13. April 2024

Clear English accents throughout, but some challenging European accents too. A great film for intermediate English speakers and above. I have to include this one. It's the best Bond film ever made. But, more interestingly, it is the most maligned, too. Two weeks ago I had yet another great discussion with some students about film in general which ended up on the subject of 007. It followed the usual, agreeable tone (Connery is king, Skyfall is great, Dalton is better than Moore, etc etc) but...

16. März 2024

For all English levels. Can be watched comfortably with English subtitles. I watched Aliens twice last year. I could watch it again right now. That's how good it is. There are very few sequels that are better than the original. Terminator 2, Godfather 2, Empire Strikes Back. Aliens, depending on your point of view of course, fits comfortably into this category. The reason it's not definitely on my list is because it's not in the same genre as Alien. Alien was a horror film. Aliens is an action...

27. Januar 2024

American accents throughout. Challenging for intermediate English speakers. We never intended to watch this film. My friends and I were late to another film and decided, rather than miss the first 5-10 minutes, to watch something else instead. "This one's got Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman in it?" one of us noted- Ok, we agreed, lets try it. Sorry, but fuck me what a film. Seven is unique in my favourite films list in that it doesn't have the traditional qualities to qualify. The subject matter...

23. Dezember 2023

American English throughout and easy to follow. No problem for pre-intermediate and above. Christmas films are an interesting sub-genre of cinema, they can be about Christmas, "The Santa Clause", they can be set at Christmas like "Die Hard" and "The Long Kiss Goodnight", they can be animated "Arthur Christmas", "The Grinch", comedies, "Scrooged" and they can be fantasy, adventure or romantic, "Miracle on 34th Street" But my pick for Christmas Film has to be Home Alone. It's a wonderful mix of...

25. November 2023

Sometimes, all a film needs to be made is a standout idea. Something really, really unique. So when film executives thought up HIghlander, they hit the jackpot. Immortal men spend centuries fighting until one remains and wins a prize. Oh, and you can only die if you get your head cut off. That's it. And it's brilliant. What's better, is that the two leads, Christophe Lambert, a Frenchman, plays Connor Macleod, a Scottish highlander, (from where the title comes) while Sean Connery, an actual...

29. Oktober 2023

American English throughout, with New York accents that can be challenging for intermediate speakers Al Pacino will always be one of my favourite actors. Carlito's Way, Heat, The Godfather, the list goes on. But Sea of Love is something different. Pacino had taken a hiatus from acting after the huge disappointment that was Revolution, and it was four years before he made another one. That film was Sea of Love. Pacino plays Frank, a detective assigned to a case where the murderer shoots his...

06. August 2023

British English throughout with clear, understandable accents. Sports films aren't that common and not particularly popular. But most sports films have the same theme, with a team of some sport or other struggling at the lower end of their league before overcoming their differences and climbing the division before finally winning the title at the end of the film. Yay! Fever Pitch is different. Although it does involve football (soccer) it is, at its heart, a love story. And its very, very...

18. Juni 2023

Will it help my English? Plenty of different accents but mainly American English. Minimal dialogue so easy to follow for all levels. "I'll be back" Probably the most famous catchphrase in cinema. Arnold Schwarzenegger has used this phrase on numerous occasions, from Commando and The Running Man to Last Action Hero. But it's The Terminator, and its sequel Terminator 2, for which he is most well known. In the Terminator, Schwarzenegger plays an unstoppable robot sent back in time to kill John...

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...