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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Date: Jul 09 2008

Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

He’s survived Nazis, a temple full of evil magic and the Peruvian jungle. Now it’s the ‘50s and Indiana Jones is taking on the Soviets and chasing an extra terrestrial.

Steven Spielberg and George Lucas came together to add another chapter to the Indiana Jones trilogy. Marni is glad to have one of the greatest heroes of cinema back, but a little put out by the plot of the new movie.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Beren

Marni: You know what I saw opening day?

Beren: What?

Marni: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Beren: Whoa, really? I’ve been dying to see it and I haven’t found anybody to go with me.

Marni: Really?

Beren: Nobody wants to be disappointed.

Marni: Yeah, well, there’s that. But you know, it’s Harrison Ford, he’s in his 60s, and they definitely make fun of that fact. They work that into the plot, that he’s this old guy cracking his whip and fighting off the bad guys. You know who was originally supposed to play Indiana Jones?

Beren: I have no idea.

Marni: Tom Selleck.

Beren: That’s disgusting. Could you imagine?

Marni: Magnum P.I. Couldn’t get out of his contract.

Beren: That mustache? On the big screen?

Marni: It made the ladies of the ‘80s crazy, that mustache.

Beren: Whoa.

Marni: But back to Indiana Jones. The plot’s pretty, uh, dumb. I shouldn’t say dumb, but it’s just…it’s not good, necessarily, I would give it a B- for a grade, but you know, it was good to see Indiana Jones. Cate Blanchett, fabulous. She’s, you know, the best part. I think she’s the best part of any movie.

Beren: How’s Shia?

Marni: Shia? He’s good. There’s definitely some nods to old films like The Wild One when you first see him on his motorcycle. There’s definitely a hint of that. But the plot of all the films, probably the worst.

Beren: Interesting. I’ll probably still try to see it in the theater.

Marni: It’s Indiana Jones. You should definitely see it in the theater.

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Discussion

Marni was so excited for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that she went on opening day. Beren wants to see it, but can’t get anyone to go with her. Everyone she knows assumes the movie will be disappointing compared to the Indiana Jones movies from the ‘80s.

Turns out those easily could have been a disappointment as well: Tom Selleck initially chosen to be the title character, but he couldn’t get out of his duties as Magnum P.I.. Beren thinks he would have been awful as Indy, but Marni says he was considered very attractive at the time.

Anyway, the new movie isn’t all that great, Marni says. She’s not so into the Soviet/space alien plot line. But Cate Blanchett does a really good job, and the movie makes fun of the fact that Harrison Ford is a lot older than last time he played Indy.

Are you glad Indiana Jones has been resurrected? What old movie franchise would you like to see brought back? Which do you hope Hollywood leaves well enough alone?

Comments

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siberian tigger

Mexico

I love all movies of Indiana jones, all of them are my favorite, but I do not watch the new one yet. I expect that it will be wanderfull like the others.