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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
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I think , a great way of learning English , and also sharpening the analytical skills is by watching thriller/crime TV series. A movie is a one time thing. TV series on the contrary keeps you engaged throughout the year , thus continously improving the verbal and analytical skills ( Well atleast , this is how I convinced my mom about the benefits of watching tv :twisted: )

So , I would say the following list would worked for me .
1> Prison Break
2> Dexter
3> 24
4> Numbers
5> Byomkesh Bakshi ( Indian show :P )

For movies ,

1> SAW series :P
2> Inception
3> Memento
4> Shutter Island
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
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@thisiszico2006
i haven't seen all the series but i have watched some episode of Prison Break and Dexter and completed all the episodes & seasons of 24 and Byomkesh Bakshi.

all i can say is 24 and Byomkesh Bakshi are good entertaining series.
in 24 , conversations are standard and yes, there is more to learn.
one can learn Idioms very comfortably.

i cant comment on movies mentioned below, as i had watched them long time ago and don't remember their dialogues and conversation.
1> SAW series
2> Inception
3> Memento
4> Shutter Island
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
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I have not seen pretty much any of those, so i think I should probably stop providing recommendations for now. I have a lot of catching up to do.
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
bb wrote:
Thanks for making the post - great idea.
I guess it would have to be movies that rely more on the plot/dialogues/conversations than on the action (probably should add Mission Impossible here).


I think movies help us to understand how people usually speak, but I doubt movies will help us in improving verbal score. Movies can be considered as a vocabulary aid.
If we compare two hours (on average) spent enjoying a book or a movie, reading a book surely would help towards GMAT preparation. You have to maintain your concentration level for two hours in order to grasp ideas from a book.

I agree that we need to relax a couple of times while we prepare for exams.
Some movies really do have a rich vocabulary. I would recommend these:
1) Pulp Fiction (Normal everyday and hilarious conversations, wonderful screenplay, sudden "adrenaline-rush" moments)
2) Shawshank Redemption (Dialogues, philosophical, slow, surprising in the end)
3) Fight Club (Philosophical, many dialogues are beautifully scripted, mind f*** in the end)
4) Into The Wild (Industriousness, frugality, Human Relations)
5) Sherlock Holmes (Comic, suspenseful, very rich in English vocab)
6) Stranger Than Fiction (Hilarious Comedy, wonderful English)
7) Sin City (Dark, literally!)
8) Inglorious Basterds (Many interesting dialogues)
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
Thanks nilaybadavne

you have added some great movies.
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
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Apart from movies and TV series , I think there are tons of other shows which will atleast help an international student in understanding the English language , and sail through the TOEFL language.

I mean , the only reason why I got 107 in TOEFL (nothing to brag though :|) with 1.5 days of preparation is because , I had been watching these series' for quite some time. One of my friend got 118/120 in TOEFL , and that is because he watched more documentaries than movies.

From that perspective (sailing through TOEFL/IELTS , and improving verbal for GMAT/GRE) , he suggested me
1> to watch documentaries ( Uncovered: The War on Iraq , Fahrenheit 9/11 , An Inconvenient Truth , Inside Job )
2> to watch CBS 60 minutes (this really is a fantastic show) , the Bill O Reily show , Fareed Zakaria GPS
3> to watch tv shows such as Band of Brothers , The Pacific , Game of thrones , Rome , etc

One of my new year resolutions is to get a 40+ in verbal....so I don't mind taking this extra step to get to that score :P
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
BBC Series Dragon's Den is a very good watch as well.
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
Kevin Smith movies have a lot of dialogue and are interesting/amusing, especially Clerks, Mallrats and Dogma.

I also agree that documentaries are good to watch, as they are informative and generally utilize good grammar. I love watching the Planet Earth series on Discovery, as well as anything on ancient civilizations on the History Channel.
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
Now don't tell me that you should read Debonair to get interested in Grammar :). Jokes Apart - Movies should help in TOEFL Listening Section.
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
mistahwaddie wrote:
Kevin Smith movies have a lot of dialogue and are interesting/amusing, especially Clerks, Mallrats and Dogma.

I also agree that documentaries are good to watch, as they are informative and generally utilize good grammar. I love watching the Planet Earth series on Discovery, as well as anything on ancient civilizations on the History Channel.



haha, I wish everyone would learn the english language by watching Kevin Smith flicks...

We'd have international students who only speak in long monologues about starwars and, d**k and fart jokes... If only...
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
Nice idea & good post!

Getting used to the Big Words and assume things from concepts might be helpful for some non-native speakers.

The Big Bang Theory really helped me on the vocab.

And it's really funny :-D
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
Movies which might help with verbal? Hmm... that's very interesting.

Here's some movies I'd recommend:

    o The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
    o Adam's Rib (1949)
    o Chinese Coffee (2000)
    o Polytechnique (2009)
    o Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]
I'm not sure about movies, but for anyone who is looking to improve their reading ability, I think many people commonly reference the Economist as a good resource to use when you want to practice your reading skills. I've learned a couple of new words from reading it weekly, and the level of comprehension needed to understand the pieces is good practice for the GMAT
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Re: Improve Verbal Score and enjoy Movie [#permalink]

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