It’s been nineteen years since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was released to theatres. Nineteen years for fans to hope that maybe, someday they’d get to see the everyman hero named Indy crack his whip in a new adventure again. Last night at 12:01 a.m. the wait ended and fans are going to be divided directly down the line.
I cannot say that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a bad movie. It is well shot by Janusz Kaminski (although it looks vastly different than any of the previous films), there are numerous iconic images that strike of what makes Spielberg the king of Hollywood, the action sequences are fun, and Indy does get out of tight situations by the combination of brains and brawn that we have come to expect from the character.
This being said, my problem with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is that the movie takes us to a place where I don’t think Indy belongs. I have no problem with the Cold War instead of the Nazi’s trying to take over the world, but aliens are stretching it. Indy himself doesn’t even seem to do much in the “detective” work that we’re so used to seeing him do; he follows an old friends instructions and this old friend turns out to be bat crazy then they just kind of jaunt together wherever old crazy tells them to go.
All of the Indiana Jones films harken back to the over-the-top action adventure movies of the golden era of cinema, but Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade still managed to create realistic characters, realistic (yet fanciful) adventures and amazing action – yet Kingdom of the Crystal Skull seems to have finally walked just over the line where an homage to old action movies becomes a literal translation of old action movies. And this time we get old sci-fi movies as well, and I tell you I don’t think Doctor Jones can pull off sci-fi.
I won’t post any spoilers here as I know that this movie is going to be seen by almost everyone I know this weekend, but I will stress that you need to go into the movie knowing that this is not the Indiana Jones you remember, this is an Indiana Jones movie made for a new generation of kids who don’t want to think about what they are watching.
This is my final opinion: I waited nineteen years for a sequel to a movie that really didn’t need a sequel, I know that they had fun making it, but I would have waited another year or two for a movie that felt more like an Indiana Jones movie, not a movie that feels like another movie that happens to have the Indiana Jones characters in it.
I think far too many movies are being made nowadays because they are “fun” movies to watch. What happened to the days where my “fun” movies to watch were also smart?
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: David Koepp
Indiana Jones: Harrison Ford
Marion Ravenwood: Karen Allen
Mutt: Shia LaBeouf
Mac: Ray winstone
Irina Spalko: Cate Blanchett
Indiana Jones: Put your hands down will you, you're embarrassing us.
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Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
I know that the Narnia films have taken a lot of flack from people for being very unengaging films; sure they’re pretty, it’s interesting to see the classic novels come to life with great special effects and the kids are entertaining. However, the problem with The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is not that is lacks anything visually or that I remember from the book; it merely lacks any character development.
The Pevensie siblings were developed adequately well in The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe so little is needed with their characters; what I think they lacked was a strong director to bring the changes that have taken place in the year they’ve been out of Narnia out of the characters. We understand that they were bitter about “accidentally” leaving Narnia, but an internal struggle has gone on over whether they still believe in the things they witnessed were actually how they remember them. Lucy’s development is simple and clear enough. She still believes in all the things Aslan did and the powers and love he has, but is scared to pursue him because her three siblings have begun to believe Aslan has abandoned them as he abandoned Narnia. The problem lies with the three other children – Peter, Susan & Edmund.
The film tries to portray Peter, Susan & Edmund (especially the older two) as having lost some of their faith in Aslan…but never quite gets there. They just seem moody. And then Edmund seems plagued with a lack of any feeling at all, he can’t seem to come up on Lucy’s side or his older siblings. They suffer from either the need of a stronger director, or a stronger script.
However, the biggest problem is the fact that a whole new score of Narnia residents are introduced and they are simply popped into the film with one or two lines of explanation: the ones who suffer from the worst of this are Trumpkin & Caspian.
Trumpkin is the dwarf that the returned King’s & Queen’s (the Pevensie children) rescue when they first return and he turns into their guide. Other than providing some witty banter here and there Trumpkin and the Pevensie children never seem to form a relationship, yet the audience is told over and over again that they have one. Even at the end of the movie when Lucy has to give Trumpkin a hug before leaving Narnia yet again it evokes no emotion from the audience.
Perhaps the most egregious lack of character development is in Prince Caspian himself. The character is harmed enough by the fact that Ben Barnes can’t act his way out of a paper bag, but the filmmakers cannot expect you to care about the fate of a character that they do not create. So suddenly after Caspian is thrown into the woods of Narnia he’s rallying the Narnian’s to fight against his people and it feels utterly forced – there is no way a character in this situation, seeing what the audience has seen of him, would suddenly want to lead the Narnian’s to freedom. Again, the heart-to-heart that Caspian has with Aslan is one of the flattest moments Caspian has in the film; the audience doesn’t care or believe that he’s scared to be king.
The saving grace of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is actually two CGI characters: Aslan and Reepicheep. Reepicheep is a warrior mouse voiced by Eddie Izzard that steals every scene he is in. Aslan, voiced again to perfection by Liam Neeson is the only character that remains constant through the two movies – we understand his motives, and his affection.
I do not mean to say that Prince Caspian is not entertaining. I enjoyed it. However, it will never make the classic movie status to which it aspires.
Director: Andrew Adamson
Writers: Andrew Adamson & Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
Alsan: Lain Neeson
Peter: William Moseley
Susan: Anna Poppelwell
Edmund: Skandar Keynes
Lucy: Georgie Henley
Caspian: Ben Barnes
Reepicheep Eddie Izzard
Trumpkin: Peter Drinklage
Lucy Pevensie: It's so still.
Trumpkin: They're trees. What do you expect?
Lucy Pevensie: They used to dance.
The Pevensie siblings were developed adequately well in The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe so little is needed with their characters; what I think they lacked was a strong director to bring the changes that have taken place in the year they’ve been out of Narnia out of the characters. We understand that they were bitter about “accidentally” leaving Narnia, but an internal struggle has gone on over whether they still believe in the things they witnessed were actually how they remember them. Lucy’s development is simple and clear enough. She still believes in all the things Aslan did and the powers and love he has, but is scared to pursue him because her three siblings have begun to believe Aslan has abandoned them as he abandoned Narnia. The problem lies with the three other children – Peter, Susan & Edmund.
The film tries to portray Peter, Susan & Edmund (especially the older two) as having lost some of their faith in Aslan…but never quite gets there. They just seem moody. And then Edmund seems plagued with a lack of any feeling at all, he can’t seem to come up on Lucy’s side or his older siblings. They suffer from either the need of a stronger director, or a stronger script.
However, the biggest problem is the fact that a whole new score of Narnia residents are introduced and they are simply popped into the film with one or two lines of explanation: the ones who suffer from the worst of this are Trumpkin & Caspian.
Trumpkin is the dwarf that the returned King’s & Queen’s (the Pevensie children) rescue when they first return and he turns into their guide. Other than providing some witty banter here and there Trumpkin and the Pevensie children never seem to form a relationship, yet the audience is told over and over again that they have one. Even at the end of the movie when Lucy has to give Trumpkin a hug before leaving Narnia yet again it evokes no emotion from the audience.
Perhaps the most egregious lack of character development is in Prince Caspian himself. The character is harmed enough by the fact that Ben Barnes can’t act his way out of a paper bag, but the filmmakers cannot expect you to care about the fate of a character that they do not create. So suddenly after Caspian is thrown into the woods of Narnia he’s rallying the Narnian’s to fight against his people and it feels utterly forced – there is no way a character in this situation, seeing what the audience has seen of him, would suddenly want to lead the Narnian’s to freedom. Again, the heart-to-heart that Caspian has with Aslan is one of the flattest moments Caspian has in the film; the audience doesn’t care or believe that he’s scared to be king.
The saving grace of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is actually two CGI characters: Aslan and Reepicheep. Reepicheep is a warrior mouse voiced by Eddie Izzard that steals every scene he is in. Aslan, voiced again to perfection by Liam Neeson is the only character that remains constant through the two movies – we understand his motives, and his affection.
I do not mean to say that Prince Caspian is not entertaining. I enjoyed it. However, it will never make the classic movie status to which it aspires.
Director: Andrew Adamson
Writers: Andrew Adamson & Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
Alsan: Lain Neeson
Peter: William Moseley
Susan: Anna Poppelwell
Edmund: Skandar Keynes
Lucy: Georgie Henley
Caspian: Ben Barnes
Reepicheep Eddie Izzard
Trumpkin: Peter Drinklage
Lucy Pevensie: It's so still.
Trumpkin: They're trees. What do you expect?
Lucy Pevensie: They used to dance.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Clueless
I have a theory; for my generation guys had Swingers to show them the comical side of how men deal with life and relationships, and girls had Clueless.
Amy Heckerling moves from Fast Times at Ridgemont High to a teen girl comedy based on a Jane Austen story seamlessly. Clueless is the first real “teen” movie that I remember watching. To this day I laugh everytime Cher starts her speech about the “Hate-e-ans”, or doesn’t realize the boy she’s flirting with is a “cake eater”. One of my favorite visual moments in the film is still when the “lights” literally go on for Cher as she realizes she is in love with her former step-brother Josh; walking through LA she stands in front of a fountain as it suddenly climaxes shooting water into the air and lights up behind her.
My favorite character is still Mel, Cher’s father played by Dan Hadeya. He is the overprotective, rough and tough dad but he loves Cher and wants to make sure the world loves her as much as he does.
This movie is exactly what it appears to be and is better for it. Clueless is light, bubbly and innocent. It wants to show you the perils of a teenage girl and make you laugh with them not at them.
Writer & Director: Amy Heckerling
Cher: Alicia Silverstone
Dionne: Stacey Dash
Tai: Brittany Murphy
Josh: Paul Rudd
Murray: Donald Faison
Mel: Dan Hedaya
Mel: What's with you, kid? You think the death of Sammy Davis left an opening in the Rat Pack?
Amy Heckerling moves from Fast Times at Ridgemont High to a teen girl comedy based on a Jane Austen story seamlessly. Clueless is the first real “teen” movie that I remember watching. To this day I laugh everytime Cher starts her speech about the “Hate-e-ans”, or doesn’t realize the boy she’s flirting with is a “cake eater”. One of my favorite visual moments in the film is still when the “lights” literally go on for Cher as she realizes she is in love with her former step-brother Josh; walking through LA she stands in front of a fountain as it suddenly climaxes shooting water into the air and lights up behind her.
My favorite character is still Mel, Cher’s father played by Dan Hadeya. He is the overprotective, rough and tough dad but he loves Cher and wants to make sure the world loves her as much as he does.
This movie is exactly what it appears to be and is better for it. Clueless is light, bubbly and innocent. It wants to show you the perils of a teenage girl and make you laugh with them not at them.
Writer & Director: Amy Heckerling
Cher: Alicia Silverstone
Dionne: Stacey Dash
Tai: Brittany Murphy
Josh: Paul Rudd
Murray: Donald Faison
Mel: Dan Hedaya
Mel: What's with you, kid? You think the death of Sammy Davis left an opening in the Rat Pack?
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