My take on Indy

Spoiler alert. If you are reading this, you had better have already seen the film.

I thought it sucked. Sorry guys. I'm totally disappointed. It had it's moments, but overall I felt it was a waste.

1) aliens?! Why the fuck did they have to include aliens! A search for the lost city of gold would have done just fine with out bringing extra terrestrials into it. Indiana Jones has always been about archeology, not pure science fiction. Sure, there has been a bit of fantasy thrown in for good measure, hence the melting faces and what not. The visit from the other planets was just unnecessary in my opinion.

2) and if you're gonna do alien... Area 51??? Jeez Louise! It's the oldest trick in the sci fi book. Try something original.

3) Over the top Russians. I'm sorry, I'm just not buying it. My suspension of disbelief does not include that ridiculous accent. or the costumey uniform.

4) Shia Lebeof of the Jungle? Even if you accept that Shia could have learned about rope swinging enough from TV to figure it out, it still doesn't account for the fact that the cars were going at top speed and he never could have caught up to them at that pace by swinging on a few vines.

5) Professor Jones - What was up with that outfit? He looked like he had been stuffed into that teachers outfit like a teddy bear.

6) Older indy - Our hero has not aged well, and for us to pretend that he can take punches like he always has doesn't respect that in the past, it at least gave him a bloody lip. To me it would have made more since if the old tricks didn't work as well for the old man and he had to get through life like his dad did in indy 3.. with a little luck on his side.

7) too much exposition! The other indy movies didn't need to cover a huge back story of what has been happening to our hero in the last decade or two, or that he has afilliations with various intelligence agencies. He is just Indiana Jones, fresh and off the press. No explanation required. The whip cracking was all the back story you needed.

8) I kinda liked not knowing where the arc was... thanks though. And does this mean that it was blown up by an atom bomb? I'm confused?

My rating? D. It only gets that because the popcorn was good and I liked the ant scene.

We went to see another movie that weekend. "Priceless" is the new Audrey Tautou movie. We loved it. Much more worthy of my movie going dollar.

Third

Not much happening in my universe.

I picked up a couple of excellent new releases in the last week or so. Each time I listen to them, I get more attached. One is the soundtrack to "Flight of the Concords" and the other is the new Portishead release "Third"

I had given Porishead up for dead several years ago when they clearly had disbanded, started releasing solo work, and refused to update their website. This, as you probably know, went on for several years. The last release that Portishead presented to the world was the incredible "Live - Roseland NYC". Let me stop right here and say that that CD belongs in my hall of fame. The studio albums are excelent too, but there has always been something extra about the live disc. Whether it is the juiced up accompaniment of a small orchestra, or the audience reactions, or just the added chilliness that comes from these performances, I'm not sure. But every time I listen to that album, it gets deep under my skin.

Their new record is both a departure and a return to form. They have clearly updated their sound, but the chilly tone is still the same. And with Beth Gibbons singularly unique vocal style as a backbone, this could be nothing but the next step in Portishead's evolvement. It's a doozy too. I'm not sure I appreciate the wait, but this record was definitely a must have for my collection.

"Flight of the Concords" is built on a nearly opposite tone. It's ridiculous and funny. See for yourself:


Finally, Kristi and I checked it out last night. "Iron Man" rocked. The summer is off to an excellent start.