Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the long-awaited fourth film, takes the iconic hero well into the Cold War years. The film moves forward almost in real time after an 18-year layoff. It’s 1957 and given the Cold War at hand, the KGB also replaces Nazis as the villains. Leading this particular group of villains is Soviet agent Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). Spalko kidnaps Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and George “Mac”” Micale…
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"Tag: Indiana Jones
Following the second outing, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is able to re-capture the magic that made us fall in love with Indiana Jones. What’s that they say? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Forget the second film. The third Indiana Jones film takes us back to familiar territory. It’s honestly for the best. Both Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliott) and Sallah (John Rhys-Davies) return. We’re back on familiar ground with Indiana in the…
"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom may have some impressive features but it’s nowhere near as classic as Raiders or the Last Crusade. Listen, I don’t like to pan films. I really don’t. However, this film doesn’t quite feature the same magic as Raiders. It’s actually a prequel to Raiders and the Nazis are not the villains like the other two 1980s films. I mean, this is also the same film that forced the…
"Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom"
Harrison Ford became the face of a new franchise in the iconic Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark from Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Many filmmakers in New Hollywood either collaborated on projects together or would offer their advice to one another. In this instance, the brains behind both Jaws and Star Wars teamed up to give us an American sort of James Bond. This film has everything: action, adventure, and yet…
"Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark"
Steven Spielberg’s life and career is celebrated in Spielberg, a new documentary from HBO. From award-winning director Susan Lacy, Spielberg’s life is documented in 2.5 hours and that amount of time alone isn’t enough to cover everything in Spielberg’s career. Many films are allotted to just a glimpse in a montage that covers Spielberg’s filmmaking career and even then, there are a number of Spielberg films that manage to get left out. “I avoided therapy…
"Spielberg: HBO Documentary celebrates Steven Spielberg"
Score: A Film Music Documentary, directed by Matt Schrader, played to 60 people on Saturday morning at the Music Box Theater in Chicago. When I screened the movie on Friday afternoon, it immediately jumped to the top of my shortlist for best documentary film in 2017. Financed in part through a Kickstarter campaign, the documentary is amazing but it could be so much more. It’s only 93 minutes but with a better budget, it could…
"CCFF: Score: A Film Music Documentary amazes"