IELTS Speaking Vocabulary - Talking about Movies and TV shows

Main ideas / lessons (IELTS Speaking: Movies & TV vocabulary)

1) Movie success & audience appeal (how to describe films you like)

• Box-office hit
  • Box-office = how much money a film makes.
  • Hit = successful.
  • Use it to say a film made lots of money and was popular.
  • Example framing: “I love watching box-office hits / blockbuster hits.”
• Blockbuster
  • Similar to a box-office hit: a big, very successful movie that made a lot of money.
• Crowd pleaser
  • Crowd = many people; pleaser = makes people happy.
  • Means a movie that a lot of the audience enjoyed—often light/feel-good, and not necessarily deep or critically acclaimed.
  • Example framing: “I like crowd-pleaser films; I just want to feel good.”
• Indie movie
  • Typically small budget, costs less to make.
  • Useful contrast to big commercial blockbusters when asked what kinds of movies you like.
• Bomb
  • The opposite of a success: the movie lost money and disappointed expectations.
  • Often also implies people didn’t enjoy it much.
• Movie-goer / Film buff
  • Movie-goer: you often go to the cinema.
  • Film buff: you love movies deeply—watching and analyzing in detail (almost like an expert).

2) Release timing, series structure, and celebrity ranking

• Premiere
  • The first day/weekend a movie is released.
  • Useful when describing whether you watch opening weekends and how crowded theaters get.
• Sequel
  • The next film in the same franchise (e.g., Ice Age 2 is the sequel to Ice Age).
• Prequel
  • A film set before the original (happens earlier in the timeline than Movie #1).
• A-list / B-list / C-list (celebrity levels)
  • A-lister = top-level, most famous actors/directors.
  • If someone becomes less famous: B-list or C-lister.
• Cameo
  • A brief appearance by a non-actor (or a famous person) as themselves/briefly.
  • Example given: LeBron James appearing briefly as himself.

3) How to talk about movie genres (feelings + key vocabulary)

• Genre / genres
  • Genre means type/category (applies to both movies and music).

Action movies (high energy)

• Action movies: fast pace, fighting, cars speeding, explosions, guns.
• Useful descriptive phrases/words:
  • Fast-paced (moves quickly; not boring)
  • Highly charged (full of energy/excitement)
  • Intense (very strong emotions; “heart pounding”)
  • Suspenseful / on the edge of your seat (uncertainty; fear something will happen)
  • Riveting (extremely exciting)
  • Stunt scenes (dangerous feats like cars/motorcycles doing extreme things)

Drama movies (realistic, emotional)

• Generally less action, more realism.
• Often includes talking + emotions (crying, deep feelings).
• Key terms when discussing story/acting:
  • Plot / plot lines
  • Screenplay (the writing/story)
• Example idea: dramas are great when plot lines, surprise endings, and emotional acting work well.

Rom-coms, chick flicks, bromance (romance with different focuses)

• Shared base: romance (love), but different tone/center.
• Rom-com = romance + comedy (funny love story).
• Chick flick
  • “chick” (slang for girl) + “flick” (movie)
  • A movie that centers on a girl; often romance too.
• Bromance
  • “bro” + “romance”
  • Not romantic love between men; more like brotherly/best-friend love (deep bond, shared experiences).

Sci-fi / Future-tech / Animation / Special effects

• Sci-fi = science fiction (future or aliens; science-based imagined stories).
• Cinematography = visuals/camera shots (camera work).
• Animation = drawings/animated; created with CGI today.
• CGI = computer-generated images.
• Special effects = techniques to make fictional things look real (lasers, explosions, makeup, spaceships).

Horror & suspense (fear + nervous excitement)

• Horror movies: monsters/ghosts/zombies; includes violence.
  • Violence = noun; violent = adjective.
• Suspense movies: thrilling/nervous, but not necessarily monsters/ghosts.
  • Example: someone being chased; you worry the actor might die.
• Phrases:
  • Blood run cold / make one’s blood run cold (intense fear; nervousness)
  • Suspenseful (keeps you worried/anxious)

Comedy

• Comedy movies: funny/humorous, not serious (can be silly).
• Words/phrases:
  • Hilarious (very very funny)
  • Laugh riot (you laugh constantly)

Documentaries (real-life, thought-provoking)

• Documentaries = non-fiction (true stories/real-life events).
• Words/phrases:
  • Thought-provoking (challenges your ideas)
  • Give me food for thought (gives you ideas/examples that make you think)

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4) How to describe TV watching habits (IELTS TV vocabulary)

A) Watching style (what you do while watching)

• Binge-watch / binge watching
  • Doing a lot in a short time (same concept as binge eating/drinking).
  • Example idea: watching many episodes in one weekend.
• Go through phases
  • You temporarily prefer one type/show/genre, then switch.
  • Example: horror phase → later sci-fi phase.
• Put (a TV show) in the background
  • Not focused; it’s playing while you do other things/socialize.
• Be really into (a TV show) / captivated
  • Very interested; the show holds your attention.

B) What you like/dislike about a TV show (specific features)

• Every episode ends with a cliffhanger
  • A dramatic ending that leaves you anxious and desperate to watch next.
  • Example concept: Breaking Bad episodes ending this way.
• Plot threads to resolve
  • Many separate storyline threads/character stories need to be tied up by the end.
  • Resolved = brought together/tied up satisfactorily.
• No spoilers
  • You avoid knowing the ending or major plot points in advance.
• Good pace from scene to scene
  • Enjoyable speed; not slow/boring.
  • Never a wasted moment is the idea.
• Reruns
  • A previously aired show shown again.
  • Useful contrast to watching something new.
• On the air
  • Currently being broadcast in real time (often used for news/sports too).
• Padding (filler)
  • Unimportant extra material added to stretch runtime.
  • You may dislike shows with too much padding.
• Plotting / plodding plot
  • The story moves too slowly; boring and hard to watch.

C) Types of reality TV (mindless vs meaningful)

• Mindless reality TV show
  • Doesn’t require thinking; meant for easy/relaxing entertainment.
  • Often includes “real life people,” not professional actors.

D) Practical concluding guidance (how to answer IELTS prompts)

• You can tailor answers using phrases like:
  • Frequent cinema: movie-goer, film buff
  • Success vs failure: box-office hit, blockbuster, bomb
  • Preference: avoid crowd pleasers / prefer indie movies
  • TV habits: binge watch, go through phases, cliffhangers, good pace, avoid spoilers/padding
• Overall “lesson”: use genre + feeling vocabulary plus TV habit phrases to express preferences clearly.

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Speakers / sources featured

• Teacher Neil (the only named speaker; no external sources or guests are featured)