Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
June 30, 2023

Directed By: James Mangold
Stars: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Karen Allen, Shaunette Renee Wilson, Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Kretschmann, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Olivier Richters, Ethann Isidore
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Running Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
Genre: Action Adventure Time Travel
Archaeologist Indiana Jones races against time to retrieve a legendary artifact that can change the course of history.

Even if not as great as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Ark, this film has its moments with great action and good characters, although I really did not care for the villain, Dr. Voller, played by Mads Mikkelsen.

Still, the film did earn its right as an adventure of Indiana Jones--his last one.

My husband, who cosplayed as Indy at Cons in the 80s and later after the Crystal Skull film as older Indy, and I enjoyed the film. I wasn’t bothered by the digital making of Indy or Dr. Voller younger--at least they looked realistic enough. Go see it and enjoy it. It is a good ending for the adventuring archeologist.

I gave Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 4 sheep.

Reviewed by Pamela K. Kinney

Sheep Movie Review: Blade Runner 2049

Blade Runner 2049

October 6, 2017

Directed By: Denis Villeneuve

Written By: Michael Green, Hampton Fancher

Rating: R (for violence, some sexuality, nudity, and language)

Genre: Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Produced by: Warner Bros. Pictures.

Runtime: 164 minutes

Based on characters from the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K. Dick.
Official Sites: http://bladerunnermovie.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/BladeRunner2049/

Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what's left of society into chaos. K's discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years. 

I remember going to the movie theater in San Diego, California with my husband to see Blade Runner, starring Harrison Ford, in 1982. We had both enjoyed the science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott. This time, 35 years later, my husband and I returned to a movie theater in Midlothian, Virginia to see a film set 30 years later.

Since the original film, a new, more obedient type of replicant has been developed by a corporation led by a tech visionary (Jared Leto). The blade runner (police who go after errant replicants--synthetic humans) K, finds a long-buried secret, plus some memories have been resurfacing which make him question if are they implanted or the real thing. K sets out on a quest to find former blade runner (who is human) Rick Deckard (still played by Harrison Ford) who hasn’t been seen in 30 years. He may hold a key to those secrets and even his memories. There is a possibility of a child, who may bring on a revolution led by replicants.

Visually stunning and its narrative satisfying, it answers the question of what happened to blade runner Deckard since he flew away with replicant Rachel at the end of the original, classic film Blade Runner, while still being an impressive filmmaking achievement in its own right. It proves a sequel can be just as good as the original. And though there are no spaceship battle special effects or fast-paced excitement, this is still one of the best films I’ve seen this year. It keeps you interested until the end. The world building and its effects are super. You can believe in the smoky neon-noir dystopian atmosphere of Los Angeles and California in 2049. There is some great action, not every moment of the movie, but when it happens, it is a heart pounder. Ryan Gosling does well as K, at first tough and robot-like with one smile, then growing more human as he searches for the truth. Harrison Ford still works for me as Deckard, gruff and loveable, though less of the touch of Deckard we remember in Blade Runner and more like Indiana Jones to me. But he shines well in his role, revealing that maybe age and love of Rachel has softened him. Jared Leto is creepy as genius-industrialist Niander Wallace, but it is Wallace's assistant Sylvia Hoeks, who steals the show as the vicious replicant Luv. Even Ana de Armas as K's AI companion, Joi, has the film’s poignant role. This is not a film like The Avengers or Star Wars, instead, this will make you think and ponder of the role of the replicants in this future and who or what is truly human. Most of all, it is an enjoyable film, a carefully engineered narrative puzzle, and its power dissipates as the pieces snap into place. Though its predecessor is a classic, I think this one holds up well and is worth a look while it is on the big screen.

I give Blade Runner 2049 4 ½ replicant sheep.

Pamela K Kinney

Reasons to see the Star Wars: The Force Awakens

As if you needed more reasons to go see Star Wars, we came up with some fun ones! 

Cause First Order troopers having a temper tantrum is just plain funny. 

When all else fails, give yourself a BB8 thumbs up. 

Wishing you could have a really cool jacket. 

Great hair no matter the helmet. 

Taking solar energy to a whole new level. 

Everybody needs a little wookie! 

Making sure to use the buddy system when running. 

Watching old friends rock it: priceless. 

Sheep Movie Review: Ender's Game

Ender's Game 

Directed By: Gavin Hood

Cast: Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis and Ben Kingsley 

Plot: 

In the near future, a hostile alien race (called the Formics) have attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack, the highly esteemed Colonel Hyrum Graff (Harrison Ford) and the International Military are training only the best young children to find the future Mazer. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy, but strategically brilliant boy is pulled out of his school to join the elite. Arriving at Battle School, Ender quickly and easily masters increasingly difficult war games, distinguishing himself and winning respect amongst his peers. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military's next great hope, resulting in his promotion to Command School. Once there, he's trained by Mazer Rackham, himself, to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race. Based on the best-selling, award winning novel. 

Ender's Game was the first Science Fiction book I read. In one word: EPIC. So, the tale of Ender has a very near and dear place in my heart. Needless to say, I was going into this film with high expectations, and it kills me to review this one as not meeting the bar set by the book. 

At times, it was just plain hard to sit and endure the rushed mish-mash that was being thrown at you. Having gone to the showing with someone who didn't read the book, they also complained that the story felt rushed. Immensely in the beginning, though it does get a little better toward the middle half. But by the time things get interesting, it's almost too late to plug back in. 

Harrison Ford seems to do a lot of urgent talking in this one. Urgently he tells you the threat is near, urgently he tells everyone what they must do. Urgent was to be the one trick pony. It was all very, very, urgent. Love Harrison, just hated this role. 

There are a few saving graces. You get the "gist" of the book. The main points are there. Even though the relationships with the young adult crew got fast forwarded, it's still there. I would have loved to see more development with Ender's buddy Bean. Or any of the rest of the crew. Saying that, Ender's character was well portrayed by the young Asa. He gave the best performance out of the whole cast, bravo young lad. 

The special effects were pretty amazing. They did pace well with the movie and managed to keep me from having a thumb war with my movie buddy. Sadly, it was just not enough to feel the ticket price was worth it. 

Whether you've read the book or not, this one is just plain mediocre. I'd recommend waiting for the DVD. 

Getting 2 and 1/2 'you better stay down' Sheep

KD

WonderCon 2011-Cowboys and Aliens Panel

WonderCon 2011 boasted many coming films and comics, among this group is the highly anticipated Cowboys and Aliens. Director Jon Favreau and Executive Producer Robert Orci were front and center answering questions. Cowboys and Aliens stars Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Clancy Brown and Adam Beach. Scheduled to hit theaters July 29th 2011, I for one am looking forward to this film.

Storyline:

The Old West.. where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world. 1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It's a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly startsto remember who he is and where he's been...

Jon Favreau was asked a few questions about WonderCon it self, what it was like working with this amazing cast and if he prefers directing over acting. Here is a little bit on what he said.

Question: About attending WonderCon 2011.

Answer: "I was here in 2008 to promote Iron Man. It really was a wonderful moment, similar to this in that people didn't know what to expect. We were a bit of an underdog back then. ComicCon has turned into this huge thing and it's a lot of fun; but, WonderCon reminds me a lot of what ComicCon was like when I first started going to ComicCon. ComicCon has been so instrumental in so many movies really arriving that everybody focuses a lot of attention there; but, it's more like a big festival or big party. What's nice about WonderCon is it's a little bit more intimate and we can really have a dialogue here and talk about things. It's not like a big carnival. I think it also shows you guys who really cares about this group of people and I, for one, am very grateful for what you guys have all done for my career. So I want to make sure that this remains a priority. There's a much more limited slate of films that have prioritized this event so it allows for a better dialogue."

Question: What it was like to work with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford.

Answer: "These guys were great. Daniel Craig is just an awesome, professional, great dude. I admired his work in Layer Cake and, of course, later in the Bond films where he was a sort of a vulnerable but really badass hero, where the wheels were always turning. He's really invested in the stakes of the moment. So you have that generation. And then, of course, Harrison was a late-breaking idea because we didn't think it was doable at all. We never thought he would want to come back to genre and--as most of the people in this room feel--we fell in love with the guy through films like Star Wars (crowd cheers like crazy) and Indiana Jones. To have him bring that pedigree was almost like when you would cast John Wayne in a western. He brings this entire history and so you have two generations of action stars who reluctantly have to work together--we start them very much at odds in a cruel environment--to rescue their people. It was just great. They both care deeply about the process, they were a lot of fun, we were all living out in Santa Fe for the summer, and it was a dream project."

Question: If he prefers directing over acting.

Answer: "I enjoy directing more to be honest with you because--now that this

[attending WonderCon] has become part of directing; now that we're trying to lock picture and finish off effects and get the music in and this is the moment when it tends to become the most trying and there's the most anxiety from the studios and you're trying to figure out your release and your marketing campaign--to be able to come here and show you this and to feel like we're throwing a party and have it be appreciated so much, it makes directing the most fun job there is in the world, for sure."

Favreau and Orci also talked with us about each character being a big part of the film, because every part matters in a western. There are no small parts. Director Favreau is also making use of social networking, speaking with blogs and using Twitter to get his movie out to the public. I speak for us all when I say COME TO THE SHEEP! We would love to have him talk Aliens with us any day of the week. :)

If you were lucky enough to have nabbed a seat in the viewing room you got a nine minute screening of the movie. A very tasty treat indeed. So what say you? Will you be going to see Cowboys and Aliens? Leave some comments below and let me know what YOU think.

KD

PS While I did get all this recored in my funky old mini tape recorder, my good friend Michael Guillen transcribed it on HIS blog first. You can check out the whole panel at The Evening Class. Thanks Michael! :)