Holiday Movies for Everyone (1) (2) (3)

Holiday films really bring in the crowds

Alien enemies, icy adventures, Middle Earth... the 2013 holiday film season offers it all! Many people watch films at home or online. But there is still nothing like seeing a film in a theater with other people. What awaits moviegoers this holiday season?

Science-fiction fans are excited about Ender's Game. The people of Earth must work together to save themselves after an alien war. They choose Ender Wiggen, a smart, quiet boy, and send him to battle school. Everyone hopes he will be the one to save them all.

Chris Hemsworth is back as the powerful Thor in Thor: The Dark World. A young woman, Jane Foster, is threatened by evil beings. Thor must battle to save her.The Hunger Games: Catching Fire finds Jennifer Lawrence returning as Katniss. She must go on a victory tour after winning the 74th annual Hunger Games. Preparations begin for the 75th annual Hunger Games. Those games could change Panem forever.

In the animated film Frozen, the kingdom of Arendelle lies trapped in winter. Anna's sister Elsa is responsible for the spell. Anna teams up with tough mountain man Kristoff and his reindeer Sven. They must find Elsa and save the kingdom before it's too late.

In The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Bilbo and his friends have crossed the Misty Mountains. Now they must travel through Mirkwood Forest. But they must go without the wizard Gandalf. Will they make it to Lonely Mountain where the dragon Smaug guards the dwarfs' gold?

The film The Monuments Men is based on a true story. A group of art historians and museum people must work together. They race against time to get back some stolen artwork before Hitler can destroy it.

What was life like when dinosaurs walked on Earth? Find out in Walking with Dinosaurs. Viewers will feel like they are part of the dinosaurs' world. And some things in that world are very dangerous!

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Action adventure 47 Ronin is set in 18th-century Japan. A group of samurai must avenge their master's death.

Adventure finds a most unlikely person in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Walter, a timid magazine photo manager, lives a quiet life. Exciting things only happen to him in his dreams. But when a negative disappears, Walter finds himself in a real-life adventure!

Audiences loved Mary Poppins, but the film almost didn't get made! The film Saving Mr. Banks tells the story of Walt Disney and author P.L. Travers. Disney talked her into allowing him to make a movie of her story. Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson star.

Movie star Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier of Monaco and became Princess Grace. Grace of Monaco tells how she helped save Monaco from a looming French invasion in the early 1960s.

These are a few of the films that offer you the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful story this winter. Don't miss them!

Grammar Gym
... elipses
acts like an em dash ("-") to show that an additional idea is coming up

- "Alien enemies, icy adventures, Middle Earth... the 2013 holiday film season offers it all!"
- I would like to take a trip... anywhere is fine.
- You can put all kinds of fruit on your shaved ice: strawberries, peaches, pineapple... anything you like.

Info Cloud
based on a true story 根據真實故事改篇/ inspired by actual event 電影改編
artistic license 藝術破格:藝術家對作品表現方式的自由 (license在這指許可, 放縱)

Language Lab
avenge v.
to do something to hurt or punish someone because they have harmed or offended you
- The boy swore to avenge his mother's murder.
avenge oneself on someone
- The policeman avenged himself on the man who killed his partner.

negative adj.
harmful, unpleasant, or not wanted
considering only the bad qualities of a situation, person etc and not the good ones
- negative thoughts
negative n.
an image on a photographic film that shows dark areas as light and light areas as dark, from which the final picture is printed
- I took the negatives to the photo shop to be developed.
- Chelsea still has the black-and-white negatives of her wedding photos.

timid adj.
/ˈtɪməd/
not having courage or confidence [= shy; ≠ confident]:
timidity n.
/təˈmɪdəti/

audience n. [audio-聽, 聽覺有關的]
a group of people who gather together to listen to something (such as a concert) or watch something (such as a movie or play) : the people who attend a performance
- The studio audience cheered when the producer gave them the signal.
- This popular band has audiences around the globe.

loom v.
if a problem or difficulty looms, it is likely to happen very soon
- With the super typhoon looming, all residents along coastal areas were evacuated.
to appear as a large unclear shape, especially in a threatening way
- Suddenly a strange guy loomed out of the fog.