Ahira's Hangar

I'm still hoping to see it soon. We are trying to find a time when my hub, my older son, and I are all not working, which can be difficult.

Frankly, as I said in another thread, I would be disappointed if there were not over-the-top scenes and cheesiness in the new movie, as they were an integral part of my enjoyment of the other films.

Agreed.
But...it's not over the top scenes and cheesiness I'm hearing complaints about.
I won't repeat the criticisms here, I figure if you want to read those you would go into Flicks on the Watch yourself. But, if true, some of them could affect the movie for me.

We'll see when I see it.

Well I'm just a big middle-aged kid myself. Being serious is all too easy, being childish is howlingly funny sometimes. If I'm going to watch "There will be Blood" (which I saw 5 times at the cinema and thought absolutely staggeringly good) I'll put my serious head on, but then take it off for Indy. Sometimes you don't want a 5 course meal in a fancy restaurant you want pizza and beer with your feet up in front of the box!

Saw the new Indy today as planned, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes there were some creaky bits, yes you could pick up plot holes and flaws, but overall this was exactly what I expected. A romp, a well-intentioned, funny enough, exciting enough romp. I went into the movie on a huge high as I'd just watched the Scorses/Stones film 'Shine a Light', which I would give 20 out of 10 to, so that may have helped!

Before the huge thunderstorms came through yesterday and nuked the area (more than 150,000 people are still without power as I type this) we finally got to go see Indy 4.

I loved it - it was a lot of fun! Sure there were some plot holes, but if I wanted enduring beauty and intricate breathtaking plotting and symbolism, I would reread me some Tolstoy rather than see a summer action blockbuster.

I had hoped it would have a bit of historical/achaeological mystery and a lot of great action/stunt scenes, and it delivered.

From the comments that Menolly quoted, looks like many people at the Watch hate it. I'm not sure what they were looking for, but I thought it was a great deal of fun, as Brasidas said, a fun romp.

Did anyone else get to see a preview from an import movie called Mongol? I am just curious, as it looked like it might be good?

Just saw Mongol and enjoyed it a lot. Very good characters and an interesting storyline. Fair bit of battle violence, but nothing over the top.

I saw The Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - the day after it opened. This is the earliest I've gone to a first-run movie in years.

I just read a very negative user review of the film at IMDB, but I think it's a worthy piece of summer entertainment. It has all the fun things I like about the Mummy movies: comedy, banter, spectacular special effects, over-the-top chases, and wild fight sequences with Rick and Evie O'Connell kicking mummy ass.

Of course, I miss Rachel Weisz. The chemistry between her and co-star Brendan Fraser was part of what made the previous two Mummy films so enjoyable. That said, I have nothing against Maria Bello, who replaces Weisz as Evie. Yes, at some points I couldn't help thinking: who is this impostor? But thankfully, there was enough crazy action to keep me occupied.

It also helps to have Michelle Yeoh in the movie. Jet Li I'm not so much a fan of, but it's still nice to see these two martial arts icons going toe-to-toe, sword-to-sword on the big screen. It would also be criminal not to mention the dazzling Isabella Leong, who plays Yeoh's daughter. As the central "Mummy" villain, Li isn't quite the imposing presence that Arnold Vosloo was as Imhotep in the previous films. But the three - Li, Yeoh, Leong - together make the film their own. And the setting of China creates a visual identity distinct from Egypt and the pharaohs. Now, I don't know how many liberties were taken in depicting both old and modern China (that IMDB review I mentioned complains of the "painfully inaccurate" representation of 1940's Shanghai), but I'm not going to be anal about historical accuracy when we're talking about a fantasy film where ancient cursed mummies come back to life.

I give the movie at least a 7 out of 10.

That sounds good. Maybe I will go see this or the new Batman movie next weekend. I have always loved the Mummy films because they are so much cheesy action filled fun. Then again, Ironman has worked its way to the local second run dollar theater, and I've heard that one is pretty good, too?

Deciding whether or not to go see Iron Man may depend on how good that particular second-run theatre is -- the size of the screen, the picture quality and sound quality. You might get a better experience watching the DVD. Of course, I'm talking about big budget action movies (like Iron Man) that really take advantage of surround sound and fill the screen with a lot of eye candy. Small, independent films can be enjoyed without fuss in a modest theatre. (To cite an extreme example of mismatched venues: back in '99, I saw The Blair Witch Project when it first came out. So there I was, sitting in a theatre with a full surround sound system and a huge screen, watching what was essentially a low-res shaky home video for a movie - and which was in mono sound, to boot. I could've just waited until it aired on TV, and there wouldn't have been any difference! Actually, it would have been even creepier watching Blair Witch just by myself at home, instead of at the theatre with a whole lot of other people.)

I knew nothing of the comic, and I loved Iron Man, Duchess.

I had to have the scene after the ending credits explained to me, but I enjoyed it all anyway.

Took a Jeep load of teen aged boys to see Iron Man at the dollar movies tonight. We all loved it. None of had any idea what that one extra scene at the end meant, other than there might be a sequel? So if you wish to explain that scene, Menolly, please do!