Describing a book:
A brilliant, engaging (захватывающая, цепляющая) story that makes you
rethink ...
A captivating (захватывающая) story by award winning author;
Deep (глубокая). A lot food for thought (пища для размышления).
A wonderful book! So moving (трогательная) it brought tears to my eyes!
A heart wrenching (душещипительная история) story.
A spell binding (зачаровывающая) book.
A tear-jerking book (film). - "слезоточивая" книга
;
A story with unpredictable plot (непредсказуемвй сюжет) full of twists
and turns (много поворотов);
A thought-provoking (заставляет задуматься) novel that raised many
interesting questions.
Rather heavy-going (трудная для чтения). I had to make a real effort to
finish it.
A gripping (захватывающая дух) story. I was hooked from the first page.
A light but entertaining (лёгкая но занимательная) novel, perfect for
beach reading.
The plot was intriguing (интригующая). It was impossible to predict how it
would end.
The characters were totally implausible (неправдоподобные). I couldn't
take any of them seriously.
A fast-moving (быстроразвивающийся сюжет, динамичная) story which
jumps from past to present and back again at breakneck speed (с головокружительной
скоростью).
A well-written (хорошо-написанная) novel, but so depressing
(депрессивная) it made me feel almost suicidal!
A haunting (преследующая даже после прочтения) tale which stayed
with me long after I'd finished reading it.
Describing films
It’s set in…(New York / in the 1950’s).
The film’s shot on location in Arizona.
The main characters are … and they’re played by…
It’s a mystery / thriller / love-story…
- true-to-life (a real story)
- the real story of…
- masterpiece (the best work someone has done)
- oscar-winning
- absorbing – very interesting, keeps your attention for a long time
- action-packed – with a lot of thrilling incidents
- captivating – very exciting
- controversial – causing a lot of discussions or disagreement
- convoluted – overcomplicated
- dreary – dull and uninteresting
- gripping – very interesting
- hilarious – very funny
- intriguing /ɪnˈtriːgɪŋ/ – very interesting in a way that arouses your curiosity
- moving – causing strong emotions (usually in a good way)
- overrated – overvalued
- underrated – much better than what people believe
- predictable – pretty obvious what is going to happen in each scene
- riveting /ˈrɪvɪtɪŋ/ – keeps you glued to the screen
- second-rate – mediocre, unexciting, nothing to write home about
- slow-moving – developing very slowly
- spine-tingling – enjoyably frightening
- spooky – frightening and ghostly
- thought-provoking – stimulating you to think about something, often something you
haven’t thought of before
- thrilling – exciting, action-packed
- uplifting – making you feel happy and cheerful