2519 replies to this topic

[sharpshooter]

I'd say zero chance of that happening. If by some fluke it does come true, I'd be pleased. If not, let it be.

[Harmsway]

Is there any chance in hell that Con will pop in for visit?

No. All the official KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL supplements from Lucasfilm (The Ultimate Indiana Jones Guide, The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones) list Henry Jones, Sr. as having died earlier in 1950s, long before KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.

[dodge]

Is there any chance in hell that Con will pop in for visit?

No. All the official KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL supplements from Lucasfilm (The Ultimate Indiana Jones Guide, The Lost Journal of Indiana Jones) list Henry Jones, Sr. as having died earlier in 1950s, long before KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.

So, the dream has ended. Ah. What the hell's that greedy old Scot gonna do, sit around watching the grass grow?

[jaguar007]

Your wildest dream--or worst nightmare--may possibly come true...if a rather weirdly worded remark in our local paper is, in fact, a veiled prediction:

The reference was to Connery's 'reported non-appearance' in IJATK...

Now, Lucas and Spielberg have kept pretty darned near everything under the tightest wraps. So:

Is there any chance in hell that Con will pop in for visit?

I do know that there is quite a bit of speculation that he will pop up for a cameo, I would love it if he does, but I'm not going to hold by breath.

[Harmsway]

Clips from the soundtrack are now up on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co...o...4484&sr=8-3

Hard to judge from only samples regarding the new melodies, but it does all sound pure Indiana Jones. Kind of like a mix between Williams' efforts on RAIDERS and TEMPLE, with an intsy-weentsy bit of CRUSADE thrown in intermittently.

[DamnCoffee]

Cool!

[Johnboy007]

I think the biggest shame about INDY IV is that they didn't re-release/remaster the previous three scores. They're absolutely terrific but absolutely impossible to find. Still, I eagerly await May 20th and the opportunity to add Indy IV (I can't type the abbrevation of this movie without cracking up) to the music library!

Watched the second trailer and the TV spots last night... I am so excited for this!

[marktmurphy]

Clips from the soundtrack are now up on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co...o...4484&sr=8-3

Hard to judge from only samples regarding the new melodies, but it does all sound pure Indiana Jones. Kind of like a mix between Williams' efforts on RAIDERS and TEMPLE, with an intsy-weentsy bit of CRUSADE thrown in intermittently.

Ooh- bit of 'Map Room' from Raiders in Spell of the Skull.

All sounds good- not sure about the orchestra, though. I miss that LSO sound; the Raiders March here does seem particularly inferior to me at the moment. I heard the LSO play the March last year, and it sounds exactly the same as the original somehow.

[Harmsway]

I do agree that the orchestra sound isn't quite as good... but I wasn't aware that KINGDOM hadn't been recorded with the LSO. I know the STAR WARS prequels were, so I just assumed the same would be the case here.

[marktmurphy]

Yeah; I'm not certain but it really doesn't sound like them to me. Hopefully it is and it's just the quality of the clips.
I like Irina's theme a lot, but then I suppose as it's so close to Indy's, it's hard not to!

There are 9 TV spots up on IndianaJones.com, incidentally: some new bits in there.

[marktmurphy]

Yes, it seems to be something called the 'Hollywood Studio Orchestra':

http://www.lightsabr...talskull_cd.htm

Shame. First Superman Returns, now this. At least they did the Star Wars ones right, as you say

[sharpshooter]

The score fits in with the other three films well I think. Pretty good effort judging by these samples.

[JimmyBond]

Surprised no one's mentioned this, but you can hear Marion's theme in the "End Credits" track sample. Really cool

[marktmurphy]

Surprised no one's mentioned this, but you can hear Marion's theme in the "End Credits" track sample. Really cool

Well, I don't think anyone expected it not to appear!

[Harmsway]

Moriarty made a comment yesterday at AICN that the movie screened for theater folks in the east, soon would screen for theater folk in the west. The word that came back from the screening has been pretty venomous so far. One comment he'd heard was that KINGDOM was "lazier than THE LOST WORLD."



He was responding to this review (warning as to plot spoilers because it does line up with a lot of things):

Well, I haven't seen a review of this yet and having seen the movie this morning, I feel I'm as qualified as anyone to post a quick reaction to it. In short, this is the Indiana Movie that you were dreading. I remember seeing the two trailers and though I was excited to see the old man in action again, I was kind of worried that they seemed to be missing 'something'. That something was tension. During the whole of the movie, there was not a single moment that I thought our hero Mr. Jones (actually Colonel Jones as he was a hero in WWII now) was in any sort of peril or even significant inconvenience. In most cases, you were so many steps ahead of the characters that it was really just an arduous wait for them to get through it. Here we go with some Spoilers: Well, sadly the hopes of seeing Abner Ravenwood were unfounded. Though we do get to see the big Ark weilding warehouse again (it's Area 51 just incase you were unsure), the Ark is not the main object that they are there for (they do show it ofcourse; ya gots ta). LeBeef is ofcourse Indy's son. And other than quick references to Indy's Dad and Marcus (both dead) there isn't much to link with the the old stuff. The storyline is basically about an alien corpse from some crash in some town call Roswell, that has magnetic properties that may or may not be the ultimate weapon in the future. The Nazi's are replaced by the Soviets who are obviously bad and want said weapon to do bad things with. The alien corpse prize is replaced with the crystal skull from the corpse (the actual skeleton of aliens is crystaline, and the Crystal Skull is literally an alien's remains) and chases and such ensue as they try to figure out how to 'Return' the skull to the Lost City of Gold and let it's supernatural abilities run rampant. I found it funny that they mentioned the Lost City of Gold as it accidentally referenced the old Allen Quartermaine days (a crappy knockoff of Indy Movies incase you missed them) and this was very much similar in most respects. The big problem with the movie is that the traps or perilous moments are completely -inine and ridiculous. From a quicksand trap that Indy has time to yack on about, to being saved from said trap by LeBeef using a snake as a rope. BTW, this snake is as crappy as a Mad TV prop when they don't CG it up, and that is another failing of this movie. The fake stuff doesn't mix with the real stuff at all. In the opening scenes where they are outside of the warehouse and Indy is pulled out of the trunk of the car (you'll recall the previews), they go from a real outdoors set to a fake indoors soundstage (pretending to be still outside). The jungle chase in the duck amphibious vehicles (I wonder if those will go in water at one point or not?...) looks like the whole jungle was made of plastic. And then we go with the actual acting and characters. Well, everyone will be pleased to hear that LeBeef was horrible. He'd start crying about skeletal remains representing people that had died thousands of years ago (boohoo). Once Indy figures out Beef's heritage, he is non-stop complimentary towards every non-screwup thing he does (they would pause for mugs of adulation; just horrible). The Double Agent dude is comically horrible. Marion was actually really great when she was first introduced (about half way) and she and Indy have some good banter. But after that five minutes, she was sporting a big muggy smile as they continued on their adventure and she was never scared, worried, or nervous, even with the stupid moments that she tries to help (duck in a tree; you will cringe when you see it...). Cate Blanchett wasn't overly horrible, but her characters' abilities of psychic prowess were never successfully used and she whenever she caught Indy she was never really intimidating or bad. And then we have Indy himself. He has a few lines that work and a million that don't. He just never shows signs of worry or distress. Again, no Tension. He also has a weird tendancy to help the bad guys figure out the clues; never figured out why. Anyway, I don't want to rant on forever, as it doesn't matter what I say, you will see this movie regardless. And even though it's not as bad as Allan Quartermaine, it's definitely not a good Indy Movie. But for those of you that feel that the new Star Wars Movies robbed your childhood, expect some molestations from Uncles' George and Steven...

I don't know. Sounds like fanboy rant, and certainly isn't much quality as a review. But if it really is that mediocre, it's unfortunate.

[Arbogast777]

Tons of new pics HERE

[DamnCoffee]

Thanks for this! Brilliant pics!

[Loomis]

Moriarty made a comment yesterday at AICN that the movie screened for theater folks in the east, soon would screen for theater folk in the west. The word that came back from the screening has been pretty venomous so far. One comment he'd heard was that KINGDOM was "lazier than THE LOST WORLD."



He was responding to this review (warning as to plot spoilers because it does line up with a lot of things):

Well, I haven't seen a review of this yet and having seen the movie this morning, I feel I'm as qualified as anyone to post a quick reaction to it. In short, this is the Indiana Movie that you were dreading. I remember seeing the two trailers and though I was excited to see the old man in action again, I was kind of worried that they seemed to be missing 'something'. That something was tension. During the whole of the movie, there was not a single moment that I thought our hero Mr. Jones (actually Colonel Jones as he was a hero in WWII now) was in any sort of peril or even significant inconvenience. In most cases, you were so many steps ahead of the characters that it was really just an arduous wait for them to get through it. Here we go with some Spoilers: Well, sadly the hopes of seeing Abner Ravenwood were unfounded. Though we do get to see the big Ark weilding warehouse again (it's Area 51 just incase you were unsure), the Ark is not the main object that they are there for (they do show it ofcourse; ya gots ta). LeBeef is ofcourse Indy's son. And other than quick references to Indy's Dad and Marcus (both dead) there isn't much to link with the the old stuff. The storyline is basically about an alien corpse from some crash in some town call Roswell, that has magnetic properties that may or may not be the ultimate weapon in the future. The Nazi's are replaced by the Soviets who are obviously bad and want said weapon to do bad things with. The alien corpse prize is replaced with the crystal skull from the corpse (the actual skeleton of aliens is crystaline, and the Crystal Skull is literally an alien's remains) and chases and such ensue as they try to figure out how to 'Return' the skull to the Lost City of Gold and let it's supernatural abilities run rampant. I found it funny that they mentioned the Lost City of Gold as it accidentally referenced the old Allen Quartermaine days (a crappy knockoff of Indy Movies incase you missed them) and this was very much similar in most respects. The big problem with the movie is that the traps or perilous moments are completely -inine and ridiculous. From a quicksand trap that Indy has time to yack on about, to being saved from said trap by LeBeef using a snake as a rope. BTW, this snake is as crappy as a Mad TV prop when they don't CG it up, and that is another failing of this movie. The fake stuff doesn't mix with the real stuff at all. In the opening scenes where they are outside of the warehouse and Indy is pulled out of the trunk of the car (you'll recall the previews), they go from a real outdoors set to a fake indoors soundstage (pretending to be still outside). The jungle chase in the duck amphibious vehicles (I wonder if those will go in water at one point or not?...) looks like the whole jungle was made of plastic. And then we go with the actual acting and characters. Well, everyone will be pleased to hear that LeBeef was horrible. He'd start crying about skeletal remains representing people that had died thousands of years ago (boohoo). Once Indy figures out Beef's heritage, he is non-stop complimentary towards every non-screwup thing he does (they would pause for mugs of adulation; just horrible). The Double Agent dude is comically horrible. Marion was actually really great when she was first introduced (about half way) and she and Indy have some good banter. But after that five minutes, she was sporting a big muggy smile as they continued on their adventure and she was never scared, worried, or nervous, even with the stupid moments that she tries to help (duck in a tree; you will cringe when you see it...). Cate Blanchett wasn't overly horrible, but her characters' abilities of psychic prowess were never successfully used and she whenever she caught Indy she was never really intimidating or bad. And then we have Indy himself. He has a few lines that work and a million that don't. He just never shows signs of worry or distress. Again, no Tension. He also has a weird tendancy to help the bad guys figure out the clues; never figured out why. Anyway, I don't want to rant on forever, as it doesn't matter what I say, you will see this movie regardless. And even though it's not as bad as Allan Quartermaine, it's definitely not a good Indy Movie. But for those of you that feel that the new Star Wars Movies robbed your childhood, expect some molestations from Uncles' George and Steven...

I don't know. Sounds like fanboy rant, and certainly isn't much quality as a review. But if it really is that mediocre, it's unfortunate.

Can't say I'm surprised. I never really had a good vibe about this flick. Didn't like the trailers at all (whereas the new DARK KNIGHT trailer impressed me very much and has got me really looking forward to the film, and I'm even less of a Batman fan than I am an Indy fan - I even sat through BATMAN BEGINS once more the other day, but this time enjoyed it more than ever, and may even be taking my first faltering steps towards Bat geekdom ). Didn't like LAST CRUSADE, and like even less the apparent belief by Spielberg and Lucas that it was a good film.

In terms of belated comebacks, I reckon CRYSTAL SKULL won't be ROCKY BALBOA, coming very near to recapturing the high quality of the original film, as well as its heart and soul. I reckon it'll be RAMBO, providing a degree of fun for the faithful but basically offering nothing new and ultimately coming across as a bit tedious.

[Mr Teddy Bear]

Can't say I'm surprised.

I'm not surprised by a negative 'advanced review' on the internet either. Oh wait- I think our lack of surprises are over different matters.

[Harmsway]

In terms of belated comebacks, I reckon CRYSTAL SKULL won't be ROCKY BALBOA, coming very near to recapturing the high quality of the original film, as well as its heart and soul. I reckon it'll be RAMBO, providing a degree of fun for the faithful but basically offering nothing new and ultimately coming across as a bit tedious.

Probably a good comparison. Here's another... KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL might be the LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD of the Indy series.

[Judo chop]

In terms of belated comebacks, I reckon CRYSTAL SKULL won't be ROCKY BALBOA, coming very near to recapturing the high quality of the original film, as well as its heart and soul. I reckon it'll be RAMBO, providing a degree of fun for the faithful but basically offering nothing new and ultimately coming across as a bit tedious.

Probably a good comparison. Here's another... KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL might be the LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD of the Indy series.

Or CRUSADE II: THIS TIME IT'S REALLY THE LAST CRUSADE.

I'm keeping my optimism in check for Indy. It's starting to slip for Batman though...

[sharpshooter]

I've likened this film to Live Free or Die Hard in concept. I suppose it wouldn't be too bad if it ended up watching like it either.

[Harmsway]

Well, here's some generally positive thoughts from Hollywood Elsewhere to balance out the negative word. They've heard good things, but suggest it might play better among older folk and not so well among the younger guys:

http://hollywood-els...eration_gap.php

I wasn't going to say anything and just wait until the 5.18 screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in Cannes, but since Ain't It Cool has run a neg review from "ShogunMaster" (and since Hollywood Wiretap has linked to it), the cat is out of the bag and I may as well share something of my own.

Last night I heard from a guy I've known for years who's quite friendly with an exhibitor from the southern region, and this guy passed along some comments after seeing an exhibitor screening two days ago. The exhib's taste in movies tends to be fairly generous and populist (enjoyed Iron Man, even liked Speed Racer), but he wasn't especially taken with Indy 4, my friend says.

The most interesting thing my source passed along was his friend's sense that "the only ones who liked it were the older guys." This ties in to an older-younger, march-of-time theme that is certain to seep through. Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones is obviously older, Steven Spielberg is an older guy who is proud of shooting and cutting action films in a somewhat old-fashioned (i.e., classic, non-Matrix-y) way, and now -- maybe -- a hint that the film itself may play older, or on some level embody older-ness. Cool.

A Hollywood screenwriter guy is telling me that "people" -- he didn't say younger or older, but let's presume the latter -- "are really liking it." He claims there was another exhibitor screening last week, and that some feel "it's the best of the sequels." It has, he's been told, a kind of reflective,summing-up quality that has echoes of Temple of Doom and The Last Crusade in it.

I love this. Especially having been pummelled by Speed Racer last night. I would love it, I mean to say, if Indy 4 winds up providing a window into the Spielberg- Lucas-Jones mindset -- i.e., we're obviously grappling with the world as it is and giving it hell, but we're still older guys and very comfortable, thank you, with doing things in our own tried-and-true way.

Let's leave it alone for now, but the two downbeat responses suggest that a Da Vinci Code-like mauling could happen -- maybe, possibly -- when Mr. Jones turns up at the Grand Palais on 5.18. I'm thinking again about the statement that producer George Lucas gave to USA Today's Scott Bowles, the one about it "not" being "the Second Coming...it's just a movie, just like the other movies."

This may turn out to be a good thing, in a way. If this talk keeps up expectations will be slightly lowered by the time it shows in Cannes (and in domestic media screenings) on the Sunday after next, and the responses may therefore fall under the heading of "pleasant surprise."

[Judo chop]

Though I'm not old, I'm very fond of 'old school', so there's encouragement in that article.

Both optimism and pessimism still in check. I'm going in with a blank slate. That's my best bet, I think.

[sharpshooter]

I'll be making my mind up after I have viewed the film. I am also fond of the 'old school' style. The world has changed, Indy has not.

[Harmsway]

Though I'm not old, I'm very fond of 'old school', so there's encouragement in that article.

Yeah, if it ends up playing like the good ol' fashioned ride Indy is meant to be, well, then it sounds good to me.

Both optimism and pessimism still in check. I'm going in with a blank slate. That's my best bet, I think.

Definitely is.

And for what it's worth, everything in that negative AICN review could have been derived from recent spoilers posted on the net (and it doesn't really touch on some of the more interesting things I've heard about the film that I'm sure would come up in any review), so it's not necessarily for sure the "real deal."

EDIT: It looks like we can deem that AICN review fake for now, given the following info:

There have been two screenings that AICN could have been privy to and somehow invited but I doubt it. Those screenings took place two weeks ago in NYC at the Paramount Screening room and the Studio Theater in Hollywood on their backlot. These screenings were for Film Exhibition industry film buyers and film booking people which also included Paramount execs and selected Guests.

The next time anyone will be seeing this is at Cannes and in select cities throughout the world at officially sanctioned Paramount Press screenings all to be held on May 18th.

The chances that an AICN reviewer got into one of the Trade Screenings in NY or L.A. are slim to none. All participants including Paramount's own executives who attended had to sign a three page confidentiality agreement.

If someone breaks that agreement, they can kiss their relationship with Paramount goodbye. I know it's nothing I would chance. I'll vote "Bogus" as far as the AICN review goes.

[DamnCoffee]

More TV Spots:

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[dodge]

The hell with AICN. And, sorry, Judo: it ain't Connery who's Lincoln, it's Spielberg. Crystal Skull will rock.

[Tarl_Cabot]

The hell with AICN. And, sorry, Judo: it ain't Connery who's Lincoln, it's Spielberg. Crystal Skull will rock.

The review does sound like a fanboy rant but...

The track record for Lucas(and H. Ford) since 1983-1984 for his two franchises is abysmal.The Last Crusade was a pandering retread of the first Indy(bothers me that they consider it an "apology" for the vastly superior Temple of Doom) and the TV show was just...contrived and unneccessary. Don't get me started on the Star Wars prequels. So, I don't have alot of confidence in this 'team'. I'll see it and hopefully I'll be pleasantly suprised but what if it's a dud than Lucas' failure is complete.

[Judo chop]

I'll see it and hopefully I'll be pleasantly suprised but what if it's a dud than Lucas' failure is complete.

Lucas is well beyond completing his failure. He