Flickerings: INDEX OF MOVIE REVIEWSmovie camera

Jump to movies beginning with 

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Not unlike the B-movie serials to which the Indiana Jones movies pay homage, there is little in the way of smart plot here.

reviewed by Jonathan Parker

Harrison Ford returns as that adventuring archeologist Indiana Jones in the fairly rollicking if not numbskulled Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Director Steven Spielberg, who has directed all four Indy films — working with a story co-authored by Indy creator George Lucas — keeps the action coming at us with references to Indy movies past. But for those looking for more, keep looking.

Despite creeping old age, Indiana Jones (Ford, who turns 66 this year) is still trekking around the globe in search of treasure and archeological knowledge. Soviets (it’s the 1950s and there’s a Cold War on) led by psychic commander Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) are in search of a secret crystal skull, and they’ve employed Indy — forced at gunpoint numerous times — to help them find it. Indy’s adventuring partner this go round is rebel with a clue Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), who gives Indy a letter and coded treasure map from an old friend who sought the crystal skull. Onward to jungle trouble in pursuit of the skull and its secrets.

This new Indiana Jones film delivers on the action, but that’s about it. Not unlike the B-movie serials to which the Indiana Jones movies pay homage, there is little in the way of smart plot here. Sure, the film tries to interest us with a Da Vinci Code like mystery. But the more the movie explains this muddled mess, the worse it gets.

It’s the dumb action fun that we really came to see, and on that level it mostly succeeds. The opening scene announces that visual master Spielberg is in charge. Unfortunately, we are also reminded that he is in charge when the movie goes on for too long, like almost all Spielberg movies.

Best of all for Indiana Jones fans are plenty of references to the old movies, especially the return of Karen Allen, from some sort of self-imposed Hollywood sabbatical. She seems more fit for action than creaky Harrison Ford, and she still has the wisecrack punch to his stoic machismo. 

Fans of Indiana Jones will enjoy this film enough. It’s more of the same — and certainly is no worse than that bubblegum mess of a second film. No obnoxious kid either, though depending on your taste, I guess LaBeouf might fit that role. Ultimately, one could do worse than forgettable summer blockbuster action with some familiar faces.

Fair action • PG-13 • 120 mins.

Iron Man – Jonathan Parker

Downey is fun to watch, and his smart-alecky lines hit hard in this superhero movie with dramatic heft.

A super-wealthy weapons magnate develops a metal suit that turns him into a superhero in the solid action thriller Iron Man. Director Jon Favreau (Elf; Made) gives us a superhero movie with more dramatic heft than your average lightweight comic-book movie, thanks in no small part to a charismatic Robert Downey Jr. as our hero.

Tony Stark (Downey) is the heir to Stark Enterprises, an enormously lucrative high-tech military weapons company serving the allied world. Stark is both genius and playboy, and his life gets thrown for a loop when he is captured by terrorists while in Afghanistan on a weapons demonstration junket. It’s there, as a terrorist prisoner, that Stark develops the ideas and the technology that will turn him into he of the eponymously named suit. When Stark returns to America, he discovers there is more to his business partner (Jeff Bridges) and his corporate stock than he ever knew. With the aid of Colonel Jim Rhodes (Terrance Howard) and his faithful assistant Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), Stark must stop the ruthless greed that could destroy the world.

As typical of the comic-book-hero genre, this movie joyously walks us through the creation of a superhero. The difficult trick with these superhero movies is the sequel. What’s intriguing here is the fact that Favreau’s film is almost entirely dedicated to the creation of the superhero, with little left at the end for full-on climactic fighting and world saving. Indeed, the name iron man is not evoked until the end. Favreau leans more to drama than action, when given the choice; but there’s plenty of the latter, with the usual blend of explosions on top of explosions.

The film is less traditional in the casting of its leading man. Downey’s cocky realism is so much more than the familiar cardboard cutout that dominates the genre. As a result, he is more fun to watch and his smart-alecky lines hit hard.

Favreau leaves us with a teaser at the end, clearly indicating there is more Iron Man to come — a future last weekend’s box office figures ensures. After seeing this film, everybody will want him.

Good action thriller • PG-13 • 126 mins.

In the Valley of Elah – Jonathan Parker

The plot sometimes grinds, but Tommy Lee Jones has never been better.

Tommy Lee Jones plays a father searching for the truth behind his soldier-son’s death upon returning from Iraq in the slow but involving suspense drama In the Valley of Elah. In a film that is more detective yarn than war drama, writer-director Paul Haggis (Crash) explores fresh and rich territory digging into the lives and conflicts of American soldiers back from Iraq.

Hank Deerfield (Jones) is army retired, living in a small town in Tennessee with his dedicated wife (Susan Sarandon). Their older boy died in the military, and the younger one, Mike (Jonathan Tucker), has just returned from serving in Iraq. Hank gets a call from Mike’s base that his son is AWOL. Soon after Hank arrives at the base to investigate, Mike turns up dead. A military policeman during his army career, Hank knows his way around a crime scene and around Army bureaucracy. As the murder investigation unfurls, he seeks the help of local police detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) to discover what really happened. Ultimately, Hank seeks the truth not only about how his son was killed but also about his son’s experience in Iraq.

Haggis’ subject matter is certainly the stuff of recent headlines. However, he smartly sets his movie a couple years ago: November, 2004, to be exact. This timing gives Haggis some time-lapse cover (maybe things have changed since then?) to deliver plenty of sharp jabs at the military establishment while never losing its au current topic. Nor does he ever get too preachy (except for maybe the final scene).

However, this movie is less exposé and more murder mystery. Its best moments come during the investigation, as Hank digs deeper and thinks smarter than any of the on-duty police. But he is no Dick Tracy; he is driven by emotion, too, as you’d expect in a father who’s just lost his son. At the same time, his quest is more than Hollywood-style vengeance.

Ultimately, In the Valley of Elah (a metaphorical reference to David and Goliath) succeeds thanks to Jones’ powerful performance and Haggis’ grinding plot that mirrors Hank’s determination. Even if that plot sometimes grinds, Jones has never been better: at different times angry, smug, clever, exhausted, and bewildered, while never losing the posture of grief. Sadly impressive.

Great suspense drama • R • 119 mins.

In the Land of Women – Jonathan Parker

This isn’t the dumbest film ever made about young people dealing with problems; it’s just so interminably slow.

A 20-something writer recently dumped by his Hollywood girlfriend finds psychological support in the quiet land of suburban Michigan in the painfully slow and misery-inducing In the Land of Women. Not straight romance nor straight comedy nor straight drama, this film needs a deft hand to deliver emotional punch — and laughs — while avoiding schmaltz or insensitivity. It fails.

Protagonist Carter (Adam Brody) is dumped by his gorgeous European girlfriend (Elena Anaya) in a Southern California diner as the movie opens. Not sure what to do, Carter decides to skip town on his Hollywood lifestyle — he writes scripts for soft-porn flicks — and head to his grandmother’s place in Michigan. On day one, he meets the across-the-street neighbors, the Hardwickes, who are going through their own behind-closed-doors melodramas, from cancer to marital affairs to teen angst (and I’m not giving anything away). Carter bonds first with mother Sarah (Meg Ryan) and next with daughter Lucy (Kristen Stewart), both in nearly romantic ways. Ultimately and not surprisingly, Carter sorts out his life while helping the Hardwickes sort out theirs.

From the ads and previews of this movie, you might think you’re in for a romantic comedy. This is the Bataan Death March of romantic comedies. Amidst woeful circumstance stacked upon woeful circumstance, we are asked to laugh at semi-clever asides delivered by attractive young people or chuckle at vulgar comic relief provided by an inane crank of a grandmother (Olympia Dukakis). (Side note: I found this grandma not only unfunny but quite insulting to older people, if not offensive.)

This isn’t the dumbest film ever made about young people dealing with problems; it’s just so interminably slow. Early on, writer-director Jon Kasdan (son of writer-director Lawrence Kasdan) slips into that favorite TV drama trick of the day: the video montage set to hip rock music. It’s the first 15 minutes, and the movie is already using filler.

Maybe we are just supposed to feel good that Meg Ryan has work again. She’s fine as the cancer-ridden mother, but her Joker-like mouth still looks a little odd, especially when the soft filter camera catches her the wrong way. Meanwhile, star Brody is better than fine as our geeky cool protagonist. Indeed, it makes sense that he is getting his own vehicle; this just isn’t the right one.

Poor drama-comedy • PG-13 • 98 mins.

I Think I Love My Wife – Mark Burns

Rock fans will find his comedy dull enough to make them leer at other movie posters and fantasize.

A bored husband struggles to reconcile morals and lust in this wishy-washy personal-crisis comedy.

Richard (Chris Rock) is in a funk, and his libido is screaming to be heard. He and wife Brenda (Gina Torres, Serenity) seem to have lost their spark, and he finds himself leering at other ladies and fantasizing in lieu. Daydreaming turns to waking struggle, though, when former crush Nikki Tru (Kerry Washington, The Last King of Scotland) saunters back into his life.

So the film becomes a story of one man’s internal conflict, moved along by his narrated internal monologue. It’s a new tack for Chris Rock, who also wrote and directed the film, as he tones down his racially charged rhetoric a few notches. He’s ditched the angry black man character of movies past and takes aim at something deeper and more introspective.

Rock’s art is the rant. At best, his confrontational stand-up pumps equal parts laughter and shock. Flashes of his source comedy pop up in successful riffs on racial identity. But such comedy is never at its most biting here, as Rock mutes his style with a fair amount of heart.

Much of the humor in I Think I Love My Wife seems to bobble in grey monotone. Gags that should have been successful often lack the snap to drive a punchlines home. Attempts at artful strangeness, such as a random lingerie walk-on, lack the stylization and pop to succeed. Even comic/dramatic departures meant to surprise or shock, such as potentially challenging confrontations with stereotype, are executed with such waning enthusiasm that the point is dulled.

Perhaps the brightest spark comes late, in a creative husband/wife take on classic R&B duets.

All in all, it’s no terrible flick. There are some good laughs to be had. And it’s got sensitivity. But it’s an awfully tentative effort. Chris Rock fans will likely find his comedy neutered, at times dull enough to make them leer at other movie posters and fantasize.

Fair comedy • R • 90 min.

Idlewild – Mark Burns

Idlewild has problems, yet despite intense ADHD jitters it stays a fun, slick and novel ride. It’s a musical made for MTV.

OutKast duo André 3000 and Big Boi put scratches and beats on the speakeasy scene in this frenetic musical.

Idlewild, Georgia, is a podunk peachville of the early 1930s. Best friends Rooster (Antwan A. Patton aka Big Boi, ATL) and Percival (André Benjamin aka André 3000, Four Brothers) help light up the night scene’s only bright spot, Sunshine Ace’s swinging juke joint Church. Honorific bootlegger Spats keeps Church wet, but as he tries to retire from the game, flunky Trumpy makes a power grab by offing his boss and Ace. Now Rooster is in charge of the place, and he must figure out how to avoid being squeezed to death by the new crime boss. Meanwhile, introvert Percival meets his muse in Angel, pushing him into love and toward his musical dream.

There’s promise here. Imagine: OutKast hip-hop artists known for their transformative melding of musical influences, molding their talents to embody a speakeasy musical. Sweet. Hip-hop tinted tunes on a ’30s-era stage may seem odd, but the mish-mashing of eras has worked before. A Knight’s Tale successfully combined rock and Chaucer for a fun flick. Moulin Rouge was pop brilliance on top of 1920s Paris. More obscurely, the anime Samurai Champloo blended Edo-period samurai with hip-hop aesthetic to great effect. So there’s reason to believe this film could be a gem.

At its best, it is. Brilliant, even. The opening sequence of the friends’ childhoods is particularly strong, as creative editing of shots and stills makes for a creative pop-and-lock visual effect. Here, the story gets a good start as the friends’ personalities are established and the film finds its vibe with a snappy overlay of hip-hop on period scenes. Song-and-dance numbers are also strong, especially in Big Boi’s turns as Rooster. Director and writer Bryan Barber, a prominent hip-hop video director, shines brightest in this material. There are even bright flashes of inspiration throughout the dramatic bridges, as Barber entertains with creative visual experimentation so emblematic of the music video genre.

Ultimately, though, you can tell Barber is a feature-film rookie. For starters, his first script is choppy and incomplete. While the tale and ensuing action are fun and interesting, he can’t quite make the cool cohere. Percival and Rooster are on two separate story paths that rarely intersect or directly relate. Instead their arcs are intermingled in an often-confusing mélange of cut scenes. Rooster’s tale tends to dominate, as it’s the most complete blend of humor, drama, music and action. Percival, in contrast, explores a neglected emotional storyline undercut by short development of the story of budding love, inner conflict and paternal issues.

Slapdash video aesthetic, plus preoccupation with nifty visuals, reduce the dramatic portion to rat-a-tat Cliffs Notes summation rather than a whole tale. Once beyond childhood, the story increasingly jumps around without transition or explanation, leaving holes for assumption to fill. As the film rolls along, the director seems to grow more impatient with storytelling, pinballing off major plot points to the finish. It becomes a string of music videos connected by thinning strands of plot.

The tunage is a blast, jiving from jazz age to hip-hop with a little slow guitar tossed in and every mix of genres in between. The variety can be hectic; there is little to soften transitions between the omnipresent record-scratch tracks and other styles. Transitions from drama to dance are often weak, as well. But the music shines through, injecting the film with infectious energy.

Acting, when given the time, is also done well. Journeyman actors Benjamin and Patton fill out their characters nicely, and Terrence Howard makes a good villain as Trumpy. Ben Vereen is seen too little as Percy Sr., while supporting actors Ving Rhames and Macy Gray plus a smart cameo by Patti LaBelle enrich the film.

Idlewild has problems, yet despite intense ADHD jitters it stays a fun, slick and novel ride. It’s a musical made for MTV.

Fair musical drama • R • 90 min.

| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |

Return to
| Top | Homepage |

Bay Weekly