tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post3336973128426626880..comments2024-01-30T04:32:47.585-05:00Comments on The Cooler: A Shadow of Adventure: Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal SkullJason Bellamyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-74765733920160804302008-06-05T10:24:00.000-04:002008-06-05T10:24:00.000-04:00Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to write like...Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to write like you. Looks like The Cooler's following is building. That's fantastic. Although I think you should make it a goal to get a specific word into each review, like Apatow with the one-penis-per-movie thing.Jason Wildehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05677368470753597540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-87441658135367755552008-05-28T14:01:00.000-04:002008-05-28T14:01:00.000-04:00Great lede, dude.And I counted three shots of the ...Great lede, dude.<BR/><BR/>And I counted three shots of the varmints .. WTF???Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12643896750707390405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-44573522237861508662008-05-28T02:49:00.000-04:002008-05-28T02:49:00.000-04:00Excellent review, Jason, as usual. Michelle and I ...Excellent review, Jason, as usual. Michelle and I saw the picture in New Jersey on Sunday and had the same reactions, especially the observation that the movie feels more like a reprise of the Disney ride than a new adventure.<BR/><BR/>And hokahey's right on about the CGI rodent in the opening scene. My hopes started fading with that scene too.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07735634558776498316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-57442992124207268642008-05-26T21:53:00.000-04:002008-05-26T21:53:00.000-04:00Via Craig at The Man from Porlock, I came across t...Via Craig at <A HREF="http://themanfromporlock.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">The Man from Porlock</A>, I came across this <A HREF="http://mysterymanonfilm.blogspot.com/" REL="nofollow">Mystery Man on Film</A> piece (a great blog about screenwriting, if you're intereted in that stuff):<BR/><BR/>Mystery Man lists 50 flaws of "Crystal Skull." I don't agree with all of them (at least 40 though), because none of the Indiana Jones pictures can be viewed through a scope of reality. But some of these are right on the nose.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://mysterymanonfilm.blogspot.com/2008/05/50-flaws-of-indy-iv.html" REL="nofollow">If you're interested.</A>Jason Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18150199580478147196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-19227522796931245642008-05-26T01:37:00.000-04:002008-05-26T01:37:00.000-04:00So I went and saw it....And I agree with you.I'm d...So I went and saw it....<BR/><BR/>And I agree with you.<BR/><BR/>I'm disappointed. Even with a lackluster script - as you correctly pointed out as being most at blame - Spielberg is talented enough to pull films like this off. Even when he's halfway directing, like on *The Lost World*, I think he does wonders with a limp scripts. <BR/><BR/>Still, I can't help being charmed by LeBeouf. But when Harrison Ford was on screen I kept thinking of the attitude of old guy that thinks he looks cool with an earring. Blegh!!!<BR/><BR/>Heck, I WISH I was watching The Terminal instead... I think that movie is great!Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08067136509248849744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-2239071486762341012008-05-25T23:56:00.000-04:002008-05-25T23:56:00.000-04:00Good review. Indy 4 is completely soulless. Check ...Good review. Indy 4 is completely soulless. Check out the movie website and watch the 4 Raiders clips and you'll see the magic again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-40620345400376800932008-05-25T19:33:00.000-04:002008-05-25T19:33:00.000-04:00In my continued effort to have an open mind and se...In my continued effort to have an open mind and see movies I normally wouldn't, I agreed to see this today.<BR/><BR/>After a great experience with Iron Man (another movie I normally would scoff at), I was hopeful.<BR/><BR/>But, I just thought it was clunky, awkward and grasping for a story line worth following.<BR/><BR/>I tried to visualize myself watching The Goonies, which is what it reminded me of at times, but I think I got too sidetracked with the obvious machismo of Lucas, Spieldberg, et. al. The special effects were just too overwhelming and didn't allow me to ever feel I was in a fantasy world.<BR/><BR/>Just as you said...they wanted the car scene to actually look real. I hate to be the person thinking, "Ah...that's stupid, that would never happen!", but when they create the effects in an effort to make them appear real, it's hard to let go of reality.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, as usual, you're review was really insightful and fun to read. <BR/><BR/>P.S. How much bronzer did they use on Harrison's chest?Allisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00227894503764262908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-22076343956839096202008-05-25T12:00:00.000-04:002008-05-25T12:00:00.000-04:00I caught your link over in the comments at the Hou...I caught your link over in the comments at the House Next Door. I have to say that I came away on opening night with a slightly better impression, probably due to some serious nostalgia for my childhood attachment to Indiana Jones, but I have to say you're basically right. What I wrote <A HREF="http://gerrycanavan.blogspot.com/2008/05/indiana-jones-and-kingdom-of-crystal.html" REL="nofollow">here </A> when I got home that night:<BR/><BR/><I>And of course on some pure plane of aesthetic valuation it must be said that Lucas and Spielberg should have resisted the temptation to mess with perfection and let Last Crusade stand as the proper ending to this story it's always been. In this sense Crystal Skull is actually worse than superfluous—the need to return to Indy, 20 years on, undercuts and arguably destroys entirely the narrative arc that somehow took the cartoon hero of Raiders and turned him into a human being. Last Crusade didn't need a sequel; the trilogy was already a complete story, not Episodes 44-46 in the 108 Adventures of Indiana Jones.<BR/><BR/>Phantom Menance betrayed us right up front, and was pretty noisy about it. What Crystal Skull does is quieter, subtler, and perhaps ultimately more devastating to its franchise: it takes that human being from Crusade and turns him back to a cartoon again.</I>Gerry Canavanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12821256718713645033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-64681084879207378162008-05-25T00:16:00.000-04:002008-05-25T00:16:00.000-04:00Excellent review. Your sense of the inertia amid t...Excellent review. Your sense of the inertia amid the forced action is dead on. Great site.Mapeelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12149683683413237283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-30508434046284101952008-05-24T15:15:00.000-04:002008-05-24T15:15:00.000-04:00Thanks for one of the most astute reviews out ther...Thanks for one of the most astute reviews out there! I agree totally. CGI killed it. May I add that I thought Shia was terribly miscast as a Greaser; he seemed as tough as pulled taffy. If they wanted to make Indy's son a nerd who grows into his fathers son, Shia's the man. That could have been really charming. But a Brando-esque Wild One? Come ON! Plus the script never had a take on the dynamic between the two. If Last Crusade's charm was vested in the hilarious and focused realtionship between father and son, so this movie should have been as well. As such the relationship between Indy and "Mutt" starts off merely ambivalent and then never really deepens from there. What were they thinking? How many millions did the screenwriter make for this dreck.Matt Siglhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18192264713975819929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1163321594858726822.post-38363484249259798452008-05-24T09:42:00.000-04:002008-05-24T09:42:00.000-04:00I felt the film was doomed as soon as the Paramoun...I felt the film was doomed as soon as the Paramount mount dissolved into the prairie dog mound and the silly CGI rodent popped his head out of the dirt. Silly and unimaginative - just like the whole shameful mess.<BR/><BR/>This year's movie doldrums continue. Is there any hope?Richard Bellamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12397053921647421425noreply@blogger.com