Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

The jury is still out. You know those relationships where you get some closure but months later you’re still kind of curious as to how they are doing? I think Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is like that. Last Crusade did a fine job of ending the trilogy; it explained the whip, the hat, the name and left the door wide open as the Indy and his group ride off into the sunset. The door was so wide open, that the filmmakers decided to reunite and see if they could give a more fitting epilogue to the story of Indiana Jones. In some cases, they succeed, but is the whole movie necessary?

Here are the things that impressed me:
...-The movie is able to recapture a sense of nostalgia. Filmingwise, not much has changed. It doesn’t look too modernized. Crystal Skull fits nicely into the rest of the Indiana canon; unlike the Star Wars prequels, which look vastly different from the original three. They also pay respect to previous installments with a mention of previous characters and even a glimpse at a familiar artifact.
...-Harrison Ford still has it. Sure he looks a little more paunchy than his buff, streamlined Temple of Doom days but he still knows how to deliver the lines and the action. Indy always gets beaten up and it’s nice to know that Ford can still take a punch. The humour and the smirk are also noticeably present throughout the film. I’m glad the story didn’t try to hide his age.
...-I hate to admit it but Shia LaBeouf is really good. His greaser look with the ever present switchblade and comb, works surprisingly well. He plays well with Ford and had some very fun moments. But even though he’s good, I’m praying that the studio doesn’t let LaBeouf carry on the franchise. That would not be a wise decision. Only Ford can be Indiana Jones. This ain’t a James Bond free-for-all.
...-The two female roles are wonderfully cast. (Temple of Doom failed miserably) Cate Blanchett is almost unrecognizable as Irina Spalko, the evil Russian bad guy. She perfectly disappears into her sinister role. And you can tell that Karen Allen is having a great time returning to her role as Marion Ravenwood. She seems to have a constant smile on her face showing she’s just happy to be along for the ride.
...-Crystal Skull moves at a pretty brisk pace. The two hour running time flies by as Spielberg is able to show numerous action sequences with minimal exposition.
...-Seeing Neil Flynn (Janitor on Scrubs) with Ford. (He played a cop in The Fugitive and talked about it on an episode of Scrubs. Funny.)
...-The Star Wars catchphrase “I have a bad feeling about this” makes a cameo.
...-Gophers, dry quicksand, greaser brawls, ants, waterfalls and secret passageways.

Here are the things that annoyed me:
...-A bunch of the outdoor scenes look pretty soundstage-ish. I realize that Lucas and Spielberg were concerned about plot details leaking out but it’s sad when the landscape looks like a giant fake screen. The lighting in these scenes are atrocious. Spielberg is better than that.
...-Ray Winstone (Beowulf) sucks. His character Mac sucks. Suckiness all around. What a useless character. I miss Sallah.
...-I understand that all three previous Indy installments have some supernatural elements but this one goes a little too far. Actually way too far. Couldn’t he have looked for Atlantis instead?
...-The swinging through trees, the bland supporting villains, the confusing character of Professor Oxley.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a pretty good film. You just need to keep your expectations in check. It’s all about having a good time at the movies, nothing more. Don’t expect anything profound or important. Just get ready to have a good time and forgive some of the glitches. This is definitely one for the big screen. Spielberg goes for the eye candy and you don’t want to miss it. It’ll get your heart beating to that familiar Indy score. Da-da-da-da . . . da-da-da.

Prince Caspian

Let’s get one thing out of the way, right from the top: the Narnia series will never equal The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Deal with it. Tolkien’s books are just more epic whereas CS Lewis' books are much more accessible, especially to younger readers. I guess this is why many reviewers are in a tizzy concerning the violent battle sequences found in Prince Caspian. But those scenes are in the book, it’s not like the Narnians are having tea parties and dancing around the maypole in Lewis’ fantasy novels. Sure, the scenes may seem a little graphic at times but I don’t think the movies, or the books for that matter, are intended for six year olds. Prince Caspian is a darker story, and it’s meant to be. So going into this film, I was prepared for something a little more savage. I think Prince Caspian delivers what it set out to do, but I still find myself wanting more.

Just so you know, I did like The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Most of the images matched what I dreamt of while reading these stories as a child. The story was pretty accurate, some of the creatures looked fantastic and there was some fine acting all around. Most people I talk to are bothered by the CGI Aslan, but I don’t know how they could possibly make a talking lion demonstrate any more personality. Maybe they want to go the Mr. Ed route and get a real lion and feed him peanut butter so he has to keep smacking his gums to mimic speaking. I liked Aslan in both movies. My biggest problem with Lion and Caspian is that I don’t find myself rooting for the children. The acting is all well and good but they aren’t dynamic enough for me to care if they live or die. That can’t be good. To be fair, in Lion I thought Lucy was adorable, but then again, who didn’t. In Prince Caspian, I actually found myself liking Edmund a whole lot more. He seems to be the one who has matured the most. Peter is still annoying with his bossiness, Susan doesn’t show much emotion and Lucy’s cuteness is starting to wane. But enough comparison, let’s just look at Prince Caspian.

I really liked some of the supporting characters in this movie. Peter Dinklage (Station Agent, Elf) is outstanding as the cynical dwarf, Trumpkin. I was hoping for a lot more lines from him; I seem to remember the book having him pipe in a whole lot more. In the books, I never liked Reepicheep the valiant mouse. In Prince Caspian, this character is awesome. It’s probably because he’s snarkily voiced by the amazing Eddie Izzard. I’m actually looking forward to Reepicheep’s role in Voyage of the Dawn Treader now. Another thing I liked about this film was its use of magic. The power and beauty of the magic scenes are expertly photographed. I wish there were more but the book focuses on more battles than mystical events. I also liked the castle raid sequence that wasn’t in the novel. Some nice action there.

There were a few things that didn’t work for me in Prince Caspian. First, I didn’t think that King Miraz was evil enough. Sure he hit a couple of people but he was no White Witch. Nice pointy beard though. Second, the centaur bodies seemed a lot more disproportionate this time around. Way too much upper body. Maybe they evolved in the 1300 years. Lastly, some the storytelling elements seemed unoriginal, which is more a criticism of the books rather than Andrew Adamson’s directing. The fighting trees look cribbed from LOTR, so does the river sequence. Both are in the book though, so blame Lewis. I also found the basic plot of taking back the kingdom a little ho-hum. I would have liked a few more sub-plots interwoven in the story.

A couple of things you can blame Adamson for is first, the bland casting of Prince Caspian. Ben Barnes and his indistinguishable European accent smack of Orlando Bloom. And that’s not a compliment. I wish Caspian was more charismatic rather than a matinee teen idol who waves his locks of hair in the wind. You can also blame Adamson for the lame attraction between Susan and Caspian. Whoa, that love story didn’t work at all! It seemed like a desperate attempt to get young girls into the theatre. And what was with the closing song before the credits? I wanted to gag. What a way to ruin the ending to an otherwise fine flick.

Overall, I would have to say that I enjoyed Prince Caspian despite some missing elements. With both its magic and battle sequences, it is definitely a film to watch on the big screen. It’s also a very colourful film which I find refreshing among the dark images found in most other films. Prince Caspian is a worthy follow-up to The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Bring the family. But maybe not the six year olds.

Iron Man

I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I knew almost nothing about the character of Iron Man before seeing the film. All I knew is that he had a kick-ass suit. That’s about it. Didn’t know he was a billionaire. Didn’t know he had some alternate power source keeping him alive. Didn’t know who the villains were. Didn’t know any catchphrases. Still don’t know about the catchphrase. Does he have one? The great thing is that I still thoroughly enjoyed Iron Man without any of this previous knowledge. That’s definitely a credit to the writing.

Robert Downey Jr. probably deserves the lion-share of the credit for Iron Man’s success. Downey has a natural charisma. His slick, quick-talking persona grabs you right from the opening minutes of the movie. What a wonderful way to start the show! Downey is fun to watch with his wry sense of humour but he is just as easily able to switch on the charm or portray an emotional moment or two. Not since Batman Begins, have I been this impressed with the acting performances in a superhero movie. I guess the drinking playboy persona of Tony Stark isn’t too much of a stretch for Robert Downey Jr., but he makes the character nicely approachable and someone to root for.

A pleasant surprise for me was the acting of Gwyneth Paltrow. For some reason, she usually doesn’t grab me. It always seems like she’s either whiny or too damsel in distresss-ish. In Iron Man, she plays Stark’s assistant Pepper Potts (not my favourite name) but while the role calls for her to be subservient, she is easily able to dish out the quick remarks. Paltrow and Downey play very well off each other. There is a nice sexual tension played underneath their light-hearted jabs. One of my favourite scenes in the movie has Pepper helping Stark replace his power source thingy in his chest. It has equal parts humour, grossness, sexiness and tension; and it’s beautifully done by Paltrow and Downey.

While most of the acting in this film was top notch, some of the characters were unfortunately dull. Jeff Bridges is fun to look at with his bald scalp and gray beard as Obadiah, but his character is so predictable it’s hard to take him seriously. I don’t know how Stark’s army friend, Jim Rhodes, fits into the Iron Man mythology, but the character seems tacked on. Terrence Howard is not all that compelling in this role, which is a real shame. Some of the even smaller characters are pretty one dimensional and dull but I guess the focus is supposed to be on Robert Downey, Jr.

Some credit should be given to Jon Favreau, who up until this time has directed mostly family pictures like Zathura and Elf. Sure, he wrote Swingers and wrote and directed it’s follow-up Made but those are more independent features. Favreau does a pretty good job directing this action flick. It helps that he is passionate about comic books and he shows it on the screen. My only complaint is that he spends a little too much time in the Afghanistan desert and not enough time battling evil at home. I’m glad Favreau takes his time with the building of the suit. That is definitely a fun section to watch. Downey’s interactions with his helping robots are a scream.

Iron Man is a good movie with some great sequences and some fine acting by Robert Downey Jr. who basically steals the show. However, I do think some people are hyping it up a little too much. To be safe, I would go in with a slight lowering of expectations so you can simply enjoy the ride. For it’s fun action scenes, this is one you may want to shell out the money for at your local theatre. Iron Man will definitely tide my superhero needs until The Dark Knight appears this July.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I have this weird sense of pride. For example, being from Canada, I’m usually proud of Canadian bands that make it big in the States. Same goes for actors and comedians. Recently, I’ve realized that I have this bizarre sense of pride when it comes to television actors who make a successful transition to film. I don’t know why. When I see an actor from an ensemble show make it big, I just wanna say, “good for you, keep it up.” See? Weird. Anyway, I had this feeling watching the love triangle that was formed in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

At the center of this ranchy yet heart-filled tale is writer and star, Jason Segel. I always enjoyed his awkward work in the brilliant-but-cancelled Freaks and Geeks. Currently, I’m loving his hangdoggedness (that’s a fun word to write) and optimism in How I Met Your Mother alongside Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris. Say what you will about Steve Carrell and Seth Rogen from the previous similarly bi-polar films, but Segel is an actual everyman. He plays Paul Bretter as a totally believable schlub. I know people who act like him, I know I am sometimes just like him. This is what sucked me into the film from the very beginning. I heard that Segel was supposed to get a role in The 40-Year Old Virgin but the studio thought he wasn’t big enough. Who’s laughing now? Kudos to you Segel. Your first starring role and you knock it out of the park.

The two women that comprise the love triangle is Kristen Bell, the ex, and Mila Kunis as the new love interest. It’s nice to see Veronica Mars and Jackie Burkhart working again. Both are given some meaty emotional moments and are far from stereotypical in this comedy. They both contain the right amount of spunk and sass. Is that condescending? I’m not meaning to be. Bell and Kunis are easily able to light up the screen whenever they appear. As fans of their previous television efforts, I admire their jump to the big screen.

The rest of the acting in this laugh-out loud comedy is stellar. Newcomer Russell Brand beautifully plays the overly-sexualized rocker, Aldous Snow. He’s like a walking hormone. Very funny. Jack McBrayer channels his 30 Rock character, Kenneth, as a newlywed who is learning a lot about wedding sex. Bill Hader, who is becoming one of my favourite SNL actors, is outstanding as Peter’s married brother. There is a scene with him yelling over a cell-phone that still makes me smile. Rounding out the cast are Judd Apatow regulars Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd who add there own improvised lunacy. Comedy definitely works better when you have talented people behind the words.

The script from Jason Segel is amazing when you consider it’s the first film he’s ever written. The jokes are plenty, the pacing is sharp and the emotional anchor is always present. Where Knocked Up and Virgin put their heartfelt-ness at the end of their films, Forgetting Sarah Marshall peppers it throughout. There is a scene that got the packed audience to start yelling at the screen. That says something to me. Sure there are some bizarre moments like the muppet-dracula performance but there are clever rips at relationships and the media. The CSI rip-off is spot on. Congrats Jason Segel. Who would have thought?

I had a great time watching this movie. I was laughing out loud. A lot. Sure, most people are going to bring up the fact that you see Jason Segel’s penis a little too much in the opening five minutes of the film. If you can get past that, I think you’d enjoy what the rest of the story has to offer. Understand that the intention of the nudity is to create the most awkward situation imaginable. Mission accomplished. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is not for everyone but those who are into these recent, raunchy yet heart-filled films, go see this one in the theatre. It may be awkward but you won’t be disappointed.