The Fabelmans, 2022 A film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Michelle Williams

The Fabelmans is a 2022 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Steven Spielberg, who co-wrote and produced it with Tony Kushner. The film is a semi-autobiographical story loosely based on Spielberg's adolescence and first years as a filmmaker. The plot is told through an original story of the fictional Sammy Fabelman, a young aspiring filmmaker who explores how the power of films can help him see the truth about his dysfunctional family and those around him. It stars Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy, alongside Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Judd Hirsch in supporting roles. The film is dedicated to the memories of Spielberg's real-life parents, Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg, who died in 2017 and 2020, respectively.

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On a January night in 1952, in Haddon Township, New Jersey, Jewish couple Mitzi and Burt Fabelman take their young son Sammy to see his first film: The Greatest Show on Earth. Dazzled by a train scene, Sammy asks for a model set for Hanukkah, which he crashes late one night.

Mitzi, understanding Sammy's intentions, allows him to shoot another crash scene using Burt's 8mm camera. Sammy begins filming regularly, sometimes involving his sisters. Burt is offered a new job in Phoenix, Arizona, where he and the family move in early 1957. At Mitzi's insistence, Burt's best friend and business partner Bennie Loewy goes, too.

Years later, teenaged Sammy makes films with his friends in the Boy Scouts, begins utilizing post-production effects and earns a badge in photography. Later, the Fabelmans, including Bennie, take a camping trip with Sammy capturing footage of their vacation.

Shortly afterwards, Mitzi's mother dies, leaving her distraught. Providing him with film editing equipment, Burt suggests Sammy turn the vacation footage into a film to cheer Mitzi up. Sammy objects over the scheduling of his next film, but Burt, who sees his passion for film as simply a hobby, argues that the home movie is more important. The next morning, the Fabelmans receive a surprise visit from Mitzi's uncle Boris, a former lion tamer and film worker. That night, he speaks with Sammy about compromising his family with art, telling him that both aspects will continue to be at odds with one another.

Boris leaves, and Sammy begins editing the vacation footage, during which he finds evidence of Mitzi and Bennie having an affair. Sammy and Mitzi get into an argument after weeks of him treating her and Bennie harshly. In a fit of rage, she slaps him across the back after he shouts that he wishes she wasn't his mother. Distraught, Sammy shows her the compiled footage and promises to keep their secret.

The following week, Burt receives another promotion, requiring another move to Saratoga, California. Bennie stays in Phoenix, but not before gifting Sammy a new camera. Sammy refuses it until Bennie lets him pay $35 for it. Despite purchasing the camera, Sammy decides to never use it.

Soon after arriving in his new neighborhood and school, Sammy becomes targeted by students Logan and Chad, who levy antisemitic abuse toward him. He also begins dating the devoutly Christian Monica. While having dinner with the Fabelmans, she suggests that Sammy film their Ditch Day at the beach, something he eventually accepts after Monica tells him her father owns a 16mm Arriflex camera that he would let him use.

After moving from a rental to their newly purchased home, Mitzi and Burt announce their divorce due to her extreme depression and his discovery of the affair. This leaves the family heartbroken.

At prom, Sammy declares his love for Monica and asks her to come with him to Hollywood after high school. Unwilling to throw away her own life's plans to attend Texas A&M University, she breaks up with him.

The Ditch Day film is played in front of Sammy's peers to a rapturous response. It glorifies Logan and vilifies Chad. When Logan confronts Sammy, confused over his positive portrayal, they reach an understanding, cemented when Logan fights Chad off when he tries to attack Sammy. The next morning, Mitzi and Sammy talk about their future together; just as she cannot give up her love for Bennie, she tells Sammy not to give up his love for filmmaking.

The following year, Sammy is living with his father in Hollywood. He wants to drop out of college but is unable to find work in filmmaking. Burt grudgingly accepts his son's passion and tells Sammy to keep on his path if it makes him happy. Sammy receives an offer to work on Hogan's Heroes.

Knowing he is more interested in filmmaking, show co-creator Bernard Fein invites Sammy to meet director John Ford, one of his greatest influences. During their brief meeting, Ford offers Sammy some pointers on framing such as never framing the horizon in the center of the frame. Newly invigorated, Sammy walks through the sunlit studio backlot. The camera first frames the horizon in the center, then suddenly tilts up to place it near the bottom of the frame, following Ford's advice.

Rating: 10 Stars

The secret Garden, 2020

The Secret Garden is a 2020 British fantasy drama film based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the fourth film adaptation of the novel. Directed by Marc Munden and produced by David Heyman, it stars Dixie Egerickx, Colin Firth, and Julie Walters. Set in 1947 England, the plot follows a young orphan who is sent to live with her uncle, only to discover a magical garden at his estate.

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In 1947, Mary Lennox is found abandoned in her home in British India, her parents having died from cholera and her having been forgotten in the turmoil of Partition. Mary is sent to her uncle, Lord Archibald Craven's Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire, England. She is an unpleasant, unkind young girl who has had to repress her own emotions whilst growing up in the Raj.

Upon arriving, she meets Mrs Medlock, a strict and firm lady who is Lord Craven's housekeeper and servant. Mary is instructed to not explore the house and is confined to her room at night. There, she meets Martha, a servant who is unsettled by her demands.

Mary is allowed to leave the house to explore the estate and woods nearby and stumbles upon a stray dog whom she names Jemima. Later that night, she hears tiny screams and wailings throughout the corridors only to find Lord Craven's bedridden son, Colin Craven.

The next day, Mary meets Lord Craven in his study and he tells her to not cause any trouble. Mary continues exploring and follows Jemima into the mist. When she catches up with Jemima, she finds the dog with its leg caught in a trap. She helps Jemima, freeing her from the trap but the dog runs away. Mary follows and climbs a wall and falls into the secret garden.

Mary is then guided by a Robin to a stone statue within the garden which has a key to the garden within it. She leaves the garden as Mrs Medlock calls out for her. Back at the estate, Mary meets with Colin again as he talks about having a hunchback and not being able to walk. She tells him about the garden on the estate but Colin is uninterested. Snooping around later, she finds a room with pictures of both Mary's mother and Grace Craven, and she grabs a souvenir, a pearl necklace.

The next day, Mary returns to the garden to find Dickon, who offers to help heal Jemima. Mary then brings Colin in his wheelchair for the first time to the same room with his mother's pictures and dresses. Both Mary and Dickon hatch a plan to bring Colin to the garden, hoping to heal his immobility, but upon returning, Mrs Medlock confronts Mary for stealing the pearl necklace and she is punished by being signed up for a boarding school. Later, confined and locked in her room, Mary finds letters between her mother and aunt in a rocking horse. She persuades Colin to read them and the three continue reading letters in the garden.

A depressed and distracted Lord Craven, while lighting a candle, sets the desk on fire. The next morning, Mary, Dickon and Colin are in the garden when they see black smoke coming from the house. Colin persuades Mary and Dickon to run to check it out. Mary enters the burning house to find Lord Craven frantically looking for his son in the fire. She tries in vain to convince him to escape as his son is safe outside, but he resists until the ghost of his wife guides them out safely as the fire brigade arrives. An anxious Lord Craven and Mrs Medlock go with Mary and Dickon to Colin in the secret garden. Lord Craven gazes in awe at his son's mobility as they rekindle their relationship.

The film ends with Lord Craven rebuilding the estate and Mary, Dickon and Colin having fun in the secret garden.

Rating: 10 Stars

Retribution 2023 starring Liam Neeson

Retribution is a 2023 action thriller film directed by Nimród Antal and written by Chris Salmanpour. The film stars Liam Neeson, Noma Dumezweni, Lilly Aspell, Jack Champion, Embeth Davidtz and Matthew Modine.

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PLOT

Matt Turner works as a financier at Nanite Capital under his friend and CEO Anders Muller and lives with his wife, Heather, and two children, Emily and Zach, in Berlin. While driving his kids to school, Matt receives a call from an unknown number with a distorted voice who says that there is a bomb under his seat, which is already armed when Matt sits on it. The bomb is triggered by both pressure plates placed on all the seats and a radio frequency. He also threatens to detonate the bomb if Matt tries to get help. Matt finds the device and he is forced to follow the bomber’s instructions in order to keep them alive.

The bomber forces Matt to watch Sylvain, the latter’s client who is also receiving a bomb threat, being killed in an explosion when a panicked Sylvain’s girlfriend attempts to escape. The bomber tells Matt to call Heather to retrieve €50,000 at his safety deposit box at the bank. After Heather retrieves it, the bomber changes the plan by telling her to give the money to the man in a blue suit. When she does, the police arrive and arrest the man.

After seeing the news implicating Matt for the bombing, Europol agent Angela Brickmann calls him, who tries to convince her of his innocence and orders the signal to be jammed. The bomber reveals to Matt that he and Anders have a €208 million slash fund from the clients deposited on Matt’s “emergency collateral account” in a bank in Dubai. He arranges Matt to meet Anders at the power plant. Arriving there, the bomber forces Matt to order Anders to liquidate his collateral account. Despite Anders reluctantly complying, the bomber orders Matt to kill Anders with a revolver in exchange for his life and his children. When Matt refuses, the bomber blows up Anders’s car; the shrapnel injures Emily’s leg.

After a police chase, Matt is eventually surrounded by them with Angela and Heather arriving at the scene. The bomb squad safely removes Zach and Emily, who is then treated for her injuries, after they realized that the pressure plate is only located under Matt’s seat. Interrogating Matt, Angela suspects the bombing might be related to the heist. After talking to Heather for the last time, Matt drives away and evades the police, determined to find the bomber by himself. Matt demands the bomber to meet him in person if he wants the money.

The bomber is revealed to be Anders all along. Anders reveals that he wanted to make Matt a fall guy for the series of bombings to cover up his scheme of embezzling €208 million wired into his crypto account. To end this, Matt deliberately crashes his car, causing it to cling on the side of a bridge. Matt unlocks his seat belt and falls into the river, allowing the bomb to activate and killing Anders. Angela and the police arrive at the scene, with Angela nodding at Matt before allowing him to walk free.

During the credits, the news reports state that the bombings were part of the heist perpetrated by Anders, and Matt cooperates with the Europol to resolve the incident.

Rating: 10 Stars

History of the life of Florence Foster Jenkins 2016 - starring Maryl Streep The Opera Disaster of Florence Jenkins

Florence Foster Jenkins is a 2016 biographical film directed by Stephen Frears and written by Nicholas Martin and Julia Kogan. It stars Meryl Streep as Florence Foster Jenkins, a New York heiress known for her generosity and poor singing. Hugh Grant plays her manager and long-time companion, St. Clair Bayfield. Other cast members include Simon Helberg, Rebecca Ferguson, and Nina Arianda.

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In 1944, Florence Foster Jenkins is a New York City socialite heiress who founded the Verdi Club to celebrate her love of music. St.Clair Bayfield, a British Shakespearean actor, is her manager and long-time companion. Florence lives in a grand hotel suite, while Bayfield lives in an apartment with his mistress, Kathleen Weatherley. Florence suffers from long-term syphilis, contracted from her first husband.

Florence decides to resume singing lessons after she sees Lily Pons in concert with Bayfield. She hires pianist Cosmé McMoon, who is shocked by her terrible singing, but Bayfield and vocal coach Carlo Edwards, the assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, pretend she is wonderful. Bayfield warns McMoon of dire consequences if he criticizes her.

Bayfield arranges a small recital, handpicking the attendees. Loyal Verdi Club members watch respectfully, but others barely contain their laughter. Encouraged by her good reviews, she arranges to make a recording at Melotone as a Christmas gift for members of the Verdi Club. Florence gives McMoon a copy and recalls that Bayfield was an unsuccessful actor and that she hid negative reviews from him. She also informs McMoon of her history as a piano player and teacher, having once played for the President as a child. McMoon realizes that Florence is not as musically inept as he had thought.

Florence and McMoon write and perform original songs together. One song is broadcast on the radio, to the horror of Bayfield and Kathleen, though many listeners find it comedic and enjoy it. Florence informs Bayfield that she has booked Carnegie Hall for a performance and will give away a thousand tickets to soldiers. Bayfield fails to dissuade her. He gets into a fight with a group of men laughing at Florence and McMoon's song at a bar. Kathleen, resenting the lack of attention, leaves him.

McMoon confides to Bayfield that he fears that the recital will humiliate him and ruin his career. Bayfield replies that he gave up his acting career to support his wife and urges McMoon do the same for his friend. With Bayfield playing emotional blackmail on McMoon's every heartstring, McMoon reluctantly agrees to accompany Florence, though fully expecting to flop spectacularly at Carnegie Hall.

The concert is packed and attended by celebrities such as Cole Porter and Tallulah Bankhead. McMoon arrives late which unnerves Florence, but Bayfield and McMoon encourage her to go on – Florence then writes McMoon into her will backstage before the two go out onto the stage. When Florence begins singing, the soldiers laugh and shout. Her supporters and friends, however, scold them and cheer for her to keep singing. She continues her performance. However, New York Post columnist Earl Wilson tells Bayfield he will write a damning review and refuses his bribes.

Bayfield, with McMoon's help, buys every copy of the New York Post in the neighborhood and throws them away. Despite their best efforts Florence hears about the review, retrieves a copy of the review from a trash can, and is so upset she collapses and becomes severely ill. As she is dying in bed, Florence imagines herself singing beautiful opera, and takes a bow with McMoon and Bayfield to a standing ovation. She tells Bayfield that though people may say she could not sing, no one can say she did not sing.

Rating: 10 Stars

Love is in the Air, 2023 is an Australian romantic comedy.

Love Is in the Air is a 2023 Australian romantic comedy film co-written and directed by Adrian Powers. Starring Delta Goodrem as a seaplane pilot flying in the north Australian tropics who falls in love with the man sent to shut down her business.

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Dana Randall is the pilot for the tiny Queensland company which aids people in the remote area, both for the people living there and for visiting tourists. Her dad Jeff chides her for blowing off high-paying visitors to transport a resident's dog to the vet, as their bills are mounting.

William Mitchell is sent all the way from London by ITCM Financial, his father Duncan's UK investment firm, to the tropics of Australia to shut down Fullerton Airways. He'd researched companies they have been backing, and pinpoints the small, flailing, family-run seaplane business as ideal for liquidation as it lacks income. He's given a week to visit the company, go over their financials in person and return to the board meeting to shut them down, proving to his father he's ready to move up in the company.

Nikki, Fullerton's airplane mechanic, pushes Dana to find time to date but she insists she's too busy. The next morning, Jeff warns them a rep from ITCM Financial is coming for an inspection. Dana is asked to pick up Will from the ferry, and initially they have a testy relationship. She is quick to defend their remote air support, although Jeff tries to downplay it.

Dana whizzes Will around to a community off the coast of far-north Queensland to deliver parcels to people in need, which she visits every two weeks as otherwise they'd be totally cut off. Again they convince him to accompany her on her rounds a second day. This time the engine kicks out, but luckily Dana manages to keep her cool and she fixes the problem.

Afterwards, having drinks in Fullerton, Dana's ex Heath sees her chemistry with Will and both he and Nikki encourage her to pursue him. So, they spend time together while crossing the tarmac, star-gazing and sharing.

A third day of helping Dana, and Will's father loses patience with him. Will tries to convince Duncan that they were wrong to want to write off the small aeronautical company, but Nikki overhears. Dana is chewing out over the news when confirmation of an impending cyclone reaches them.

Will helps Dana find an injured Jeff, who'd been trying to help others seek safety against the cyclone. The three-person staff of Fullerton Airways hole up with Will in the hangar's storage room to wait out the storm. He pledges to fight for their company at his headquarters, as he cares about Dana.

The next morning, after the storm has passed, Will helps Dana deliver emergency supplies to many remote locations. Working hard all day, by nightfall she has made peace with him. However, as they're closing up the hanger for the night, Jeff announces that ITCM Financial has sent an e-mail, shutting them down immediately.

William has returned to London and has been unsuccessful in swaying the board. Dana arrives unannounced, armed with a plan to revamp and expand Fullerton Airways. In response to Duncan's negative response, Will resigns and offers himself to Dana to aid them in their expansion.

ITCM Financial backs their endeavour, and Fullerton Airways is shown to have expanded and now has a more professional look, with Will happily installed there with the company and Dana, as the two had fallen for each other.

CAST

• Delta Goodrem as Dana Randall
• Joshua Sasse as William
• Roy Billing as Jeff
• Steph Tisdell as Nikki
• Simon Brook McLachlan as Heath
• Daniela Pizzirani as Serena
• Mia Grunwald as Michelle
• Hugh Parker as Duncan
• Dante Surace as Packers Bay Resident
• Richard Wheeler as Packers Bay Resident

Rating: 10 Stars

My big fat Greek Wedding, 2023

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 is a 2023 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Nia Vardalos. The third installment in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise, the film stars Vardalos, John Corbett, Louis Mandylor, Elena Kampouris, Gia Carides, Joey Fatone, Lainie Kazan, and Andrea Martin. It is the first entry not to star Michael Constantine (who died in 2021) and Bess Meisler. Filming took place in Athens, Greece, from June through August 2022.

The film was released in the United States on September 8, 2023, by Focus Features. 

Amiable and sunny if often unamusing, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 repeats much of what audiences loved the first time. 

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The film follows the Portokalos family as they journey to Greece for a sort of family with his three friends reunion after the death of Gus which was still quite raw within the family.

Toula Portokalos - Miller is still happily married to her husband Ian who has recently retired from teaching, of course their daughter Paris is just a typical college student trying to find her way through the world while being pursued by the handsome Aristotle via a setup by the ever present Aunt Voula.

Maria is part of the story but behind the scenes as she is now battling Dementia and is being cared for by Athena and Yianni as well as Nick as he has moved back into the family home after his separation.

So once the family receives the invitation from the mayor of Vrisi (Gus’ village) they all head off for the voyage of discovery which brings them back to their homeland.

On Arrival they meet Victory, she is the mayor of the village who is a distant relative and then on the way through Athens they see all the beautiful sights then stop off to have a ceremonial swim as they have made it to the homeland.

During this process they discover new relatives that they did not know existed like Gus’ illegitimate son (Peter) and grandson via his old flame Alexandra (the grumpiest woman in the village).

Also Gus had a parting wish that when the family returned home to Greece they would take his journal with them to give to his childhood friends.

And there is a wedding after all it’s in the title - but it’s not who you might want it to be.

And this is where Paris and Aristotle affirm their commitment and agree to take the relationship slowly.

So once the party is over they all head back to America and bring Peter with them to meet Maria and welcome him into the family.

CAST

Nia Vardalos as Fotoula "Toula" Portokalos

John Corbett as Ian Miller

Louis Mandylor as Nick Portokalos

Elena Kampouris as Paris Miller

Lainie Kazan as Maria Portokalos

Andrea Martin as Theia Voula

Gia Carides as Cousin Nikki

Joey Fatone as Cousin Angelo

Maria Vacratsis as Theia Freida

Elias Kacavas as Aristotle

Melina Kotselou as Victory

Alexis Georgoulis as Peter

Stephanie Nur as Qamar

Gerry Mendicino as Uncle Taki

Stavroula Logothettis as Athena

Peter Tharos as Yianni

Kathryn Haggis as Marianthi

Jayne Eastwood as Mrs. White

Kathryn Greenwood as Marge

Tannis Burnett as Edie

Rating: 10 Stars

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 2023

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 2023 is a 2023 American action adventure film directed by James Mangold, who co-wrote it with Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and David Koepp. It is the sequel to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), as well as the fifth and final installment in the Indiana Jones film series. Featuring Harrison Ford, John Rhys-Davies, and Karen Allen reprising their roles as Indiana Jones, Sallah, and Marion Ravenwood, respectively, new cast members include Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, and Mads Mikkelsen. Set in 1969, the film follows Indy and his estranged goddaughter, Helena, who are trying to locate a powerful artifact before Jürgen Voller, a Nazi-turned-NASA scientist who plans to use it to alter the outcome of World War II.

Dial of Destiny is the only film in the series that is neither directed by Steven Spielberg nor conceived by George Lucas, with both serving as executive producers instead.

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In 1944, Nazis capture Indiana Jones and Oxford archeologist Basil Shaw as they attempt to retrieve the Lance of Longinus from a castle in the French Alps. Astrophysicist Jürgen Voller informs his superiors the Lance is fake, but he has found half of Archimedes' Dial, an Antikythera mechanism built by the ancient Syracusan mathematician Archimedes which reveals time fissures, thereby allowing for possible time travel. 

Indy escapes onto a Berlin-bound train filled with looted antiquities and frees Basil. He obtains the piece of the Dial, and the two escape the train just before Allied forces derail it. In 1969, Indy is retiring from Hunter College in New York City. Marion has recently left him and filed for legal separation due to Indy's depression after their son Mutt was killed in the Vietnam War.

Indy's goddaughter, archaeologist Helena Shaw, unexpectedly visits and wants to research the Dial. Indy warns that her late father, Basil, became obsessed with studying the Dial before relinquishing it to Indy to destroy, which he never did. As Indy and Helena retrieve the Dial half from the college archives, Voller's accomplices attack them. 

The CIA assists Voller, now working for NASA as "Dr. Schmidt". Helena, revealed as an antiquities smuggler, absconds with the Dial to put it up for auction on the black market. Indy is framed for two colleagues' murders, forcing him to escape through the Apollo 11 moon landing parade, then an anti-war protest. Indy seeks out his old friend Sallah, now a New York cab driver who helps him flee the country after surmising that Helena will likely sell the Dial in Tangier. 

At a Tangier hotel, Indy disrupts Helena's illegal private auction, but Voller and his henchmen arrive and steal the artifact. Indy, Helena, and her teen sidekick Teddy Kumar chase them through the streets in a tuk-tuk. The CIA intercepts Voller after the U.S. government disavows him for going rogue, but his cohorts murder the agents and steal their helicopter. Indy, Helena, and Teddy trail Voller to Greece and team up with Indy's old friend Renaldo, a professional diver. Guided by Basil's research, they dive to an ancient Aegean Sea shipwreck and retrieve a "graphikos" tablet containing directions to the Dial's other half. Voller arrives and murders Renaldo. Indy's group escapes and heads to Sicily, pursued by Voller. 

Inside the Ear of Dionysius cavern, Indy and Helena find Archimedes' tomb, the Dial's second half, and a 20th century wristwatch on Archimedes' skeletal arm. Voller appears and captures Indy, wounding him. Helena and Teddy escape and chase Voller. After reassembling the Dial, Voller reveals his plans to travel back to 1939 to assassinate Adolf Hitler and help lead Germany to victory in World War II. At an airfield, Voller activates the Dial and locates a time fissure in the sky. Indy is held captive on Voller's stolen plane while Helena stows away through its landing gear and Teddy follows them in another plane. 

Whilst approaching the fissure, Indy realizes that continental drift could have altered the timeline coordinates. Rather than 1939, the group instead arrives at the Siege of Syracuse in 212 BC. The warring armies shoot down Voller's plane, believing it to be a dragon. Indy and Helena parachute out just before the plane crashes, killing everyone else aboard, while Teddy lands safely. Archimedes finds Voller's body and wristwatch in the wreckage. 

He gives Indy the Dial but keeps the watch. Indy and Helena learn that Archimedes created the Dial to bring users from the future through fissures that lead only to 212 BC. As the fissure begins to collapse, Indy wants to remain behind, feeling he has nothing left to return to. Helena, fearing a time paradox and unwilling to give up on him, knocks Indy unconscious. Back in the present, a recovering Indy awakes in his apartment and reunites with Helena, Teddy, Sallah, and Marion. Marion and Indy reconcile.

Rating: 10 Stars