Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Year: 2008
Directors: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Running Time: 124 Mins
Review Rating: 2 Stars





Harrison Ford is back as Indiana Jones, in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. This time around Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones is search of the crystal skull. The film takes place in the height of the Cold War where the Russians lead by a (lifeless) scientist (Cate Blanchett) are looking for an extraterrestrial skull that can give them power to the point that they can take over the world. They have kidnapped Dr. Jones and his sidekick (Ray Winstone) and taken them to a remote desert in the southwest. He manages to escape them and returns home to find out that he is being questioned for treason by the government. Not happy about that, Jones decides to leave town until he meets a rebellious teen (Shia LaBeouf), who has a proposition and a grudge with him. The two set out to find the mysterious crystal skull, but the Russians are following them, as they desperately want it so they can rule the world. Can Indy save the day by finding the Crystal skull and keep it away from the Russians? Jim Broadbent (Hot Fuss) Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark) and John Hurt (Hellboy) also co-star

After watching this installment of the Indiana Jones series, I was wondering that Paramount should have left this series alone, as it ended perfectly in the last film. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the biggest disappointment of the year so far. Director Steven Spielberg has really lost that the magic touch that made his previous films like Jurassic Park and ET that were so great. There are major problems with this film. First, there were way too many special effects. What made the first three Indy films great was the fact that it didn’t rely heavily of special effects. At times it felt like an effects film that an Indiana Jones film. Second, was the script with the film, which was written by David Koepp. It was not that great of a film that Indiana Jones fans are a custom to. I knew from the first scene this was going to be a long movie with the films film first scene where the Russians take Indy out of the trunk at this army base where there they find an alien. I was thinking to myself, especially when Blanchett’s character (which I’ll take about in a minute) comes on with no signs of life, Aliens, what movie am I watching? A sci-fi film or an Indiana Jones film. Why did they have to begin the movie there because it felt like that there was a scene or two in the beginning that were missing. In fact, I really didn’t get into the film until the dinner scene when Indy is meeting his son for the first time in the dinner. Another thing that he doesn’t do well was developing the relationship between Indy and his son. Even thought there is a scene or two that does that, to me for most of the film, it felt like the son was just a sidekick not a son. Even though there were a couple of good moments, the screenplay for the mostly, hurt the film. But the major problem with the screenplay was the fact the villain was fucking lifeless. It seemed like everytime Blanchett’s character was on screen, it slowed the movie down, as the villain had no personality and was lifeless. And no it’s not Blanchett’s fault, as she was given nothing to do here, it’s David Koepp fault because the character was totally lifeless.

The only thing that saves this film from become a one star film was the acting. Harrision Ford proved me wrong, as he still capable of playing the legendary character. Also, I thought Shia Lebeouf was surprisingly good, as I’m still a bit skeptical about his acting abilities in these high profile films but this was a good performance.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the first film is the summer movie that left a bad taste in my mouth as it was boring and not exciting enough. I never thought, I would say this about a film in this series.

Reviews From the Horror Chamber: The 2007 After Dark Horrorfest - Part One

Welcome to Reviews from the Horror Chamber. I am your chamber keeper, Anthony Thurber. This is my half of the 2007 After Dark Horrorfest. I’m taking a different approach from Tony D (which you can read his half of the After Dark Horrorfest, by clicking here), as I’m dividing this edition into two since two of the films have long reviews. So that also means, you’ll get not get one rant but two rants this week. Let get started with the chamber keeper’s portion of the After Dark Horrorfest.

I came across a very interesting column online that Independent filmmakers and people who are interested on how these films end up at your local video store, should take a look this column. Rolfe Kanefsky, director of the film Nightmare Man (which I’ll be reviewing in this part), wrote an interesting two-part piece over on fangoria.com His column details the struggles of finding distribution for Indie horror films and I imagine films in general, entitled Distribution Heaven and Hell. He goes into detail on the struggles of trying to find distribution for Nightmare Man and the pits falls of selling independent films to major distributors. It was a good piece as it highlighted the business aspect of trying to find distribution for an independently produced film. It’s a very good read. The links for the articles are at the bottom of this review, if anyone interested in reading this interesting two-part article.

Distribution Heaven and Hell: Part 1: http://fangoria.com/fearful_feature.php?id=6142

Distribution Heaven and Hell Part 2: http://fangoria.com/fearful_feature.php?id=6151



The Deaths of Ian Stone
Year: 2008
Director: Dario Plana
Stars: Mike Vogle, Jamie Murray, Christina Cole
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Studio: After Dark Films/ Odyssey Entertainment
Running Time: 83 Mins
Review Rating: 3.5 Stars

The Deaths of Ian Stone is about a young man, who mysteriously encounters a creature late one night is thrown, then is thrown into the path of an oncoming train The next day, he wakes up like nothing even happened, but in a different life. He still goes on living that life until he’s murdered again. After the second death, Ian Stone starts to notice that something strange is happening to him. To make matters worse, he finds out that he is being stalked by an evil presence that forcing him to die everyday until he finds the mystery that surrounds his life. The film is co-produced by special effects legend, Stan Winston.

I know that I might be getting hate mail for this as a lot of people weren’t too thrilled with many of this years After Dark Horrorfest films, but The Deaths of Ian Stone actually surprised me. The film surprised me because I’ve read a lot of mediocre and bad reviews for this film but wanted to check this film anyway because the trailer looked good and the fact that I’m a big Hex (season one is out on dvd, still waiting for season two to be announced on DVD) fan and Christina Cole is in it.

Director Dario Plana and screenwriter Brendan Hill did a good with the development of the story. Palna’s direction was good. I liked how Palna goes for this weird/bizarre look for the film. The look helps sell the story for me, as the film was moving slow until the action picks up. The direction of the action sequences was good, as the sequences help the film’s pace pick up. Plana also manages to get performances from his actors, which helps the intensity and eeriness of the film. The creature effects were also good, as they delivered a couple of scares during the film. Then again, I expected the effects to be good, if Stan Winston’s name is on your film.

Brendan Hill’s screenplay wasn’t bad but it does have some minor flaws. The screenplay does deliver some scares. The main reason this film works for me is the fact that every time he kills Ian Stone off, he puts the character into a worse situation then before, as there it didn’t try to lighten the main character by putting him in a good situation. Hill makes his film suspenseful by adding a psychological element, in which Ian Stone doesn’t know who he really is and the film’s character twist, which makes it interesting. The only thing that I that I had a problem was the fact that Hill could have spend some time developing the Ian Stone, Jenny relationship in the beginning of the film. It would have like to have seen an extra ten minutes in the beginning to be more emotionally invested with the relationship but still I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The Deaths of Ian Stone would make want to relive this film by putting it, in my DVD collection.

DVD Extras:

Miss Horrorfest Webisodes


Nightmare Man
Year: 2008
Directors: Rolfe Kanefsky
Stars: Tiffany Shepis, Blythe Metz, Richard Moll
MPAA Rating: R
Studio: After Dark Films / Valkhin Films
Running Time: 90 Mins
Review Rating: 4 Stars
Official Website: http://www.nightmaremanthemovie.com/

Nightmare Man focuses on a woman (Blythe Metz) who receives a mysterious mask then thinks that someone or something is stalking her. She calls her stalker the Nightmare Man. Her husband doesn’t believe anything that she is saying, as he thinks that she’s lost her mind. Then on the way to the mental hospital, the car breaks down. Her husband then leaves her all alone in the car when the nightmare man reappears. She then freaks out not knowing if this stalker is real and goes into the woods where she finds on to a cabin that filled with two young couples. Now she has endangered the couples as well, as the nightmare man is coming for all of them.

Nightmare man is a fun throwback to 80’s horror films. This film has everything that you can ask for, as a hardcore horror fan. It has gore, suspense, topless women and the lovely Tiffany Shepis as one of the leads. Writer/Director Rolfe Kanefsky makes this film fun to watch. The action was really good. Kansefsky keeps the action suspenseful by creating twists with the story and timing the deaths well, so it doesn’t become boring. The screenplay was good. I liked how Kanefsky set out to make this a fun slasher film by adding elements that made 80’s horror movies. He added dark sarcastic humor to the story, which helped slow the suspense down, when the film needed it. The story also has some nice character twists, which made this more enjoyable to watch.

Even though Rolfe Kanefsky did good job, what really made this film was the performances of its two lead actresses, Tiffany Shepis and Blythe Metz.

This is the first film that I’ve seen Blythe Metz in, but she really pulls her role off very well. What made her performance very good, was the fact her character’s frantic state of mind was believable. She didn’t try to be silly or phone the performance in. Metz keeps her character’s state of mind by acting tense and frightened for most of the film. Also, she really had good chemistry with her other co-stars especially with Tiffany Shepis. I wouldn’t be surprised to see in more of these horror films, as she really has the talent to be active in the independent horror scene.

Now on to the best and sexiest scream queen out there today, Tiffany Shepis. Her performances seem to get better and better in each film she’s in. She was perfectly cast in role of Mia. Shepis brings a lot of personality to her character, as she nails the dark sarcastic humor while her character is being terrified. She also has that personality that‘s needed for to be a sexy heroine in this genre. We will be definitely be hearing more from in the near future.

Nightmare Man might not be most serious horror film out but it’s a fun thrill ride that you will enjoy.

DVD Extras

Commetary from writer/director Rolfe Kanefsky, actress Tiffany Shepis and producer Esther Goodstein.
2 Behind the Scenes Featurettes
Extended Scenes
Gag Reel
Miss Horrorfest Webisodes


If you’re a filmmaker and interested in having your horror film reviewed in the horror chamber, you can reach the Chamber Keeper himself at Anthonythurber@filmarcade.net or if you have any film in any genres that you want Film Arcade to review. Send us an email at screeners@filmarcade.net.

Also, don’t forget to add the official myspace home of Reviews From the Horror Chamber at http://www.myspace.com/reviewsfromthehorchamber.

Well that’s it for part one of my end of the 2007 Afterdark Horrorfest. I’ll be back tomorrow with part two of this edition as I’ll review Mulberry Street and Unearthed. Until then, have a frightening day.