Indy Movie Night

Just saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – thought David Duchovny was about to pop up any time. Had Gold Class cinema tickets (yay!) – sat in plush seats and ate an overpriced but yummy seafood platter. It was good to see Harrison Ford back in the swing of things: it was even better to see Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood – the definitive Indiana Jones heroine who I've missed terribly in the previous two installments. Not going to review it or give away the plot but will briefly touch on a couple of obscure references. (Caution – semi spoilers ahead!) 

Great opening sequence, especially when the contents of the smashed crate in the warehouse are revealed – not the magnetised box but the other one ... you'll know when you see it. Also like the way in which Indiana Jones escaped from his predicament by hiding in the fridge. For me, action-adventure films aren't about the car chases or the gun battles or the other action sequences – it's about how the hero can use his or her creativity and problems solving abilities to escape being killed despite the odds being stacked against them – Indiana Jones is fabulous at that, as is Bruce Willis's John McLane in the Die Hard films. 

Enjoyed the supersized flesh-eating ants, the likes of which haven't been seen since the Marabunta in Charlton Heston's and Eleanor Parker's Naked Jungle. Not quite sure about the graveyard guardians – they came and went too quickly. A big debate ensued with the people I saw the film with – were they zombies or not? Some of the dialogue suggested the cemetery was guarded by the undead, but I don't think that poison darts can rekill zombies. Something doesn't quite compute and I'll have to watch the film again to see whether we (or in fact the movie) got it wrong.

Tired now. Got to work tomorrow – Sunday. Will go. Maybe more about this later. For my last comment all I'll say is that Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favourite movie of all time, and though this one was fun, it won't ever match the original or the feeling of utter exhilaration I had on my first viewing.