Film L
L: Steven Spielberg, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Yes, of course, the Indiana Jones trilogy is sexist and racist - it kind of goes with the territory of plundering treasure from societies dismissed as savage (largely because they're trying to kill you) and the pre-Second Wave feminism period. It's Spielberg's serious films rather than his entertainments that tend to piss me off - partly because he never knows when to stop. Aside from the trilogy, and Empire of the Sun, I'd assumed Spielberg was captured by aliens in about 1978, about the same time as Coppola, Lucas and Allen (although he, briefly, escaped). The Mummy demonstrated equally opportunity racism, and allowed a heroine to be feistier.
The long promised Indy 4 has rampaging savages who have no culture but to protect their temple and a grand total of two (2) female speaking parts - an ex (Karen Allen) and an evil commie (Cate Blanchett). In the decade since Crusade (two decades in real time) Nazis have been effortlessly replaced by Reds as evil killable scum, Denholm Elliott (Marcus Brody) has died,as has Indy's father (Sean Connery), but nothing much else has changed.
Greaser Mutt (Shia LaBouef - somewhat buffed up since Holes) comes to Jones with news of a kidnapped archaeologist Doc "Ox" Oxley (John Hurt) and mother (Allen), and a mysterious treasure of a skull which needs to be taken to El Dorado. Jones has been sacked by his university after an earlier mission to Area 51 in which evil Irina Spalko (Blanchett) has stolen a variably magnetic alien (relic of the Roswell crash) and now heads out to rescue his friend and some who is an old flame, if he could but remember her.
There follows all manner of shennanigans, chases, flights, motorbike chasing, killer ants, shoot em ups, white water and stunt after stunt, in a one damn thing after another. LaBoeuf has a few nice lines at the old man's expense - although to my eyes Ford has looked craggy since Blade Runner and hasn't aged that much. Allen gets to be a little bit kooky. Blanchett gets to look like Louise Brooks. Hurt feigns madness. Ray Winstone wanders in and out the movie like he's not quite sure how to play third fiddle. Jim Broadbent does a John Bayley impression. Oh, and there's a bleeding obvious plot twist.
There is some ropey CGI and green screen work - the worst is a sequence of LaBoeuf stood on two moving vehicles, his testicles thwacked by passing vegetation, his legs bending and stretching at will. Better to have cut, I'd say. But there's a neat Tarzan bit. Oh, and did I mentioned the variable magnestism? This is not a time for realism.
In the end - passes the two hours plus amiably, and knows when to end for once, although with at least one tease about passing on the baton. It isn't as effortless as Last Crusade (where's Connery?) but nor does it make you wonder why they bothered. Perhaps as well to stop now though.
Fifty up! On course for 124 this year (which is only one every three days)
I Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Intacto (2001)
II Susannah Grant, Catch and Release (2007)
III: Andrew Dominik, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
IV Walter Lang, Desk Set (1957)
V Marc Forster, The Kite Runner (2007)
VI David Cronenberg, Eastern Promises (2007)
VII: Stanley Donen, Charade (1963)
VIII: Garson Kanin, My Favorite Wife (1940)
IX: George Stevens, Penny Serenade (1941)
X: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men (2007)
XI Menhaj Huda, Kidulthood
XII George Cukor, Holiday
XIII Charles Walters, Walk Don't Run
(XIV: Gregor Jordan, Ned Kelly (2003)
Danny Boyle, Sunshine (2007)
Neil Burger, The Illusionist (2006)
XVII: Doug Liman, Jumper (2008)
Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd (2007)
XIX: Daniel Haller, Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth Century (1979)
XX: Benjamin Christensen, Haxan: Witchcraft through the Ages (1922)
XXI: J.M. Kenny, An Evening with Kevin Smith II: Evening Harder (2006)
XXII: Todd Haynes, I'm Not There. (2007)
XXIII: Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton (2007)
XXIV: Frank Capra, State of the Union (1948)
XXV: Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Buster Complete Shorts 1917-1923 volume 1
XXVI: George Cukor, Pat and Mike (1952)
XXVII: Steven Soderbergh, The Good German (2006)
Film XXVIII: Jason Reitman, Juno (2007)
XXIX: Isaac Julien, Derek (2008)
XXX: Fred Barney Taylor, The Polymath, or the Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman (2007)
(XXXI: John Curran, The Painted Veil (2006)
Lasse Hallström, The Cider House Rules (1999)
XXXIII: Roman Polanski, Chinatown (1974)
XXXIV: David Fincher, Zodiac (2007)
XXXV: Fred Schepisi, Last Orders (2001)
XXXVI: Derek Jarman, Imaging October (1984)
XXXVII: Angela Robinson, Herbie Fully Loaded (2005)
XXXVIII: Ingmar Bergman, Persona (1966)
XXXIX: Jon Favreau, Iron Man (2008)
Christophe Gans, Le Pacte des loups (2001)
XLI: Krisztina Goda, Szabadság, szerelem (2006) (Children of Glory)
XLII: Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
XLIII: Jean Vigo, L'Atalante (1934)
XLIV: John Hamburg, Safe Men (1998)
XLV: D.W. Griffith, Intolerance (1916)
XLVI: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
XLVII: Michael Powell, They're a Weird Mob (1966)
XLVIII: Jan Dunn, Ruby Blue (2007)
IL: David Schwimmer, Run Fatboy, Run (2007)
L: Steven Spielberg, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Totals: 50 (Cinema: 18; DVD: 30; TV: 2]
Yes, of course, the Indiana Jones trilogy is sexist and racist - it kind of goes with the territory of plundering treasure from societies dismissed as savage (largely because they're trying to kill you) and the pre-Second Wave feminism period. It's Spielberg's serious films rather than his entertainments that tend to piss me off - partly because he never knows when to stop. Aside from the trilogy, and Empire of the Sun, I'd assumed Spielberg was captured by aliens in about 1978, about the same time as Coppola, Lucas and Allen (although he, briefly, escaped). The Mummy demonstrated equally opportunity racism, and allowed a heroine to be feistier.
The long promised Indy 4 has rampaging savages who have no culture but to protect their temple and a grand total of two (2) female speaking parts - an ex (Karen Allen) and an evil commie (Cate Blanchett). In the decade since Crusade (two decades in real time) Nazis have been effortlessly replaced by Reds as evil killable scum, Denholm Elliott (Marcus Brody) has died,as has Indy's father (Sean Connery), but nothing much else has changed.
Greaser Mutt (Shia LaBouef - somewhat buffed up since Holes) comes to Jones with news of a kidnapped archaeologist Doc "Ox" Oxley (John Hurt) and mother (Allen), and a mysterious treasure of a skull which needs to be taken to El Dorado. Jones has been sacked by his university after an earlier mission to Area 51 in which evil Irina Spalko (Blanchett) has stolen a variably magnetic alien (relic of the Roswell crash) and now heads out to rescue his friend and some who is an old flame, if he could but remember her.
There follows all manner of shennanigans, chases, flights, motorbike chasing, killer ants, shoot em ups, white water and stunt after stunt, in a one damn thing after another. LaBoeuf has a few nice lines at the old man's expense - although to my eyes Ford has looked craggy since Blade Runner and hasn't aged that much. Allen gets to be a little bit kooky. Blanchett gets to look like Louise Brooks. Hurt feigns madness. Ray Winstone wanders in and out the movie like he's not quite sure how to play third fiddle. Jim Broadbent does a John Bayley impression. Oh, and there's a bleeding obvious plot twist.
There is some ropey CGI and green screen work - the worst is a sequence of LaBoeuf stood on two moving vehicles, his testicles thwacked by passing vegetation, his legs bending and stretching at will. Better to have cut, I'd say. But there's a neat Tarzan bit. Oh, and did I mentioned the variable magnestism? This is not a time for realism.
In the end - passes the two hours plus amiably, and knows when to end for once, although with at least one tease about passing on the baton. It isn't as effortless as Last Crusade (where's Connery?) but nor does it make you wonder why they bothered. Perhaps as well to stop now though.
Fifty up! On course for 124 this year (which is only one every three days)
I Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Intacto (2001)
II Susannah Grant, Catch and Release (2007)
III: Andrew Dominik, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
IV Walter Lang, Desk Set (1957)
V Marc Forster, The Kite Runner (2007)
VI David Cronenberg, Eastern Promises (2007)
VII: Stanley Donen, Charade (1963)
VIII: Garson Kanin, My Favorite Wife (1940)
IX: George Stevens, Penny Serenade (1941)
X: Joel and Ethan Coen, No Country for Old Men (2007)
XI Menhaj Huda, Kidulthood
XII George Cukor, Holiday
XIII Charles Walters, Walk Don't Run
(XIV: Gregor Jordan, Ned Kelly (2003)
Danny Boyle, Sunshine (2007)
Neil Burger, The Illusionist (2006)
XVII: Doug Liman, Jumper (2008)
Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd (2007)
XIX: Daniel Haller, Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth Century (1979)
XX: Benjamin Christensen, Haxan: Witchcraft through the Ages (1922)
XXI: J.M. Kenny, An Evening with Kevin Smith II: Evening Harder (2006)
XXII: Todd Haynes, I'm Not There. (2007)
XXIII: Tony Gilroy, Michael Clayton (2007)
XXIV: Frank Capra, State of the Union (1948)
XXV: Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Buster Complete Shorts 1917-1923 volume 1
XXVI: George Cukor, Pat and Mike (1952)
XXVII: Steven Soderbergh, The Good German (2006)
Film XXVIII: Jason Reitman, Juno (2007)
XXIX: Isaac Julien, Derek (2008)
XXX: Fred Barney Taylor, The Polymath, or the Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman (2007)
(XXXI: John Curran, The Painted Veil (2006)
Lasse Hallström, The Cider House Rules (1999)
XXXIII: Roman Polanski, Chinatown (1974)
XXXIV: David Fincher, Zodiac (2007)
XXXV: Fred Schepisi, Last Orders (2001)
XXXVI: Derek Jarman, Imaging October (1984)
XXXVII: Angela Robinson, Herbie Fully Loaded (2005)
XXXVIII: Ingmar Bergman, Persona (1966)
XXXIX: Jon Favreau, Iron Man (2008)
Christophe Gans, Le Pacte des loups (2001)
XLI: Krisztina Goda, Szabadság, szerelem (2006) (Children of Glory)
XLII: Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
XLIII: Jean Vigo, L'Atalante (1934)
XLIV: John Hamburg, Safe Men (1998)
XLV: D.W. Griffith, Intolerance (1916)
XLVI: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
XLVII: Michael Powell, They're a Weird Mob (1966)
XLVIII: Jan Dunn, Ruby Blue (2007)
IL: David Schwimmer, Run Fatboy, Run (2007)
L: Steven Spielberg, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Totals: 50 (Cinema: 18; DVD: 30; TV: 2]