By: Renee Riendeau / Movie Revelations Moviegoers didn’t rush to the theater in significant numbers to see Harrison Ford’s final “Indiana Jones, Dial of Destiny” film. I attended the movie on the third day of release and there were only a handful of people joining me in the audience. The film cost $250 million but only grossed $60 million from the 4,600 movie theaters in North America. There was also $70 million from international showings in 52 markets. So, this flick enjoyed a $130 million global opening. The figures, however, failed to meet box office expectations. This time machine film was mostly filmed in Morocco. It included a chase through the city of German criminals following Jones and his sidekick and goddaughter, Helena (Phoebe Waller- Bridge). They were all attempting to capture the time machine for their own benefit in changing history. Some scenes were 30 Indiana Jones - Dial of Destiny English Teacher Agony & Ecstacy By: Jane Dow / Mutterings & Musings My favorite student sat slumped in his desk, soundly sleeping. He was a pathetic kid with abusive, druggy parents. But somehow he managed to come to school where, at least, he was safe. I didn’t want to wake him, but I was concerned the principal might walk in and see him sleeping. The only thing I could think of doing was moving my fake Ficus tree in front of him, so he would be sort of hidden. This was the thought process of a first year English teacher. I loved high school in the 60s. Although I was a mediocre B student, I excelled at English and goofing off. Therefore, when it came time to decide my future, I chose the only obvious option: English Teacher! In hindsight, the attributes of a successful English teacher should involve more than the ability to write a sexy 5-paragrph essay. Also, my stand-up comedy routine in Trig class didn’t prepare me for the hordes of Walking Dead freshmen who tried to devour me in Remedial Reading. In other words, during my first year of teaching, I was completely blind-sided when it came to classroom discipline. <strong>August</strong> <strong>2023</strong> exciting, dangerous, and breath taking. One of the most captivating was when the young star, (Ethann Isidore) jumped in an empty plane and flew it to rescue Jones and Helena who had been captured by the Germans. Another “wow” scene is when Jones and Helena jumped out of plane together. This “Dial for Destiny” is the 5 th installment of the Spielberg/George Lucas adventure series which began in 1981. The movie was directed by James Mangold who took over for Spielberg. The current script calls for an older archaeologist as Dr. Jones is retiring from his university teaching position. (Interestingly, Ford announced this will be his last time playing this character). I can’t remember if or when I saw a previous Indian Jones film, but my movie rating is 8 out of 10. It appears viewers are not interested anymore in an 80 year old hero, even if it is Harrison Ford. Renee Riendeau is the movie reviewer for The Vegas Voice. Renee can be reached at rriendeau@aol.com and is anxious to hear from you. How did I combat this pedagogical shortcoming? Fun! I put my theatre background to good use. During the unit on Romeo and Juliet, we hurled Shakespearean insults at one another (“Thou are a boil, a plague sore! “). When we studied British Lit., each student delivered a monologue dressed up as a British writer. I came as Queen Victoria to preside over the affair. During an Edgar Allen Poe unit, students brought one of his short stories to life by concocting a “Bag Full of Poe”--decorated bags filled with key objects from one of his stories. You can imagine what “The Premature Burial” bags contained. Vincent Price would have died from fright--or disgust. Over the years, I attended many workshops on Classroom Management. However, my Vice Principal Tim gave me the wisest advice: “Jane, if you say you’re going to kill ‘em, you’ve got to kill ‘em.” I understood what he meant. Don’t make empty threats. I miss those simpler, teen-filled years. Jane taught high school English and theatre for 30 years. She now spends her time being a Toastmaster, enjoying the endless entertainment options in our town, attending Pilates classes and spoiling her rescue, Mandy.
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