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Film Review: Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones @ IMDB

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing. It makes the past look better and sells tons of DVDs each year. But you can get stuck in the past and not appreciate what you have now.

Exhibit A: the new Indiana Jones film.

How long in the making? Oh, ages. Did we think it was going to happen? Probably not. The Star Wars Prequels didn't bode well.

But people forget that Steven Spielberg makes great popcorn films. And that's what Indiana Jones is: a great (the best?) popcorn film.

So it is that Indy returns, older, not necessarily wiser but still has a hat and a whip and some weird artifact to return to somewhere.

Start with the problems: that title. Sort of sums up the story really. Bit too long, bit too convoluted and a bit silly.

But if you go with it, it's fun. It cracks along and it's never far until the next great set piece. Harrison Ford, a little creaky admittedly, can still carry the film. Shia LeBouef doesn't let the side down despite being in the silliest part of the film. The support is great, even if Ray Winstone's part is a little underwritten. No problems with the cast at all.

The thing is this: it's not like the old Indy films. Yes, there is CGI. It's not, as Spielberg promised, an old school Indy film. Nor should it be, this is 2008. The old Indy films used all the cutting edge film making technology they could lay their hands on and so does this film. I don't have a problem with CGI if it's used properly and in this film it is. It enhances.

The silliness, however, does not enhance. And it does get silly. Silly really is the best word to describe it. The ending is very silly. Well, the bit before the end is silly, the bit after that is one of the most astonishing CGI sequences I've ever seen. The scale of it is amazing and is almost worth the entrance fee alone.

So: great film. As good as the old ones? In some ways yes, in some ways no. But it can stand beside them and hold it's own and that's all we could have asked for.

In a word? Cracking.

No Travolta = The Win

Looks good. Not sure about the spinny chandelier thing but, hey, I'm not going to argue with The Punisher.

Boo!

Stan Winston is dead.

Stephen!

Guns + Cars = Hella Fun!

Wow, Russain trailers are reaaaally violent.

Guh?

Review of Indy 4 to follow shortly, but I found this.

Indiana Jones finds the crashed Millennium Falcon in which is the remains of Han Solo?

Guh?

The next big thing?

J J Abrams's new TV show, Fringe, will debut later in the year with a pilot episode costing $10 million.

$10 million? For a pilot?!

Now THAT'S a videogame

That's all kinds of crazy.

Hmmm.

Not convinced.

Backwards Jump

I love Driver. I loved editing replays in the Director's Mode.

Expect more of these.

Another Further Reason Why I Want a PS3

Giant robots fighting.

That'll do me.

They snuck that one out.

The teaser for The Spirit film has been released.

Might not be on your radar, but considering it's written and directed by Frank "300, Sin City" Miller is probably should be.

Film review: Iron Man

Iron Man @ IMDB

I love comics. I love movies. Therefore, I love comic book movies.

So if we go from Blade (taking that as the beginning of the renaissance of the comic book movie genre) it would have to go 30 Days of Night, X-Men 2, Sin City, Batman Begins and Spider-Man 2 in ascending order. Where does Iron Man fit in?

So, weapons manufacturer x war zone + sharpnel in heart = painful dose of reality.

Alright, that's too simple. Robert Downey Jr is Tony Stark of Stark Industries, the weapon manufacturer for the US military livin' the high life. Until, when showing off his weapons in Afghanistan, he gets attacked by terrorists using his own weapons leaving him with his heart powered by a car battery. One big pile of spare parts later, we get Iron Man.

First off performances: Robert Downey Jr is the best casting in a comic book film since Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. He fills Tony Stark and holds the film together. The character could easily have come off as smug but Downey Jr adds a streak of humor that keeps everything going. Gweneth Paltrow as the love interest does her best with an underwritten role, the scenery is only there so Jeff Bridges can chew on it so well.

But that's not what we're here for. We're here for a man in a robot suit beating the crap out of stuff. And in that respect, the film does not fail. Remember Transformers? The best special effects ever?

Beaten. The film looks so real, all the lines are blurred, it's faultless. It's amazing.

So it works. The story is great, the scenes when Stark is refining the armor are great, the dialogue is great. It's great!

Does it beat Spider-Man 2 as the best comic book film ever?

In a word? Yes.

A Further Reason To Purchase a PS3

Suddenly Batman Forever seems a looong time ago.

So a picture of Two-Face from the upcoming Batman Begins sequel has leaked onto the web:



Yeesh. That Joker picture looks like Sunshine and Rainbows compare to that.

Full trailer is now up online as well. Still looking awesome.

Things I Should Have Blogged About if I Didn't Watch TV

1) The viral marketing that Marvel did for their Secret Invasion crossover.

2) The complete lack of any decent film release at the cinema.

3) The release of GTA IV and the lack of it in my house.

4) The new Hulk trailer.

5) How awesome The Doyouinverts are.

I'm not sure if this is meant to be a joke

That's either genius or really stupid.

Hello

Blog has been a bit sparse over the last couple of weeks because I've been driving my ass off getting ready for my next driving test.

Which I failed.

For the third time.

So, one one hand I still can't (legally) drive but I will be blogging more.

Great.