well... movie is an american english word and film is a british english word..

go to a movie=see a film?

I saw a movie last night. < Oh, what did you see? Shrek? Spiderman III? Did you see it in a theatre or at home? I saw a film last night. < Was it a date? What theatre? What did you wear? Was there anyone there that I knew? (More of an event / less known / but high profile people go to see it / celebrities etc... Movie is said more often. Movie refers to large budget productions, popular and known to most people. This is not a dictionary definition / it's just my experience. Films are generally foreign-made or smaller budget or made by independent people not affiliated or associated with a large studio. Most "film festivals" feature films that are less well known, of a smaller budget - and tend to use less well-known actors. Some of these "film festivals" are very very well known (Cannes) however the films they show are generally not well known - until after the festival awards. If my date told me we were going to see a "movie", I'd think it was something like Superman or a Johnny Dep flick (movie = flick). I'd probably wear jeans. If my date told me we were going to go see a "film", I'd probably wear a fancier outfit and do my hair, thinking it was some special event featuring a smaller independent group of people who created it, a much lower budget - but very popular and trendy among wealthier or more well- known art-type (creative type) people. That's my take on it.