Yesterday, I did a double feature movie fest with my buddy, Mike. First up was Death Note. It was a special 2 night only screening. Based on the incredibly popular Manga and then Anime of the same name. Basically, a God of Death, or Shinigami (named Ryuk), drops his notebook, called a Death Note, into the earth. Light Yagami finds it and reads the rules inscribed. The main one being, the human's name you write in the book...will die! Light makes it his duty to rid the world of criminals and starts crossing the line as the power begins to corrupt. It threw me off at first because I didn't realize that it would be dubbed. Now, I don't mind dubs on animated films, but live action? It sort of took me out a few times and reminded me of those good ol' Saturday mornings of Kung Fu Theater. Still, it didn't mar my experience. It strayed quite a bit from the manga and anime. The manga was 12 volumes and quite dense. So, understandably, they had to narrow that down. I knew there was a 2nd movie but heard it really strayed from the manga. The changes were nice, especially the addition of the girlfriend figure and her storyline. However, Light is portrayed as pretty ruthless. And even the director said he wanted it that way in the short documentary shown after the film. In the manga, I sympathized with Light. In the movie, he's kind of a cold hearted bastard. Again though, really dug it and am now anxious to see the 2nd film. It was well shot, acted and directed. I'm curious to see a sub-titled version though. Released in Japan in 2006, it will finally be available on DVD this September here in the U.S. So, go get it.
Next up at midnight, we saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It just opened, so I'll be pretty spoiler free here. Suffice it to say, I really dug it. I'm a big Indy fan, so I expected to. There were certainly a few moments where I thought, "Hmm....Indy is pretty spry for an old man." But then I thought, heck, if George Foreman can box at 60 years old, why can't Indy adventure around the same age? Shia Lebeouf was a nice addition to the mythos and handled some of the action sequences when Indy couldn't. "And it was very nice to see Karen Allen back. That's been announced for awhile, so unless you've been avoiding all Indy news for the last year, then it's not a spoiler. And Cate Blanchett as the big bad. Both sexy, evil and awesome!
Quickly, the story ages as Indy does. Kind of. We are now in 1957 and dealing with Communists instead of Nazis. There's still lots of mystical and fantastical elements involved. I worry that young viewers who've never seen and Indy movie may not get that. An Indy movie is shot with beautiful locations, but many of them look like sets. Especially background. Just how it's always been. And the harrowing adventures might seem a bit unrealistic at times, but hey....it's Indy! The plot involves Indy and company being forced by/working against the Commies to return a crystal skull to a hidden palace in South America. The hat, the whip and yes....bugs and snakes make an appearance.
Again, don't want to spoil. If you're an Indy fan, you'll love it. If you're new to it, go in with your 10 year old head and prepare for fun! Yes, GO SEE IT!
I'll be awaiting Indy 5. Indiana Jones and the Alzheimer's....Wait...Who am I and Did I Just Crap My Pants?
