1 . Films to watch this year
Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear has been central to four Toy Story feature films, his own TV series, and various cartoon shorts. This year, the square-jawed Space Ranger is getting a film of his own. Director Angus MacLane ( co-director of Finding Dory ) and screenwriter Pete Docter ( Soul, Up, Inside Out ) bring back a beloved character while giving his interstellar story a new look, a more serious tone, and a fresh voice:
Chris Evans rather than Tim Allen is the actor who’ll be shouting,“To infinity - and beyond!” Released internationally on 17 June
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ( Part One )
It’s unlikely that the sequel will be quite as creative, but, as the sub-title suggests, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ( Part One ) is the first episode in a two-part story, which makes it a rarity in the world of cartoon films.
Released internationally on 7 October
Avatar 2
There are two things we know about James Cameron: he can’ t be rushed, and he loves the ocean. Those qualities come together in Avatar 2. The new film returns to the planet of Pandora, where blue- skinned Neytiri ( Zeo Saldana ) and her human husband Jake ( Sam Worthington ) are now patents, and Earthlings still haven’t solved the climate crisis. Most of the action took place underwater and was shot in a 900,000-gallon tank.
Released internationally on 16 December
Top Gun: Maverick
It was back in 1986 that Tom Cruise last played Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a trainee fighter pilot in the US Navy. Can anyone really believe that, all these years later, Maverick would only be a captain while his old frenemy “Iceman” ( Val Kilmer ) would be a four-star general?
Released internationally on 17 May
1. Who is Not involved in the production of Lightyear?| A．Angus MacLane. | B．Pete Docter. | C．Chris Evans. | D．Tim Allen. |
| A．Lightyear. | B．Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Part One). |
| C．Avatar 2. | D．Top Gun: Maverick. |
| A．It is a film based on military theme. |
| B．It is created by Tom Cruise. |
| C．It is the last one to be released. |
| D．It is a cartoon film made up of two episodes. |
1. What kind of movie did the speakers watch?
| A．A comedy about cats. |
| B．A movie about space history. |
| C．A movie about fighting against aliens (外星人). |
| A．At home. | B．In a grocery (杂货店) store. | C．In a movie theatre. |
| A．It is funny. | B．It is realistic. | C．It is exciting. |
| A．Some corn. | B．A fish burger. | C．Several sandwiches. |
3 . You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Laughter is the best medicine.” Comedy on Referral has taken that idea and run with it, using stand up comedy to help treat people struggling with trauma (创伤) and anxiety in partnership with the National Health Service (NHS).
The idea came from comedian Angie Belcher’s experiences teaching comedy at Bristol University. She found that students often told her how much stronger and more resilient (有适应力的) they were thanks to stand up comedy.
Inspired, she teamed up with the NHS in Bristol to create a six-week comedy course for patients struggling with trauma in January 2022. Following the success of this initial course, Comedy on Referral won NHS funding to help men with trauma in London.
Talking to the Bristol Post, Belcher said, “Past traumas are perfect for comedy. Comedy doesn’t come from the happy, perfect moments of your life, but from our everyday struggles and major life events. People who’ve been through big life experiences such as losing a loving one and ill health often can’t wait to tell me their story, mostly because there’s always something especially funny about the situation.”
Research has shown that laughter has positive psychological effects, such as decreasing levels of cortisol—the stress hormone—and increasing endorphins (内啡肽). It can even have physiological benefits, although less research has been done in this area. Current research has linked laughter and humour with increased levels of pain tolerance as well as short-term cardiovascular benefits. More research is needed to prove these findings.
Nonetheless, the mental health benefits of regular laughter are widely accepted, and using comedy to treat mental health struggles could be a real breakthrough in the treatment of mental health.
1. Why is the phrase mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．To stress the importance of laughter. | B．To explain the harm trauma causes. |
| C．To show the effect of stand up comedy. | D．To state the idea behind Comedy on Referral. |
| A．Ambiguous. | B．Effective. | C．Controversial. | D．Fruitless. |
| A．Happy moments. | B．Funny moments. |
| C．Struggling moments. | D．Successful moments. |
| A．A news report. | B．A book review. |
| C．A comedy story. | D．A diary entry. |
4 . Four Great Musicals for You
Drama 101By: Stephen Gallagher and Kevin Wong
Preparing a party for their beloved high school drama teacher on the eve of her retirement, a group of students describe how she changed their lives in this funny, heartwarming and inspiring musical. This musical features a cast of young artists aged 13-19. It’s sure to touch the hearts of theatre kids of every age.
Tickets: $15; 5% discount
Be Kind, RewindBy: Barbara Johnston and Suzy Wilde
When fifteen-year-old Deirdre is sent to live with her cousins in 1995, she gets a job at the local video store where she falls in love with movies. The story is funny and heartwarming. This musical shines a light on growing up in the mid-90’s and honors the now-extinct video store. For those who are missing life in the 90’s, like songs and movies at that time, this show will touch them.
Tickets: $20; 20% discount
TITA JokesBy: The TITA Collective
The show centers around the women in our lives like our aunts, moms, daughters and partners. Through this musical, many of you will see more clearly their struggles and heartaches, and also how they deal with comedy and songs. In the musical, the performers sing and dance. They’re humorous, enjoying making jokes.
Tickets: $18; 5% discount
Unravelled: A New MusicalBy: Andrew Seok
Three of the greatest love stories of all time(Romeo & Juliet, Orpheus Eurydice, Della & Jim in The Gift of the Magi)are wonderfully retold and re-imagined to create an entirely new story of love. All three stories begin as they always have, but quickly intertwine(紧密相连)“The idea of writing one musical with all three separate stories never occurred to me until I wanted to write a completely different show,” said Seok.
Tickets: $16; 10% discount
1. What is Drama 101 mainly about?| A．The challenges of high school life. | B．The preparation for a welcome party. |
| C．The story between a teacher and students. | D．The plan of a teacher ready to leave school. |
| A．It calls for equal rights for women. | B．It tells women’s life stories in a light tone. |
| C．It focuses on women’s advantages over men. | D．It centers on women’s achievements in comedy. |
| A．Drama 101. | B．Be Kind, Rewind. |
| C．TITA Jokes. | D．Unravelled: A New Musical. |
5 . “It’s been a long time since I have played such a good character, and I’m deeply attracted by her complexity (复杂),” actress Gong Li told Beijing News. Gong spoke of her latest role as Yu Jin, a movie star and a spy, in the Saturday Fiction (《兰心大剧院》).
“Gong makes use of her timeless screen power to play the role of Yu,” Indie Wire commented. She has the ability to fill tiny moments with surprisingly deep feelings. For example, in a scene, Yu tells the other character to simply “take care”, nothing more. “But Gong’s posture, look and delivery raise this parting greeting to the level of a Greek tragedy,” the Hollywood Reporter noted.
It is such power that earns Gong the praise for being the character she plays in her acting career. In fact, it is a habit for her to spend two or three months preparing for her roles ahead of filming. “Every character is special for me. So I learn special techniques to play them or try to get used to their living environments,” Gong told China Daily. When shooting Saturday Fiction, Gong was trained to quickly load a gun in the darkness, repeating the process many times until the skill almost turned into a physical instinct. Although the gun-loading scene was cut from the final version of the film, Gong said the skill helped her to better understand her character.
Her pure love for films also makes her performance of characters convincing. Gong told CGTN that she tries to live a simple life to get rid of distractions. She hardly appears in reality shows, thus having more time for focusing on the character. “As an actor, sometimes it’s hard to stick to it because there are so many temptations (诱惑). Only true love can make you stick to it,” Gong said.
1. What can we know about Gong’ latest movie Saturday Fiction?| A．Her character led a simple life. |
| B．It was adapted from a Greek tragedy. |
| C．Its parting scene was performed perfectly. |
| D．There are scenes of training shooting in it. |
| A．To stress her precious spirit of her acting. |
| B．To show she has a wide range of interests. |
| C．To show she is an actress easily distracted. |
| D．To show she is an actress loving shooting. |
| A．Creative and responsible. | B．Diligent and passionate. |
| C．Brave and emotional. | D．Intelligent and devoted. |
| A．Acting Skill | B．Love for Shows |
| C．Shooting Scenes | D．Character Focus |
6 . What good films are coming out in March? Here are four films to watch this March.
Mulan
It’s another live-action remake of a classic Disney cartoon. It is based on an ancient Chinese girl who dresses up herself as a man so that she can join the army. Director Niki Caro and the actors show us wonderful battle scenes and Chinese Kung Fu.
Onward
Dragons, unicorns (独角兽) and other creatures are usually considered to only exist in ancient Greece, but in Onward, they are all still alive and kicking in the US today. Onward is about two brothers who go on a road trip in order to bring their father back from the dead. It is such a perfect film that it’s worth spending a few hours in the cinema.
Radioactive
Radioactive tells us about a famous Polish-French scientist, Marie Curie who won the Nobel Prize twice but was finally killed by the radiation she studied. In the film. Curie is played by Rosamund Pike alongside Sam Riley as her husband Pierre Curie and Anya Taylor-Joy as their daughter Irene.
Misbehavior
The Miss World Beauty Contest may be out of fashion, but it used to be one of television’s biggest events. Misbehavior tells what happened when the event was staged at the Royal Albert hall in London in 1970. There could hardly be a more interesting topic for a film, even if it was set 50 years ago.
1. What do we know about Onward?| A．It praises a woman fighter. |
| B．It is a Chinese story. |
| C．It focuses on animal protection. |
| D．It is a film about magic. |
| A．A soldier. | B．A killer. | C．A scientist. | D．A designer. |
| A．Misbehavior. | B．Onward. | C．Radioactive. | D．Mulan. |
