tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post7658709214703967865..comments2024-01-27T00:19:36.912-08:00Comments on Coleman's Corner in Cinema...: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)Coleman's Corner in Cinema...http://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-34620385186402882672008-06-07T10:42:00.000-07:002008-06-07T10:42:00.000-07:00Perhaps I need to see it again and just focus on s...Perhaps I need to see it again and just focus on some of the technical elements. I'm trying to approach movies a little less analytically and just enjoying them viscerally the way they're intended, but then applying analysis after the fact. Because of that, and partly because my brain is increasingly muddled, I miss a lot of details.<BR/><BR/>You're right about Broadbent, though again he's underused...not criminally like Hurt, but nevertheless.Craig Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00924813294666616097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-72250377470357801662008-06-06T20:05:00.000-07:002008-06-06T20:05:00.000-07:00Craig, I'd love to further probe Spielberg and his...Craig, I'd love to further probe Spielberg and his films with you, or whatever. Sounds like a lot of fun. <BR/><BR/>I'm glad you chimed in here, as I saw this again yesterday. In the end, I liked it considerably more, though numerous flaws remain. At a basic screenplay level, it's all kinds of messy (seeing it a second time I realized that the film essentially abandons the entire first act plot to bring in Mutt out of nowhere to set up an entirely new second plot based around Oxley, and these two plots are only tied up at around the halfway point by a load of exposition by Blanchett... kind of clunky, but it's not a deal-breaker) and some lazy execution here and there.<BR/><BR/>However, seeing it again allows for greater appreciation of Spielberg's compositions, and some decent character beats. The unsung hero of the film is probably Jim Broadbent, who isn't receiving any mentions, it seems, including from me, but he manages to give the film some honest-to-goodness heart without stretching much. Seeing this with a crowd that was 100% into it made a big difference.<BR/><BR/>The CGI animals do annoy.<BR/><BR/>Craig, I love your writing as it frequently gets to the heart of matters and shedding new light on things. Your There Will Be Blood review is still the best one I've read, for instance. So however you describe it, keep doing it. :)Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-77702451094622844972008-06-06T16:00:00.001-07:002008-06-06T16:00:00.001-07:00I love how you place Skull in the Spielbergian the...I love how you place Skull in the Spielbergian thematic firmament Alexander. In the process, you approached the movie from a whole different, yet interesting, angle from how I was thinking about it.<BR/><BR/>The family theme was right there staring me in the face, yet I focused on the aliens. I know they bugged some people, but I thought they intertwined nicely with the rest of the series. Our myths have changed in a more rational, post-WWII world and this film reflects that.<BR/><BR/>I totally agree that Hurt was wasted and upon further review, Winstone made no sense. Sloppy.<BR/><BR/>Some of the CGI and set work bugged me too, but on the whole, I enjoyed myself.<BR/><BR/>I also didn't find the film to be lazy or half-hearted. Sloppy, yes, but as you say Spielberg and Ford seem fully engaged. This doesn't feel like a paycheck movie. They're having fun. <BR/><BR/>Anyway, this is more than just a review, but nevertheless a nice job all around. <BR/><BR/>I'd love to read you do a deeper analysis of Spielberg film by film sometime. I'd suggest we should do something together, but I fear you'd outsmart me. <BR/><BR/>I'm finding my writing taking a less intellectual approach than it did when college was still fresh. I'm not sure if that's for better or for worse, but there it is.Craig Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00924813294666616097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-53137936416239529892008-06-06T16:00:00.000-07:002008-06-06T16:00:00.000-07:00I love how you place Skull in the Spielbergian the...I love how you place Skull in the Spielbergian thematic firmament Alexander. In the process, you approached the movie from a whole different, yet interesting, angle from how I was thinking about it.<BR/><BR/>The family theme was right there staring me in the face, yet I focused on the aliens. I know they bugged some people, but I thought they intertwined nicely with the rest of the series. Our myths have changed in a more rational, post-WWII world and this film reflects that.<BR/><BR/>I totally agree that Hurt was wasted and upon further review, Winstone made no sense. Sloppy.<BR/><BR/>Some of the CGI and set work bugged me too, but on the whole, I enjoyed myself.<BR/><BR/>I also didn't find the film to be lazy or half-hearted. Sloppy, yes, but as you say Spielberg and Ford seem fully engaged. This doesn't feel like a paycheck movie. They're having fun. <BR/><BR/>Anyway, this is more than just a review, but nevertheless a nice job all around. <BR/><BR/>I'd love to read you do a deeper analysis of Spielberg film by film sometime. I'd suggest we should do something together, but I fear you'd outsmart me. <BR/><BR/>I'm finding my writing taking a less intellectual approach than it did when college was still fresh. I'm not sure if that's for better or for worse, but there it is.Craig Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00924813294666616097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-1679782724116038162008-05-27T22:26:00.000-07:002008-05-27T22:26:00.000-07:00Thanks for those incisive comments about Spielberg...Thanks for those incisive comments about Spielberg, Sartre. His films do have the tendency of being read in wildly different manners, by both his admirers and detractors.<BR/><BR/>Thank you very much, Daniel. The film has some fundamental flaws due to its unwieldy, sometimes very confused screenplay, most of the blame for which I lay at the doorstep of Lucas. <BR/><BR/>However, I think it has a great deal of fun, and fits in with the Spielberg canon. And like I said over at LiC earlier today, being an Indy adventure in the '00s, it's made by Spielberg as partly a remark on the form of modern film he was instrumental in creating. For this reason, and some others, I suspect a second viewing would be helpfully illuminating.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-88254979373998960272008-05-27T20:20:00.000-07:002008-05-27T20:20:00.000-07:00Great work, Alexander. Of all the "millions of wor...Great work, Alexander. Of all the "millions of words" being written about this, you at least make an effort (quite impressively) to analyze Skull in the Spielberg canon. I enjoyed it for many of the same reasons as you. Still a little high off of it and hesitant to revisit it and find flaws, but oh well, it was still better than I expected.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05222052132452709301noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-75625872318349940772008-05-27T15:06:00.000-07:002008-05-27T15:06:00.000-07:00Who knows, by being exposed to your onoging champi...Who knows, by being exposed to your onoging championing of Spielberg's craft I might experience an epiphany :-) <BR/><BR/>There are different styles of intelligence. I don't think Spielberg is any less intelligent than say Coppola, Scorsese, Malick, and Kubrick. But something about their variously expressed intellectual styles and sensibilities naturally engage me in a way Spielberg doesn't. That said, I know that those who find cause for more thorough analysis in his work undoubtedly possess a connoisseur's ear.sartrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11723520573244920365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-62172731021194259942008-05-26T22:09:00.000-07:002008-05-26T22:09:00.000-07:00Thanks, Sartre. To quote Laurence Fishburne, I wan...Thanks, Sartre. To quote Laurence Fishburne, I want you to "Free your mind." <BR/><BR/>(Just kidding, I know it's a rambunctious and free-spirited mind.)Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-49642866154151646122008-05-26T16:10:00.000-07:002008-05-26T16:10:00.000-07:00Alexander, you can always be relied upon to provid...Alexander, you can always be relied upon to provide a thoughtful and scholarly appraisal of the Spielberg canon. It’s all the more interesting to me because his work doesn’t inspire analysis in me. That doesn’t mean I don’t recognize his intelligence and artistry, but the vehicles he uses to express preoccupations generally simply entertain, or in the case of Schlinder’s List, move me in straightforward ways. The one exception is A.I. And in that film I’m not sure whether it’s Spielberg’s or Kubrick’s more engaging ideas that I’m responding to.sartrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11723520573244920365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-32626232459280111762008-05-26T08:04:00.000-07:002008-05-26T08:04:00.000-07:00Thank you, Alison. I'm glad you could appreciate t...Thank you, Alison. I'm glad you could appreciate the film for the fun it provides. It's self-referential but I like that myself. <BR/><BR/>The more I reflect on Spielberg's handling of the Indiana Jones character, the more pleased I become with the film. The particularly subtle way in which Indy--after his son (who he does not quite know is his son yet) acts impulsively--says, under his breath, "This is intolerable." It's a generational statement in one quick scene that could have been a throwaway... Mutt becomes a young Indy, and Indy becomes something closer to Henry Jones, Sr.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-47218627173813076982008-05-25T19:37:00.000-07:002008-05-25T19:37:00.000-07:00Well, I saw this today and enjoyed it. Nothing ear...Well, I saw this today and enjoyed it. Nothing earth-shattering, but then I didn't expect it to be. Harrison Ford was wonderful and I enjoyed the humor in the film. Yes, the ending was over-the-top, but whatever. In addition to RAIDERS being a superb movie, it - like STAR WARS - was different than anything that we had seen. That doesn't happen too often, and it certainly wasn't going to happen with a sequel. But I digress...<BR/><BR/>Excellent review.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-55434513451275045622008-05-25T15:26:00.000-07:002008-05-25T15:26:00.000-07:00Craig says in strained voice 'must fight soul crus...Craig says in strained voice 'must fight soul crushing ennui'.sartrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11723520573244920365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-1826027911117984142008-05-25T12:23:00.000-07:002008-05-25T12:23:00.000-07:00I got impatient and stumbled upon some massive spo...I got impatient and stumbled upon some massive spoilers.<BR/><BR/>Sucks to be me.<BR/><BR/>Still haven't seen the movie. It's feeling less imperative as the weekend goes along.Craig Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00924813294666616097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-51826809662099473032008-05-24T22:22:00.000-07:002008-05-24T22:22:00.000-07:00Craig will provide the monkeys.No time to read you...Craig will provide the monkeys.<BR/><BR/>No time to read your review just now but will do so soon.sartrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11723520573244920365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-16912892644552011692008-05-24T21:26:00.000-07:002008-05-24T21:26:00.000-07:00Quick, Christian, get on the back of my motorcycle...Quick, Christian, get on the back of my motorcycle!Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-8255044055611115402008-05-24T13:53:00.000-07:002008-05-24T13:53:00.000-07:00You're supposed to say, "What are you like, 80?"You're supposed to say, "What are you like, 80?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-20462236125362606612008-05-24T11:21:00.000-07:002008-05-24T11:21:00.000-07:00Thanks, Christian. Your perspective, as a guy who ...Thanks, Christian. Your perspective, as a guy who viewed the original trilogy theatrically in order, is incredibly interesting and important to me.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-76655003827975387322008-05-24T10:19:00.000-07:002008-05-24T10:19:00.000-07:00Excellent review. I was always just half-satisfied...Excellent review. I was always just half-satisfied, even when the film was at its best.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-27639320707350056032008-05-24T08:42:00.000-07:002008-05-24T08:42:00.000-07:00Thanks, Craig. I'm approaching the film less from ...Thanks, Craig. I'm approaching the film less from expectations regarding the Indy character and series and more from Spielberg's thematic interests. <BR/><BR/>Hope you enjoy the film for what it is and then enjoy my review.Coleman's Corner in Cinema...https://www.blogger.com/profile/04761319284479513957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4342369910596581403.post-65085382678638040452008-05-24T00:17:00.000-07:002008-05-24T00:17:00.000-07:00I guess I need to hurry up and get off my ass and ...I guess I need to hurry up and get off my ass and catch this movie so I can start reading people's reviews. Everyone's got one.<BR/><BR/>Very much looking forward to yours, for what its worth. As a guy who digs Spielberg even more than I do, I'm looking forward to your thoughts.Craig Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00924813294666616097noreply@blogger.com