Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

Group Rating (out of 5):

Stevox: 3
Valerie: 2
Kyle: 3
Micah: 4

Averages to 3 still beating hearts out of 5.

Shares this rating with several movies, including Vertigo, The Conversation and Bonnie and Clyde.

Best use of unnecessary heart surgery.

The Great Movie Review: Raiders of the Lost Ark

I love Indiana Jones. Nowhere else do you find a more intelligent, suave, manly and awesome specimen of what every guy wants to be: A gun slinging, whip cracking, bar brawling, adventure dominating, woman wooing machine. In the word of David Schmitke: "He's legit." The only other person who might come close is the Man from Snowy River. Even still he is to Indian Jones, what Josh Porter is to Michael Scott.

This movie contains a great many familiar scenes to movie and tv-dom. For example: Taking the Idol, The Rolling Boulder, Shooting the Swordsman in the Market and Melting Faces. There is so much here, that as you watch the movie you realize just how much there is that you've already "seen."

Valerie made an excellent point that there isn't much to the plot. Get the ark before the Nazi's. And like Stevox always says, "Who doesn't like to hate a good Nazi." Well my friends you are in luck. Because there's a great Nazi to hate in this film as well as a Frenchman.

But what it lacks in plot it makes up for in non-stop manliness. This movie is the gateway to awesomeness. This movie begins our next theme: Indian Jones. So get ready for more posts about a great series.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Group Rating (out of 5):

Stevox: 4
Valerie: 3
Kyle: 4
Jenny: 3

Averages to 3.5 whip cracks out of 5.

Shares this rating with The Maltese Falcon, Lawrence of Arabia and Juno.

In a fight Juno. Indian Jones would whip Sam Spades (Maltese Falcon) gun right out of his hand while Lawrence of Arabia would lead a cavalry charge. Juno (prego-version) would then mock and belittle them until they all went home.

Notes on a Theme: Movies About Making Movies

Sullivan's Travels, King Kong and Singin' in the Rain are all example of Movies About Making Movies. This was an interesting theme to explore, because it's in a lot of movies once you sit down and think about it.

Sullivan's Travels focuses on the Director/Writers journey as they try to discover their next big hit. In King Kong, adventure finds the adventurous nature director who is out to appease his fans. And in Singin' in the Rain, we see the drama behind the camera as the actors "disagree."

If you're interested in watching more movies about movies check out these:

Tropic Thunder (2008)



























This movie is comedy about actors getting dropped into actual combat during their attempts to film a war movie. However, it is in no way safe for the kids. Screen that junk!


Holiday Inn (1942)





























This features a couple scenes involving one of the main girls getting "stolen" in a non-shady way off a movie set. This happens late in the movie, but the whole plot builds to it.


Be Kind Rewind (2008)



























When a video store finds out that all the video tapes in his store have accidentally been erased, he and a friend take a home video camera and re-film the movies themselves. This movie is rated PG-13. I don't remember what for, but take their advice.

Next Sunday(tomorrow) marks the beginning of a new theme, and it's my pick. Which I am super excited about. I know what i'm bringing and I know which movie I want the group to pick. It would be perfect!

The Great Movie Review: Singin' in the Rain

In general, I don't care for musicals. But I like this one. There is the right combination of humor, talent, and plot driving that keeps me interested, more or less, the whole time. There's a dream sequence I won't bother to go into because the whole scene should have just been left out.

Gene Kelly and Jean Hagen play the super stars Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont, mega stars of the silent film scene. She is John Stockton to his Karl Malone. Donald O'Connor plays Cosmo Brown, best friend to Don and comic relief to us all. And then there is Debbie Reynolds ... she's OK i guess. The story focuses on the sudden appearance of the talking picture. When sound was first introduced into the cinema.

Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor are both triple threat actors. Which means they are proficient in pistols, rifles and hand-to-hand combat. None of which are seen in this film. However, they both sing and dance, to great effect, multiple times throughout the film.

This movie is a watch. There is entertaining dancing, non-annoying singing and you're guaranteed to have a positive experience. YES, YES, YES!

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Group Rating (out of 5):

Stevox: 5
Valerie: 5
Kyle: 4
Micah: 4
Jenny: 4

Averages to 4.4 cake's to the face out of 5.

It shares this rating with nobody. But it does claim the number 3 spot in our top ten list, ousting long time position holder Psycho.

The Great Movie Review: King Kong (1933)

In the words of my mother, "You're going to listen to an hour and a half of that woman screaming?" Yes mother, and we're going to like it too.

We all know the story of King Kong. Director meets woman. Woman meets giant gorilla. Giant gorilla meets 7 well armed WWI fighter pilots with scarves and dies.

Given the fact that this movie is 77 ears old, it can't help but feel old. That's not to say that it is not well done; it actually looks pretty good. The live action stuff flows together pretty well with the animation displayed on a screen behind them in the studio. Movie magic!

My favorite was when Kong would throw something into the foreground. The object would fly off screen. Then an object of about the same size and shape would reappear at about the same arching angle and take out a villager. That's entertainment.

The whole time, I couldn't help but think of Robot Chicken. The animation style looks exactly the same. I kept expecting the gorilla to turn to the camera with a moving putty-made mouth and try to sell me some Admiral Ackbar Cereal.

Regardless, I didn't look at the clock nearly as much as I did in Peter Jackson's "version." I guess that's a good sign. When it was all said and done, we were all glad it was over.

In a fight of King Kong vs. King Kong, Peter Jackson loses.

King Kong (1933)

Group Rating (out of 5):

Stevox: 2
Val: 3
Kyle: 2
Micah: 2

Averaging to 2.25 screams out of 5.

Shares this rating with: Trainspotting, Blade Runner and A Man For All Seasons

The Great Movie Review: Sullivan's Travels

A lot of people love this movie: Producers, Directors, Movie Buffs. With news of influences into "Rodger Rabbit" and "O Brother Where Art Thou?," we quickly picked up this AFI loved classic.

Sullivan's Travels is a movie about a comedic movie maker, Sullivan, and his quest to make his first drama. He deems that he has not "suffered enough" to make his deeply tragic film about poverty, "O Brother Where Art Thou," and sets out to live the life of a tramp, hopping on trains and depending on the kindness of strangers. How "method" of him.

Sullivan searches for hardship and seemingly fails until his failure ultimately leads him into actual hardship. In the end, he discovers the benefit of his whimsical comedies all along by watching a Disney movie in a small town church with the less than fortunate.

There are some good thoughts about escapism and the value of laughter here, but my real question: Did people really laugh that hard at slapstick Disney movies? I mean these people are gasping for air and falling on each other like they are in a Mathew McConaughey movie poster.

Overall, my main thoughts and the thoughts of the group were, "meh." I'd much rather watch a whimsical comedy. Though, in light of the message of this movie, I'm not sure what that says about my economic situation.

Thus opens our new theme, Movies about Making Movies.

Cheers.

Sullivan's Travels

Group Rating (out of 5):

Stevox: 2
Val: 3
Kyle: 3
Jenny: 2

Averages to 2.5 Hobos out of 5.

Shares this rating with: Mystic River.

Thankfully the only child in this movie is 13 and drives a tank.