📙 Part 2: Describe a movie you watched recently that you felt disappointed about

This episode's vocabulary

Stands out in my mind (idiom) – to be very memorable. → The most recent movie that stands out in my mind was the latest Avatar film.

Took absolutely ages (idiom) – took a very long time. → The film took absolutely ages to finish; it was over three hours long.

Engaging (adjective) – attracting and holding the attention. → The plot wasn't terribly original or engaging.

Stick out (phrasal verb) – to be very noticeable. → There are other reasons, but those are the two that stick out for me right now.

Satisfy an urge (verb phrase) – to fulfill a strong desire. → The film didn't satisfy that urge to see an interesting spectacle.

Spectacle (noun) – a visually striking performance or display. → Movies should be about seeing an interesting spectacle.

Terribly impressed (adverb + adjective) – very impressed (often used in a negative sense). → I don't think my friends were terribly impressed either.

Character development (noun phrase) – the process of creating a believable character by giving them depth and personality. → The main problem was that there was no character development.

Dull (adjective) – lacking interest or excitement. → The plot is dull and the characters are boring.

A drag (idiom) – something that is boring or tedious. → The movie just went on and on, it was a real drag.

A letdown (noun) – a disappointment. → I had high expectations, so the movie was a real letdown.

Ringing endorsement (noun phrase) – a very strong statement of support or approval (often used sarcastically). → The BBC called it the worst yet. What a ringing endorsement!

Shallow (adjective) – not showing serious or deep thought. → The movie was a shallow fantasy ride with beautiful but empty visuals.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Describe a movie you watched recently that you felt disappointed about. You should say when it was, why you didn't like it, why you decided to watch it, and explain why you felt disappointed about it. So when do we feel disappointed?

Rory: Our expectations are not met.

Maria: Yeah, when we feel disappointed, we are unhappy because something was not as good as we hoped. So, I was deeply disappointed because blah, blah, blah. I was unhappy about this film. Rory, give us your story.

Rory: Well, unfortunately, this has happened a few times, but the most recent one that stands out in my mind was when I went to see the latest Avatar movie. To tell you exactly when that was, I think this was about a month or so ago. It was winter and absolutely freezing, and there was nothing better to do. So I decided to go and watch it with some of my friends. Now when it comes to why I didn't like it, there were a couple of reasons. First of all, it took absolutely ages to finish. I think it's about three hours long. And that's a long time to just sit and watch something. So I was pretty tired towards the end. The plot wasn't terribly original or engaging either. It shouldn't take three hours to push the message that it's a good idea to care about the environment. There are other things, but those are the two that stick out for me right now. As for why I decided to watch it, despite the fact it was so bad, and I thought it might be even before we went there. I had thought it would be a fun way to spend time with my friends since we hadn't seen each other in a while. We all have very busy schedules and live in different parts of the city. So this seemed like a good idea. It just seemed that way though, because, of course, in a cinema, you can't really talk. So there were only a few times when we were able to look at each other when something really silly happened that took us out of the action or just made it difficult to focus. And I think that's why I felt really disappointed about it. It didn't bring us together in the way I thought it would or satisfy that urge to see an interesting spectacle, which is really what movies should be about. I didn't even enjoy complaining about it with them, at least not that much. So even that wasn't very satisfying. I think if I could go back in time, I'd try to choose something different instead. It wasn't my best choice.

Maria: And what about your friends? Did they enjoy it?

Rory: No, I don't think they were terribly impressed either.