Start learning to read lips in movies by taping a television newscast. Anchors are trained to speak very clearly so that people can understand them across the country. This is why you rarely find news anchors with any kind of noticeable accent. Reading lips from news anchors gives you a feeling for diction and proper pronunciation so that you can prepare for the tougher job of figuring out what characters in movies are saying.
Begin the process of learning to read lips in the movie theater by practicing on movies at home. Watch a DVD with the sound off and try to figure out what the dialogue is. It is highly recommended that you watch a movie that you are not already familiar with; even better is to watch a film you haven't even heard of before. After watching a scene with the sound off, replay with the closed-captioning on so you see how well you did.
Learn how to use connotation effectively. Lip reading is not simply about figuring out letters and sounds produced by the shape of the lips. To accurately divine what is being said, watch for tell-tale signs like body language, facial expressions, gestures and the look into their eyes. Facial expressions like smiles, raised eyebrows, a faraway look in the eyes and a perplexed look can provide valuable clues to both the meaning of the words being spoken and the content that you may have missed. Body language like fidgeting, gesturing, nervous ticks and expressions of intimacy with another character can also reveal meaning and help fill in the gaps. All these details can provide valuable information not only on the actual words being spoken, but the emotions that are being expressed both tacitly and implicitly.
Bring along a companion to the theater who can translate for you those things that you don't hear. Very often, dialogue is spoken off-camera either by a narrator or another character. In addition, your friend can inform you of the type of music that is being played. This can be important because music is usually a clue as to the emotional dynamic of a scene. Dialogue can often be better understood by a lip reader if you are made aware of the emotional register suggested by the musical accompaniment. Sometimes music is also used in an ironic sense and so the lip reader may take dialogue at face value that is actually intended to produce an exact opposite effect.