VOA慢速英语 Demons, Male Dancers and Dinosaurs at Theaters Everywhere

Demons², Male Dancers and Dinosaurs³ at Theaters Everywhere

The first day of summer was June 21 but the summer movie season began well before that. Last week, we talked about “Jurassic World,” which has proved to be a huge hit. The movie has sold more than $1 billion in tickets. Last weekend it passed “Avengers: Age of Ultron” to become the number one movie of 2015.

But, there are quite a few more blockbusters expected this summer. Today, we look at some of them, as well as other films opening in the coming weeks.

Humans at war with machines

Action-adventure movie lovers still have a lot more to look forward to. To start with, the Terminator is back. In early July, actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, stars in “Terminator: Genisys,” the fifth of the science fiction film series.

The movie is set in different time periods as characters time travel to battle. Schwarzenegger’s Terminator character is called The Guardian⁴. His job, again, is to protect the human who leads the war against the artificial intelligence system, Skynet, which is out to destroy all of humanity. In “Genisys” Skynet has decided⁵ to fight the past with the future. But the main goal remains⁶ the same --- kill the mother of the resistance leader before she even becomes pregnant with him.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was not in the last Terminator movie, “Salvation.” He talked about why he agreed to do “Genisys” in a video for the production company.

Schwarzenegger said he felt honored to be asked back. He said most action-adventure characters get replaced every few years. But he said he has remained the Terminator for more than 30 years.

Other installments⁸ in action-adventure series include a new “Fantastic Four” film and another “Mission Impossible.”

Teddy bears, male dancers…

There are also, of course, some summer film series that are not action movies. Last week we talked about “Ted 2,” the talking Teddy bear movie for adults. It was expected to earn at least $50 million at the box office last weekend when it opened. But moviegoers only bought about $33 million worth of tickets.

Actor Channing Tatum is also returning to the big screen. He renews his 2012 title role in the comedy, “Magic Mike XXL.” In the new movie Mike has been out of the stripper world for three years. But he and several other naked dancers decide to do one last major performance.

The website Rotten Tomatoes gathers movie reviews and rates films based on the reviews as a whole. “Magic Mike XXL” got a 61 percent  --- a just-passing grade.  At least two reviewers described the movie as “ridiculous.” Another suggested there was too little dancing to forgive the weak plot and poor dialogue.

“Magic Mike” is based on a period of Channing Tatum’s life when he worked as a stripper in Tampa, Florida. He was 19 years old. Now he is 35 and married with a two-year-old daughter. Tatum recently said that he would explain the “Magic Mike” movies to his daughter someday. He told People Magazine, “She's gonna see it; there's no way I could shelter her from it. I'm setting aside money for college and for therapy."

…and demons too

Along with saving humanity and dancing naked, this summer also offers horror films. A new version of the 1982 movie “Poltergeist” was released in May. Two weeks later, the third film in the “Insidious” series arrived in theaters. Both did better at the box office than with critics.

Another horror film is still to come. “Sinister 2” will open August 21 in the United States. The film series centers on an evil spirit called a bughuul. The demon¹ feeds on the souls of children. In the latest installment⁷, the demon takes possession of one boy in a set of twins of a single mother living in a lonely farmhouse⁹.

The description alone may be scary enough for some people.

A look at Amy Winehouse

Maybe you find independent films more to your liking¹⁰. Are you also a music lover? If so, “Amy,” opening July 10 may be the film for you.

The film explores the life of British singer Amy Winehouse. Moviegoers learn about the singer’s speedy rise to fame and her early death from alcohol poisoning.

Director Asif Kapadia said that Winehouse was seen “messed up and stumbling around” in her final days. He said those days seemed to overshadow her life. He said he wanted to show the other side of the singer as a young and laughing girl. The movie includes home videos from Winehouse. Kapadia also interviewed many people who knew the singer.

But Amy Winehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse, condemned¹¹ the film, calling it “misleading.”

Another indie movie has excited some fans of the “Twilight¹²” series. Twilight star, Kristin Stewart, and actor Jesse Eisenberg lead in a screwball comedy coming out August 21. “American Ultra” is about a federal agent so secret that he does not even know he’s a federal agent. He and his girlfriend are thrown into a dangerous government operation. The biggest problem? They are almost always high on marijuana.

Briton Nima Nourizadeh directed “American Ultra.” He told reporters the movie has action and humor but is, at its base, a love story.

Words in This Story

blockbuster – n. something that is very large, expensive, or successful

installment – n. one of several parts of a long book, movie, television program, etc., that are released over a period of time

box office – n. used to describe how many tickets have been sold for a movie, play, etc.

dialogue – n. the things that are said by the characters in a story, movie, play, etc.

stripper – n. a performer who removes his or her clothing in a sexually exciting way

twins – n. two babies that are born at the same time to the same mother

screwball – adj (informal). funny in a very silly and strange way

1 demon   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
• He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。

2 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 installment   

n.(instalment)分期付款；(连载的)一期

参考例句：

• I shall soon pay the last installment of my debt.不久我将偿付我的最后一期债款。
• He likes to buy things on the installment plan.他喜欢用分期付款法购买货物。

8 installments   

部分( installment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The first two installments were pretty close together in 1980. 第一次和节二次提款隔得很近，都是在1980年提的。
• You have an installments sales contract. 你已经订立了一份分期付款的买卖契约了。

9 farmhouse   

n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房）

参考例句：

• We fell for the farmhouse as soon as we saw it.我们对那所农舍一见倾心。
• We put up for the night at a farmhouse.我们在一间农舍投宿了一夜。

10 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

11 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

12 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。