Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Last summer a couple friends and I picked up some percs and BK Steakhouse Burgers and went to see this. We couldn't wait and we ended up liking it, though we each still have our favorites (for me it's The Last Crusade).

Right away I have to say: the scene of the soldiers getting shot bothered me then and yesterday when I watched the movie again. Callous. We'll talk more about that in a minute.

It's a thrill seeing Jone's shadow on the car as he puts his hat on. Just like when he visits Marion's bar at the beginning of Raiders.

Shia Labeaf bothers me a little; maybe it was all the "new Tom Hanks" hype. I can say it was a mistake to dress him up like Brando with that gay cap on his head. He just looks like he's 14.

I enjoyed the scenes of Indy and Marion, they make a nice couple and I'm glad they brought her back.

One thing I could've done without is John Hurt. I can't fucking stand catatonic characters in movies. Every scene with Hurt dragged and just seeing his filthy hobo face on the screen made me angry.

I remember reading an interview with Spielberg where he said he tried to give this film the same look as the others. Mostly he did a good job, but one thing I don't remember from the other Indy films is that glowing white sky. It seems like this movie has the same look as Minority Report.

I like the movie but next time we have to talk about Spielberg and his newer movies.

I've got to make a plan

Since January I've been slowly but steadily working towards getting together with a co-worker (who I trained, incidentally). We never worked together after that day- it almost seems like it was scheduled that way on purpose, but I know it's just my bad luck.

Since April we've been in different departments and only saw each other once a week. Then at the start of May, the schedules changed again and we didn't see each other till this past Wednesday.

We talked longer than we had before. And it wasn't me who initiated it. There were some suggestive (not sexually) comments made (not by me), and now I wish I had given my number. Because today I checked next week's schedule- the name isn't on it. Either it's a vacation or it's the end of everything.

It kills me because I feel like I'm really close to making this work. Like I think next week something would've happened, 90% sure.

I'm going to have to formulate a plan for making contact because it can't end this way. That's too fucked up.

Songs you should check out

*Aimee Mann "Driving With One Hand On The Wheel" Ultimate Collection, also Safe and Sound (One of the best AM songs ever, also check out the B-sides "Jimmy Hoffa Jokes" and her cover of "Baby Blue")

*Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach "Toledo" Painted From Memory (The best song on the record, though you might also like "God Give Me Strengeth")

*k.d. lang "Your Smoke Screen" Drag (The album is pretty dull; you might also like her cover of "The Joker" though. "Your Smoke Screen" is written by the other guy from Sugar.)

"The Office"

I'm just seeing this show for the first time. I picked up Season 3 on DVD at the library. It's a pretty fun show and even though I normally don't like Steve Carrell, he's funny here. Same with Ed Helms- I've seen him on the Daily Show and he's OK, but he plays a great character, Andy Bernard, who joins the show in Season 3. I thought I'd be annoyed by Dwight but he's funny, Jim too. Pam is very likeable and I was surprised how funny she is too. My favorite though is Creed ("If that's flashing, lock me up.") The best is the episode with the watermark when he's trying to blame it on the girl from the factory, then he takes up a collection for her after she's fired and pockets the cash.

Aimee Mann summer tour

Aimee Mann is going on tour this summer. I'm hoping to see her at MassMOCA or in Norfolk,CT this July.

Last week at the library I picked up Aimee Mann Ultimate Collection. She's very much against this release, which was done without her permission. She wrote about it on her website and you can probably still read it there or at amazon.com. She's not happy with the song selection, sleeve design, and, especially, the way the liner notes try to make it look like she was part of the process of putting the collection together.

She's right about the song selection- it's too heavy on I'm With Stupid and doesn't have anything older than 1997 ("Wise Up"). I'm glad I picked it up though cause I've got a new favorite song: "Driving With One Hand On The Wheel", a B-side which was also on an abortion rights benefit album. I love it; it's one of her "fun" songs.

One thing I found strange though- if you look at the way "Aimee Mann" is written on her newest album Smilers, it's the same way it's written on the cover of Ultimate Collection. Odd.

Also, I found this import version of her Christmas album and I really like the cover photo and lettering.

I'm here without notes...

...and with limited time. I'm at the local library. I miss having the internet at home. That way I have access to more information and can write better posts. But, I'm here and I wanted to take the chance to write a little something.

The past week has been fun and it's given me a lot of hope for the future. I went out drinking for someone's birthday, I made 2, maybe 3, new friends, and I've decided to make some big changes.

I guess the biggest thing is having new friends (nothing wrong with the old ones though). It's just that it's fun learning about new people and their way of doing things. It's helpful. Plus, though I've met a lot of people since moving here a few months ago, it's really good to actually connect with someone and to know that they'd like to have something to do with you outside of work.

"U-Mass"

I've got to wait till September for more, but I've been loving the Horoscopes in the UMass Daily Collegian for the past two months.

The paper's free, and everyday there's at least one that makes me smile. It's great. Ever since I started reading the Horoscopes I've been clipping them out and putting them in a box in my closet. I've gone through them so I can post some of my favorites here. There's no byline, but the comics editor is listed as Nick Bush, so, for now, he gets the credit.

Again, these weren't written by me, they're Horoscopes from the UMass Daily Collegian.

ARIES A pillowcase full of doorknobs will be the last thing you see today.

SAGITTARIUS Your shotgun marriage to an AK-47 could only lead to a messy divorce.

AQUARIUS Your arguments have more holes in them than the Pope's condoms.

ARIES No matter what the angry, pitchfork-wielding mob may have to say about you, I still think you're beautiful.

AQUARIUS You've reached a spork in the road, which has rightfully confused you.

AQUARIUS When the detective asks what you were doing on the night of March 20 you will have to admit to seeing Jonas Brothers 3D.

ARIES You are left to wander in the wilderness of your own discontent. Hopefully you can find some civilized drugs soon.

LEO I'm not sure how eating sod emphasizes your Irish heritage, but whatever makes you happy.

TAURUS You've been getting bad advice lately, mostly from me. Stare at the sun from now on to find answers.

PISCES Go Twitter about something. Douchebag.

AQUARIUS Muttonchops will suit your round Aquarius head, whether you are a man or woman.

(Notice how so many of my favorites are for Aquarius? I'm not one, though. I'm an Aries. -RJ Battles)

TAURUS Candles are definitely the sexiest way to burn your home to the ground.

AQUARIUS Today you should be creepy and order a gyro while rotating your hips.

PISCES The habit of needing to touch every corner in a room 14 times before leaving is really slowing you down.

AQUARIUS All the kings horses and all the kings men won't get the Hepatitis out of your bloodstream.

VIRGO Breastfeeding is not a hobby.

VIRGO You're skinnier than an Ethiopian distance runner. Put some meat on dem bonez.

GEMINI Blasting Maroon 5 songs from your car with the windows down will bring you all the negative attention you could ever want.

ARIES Botox was never meant for de-wrinkling your genitalia. You should know that's impossible anyhow.

That was fun, I hope you liked those too. In September when classes start again and the Collegian is running I'll put up some more and I'll find out for sure who is wring the Horoscopes.

"Amityville II: The Possession" Final Girl Film Club

Last November I reviewed Amityville II: The Possession here at RJ Battles. Around that time, over at Final Girl, there was a discussion about the movie in the comments section. She hates Burt Young and had been avoiding the movie, but, everyone- including me- tried to talk her into giving it a chance. Now Amityville II is the May selection for the Final Girl Film Club. There is a link to the Final Girl blog at the bottom of this post. I've tacked my original review onto today's post, following this introduction-

I love horror movies and being scared. I'm easy- even the worst Friday The 13ths can scare me.

There are three movies, however, that terrified me: Candyman, The Blair Witch Project, and Amityville II: The Possession. The first two effected me- I'll still go camping, but only in real campgrounds with other people around, and I'll never say 'Candyman', even once, in front of a mirror.

Amityville II had me scared for at least six months after I first saw it. I was raised by Catholic parents but my brothers and I had no religion in our lives aside from our nightly, abbreviated prayers: "Now I lay me down to sleep. God bless everyone I love".

I never thought much about God, then or now, but, after seeing this movie around the age of 7 or 8, I thought a lot about the Devil.

I don't remember now if my mother mentioned that Amityville II was based on a true story but she did say that there had been cases of possession reported in the newspaper. I came to believe that it could happen, not only that someone could be possessed but that they could be forced to kill people. I'd lay in bed thinking about how horrible it would be, and I wondered if the Devil tried to possess me would I be able to fight it. I believed I could, but still, I wasn't 100% sure.

When I watched Amityville II recently, I was surprised by how horrific the murder sequence is, still, after all these years. The thunder & lightning. The drugged-up zombie walk. His evil face.

The first half of the movie holds up very well. The atmospere- really the most important aspect of any horror movie- is right there. It's still scary, unlike The Amityville Horror, which I didn't think was that scary the first time around. (The Lutzs were just potheads who bought a house that they couldn't afford.)

RJ Battles, May 11, 2009

The following is the original RJ Battles review of Amityville II: The Possession from Sunday, November 16, 2008.

I was over at Final Girl this afternoon reading her post about the Amityville series. She mentioned that she was avoiding Part II because she can't stand Burt Young-"he looks like he smells like armpits and motoroil".

I couldn't agree more.

In the comments section, at least three readers pointed out what I wanted to: yes, he's a scumbag, but he dies a 1/2 an hour into it. They also said what an excellent movie it is and, again, I couldn't agree more.

Amityville II: The Possession might be the scariest movie I've ever seen.

The Possession is really a prequel, loosely based on the murders that happened before the Lutzs moved in. In 1974 Ronald DeFeo murdered his entire family. He later claimed that he had been possessed by a demon.

The film follows the oldest son, Sonny, as he is taken over by a demon in his family's new home. While listening to his walkman voices command him to "kill them all". His family sings "Happy Birthday" to him as a voice in his head calls them pathetic and says they deserve to die. One night he is home alone and an evil force follows him from the basement to his attic bedroom (the attic with those windows) and pushes him onto his bed where the spirit pounces on him, the camera rising and falling repeatedly. When his family comes home, Sonny sleeps with his sister and afterwards the mother suspects.

Anyone who has seen the movie will tell you that the second half of the movie is a blatant rip-off of The Exorcist. The DVD box may even admit that, I don't know. But before that is one of the creepiest sequences ever put on film.

It's bedtime on a stormy night and Burt Young is smacking the mother around. With relatively subtle make-up, the son looks evil and dead; he moves mechanically down from the attic and shoots his parents with a shotgun; then he goes after his siblings till there are only two left: his 7 year-old brother and his sister/girlfriend. He stalks his brother before creeping up behind and shooting him. Then he closes in on his sister while she begs for her life. He just grins.

It was incredibly upsetting to watch when I was eight. By then I'd already seen Halloween I & II plus a couple Friday the 13ths but they were nothing compared to this. For months after I'd lay in bed terrified that it could happen to me, that I might be possessed by a demon and forced to murder my family- watching it happen and unable to stop myself.

I was home alone one winter night about 12 years later. My roommates were away for the weekend and The Possession came on TV. It didn't keep me awake that night, but I found that it was still a highly effective movie. It fell apart at the end but the first half still makes Amityville II one scary movie.


Final Girl http://finalgirl.blogspot.com/

Since I'm rushed...

...I feel like I'm just skimming over things and not giving enough details: "Good Night and Good Luck is good...the acting is good...it's in black & white". I guess my movie reviews are only good when I write them out first and give them a quick polish. And I don't think there's much to say about the last two movies.

Maybe I'll stay away from movie reviews for a while. I could give you all new details about my personal life but that might be less interesting. I would like to say that last night I wrote a list of 5 or 6 goals for the next two months and one of the more important ones is to get into a relationship. It's been a very long time- very overdue.

We'll talk more about that later. Later.

Did I mention...

...I have neither cable nor internet at my apartment so I've just been getting movies from the library. The other night I got-

Good Night, and Good Luck It was a good movie, black and white, though it really didn't need to be. I watched it twice, without and then with the director commentary. George Clooney got on my nerves a little- too sarcastic and jokey without being funny. I forgot that his aunt is Rosemary Clooney. I always think of him as George from "The Facts of Life". Is it worth seeing? Sure. But I'm glad I watched it for free; I wouldn't pay money.

The other movie was-

The Talented Mr. Ripley As much as I can't stand Matt Damon, he was very good in this. Probably his best role, aside from maybe the lawyer in The Rainmaker. Jude Law was good too, but he reminded me too much of when he played Alfred Douglas in Wilde. Cate Blanchette had some good scenes, as did what's-her-name with the blonde hair. I'm pretty sure I hate PS Hoffman and he's such a dickwad in this movie- couldn't wait for him to die. My favorite is probably the guy who played the detective towards the end- he's Jimmy Gator in Magnolia and the library detective in that episode of Seinfeld. All in all, it's alot of fun to watch and the background views are beautiful, especially in Rome and when they're out boating.

I'm at the library right now and I just got The Player and Zodiac. Sometime this week we'll have a long talk about David Fincher.

I also grabbed Roger Ebert's book on Scorsese, called Scorsese, and I picked up a couple CDs: kd lang's Drag and Aimee Mann's I'm With Stupid. I'll tell you all about it very soon.

And don't forget: Monday is Final Girl Film Club day.