Juliann Guiffre
Co-News Editor
Two common occurrences occur among movie goers worldwide?a film is highly anticipated and almost a sure box office win?and it falls flat, or a film comes out that not many have heard of that turns out to be a surprise hit.
I wrote an article about a year ago previewing the upcoming fourth film in the Indiana Jones series, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It seemed to have all the necessary ingredients to continue in the masterful tradition of the first three?the “dream team” of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford, up and coming teen star Shia LaBeouf, the always excellent Cate Blanchett as the villain, and the return of Indy’s first and favorite love interest?what could go wrong?
Ok, we know that it”s sometime during the Cold War 1950s, and that Indy has been captured by Blanchett’s power hungry Soviet soldier, Irina Spalko. Along for the ride is his new sidekick, aptly named Mutt, who is attempting awfully hard to capture some of Indy’s swagger and spirit.
What we don’t know comes in hordes. What has Indy been doing since the The Last Crusade? Where does this skull come from that everyone seems to covet so much? Ah, of course, we’re supposed to accept the muddiness of the waters here as one characters spots of philosophies about “the space between the spaces.”
So I’m not pegged as a total downer, I’ll give the film credit for the following: the family interaction scenes between Indy, Marion and Mutt work quite well with their witty dialogue and familiar spark; Ford and Karen Allen still have it, and the film carries a nostalgic feel (up until the end that is) that I’m sure some fans of the first three will appreciate.
The rest of the movie stumbles when the sci-fi elements get lost in the mix and by the final scene we’re not exactly sure just what has happened.
My grade: C-
I walked into the theater to see Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist expecting to watch the stereotypical teen comedy that has become a staple of our generation. Boy meets girl, they argue and bicker, and then eventually win each other over by solving a conflict.
These elements were most certainly here, but presented in a way to dispatch the word “stereotype” swiftly from the viewer’s mind. This is not the first time Michael Cera has played the lovable dork, and here he is as a formidable companion in Kat Dennings?but not in the traditional sense of the word.
In every romantic comedy you expect to see the two display some sort of antagonism towards each other before they come to the realization that?by magic!?that ill-disguised hate was actually love. In this film, something amazing happens?reality.
Norah is, surprisingly, quite attracted to Nick, but like many other teens, is shy and unsure that he returns her feelings. She doesn’t spurn his advances or vice versa, they merely partake in a regular, but hilarious, courtship that is almost non-existent these days.
Nick and Norah also has some unexpected and quite disgusting gags reminiscent of a slap-stick comedy. One includes a toilet, vomit, and a piece of gum that about four people end up chewing?I won’t get into the details.
Let’s just say these moments of pure comedy add to the teen romance rather than detract from it.
Particularly hilarious is not-well-known Ari Graynor as Caroline, the friend who’s had about ten too many drinks. The “drunk person” clich? could have come into play here, but Graynor manages to sidestep that by being fearless of the condition.
My grade: B+
The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is now available on DVD and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is in theaters.