STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

When Star Wars: A New Hope premiered, it brought a sense of adventure, fun, and amazing special effects to the world of science fiction.  Several decades (and franchise movies of varying quality) later, a new writer-director (J.J. Abrams) brings back that original sense of wonder -- and several plot and thematic elements from the original movies -- with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

After the events of Return of the Jedi, the galaxy has once again fallen into chaos and danger.  A military force called the First Order has risen to take the place of the Empire, and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is a Sith out to find the vanished Luke Skywalker.  A group called the Resistance has come about to oppose the First Order, and Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) has information on Skywalker's location, which he hides in the round droid BB-8.  But on the desert planet Jakka Dameron is captured and BB-8 is sent off into the desert.

Stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega) has a change of heart after seeing Kylo Ren massacre a town, so he helps Poe escape in the hopes of them getting far away from the First Order -- only to crash on the planet Jakka.  Meanwhile, scavenger and pilot Rey (Daisy Ridley) has found BB-8 and decides to help the little droid -- and then runs into Finn, who pretends to be part of the Resistance.  The trio wind up escaping in the Millennium Falcon -- which leads them running into Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew).

We then have Finn as the reluctant hero, Rey discovering her connection to the Force, battles between the First Order and the Resistance, an evil weapon capable of destroying planets, issues between parents and their son, cameos from several characters (and ships) from the first movies, and of course Lightsaber battles.

The Force Awakens recaptures what make us love the Star Wars movies in the first place.  Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley are talented young blood to the movies, proving enjoyable heroes who will have a large part in this trilogy.  There are plenty of references to and items from the earlier movies, but they don't feel forced or out of place.  The action is exciting, there are several surprises along the way, and J.J. Abrams more than makes up for the flaws of the prequels.  The Force Awakens is an absolutely terrific adventure in space; and I look forward to the next two movies.

Overall grade: A
Reviewed by James Lynch

Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

I've been hearing about the new Indiana Jones movie for months now, and it was one of the most anticipated films of the summer. First "Armchair Intern" Ian gives it our highest (and very coveted) A+ rating, without much explanation with his "preview review." On the other hand, Armchair Senior Reviewer Jim is less than enthralled and low balls it with a C-. In the meantime, our resident musical expert Scott tells me that he'd give it a solid B (and that wasn't just for the score).

Hmm. What are we to do? As Armchair Founder and Webmaster, clearly I need to settle this, and come up with a bottom line. So, I got off my DVD watching butt, paused my DVR and took my annual trek to the theater. Jim's review has already done a good job of summarizing the plot, so I'm gonna skip over that. Also, by way of background, I did want to say that I've seen all the previous Indiana Jones films, and would probably give Raiders an A-, and the other two a B+.

Without further delay, I will say that I enjoyed Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. However, after a decade hiatus, still with the input of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford, I think it did miss the mark.

Clearly, Spielberg was going for the feel of the serial movie (like he did in the Back to the Future films that I liked very much) that he grew up with on weekends as a child. However, the other films in the series really didn't follow the formula, so it makes Crystal Skull feel like a departure, and "less Indy," at least to me. In addition, the introduction of space aliens to finish the plot, that incidentally look a lot like ET, also didn't have the right feel of Indiana Jones, where the previous films were more classical archeology based.

There were also many plot holes that simply didn't fit. Indiana surviving a nuclear blast in a refrigerator (lead lined or not) was simply implausible, and also dangerous to show children as they could try that at home with disastrous consequences. Swinging on vines to catch up with cars? Again, not gonna happen. Swashbuckling with swords when there is a machine gun mounted on the vehicle, again silly. Ants that devour everything in their path, while well animated, just isn't reality either. Handing bullets and gunpowder to a prisoner also is simply ridiculous. Let's also not forget the barrage of gunfire that Indy gets aimed at him in the warehouse, that magically never hits him, or even grazes by him.

There were at least a few parts of this film that did pay homage to the original films. While somewhat silly, it did make sense for Indy to be less than grateful when his son tries to save him with the snake from the quicksand. I also liked the more subtle cameo by the Ark of the Covenant seen in the warehouse after being side swiped by car during the chase. Finally, they do point out the Harrison Ford is "getting too old for this," as his aching bones endure too much action.

In summary, the Crystal Skull is the least favorite of the Indy films. While devout fans (you know, the ones who own the whip, and wear their fedora to the theater) may be happy to have this franchise back, it feels too much like an afterthought to the originals. While some really well done special effects, a recycled John Williams score and Ford's natural acting ability save this film from a complete disaster, I can only recommend it to others who don't expect a masterful plot, and only barely.

Overall Grade: B-

Reviewed by Jonas

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL

Of all the summer movies approaching this year, I am confident that none will be as spectacularly mediocre as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. This movie, released almost two decades after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, is neither as bad as it could have been nor as good as it should have been.

Harrison Ford is back as Indiana Jones, the rock-'em sock-'em archaeologist who spends as much time beating up bad guys as deciphering ancient clues. Ford is an action hero in his 60s -- and the movie wisely acknowledges this -- but he still has an adventurous spirit and handles both action and humor with ease.

Unfortunately, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull falls almost immediately into a repetitive pattern: Jones gets kidnapped, fights, escapes, explores some clues, travels somewhere, gets kidnapped again, fights again, etc. This time -- 1957, to be precise -- the evil, generic, we're-fine-if-they-get-killed Nazis have been replaced by the evil, generic, we're-fine-if-they-get-killed Russians. The Russian leader is femme fatale Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), wielding a sword, sporting a Louise Brooks hairdo, and posssibly possessing psychic powers. She is in pursuit of a crystal skull which, when brought back to its place of origin, is rumored to bestow great powers. (In the meantime it frightens natives, drives some people insane, and causes ants to move away a short distance. Seriously.)

Of course, no Indiana Jones movie would be complete without sidekicks. There's Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf), a 1950s punk (meaning he wears a leather jacket, combs his hair a lot, and rides a motorcycle) who wants to find the skull because the Russians kidnapped his mom so Mutt would find Indiana for help. Mom turns out to be Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen, from Raiders of the Lost Ark), who's spunky and provides sexual tension with Indiana. There's also Professor "Ox" Oxley (John Hurt), whose mind was both messed up and given knowledge by staring at the crystal skull too long. And there's British adventurer "Mac" McHale (Ray Winstone), who changes sides so often I lost interest in whether he was friend or foe.

For a movie directed be Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, Indiana Jones and the Kindgom of the Crystal Skull has surprisingly little magic to it. I didn't mind them substituting science fiction for magic, but the attempt to recreate the old-style movie serials feels less adventurous than seeing Ford jump into a bunch of generic soldiers again and again and beat them all up. Little of the swashbuckling is exciting, and quite a few action scenes are just silly (notably the swordfight while straddling two speeding jeeps, and swinging with the monkeys). This movie wasn't terrible, but it isn't memorable either.

Overall Grade: C-

Reviewed by James Lynch

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Paramount/Lucasfilm Ltd., 2008)

One of the silver screen's biggest action movie icon returns as Harrison Ford reprises his legendary role in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Directed by Steven Spielberg, this movie marks the first appearance of Indiana Jones on film in 19 years. Now it's 1957, at the height of the Cold War, when Professor Jones meets up with Mutt Willams (Shia LaBeouf), a rebellious young man who has a proposition for the Dr. Jones: help him find the coveted and feared Crystal Skull of Akator. Their quest leads them to the remote corners of Peru, where they come upon a cadre of Soviet agents, led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), who is also scouring the globe for the precious skull. But along the way they save Marion Ravenwood Karen Allen). And only Indy, Mutt, and Marion can stop this powerful artifact from falling into the hands of those who plan to use it to dominate the world. But it's a great movie, so go and see it. For more info go to www.indianajones.com.

Overall Grade: A+

reviewed by Ian Mylott

Witness (1985)

This week's 80's film is Witness. It stars Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis and Danny Glover in this dramatic film.

Harrison Ford is John Book, a Philadelphia police detective. He gets involved investigating a murder at a train station of a fellow police officer that was undercover. There is one witness to the crime, Samuel, a young Amish boy, who is like a fish out of water in the big city. He was traveling with his mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis) to visit a family member in Baltimore. As John looks into the murder, and delves deeper, it becomes clear that the crime is bigger than originally suspected, and now his, Samuel's and Rachel's live are all in danger. Faster than we can say "plain people of Lancaster County," the trio is off to the Amish Experience make themselves scarce and stay among Rachel's kind. Along the way, we get a firsthand look into Amish life, and even a barn raising (after all Harrison Ford had worked as a carpenter before he hit stardom so it wasn't much of a stretch). It all ends in a climax that has John Book taking out the baddies singlehandedly, and the Amish folks doing their best to stay out of the way.

I think this may be the third time I'm seeing Witness. It's one of those classic films that everyone should see at least once, and stands up to repeated viewing. I remain a Harrison Ford fan, and while his Han Solo and Indiana Jones roles get all the attention, this film shows his flexibility, and what he can do with a more serious role. In fact, I think this may be one of his best performances, but he has had so many, it would be hard to narrow it down to one best. On top of that, in Witness the care taken to show the Amish in a realistic fashion was well done.

Witness is a very strong film. If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth seeking out, and if you've seen it before it's a treat to watch it again.

Overall Grade: A

Reviewed by Jonas

Firewall

I always enjoy a Harrison Ford movie, and I really was looking forward to Firewall. The premise is that Ford is the computer security expert of a major bank in Seattle. He has helped create a very protective computer to safeguard the customers money. In an unsettling move, his family is taken hostage in their own home. Ford is then given an unthinkable choice: to help steal $100 million bucks, or his family will be killed.

The scenes with the family held hostage are unsettling. There is no way to escape as the criminals are one step ahead, and use cameras to watch their every move. Ford has his back up against a wall, and makes the choices that a loving father would be expected to. The crooks are quite creepy, and exploit their knowledge of the family at any opportunity, sometimes to just be sadistic and exert control.

The heist is a little weak in my mind. Ford ends up home brewing some cobbled together hardware to break into his own system. As some of you know, I have some expertise in this area, and his solution, at least in my mind, wouldn’t likely work. Maybe I’m just disappointed that I wasn’t hired as a consultant, but digitizing a scrolling computer screen, and trying to do optical character recognition seems like quite the longshot to me.

Firewall becomes a tale of the invasion of personal identity. It is rather disturbing to see how the criminals can invade every aspect of Ford and his family’s life. In typical hero fashion, Ford bides his time until he can turn the tables to his advantage.

Overall, I enjoyed Firewall, computer glitches notwithstanding. I just had the nagging feeling that there was very little new here, and the whole plot has been done plenty of times before.

Overall Grade: B

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