I’m outside the Aero, two hours before the Indiana Jones trilogy begins. I’m typing from my black Toyota pick-up truck, which I bought from my friend John for two reasons. It looks a lot nicer than my previous ’86 truck which was tan beige, rusted and a gasket short of the vehicular afterlife. Second, my new truck reminds me of the cool 1985 Toyota Marty McFly pined to get back to in Back to the Future so he could take it and go camping with his girl Jennifer. Yes, I am actually that much of a movie dork.
Why so early tonight? I’m hoping once more to get the bulk of my post done on this So Cal afternoon (it’s a perfect 72 degrees out) so I can not only watch Raiders, but Temple of Doom, too. Last night, I thought about watching the midnight Reservoir Dogs after Ghostbusters (again, beyond awesome seeing a nearly sold-out crowd for an ’84 comedy). But my brain afterwards was being throbby – a sure sign that, Siale Falani Charles Frank Walton, you better start sleeping, too. So I slept eight hours, worked out this morning, ate a healthy lunch and I’m primed now for four hours of Indy, maybe an epilogue here and then sweet beddy bye time.
You might question whether Temple of Doom is worth the extra hours, but I’ll take this opportunity to request everyone go revisit the trilogy. Raiders is unquestionably the classic in the series (has Harrison Ford ever been more sublime? No), but for pure hard-core hijinx, you can’t top the giddy rollercoaster that comes with Doom’s super gross dinner sequence, those creepy crawlies in the cave, the villain attempting to pull hearts out, and for levity, Short-Round doing his “Dr. Jones!” thing all over the place. I much prefer it over the light-hearted knight in the cave in Last Crusade (really? he’s been sitting there how long?) and especially – ugh – Crusade’s Indy in a tie…I’ll even take the close encounter aliens of the last Indy over Denholm Elliot’s cutesy Brody on a horse.
Of course, a million Jones fans disagree, so feel free to comment with your reasoning below. One more thing on Memorial Day weekend…my buddy Nick sent me an article about movie stars who’ve served our country, among them Jimmy Stewart, Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood…and looking at Harrison Ford, too…I just hope actors in young Hollywood are taking note.
Something about what was in those stars’ characters shined through onscreen, and in my opinion, we don't get much of that now. I was once at a “True Blood” event with my friend Ryan where we talked to the real soldiers who took part as advisors on HBO’s “Generation Kill” (an excellent Iraq War mini-series starring “True Blood’s” Alexander Skarsgard). Anyways, even in Hollywood, there was a certain respect and acknowledgment that needed to be and was accorded these individuals - life's real heroes. Hopefully in the future, maybe we’ll see some of that in our lead actors.
Bring on the Indy...sold-out night at the Aero (marquee also seen in Donnie Darko)...
Turkish for "Have a Very Indy Day"...or something...
Tags: Indiana Jones
Categories: 100 Days...
clsgnmvrck said...
Here's why Crusade kills over Temple of Doom. We can all agree that the Raiders series was always supposed to be fun. How are the gross-outs in Doom in any way enjoyable? They're repugnant. Crusade has double the fun because you have Harrison Ford and Sean Connery at their best plus explanation of how Indiana Jones became the man he is. Doom has Ford as a glory hound who's concerned about fortune and glory. In Crusade, he's the archaeologist he's supposed to be. As a sidekick, do you want to watch Short Round or James Bond. Case closed.
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rickpj1 said...
I'm with you, Doom is the least appetizing if you know what I mean. It fits into the series better than the last movie, but how can you rank it above the two best action stars in one movie. Raiders and Crusade is the best double bill for Indy Jones fans.
cwalton said...
To each their own, but again, I beseech y'all - re-watch all of the Indy movies again. Crusade's humor is more forced than any of the other Raiders except maybe the last one. Doom as a film is much tighter and works better. The gross-outs are gross, but hardcore Indy to me is more appealing than soft Indy and his dad (no disrespect to Sean Connery - the original Bond is still the best Bond). Anyways, just a matter of opinion - good to see 'em on the big screen, and still better than Prince of Persia!
jsmatey6 said...
I definitely side with Chuck on this point - the hard boiled Indy of 'Temple of Doom' works much better than Mr. Sensitive Pony Tail Indy of 'Last Crusade.' Sean Connery's performance in 'Last Crusade' was on the mark, but it was Harrison Ford's weakest showing as Dr. Jones.
keatsgirl said...
Couldn't have written a better assessment on these specific films! thanks
UncleOlaf said...
As long as it's not the last Indiana Jones movie, all is well.
Aftershock84 said...
I'm not sure how to describe the thrill and excitement that I imbibe when I watch either Raiders or Temple. Both share the same basic components of great action, adventure, romance and superb dialogue, but they are very different machines. Let me put it this way, Temple of Doom is like getting on a giant rickety old wooden roller coaster (even if you have ridden it a dozen times its still fun as hell because the twists & turns, ups & downs never fail to shake you up) while Raiders is more a kin to getting behind the wheel of your favorite high performance sports car and flooring it down the open road. In Temple you are along for the ride with Indy in control, in Raiders you are Indiana Jones. Either way it is one hell of a ride.
Scarlett Johansson, Robin Williams,Gary Sinise, Chuck Norris, Kevin Costner, Bradley Cooper, Brad Garrett, Wilmer Valderrama, and Morgan Freeman have all been over to visit the troops in locations such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea and Germany. It's always a huge morale boost for the troops to meet celebrities (actors, athletes, musicians, etc)...
Chuck Norris, a vet too...and the toughest dude on the planet, of course.
"Welcome to the party, pal."
"I am serious... and don't call me Shirley."
"When am I gonna learn how to punch?"
"These go to eleven."
"Benjamin, have you ever been severely beaten about the face & neck?"
"Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming."
"You're gonna need a bigger boat."
"Jessica's got cable."
"Squirrel!"