09. April 2023
How will it help my English? Skyfall has several different accents but the main characters speak clear British English throughout. Ideal for intermediate students and above. There are many Bond films to choose from, but this is my favourite. We are often scared to choose a recent entry because it's often considered silly. Connery IS king, that's true. His Bond is by far the most true to Fleming's. Having read the books, Bonds swagger, cruelty and egotism are perfectly addressed by Sir Sean. In...
04. März 2023
Will it help my English? This film uses several English accents throughout, with many subcontinent and European accents as well as the classic British and American. Excellent for intermediate to advanced students. If, like me, you grew up in the late 70s through the 80s, the originally Star Wars films will have played a huge part of your childhood. They were exciting, new, and full of great characters and special effects. The second trilogy of films from 1999-2005 almost burned the whole...
11. Februar 2023
How can it help my English? There is American English throughout with challenging accents at times. Easy to follow plot. This is probably the greatest horror film of all time. And it IS a horror film. I'm not a big fan of this genre: scared to death of The Omen at 10 and even more so by A Nightmare On Elm Street a year later, horror films have never been high on my list of film priorities. But Jaws is the exception. Directed by a young (and never better) Steven Spielberg, Jaws tells the simple...
29. Dezember 2022
The ultimate Christmas film? It's impossible to put into words how much I love this film, but I'll try. Die Hard is my favourite film of all time. I've watched it countless, and I mean countless, times. Bruce Willis is perfect in the role of John MaClane, the New York cop visiting his wife for Christmas in LA. Alan Rickman is arguably even better as Hans Gruber, the leader of a gang of thieves hellbent on what lies in the vault of the Nakatomi Tower. The film spends no more than twenty minutes...
02. November 2022
Leon, or The Professional as it is sometimes called, tells the story of a hitman who quietly divides his time between watching old movies at the cinema and carrying out contract killings on behalf of his employer, Tony. His "quiet" life is changed when his neighbour's daughter asks for his help following a family tragedy. What follows is both incredibly thrilling and beautifully sweet. Made in 1995, Leon has not one but three major film stars at the absolute top of their game. Jean Reno is...
10. Oktober 2022
Super hero films are ' ten a penny' (very common) these days. But for many years In the 70s and early 80s, it was Christopher Reeve and Superman. And that was pretty much it. But it was Batman in 1989 that really changed the game. Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and Jack Nicholson as the Joker brought the caped crusader to the screen like never seen before, a dark and brooding super hero movie that the public loved. But the sequel..... After Nicholson, Batman Returns needed a villain that could...
11. September 2022
Who doesn't love a good crime thriller? I have watched this film so many times and its impact never diminishes. Which is amazing, given that its fame relies on an (absolutely incredible) twist ending. "Crime thriller" is probably the hardest genre to get right, and certainly seems to produce the most bad films. So when one comes along that is not just great but nigh on perfect, you always find time to include it on your 'best' list. 5 men find themselves in a lineup, each accused of a robbery...
14. August 2022
Speed is one of the most thrilling movies you can watch. I've watched it at least a dozen times now, and it still entertains almost thirty years after it first was released in the cinema. Although today the names Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock would probably be enough to make a film about reading the phone book, in the early 90s Reeves wasn't yet the household name he is today, while Bullock was unknown. That's why Dennis Hopper, as the villainous Howard Payne, and Jeff Daniels as Reeves...
02. August 2022
Some films just make you smile. Comedies are probably the hardest films to make, and certainly the least likely to 'age well' (where a film can be watched and understood generations into the future). Jokes become old, outdated and or in many instances, offensive. This is most definitely the case with Police Academy, which is a stream of tasteless jokes from beginning to end. They are racist, mysoginistic, and homophobic, sometimes in the most basic of ways (a running joke throughout the series,...
Action · 20. Juli 2022
You might wonder why I am writing a blog about films and not English grammar? Well, this is my passion and I thought you might like to get to know me a little before you book a session with me :-) Besides, if I can inspire you to watch just one of these films in the original language, I will have succeded in my goal to start improving your English!