美国国家公共电台 NPR Holiday Movie Preview: Lightsabers, Musicals And Jackie

Holiday Movie Preview: Lightsabers, Musicals And Jackie

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Among the many things to be thankful for today, let's include Hollywood, which has been working hard to distract us from real life. Movies featuring superheroes and animated³ animals set box office records in 2016. And still to come to a theater near you - haunted real estate, droids and lightsabers and dad jokes. NPR's movie critic Bob Mondello has our holiday preview.

BOB MONDELLO, BYLINE⁴: Someone say droids and lightsabers? It's not time yet for "Episode VIII" with Luke and Leia. This "Star Wars" story is a standalone film, an offshoot from the main storyline. It's a tale from back when the Death Star was still in the design stage. So what would you call a non-"Star Wars" "Star Wars" movie?

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ROGUE⁵ ONE: A STAR WARS STORY")

RIZ AHMED: (As Bodhi Rook) Rogue - Rogue One.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) If the Empire has this kind of power, what chance do we have?

MONDELLO: Oh, a pretty good chance, I'd say. This is a prequel after all. Besides...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY")

FELICITY JONES: (As Jyn Erso) We have hope. Rebellions are built on hope.

MONDELLO: So are movie franchise⁶ extensions. "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" will be sharing space - by which I mean sharing outer space - with other films over the holidays. One's called "The Space Between Us" and is about a 16-year-old boy who's coming to Earth for the first time.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE SPACE BETWEEN US")

BRITT ROBERTSON: (As Tulsa) You're from Mars.

ASA BUTTERFIELD: (As Gardner Elliot) Yeah. My mother was an astronaut. She died on Mars giving birth to me. But this is my father. You're going to help me find him.

MONDELLO: Then there's "Passengers" in which Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence are traveling to a far-away star theoretically sound asleep for 120 years.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PASSENGERS")

CHRIS PRATT: (As James Preston) I think something went wrong with the hibernation⁷ pods. We woke up too soon - 90 years too soon.

JENNIFER LAWRENCE: (As Aurora⁸ Lane) This can't be happening. We have to go back to sleep.

MONDELLO: Down on Earth, people will be losing sleep too, scared out of their wits in close to a dozen horror movies, which are proving increasingly popular at holiday time. This year's include "Abattoir⁹" about a real estate reporter investigating a literal haunted house and "SiREN" about a bachelor party at a supernatural sex club. Real-life horror is the subject of a more serious film from Denmark. It's set during World War II and called "Land Of Mine," a title that sounds a little less friendly when you realize it refers to 2 million landmines¹⁰ that were buried on Danish beaches by the Nazis¹¹. As the war winds down, the Danes force young prisoners of war, German boys in their early teens, to dig up and defuse the bombs with their bare hands.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LAND OF MINE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) Duck (ph).

(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSION)

MONDELLO: "Land Of Mine" is the Danish entry in Oscar's foreign language sweepstakes. Nightmares of a more bureaucratic¹² sort plague the title character in the British drama "I, Daniel Blake." He's an old age pensioner¹³.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "I, DANIEL BLAKE")

DAVE JOHNS: (As Daniel) I'm (unintelligible) the age of heart attack. I have been told by my doctor that I'm not supposed to go back to work yet.

MONDELLO: Alas¹⁴ there's a catch.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "I, DANIEL BLAKE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: (As character) I'm afraid you will not continue to look for work or your benefit payments will be frozen.

JOHNS: (As Daniel) There must be some mistake. I'm just going round in circles.

MONDELLO: "I, Daniel Blake" became an award season favorite when it won the Palme d'Or at Cannes this year, but this Ken¹⁵ Loach film is hardly the only director-driven picture being mentioned. Martin Scorsese has a drama called "Silence" about Jesuit priests on a Christian¹⁶ mission in 17th century Japan. Jim Jarmusch has been getting raves¹⁷ with "Paterson," a quiet tale of a bus driver and a poet. And less than a year after Oscar's so white, it looks as if a lot of award season movies will center on performers of color - Denzel Washington as a difficult dad, for instance, in a film version of August Wilson's Pulitzer-winning play "Fences."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FENCES")

JOVAN ADEPO: (As Cory) Hey, Pop. How come you ain't never like me?

DENZEL WASHINGTON: (As Troy) Like you? What law is there say I got to like you?

ADEPO: (As Cory) None.

WASHINGTON: (As Troy) Well, all right then. Don't you eat every day?

ADEPO: (As Cory) Yes, sir.

WASHINGTON: (As Troy) You eat every day.

ADEPO: (As Cory) Yes, sir.

WASHINGTON: (As Troy) Got a roof over your head.

ADEPO: (As Cory) Yes, sir.

WASHINGTON: (As Troy) Got clothes on your back.

ADEPO: (As Cory) Yes, sir.

WASHINGTON: (As Troy) Why you think that is?

ADEPO: (As Cory) Because of you.

WASHINGTON: (As Troy, laughter) Hell, I know it's 'cause of me. But why do you think that is?

ADEPO: (As Cory) Because you like me.

WASHINGTON: (As Troy) Like you - you're about the biggest fool I ever saw.

MONDELLO: Elsewhere, Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson and Janelle Monae play the mathematically gifted NASA employees who helped put John Glenn in space at a time when black women faced limited opportunities and lots of obstacles.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "HIDDEN FIGURES")

KEVIN COSTNER: (As Al Harrison) You're never where I need you to be. Where the hell do you go every day?

TARAJI P. HENSON: (As Katherine Johnson) The colored bathroom is a mile away.

COSTNER: (As Al Harrison) We all get to the peak together or we don't get there at all.

MONDELLO: The movie "Hidden Figures" is based on real life, as are two of the season's most tragic¹⁸ stories. Mark Wahlberg is a policeman in "Patriot's Day" about the Boston Marathon bombing.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "PATRIOT'S DAY")

MARK WAHLBERG: (As Sgt. Tommy Saunders) (Unintelligible) To 94. We got multiple explosions. We need help down here.

MONDELLO: And in "Jackie," Natalie Portman plays Jacqueline Kennedy as a first lady whose steely resolve about her husband's funeral procession overcame the doubts of world leaders.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "JACKIE")

NATALIE PORTMAN: (As Jacqueline Kennedy) Inform them that I will walk with Jack¹ tomorrow, alone if necessary. And tell General DeGaulle that if he wishes to ride in an armored car or in a tank for that matter, I won't blame him. And I'm sure the tens of millions of people watching won't either.

MONDELLO: Other biopics are more upbeat - "The Founder," for instance, about Ray Kroc, a milkshake mixer salesman, who bought a little burger business from the McDonald brothers and turned it into the world's largest fast food franchise; "Neruda" film noir about Chilean poet Pablo Neruda who loved all things noir; and "Lion," the story of a world traveling odyssey¹⁹ that seems almost too crazy to be true.

(SOUNDBITE OF "LION" FILM)

MONDELLO: Little Saroo is 5 years old when he sneaked²⁰ onto a locked train and was swept first halfway²¹ across India and then all the way to Australia. Then, two decades later...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LION")

DEV PATEL: (As Saroo Brierly) I have to find my way back home.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #4: (As character) It would take a lifetime to search all the stations in India.

MONDELLO: Enter modern technology, thank heaven. "Lion" has been a crowd pleaser on the festival circuit; so has "Toni Erdmann," one of two comedies you probably don't want to go to with your dad, or, if you're a dad, with your daughter. It's a nearly 3-hour German romp²² - yeah, I know it sounds unlikely, but it's funny - about a father whose fondness for practical jokes - calling himself Toni Erdmann counts as one - drives his corporate-ladder-climbing daughter nuts. A Hollywood comedy goes in the opposite direction. "Why Him?" features Bryan Cranston as a dad who's being driven nuts by his daughter's boyfriend, a zillionaire played by James Franco.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "WHY HIM?")

JAMES FRANCO: (As Laird Mayhew) On Christmas Day, I'm going to ask Stephie to marry me, and I'd really like your blessing²³.

BRYAN CRANSTON: (As Ned Fleming, laughter).

FRANCO: (As Laird Mayhew) Yeah?

CRANSTON: (As Ned Fleming) No.

FRANCO: (As Laird Mayhew) Look, just give me a couple days to win you over. By Christmas morning, you're going to be calling me son. I'm going to be calling you dad.

CRANSTON: (As Ned Fleming) Don't think that's going to happen.

FRANCO: (As Laird Mayhew) I think it's going to, Dad.

CRANSTON: (As Ned Fleming) I know it won't.

FRANCO: (As Laird Mayhew) Dad, it will.

CRANSTON: (As Ned Fleming) Stop that.

FRANCO: (As Laird Mayhew) What, Dad?

CRANSTON: (As Ned Fleming) That - that - stop that.

FRANCO: (As Laird Mayhew) Dad, what are you talking about?

MONDELLO: If you're looking for something a little more inspirational for the holidays, there's "Collateral²⁴ Beauty" in which Will Smith plays a man buffeted²⁵ by tragedy who finds hope in odd places.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "COLLATERAL BEAUTY")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #5: (As character) Howard doesn't write letters to people. He writes to things - time, love, death.

MICHAEL PENA: (As Simon) Kids write letters to Santa Claus. It doesn't mean they're crazy.

KATE WINSLET: (As Claire) No, this is therapeutic²⁶.

MONDELLO: The thing is he's getting replies.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "COLLATERAL BEAUTY")

WILL SMITH: (As Howard Inlet) I wrote a letter to death.

HELEN MIRREN: (As Brigitte) Nice to meet you. I'm charmed I'm sure.

MONDELLO: Also upbeat, the animated kid flick²⁷ "Sing."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SING")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #6: (As character, singing) La, la, la.

MONDELLO: "Sing" features a four-legged contest you might call "Animal Idol²⁸."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SING")

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY: (As Buster Moon) Everyone in this city gets a shot at being a star in our singing competition.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #7: (As character) This stage is about to explode with major piggy power.

MONDELLO: And while you ship the kids off to that, you can luxuriate in what is quite possibly the most swoonable (ph) musical in many a year. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone singing and dancing...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LA LA LAND")

EMMA STONE: (As Mia) It's pretty strange that we keep running into each other.

RYAN GOSLING: (As Sebastian) Maybe it means something.

STONE: (As Mia) I doubt it.

GOSLING: (As Sebastian) Yeah, I don't think so.

MONDELLO: ...In a showbiz saga²⁹ called "La La Land."

STONE: (As Mia) Maybe I'm not good enough.

GOSLING: (As Sebastian) Yes, you are.

STONE: (As Mia) Maybe I'm not. It's like a pipe dream.

GOSLING: (As Sebastian) This is the dream. It's conflict and it's compromise and it's very, very exciting.

MONDELLO: It's certainly got Tinseltown excited. I'm Bob Mondello.

(SOUNDBITE OF "LA LA LAND" FILM)

1 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

6 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

7 hibernation   

n.冬眠

参考例句：

• Bears wake up in the spring after a winter of hibernation.熊经过一个冬天的冬眠后在春季苏醒。
• The tortoise spends the winter months in hibernation.乌龟在冬眠中度过寒冬季节。

8 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

9 abattoir   

n.屠宰场，角斗场

参考例句：

• The sheep were driven to the local abattoir.羊被赶到当地的屠宰场。
• It was surreal meeting her at the abattoir.竟然会在屠宰场里遇见她，真离奇。

10 landmines   

潜在的冲突； 地雷，投伞水雷( landmine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The treaty bans the use production and trade of landmines. 该条约规定，禁止使用地雷相关产品及贸易。
• One of the weapon's of special concern was landmines. 在引起人们特别关注的武器中就有地雷。

11 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

13 pensioner   

n.领养老金的人

参考例句：

• The tax threshold for a single pensioner is$ 445.单身领退休年金者的纳税起点为445英镑。
• It was the pensioner's vote late in the day that influenced the election of Mr.Sweet.最后是领取养老金者的选票影响了斯威特先生的当选。

14 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

15 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

16 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

17 raves   

n.狂欢晚会( rave的名词复数 )v.胡言乱语( rave的第三人称单数 )；愤怒地说；咆哮；痴心地说

参考例句：

• She raves about that singer. 她醉心地谈论那位歌手。 来自辞典例句
• His new play received raves in the paper. 他的新剧本在报纸上受到赞扬。 来自辞典例句

18 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

19 odyssey   

n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险

参考例句：

• The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
• His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程，到此结束了。

20 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

21 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

22 romp   

n.欢闹；v.嬉闹玩笑

参考例句：

• The child went for a romp in the forest.那个孩子去森林快活一把。
• Dogs and little children romped happily in the garden.狗和小孩子们在花园里嬉戏。

23 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

24 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

25 buffeted   

反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去

参考例句：

• to be buffeted by the wind 被风吹得左右摇摆
• We were buffeted by the wind and the rain. 我们遭到风雨的袭击。

26 therapeutic   

adj.治疗的，起治疗作用的；对身心健康有益的

参考例句：

• Therapeutic measures were selected to fit the patient.选择治疗措施以适应病人的需要。
• When I was sad,music had a therapeutic effect.我悲伤的时候，音乐有治疗效力。

27 flick   

n.快速的轻打，轻打声，弹开；v.轻弹，轻轻拂去，忽然摇动

参考例句：

• He gave a flick of the whip.他轻抽一下鞭子。
• By a flick of his whip,he drove the fly from the horse's head.他用鞭子轻抽了一下，将马头上的苍蝇驱走。

28 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

29 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。