Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

-by Ann Marie

Indiana Jones is back and better than ever. This time Steven Spielberg is joined by Star Wars director George Lucas. This tag team created a Indiana film that stuck with the same layout of the originals, but with a Lucas twist.

The movie starts with of course Henry "Indiana" Jones (Harrison Ford) and his companion "Mac" George McHale (Ray Winstone) captured by a Soviet army. Early in the movie we meet Indiana's enemy for the rest of the movie, Irina Spalko (Kate Blanchett). This movie has all the bangs just as the first Indiana movies. We see Indiana has survived a nuclear bomb, captured by the FBI and is dragged into another adventure by some greaser, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf). The movie kicks into gear as Indiana meets up with his long lost love, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen). Soon, the audience is pulled into the movie and can't wait to see what happens next to our beloved hero, Indiana.

Spielberg hired the dream team for the cast. The majority of the cast had already acted in pervious Indiana movies, but they helped bring the new actors up to speed. Overall this cast was perfect for the film.

Spielberg once again proved he can make an Indiana film that is action packed. He made the first three and now having made the fourth one, brought Lucas on board. By bring Lucas on board, the movie went in a different direction. Spielberg also kept the 50's coloration on the movie by adding a filter. This helped to match the first three movies. He also snuck in items from the first three movies which helped to tie together the fourth.

If you are a huge Indiana Jones fan, this movie is one to see.

Iron Man

-by Ann Marie

Marvel character Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) a character people have come to love hits the big screen this weekend. Director Jon Favreau had his work cut out for him in trying to capture the essence of “Iron Man”.

The movie’s plot line is one that will have comic buffs smiling from ear to ear. The movie begins with Stark in an armored vehicle with three soldiers. All of a sudden a huge explosion occurs and the audience finds the movie cuts back. The movie then plays forward leading up to Stark being captured by a terrorist group, who wants Stark to build his latest weapon. From here the audience watches as Stark escapes with an Iron suit. The essence of Iron Man becomes a reality.

Robert Downey Jr. has the attitude and sarcasm of Tony Stark. His witty, but yet serious acting makes the comic book character come to life. Gwyneth Paltrow’s chemistry with Downey was impeccable as she played Stark’s assistant Virginia “Pepper” Potts. Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane seems like a kind older mentor with a twisted evil mind. The cast overall did a remarkable job.

The movie’s action packed scenes brought the story to life. Being in Tony Stark’s house made typical high tech houses look dated, especially the scene where Stark reconstructing his suit. The action scenes were high paced and flawless. The movie has improved quality in both its editing and CGI format.

“Iron Man” is Favreau’s forth movie he has directed and is unlike his slap stick comedy “Elf”. However, Favreau doesn’t just direct, but he also has produced, written and acted in many movies and TV sitcoms.

Overall the movie is one that Marvel will be proud of, because the plot follows the comic book. I would recommend this movie for everyone, even if you haven’t read any of the Iron Man Marvel comic books.

21

-by Ann Marie

Blackjack is a game of luck and chance, but not for six MIT students. Robert Leketic’s “21” is based off a true story about six MIT students who worked the blackjack tables by counting cards.

The film begins with Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) applying for Harvard Medical School’s scholarship. The professor tells Campbell that they are looking for someone who jumps off the page. This is where the movie takes its first turn. Campbell’s math professor, Professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey), trains Campbell and five other students the art of card counting. These students not only take the casinos for millions, but learn valuable lessons about their fearless leader.

The cast for this film was flawless. The top actors Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne brought the new actors and actresses to ease. Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira and Jacob Pitts all worked well together.

Leketic used intense film angles. When Campbell was given the signal by Kianna (Liza Lapira), he joined the table. Kianna said the key word, the camera then quickly cut to flash cards with the positive number on the flipside. Leketic also used extreme close ups in slow motion on the cards as they were being dealt. He also used Campbell’s voiceover to help the audience understand how the process works.

“21” compared to other films Leketic done is more complex. He produced other films such as “Monster-In-Law” and “Legally Blonde”. Though these movies were dealing with subjects such as college life and marriage into another family, they don’t compare to “21”. This film keeps the audience guessing even when you think you have Leketic all figured out. The ending will surprise anyone and I highly recommend this film.