Hi, Fiona,
Many thanks for your helpful explanation!
1.
Quote:
Quote FionaVB 
"Really" should be said with more emotion than "very" and so it certainly seems hotter.
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"The movie was so good! [...that I was surprised, because I thought it would be ordinary.']
"The movie was really good!"
What emotion does 'really' imply here? Does it imply surprise? i.e. It's better than I would expect?
2.Is so hot > really hot > incredibly hot for the degree of hot?
3.Is 'so' informal and so we often use it to emphasize 'very' in informal situations?