Shane Life

Roger Ebert’s quote on the movie says it best:

I can say that if you liked the other Indiana Jones movies, you will like this one, and that if you did not, there is no talking to you. 

We got the opportunity to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last night. The theater was pretty full, even on Monday night at 7:40, which helps explain the $311 million that it made worldwide.

It was fantastic.

Ebert is right. If you liked the early movies, you’ll enjoy this one. Spielberg, Lucas and Ford take us on a ride so enjoyable that you remember why you started going to movies in the first place.

And despite its long title, I couldn’t think of another alternative that wouldn’t spoil the story.

Speaking of the story…sure, it wasn’t terrific, but the characters carry the story along so well that it doesn’t matter. What they do is take a story that we’ve heard before (and recently, in another movie, sort of) and gives it a different take in a way that makes sense to the Indiana Jones universe of movies.

Still, Indiana Jones is a character that holds up amazingly well. The nods to earlier movies were lighter than I expected, but Spielberg even dropped in a Star Wars reference as Indiana Jones mentioned, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this…” which was one of Han Solo’s favorite phrases.

Overall, it was a really fun movie and definitely worth seeing in the theater. It reminds us that action movies don’t necessarily need to be about all the special effects. They can focus on good characters and good dialogue and excellent stunt work and still be a great trip to the theater.

There’s a point in every young boy’s life that he realizes that he’s no longer a boy. He’s not really a man yet, but you begin to realize there’s more to life than running around the neighborhood with your friends.

In 1981, Raiders of the Lost Ark came out and that was my time. Dr. Jones defined cool to me. He was a guy I wanted to be like. He was smart. He was adventurous. He was heroic. He was afraid of snakes. He had a whip.

Freaking sweet.

I’m so excited for the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, despite its excessively long name. And if the early reviews from people are any indication…it’s gonna be awesome.

Roger Ebert’s quote on the movie says it best:

I can say that if you liked the other Indiana Jones movies, you will like this one, and that if you did not, there is no talking to you. 

This pretty much echoes my feelings. The original Indiana Jones trilogy is up there with the original Star Wars trilogy in the pantheon of films. And to be honest, if you don’t like Indiana Jones, I probably wouldn’t be friends with you. It’s a movie to be enjoyed, to be loved. It’s something to make you love movies.

We are probably going to see it sometime on Sunday. This is going to be a huge weekend. Jake’s Bachelor Party Golf Poker Extravaganza. Indiana Jones. My first cheeseburger in months. It’s going to be incredible.

OK, so I was having an e-mail discussion with some friends and we were discussing what the best trilogies of all-time might be. I think that everyone will agree that if you have that discussion, the Godfather is almost always hands-down the winner. The only problem is that I’ve never seen the Godfather (I know…I know).

Anyway, I wanted to rank my top 10 Trilogies of All-Time. I’m going to put out the following rules:

1. There should be no changing of the main characters.
2. All movies should work by themselves
3. The movies should enrich the other movies in the series.
4. Must include more than just a sequel.

Those are the rules. Some of the below might break them in some ways, but they are good enough to overcome the rules, they will be included. So without further adieu…

The List:

1. Original Star Wars Trilogy - Will always be #1 to me. I’ve always loved these movies, ever since I was a kid.
2. The Matrix Trilogy - So it isn’t great at adhering to #2 on my list, but I loved these movies. I loved how Reloaded set up what was going to happen in Revolutions and I even loved Revolutions.
3. Indiana Jones Trilogy - I don’t think that there has ever been a more likable hero than Indiana Jones. He’s a man’s man and a woman’s man. Plus, the movies were all genius. I’m not sure we need a fourth installment, but I’ll go see it all the same.
4. The Lord of the Rings - Despite their excessive length, these movies RULE THEM ALL.
5. The Die Hard Trilogy - I can’t even begin to express how excited I am about the new one coming out this summer. John McClaine is one of the great characters of all-time. I still cringe thinking about him walking barefoot across the glass in the first movie. Ouch.
6. The Back to the Future Trilogy - As much as the third one sucked, I still loved these movies. Michael J. Fox has spent the rest of his career trying to re-capture the genius of Marty McFly.
7. The Terminator Trilogy - Arnold Schwartzennager at his awesome best. Hasta la Awesome baby.
8. The Austin Powers Trilogy - This wasn’t on my original list because the first time I watched Goldmember, I just didn’t think it was all that funny. After a couple more times watching it, I really started to find its hilarity (not the unintentional hilarity of Beyonce’s awful acting, but the real hilarity). Plus, the scene where Austin and his dad are talking to each other in “English” English cracks me up.
9. The “Vacation” series - I know that Vegas Vacation is pretty awful, but the other 3 are absolutely genius. Sure, they ignore rule #1 for Rusty and Audrey for all the movies, but still…Chevy Chase is just so gosh darn funny. Christmas Vacation is a top 5 comedy of all-time…not just a Christmas movie. It’s THAT. FUNNY.
10. The Pirates of the Caribbean movies - OK, so At World’s End doesn’t come out for another month or so, but the first two were great. Johnny Depp is so brilliant as Captain Jack Sparrow that you have to appreciate these movies. Plus, you have to appreciate how they made something totally sweet out of a relatively lame ride at Disney World.

So what do you think of my list?