yo man
I saw Indiana Jones today. I felt mostly good about it, but it just doesn't have the energy of the first 3. I don't like the message that he's old, tired, and sad. And lastly they rely too heavily on CGI. Practical effects have a higher payoff when done right. It's not the best of the franchise, but it has familiarity to it. I just wish this series had come with more frequency instead of waiting 19 years and other 15 years between sequels. There's talk of feminizing Indy in the future. I say if the torch should be passed, it should go to Short Round (Ke Huy Quan).
Now, keep this in mind I don't go to the movie theaters anymore. I hate the high prices and the incessant TV commercials that play before the film. You can't go to the movies to relax anymore. You really can't go anywhere to relax anymore, there's always 35 TVs or loud music playing everywhere indoors and outdoors. Even the public library is rowdy. I was trying to think the last time I went to a movie theater. I think I went to two Star Wars shows in 2015 and 2016, and that was a discount last run place. I went to see They Shall Not Grow Old at Christmas 2018. I think that was the last time I set foot in any movie house of any kind before today. Today I went mid-afternoon thinking I could get a cheaper matinee price with military discount. Wrong on both counts. Then I sat through about 45 minutes of TV commercials. Then the previews went on forever. I wanted to be like Monty Python and yell "GET ON WITH IT!" Movie theaters like to irritate the shit out of you before the movie starts. And the auditorium was mostly empty, but it was a mid-afternoon show. So I didn't get to experience any audience feedback reactions.
What I should have done, and will probably tomorrow, is go to a small town historic theater where I'm sure it'll be packed on a Saturday night and hopefully there won't be all the stupid TV commercials preceding the film. And if the audience is big enough maybe there'll be better reactions. And hopefully it's not swamped with teenagers and their laser pointers. That's another reason I haven't been going, besides annoying ads, high prices, smelly audiences, and bad shows, is a theater full of noisy teens with laser pointers.
This will probably be the last time we'll see Harrison Ford as Indy on the big screen. This was my only chance ever in history to go on an opening day. For Indiana Jones IV, I was stuck in Afghanistan that summer. And the following summer. As soon as that DVD was available I had one sent to me. I don't know why so many people hated it, maybe they would have rather been in Afghanistan? So, that's why I went today. I went in almost completely blind to anything. I think a couple months ago I saw the CGI face of a young(er) Harrison Ford. They gave him the Princess Leia treatment. I had forgotten about it until it was on screen.
I think the film had a graphic novel or mass market paperback story feel to it. But it's better than a lot of other crap coming out these days. This might be my last time going to the movies, the experience is just not fun anymore. See, I can be old, tired, and sad, too, just like Indy.
R.I.P. Currents. We hardly knew you. Must've died at the beach. I'm in a restaurant watching The Weather Channel. The sound isn't on, but that's about what I can make out.
