"Temple of Doom" Does Not Live Up to Expectations

"Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark" was a critical and commercial success. Harrison Ford carried the mantle of "action hero" skillfully, reminding us of his earlier days as Han Solo in the Star Wars movies. As Jones, the treasure hunter, we were entertained by an interesting plot, exciting action sequences and colorful characters. I was anticipating a similar reaction to "The Temple of Doom," the prequel to "Raiders": an intelligent, coherent story with great banter between Jones and his sidekicks. Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed. What were Spielberg and Lucas thinking when they directed and produced this movie? The story unfolds a year before Indiana Jones encounters the Ark of the Covenant. He finds himself in a Shanghai night club attempting to trade an artifact for a diamond. The deal goes sour and Indy escapes with the nightclub singer, "Willie" and his sidekick Short Round. They board a plane which will eventually crash in the Himalayan Mountains. The threesome find themselves in a village with an evil ruler who's seeking the Sankara Stone. With this stone the possesser can rule the world. There are human sacrifices, gruesome rituals, idol worship, evil spells and other far fetched and distasteful scenes which turns one's stomach. If the point of this movie is to turn our stomachs, it clearly succeeded! While there are the usual exciting action sequences, especially the mine cart chase, it's not enough to boost the "plot" of this movie. Indiana Jones is much better showcased in an intriguing story with mystery and danger rather than wasting his time with a demi-God who believes in sacrifices and enslaving children. If there's another Indiana Jones movie, let's hope it will live up to the excellence of the first one.

Raiders of the Lost Ark: A Roller Coaster Ride of Thrills

Steven Spielberg has done it again. He's produced another film with a great story: lots of action and adventure. Right from the beginning you're drawn into the life of Indiana Jones, an archaeologist who hunts for lost artifacts. He's in the jungles of Peru seeking a golden idol, but many have lost their lives attempting to do so. Jones uses his wits to outmaneuver the various booby traps set in place to protect this treasure. He barely escapes with his life only to lose the treasure to his rival, Rene Bolloq. Jones returns home to his sedate existence as a college professor of archaeology. But before you know it, Jones is jetting to Nepal to seek his mentor Ravenwood, who possesses an artifact that will reveal the location of the Ark of the Covenant. The U.S. government is concerned that the Nazis will discover the Ark and exploit its power for their evil purposes. Jones is requested to check the situation out. It's a race between Jones and Bolloq, his rival and now an ally of the Nazis, to acquire the Ark. Along the way, Jones is reunited with his former love, Marion, Ravenwood's daughter. He also teams up with an Egyptian, Sallah, who helps Jones navigate through the local culture. In the end, Bolloq once again lets Jones do the dirty work of finding the Ark, then forcibly takes it from him. The Nazis discover a valuable lesson: do not interfere with Divine objects for they are holy and not for ordinary men to exploit. Jones knew this, and as a result survived to tell the tale, whereas the others did not. You'll love the thrill of seeing Jones getting into and out of various death defying moments. One scene shows Jones encountering snakes, lots of snakes. You wonder how much punishment one man can endure. Harrison Ford is perfect for the role of Indiana Jones. He's the intellectual action hero using brains and brawn to save mankind. A big round of applause for "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Get a Rush from Speed

I was skeptical about seeing this movie because I'm not one for explosions, car chases and gratuitous violence. I had seen the television advertisement touting "Speed" as a "sit on the edge of your seat" action movie. I had to admit I was curious to know how they would resolve their dilemma. Well I was pleasantly surprised, and I'll confess that the movie really did keep me on the edge of my seat. I kept thinking, how are they going to get out of this alive? Jack is the hero of the movie. He's one of those specially trained rescue, SWAT type law enforcement officers you hope is around if you're ever in trouble. The movie opens up with Jack and his team attempting to rescue people trapped on an elevator set to explode and plummet down 30 stories. The bad guy wants millions of dollars, otherwise he'll detonate the explosive. We see Jack and company rescue every single person, even the one person who's too paralyzed to move, seconds before the elevator drops. Phew!
Well, the villain in this movie is not thrilled about this rescue. Who is this psychopath? Someone who doesn't quit. He decides to rig a city bus with an explosive set to detonate if its speed goes below 50 mph. How long can this bus maintain 50 mph? What happens if they run out of gas? How is this rescue team supposed to remove the passengers without risking injury and keep the bus above 50? Jack manages to get on the bus and with his team watching his back, they eventually get everyone off the bus until it's Annie (who replaced the injured bus driver) and Jack. Along the way, we see the bus careen around corners, jump missing sections of the freeway and roar through residential streets until it ends up at the airport. The sequences of the rescue are awesome. Even though it seems unbelievable, you don't care because you're rooting for Jack to save the day and catch this very wily and crafty villain. Just when you think it's over, he still has a trick up his sleeve. Let's just say, he's a little disgruntled that Jack has foiled two of his plans. "Speed" is just the ticket if you're looking for an "edge of your seat" thriller. Keanu Reeves makes a great action hero, and Sandra Bullock is the perfect sidekick. And who can argue with casting Dennis Hopper as the nasty villain you love to hate.

Star Trek Nemesis Packs a Punch

Star Trek fans everywhere will be very satisfied with the latest "Next Generation" movie. Starfleet's tenuous relationship with the Romulans is tested after a change in their government's power. A new Praeter named Shinzon has taken control and extends his hand in peace to Starfleet. Captain Picard is ordered to meet Shinzon and evaluate his bona fides. On a personal note, Commander Riker and Counselor Troi finally tie the knot. "About time" is all I can say. The traditional Betazoid wedding ceremony is postponed while the Enterprise makes a detour to Romulus. While traveling through a sector of space, Worf detects a positronic signal much like Data's. Worf, Data and Captain Picard venture to the planet's surface and discover a dismembered android who's a clone of Data but not as intellectually enhanced as Data. Picard meets Shinzon, a Reman leader who heads the Romulan government, and discovers he's a younger version of himself. Picard wants to believe in Shinzon's sincere wish for peace between Starfleet and the Romulans but he remains skeptical. Scans of Shinzon's ship reveal thalaron radiation, a deadly weapon banned by all species. The Commander realizes Shinzon is not on a mission of peace, rather a mission of annihilation. He will stop Shinzon from achieving this goal at any cost. I will not reveal the sacrifice which was made at the end to destroy the Scimitar, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I shed a few tears. Star Trek Nemesis follows the great tradition of past Star Trek movies with its awesome action sequences and its wonderful characters. There's nothing like watching Data, Worf, Picard, Riker, LaForge, Troi and Crusher illuminate the big screen.