(revised) Movie Review-Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

After my second viewing of KOTCS, the verdict is...this movie is pretty good. Going into it with more realistic expectations, the movie played a lot better the second time around. Everything felt right and made sense. Some things that bothered me in the first viewing were totally fine this time around-the ant scene didn't bother me at all, and even the monkeys and Shia swinging through the trees ala Tarzan didn't bother as much as before (though I still could have done without it).

Its so funny how context can change how you perceive something. Having already seen the movie, watching it this time was more like watching the other Indy films because now I knew what would happen next, so I could focus more on other things than just trying to follow the plot. The movie is definitely rewatchable. There is so much more that I liked about it the second time around. I really enjoyed the first half to two-thirds of the movie. The intro at Area 51, Indy meeting Mutt, the Peru scenes, and even most of the big chase set-piece were good stuff. The whole ending still bugs me, the whole "I want to know", bad CGI alien, spaceship scene. It didnt feel like an the old Indy movies, whereas most of the rest of the movie does.



So, what exactly am I trying to say here? Indy IV is good-very good. It is worth repeat viewings. Its not as good as Last Crusade or Raiders, its got a little too much CGI for my tastes, but it is entertaining and satisfying. I hope that they make a couple of more movies with Indy in the 1950s!

Serenity Now! -The Official Podcast of Its a Trap and I Ated the Berries is Online Now

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Movie Review-Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

After watching Indy IV last night and coming away somewhat disappointed, I rationalized to myself that I just didn’t give the movie a chance. I didn’t follow my own advice to take the movie in context, and not build it up to unrealistic heights (see my post from April 19-I’m such a hypocrite!). So, the morning after the midnight showing, I had talked myself into the fact that the movie wasn’t that bad, and that I should wait until after my second viewing to write any sort of review. I was gonna give Indy another shot.

Well, I am still gonna give the movie another shot and try to enjoy it more on its own merits, but I realize that you can’t always avoid first impressions. There are just some things that I don’t think that I’ll change my mind or heart about. So, I think I need to get these thoughts, opinions, and ruminations down before my second viewing. After my second viewing, perhaps some of my opinions will change, and perhaps I can synthesize what I gained from two viewings and construct a more compete view of the movie, but I want to get these first impressions down while they are still fresh.

Alright, after that preface, I am going to start with the good stuff. Harrison Ford looked GREAT, and I mean that in a totally hetero way (this old dude is buff!). He can so totally still play Indy. It wasn’t weird or not the same or anything. He has still got “it “as Indy. Ford still has the magic, even at 65. Ford’s age was never a negative or distracting issue.

Shia as Mutt Williams was also very good, and his relationship with Indy was believable, and he and Ford had chemistry. Shia was NOT the Jar Jar that ruined the movie. His character and performance were quite good, and I enjoyed many of his scenes, especially with Indy. Spielberg nudges us pretty hard early on in trying to show us the parallels between Indy/Mutt and Indy/Henry Sr., but overall it works.

I loved the fifties setting. The diner scene was great, and I also enjoyed the opening scene with the Elvis music playing as the teenagers in the hot rod raced the Army car. I like how the opening scene established the tone of the movie before we ever see Indy-it s obviously the fifties and years since the last movie, and the opening sets that up nicely.

The action scenes were good for the most part, and I enjoyed seeing Ford still do some of his own stunts.

Now, for the negative…Aliens. Monkeys. CG ants. Oh, my.

Ok, I did not have a problem with aliens being part of the relic for this movie. This seems to be the major ill people see in the movie, but I am ok with it. All of Indy’s big treasures have had a supernatural or fantastical element, so the crystal skull being of alien origin was not a problem for me. The whole crazy, X-files ending, though? It was a bit much, to say the least.

Shia swinging through the trees with CG monkeys. Do I even need to make a comment about that? This, combined with the ants, is where this movie really “jumped the shark” (I know, that term is so overused and cliché’ now, but it applies). Speaking of the ant, scene, I thought I was watching the Mummy Returns, and that is most definitely NOT a good thing. This scene did NOT feel like an Indy movie. I kept waiting for Brendan Fraser to pop up during this scene, and again, that is not a good thing.

One thing that you cannot accuse the filmmakers of is a lack of effort. In the wake of the poor reception by the fans of the Star Wars prequels, you can easily see that Lucas and Spielberg were hell bent on pleasing everybody with this movie. They try to throw everything into this movie-what happened to Marcus Brody and Indy’s dad, Marion comes back, we see the Ark of the Covenant, you got a female baddy ala Last Crusade, etc. You could tell that little stuff had been pulled from here and there, and that a million hands had touched the script, and everything just did not mesh together. The plot did not follow one strong arch as the other films did. The filmmakers tried too hard to just throw disjointed ideas together in an attempt to please everyone rather than just make a tight, solid adventure narrative. Like the old saying goes, when you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one (I think that was the moral of one of Aesop’s fables).

All of this being said, I think that perhaps I went into this movie with the wrong mindset. Instead of sitting there, waiting to be blown away by the second coming, I should have come with a more light hearted attitude of wanting to be entertained by master entertainers (which, despite any of their flaws, Spielberg, Lucas, and Ford excel as entertainers). If I had just chilled out, I probably would have enjoyed the film much more. Although I can’t just disregard my first impressions, I want to like this movie so much that I am most definitely giving it another shot. After my Friday evening viewing, I will post a follow up review to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and share any new thoughts about the movie at that time.

Serenity Now!

We just recorded our first podcast today-its Serenity Now! I hope to have the podcast ready to download from here soon. ShaolinDolemite and I riff on weekend box office, Darth Vader, Sex in the City (not a misprint), Hitler, Scientology, and more in our inaugral podcast. You don't wanna miss it!

In Four Days...HE'S BACK!!

The great adventurer returns in four days. Indy IV is almost here! I am trying my darnedest to stay away from the massive spoilers that seem to be everywhere right now. I am going to stay completely away from the internet and most television programming from Sunday until Wednesday, as I do not want to hear anything negative or positive as far as reviews of the film are concerned. I believe that it is a good thing that I am getting more and more confident that this thing is going to rock the closer we get to its release. My feelings are that there is no way this is gonna suck-there are too many of the old school guys working on it, and there is no way Ford was gonna do some Jar Jar Binks rendition of Indy.

If you haven't already, you really need to pick up the May issue of Empire magazine (pictured above). For ten bucks, you get the magazine with a nice Indy cover and a great article on KOTCS, PLUS you get a sweet little publication entitled "The Indiana Jones Diaries", in which the big players of the saga themselves write articles about Indy and why its so great and special (yes, George, Steven, and Harrison all contribute). It is great stuff indeed, especially for ten bucks-and it also is contained in a slip cover with another great picture of Indy. Empire, you are welcome for my pimping of your mag lol.

See yall in line Wednesday night!

C'mon, Indy IV!

OK. I am tired of waiting. Hopefully I can attend an early screening of the film on the 21st. After watching the new trailer, the new tv spots, and peeking at some of the new trading cards, I cannot wait any longer for this movie! Just ten more days until the adventure continues! (Sorry for the content free post). Are you as ready as I am for this thing? Post your comments.

Movie Review-Iron Man

Finally! Summer movie season 2008 has begun! Iron Man is here, and it kicks off what could prove to be the biggest blockbuster summer since, well...ever. I saw the movie last night. So, what did I think of it? Read on.

First, I want to say that I liked this movie. The special effects were outstanding, from the rendering of Iron Man's suits to the battles and explosions (believe me, there is a ton of stuff that blows up and/or catches on fire in this movie). ILM did a great job, and I have to say that the effects were pretty seamless. It's very impressive stuff. And, Robert Downey, Jr. is perfectly cast as Tony Stark/Iron Man. As someone somewhat familiar with the comics, it never felt odd thinking off him as Stark. He brought a lot of humor to the character, but his performance never steered into camp or charicature. You get the feeling that playing Stark wasn't too difficult for Downey, yet you never get the feeling that he is mailing in his performance, like say Jack Nicholson in The Departed.

I also liked the tone of the movie. It plays it straight, yet you never really take anything too seriously. Iron Man nails the Marvel feel, and it's similar to the Spider Man movies in tone but without the melodrama. The movie never insults your intelligence, yet it doesn't try too hard to be something that it's not, either. Favreau took the material serioulsy but not himself, and that is a good thing.

The pace of the movie is never really slow due to the editing, which I thought was good, yet it does seem to drag somewhat, especially if you are already familar with Iron Man and the origin story. It is standard now that all comic book movies begin with the origin story, but I just kept waiting for something more to happen. I suppose you can't really blame anyone for this, because all origin stories are going to suffer from this to some extent (I think Batman Begins was an exception).

The goal of the firt movie of a comic book property is to launch the franchise sucessfully so more sequels can be made, and I think that Iron Man does the job well. Its not going to blow you away, and I don't think I'll be watching it 4-5 times in the theater, but it is definitely worth seeing. There's also a nice little fanboy treat if you stay until after the end credits. Now that the franchise is established, I have high expectations for Iron Man 2, and after seeing Iron Man, let's give Favreau a crack at The Avengers, please!

So far, we're 1 for 1 this summer. Next up to the plate -Indiana Jones!