Taking your own advice can sometimes be one of the most difficult things a person can do. This reviewer fell victim to that at 12:01 on Thursday during the midnight screening ofIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. For those that had a chance to read the preview of the film, you know I felt that backlash was imminent due to the changes in how we experience films in this era versus the era of the original Indiana Jones. While I still stand by my points in that preview, unfortunately the open mind of another era is not enough to gloss over the flaws of Indy’s latest adventure.

We catch up with Indy some twenty years after The Last Crusade as he is in the captivity of a group of Russians bent on world domination. The Russians want Indy to find a specific crate for them in an Area 51 warehouse that we know well from the conclusion of Raiders of the Lost Ark. After aiding the Russians while under duress, Dr. Jones dramatically flees the area in what can be considered an entertaining opening sequence, though it still lacked the excitement of the original films. This sets up the plot: the Russians were searching for remains in the warehouse that might include one of the fabled Crystal Skulls. Indy must obtain the Crystal Skull before the Russians to keep them from gaining control of the powers that lay within.

The premise is plausible and allows for the first half of the film to be enjoyable and have enough mystery surrounding it to hold the audience’s attention. Holding the audience’s attention is about as far as Crystal Skull gets, as the sense of peril and exhilaration that was the norm during the previous films is noticeably absent. Whether it was the CGI that clearly stood out during action sequences or the predictability of a LucasBerg film, at no point did I grip the armrests during what were meant to be tension filled scenarios. That being said, the motorcycle chase in the early part of the film was well done and helped carry the first half of the movie.

The other major issue for the film was that it became less and less grounded as the narrative progressed. Without getting into too many details, the plot goes from an interesting idea built on actual historical artifacts to the realm of science fiction and CGI, which becomes harder for viewers to buy into than the Thuggee Cult’s return or the cup of Christ giving everlasting life.

As for the cast, the acting was neither poor nor was it memorable. Harrison Ford at times shows flashes of what the character once was, but does not feel right for the majority of the film. Cate Blanchett plays the Russian nemesis without problem, but the character’s motivation gets only a few brief lines. Karen Allen’s return as Marion Ravenwood seemed like a great choice for the film but was left underdeveloped, while Shia LaBeouf’s performance as Mutt Williams was charismatic and humorous.

The fourth film of the Indiana Jones franchise does not tarnish the series, as some would say Episode I: The Phantom Menace of Star Wars might have. However, rather than giving us further development of one of our great film heroes, Crystal Skull offers nostalgia without excitement. The whip and the fedora were there but beneath them we don’t find the character we once loved, but rather an homage to another period of filmmaking.

I’ve been on a Harrison Ford kick of late. Patriot Games has been on AMC, Air Force One is constantly repeating on TNT, and naturally when one of the films of the Indiana JonesTrilogy hits the air I cannot find the strength to get out of my seat. One actor has found himself in so many of the iconic roles of the late 20th Century — Indy, Jack Ryan, Dr. Richard Kimball, and of course, Han Solo — that it seems mystifying when a character Ford plays does not find its way into classic Americana.

Anticipation continues to build in the days leading up to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that film geeks such as myself are on marathon viewings of all three films.

There is always a danger of tampering with filmgoer’s favorite franchises; it will be overly criticized, the chances of ruining someone’s childhood hero are high, and Internet backlash is pretty much a certainty. In this age, everyone is a critic and has access to a medium where they can lay praise or vent their frustrations. Thus it seems natural that many people are headed to this weekend’s premiere of Crystal Skull with a mindset to critique.

Unfortunately, this leads to every minor detail finding itself under inspection and every plot point being dissected for plausibility. Would the original trilogy have held up to that kind of scrutiny? If we all inspected the details of the Lost Ark’s face-melting powers, or considered the plausibility of ripping a man’s heart out just to see him go on living, would the films have been as popular?

The action/adventure films of Indy’s original age did not suffer the skepticism applied to the films that enter the genre today. Fewer voices were heard and there was not a readily available source to hear perspectives of hundreds of different viewers. While slightly flawed and somewhat implausible, the original Indiana Jones films continued to gain an audience through the years because they found their way to the youth of the world, free of skepticism and preconceived notions. By the time a viewer was old enough to scoff at some of the finer points of the storyline, Dr. Jones had become so embedded in their mind that any new found rationality was put aside for a step back in time to their youth. Indy’s whip and fedora were just cool and that was good enough for kids of my generation.

This weekend when you see Harrison Ford reprise one of the classic roles of American Cinema, hold onto your box of popcorn and let your mind once again be mesmerized by a faded map and a morbid fear of snakes, because one thing is certain; Jar Jar Binks is not listed on Crystal Skulls’ IMDB page as a character.

It has been quite some time since a summer film season had this much hype and anticipation surrounding it. From The Dark Knight to Indy’s return, this summer offers more build up than many film buffs can endure. Fortunately the season starts early and wading through minor titles to get to one of the big names is not necessary, as bashing out of the gate is Iron Man.

Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark and for those unfamiliar with the comic series, such as myself, Stark is the head of his family’s weapons manufacturing company. Stark Industries and its namesake are at the forefront of military technology and have facilitated America’s continued dominance in the world by providing them with the latest in warfare. While off promoting his latest weapon of mass destruction, Stark’s “Fun-Vee” is ambushed by a group of Afghani terrorists who proceed to hold him captive and force him to build them a missile. Unbeknownst to his captors Stark builds an iron suit from the missile parts, leading to an escape filled with terrorists being pummeled in to cave walls and duel flamethrowers charring those unfortunate enough to be in caught in Stark’s path.

Making it back to the States and laying low after his recent realization that all the weapons he and his father had been making for years actually had been killing people, Stark begins work on his advanced iron suit. After a series of tests in which Stark charmingly banters with his robots, he completes his final model and immediately begins to correct the wrongs of his earlier life with his newfound morality. Escalation continues throughout the film and leads to a climatic battle between Stark and another iron soldier through a crowded expressway, in the skies, and eventually on the rooftop of Stark Industries.

Jon Favreau’s first foray into action films fits the billing of an early summer blockbuster with Downey Jr. giving a performance of believable transition from “Merchant of Death” to self-proclaimed hero. Both Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard add to the overall story with solid supporting roles and Jeff Bridges counters Downey Jr. well on screen. The effects, as would be expected, are phenomenal making the audience wish that air travel could actually be as exhilarating and simplistic as it is for Iron Man. Though highly entertaining and visually stunning Iron Man fits more into the mold of a popcorn film rather than a more dramatic take on a superhero franchise. 

Welcome to Splicing Tapes! Our goal here is to provide yet another invaluable tool to help you slog through the ever-expanding mess of media suddenly available to the masses via Netflix, AppleTV, and the vast series of tubes known as the Internet. We hope to stay current, stay relevant, and though we were both film majors at a large state university, bull-shit free. 

Every week you can check for reviews and opinions on whatever gets caught in our pop culture nets. We cast them wide and we cast them deep, and every now and then we catch something worth holding onto. 

I know it’s my first post and you’re probably thinking ‘they’re already starting with an A+ review? I didn’t even know they rated films that way!” Well, we do now. And likely will later. The specifics might change (letters, thumbs, bowling balls) but the idea is the same, and we trust that you, dear readers, are such an enterprising bunch that you’ll make perfect sense of it. You found your way here, didn’t you? Enough said. 

Onto the film.

Into Great Silence is a documentary by Philip Groning. It was released in 2005 and made quite the stir at Sundance 2006, which is how it wound up in my Netflix queue. From Wikipedia:

“Into Great Silence (Die Große Stille) is a documentary film directed by Philip Gröning ^[1] that was first released in 2005. It is an intimate portrayal of the everyday lives ofCarthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in a remote corner of the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains). The film was made 16 years after the director first requested permission to make it. Then he lived at the monastery for six months, and filmed all alone, behind the walls no ‘outsider’ had ever been allowed to enter before.”

That would sum it up EXCEPT they fail to mention that, aside from some chanting and 3-4 minutes of dialogue, the entire film is silent. No sound. Audibly absent. siiiiiiiileeeeeeeeennnttttttt. 

And therein lies the A+ rating. If documentaries are both intended and most effective when they portray the experience of another and make you question how you’d react in the same situation, this is the best documentary I’ve seen. If you make the effort to stay awake during the 2 hours and forty five minutes (I know, I know, but these guys do it their whole lives!) it rewards you in ways that are entirely unexpected. I went through phases: boredom, interest, sleepiness, fascination, back to sleepiness, and finally a stillness that must be the films whole reason for being (I assume). Those phases are what make it so wonderful. It has a specific intention and simultaneously prompts mental tangents you follow long after the film is over. It’s also gorgeously shot. If you’re looking for a quiet and exciting new viewing experience you can’t get a much better film than this. 

I hope you enjoy the reviews. If you don’t, let us know. If you do, let us know. If you have a film or an opinion, let us know. 

Here’s to film-