Ants. Why'd It Have To Be Ants?

I used to be a HUGE movieholic. When I was in my twenties, I went to the movies once or twice a week and knew the names of all the actors and most of the directors.

But the last time I saw one in an actual theater was sometime last year. I don't remember, exactly, but it was Knocked Up, which I think was one of last summer's big hits, so it would have been around then.

I've decided this summer to try to get back into the habit (if for no other reason than to get me out of the house once in a while...) My plan is to see one every weekend from now until Labor Day. And what better movie to start the summer season than the ultimate action adventure, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?

NOTE: There are no spoilers to come, so feel free to keep reading... :)

I loved, loved, LOVED Raiders of the Lost Ark and I wrote a post last year about how happy I was to hear that they were bringing back Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood. But overall I was expecting this sequel to be pretty lame. I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, by how much I enjoyed it.

Of course, it had no hope of living up to the original, but I thought Lucas and Spielberg did a really good job of recreating that first film's fun factor. Harrison Ford seemed to slide effortlessly back into the role of Indy and Shia LeBoeuf—whom I've never seen before now—was a really good addition. I would have liked to have seen Marion's part expanded, and I had trouble with Cate Blanchett slipping in and out of her Russian accent, but those problems were pretty minor. (More distracting was seeing Scrubs' Janitor as an FBI agent!)

The stunts and the special effects were pretty over the top but, again, I was fully expecting to have to suspend disbelief (although perhaps not by quite as much as I did). So all in all, I'm giving Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull a big 'ol thumbs up!

The funniest thing about the movie to me was the audience. I'm sure when Raiders came out, the average age was somewhere around 21, 22, tops. This time, it must have been at least 35! :)

Oh, and by the way, did I mention that I HATE ants?!

Blog of the Day

If you've got a little bit of Indy in you (the more academic side, that is), you might enjoy Discovery's Archaeorama. Not surprisingly, they've got lots of fascinating news items, complete with videos, on the site, including footage of current digs around the world, such as the Stonehenge excavation that is now underway.