I
borrowed my friend Jeff's box set of the Indiana Jones
movies and had my memories pleasantly confirmed on
the entertainment value of these old movies.
Raiders
of the Lost Ark(1981) is still an outstanding
adventure film that is well-paced, exciting and still
stands up to modern standards even with its pre-digital
effects. All its practicals are excellent and the
photographic and makeup FX still decent.
Temple
of Doom (1984) for some reason people rate lowest
of the three movies. At the time parents groups disliked
the children put in peril plot and many were offputted
by the addition of an Indy sidekick (Short Round)
and the shriekings of his new squeeze (Mrs. Spielberg
Kate Capshaw). I don't mind any of those two characters.
I found it a very tight stunt showcase but the setup
with the villains as a resurgent thugee cult a bit
moribund. In my memory, at least, my least favourite
is definitely
The Last Crusade (1989) which
I haven't yet slotted in to remind me. I remember
the third movie as a far cheaper movie than the first
two without strong villains. Sean Connery as Indy's
father was cute but otherwise the concept was uninspiring.
One thing that stands out, in at least the first two
movies, is the strong John Williams scores, not just
in the main Indy theme but in the various sub themes.
This is an amazing internet time waster. Type in the lyrics to one of your favourite songs and the site assembles clips from various recording artists approximating the song.
Was
sent this link to the website for what looks like a
fabulous computer animated film by artist Marc Craste.
Despite all my railing against CG in film these days,
I am totally in love with the look shown in the trailer
for "Jojo in the Stars" and in the three shorts
under the "Pica Towers" link. I get a distinct
"Delicatessen" vibe from these. The trailer
is a bit enigmatic. 
A
couple days after I pestered the programmer at the
Pacific Cinematheque (the local film society) to
look into screening this gem from Kazahkstan, I
was informed that they were going to screen The
Fall of Otrar in January. Otrar is
a film 
