ESL Podcast 802 - Talking About Movies
big-budget - very expensive; with a lot of money available for a particular purpose
The annual awards ceremony is a big-budget event.
special effects - the interesting or unusual things seen in movies or on TV shows, usually created by using computer graphics and/or special cameras
Did they really blow up that building, or was it just special effects?
big-name star - a very well-known celebrity, especially an actor or actress
We've encountered a few big-name stars at nice restaurants around Los Angeles.
snob - a person who is stuck up; a person who believes he or she is superior to other people and better than them in some way, especially due to money or class
Gordon is such a snob! He thinks he's better than the rest of us just because he drives a Porsche.
indie - independent, used to refer to music or movies produced without the financial support of a large production company
Shanae prefers indie music over pop music or hip hop.
shoestring budget - with a very small amount of money to spend on something, just enough to make something possible
Is it possible to go to Europe on a shoestring budget and still have a good time?
production value - the quality of a movie, especially referring to techniques like lighting, sound, music, and special effects
The story is great, but the movie had such a low production value that it wasn't very enjoyable to watch.
crowd-pleaser - something that many or most people like, but that is not very sophisticated or artistic
The comic always starts with a few standard crowd-pleasers before testing out her new jokes.
predictable - referring to something that one can anticipate and knows what will happen next and there are no surprises
Seungyung wants a predictable career in a law firm where he can start as an associate and eventually become a partner.
to stretch the imagination - to be exciting and artistic and to make one start to believe things that are or seem impossible
Some of the concepts in high-level math stretch the imagination.
artistic value - a measure of how unique, interesting, beautiful, or impressive something is, especially something that is different from more common objects or ideas
Her landscape paintings are pretty, but there really isn't much artistic value. Anyone could paint similar scenes.
artsy - artistic; showing others that one is interested in the arts
Gillian has always been artsy, creating things that no one else understands.
confused - feeling unclear or uncertain; not able to make a decision or form an opinion; unable to understand something fully
I'm confused about my bill. Could you please explain what all these charges are for?
ambiguity - uncertainty; a lack of precision or definition
Political candidates often speak with ambiguity when answering reporters' questions.
I don't suppose - a phrase used to ask someone something when one believes the answer will be "no"
I don't suppose you want to help me move next weekend instead of going to see that concert?
blockbuster - a movie that is very popular and makes a lot of money in the theaters
How much money did the new blockbuster make last weekend?
variety is the spice of life - a phrase meaning that trying new things or doing many different things is interesting and good, and the doing or having the same thing all the time would be boring and uninteresting
Lyle never orders the same thing twice, because he thinks variety is the spice of life.