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  Film: Nell Schofield previews Indiana Jones and Shine a Light May 25, 2008 Reporter :Nell Schofield  Watch our reportFilm: Nell Schofield previews Indiana Jones and Shine a Light Two big name directors launch their latest movies onto cinema screens this week – Martin Scorsese brings us his intimate vision of The Rolling Stones in concert and Steven Spielberg ups the anti with the highly anticipated fourth film in the Indiana Jones series. After nearly 20 years in the wilderness, Indy's back, resurrected by the two legends who first introduced us to the loveable, adventurous action hero back in 1981 with Raiders of the Lost Ark. George Lucas originally conceived the character based on the cheesy 1930’s serials he'd seen as a kid on TV. And he's stayed true to that genre with the story and production of the latest instalment, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Steven Spielberg has revisited his approach to directing back in 1989 when he made Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a film that he thought marked the end of the series. Harrison Ford seems to have been born to play Indiana Jones and makes an impressive return as the loveable hero of this blockbuster. He may now be in his mid 60's, but he can still crack a mean whip and give the baddies a solid run for their money. Professor Jones works in the Archaeology Department at Marshall College and indulges in the odd field trip to wonderfully exotic locations. This time, he's trying to return a crystal skull to its rightful skeleton in Peru. Hot on his heels is Cate Blanchett, laying down the black leather gauntlet to Uma Thurman with her swordsmanship as Irina Spalko, an evil Russian scientist with a penchant for the paranormal. Indy has a fresh young side-kick too; Mutt Williams is his name and Shia LaBeouf has modelled himself on Marlon Brando in The Wild One to play him. Our snake-fearing hero also has a love interest; Marion Ravenwood who appeared in the first film and is played here once again by Karen Allen. John Hurt is Indy's wizened former colleague who's brain has been fried by too much crystal gazing. And Ray Winstone is the devious Mac, another archaeologist on the make. Set against the backdrop of the Cold War in 1957, the film features some breathtakingly narrow escapes including one from an atomic bomb and another from a massive waterfall. But true to form, Indy never looses his faithful Fedora. There are some nods to the future too with the appearance of inter-dimensional beings that bear a striking resemblance to extra-terrestrials. It all seems pretty far fetched until you read up on the real crystal skull discovered in Central America back in 1924 that inspired this story. Tests on it have suggested it would have taken 300 years for human beings to make. So maybe aliens were here after all? Anyway, it's great to see Harrison Ford in such great shape, doing all his own stunts and leaping across the screen with gusto. It gives you faith in the aging process. As does Martin Scorsese's new documentary on The Rolling Stones. All the band members are now in their 60s but Mick Jagger is like a wired teenager dominating the stage of Broadway’s Beacon Theatre. Keith Richards looks a little worse for wear but his guitar playing is still awesome. Ronnie Wood also tears it up on his instrument and Charlie Watts is as cool as ever on the drums. Scorsese covered the event over two nights with a team of 10 top notch cinematographers including Oscar winners Robert Richardson who shot Scorsese's film The Aviator, Robert Elswit, Andrew Lesnie and John Toll. Albert Maysles who directed the band in the classic doco Gimme Shelter was also behind one of the lenses. And there's a spattering of archival footage interspersed throughout it all to emphasise the band’s longevity. Guest appearances by Christine Aguillera and the brilliant Buddy Guy provide a change of scenery but for the most part it's wall to wall Stones. Scorsese loves this band – he’s used their music in at least four of his films - and this doco works best when he inserts himself as a character into the action as he does in the first 15 minutes and very briefly at the end. The concert was a charity benefit for The Clinton Foundation and Bill Clinton is seen introducing the show on his 60th birthday in order to raise awareness of global warming. But unfortunately there's no further information on the subject nor any cutaways of Clinton and his family rockin' on in the audience. It's a shame because it would've brought another dimension to what is essentially just a performance documentary. And coming so soon after U2 3D, it feels a little bit 2D. |
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