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[Evlar]

Ebert's view of Raiders is that it's a dumb action flick, but the best dumb action flick ever made and the mold from which a whole industry of dumb action flicks have been minted. He loved the first movies and I'm glad he loved this one.

That's all the confirmation I needed to know I'll have a grand time (I would have seen it regardless of reviews).

 

[kaching]

A.O. Scott of the NY Times hated it. But you can't win 'em all.

A.O. Scott loved Revenge of the Sith and I've never forgiven him for that. Well, maybe not loved, but close enough.

 

[RetroMG]

So basically what you're saying is this: My life is full of stress and I will take any sort of escapist entertainment, no matter how bad, and I will love it.

Fair enough.

No, not really. I love my life. Honestly, I get the impression that no matter what I say here, you won't get it. But I'll give it one more shot.

If something is done right, no matter what it is, it captures you, and pulls you into a better, more magical world than the one you live in. Three examples off the top of my head would be the Indiana Jones Movies, The Harry Potter Books, and Disneyland. Because when I walk through the gates of Disneyland, the world is a happier place. When I watch Indy, I believe that there are stalwart and brave heroes still walking among us. When I read Harry Potter, I believe that good will inevitably triumph over evil. I'm a happy man, but these things make me believe, if even for a little while, that the world is capable of more than what I see. And that makes me a happier man.

Now, some people don't get it. Last time I went to Disneyland, someone ahead of me in line was grousing about how Disneyland won't allow people to bring in liquor. He supposed that it was because Walt Disney wanted to charge through the roof for beer. To me, it's because Walt Disney didn't want drunken louses wandering around his 'Magic Kingdom.'

So, I believe I will enjoy Indy 4, even if Shia Lebeowulf drives me crazy, or even if the Macguffin seems silly. Because there's just something about the Hat, the Whip, the Music, and the Man, (Indiana Jones, not Harrison Ford,) that makes me believe in heroes.

 

[bill0527]

Read the Eberthttp://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080518/REVIEWS/969461084 review and he's basically saying it sucks, but what do you expect you can't have Raiders (taste of the first pound of sausage) after all this time, you have to settle for this CG mess (a possible 2nd pound of sausage taste).


He seems to be justifying it be saying he wants to see more of what was great in Raiders in the 1980's pulp ficition, ridiculous action scenes, oneliners. Ridiculous


Its like he knows it sucks but moneyhat + winkwinknudgenudge = 3 stars = many pounds of sausages

WTF ??

Look what the internet has done to the youth of America.

 

[Evlar]

Eh, nothing special happens and they're usually just really packed screenings so it's not very comfortable.

Best part of midnight screenings is the audience (not the jack-asses in Stormtrooper costumes or Arwen tiaras). I mean the crowd in general, because the midnight crowd is hyped to the stars for whichever film you're watching, and that always makes the movie experience better. Movie critics get such a raw deal: they have to watch all these movies, some bad and some good and some terrific, in the company of only a few other bored critics who mostly sit on their hands or scribble notes.

That's not how you watch Indiana Jones. You watch it with 500 other people cheering and laughing and clapping at every beat, thrilled to be at the movies.

 

[Cheebs]

WTF ??

Look what the internet has done to the youth of America.

This is gaf. If a movie gets good reviews you nitpick them to find faults in the movie and if a movie gets bad reviews you claim they are wrong.

 

[thefro]

Eh, I think there is a point for things to be quasi-realistic at least. You want to feel that Indy's in danger, and you get into Roger Moore James Bond territory if you go too over the top. Still fun, but you lose a lot of what makes Raiders work so well if you make Indiana Jones a total superhero.

 

[Solo]

Cheebs, after all your hyping, I must admit that there is a part of me that would get a twisted enjoyment if you ended up hating the movie. But I still love you.

 

[Cheebs]

Cheebs, after all your hyping, I must admit that there is a part of me that would get a twisted enjoyment if you ended up hating the movie. But I still love you.

Might be possible with all the hype I have for it but if it is at least better than Doom I'll walk away pleased. Spielberg has only disappointed me three times out of the 20+ films of his I have seen so I would be surprised.

btw kids its broken 80% on RT:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/indiana_jones_4/

 

[Solo]

Cheebs, lay out your box office predictions. Opening weekend and final domestic numbers. I recall you saying them previously and thinking they were way too optimistic.

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

Read the Eberthttp://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080518/REVIEWS/969461084 review and he's basically saying it sucks, but what do you expect you can't have Raiders (taste of the first pound of sausage) after all this time, you have to settle for this CG mess (a possible 2nd pound of sausage taste).


He seems to be justifying it be saying he wants to see more of what was great in Raiders in the 1980's pulp ficition, ridiculous action scenes, oneliners. Ridiculous


Its like he knows it sucks but moneyhat + winkwinknudgenudge = 3 stars = many pounds of sausages

Yea....no.

 

[JB1981]

Pretty hum-drum early buzz. I bet the movie's shit.

I have pretty much zero faith in Spielberg these days anyway. When was the last time he's made a truly memorable film. Or to a rephrase, a movie that was memorable for its entire runtime and not its set pieces?

The most disturbing criticism is that the film lacks the charm and wit of the originals. This is precisely what the Star Wars prequels lacked too. Lucas and Spielberg don't understand what is charming or funny anymore.

 

[Cheebs]

Cheebs, lay out your box office predictions. Opening weekend and final domestic numbers. I recall you saying them previously and thinking they were way too optimistic.

The opening weekend is all weird since it opens on a thrusday and its monday is memorial day which is a weekend day boxoffice wise. So 5 day weekend opening I'll go with eh..... 165 million. Final tally north of 350 million but under 375 million.

Worldwide just short of 900 million.

Pretty hum-drum early buzz. I bet the movie's shit.

Uh...wtf? The vast majority of the reviews praise it.

 

[Sanjuro]

The opening weekend is all weird since it opens on a thrusday and its monday is memorial day which is a weekend day boxoffice wise. So 5 day weekend opening I'll go with eh..... 165 million. Final tally north of 350 million but under 375 million.

For some reason I'm finding it harder to come up with a good guesstimate for this film. I'm usually pretty good with mine but this one is harder due to the age of the franchise and how popular the older films were. For the other revivals such as Die Hard and Rambo none of them were in the high rollers club so not as hard to predict.

5 day weekend - $145
Total Domestic - $290

 

[Cheebs]

For some reason I'm finding it harder to come up with a good guesstimate for this film. I'm usually pretty good with mine but this one is harder due to the age of the franchise and how popular the older films were. For the other revivals such as Die Hard and Rambo none of them were in the high rollers club so not as hard to predict.

5 day weekend - $145
Total Domestic - $290

0% it will be under 300. Not even possible.

 

[Sanjuro]

0% it will be under 300. Not even possible.

Whats your wager on that?

Come on I have it beating Home Alone at least.

 

[Solo]

0% it will be under 300. Not even possible.

I dont think it crosses $300M myself.

 

[HomerSimpson-Man]

I figure at the very least it'll so as well as National Treasure 2, which was the last big adventure type movie.

 

[Cheebs]

I dont think it crosses $300M myself.

If its opening "weekend" is above 150 mil then 300 is all but guaranteed so we'll find out soon enough.

I figure at the very least it'll so as well as National Treasure 2, which was the last big adventure type movie.

NT2 had like 0 hype, no fanbase, no big name director, and horrible reviews though


Indy skews more towards Pirates in boxoffice IMO

 

[Solo]

Heres another wacky BO prediction for ya: TDK does less bank than Iron Man.

 

[Speevy]

Live Free or Die Hard: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/live_free_or_die_hard/
Rocky Balboa: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rocky_balboa/
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terminator_3_rise_of_the_machines/


And now Indiana Jones, seems like yet another entry in the "Final entry for an old action hero in an popular series." trend.

Some people will like it, some people will hate it, and the general consensus will be that it's decent enough if you liked the old movies. Same thing, different year.

 

[Sanjuro]

If its opening "weekend" is above 150 mil then 300 is all but guaranteed so we'll find out soon enough.

I wouldn't be so sure of that. I see the majority of the fans and people interested seeing it in the first couple weeks and then see it drop to the weekly mid card scraping up the extra millions.

 

[Cheebs]

Heres another wacky BO prediction for ya: TDK does less bank than Iron Man.

I dont think anyone would argue with you on that point. Iron Man has fantastic legs, it will crack 300 million. Dark Knight skews too old to break past 275 mil

Live Free or Die Hard: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/live_free_or_die_hard/
Rocky Balboa: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rocky_balboa/
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terminator_3_rise_of_the_machines/


And now Indiana Jones, seems like yet another entry in the "Final entry for an old action hero in an popular series." trend.

Except Lucas, Spielberg, Ford, and LaBeof are all talking about the idea of doing 5 as long as 4 does well enough.

Lucas already has an idea and Spielberg says if people flock to 4 then he'll have no choice but to do 5.

 

[Sanjuro]

Heres another wacky BO prediction for ya: TDK does less bank than Iron Man.

That's not wacky IMO. Iron Man has had a better advertising campaign to this point and brought in the fans and the mindless walking out of Transformers. TDK I will almost be certain will be the better film but their marketing are targeted at fanboy's cocks.

 

[DMczaf]

TDK is in a weird position because even though its PG-13 Summer Movie, it looks like it could easily be Rated R with some of the things that goes down in the movie from the leaks (and after seeing the Two Face concept art)

I just don't see it getting near $300 mil unless it has great legs like Batman Begins.

 

[Cheebs]

That's not wacky IMO. Iron Man has had a better advertising campaign to this point and brought in the fans and the mindless walking out of Transformers. TDK I will almost be certain will be the better film but their marketing are targeted at fanboy's cocks.

Oh I agree totally. I know I will adore the movie but they are spending so much of their marketing time and money on people who decided they'd see it opening weekend the second the teaser came out (if not sooner). A viral website is a nice touch but the dozens upon dozens of them that they keep doing is just throwing money at people already sold on the product for no good reason.

 

[Sanjuro]

Oh I agree totally. I know I will adore the movie but they are spending so much of their marketing time and money on people who decided they'd see it opening weekend the second the teaser came out (if not sooner). A viral website is a nice touch but the dozens upon dozens of them that they keep doing is just throwing money at people already sold on the product for no good reason.

I like it though anyway.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

Pretty hum-drum early buzz. I bet the movie's shit.

I have pretty much zero faith in Spielberg these days anyway. When was the last time he's made a truly memorable film. Or to a rephrase, a movie that was memorable for its entire runtime and not its set pieces?

The most disturbing criticism is that the film lacks the charm and wit of the originals. This is precisely what the Star Wars prequels lacked too. Lucas and Spielberg don't understand what is charming or funny anymore.

Munich. His last film. 2005.

Now GTFO.

 

[DMczaf]

Also, I don't give a shit about reviews for this movie.

This is my first chance to see a fucking Indiana Jones movie in a theater! The movie could have a 15 Metacritic rating and I'd still pay $10 to see it in a theater!

 

[The Elite]

Pretty hum-drum early buzz. I bet the movie's shit.

I have pretty much zero faith in Spielberg these days anyway. When was the last time he's made a truly memorable film. Or to a rephrase, a movie that was memorable for its entire runtime and not its set pieces?

The most disturbing criticism is that the film lacks the charm and wit of the originals. This is precisely what the Star Wars prequels lacked too. Lucas and Spielberg don't understand what is charming or funny anymore.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/indiana_jones_4/

This says different. 80%

 

[Cheebs]

I dont get why anyone would go out of their way to hate Spielberg. I mean really. Steven Spielberg? The dude is so likable.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

I'm the biggest James Cameron fan in the world, he's my favourite director of all time; but I tell you now that Spielberg is the most important filmmaker in the short time we've had film (that includes Hitchcock). It's a shame that most will only recognise this when he dies.

 

[Sanjuro]

I dont get why anyone would go out of their way to hate Spielberg. I mean really. Steven Spielberg? The dude is so likable.

My least favorite Spielberg movie is Lost World that I can think of and that doesn't even fall in complete shit. I even got more enjoyment out of 1941 which was full of likable madness IMO.

 

[Defcon]

Spielberg is a fucking genius. He's made movies that I don't particularly like, but I can still watch them multiple times. There's always something in his films that you can appreciate to some degree. The dude just knows how to convey a good yarn on screen.

 

[beelzebozo]

I dont get why anyone would go out of their way to hate Spielberg. I mean really. Steven Spielberg? The dude is so likable.

and he made schindler's list, which is an unequivocal masterpiece, and used the profits to put toward holocaust survivor non-profit organizations.

 

[SpeedingUptoStop]

TDK is in a weird position because even though its PG-13 Summer Movie, it looks like it could easily be Rated R with some of the things that goes down in the movie from the leaks (and after seeing the Two Face concept art)

I just don't see it getting near $300 mil unless it has great legs like Batman Begins.

Iron Man is far more friendly than TDK will ever be, too.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

I predict TDK will crack $315m.

 

[DMczaf]

Iron Man is far more friendly than TDK will ever be, too.

How is a psychopathic, schizophrenic, mass murdering clown and a District Attorney who has half his face melted off not family friendly?!

 

[Defcon]

I don't really follow the earnings of movies, but I'm pretty confident Indiana Jones will lead the way this summer. The only thing close will most likely be Wall-E or Hancock. Batman will do respectable numbers, but it's not going to be a BO sensation. It's just not family friendly enough.

 

[Flynn]

Wow. The Spielberg praise is really getting whipped up in here.

The guy was great, but has really fallen off.

Even his stronger late work like Schindler's List falls prey to his weaknesses. The guy can't bear to end a movie. He tacks on framing mechanisms and all kinds of other bookends to his more serious movies -- either he doesn't trust his own film making or he doesn't trust the audience to get the message he's trying to drive home.

I'd say Catch Me If You Can is his only post-'80s flick that doesn't fall prey to the guy's worst impulses.

 

[Defcon]

Wow. The Spielberg praise is really getting whipped up in here.

The guy was great, but has really fallen off.

Even his stronger late work like Schindler's List falls prey to his weaknesses. The guy can't bear to end a movie. He tacks on framing mechanisms and all kinds of other bookends to his more serious movies -- either he doesn't trust his own film making or he doesn't trust the audience to get the message he's trying to drive home.

I'd say Catch Me If You Can is his only post-'80s flick that doesn't fall prey to the guy's worst impulses.

Did you see Munich?

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

Wow. The Spielberg praise is really getting whipped up in here.

The guy was great, but has really fallen off.

Even his stronger late work like Schindler's List falls prey to his weaknesses. The guy can't bear to end a movie. He tacks on framing mechanisms and all kinds of other bookends to his more serious movies -- either he doesn't trust his own film making or he doesn't trust the audience to get the message he's trying to drive home.

I'd say Catch Me If You Can is his only post-'80s flick that doesn't fall prey to the guy's worst impulses.

Show me the bookend to Munich.

 

[beelzebozo]

oh, he's obviously not nearly so good as he once was, but i'd still point to schindler's list as my favorite of his work. and catch me if you can seemed a little forgettable to me, to be honest.

 

[RBelong2Us]

Reports showed that Iron Man actually skewed to late 20 males more than even Batman Begins, and the percentage of women that went to both was more in favor of Batman Begins. Safe to say, Iron Man did not have a big young audience so thats a good sign for Dark Knight.

I just think theres way too many good things going for Dark Knight for it not to get at least close to 300m.

Why the hell is anyone bitching about marketing? The movie is two months away and already has better marketing than pretty much every movie out there. Indiana Jones marketing has been terrible, they're selling it as though everyone already knows it's going to come out.

 

[The Elite]

This thread is going to end in blood, tears and semen. You can count on it.

 

[CajoleJuice]

Why are you guys bringing up Munich?

That movie should've ended like 5 different times.

 

[Defcon]

ndiana Jones marketing has been terrible, they're selling it as though everyone already knows it's going to come out.

That's because they do.

 

[RBelong2Us]

That's because they do.

We'll see about that.

 

[SCULLIBUNDO]

Seriously, whether or not he draws out the ending of films, most people seem to use that as a means of discounting the quality of the work that proceeds the bookend. Somebody discounting Schindler or Saving Private Ryan as not being amongst his best efforts because of the ending's they feel didn't gel is ridiculous.

 

[jett]

I'm the biggest James Cameron fan in the world, he's my favourite director of all time; but I tell you now that Spielberg is the most important filmmaker in the short time we've had film (that includes Hitchcock).

Oh, you.