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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, a review by RossRoy

Original Title: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Year: 2008 Country: United States Director: Rating: PG Length: 122 Min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

What they say
'STEVEN SPIELBERG' and 'GEORGE LUCAS' bring you the greatest adventurer of all time in a film packed with "sensational, awe-inspiring spectacles" (Roger Ebert, 'CHICAGO SUN-TIMES'). 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' finds Indy (Harrison Ford) trying to outrace a brilliant and beautiful agent (Cate Blanchett) for the mystical, all-powerful Crystal Skull of Akator in a quest that is filled with "spectacular fun" (Claudia Puig, 'USA TODAY'). Teaming up with a rebellious young biker (Shia LaBeouf) and his spirited original love Marion (Karen Allen), Indy takes you on an action-packed adventure in the exciting tradition of the classic 'Indiana Jones' movies!

My Thoughts
Indy's back! That's all I can think of after seeing the movie. It's all there: the impossible situations where Indy gets out with an ever more improbable solution, the bar fights, the car chases, the mythos surrounding it all. This is a fine Indiana Jones. It's got really beautiful set pieces. Some great tongue in cheek humour (even acknowledging Indy age!), the one-liners are there too.

There's iconic images that stick to my mind after seeing this movie.

I love the Indy reveal at the beginning, where the camera points to his shadow and he puts on his hat and takes his iconic pose with the Indy March lightly creeping into the music.

I also love, for some reason, the image of Indy looking towards the mushroom cloud of the nuclear test bomb.

I loved Cate Blanchett in the role. There's a closeup shot of her face holding a sword to Indy's throat that I can't get enough of. Her's blue eyes contrasting with her dark hair gets to me every time (same reason I love Rena Sofer so much. I don't why, but I have a thing for women with light blue eyes but dark hair. Even if it's not their natural color).

This fourth Indy accomplishes very well what it set out to do: Give a popcorn flick - Indy style!




(From RossRoy's Random Viewings on March 8th, 2009)

Rachel Getting Married, a review by Tom

Title: Rachel Getting Married
Year: 2008
Director: Jonathan Demme
Rating: 15
Length: 113 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.85
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Audio Descriptive: Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Spanish: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Subtitles: Commentary, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, Hindi, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Sebastian Stan
Roslyn Ruff
Anne Hathaway
Bill Irwin
Anna Deavere Smith

Plot:
When Kym (Anne Hathaway) returns to the Buchman family home for the wedding of her sister Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), she brings a long history of personal crisis, family conflict and tragedy along with her. The wedding couple's abundant party of friends and relations have gathered for a joyful weekend of feasting, music and love, but Kym – with her biting one-liners and flair for bombshell drama – is a catalyst for long-simmering tensions in the family dynamic. Filled with the rich and eclectic characters that remain a hallmark of Jonathan Demme's films, RACHEL GETTING MARRIED paints a heartfelt, perceptive and sometimes hilarious family portrait.

Awards:

Academy Award	2008	Nominated	Best Actress	Anne Hathaway
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	2009	Nominated	Best Acting Ensemble	Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Debra Winger, Anna Deavere Smith, Bill Irwin, Mather Zickel, Anisa George
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	2009	Won	Best Actress	Anne Hathaway
Golden Globe	2008	Nominated	Actress in a Leading Role - Drama	Anne Hathaway
National Board of Review Awards, USA	2008	Won	Best Actress	Anne Hathaway
Satellite Awards	2008	Nominated	Best Actress – Drama	Anne Hathaway
Satellite Awards	2008	Won	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Rosemarie DeWitt
Screen Actors Guild Award	2008	Nominated	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role	Anne Hathaway

Extras:
BD-Live
Bonus Trailers
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Interviews
Scene Access
Trailers

First of all, I don't like the camera work. It is shaky hand-held throughout. I am sick of those. I know they are going for a more "realistic" feel, but for me movie-makers going this route are just too cheap to use a steady-cam or a dolly setup. "Shaky-cam" just lets you never forget, that you are watching a movie. I can understand it when there is supposed to be a documentary crew there (like in "The Office") and the characters acknowledge there is someone standing there with a camera.
Also the family drama was just not for me. It was like watching a reality show, where we have to watch some uninteresting people doing their stuff.
Anne Hathaway was great though. But even she could not save this movie for me.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on April 25th, 2010)

The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

ER



What's the show about?
The ER is the Emergency Room of the Cook County Hospital in Chicage, Illinois. We follow the work and the private lives of the medical students, interns, residents and nurses who work at this oftern very chaotic place.

"24 Hours"
Dr. Greene is half-way through his shift when a building collapses and the ER has many incoming casualties. After hours of work handling this he has an appointment in a private practise. The third-year student John Carter has his first day. And then happens the inconceivable...

My Opinion
For me it's the show about John Carter. The show started when he started there and I had always the impression he was more focussed on than any other character. And I really like Carter. I've only watched the first 7 seasons so far but I know there are currently 14. But we'll have to see how long it will keep my interest, especially with most of the original crew having left in the last seasons or leaving over the coming seasons.

(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on January 6th, 2008)