At the movies

Neil Hello. I’m Neil. In this programme, we’re going to talk about movies. Now, what kind of movies do you like, Feifei?

Feifei I love romcoms, Neil! ‘Romcom’ is a word which takes the first two halves of the words ‘romantic’ and ‘comedy’. And what about you, Neil, what sort of movies do you like the most?

Neil Well, I can’t resist a ‘whodunnit’. ‘Whodunnit’ is short for ‘who has done it’. The point of these films is for the audience to try to guess who committed a serious crime - usually murder.

Feifei Ah, you like detective movies! In a ‘whodunnit’ you can try to beat the detective and work out who committed the crime. That’s the fun of it! Sherlock Holmes is a perfect example.

Neil Yes, ‘romcom’ and ‘whodunnit’ are today’s expressions in The English We Speak. And … there’s one more. See if you can guess this one now Feifei: ‘Hello. I’m a robot sent from the future to prevent war and destruction!’

Feifei A sci-fi movie! ‘Sci-fi is a word which takes the first two halves of the words ‘science’ and ‘fiction.’ These films usually feature robots, aliens and inventions from the future. I love sci-fi too. But sometimes it’s scary!

Neil Well, there’s no need to be scared of BBC Learning English - because we explain everything to you so clearly. Let’s hear some examples of today’s three movie-related expressions.

Examples

My favourite sci-fi movie is Star Wars. I can’t wait for the next film in the series!

I’m catching a movie with my friends after work. We’re going to watch the latest romcom .

Alfred Hitchcock was the master of the whodunnit . Nobody makes better films in that genre than he did!

Feifei That’s it! I am fetching the popcorn!

Neil And I’m going to get some drinks!

Feifei Let’s catch a movie! A sci-fi?

Neil Yes, indeed! We’re going to catch a movie… I am a robot who came from the future to catch a movie with you, Feifei.

Feifei You deserve an Oscar! Let’s go! Bye!

Neil Bye!