Theo Cinema: ATLANTIS - THE LOST EMPIRE (WOEFULLY Bad)

[AndyDursin]

INDIANA JONES & THE TEMPLE OF DOOM

We hid his eyes from Mola Ram's Valentine sequence but Theo otherwise was into this one, as I'd fully expect him to be. I also enjoyed the new 4K UHD transfer, which looks spectacular.

Movie is a lot of fun but every repeat viewing tends to bring out the flaws more -- the simplistic chase nature of the entire film, the lack of human drama, and the shrill 'bombast' of it IS grating after a while (there are times it actually reminds me of 1941!). The mid section in the Temple is too dark and goes on far too long also. While I certainly like this movie a lot, I can understand why the reviews were as mixed as they were when the film opened.

On the plus side, the last 20 minutes are great. Slocombe's cinematography and score, especially, are just so phenomenal. I love this score and think it's Williams' best of the entire series, or at least right up with the first film, for its majestic themes and how it carries the movie. The last scene is marvelous also -- the kids being released, the elephant, Short Round hiding his eyes as Indy and Willie embrace -- that is really Spielberg at his best. (Shame still all the music from the movie's actual end credits aren't on ANY CD!).

The movie doesn't have the emotional content of 1 or 3, but it's still superior amusement-park thrills for what it is.

[Monterey Jack]

Temple Of Doom represents the most exciting action filmmaking of Spielberg's career. Raiders is the best Indy film overall, of course, but Doom, as one critic put it, is "Total geek crack". It's thrilling, relentlessly inventive, has the best cinematography of ANY Spielberg movie (it's like a 1950s EC horror comic come to life), Williams' best score for the series (the way that "March Of The Slave Children" kicks in right after Indy growls, "Right, all of us...!" is the best "pump your fist and cheer" audience moment in the series), and represents the last moment in the franchise that Spielberg and Lucas truly wanted to thrill and shock and stimulate the audience. Last Crusade (the first Indy film made after Spielberg had become a father) just feels logy and unenthused to me, technically fine but lacking in passion. Yes, the chemistry between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery is warm and humorous (even if I rankle at how much of a bungler the movie makes Indy out to be ), but what the film did to the characters of Sallah (transformed from a suave, capable friend into a mugging "wacky Arab" sidekick) and Marcus Brody (turned from Indy's surrogate father figure who claims to be only a few years too old to go after the Ark himself into a doddering, senile punchline) is downright criminal. I still enjoy the movie a lot, but it's a "B+" at best, compared to the "A+" of Raiders and "A" of Doom. It's obviously a lot better than Crystal Skull, still having most of the 80s core "team" intact, but it's a significant step down from the maniacal excitement generated by the first two. It's no embarassment like the third Die Hard compared to its pair of predecessors, but I think it's a tad overrated who prefer it to Doom because it's "funnier!", takes place aboveground and has Connery.

To put it more bluntly...it's was my mother's favorite of the three, because it was "So goofy...!"

[AndyDursin]

I'd just switch Temple of Doom & Last Crusade around on your grading scale, they are reversed for me.

I think it's a tad overrated who prefer it to Doom because it's "funnier!", takes place aboveground and has Connery.

It's not just because it "has Connery"-- it's what his presence and character means to the film. I just prefer Last Crusade because it has a human center there. There is no human center in Temple of Doom. Look I like Temple a lot, but it's like most modern studio films -- it's 2 hours of thrills at the expense of human engagement.

Back when Temple of Doom opened, some critics HATED it, and I can see that. It doesn't have any dramatic heft to it, it doesn't have the romance of RAIDERS or any kind of sophistication to its overall tone. It's a theme park attraction that skews to a younger crowd -- the script is much sillier, comic booky and juvenile -- even though ironically it's so violent, the mid section of it is definitely misjudged in terms of the darkness. Spielberg had to apologize for that to parents and he was right, the movie has a good 5-10 minutes that should've been lightened up or reworked.

The irony is that he made a movie that was both more "for kids," but also more unsuited to them at the same time! I love the movie's energy also but it's a serious shortcoming that has to be taken into account. That and the screenplay is not on the level of the first film. A couple of lines about a slightly younger Indy "wanting fortune and glory" really don't compensate for a lack of dramatic development compared to its predecessor.

Last Crusade isn't just more upbeat, it provides Ford with more to do, it gives Connery a chance to shine, and their interplay is something Temple of Doom does not offer at all from a character perspective. The movie is about something, while Temple of Doom has no real aspiration other than sending you into one "house of horrors" room after another. Which isn't a bad thing if that's all you need -- but it's a different, lowered bar type of viewing experience, and pretty much what every Marvel movie and Disney product today tries to give you.

I thought the humor mostly worked in Last Crusade -- Elliott's character is barely even in the first movie, he just has a couple of scenes so for me that was never any kind of problem that they turned him into the comic relief while also giving him more to do. No, the movie doesn't have the energy of Raiders and Jeffrey Boam certainly isn't Lawrence Kasdan, but he's also not Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz either, and the Ford-Connery material is pretty close to magnificent. That is a very significant component that TEMPLE OF DOOM is definitely missing.

[Edmund Kattak]

Wow. that was a big step for mankind, Andy, showing Theo ToD for the first time. I remember at 17 years and seeing it in the theater being a little squeamish with the Chilled Monkey Brains, Bugs, and Mola Ram "Valentine"

[AndyDursin]

Haha, indeed it was Ed! He seems to enjoy gallows humor and gore -- I definitely was not the "boy's boy" he is at age 7. I'm not sure how scared he even was...I remember being freaked out in 4th grade when I saw it!

[Paul MacLean]

As I've mentioned before, I find Temple of Doom a mixed bag. I remember when it first opened, and how a lot of people felt it was a letdown. Some even thought Romancing the Stone was actually a better "sequel" to Raiders than Temple of Doom itself, as Bob Zemeckis' movie better captured the spirit of what they loved about Raiders.

For me personally, Temple of Doom is much too silly and preposterous at times (like the characters surviving the fall from an aircraft in an inflatable raft). Still, taken on its own it is entertaining and its virtues outweigh its flaws. But count me among those who much-prefer Last Crusade.

It's thrilling, relentlessly inventive, has the best cinematography of ANY Spielberg movie (it's like a 1950s EC horror comic come to life)...

I've always been a huge fan of Douglas Slocombe (not only the Indy pictures but for things like The Lion in Winter, and Never Say Never Again as well). Without a doubt ToD is one of the best-photographed of all Spielberg's movies, though I find the first three Jones films equally well-shot. Those, along with Close Encounters and Always, are to me the best-photographed of all Spielberg's movies.

I love this score and think it's Williams' best of the entire series, or at least right up with the first film, for its majestic themes and how it carries the movie.

For a long time I actually considered ToD a lesser John Williams score, because I didn't care for the original album. I saw the film in the theatre but did not remember much about the music -- so the 1984 LP formed my primary impression of the score.

I don't think "Children in Chains", "The Bug Tunnel", "Slalom on Mt. Humol" and "The Mine Car Chase" are among the score's better moments -- I find them much-too frenetic and unmelodic for satisfying "standalone" music. They are not "bad film music" (they work great in the movie); I just don't think they are very listenable -- and they made-up a significant portion of the LP.

It was only after hearing the expanded CD that I came to appreciate how great a score this is. I don't know why John Williams made the choices he did for the 1984 album, but in lieu if the above, he should have included "The Scroll / To Pankot Palace", "Approaching the Stones", "Broken Bridge / British Relief" instead -- as those are among his best work (and equal to the finest moments in Raiders).

[AndyDursin]

INDIANA JONES & THE LAST CRUSADE

Another sumptuous 4K Dolby Vision view, this went down every bit as I hoped it would -- it's a much less frenetic, much more satisfying sequel than ToD and I enjoyed every bit of it on UHD. Theo really enjoyed this one -- I think more than ToD also -- though he got very freaked out by Julian Glover's death and was irate I didn't warn him about it afterwards lol (I actually had forgotten HOW "freaky" it gets for a few seconds!).

In addition to the great opening and all the fun Ford/Connery interplay, Allison Doody is actually pretty good in this film, and gives an underrated performance in a difficult role. Meanwhile Ford seems to be much more engaged, and why wouldn't he be, since this movie actually has some humanity to it beyond the amusement park ride of the previous picture. Williams' score is underrated as well.

As I've long said, going off into the sunset at the end should've been the end for the series altogether. Sadly life doesn't work the way you want it to -- but for me, this is how the series REALLY concludes.

[Paul MacLean]

Theo really enjoyed this one -- I think more than ToD also -- though he got very freaked out by Julian Glover's death and was irate I didn't warn him about it afterwards lol.

Andy, you chose...poorly.

[AndyDursin]

one of the great lines ever.

[Monterey Jack]

one of the great lines ever.

Great ad, aside from the cheesy MIDI arrangement of the Raiders March (they could afford all of those elaborate F/X, and couldn't license the actual performance? ).

[AndyDursin]

That's great! I had totally forgotten about that ad.

Must've been the dreaded re-use fee that lead to the MIDI rescore. Especially back in that day and age when Temple & Last Crusade were recorded in L.A.

[Monterey Jack]

That's great! I had totally forgotten about that ad.

I remember it at the beginning of the Last Crusade VHS tape, which -- along with Tim Burton's Batman -- was one of the first tapes for a summer blockbuster that was "priced to own" at $19.99 right off the bat (uh, pun intended? ). Still many good memories of that, as December of '89 was when we finally found a VCR underneath the Christmas tree (which made our family late to the game as far as the 80s home entertainment boom went). We got the Batman VHS at the same time, and the first movie we ever rented was Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

[AndyDursin]

"Daddy Camp Week" (no day camps this week) included:

INCREDIBLE HULK "The Beast Within" (Season 1, episode 4) - He seemed a little young last year for this, but 1st grade seems to have whipped him into shape for the classic Bill Bixby-Lou Ferrigno series. This episode is an agreeable, solid one with David taking a zoo gig in order to get closer to scientist Caroline McWilliams in the hopes of controlling the rage inside. A goofy gorilla in a suit who takes on the Hulk is the highlight. On the serious side, Bill Bixby is just SO good in this show -- much like Christopher Reeve's Clark Kent, he exudes humanity and kindness, giving the super-hero genre some gravitas which it severely lacked back in the 1970s (also makes it identifiable for kids too).

BATMAN - "False Face" and Part 1 of a 1st season Catwoman episode (Lee Meriwether era I believe) -- enjoyed it so much he wanted more (I told him we were ending on the "same bat time...same bat channel" cliffhanger of the latter!).

EARTH VERSUS THE FLYING SAUCERS - I initially felt hesitant about showing him this one, but frankly, he enjoyed it more than I thought he would, especially the ending. There IS a lot of talk in this, and I did have to fast forward through about 10 minutes nearly halfway through, but he seemed to enjoy it. I'll do "Day the Earth Stood Still" next time!

Also, don't throw pitchforks at me, but I did choose the Colorized version on the Blu-Ray because I thought he'd enjoy it more (occasionally he complains about 'the black and white'!). Honestly they did a nice job with this -- I think Legend Films produced the restoration and it has a pleasing old-school, almost sepia-tone appearance that I think Harryhausen approved of (seeing as the colorized versions of this and those other early B&W films of his are available on the Sony and Arrow Blu-Ray releases of these pictures).

[AndyDursin]

GALAXY QUEST

Even if Theo's never seen Star Trek there are enough laughs in this for kids to make it worthwhile family viewing. We spread it over a couple of nights and he gave it a big thumbs up.

I still like this movie a lot, even if it seems to be a case where the screenplay and performances outweigh the direction (which is just kind of bland and functional) and David Newman's overbearing score, which is too "cartoony" and steps on moments that would've been funnier had the score been played straight, like a typical episode score from the old series.

[AndyDursin]

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Sat down to watch this with Theo -- who laughed a couple of times but on balance didn't really seem engaged by it -- and Joanne, who like me, is not a particular fan. I tried not to color their judgment beforehand so I didn't tell them I find this movie overpraised, so I let them come to their ultimate conclusion -- that they never want to watch it again -- on their own. (Sorry Monterey Jack!)

Not much to say -- I've felt the exact same about this movie from the first time I watched it back in college in '93 in theaters. I was disappointed then, I found it a cold fish on laserdisc the following year, and it does little for me now. I like looking at it, but the story is not engaging, the characters aren't appealing (way too much of the mad scientist in the wheelchair and the Mayor), and Elfman's music beyond two songs is forgettable, repetitive and eventually exhausting. And my reaction to "Sally's Song" is always the same -- I want to throw something when Catherine O'Hara starts "singing" like a dying cat bellowing for the final time, not to mention stops the already-tedious movie dead just when you want it to end.

I admire the stop-motion craftsmanship and character articulation, but for me, that's all this movie is: a technical achievement that's attained a certifiable cult status amongst its rabid fanbase, but nothing close to a great movie.