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I listened to James Taylor’s new album, called “Covers,” not long before I watched Steven Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” I came to the same conclusion about both of these regrettable projects: What a shame that these two vastly talented men have been spinning their wheels in the same lucrative rut for so long.

Mr. Taylor’s album is, as the title states, a collection of other people’s hits, redone in his mellow, laid-back style. With the exception of “Wichita Lineman,” none of the songs are appreciable improvements over the originals. The overriding impression listening to it is that it promises high yield in a commercial sense while posing a very low risk to a star who has been much too firmly fixed at the same point on the horizon for far too long.

There is always the impression that the mere obviousness of its huge budget will atone for a multiplicity of other deficiencies.

Harrison Ford, charming half-smile intact, is reprising a character last seen on screens nearly 20 years ago. Mr. Ford tries hard not to seem as embarrassed by the knuckleheaded proceedings as Pierce Brosnan did in “Mamma Mia!” He, generally, succeeds on chutzpah alone. And, if the older Indy sports a few more facial lines and a slightly thicker waistline, he will always be up to the hair-raising acrobatics as long as there are testosterone rich stuntmen available.

The more familiar Indiana Jones-ish character in “Crystal Skull” is Mutt Williams, an attitudinal young man whose paternal origin will come as no surprise to anyone who has seen “The Empire Strikes Back.” Mutt is played by Shia LaBeouf, actor and occasional bad boy, whose much-heralded great future in Hollywood is not any more apparent here than it was in the god-awful “Transformers.”

The real casualty of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” is Spielberg himself. The dazzling expectations occasioned by “Duel,” and “Jaws” were ultimately undone by “E.T.,” “Raiders,” and “Jurassic Park.” Their phenomenal successes beckoned, like a veiled temptress, to the director to “come away with me.”

The fact that the creature at the climax of “Crystal Skull” was reminiscent of the alien in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” was probably calculated. I was only reminded of the promise abandoned.

Tags: acrobatics, chutzpah, commercial sense, crystal skull, facial lines, half smile, indiana jones, indy sports, james taylor, mr taylor, mutt, paternal origin, pierce brosnan, redone, shia labeouf, spinning their wheels, steven spielberg, talented men, wichita lineman

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Actress Cate Blanchett’s kids were thrilled when Steven Spielberg gave them the chance to step behind the camera and direct their mother in the new Indiana Jones movie.

Blanchett stars in Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull alongside Harrison Ford and often brought her children Dashiell, seven, and Roman, four, onto the set.

And director Spielberg was so happy to have to the young family there, he let the kids take on his job and direct a scene featuring their mum.

“Steve was so welcoming to my family. And that was really special.”

Tags: actress, cate, cate blanchett, crystal skull, dashiell, director spielberg, ford, harrison ford, indiana jones, job, new indiana jones, new indiana jones movie, spielberg, steven spielberg

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When ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull‘ opens the year is 1957 and we find our hero has been taken prisoner by a group of Soviets who have infiltrated the US Army’s notorious ‘Area 51′ looking for something the army has secretly stored there.

After Indy helps them locate what they’re looking for he expedites a ‘high speed’ escape before falling into the clutches of the US Army, after almost getting caught in the middle of a major nuclear weapons test.

After all this excitement Indiana returns to teaching only to be told, by his college principal, that because of the FBI’s ‘interest’ in him he is going to be suspended.

As Indy is about to head off on a trip to England he meets a young man  who asks for his help to find his mother, and his old professor, who have gone missing in South America.

Before the professor went missing he was searching for the mythical Crystal Skull of Akatar and this, along with the arrival of a number of KGB agents, prompts Indy to agree to help young Mutt and the pair head off in search of this elusive archaeological treasure.

Shortly after arriving in Peru Indy picks up the trail left by his old friend and he soon finds himself in an old graveyard where he discovered a hidden chamber where he locates the Crystal Skull.

However, the pair have been followed and, once again, Indy finds himself captured by the Russians, led by Cate Blanchett.

Aside from a few more wrinkles, and a tendency to wear his khakis a bit high at the waist, Harrison Ford rolls back the years to reprise one of the roles which made him a Hollywood megastar.

The film is directed by Steven Spielberg and rolls along at a pretty hectic pace. The opening half hour is non-stop and highly watchable although I felt a chase sequence through the jungle looked like it was all done in front of a blue screen, or on a computer.

If ‘Crystal Skull’ has an Achilles heel and it does it’s the story. The plot starts off fairly interesting but turns into complete hokum as it develops, and would be more at home in an episode of ‘X-Files’ than in a Indiana Jones movie.

What you do get with ‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ is some excellent chase sequences, lots of high speed action, some exotic locations and the re-introduction of one of the big screen’s favourite characters to the movie going public.

And while the movie is very enjoyable, and well put together, the plot is very weak and unfortunately lets down what is otherwise a very enjoyable adventure romp.

Tags: achilles heel, archaeological treasure, area 51, cate, cate blanchett, chase sequences, clutches, college principal, crystal skull, ford, harrison ford, hectic pace, hero, hokum, hollywood, indiana jones, indy, kgb agents, khakis, megastar, mutt, nuclear weapons test, old graveyard, pace, romp, soviets, spielberg, steven spielberg, us army

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AGEING gracefully is a difficult art. So, hats off to Harrison Ford and Spielberg for showing that when 20 years pass by unless you live in a soap opera two decades do pass by.

The archaeologist-adventurer made famous by George Lucas, Spielberg and Ford returns as an older, wiser and a little slower Indiana Jones, who remains as fallible and as likable as in his first outing in 1981.

Spielberg insisted that the special effects would be kept to a minimum in keeping with both the spirit of the three previous Indiana Jones films and the period in which The Kingdom of the Skull is set, and this does give the film an old-worldly, hands-on feel missing in similar adventures shot now like, say, National Treasure. This includes a sword-fight between two people balanced on two parallel racing jeeps.

Still, sometimes it’s better to adopt a little change. The Kingdom of the Skull moves at a desultory pace and its storyline has few surprises. And then, suddenly in the end, it takes off in a direction that bears the special touch of Lucas and Spielberg.

What’s also surprising is how many parallels it has with National Treasure 2, released just earlier this year from mythical cities to estranged families. Sure, there is a new character being introduced, in the shape of the young flavour of the season Shia LaBeouf. But even with the Marlon Brando get-up, he looks like he has been plonked in the film from sometime else.

Tags: archaeologist, crystal skull, decades, few surprises, flavour, ford, george lucas, harrison ford, hats, indiana jones, indiana jones films, jeeps, marlon brando, national treasure, national treasure 2, pace, parallels, shia labeouf, soap opera, special effects, spielberg, sword fight

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BREAKING through the cobwebs to revisit a classic franchise whose last film was nearly 20 years ago was never going to be an easy challenge, even for intrepid adventurer Indiana Jones, who’s well-known for rediscovering old relics - but director Steven Spielberg has definitely pulled it off.

An ageing Harrison Ford dusts off his character’s fedora as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls takes some daring risks and manages to create a rip-roaring piece of summer entertainment with Ford’s charm, Spielberg’s cinematic magic and the excellent new addition of the surprisingly charismatic Shia LaBeouf.

The movie works as a piece of summer entertainment that can be proudly appended to the previous Indy outings, and the film-making is superb with some stunning visuals and action sequences.

This project was always going to get a mixed response - stick to the original formula and some cry that it’s too tired and dated; make radical changes and you risk people saying it’s no longer Indiana Jones. The finished film is very much in the spirit of the originals, with some additions (LaBeouf and a somewhat out-of-this-world storyline) to take it in new directions.

In the story, Indiana Jones and a new companion, biker Mutt Williams (LaBeouf, above right), battle Soviet agents led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) in a quest to find a crystal skull in Peru which is said to have untold power.

Where it falls short in places is in the writing. Even dismissing the usual Indy cliches (bullets that never hit the target, impossible stunts and death-trap temples), some comic moments feel contrived, some explanations don’t work and the fates of some of the baddies left me totally unsatisfied.

The audience seemed to enjoy the movie and, as I left, one man remarked: “I went in with trepidation but it was excellent” to nodding approval from those around, and that’s exactly how I felt.

I’ll take a look at some of the details of the movie below, so don’t read further if you don’t want to know all the shocks and surprises - instead, come back after you’ve seen the movie and tell me if you agree,

THE DETAILS

This is a genre which has exploded since the first three movies with other quest films such as Tomb Raider, The Mummy and National Treasure, so director Spielberg and co-writer and executive producer George Lucas clearly felt the need to take the story to the next level with Crystal Skull.

Elements of Spielberg’s classic E.T. have now entered the Indiana franchise with this latest movie featuring alien remains, a reference to the Roswell incident and ending with a full-blown flying saucer emerging from an ancient pyramid.

There was a lot of anxiety from some fans before the movie about taking Indy’s archaeological quests into extraterrestrial territory - it does work in the film, though seeing a living alien near the end seemed unnecessary.

And the final explanation of the ‘gold’ of the lost city being the treasure of knowledge didn’t feel right at all, more like a writers’ cop-out. Despite the amazing final scenes at the temple in south America, that explanation seemed phoney and misleading.

The death of Winstone’s treacherous character - who was irritating from the moment he stepped on screen - was largely unsatisfying as was the demise of Blanchett’s eccentric Soviet agent (with bobbed hair, leather boots and a boiler suit). They needed to die - but it should have been more gratifying to the audience and not so rushed. I’m at least relieved that Winstone won’t be annoying me in future Indy movies.

Ford and romantic co star Karen Allen are now decidely advanced in years and one wonders how the franchise can carry on with either of them in physical action roles. Indy’s new sidekick Mutt who turns out to be his son seems to have been there to plant the possibility of him being Jones’ replacement.

Tags: action sequences, baddies, cate, cate blanchett, comic moments, crystal skull, crystal skulls, death trap, director spielberg, director steven spielberg, dusts, finished film, ford, franchise, george lucas, harrison ford, hero, indiana jones, indy, intrepid adventurer, irina, karen allen, last film, mutt, national treasure, new companion, shia labeouf, soviet agents, spielberg, steven spielberg, story indiana, stunning visuals, summer entertainment, target

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A little more rugged and world-weary but still as handsome as when we were first introduced to him in The Raiders of the Lost Ark, Professor Henry “Indiana” Jones is back in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Now a card-carrying member of the AARP, things run a little more slowly and the over the hill jokes are a must. I was hoping that the film would capture the magic of the previous three, but alas, it did not.

indy.jpgMutt finds Indy on his way to London and tells him that Professor Oxley (John Hurt), a former classmate of Indy’s and friend of Mutt’s family, has gone missing down in South America on his search for a crystal skull. Mutt’s mom is down there and told her if she was in trouble to find Indy to help. Intrigued, Indy and Mutt venture down to Peru to find the two.

A college town chase scene ensues, followed later by a fun romp/chase through the jungles (reminiscent of the Endor speeder bike scene from Return of the Jedi). These are the elements most like the old Indy films.

While everyone, even myself, anticipated another Indiana Jones film after Last Crusade, I’m wondering now if the franchise was better left alone. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was, by far, my favorite film – with a far better story and a chemistry between Ford and Sean Connery that far surpasses the chemistry between Ford and LaBeouf.

It’s still a great popcorn flick, but so far Iron Man is the tops of my list of 2008 summer movies.

Tags: bike scene, cate, chase scene, classmate, crystal skull, endor, ford, franchise, henry indiana, hill jokes, indiana jones, indiana jones and the last crusade, indy, indy films, iron man, jungles, last crusade, mutt, oxley, popcorn flick, professor henry, raiders of the lost ark, return of the jedi, romp, sean connery, way to london

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Our Cate Blanchett is about to add to her status as the biggest box office-earning actress in cinema history with the worldwide release of Indiana Jones 4: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

It sounds a bit like Monopoly money but Cate’s new film is tipped to earn close to $US1 billion in box office takings around the world, adding to the $US3 billion earned by the three Lord of the Rings films in which Cate played the royal elf, Galadriel.

In Indiana Jones 4: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Cate plays a Russian spy, Irina Spalko, who embarks on a desperate race to find the “crystal skull” ahead of Professor Henry Walton Jones, Jr, better known, of course, as Indiana Jones played by Harrison Ford, the

character he played in three previous films and in a one-off appearance in a 1993 episode of the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.

The film also stars Shia LaBeouf, as Indi’s new side-kick, Mutt Williams, and brings back the character of Marion Ravenwood from 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, played then and now by Karen Allen.

Allen is now 57, Harrison Ford 64. They shared adventures - and more! - in Nepal and Egypt in that 1981 film.

This time around? See the film - it adds up to great entertainment with lots of surprises unfolding on screen.

Beckham is actually just one of a dozen international football stars playing themselves.

In the first film, Santiago and his family had travelled from Mexico and were living in poverty in Los Angeles until Santiago, spotted by a talent scout, was invited to England to join Newcastle United.

Goal III, set around the FIFA world Championships in Germany, is now in post-production with a possible Australian release late this year.

It’s a film in which audiences may find it hard to believe Academy Award winner Javier Bardem, playing a love-struck romantic, is the same Javier Bardem who embarked on a killing spree in No Country for Old Men.

Tags: actress, box office takings, cate, cate blanchett, champion, cinema history, crystal skull, desperate race, football stars, ford, harrison ford, indiana jones, indiana jones 4, irina, javier bardem, karen allen, killing spree, lord of the rings films, marion ravenwood, monopoly money, mutt, newcastle united, professor henry, raiders of the lost ark, russian spy, shia labeouf, takings, talent scout, young indiana jones

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Indy’s back after a 19 year break and not much has changed. Indiana Jones first came to the screen in 1981 with Raiders of the Lost Ark and then returned in 1984 for The Temple of Doom, and finally The Last Crusade in 1989. Last time Indy was on the screen, he was in the 1930’s and they have kept time and date by replacing the 30’s setting with a 50’s setting on this fourth Indiana Jones installment.

Harrison Ford returns as Indy. He’s a little bit older, but still the same old Indy and Ford delivers. Much was discussed about his age, but he fits right back into the role beautifully. Karen Allen, who played Marion Ravenwood in Raiders is back as a former love of Indy who now has a son, Mutt Williams, played by Shia LeBeouf. Many were concerned with the casting of Shia, but he holds his own sharing screen time with the legend Harrison Ford. Adding to newcomer Shia, is the main villain played by Cate Blanchett. Cate is an excellent actress and plays a Russian villain extremely well. Overall, wonderful new casting adds to the already solid original cast that returned.

The fourth Indy flick involves the Russian KGB kidnapping Jones to enlist his services in finding a cargo crate with mysterious contents. Indy eventually escapes only to get tangled back up with the Russians later on, when it is revealed that Indy’s old friend has been captured by them over a powerful artifact, the Crystal Skull. Indy sets out to free his friend and reveal the mystery of the Crystal Skull.

To avoid spoilers on the movie, I’ve been and will be relatively vague in this review. One of the main plot points that isn’t really a secret is that Mutt(LeBeouf) is actually Indy’s son. This particular plot elements really brings the movie up as Shia and Harrison have a on screen chemistry reminiscent of the chemistry between Harrison and Sean Connery who played his father in The Last Crusade. I always enjoyed the emotional and funny connections made between father and son in the Last Crusade and it is a welcome addition to the new flick.

The only thing better would have been to have Sean Connery in there as well, but Mr. Connery turned down the opportunity to reprise his role as he doesn’t want to come out of retirement. Luckily, they brought back Karen Allen who is absolutely marvelous reprising the role of Marion Ravenwood. From the moment she is introduced, the movie feels complete. Indy and Marion back on screen together is magic in itself, especially if you are a fan of the first Indy flick, which is the best one.

Overall, the story is great. It feels like it could have been better, but they did such a great job making the script play older to fit in with the previous Indiana Jones movies, while also updating enough to play to modern audiences that a few dragging points and interesting story choices don’t ruin it for me. Coupled with a great story and wonderful actors/actresses, the only thing left is a great director and who better than Steven Spielburg. Spielburg did such a great job with the first three Indiana Jones movies that I’m so glad that he choose to return for the 4th. It wouldn’t quite be Indiana Jones without the trademarked Spielburg directing style and flare. He really shows his knack for action and adventure thrills in this flick. From exciting chases, gun play, and killer ants, Spielburg films them all with the utmost care to detail and thrills.

There are so many wonderful action sequences and thrills that Indy keeps your attention on the screen. The movie is literally jam packed with great moments, lines, and nostalgia. If you have watched any of the previous Indiana Jones movies and liked/loved them, you’ll most likely like/love this new flick. If you didn’t like the original films, then we don’t talk to you. If you haven’t seen the originals, don’t cheat yourself! Go watch the originals in the order they were released and then go see Crystal Skull. I don’t remember what Indiana Jones film I saw first. I remember in my later years that I watched the whole trilogy at once, but I’m sure I had seen some of not all of them before that.

Either way, my favorite of the series, including the Crystal Skull, is the classic first one, Raiders of the Lost Ark. Coming in second is The Last Crusade, with Crystal Skull popping in right underneath the Last Crusade, almost tying it. The Temple of Doom comes in just slightly underneath them all. I stick Crystal Skull so close to The Last Crusade because it’s hard for me to choose which one I like better. There is a definite first place and last place winner, but the two other flicks just float in between. Now to say that The Temple of Doom is my least favorite of the Jones Trilogy is still quite a compliment. I rate the Jones Trilogy pretty high and that includes the extremely good Temple of Doom. It’s just when you have four excellent films fighting for your favorite spot, one has to come last even if it is a marvelous film.

The new installment of Indiana Jones is a don’t miss event. This is a great film throughout and is well worth the price of admission. This is a wonderful new film and it’s a grand experience hanging out with some old friends and seeing what they have been up to over the past 19 years, only to find out, they are still doing what they love and causing trouble.

Tags: action sequences, actress, cate, cate blanchett, crystal skull, father and son, ford, harrison ford, indiana jones, indy, job, karen allen, last crusade, marion ravenwood, mutt, original cast, plot elements, plot points, price of admission, raiders of the lost ark, russian kgb, screen chemistry, screen time, sean connery, shia lebeouf, temple of doom, time and date, welcome addition

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“Crystal Skull” even dusts off the Russians, so severely under- exploited in recent years, as the bad guys. Up against them, Indiana Jones is once again played by Harrison Ford, who is now 65 but looks a lot like he did at 55 or 46, which is how old he was when he made “Last Crusade.” He has one of those Robert Mitchum faces that doesn’t age, it only frowns more.

He and his sidekick Mac McHale (Ray Winstone) are taken by the cool, contemptuous Soviet uber-villainess Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) to a cavernous warehouse to seek out a crate he saw there years ago. The contents of the crate are hyper- magnetic (lord, I love this stuff) and betray themselves when Indy throws a handful of gunpowder into the air.

In ways too labyrinthine to describe, the crate leads Indy, Mac, Irina and the Russians far up the Amazon. Along the way they’ve gathered Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), Indy’s girlfriend from the first film, and a young biker named Mutt Williams (Shia LeBeouf), who is always combing his ducktail haircut. They also acquire Professor Oxley (John Hurt), elderly colleague from the University of Chicago, whose function is to read all the necessary languages, know all the necessary background, and explain everything.

What happens in South America is explained by the need to create (1) sensational chase sequences, and (2) awe-inspiring spectacles. We get such sights as two dueling Jeep-like vehicles racing down parallel roads. Not many of the audience members will be as logical as I am, and wonder who went to the trouble of building parallell roads in a rain forest.

Most of the major characters eventually find themselves at the wheels of both vehicles; they leap or are thrown from one to another, and the vehicles occasionally leap right over one another. And that Irina, she’s something. Her Russian backups are mostly just atmosphere, useful for pointing their rifles at Indy, but she can fight shoot, fence, drive, leap and kick, and keep on all night.

Tags: amazon, audience members, cate, cate blanchett, chase sequences, crystal skull, ducktail haircut, dusts, ford, gunpowder, harrison ford, indiana jones, indy, irina, karen allen, last crusade, mac mchale, marion ravenwood, mutt, necessary background, necessary languages, oxley, parallel roads, rain forest, ray winstone, robert mitchum, shia lebeouf, ups

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George Lucas has had an idea for a fourth Indiana Jones movie for more than a decade now, but Spielberg and Ford wanted nothing to do with it. Eventually he wore them down and the result is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It’s easy to see why Spielberg and Ford were hesitant to make it.

Indiana’s survival is now the stuff of utter fantasy. Sure the tight spots he made it out of in previous movies stretched the bounds of believability, but now those bounds have been broken, snapped, and tossed straight out the window. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull does that in the first fifteen minutes, when Indy survives something so ludicrous that it’s right out of a bad, 1950s, sci-fi serial; which of course is what Lucas and Spielberg are using as inspiration.

He may be more grumpy and he may not be much of a dresser, but the glimmer hasn’t entirely gone out of Harrison’s eyes. We’re reacquainted with Indy in the midst of intrigue involving Russians. It’s the 50s, the Nazis have been defeated, and that means Indy must now fight communism. The Reds are led by an army officer named Irina Spalko, played by Cate Blanchett.

From the outset she’s no match for Indiana Jones, and Cate’s take on the character seems to involve a lot of gaping and staring. Spalko is after an American secret and she drags Indy out to a certain spot in the Nevada desert, where our adventure begins, offset by comedic gophers which seem to have wandered over from the set of Caddyshack. From Nevada it’s off to South America, where the gophers are replaced by monkeys, and jungle clue chasing with Indiana and his friends can begin in earnest.

But you’re here for adventure and there’s plenty of that. The movie soars in several character driven action sequences, and sags in others. Indiana has another one of those genius “shoot the sword guy” moments which alone makes Kingdom of the Crystal Skull worth the price of admission. Most of the effects are good, and it’s all well staged. Unfortunately, sometimes perhaps a little too well staged. This Indiana Jones feels less organic than any of the other movies. It feels more choreographed. Of course it’s all choreographed, but some of the action sequences in this one seem more like dance numbers than truly dangerous, rock-em-sock em Indiana Jones action.

Even though old age should mean he’s more fragile, I never truly felt like Indiana was in trouble, and I’m not sure he ever did either. Maybe it’s because some of it goes so far over the top that it crosses that believability line I mentioned earlier. Or, and I hate to keep harping on this, maybe it’s Harrison’s age. There’s no way a guy this grey could pull any of this off, and so when he does, it’s harder than ever to buy into any of it.

The idea of a fourth Indiana Jones movie is better than the reality, and a few years from now I guarantee fans will find themselves more likely to re-watch Temple of Doom than to revisit this entertaining, yet past its prime Indy entry.

Tags: 1950s, action sequences, army officer, believability, caddyshack, cate, cate blanchett, crystal skull, fifteen minutes, ford, fourth indiana jones movie, george lucas, gophers, indiana jones, indy, irina, nevada desert, outset, price of admission, sags, soars, spielberg, spira, temple of doom, tight spots

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