Hosted by Ben Flanagan
Guests: Matt Scalici, Corey Craft, Ben Stark
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1. INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.
MY THOUGHTS (SOME SPOILERS):
Steven Spielberg's latest entry into one of film's most celebrated trilogy opens nationwide today. I stayed up past my wimpy bedtime and caught last night's midnight show, which saw a nearly packed house in the Cobb Hollywood 16 here in Tuscaloosa. Let me preface this review by saying that I'm an Indiana Jones fan of the most loyal kind. Prior to even seeing RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, I grew up watching TEMPLE OF DOOM over and over until the tracking button couldn't even help my full screen VHS copy. I popped the second movie in yesterday and watched the terrific opening Shanghai nightclub sequence and relished it just like I used to. Having watched all three films a few times every year, RAIDERS being my favorite by a hair at the moment, my affinity for the trilogy remains as strong as ever. As I've mentioned here before, upon just hearing that a fourth Indiana Jones installment would be made, I was skeptical even though Spielberg and Ford would be involved. Maybe I just thought THE LAST CRUSADE might actually be the last time we'd see Dr. Jones, but I guess we should have learned our lesson after FRIDAY THE 13th Part 4: The Final Chapter, which was followed by FRIDAY THE 13th: A New Beginning. Either way, the movie would be made and growing anticipation corraled internet among movie nerds, which slightly outweighed mine and others skepticism about what we thought died in 1989. News that George Lucas's involvement meant he had strict approval over story and script ideas only bruised what excitement I had about the project. Upon hearing scripts from both M. Night Shyamalan and Frank Darabont, among others, had been vetoed by Lucas, I saw the first few warning signs that this would be a tricky endeavor. Whose hand did they tap to put the finishing touches on a story they'd finally compromised on? That would be Hollywood's most inconsistent screenwriter and partycrasher, David Koepp, whose writing hasn't satisfied me since JURASSIC PARK and the first MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. Rumors that this adventure would somehow include the unusual presence of extraterrestrial creatures were all but confirmed with the teaser trailer where a crate that read "Roswell" could be seen and a crystal skull resembling none other than an alien could be seen on the movie's poster. After plenty of online naysaying and trashtalking among skeptics and fanboys, the movie is here and I, along with others on this show, have seen it.
And what's my initial reaction? Ladies and gentlemen, if I'm being totally honest with myself as someone studied in the field of all things Indiana Jones, the fourth installment KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL is a nightmare, plain and simple. I should say, that midnight these days is past my bedtime, so there's a slight (VERY SLIGHT) chance that my judgment could have been impaired. But I don't think so. What we have here is as much an Indiana Jones film as the PG-13 LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD was a real DIE HARD movie. Indy-lite, in fact. Without getting too specific and spoiler-crazy, the film's central problem is its weak, exposition-driven, silly script that introduces content not fit for the Indiana Jones universe we've grown accustomed to. As some have said before, this adventure travels moreso at the speed of a NATIONAL TREASURE entry, rather than the superior trilogy. Spielberg, along with Lucas who wouldn't leave the set, relied far too heavily on CGI-heavy action sequences where green screens were used instead of authentic locations or detailed sets. While we were all excited to see Harrison Ford back in the fedora, we also know that the man hasn't made a good movie since the mid to late 90s (sorry WHAT LIES BENEATH fans). Based on what I watched last night, Ford's forgotten how to act and only phones in what feels like a parody of his rough and tough, charming archaeologist. Underdeveloped and unnecessary characters couldn't flesh out this ultra-thin story that felt nothing like any one of the previous three films. Even the look of it, while shot by the great Janusz Kaminski, couldn't recall Douglas Slocombe's lush photography from the 1980s. Perhaps Kaminski's task was just too daunting. Honestly, the photography, compositions and lighting, was generic, reminding me more so of THE LOST WORLD - not THE LAST CRUSADE. To put it simply, it just didn't feel right, and it wasn't just the CG prairie dogs and monkeys that told me that.
- What kind of box office numbers should we expect? Nikki Finke suggests the following on her blog: "Indy 4 debuts for a full 5-day holiday weekend, among the best of all circumstances. Which is why informed guesstimates from my box office gurus are ranging from a low of $142 million to a high of $175 million for the well-reviewed PG-13 adventure pic. I think the answer lies somewhere inbetween -- around $160M."
2. THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON trailer was attached to INDY 4 last night. Those two minutes or so were better than all three hours of ZODIAC, which I actually re-watched recently.
3. M. Night goes Red-Band with THE HAPPENING trailer, and I think it's the right move. Personally, I'm more excited about this movie than I already was. I won't say I was sweating with anticipation, but I've had a feeling he's capable of redeeming himself after LADY IN THE WATER. The guy is still batting over .500 in my opinion. This will be his first R-rated effort, and it apparently earned it's rating for Violent and Disturbing Images. From the looks of the trailer, there will be violence indeed. Find it on YouTube.
4. SPEED RACER FLOPS! Warner Bros. inflates box office figures for temporary second place finish.
- The movie's production budget alone was $120m, and its current cumulative worldwide gross is $56m. For Warner Bros. sake, THE DARK KNIGHT better be packing HEAT.
- Who saw this disaster coming?
- Should there be major repercussions for this kind of report on the studio's behalf? What could be done?
- Corey liked the movie. Was IRON MAN just too strong of a release a week before this?
- Don't you think a cartoon adaptation might have been a bit of a step down for the Wachowski's right after the MATRIX movies?
- Casting a nobody in the lead a bad move? I don't care what some might say, Emile Hirsch is still an unknown to mainstream audiences. I guess Shia Lebeouf can't be in everything
5. Casting news regarding Oliver Stone's latest presidential piece, W - Richard Dreyfuss tapped as vice president Dick Cheney. Will this portrayal stray far from his role in The American President? Who cares? Good casting, I think. Matt? I'd just like to know how you feel about this project in general?
6. Ain't It Cool reports, It's been known that Christian Bale is playing John Connor in McG's now-in-production TERMINATOR film. Now early indications suggest Bale will appear throughout a proposed trilogy of films, though no deals had been struck. Now comes confirmation that Bale has formally signed on to play Connor in three TERMINATOR movies. Based on the awful third movie along with the Sarah Connor Chronicles, do we really want more Terminator movies even if Bale and McG are involved?
7. DVD picks: The ORIGINAL INDIANA JONES Trilogy - new editions avaliable; Robert Altman's SHORT CUTS (on Criterion), The Wire, Battlestar Galactica season three
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