MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS - 2013 (Mike)

[Marine]

Hi everyone, my name is Marine, i am french and this is my first time at "UCLA extension, mad about movies" class. I am really happy that i have chosen this class because i really enjoy watching movies alone or with my friends.
I love all kinds of movies but i would recomend :

- "Drive" starring Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan. The music in this movie is also fantastic ;

- "The Great Gatsby" starring Leonardo Di Caprio, Toby Mc Guire (he was in spider man 1, 2 and 3) and Carey Mulligan. If you like romance and drama, you should watch it. The music plays also a big part in this movie. There is also an older version of "The Great Gatsby" starring Rober Redford wich is less extreme ;

- "Scoop" starring Scarlett Johansson and Hugh Jackman is a comedy/thriller by Woody Allen. You will not be disapointed with this Woody Allen movie, it is about a young journalist who tries to find the murderer of several people;

- "Lord of the rings" movies are awesome action movies with mind-blowing special effects. If you like adventures and really long action movies, this trilogy is the bet;

- Finally i would recommend "The Royal Tenenbaums" starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Alec Baldwin and a whole bunch of amazing actors.

Thank you - Merci - Marine for being the first in our Summer 2013 gang to post your favorite films. You've made me curious about "Drive." I put it on my list of movies to see. Many students have mentioned the DiCaprio version of Gatsby. Still haven't seen it, but plan to. (I wasn't too fond of the Redford version.) Of course, the Royal Tenenbaums is one of the films on Movies Grow English. Welcome to the Movie Elective. While you are here, and beyond, I hope your enjoyment of movies will ignite your growth of English!!

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[goerlin]

Hi, I am Goer (Mong-Ying Lin). I'm from Taiwan, and this is my first quarter in the UCLA extension academic program.

I love movies of all genre, don't really have a type though...
However, I do enjoy classic movies a lot, The Graduate(1967) is one of my favorite. I love the character Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft), and the way she seduced Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman).
Also, Memories of Matsuko is a Japanese movie that I really recommend. Although the story is very dark, the director Tetsuya Nakashima made the movie into some sets of musical addition to it's strong and colorful scene, which I liked it very much.
Here are some other movies that I am recently re-watching: Singin' in the Rain, Gone with the Wind, Psycho, 3 idiots, and Up.

Hope you enjoy the movies, see you on Monday!

Hi Goer. Wow!!! I am amazed at your appreciation of older movies. So many students only want the latest film with the greatest CGI. I'm a big fan of the way new movies are constructed with the latest tech do and the most advanced screenwriting and editing. But alas, some things don't change that much, like a great story and great acting. It seems you might agree. Thanks for posting, and welcome to the Movie Elective.

--mike www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[Elyas]

hey, This is Al (Elyas)

I`m from Saudi Arabia, but my origins are from both Uzbekistan & Turkey.. people get confused by my look

I LOVE Charlie Chaplin`s Movies, he is a legend (see The great Dictator - also Modern Times --- they are on you tube on High quality)

I love movies that focus on the story and the meaning, not just silly fast movies that focus only on footage & explosions, beautiful faces, or just plane comedy.

Hey Al-- You indeed have interesting origins. And interesting movie preferences. What are some of your favorite examples of movies that focus on story and meaning? Are any of these movies on Movies Grow English? Perhaps we can show one or more of them in class. Yes, Chaplin is the legend. Johnny Depp must surely know this fact.

Regards, --mike www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[Park]

Hi! My name is HyeonJi. I chose to use Park here

1. What is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?
-I can't remember it now.
2. What was your favorite movie when you were a child?
-I think it was "Harry Potter". But at the same time it was disappointing because i liked the book version a lot. The movie was not as interesting as the book, but still was my favorite.
3. What is your favorite movie now?
-I have several favorite movies. One of them is "August Rush". That was really touching and the musics were perfect.
4. What is your favorite movie genre?
-My favorite genre is action.
5. Who is your favorite actor/actress/director, etc.
-My favorite actors are Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio.
6. Why did you sign up for this elective and what do you hope it will be like?
-I wanted to be more comfortable with american culture through movies. Thats why i chose this elective, and hope i could learn more cultural things in this class.

-BLOOD DIAMOND
-THE TRUMAN SHOW
-WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS
-A BEAUTIFUL MIND
-BLACK HAWK DOWN

HELLO PARK,

YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH "HARRY POTTER" IS AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE MYSTERIES OF READING VS. WATCHING A MOVIE. MY FAVORITE BOOK WHEN I WAS A BOY WAS "THE LORD OF THE RINGS," AND I NEVER BELIEVED THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE A MOVIE OF IT THAT WOULD BE EVEN REMOTELY CLOSE TO MY IMAGINATION. I WAS SURPRISED WHEN PETER JACKSON DID, BUT EVEN THOUGH HIS MOVIE HAD IMAGERY THAT LIVED UP TO MY EXPECTATIONS, IT STILL COULDN'T QUITE MATCH WHAT I HAD IN MY MIND.

"WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS" IS A WELL MADE FILM THAT LOOKS AT AN IMPORTANT PART OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN LIFE. I'M GLAD YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SEEING IT; IT'S ONE OF THE FILMS I'M CONSIDERING FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE SUMMER.

SEE YOU IN CLASS!

DAVID

[alice03015]

Hi, this is Alice I like movie which is romantic, comedy... However , exclude horror. I want to recommend theses movies: Now You See Me, Men of Steel. Moreover, I'm going to watch the heat and the bling ring next time. Tell you later

Hey Alice-- Nice to hear from you. Ni Hao. I recently saw "Now You See Me." My opinion was that I liked the first half or so of the movie, but the second half got a little far fetched. It was still worth seeing, especial that trick where the banker gets transported to Paris and back. The explanation was pretty good.
Ciao, --mike www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[christina8201237]

Hi, this is Christina（Yeng-ting Chien）,
I'm glad that I can be in Michael's class in this summer.
I really enjoy watching movies and sharing the comments with other people, and I hope I can improve my English by doing it. I also hope that after this session, I can totally understand the movies played in the theater without the subtitles.
Usually, I watch all kinds of movies since they are good. Sometimes, it depends on the artists.
First, I would like to recommend "les miserable" which I think It's the best musical movie I have ever seen before. By th way, I like Ann Hathaway so much. She is my goddess. In addition, Hugh Jackman acts so well in it especially his voice.
Next, "the chronicles of Narina" will be a fantastic choice for both children and adults.
The last one I would like to suggest is "fast & furious" especially the fifth one. Actually, I like all of them.

Hi Christina--
Thank you for sharing some of your favorite movies including Les Miserable. I've only seen one Fast and Furious movie: Tokyo Drift. I liked it enough to include it as a whole-movie lesson at Movies Grow English. I am quite sure that watching and enjoying movies will help your English. Remember that we acquire language simply by being exposed to it. It is kind of like how we acquired our first language starting when we were babies.
Best, --mike www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[yuna39]

Hi,I'm Yoonhwa and I am Korean who was born in Japan. Most people are curious and ask me whether I can speak Korean or not and the answer is half Yes lol.
I am honor to watch a movie in Mike's class because it seems that Mike always likes joking:)
I just graduated from high school in Japan in this March and I'm going to be a college student in the U.S.from this fall and I eventually would like to transfer to UCLA. That's why I chose to study English at UCLA Extension before my study at a college.
I really love watching movies at a both movie theater and home and especially my favorite genre is "love romance","action",and sometimes "comedy" unless my favorite actor is on the movie.There are so many films that I highly would like to recommened to you guys so I cannot even choose one of them but I'm just going to pick up some of them.Please check the lists below and watch the movies when you have much time!

・White House Down
・21 Jump Street
・Magic Mike
・The Vow
・Dear John
・The Notebook
・Argo
・Fast and Furious
.Ted
・The Holiday
・G.I.Joe
・Titanic
・Armagedon
・The Last Song
・Letters to Juliet
・Jason Born Series

Hey Yuna--

What a thoughtful post. Yes, I do try to be funny while teaching a class. I hope this makes the class more enjoyable while you are still learning. This is a great list of movies. I recently watched "The Notebook." I was thinking of making a whole-movie lesson for it. Do you think it would be suitable for a movie class? Several have told me that "21 Jump Street" is also good. I've never watched "Letters to Juliet" but it sounds interesting. I have been to the famous tree and window in Verona. It's amazing. Thanks for posting!
--mike www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[Reem-Aleshaiwy]

Thanks for posting. Did you see WWZ? --mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[Mink0410]

Hi, I'm Minkyo

As you know, I like action movies.
The movie I want to recommand is "Crows Zero."
It is Japanese movie and it has no lesson. The content of the movie is very simple. "Fight to be a No.1."
There is highschool that all the trouble makers enter. The main character of the movie just fight to be a number 1 in school.
The movie consists of action scenes, and I think that it's the charming point of this movie.
There are "Crows zero." and "Crows zero 2.". I think that the first one is more interesting than next one.
I want you to watch this movie.
Thank you.

Hey Minkyo-- I was not aware of this film. thanks for the recommendation.
--mike www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[Abdullah_Alayed]

Hi, This is Abdullah, I'm from Saudi Arabia.
I like watching action and drama movies. And I LOVE watching horror movies, but I always get scared after watching horror movies lol

There are 5 movies I would like to recommend, ( Avatar - The sixth sense - The Iron man - 2012 and Life of Pi which is my favorite movie

Thank you

Hey Abdullah-- So pleased to receive your recommendations. In particular, I am a big fan of Life of Pi. It is a whole-movie lesson on Movies Grow English. Thanks for posting.

--mike www.moviesgrowenglish.com