Saturday, May 24, 2008

Good news for Indiana Jones fans!!

There are long lines and big waits to get in to see the new INDIANA JONES movie that opened this weekend. I know many of you are heartbroken that you couldn’t get in to see it. Well I have good news. No. GREAT news!

I have heard, from a reliable source who chooses to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job, that they’ve decided to continue showing the movie even beyond this weekend! That’s right. You can go Tuesday or Thursday or even next weekend!

So no need to postpone that wedding or miss your daughter’s graduation. Help your elderly parents move as planned. Give birth to that baby if you have to.

It turns out movies are not like live performances. Any time you see them they’re exactly the same.

So if you see the film this weekend, great. But if not, that’s okay. You’ll have another chance. Keep checking this blog for updates and I don’t want to get your hopes up but there’s a chance – remote I know – that the INDIANA JONES movie may even still be around in two weeks.

Yes, there is a God.

34 comments :

Anonymous said...

I hear ya' - but I will say that they are NOT the same day after day. Now that everyone is used to watching digital HD broadcasts, the worn and scratched film only a few days after the movie opens is really annoying. It makes you wonder why you are paying such a premium to see the movie a few months earlier but in a lot worse quality.

Annie said...

I detect a smidge of sarcasm, simmered in ennui, wrapped in an enigma, and smothered in secret sauciness.
-AE

Rob said...

Yes, but if you don't catch it in opening weekend some of the emulsion wears off the film and the sound isn't as good.

My parents used to own a video store and I would love the people who had to rent whatever came out THAT week no matter what kind of garbage it was.

Anonymous said...

So, just to be clear here - if the movie MAY POSSIBLY be around, for say, another few days - potentially a week or more.

Then does that make it ok to see it twice? (Just so that I can be sure it didn't change?)

Chad said...

You can't count on entertainment always being there. What if the movie goes on strike?

Anonymous said...

I saw Indiana today, lots of emulsion, the crutnacker. Maybe too much. Nice though that they brought Harrison down from Mount Rushmore for a brief acting excursion.

Anonymous said...

But by Friday, the earliest I can get out to see it, it will be "So Last Week," a problem intensified by the fact that Indiana Jones is already not merely "So 80s," but "So Last Century."

Conversely, I do like seeing a film AFTER all the teenagers have seen it, as being surrounded by noisy kids and their never-idle cell phones is really irritating.

But the really hard part with waiting a week to see a movie like RAIDERS OF TEH LOST AARP is trying to avoid all spoilers and plot points for another few days, and not having the big gags ruined. "Don't talk about the film around me! I haven't seen it yet." People find this annoying, and I don't blame them.

I have this good, long time friend. He, like me, loves LOST. But he will not watch it when broadcast. He hates getting only an hour of it, and then having to wait a week, or worse, a month, or even worse still, until after a strike ends, to see the next hour. So he ONLY watches it on DVD, and he doesn't want to hear ANYTHING about what happens until then. Last season this meant I had to remember to go on calling Ben "Henry" around him for almost a year and a half.

Frankly, I don't see how waiting a year or more for the next season after a cliffhanger is more annoying than waiting a week for the next episode. But he likes to watch two or three episodes at a sitting.

Really annoying. Right now, were I to use the phrase "The Oceanic Six" where he could hear me, he'd shoot me.

Damn! On tV they just said there's no Nazis in the movie. DAMN YOU SPOILERS!

Anonymous said...

Ken, I've also heard that possibly within the next six months you'll be able to watch the movie in your own home. In fact some people may already doing so as we speak, although that would be wrong and unethical. And MY source tells me that when you ARE able to watch the movie at home, it will be EXACTLY the same as it was in the theater. Only smaller.

Anonymous said...

Actually, having watched the movie as a preview, I don't want to watch it again this or next week or within months in my own home. Even the hardcore fans complete with hat and whip were pretty disappointed.

And regarding worn and scratched film, the cinema was all digital, so picture quality was definitely not the problem in this case ;-) It was noticeably better than analog film.

Bitter Animator said...

Mr.L, your status in life is determined by how quickly you see a film like this. I got to the premiere here on the 19th (or was it 20th) and so I am a VIP.

However, if you haven't seen it by now, well, there are a lot of people in this world. We can't all be important.

Truth is, it's not great. Actually, any film I got to see early hasn't been great. I was a latecomer to Iron Man though and really enjoyed that. Perhaps I should wait longer to see movies...

Anonymous said...

I'm sure you said the same thing about Volunteers...

VP81955 said...

Chad said...
You can't count on entertainment always being there. What if the movie goes on strike?


Gee, that could be the plot twist of a "The Purple Rose Of Cairo"-type film where the characters themselves go on strike (why? That's for you to come up with a reason!), throwing the movie industry into turmoil.

Ken, any thoughts on the passing of Dick Martin? The guy made an intriguing shift from the star of a top-rated TV show into a long-running career as a sitcom director (and many good ones, too). I would think you would have crossed paths with him on at least one instance.

Emily RugBurn said...

I'm a huge Indy fan (with perhaps the exception of "ToD", but I will watch it occasionally for nostalgic value). I'll throw on "Raiders" or "Crusade" a couple of times a month (at least). Needless to say, I have a deep appreciation for those films.

Having said all of that: I wish I could look into the Crystal Skull and have it erase any and all memory of ever having seen this flaming pile of crap they call an Indiana Jones movie.

I read some fairly negative reviews, even one that proclaimed "it's the Indy movie we've all been dreading"... My expectations could not have been lower, but I just had to see it on the big screen.

Never in my life have I wanted to unsee a movie so badly.

I really wished someone who loved those movies as much as I do had convinced me not to see it before Friday. So there you have it. Indy fans -- you don't want to see it. You really, really don't.

Mary Stella said...

I had no problem getting in to see Indiana Jones last night. Even with the holiday weekend and only a single screen theater in town, it wasn't crowded. I guess the tourists were all lined up at the Tiki Bars instead.

I had a great time and really enjoyed the movie. I'm so glad it didn't suck.

Mary Stella said...

After reading the comments, looks like I hold the minority opinion. Maybe us'n in the Keys aren't as sophisticated. Everybody else in the theater seemed to enjoy it, too. There was a smattering of applause at the finale -- and I'm certain it wasn't just because the movie was finished.

Alicia said...

Oh funny! I even had to read this to my husband (who so doesn't share our humor) and he laughed.

I think we are going to go see it in *gasp* 2 weeks!

David J. Loehr said...

It turns out movies are not like live performances. Any time you see them they’re exactly the same.

As someone who owns the first three movies on DVD and has watched them many times, I'd have to say that the above statement is what's wrong with the newest one. It's always going to be exactly the same when it could have been so much better.

Saw it last night in a theatre that was a quarter-full (does that make me an optimist?), and while it was nice to see the lights on in Harrison's eyes again, I just wish they had bothered to write a story instead of a video game. An action hero implies taking an active role, but he's passive for nearly the entire movie, going along and watching things happen.

It wasn't so much "fun" as "fun-esque."

Anonymous said...

Really now, when did Harrison Ford ever actually act? Am I the only one who wishes someone else had starred as Indiana Jones from the first to the last?

And the latest Indy? Not good . . .

NotaFan

Anonymous said...

It's also worth noting that the movie will still be awful, no matter how many spoilers you manage to avoid.

Tim W. said...

Ahh, sarcasm. My favourite type f humour.

Anonymous said...

I also have an announcement to make -- the movie is incredibly bad.

Anonymous said...

The film opened wide Thursday. I saw it Friday night at the Arclight Hollywood, possibly the best venue in town. About halfway through, a large scratch appeared down the dead center of the screen.

I don't think the movie is "incredibly bad," but I wouldn't rate it higher than "okay, leaning toward lame." Biggest sin: it's not funny. Maybe 2 or 3 of the intended laugh lines got a chuckle out of me. A minor point, maybe, but it's amazing how much clunky storytelling you can tolerate when you're laughing.

Dr. Leo Marvin said...

What did the nuns have to say about that wise mouth of yours?

serial catowner said...

Well, the thing is, life has lost all meaning since I learned I could watch the movie, but have failed to do so. Kinda the way I felt when I was younger and there was uneaten candy in the house.

Anonymous said...

I think this Indy is good, but Lucas' fingerprints are all over this thing.

Not enough Spielberg wink and nod moments, you know, where the characters actually appear "human." I think Lucas tried hard to channel the performances from the Star Wars prequels into this movie, thereby sucking the life out of it.

But he didn't completely succeed, so it's still pretty darn good.

Anonymous said...

You see, all the bad remarks about the film don't impress me, whether from critics or regular people who've seen it (Especially that "There was nothing new" complaint. OF COURSE NOT!. If it HAD been different, that would be what was wrong with it.) because, inevitably it comes from people who also bad mouth TEMPLE OF DOOM, which is my favorite Indy movie. It's the funniest, the most action-packed, and the only one that doesn't reinforce Judeo-Christianity as True. In fact, by showing a competing religion having mystical powers, when Christianity insists it's the one and only Truth, TEMPLE OF DOOM belies the Judeo-Christian mythos. And TEMPLE had the best opening 20 minutes in film history.

I've heard enough from folks who did like the new one, whatever it's story problems, that I remain optomistic.

And Anonymous, yes, you ARE the only person who wishes someone else had played Indy. Had Tom Selleck been available to take the role when offered to him, there would never have been any sequels. I have long been of the opinion that almost any movie could be improved by adding Harrison Ford to it.

Anonymous said...

Am I the only one who really enjoys the atmosphere at a midnight showing? Especially if you get a group of friends together, throw a little theme party beforehand...

If you've got a good crowd who is into the movie, even a bad movie can be a fun experience.

Anonymous said...

I saw the first Indiana Jones movie and enjoyed the opening five minute sequence very much. The rest was utter tosh.
I've never had the desire to see any of the others.
Harrison Ford is as craggy as a well etched piece of wood and acts almost as well.
I've read that the Russians are furious at being misrepresented in this new sequel and have threatened to beat Ford up if ever he visits Russia. I do so hope he goes.

Anonymous said...

The lines weren't too bad...the special effects, TREMENDOUS!!...The movie, in a word GREAT!!...Harrison Ford looks like he is 35!!

Just f-ing with you....I'll wait for the video and still not rent it.

Rob said...

There were lots of stories in the runup to the movie about how a great script for the movie was rejected by George Lucas (which should have been a warning sign right there).

And if you need another warning sign, how about the Prequel Trilogy for Star Wars.

Cap'n Bob said...

I didn't see it yesterday, but I heard it. I was in the adjoining theater watching Narnia.

Anonymous said...

Really? Great! I was really sad that I missed SPEED RACER last weekend, but if Ken says it'll stay on, I'll go next week.

Alto2 said...

I saw it twice this weekend. There weren't big lines here in SW Florida. Not sure why. It was a good film with lots of pop references to "American Graffiti," 1950s cinema, and the other Indiana Jones films.

Spielberg and Lucas really tied up this package neatly. I'm not sure about casting Shia LeBoeuf as Henry Clay Jones III, though. He's just doesn't have "it" like Harrison Ford does.

Tallulah Morehead said...

"neatly. I'm not sure about casting Shia LeBoeuf as Henry Clay Jones III"

HEY! Label your spoilers before you post them! he's carefully been called "Mutt" to keep that for people to discover when seeing it. I haven't seen it yet, and now I know Mutt is the son of beloved character actor Henry Jones, from the sitcom PHYLISS. Thanks a bunch!