really interesting and insightful, and the movie captures the feeling of the time very well. It was made by the brothers, Joel and Ethan Coen, who are well known for their dark humor in movie making. The characters in this movie are very interesting; George Clooney plays Ulysses Everett McGill, Tim Blake Nelson as Delmar O'Donnell and John Turino as Pete Hogwallop. The three of them escape from prison chained together, and the story begins. Everett is on a mission to stop his wife getting married again, and his two companions have no choice but to tag along.

The camerawork is excellent and the sometimes almost sepia colors really seem to transport you back in time, The soundtrack is stunningly beautiful. Most of the songs in the movie come from that era and are performed by artists such as Alison Krause, john Hartford, Gillian Welch, Chris Sharp, Emmylou Harris, and many other famous musicians from the county-folk music world. This is a real work of motion picture art, a shining jewel.

A Life Less Ordinary - Learn English Movies

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:29:07 +0900

A Life Less Ordinary (1999) was directed by the English director Danny Boyle. He is famous for other movies such as Train Spotting and the more recent Slumdog Millionaire. It is a charming movie with Ewan McGregor playing the part of Robert, an honest working lad and failed writer out on his luck. Cameron Diaz plays a spoiled sophisticated rich girl, Celene, who is always getting into trouble. The movie opens with a scene in heaven that looks very much like a police station, but everybody is dressed in white. “The Captain,” (Archangel Gabriel), is complaining to two of his “operatives”, (angels), O'Reilly (Holly Hunter) and Jackson (Delroy Lindo), that all their cases of bringing men and women together in marriage have ended badly. The story revolves around the attempts of the two angels to bring Robert and Celene, an unlikely pair, together in love. If they don’t succeed, they will not be allowed back into heaven and will have to stay on earth forever, a fate that does not appeal to them at all. Pictures left to right, Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo.

This film is a fast moving romantic comedy. There are lots of surprises and unexpected events to keep you sitting on the edge of your chair. I’m not that keen on love stories myself, but this movie has a magical blend of romance, action and slightly dark humor. The camerawork, imagery and colors, are a joy to the eye. I really love this movie, and the more times I see it, the more I can appreciate the beauty of it. Thanks to Danny Boyle for making this wonderfully enjoyable work of art!

The soundtrack is an eclectic mix of old and new. From the 1960s, romantic sound of Diana Ross And The Supremes I Hear A Symphony, to The Prodigy’s abrasive electronic Full Throttle.

The Impostors - Learn English Movies

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:26:35 +0900

The Impostors (1998) is a slapstick comedy along the lines of the famous silent movie stars Laurel and Hardy. It is set in New York in the 1930s, the time of the Great Depression. The sepia tone of the color used in the film helps create a retro atmosphere. It also opens with a silent sequence reminding us of the era of silent movies.

Arthur (Stanley Tucci) and Maurice (Oliver Platt) are out of work actors struggling to make a living in any way they can. They go to an audition and almost get parts acting in a play, but it falls through at the last minute and they are back on the street, hungry again. Trying to trick a baker into giving them some cakes goes wrong, and he gives them some tickets for the theater instead. They hate the famous Shakespearean actor Sir Jeremy Burtom (Alfred Molina) and get into a fight with him in a bar after the play. Escaping the scene, with the police in pursuit, they are forced to hide as stowaways on a luxury liner. Unfortunately for them, Burtom himself turns out to be a passenger on the ship. In their efforts to get off the ship and avoid Burtom, they get into all kinds of trouble. Along the way, they meet a lot of very extraordinary characters and get into some hilarious situations.

Stanley Tucci and Oliver Platt are both extremely good actors and work very well together as a comedy duo. It should be noted that Stanley Tucci not only acted in the movie, but also wrote and directed it. An amazing piece of work.

Dumb And Dumber - Learn English Movies

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 16:19:16 +0900

Dumb And Dumber is a very funny movie. Life is not going too well for Lloyd (Jim Carrey) and Harry (Jeff Daniels) in the city. They work part-time and dream of setting up a pet store called, I Got Worms. One day they both get fired. Lloyd, who was working as a limousine driver, still has a briefcase belonging to the beautiful Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly) the client he was driving to the airport. The two boys set off for Aspen to return the briefcase. It all turns into an unbelievable and hilarious adventure. Jim Carrey is in his hyper funny mode, and Jeff Daniels obviously having a great time doing this comedy role with Jim. It is obvious that the two of them got on really well together and made this, sometimes a little gross, movie into an extremely funny ninety odd minutes. I have seen it so many times, and I still really enjoy watching it. Interestingly, Jim Carrey is Canadian, and so is a fair bit of the well chosen music in this movie.

When you see a movie only once, you always look straight at the center of the action or the speaker. After a few viewings, you start to look at different things and people. In this movie, there are many funny things you don’t see the first time. Making people laugh is a great challenge for actors, and I respect Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels very much for their brilliant performance in this film. I love it. It is just, so dumb, and so funny!