I’m one of the very few vocal supporters of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that I know. While not a great film or a very good film, I feel it’s redeemed by a wonderful return by Harrison Ford’s screen presence, and it captures the original spirit of the series quite well for much of its running time.

That said, even after acknowledging that Indiana Jones is my favorite screen character of all time, I can’t see much of a point in continuing the series after the conclusion that was reached in Crystal Skull. According to Ford, however, I should start getting excited:

“The story for the new ‘Indiana Jones’ is in the process of taking form,” Ford explained. “Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and myself are agreed on what the fifth adventure will concern, and George is actively at work. If the script is good, I’ll be very happy to put the costume on again.”

While this hardly means anything in the grand scheme of things (the development of the fourth film was a debacle), the last entry gained close to a billion dollars in revenue. It’s hard not to see the studio logic behind this one.

Utter the words Indiana Jones and immediately everybody knows what you’re talking about.  You’re talking about fast-paced, globe-trotting quests for long-lost artifacts, ancient deathtraps and amazing action sequences.  But most importantly, you’re talking about a cinematic icon who has become a household name for any film buff.  From the fedora hat to the bullwhip, Indiana Jones the character is one whom almost everybody loves.

This year, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released after a 19 year-long wait, and the results were for the most part a mixed bag for everyone.  Of course there were those (myself included) who continued to be thrilled and fascinated by everything, however there were also those who were disappointed by it.  All I have to say to those people is were you watching the same movie I was?  Because the “Indy 4″ I’ve now seen a total of five times retains everything that made the original three so great, making for yet another solid entry in the franchise.  Yes, i agree that sometimes it does stretch the boundaries of logic even by Indy standards (i.e. the whole refrigerator scene and a piece of the jungle sequence), but overall it’s a very fun ride that returns us to the world of a hero missing from the big screen for too long.

Without going into great detail about the plot, the fourth film involves a hunt for an ancient artifact that may contain clues to extraterrestrials.  Yes, aliens actually made an appearance in an Indy movie, although they’re commonly referred to as ‘interdimensional beings’ in the movie.  Along for the ride is Indy’s long-lost son, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), a double-crossing friend (Ray Winstone), and old flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen).  This time, the Russians are the bad guys and they’re led by the cold Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett).  Everyone’s after the Crystal Skull, which has a mystery surrounding it that has to do ith the mythical Lost City of Gold.

This 2-Disc Limited  Edition is loaded with behind-the-scenes features that detail every step of the filmmaking process.  Along with the film itself on the first disc are two short featurettes:  “The Return Of A Legend” and “Pre-Production”.  “Pre-Production”, of course, gives a brief glimpse into how Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and the others went about developing the idea for “Kingdom” and “Return Of A Legend” pretty much does the same thing, only it focuses more on the collaborative team behind Indy talking about how the dream of a fourth Indiana Jones movie finally became a reality.  The second disc includes more behind-the-scenes goodness, with a detailed 12-part look at the creation of the film.  With this multi-part documentary as well as the one featured on the “Iron Man” Special Edition gives me a renewed faith in the “Making-Of” features for blockbuster DVDs in the future.  Also included are Pre-Visualization Sequences that show exactly how three of the film’s most exciting sequences were conceived, prepped and executed AS WELL AS Galleries, Trailers and a Game Demo for the LEGO Indiana Jones XBOX 360 game.

All in all, this is a must-buy for anyone who enjoyed the film, or any Indy fan period.

The Dark Knight’s shattering records left and right, and has already surpassed
the box-office total of Batman Begins. However it’s beaten its predecessor’s
total in another area too, as eagle-eyed fans have spotted 22 mistakes, listed
on movie website moviemistakes.com, as opposed to only 12 bloopers in the first
film. That total’s propelled it straight into the top 10 most mistake-ridden
movies of 2008 so far, despite only being released less than two weeks ago.
They range from give-away landmarks from being filmed in Chicago, through to
changing hairstyles and mis-matched audio. A few examples are below.

When Harvey is in hospital talking to the Joker, from one angle Harvey is
wearing the heart monitor clamp on his middle finger with a grey wire, from the
other angle it has vanished. It disappears and re-appears every time the camera
angle changes.

When Two-Face is holding a child hostage and is flipping the coin to decide who
gets to live, he flips and catches it in his left hand, but we then see a
close-up of the kid’s face – Two-Face is suddenly stroking the kid’s hair with
his left hand, and the coin has vanished.

In the car chase, the convoy has 2 police cars at the back, behind the SWAT
van. A garbage truck pulls up next to the convoy and takes out the second to
last cruiser first. Another police cruiser then magically appears in front of
the truck, which has to be destroyed before the truck can get to the SWAT van.

After the tunnel ambush when they get air support again, they show the view
from the helicopter of a SWAT member with an M16 and an EOTech sight attached.
The red dot scope is mounted backwards on the weapon.

The full list can be found at http://www.moviemistakes.com/film6359.

The Dark Knight is looking well on the way to beat the current most
mistake-filled film of 2008: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal
Skull, which has 61 errors.

Well lets cut to the chase shall we? We all know who Indiana Jones is and if you have been living under a rock for the last 20+ years and have no idea, please continue to let us be and enjoy your rock!

Indiana Jones is back and he is the same old Indy we have come to love! The newest creation from Spielberg and Lucas has brought us an updated but true look at Henry Jone’s latest adventure in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The storyline is a little off for my liking and a bit over the top, but and I do mean but, the film is a must see film. The overall feel brings us back to the last movies in the series and gives us the witty laughs we have come to expect from the wise-ass characters in the Indy films. I almost had to say something to the guy behind me he was so loud, and this was at a private screening!

On to the movie! Have I said it was great film? ITS A GREAT FILM!!!

We first meet up with Dr Jone’s and his crew at Area 51 after he is pulled out of a car trunk. Classic Indy style, always getting captured by the KGB with horrible accents from across the pond. This is where we meet Agent Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), a soviet doctor who was once Stalin’s right hand woman. She is known for her work on “mind” altering research. Her over the top accent may of ruined her entire performance in my eyes. Not to be swayed by this, her character is easily hated and allows for the film to continue on.

While staying with the era of the 50′s and 60′s, we do see a bit of awkwardness, at least in my mind, with the introduction of aliens. Yes I said aliens! The cars, the clothing, the stores, and even the school rooms fit the bill. The set and everything about the film brought me back in time. And did a great job of it!

All throughout the film we see action. And I mean action. I don’t think it slows down for more than 2 minutes at a time. This film delivers classic Indiana Jone’s. Ancient Mayan temples, tribesmen, KGB agents, Atomic Bombs, car chases, fire ants, and much much more in this great film. Spielberg and Lucas did a great job. From car chases, to extraterrestrial beings, Indiana sees it all, along with his latest side kick, Mutt.

Mutt is played by new comer Shia LeBeouf of Transformers and Disturbia fame. While at the start of the film I was not into him, I began to enjoy his qualities more and more throughout the film. He does a solid job portraying a greaser and the story is inter woven to allow for his lack of style to come through.

The film touches on almost every character we have come to love and know in the past movies. From Indiana’s father to his confidant Dr Marcus Brody; we see a storyline of the past intertwined with the latest creation of Indiana. Some twist and turns and some surprises await you.

This is a MUST see film and really adds to the Indy collection. Make sure you see it in the theaters. Its that good! While I would love to recommend this to all of you, I would shy away from kids 13 and under. It does have the rating for a reason!

I am glad to see Indiana is back, and yes I am sure Indiana Jones 5 will be here before we know it.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ 

Those guys at Cinematical managed to get a bootleg copy of the “NEW Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” trailer. We can take a good guess that this will be attached to the front of IRON MAN as both are distributed from Paramount Pictures.

http://www.cinematical.com/2008/04/30/new-indiana-jones-trailer-leaked-online/

Can’t wait till May 22nd to see the next adventure of Dr. Henry Jones, Jr.

Jeffery Wells, supposedly a well known writer/critic in our line of work was lucky enough to see a locked screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. With the great chance to see such a film, one would think that something positive would come from his little blurb about the screening found here. But all I have seen is a bunch of people complaining or asking if anyone cares about the movies running time.

The movie is running around 2 hours and 20 minutes long. While this is a little on the larger size, did anyone complain about the LOTR movies reaching around 3 hours or Braveheart? I don’t see why this is an issue.

NOW, if the movies sucks then I will see an issue, but who is behind the movie gives me enough faith in the project that I could care less on how long its running. Make it 3 hours and make it rock!

More links below on all of the folks who are asking a question that I think no one cares about…

Cinematical

/Film

Firstshowing

Do you all think that 140 minutes is to long?

Paramount has given us a HDTV spot of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Without further explanation of how awesome the quality is, the trailer isn’t to shabby in and of itself.The clip can be found here- WARNING this is one big mother – its 720p HD!! Here it is.

Stay tuned for more good stuff from Indiana Jones.

The guys over at Moviechronicles have snapped a “in the wild” photo of the 2nd poster for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Besides Shia looking like he just came of a casting in the new sequel to The Outsiders , the poster is pretty boring. Nothing for us to feast our eyes on. Horrid art and all. Really a disappointment.

Although it does look like something from the older films, this is just a film students attempt at art. I seriously hope that the guys made this.