Front Page News
By Craig Kennedy - May 19th, 2008; 11:34 am
I know this is an industry town, but is a review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull really front page news?
Filed under: Opinion
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Crystal Skull (2008) ***
- ‘Last Crusade’ Really the Last for Connery
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- In iana J nes and t e K ngdom of the Crys al Sk ll
If the right people are involved…yes.
I think the critics, largely, have been cowardly in their handling of the new Indiana Jones movie, reviewing the character and legacy more than the new film they refuse to find underwhelming or disappointing (you can sense the strain in the reviews). To add insult to injury, many of them are lazily implying that the picture is better than Temple of Doom, which is one of the finer pure action movies ever made. I thought a reconsideration of Temple of Doom had already taken place, but evidently not.
What I found more striking is that a large diagram illustrating illegal intersection right turns is featured on the front page. Forget movie passion, this is a car culture.
Will the world explode on Thursday? Or just the Internet?
I think a reconsideration of Temple of Doom happened, then it happened again.
Since when is a right turn on red not legal?
It is indeed legal unless there is a sign explicitly stating that it’s not at a particular intersection.
Wikipedia says turning left on red is legal in only five states (Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Oregon and Washington). The things you learn with two little clicks…
The issue isn’t the legality of a right hand turn on red, the issue is people not coming to a ‘full and complete stop’ before making such a turn as required. Some cameras will ticket for that ($159) and some don’t.
I was just reading about that, Craig. Interesting. That full and complete stop clause gets me every time. (Kidding, at least mostly.)
Ironic that’s it’s legal to turn left on a red in Washington and Oregon, yet I’ve never seen anyone do that in my lifetime of driving in the NW. I do see people stop to illegally cross a double-yellow line all the time. Wake me when they develop a camera to punish that annoying behavior.
It’s only a matter of time before they develop a camera to fine you for thinking stray thoughts while driving.
As for the answer to your question, Craig, YES. In L.A. at least.
As for Temple of Doom, I’m going to revisit it this week for the first full viewing in like 20 years. I hope it plays better than my memories of it.
As for the reviews of Crystal Skull, I don’t know. I do agree that critics generally seem to be straining to say nice things about it, which is never a good sign.
Doom doesn’t play as well when it’s played in tandem with Raiders, but it’s a good film on its own. It could be the fact that it was the first Indy film I saw as a kid that makes me an apologist, but it really deserves a reassessment.
I’m ambivalent toward this new installment, but will probably see it opening weekend nonetheless. Anyone notice how Karen Allen looks practically the same 20-some years later? Either she has some fantastic genes or plummeted off the deep end with plastic surgery. I hope it’s the former.
Well, in a world where millions are dying or displaced by nature, and we have a war, recession and general malaise, what else would the LA Times put on the cover but traffic and movies?
And if the city was serious about busting traffic violators, they could camp in my hood and ticket a hundred crazed motorists in hours.
Supposedly, Karen Allen is vehemently opposed to “vain” plastic surgery and botox, etceteras, and is a big yoga- and nutrition-booster, etceteras. I’d say she makes a good living case for yoga, exercise, nutrition and all of those good things.
I agree about Doom not playing well if it’s played immediately after Raiders. I found that out about two years ago when I saw the three of them together one afternoon/evening. Doom feels like a huge step down (aside from the opening musical number, which I love) if you watch it right after Raiders.
Doom gets a lot of credit these days from at least some Indy fans because in some ways it takes the most risks (at least when compared to Crusade). Some of the risks pay off a great deal, some fail.
I appreciate both Doom and Crusade, for wildly different reasons. I find them just about equally flawed, with varied effectivesness. It does seem like every online discussion about the trilogy as it is today deteriorates into a Doom vs. Crusade battle, though. Doom is the most uneven of the three, I think, while Crusade is obviously the safest. I do like that all three have very different personalities from one another. (Even if there’s considerable truth to the point that Crusade is at least partly a Raiders knock-off.)
I think Crystal Skull is getting an overall predictable response. Some critics really, really dig it, the vast majority say “it’s good” or “I like it but it’s not going to cure cancer” and some really don’t care for it much at all, with some sounding very disapproving. In some ways, this is the standard “good blockbuster” critical reception. If anything, the nineteen year wait and Lucasfilm hype machine has probably built up some critics’ expectations to an unreasonable state so the film’s being a little penalized compared to say, Iron Man, which is a “fresh” character and world.
However, Chuck’s interpretation of the critical response may be valid. Most critics certainly fall in the vast and nebulous “thumbs up”/fresh tomato rating. Eh, I’m done reading these tea leaves.
They’re serious about generating revenue, hence they’re going after an unlawful behavior that is easily targeted by a robotic camera and is potentially dangerous yet many drivers engage in all the time.
In Portland, we’re seeing more and more of those cameras that nail folks for being in the intersection on a red light. It has little to do with public safety and everything to do with money.
But I agree with you Christian that featuring this kind of blather on the front page is akin to the worst “soft journalism” of local TV news. Shame on the LA Times.
If criticism could exist only in a vacuum, Alexander…
Money is what drives most of the laws these days, sad to say.
I was there. I was 12. Doom isn’t that good.
I think there are those who for some reason think it’s great. I’m not sure that amounts to a reconsideration.
Whether you like TOD or not, you can’t compare its kinetic action scenes to the rote, lackluster action in THE LAST CRUSADE. The whole film is so lifeless outside of Connery and Ford.
Oh man.
That’s… embarrassing.
“Last Crusade” is my favorite Indiana Jones film. I’ve revisited them all, and while my opinion of :”Temple of Doom” improved this time, I still stand by my love of “Crusade.” The dynamic between Jones and Connery, and John Williams’ majestic score are second to none. As Spielberg said on the DVD, “Crusade” is more of a character driven piece than an action driven one, and that’s definitely true. And I think it adds up to a more satisfying experience.
RAIDERS FOR LIFE.
That’s my input.
I feel like every couple of months I’m telling someone how I hated Doom when it came out, but liked it a lot the last time I caught it on DVD so I’m not going to do that again here…even though I just did.
Hard to argue with Mr. Plowman though, I must say.
As for the right turn law….people are crying about it because 80% of the violations caught by cameras are for that and not for people who just blow through the intersection on red. Clearly it’s a money making venture for the city and not a public safety issue, but it’s still against the law. If you don’t want to pay the $159, the easiest way is to stop before turning right on red. It’s. Just. That. Simple.
Dunno if you guys have read that HND Indy trilogy piece yet. Alexander linked to it at CCC. Pretty fantastic.
Not stopping at a right turn is about as illegal as jaywalking, meaning that I do it all the time and don’t intend to stop, ever.
I do both frequently and aggressively, but I won’t be crying about it when I’m ticketed for either one.
On my way over to HND as we speak Daniel, thanks for the heads up.
Hehe, it always amused me, this “turn right on red sign”thing. When I first saw it, I thought “huh? Oh, well duh. They don’t have bikers”.
Since bikers are notorious for biking straight through red lights, turning right at them would be fairly dangerous here.
Nicky, YOU ARE SO RIGHT…
Neither of the two films that followed can hold a candle to RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK in the bloody light of day.
Full stop…
We see bikers occassionaly Hedwig…in the form of hood ornaments… :)
My words have come back to haunt me: about an hour ago I got a ticket for not making a full stop at a stop sign while making a left turn. Of course, I was about a hundred feet away from my apartment and nobody else was around except cops with too much free time.
I feel 34% safer knowing the cops are handing out BS traffic tickets instead of, you know, fighting crime and whatnot.
Also, that sucks.
The annoying thing is, I was driving on a work-related errand (and therefore in a hurry).
Today’s Lesson: Work - nothing good can come from it.
That’s too bad, Jeff. There’s some kind of poetic lesson in all of this. Oh yeah, Craig already spelled one out.