‘Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ – same hero, new fun

Note: may contain spoilers

First of all: I was pleasantly surprised at how this fourth Indiana Jones movie provided both new fun and plenty of in-jokes for everyone who enjoyed the original trilogy. I admit to being a bit sceptical of the chances this one would work well, after such a long gap since Last Crusade, the possible toll of Ford’s own off-screen antics (so it was great to see he had managed to regain form but also look noticeably older) and the sheer lottery of casting new supporting actors. Add a projector problem at the cinema, giving a weird fun-house mirror distorting effect during the opening title sequence, and it’s a lot to ask of an audience. And before I say anything else about it: welcome back, Karen Allen!

Same hero, new fun: Indy has the same wisecracking style in ‘The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ as in the original trilogy -but now also with some wry observations about getting older, the familiar misfit look in class, the hat with a homing instinct that would make a pigeon jealous and his age-old knack for getting into serious trouble. New fun: the mid-1950s era and settings provide a whole new set of challenges, a different world from the one he started adventuring in, new villains and a particular early scene provides some curious ‘updates’ on what the archaeologist got up to after those Grail-quest meetings with Nazis. There’s also a mystery in the form of a young man, “Mutt”, played well and with great energy by Shia LaBeouf, who is looking for Indy to get help to find another eccentric famous archaeologist lost in the wilds of Peru. Once the story was well under way I thought La Beouf really earned his place on screen. British tough guy actor Ray (‘Sexy Beast’, ‘Last Orders’) Winstone also shows up, as a very dodgy character who turns out to be a former close Indy from their WW2 spy mission days. Cate Blanchett is the No.1 Evil Bitch -and it’s clear she loves the role. And of course there’s Karen Allen, who really is a great match for Ford and does her own share of scene-stealing.

The dangers include: massive swarms of killer ants in the Amazon region, a nuclear test blast, giant waterfalls, the former colleague, murderous tribes…and the crystal skull itself.

There are plenty of continuity jokes throughout the story, including a very brief peek at a certain artefact, and the more of the original series you know, the more you get out of this new adventure. Add a little bit of general knowledge of Twentieth Century history and you can get another lot of jokes from the Cold War references. Overall, the director/producer/writer team’s attention to detail is impressive in that respect. I won’t go into the historical issues re: type of pyramid etc. The chase scenes in the campus library are absolutely classic, especially for anyone, myself included, who was ever a ‘library nerd’.

Let the characters try keeping up with Jones -just grab a movie seat and enjoy the action.

Socceroos won in Brisbane!

Great news for the Socceroos! 1-0 in Brisbane!

After all the political and logistical difficulties about the Australia vs Iraq game, it was a relief to find that it could be played at all. In that respect, it was a win for both teams, whatever the final score.

Even though I only saw a tiny bit of play in a weekend sport show then on the nightly news, it was so good to see the Socceroos team finally getting even semi-regular real experience, a special day for Harry K. of course -and top marks for that header! It’s so helpful for the team to actually be getting this real match experience, at any time, but especially in the lead-up to the 2010 Cup in South Africa. A mere five years ago such game experience was dreamt of and the need was often talked and written about at length, but getting good international teams here was so hard and often not manageable.

Play on!

Winter starts today

Winter starts today.

A new season to adjust to in Canberra: Winter. The last of the Autumn leaves are falling; many food and drink choices are changing in supermarkets and restaurants; indoor activities are becoming even more popular than in the last weeks of Autumn; heavier and warmer coats are needed for even short trips outdoors.

This evening felt like the right time to make baked pumpkin, and I decided to try one of the classic methods on cooking shows: cut up the pumpkin into chunks and put in open baking dish, drizzle a generous amount of olive oil over chunks and toss to coat evenly, add several sprigs of rosemary and cook uncovered in a hot (and pre-heated) oven -say 220 degrees celsius, for about 30 minutes. Very more-ish, and went well with spinach and pinenut sausages. I found the pumpkin at a growers’ market this morning and the sausages at a deli counter in a shopping mall earlier in the same weekend.