Last movie watched...

[Judge Olde]

Anyone else think Jackson should go back to LotR and make some films to, you know, flesh out the story a bit?

NOOOOOO. They could do with a less boring edit, in the same way as he's added to The Hobbit, he could have added a stronger female character, maybe a female Hobbit? Done something better with Sam & Frodo - but without changing the story overall. Maybe ..

[TordelBack]

... he could have added a stronger female character, maybe a female Hobbit?

He did beef up roles for both Arwen and especially Eowyn.  While Arwen's role petered out after Fellowship, I thought Eowyn's story was very well done, probably the best developed of the secondary characters, while largely staying within the parameters of the books.  However, I forget how much of her story is in the extended editions, and how much in the originals.  Either way, Miranda Otto was great casting: fab and gorgeous.



Meawhile, Jurassic Park 2 and 3.  Both have things to recommend them, both have great casts and great dinos, both are ultimately disappointing.

[Tiplodocus]

... he could have added a stronger female character, maybe a female Hobbit?

He did beef up roles for both Arwen and especially Eowyn.  While Arwen's role petered out after Fellowship,...

There's a scary bit in the TWO TOWERS extras where it looks for a while like they had Arwen turning up at Helm's Deep, chewing gum and kicking ass!  Glad they thought better of that.  I actually quite like the conceit of having a love story on screen in Two Towers with the Arwen and Aragorn in different physical locations.

[radiator]

This Is The End.

When this first came out I thought it sounded terrible (what with the cast playing themselves and all), but it got surprisingly strong reviews and I heard from several reliable sources that it was actually really good, better than The World's End even.

It's shit.

I've liked each member of the cast in other things they've been in, but this was a load of self-indulgent wank.

Comedy/genre mashups like Shaun of the Dead and An American Werewolf in London are really tricky to pull off, and can only work if they have had hard work put into the script to get all their elements balanced, and if they treat their genre elements seriously.

This, on the other hand, feels like they literally just made it up as they went along. A student film with a multi-million dollar budget.

Avoid, even if you're usually a fan of the Apatow crowd like me.

[Buttonman]

I liked 'This is he End' ! saw it on a plane and didn't know much going in  but it surprised and amused throughout. The scene where[spoiler] Franco ascends to heaven but is pulled back to hell when he gives everyone the finger [/spoiler]had me laughing and [spoiler]The Backstreet Boys[/spoiler] finale was great too. Also liked the twisted versions of Cera, Watson and Rhianna's ass.

[radiator]

We also watched some of Who's Harry Crumb? because we saw it on Netflix, and are big fans of John Candy.

Yeesh, that's a bit of a stinker, it went off after 25mins.

[JamesC]

Last night I watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on telly.

I've come to really like this film. When I first saw it at the cinema it didn't really feel like an Indy film and I got annoyed at the gopher's, the fridge and the Tarzan bit. I'm over all that now and I can enjoy this film for the fun romp that it is.

This is the second time I've watched it on TV and it gets better on repeated viewings. It holds its pace remarkably well and there are some great scenes. The motorcycle escape and jungle chase are both pretty great action scenes and I really like the way the baddies are introduced at the beginning.

In many ways this is the closest in tone to Raiders. It doesn't have the over the top comedy of Last Crusade or the schizophrenic kids film/super dark supernatural drama feel of Temple of Doom.

Overall I think it's a pretty good film. Ideally it would have been made a few years earlier - Ford looks just a little bit too old.
In some ways I think it's a shame they haven't continued the franchise with Mutt as I quite liked the character. Some sort of Mutt Williams X-Files type thing set in the 50s could have been good.

[Goaty]

The Iceman

Watch it on Netflix last night, that was so creepy and interesting to watch, it very emotion-less film, it was based on true story, about a hitman who killed over 100 men... Michael Shannon was perfect cast, he got so cold eyes! Some murders was in same level as Goodfellas, and one thing does surprise me in this film, Chris Evans (not that radio host!) was really good in it!

[TordelBack]

In many ways this is the closest in tone to Raiders. It doesn't have the over the top comedy of Last Crusade or the schizophrenic kids film/super dark supernatural drama feel of Temple of Doom.

Agree entirely - it's very much a true sequel to Raiders.  We watched it last night too, starting with 'ach, can we really be bothered, we've seen it half a dozen times', and ending up pretty much glued to the screen.  I'd also agree that it should have been made a few years earlier - ideally while the charming Denholm Elliot was still with us: with Brody there instead of Broadbent's stand-in character (whose name I can't even remember), the 'new' relationships with the largely irritating Oxley and Mac (I like Winstone a lot, but bloody hell if he said 'Jonesy' one more time...) might not have seemed quite so tacked-on. Similarly, the wedding scene would have carried a lot more weight if an elderly Sallah (plus innumerable grandkids) and a successful-looking Short-Round had been present.  Mrs. Spielberg not so much.

Equally, as any fool knows, Indy was born with the 20th century, and so should be in his 50's during Crystal Skull, rather than Ford's admittedly-lightly-carried mid-60's. That alone would have made somewhat more sense of his repeatedly going toe-to-toe with gigantic Russian Special Forces men and coming away unbruised.

Base villain though he has subsequently been shown to be, LeBoeuf's Mutt makes a decent fast-talking sidekick, and Indy always benefits from one of those.  Only 'that' scene really wrankles.  Well, maybe the Brando hat is a bit much too. 

I actually really enjoyed the working-out of the central puzzle (although see below), the fridge-nuking, and the grand spectacle of the inter-dimensional ship's departure, and even (most of) the chase sequences. 

Tarzan bit aside, there are still some daft flubbs and apparent dead-ends in it: why does Indy address Spalko by her name, rank and academic title in the warehouse, and then one mild nuking later doesn't know who she is beyond a physical description?  What was the point of the hugely expensive and risky endeavour of stealing the Roswell alien anyway, if the Sovs already had both Oxley and Jones?  Why did the Akator alien(s) sit around for 2 or 3,000 years after their hey-day doing bugger-all until de Orellana nicked one of its (their) skulls, and then piss off as soon as Spalko gave it back?

The obvious studio lighting is also shockingly bad throughout.

Anyway, I can forgive pretty much anything just for the scene between Marion and Indy in the back of the truck: "They weren't you, honey" has my vote for most romantic thing I've ever seen in the cinema.  That Ford certainly does deliver a good no-nonsense declaration of love.

[radiator]

I liked 'This is he End'

Fair enough. It reminded me somewhat of the recent 21 Jump Street movie - another film that got very good reviews/word of mouth but left me cold with its loose, hit and (mostly) miss improvised feel.

It also reminded me a bit of Extras - a show that a lot of people seem to like, but I thought was mostly unfunny and unbearably smug and self-indulgent.

A few other films I watched over the Christmas period were:

The Chevy Chase vehicle Funny Farm, a title which is surely contravenes the trades description act. Now that's a film that I'm betting everyone - from the key grip to the execs to the star - were all out of their minds on drugs during the making. Not that it's a 'druggy' film, just that it's a load of aimless waffle. I still got a nostalgic thrill from watching it, and still find Chase a fascinating individual though, both on and off screen.

The Shawshank Redemption, which - a controversial opinion no doubt - I still think is near enough a perfect movie. Endlessly rewatchable, superbly paced and with some cracking, hilarious dialogue. One thing I noticed this time was that the ending feels like it goes on a little long. I believe it was originally supposed to end on a slightly ambiguous note, with [spoiler]Red on the bus[/spoiler], and though I appreciate the closure that they eventually went for (and it feels 100% earned), it could be a bit tighter. It did make me wonder though - [spoiler]if Andy was able to prove his innocence and be pardoned, would he have got into trouble for trying to escape and digging the tunnel that was surely nearly finished by that point in the story?[/spoiler] It's also a great film to watch with someone who's never seen it before, as I did this time.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, which my girlfriend wanted to watch as it was on Netflix and I ended up really enjoying much to my surprise. A good film for a slightly hungover morning. Superb stunts, and probably one of Simon Pegg's better Hollywood roles. It's a little overlong as are many films these days. I thought I was watching the finale, but then the film carried on for another hour.

The Descendants, which I thought was terrific, and is definitely a film I'll watch again. Love me a bit of Clooney, and I feel he's the nearest thing these days to a seal of quality as he chooses his projects so well. One distracting/unnerving thing was I found myself thinking 'that old guy looks a bit like Matthew Lillard', only to see Lillard's name in the credits.

[Recrewt]

That Ford certainly does deliver a good no-nonsense declaration of love.

I Know 

Last night I watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on telly.

I've come to really like this film. When I first saw it at the cinema it didn't really feel like an Indy film and I got annoyed at the gopher's, the fridge and the Tarzan bit. I'm over all that now and I can enjoy this film for the fun romp that it is.

This is the second time I've watched it on TV and it gets better on repeated viewings. It holds its pace remarkably well and there are some great scenes. The motorcycle escape and jungle chase are both pretty great action scenes and I really like the way the baddies are introduced at the beginning.

Yup, I think there was just too much hype around the release and then folks seemed to be disappointed that it was another Indy movie and that he now looked older.  I really enjoy Crystal Skull and will happily watch it as often as the other Indy movies.

[radiator]

I'd also agree that it should have been made a few years earlier - ideally while the charming Denholm Elliot was still with us: with Brody there instead of Broadbent's stand-in character

...and with Sean Connery's participation - he was intended to play John Hurt's character. See also the gamekeeper in Skyfall.

I didn't think Crystal Skull was quite as bad as the Star Wars prequels, though it's a film I've never felt compelled to rewatch. For me it felt really sanitised and studio-bound compared to the originals. And Indiana Jones getting married...?!?! No thanks!

[TordelBack]

...and with Sean Connery's participation - he was intended to play John Hurt's character.

Ugh, no thanks.  Henry's story was done and done well in Last Crusade, and however I might feel about Hurt's performance in KotCS, I wouldn't have wanted to see The Jones Boys Ride Again, however fan-pleasing that would have seemed.  This was about Indy's adult life and choices, not his (over-documented) childhood.

Comparing it to the SW Prequels would be sacrilege - Indy IV is a faithful if flawed attempt to capture the feel and substance of the original, and has more heart in any given scene than all three SW prequel movies combined (and I speak as a fan of TPM).  I agree though, 'studio bound' is probably the film's biggest problem, and its biggest deviation from the originals.  Why (for example) the Area 51 exterior scenes had to be green-screened I have literally no idea, but it looks awful.

[JamesC]

There are some great sets in Crystal Skull though - the Mayan graveyard is excellent and incredibly creepy!

[JOE SOAP]

The superfluous stick-on Russkies were the problem for me in Indiana Jones and the Crystal Plumage and I think they missed an opportunity story-wise that would tie-in to the series better.

The hook for me was always the M.I.B. showing up and that storage house with the artifacts in it, and since this was meant to be a call-back to Raiders... and its slightly unsettling end with the Ark being sequestered away to be taken care of by 'top men', I felt that these rogue, buttoned-up heavies should've acted as the real foil for Indy instead of them just turning out to be the exposition arm of the government giving Indy his brief.