Indy’s new adventure goes from lackluster to ludicrous

We all longed for one more adventure from the iconic adventurer in the leather jacket, brown fedora and trusty bullwhip. Unfortunately, Spielberg’s latest film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, offers none of the magic, wit or charm of the original trilogy.

By Ally Lois

The film is set in 1957 and a long time has passed since our hero last crusaded against the Nazis. Indy (Harrison Ford) has been kidnapped by Russian agents led by pseudo-psychic, Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). The Russians are searching for an artifact – the fabled “crystal skull” – integral to their quest for mind-controlling power. [Read more]

Arthouse Superheroes

All eyes will be on The Dark Knight when it hits the cinema screens this year – but perhaps for all the wrong reasons. After Heath Ledger tragically passed away in January, attention soon turned to what was one of his very last roles: the Joker. It was in director Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the edgy sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins, which was a highly successful attempt to reboot one of Hollywood’s biggest film franchises. Shortly before his death, Ledger revealed he had struggled with the role of the sociopathic mass-murderering clown. While he called it “the most fun I’ve ever had, or probably ever will have playing a character,” it also utterly exhausted him.

By Angus Paterson

Christopher Nolan says of Ledger: “Having seen the movie myself in such heightened and tragic circumstances… What I found in watching the movie is that you’re not looking at the actor, you’re not looking at the friend, you’re not looking at the colleague. You’re looking at the Joker.
He inhabits this character, and it’s an extraordinary icon, so it’s easy to enjoy it on that level, just as a great piece of acting.” [Read more]