I was a big fan of all the Indiana Jones movies back in the day. When the fourth one, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, finally came out, it was exciting times! Harrison Ford only seemed to get cooler with age, and what a treat it would be to see Indy in action again after so long.
The flick promised to be more practical effects-oriented and would be directed by Steven Spielberg, of course.
But it wasn't so hot.
The actors were good, the production value was high, and Marion from Raiders of the Lost Ark returned.
There was some unsatisfying CGI here and there, and a story and character motivations that were on the confusing side.
Hey, movies are hard to do. Writing is tough. This isn't about dissing anyone; it's about seeing problems that are much easier to see as an audience after something is made, and learning some lessons from it.
The story aside, I identified two big problems in the theater as I watched.
One - The events of the story didn't seem painful enough, physically OR mentally, for Indy. That was a big part of what made the other movies work. His adventures were hard on him.
Two - There was little variation to the emotions of the scenes, or the emotions weren't hit properly or with enough clarity.
In all the other three, there were exciting scenes. Suspenseful scenes, SCARY scenes. Sweet scenes. Funny scenes. A sense of astonishment and discovery here; a gross out scene there. The newest movie didn't hit those moments to me.
It was sort of similar to the newest Star Wars movie (I hate to say it. Not picking on Harrison Ford, either. Harrison Ford's the best!)
If a comic isn't a gag or strip oriented one, it's a good idea to have some variation to your pages or scenes, and hit as many different emotions as you can. At the right moments. It prevents reader fatigue and just makes a story better!
Do you think about the emotions of your scenes? Is a variety of emotion important to you as a creator or as a reader? Do you think all emotions squeezable into all stories?
Have a fine Thursday!
-Banes
Your Emotions in Motion
Banes at 12:00AM, Aug. 24, 2017
4 likes!
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bravo1102 at 9:03PM, Aug. 24, 2017
Clint was supposed to be in Sword of Kings but he preferred to co-direct instead and we went with Sean Connery.
bravo1102 at 8:59PM, Aug. 24, 2017
And yes, some of us do manage to squeeze in emotion as opposed to others who criticize bland actors but whose comic spans the range of emotion from A to B. Hell, I even got a decent performance out of Harrison Ford in Attack of the Robofemoids.
bravo1102 at 8:50PM, Aug. 24, 2017
Three Mules for Sister Sarah, Kelly's heroes. He is better when he's making fun of his unemotional squinty persona. Like I said Clint realized his limitations in front of the camera and that's why he went behind the camera. But what actor was panned with the phrase "shows the full range of emotion from A to B" ? Kate Hepburn.
Gunwallace at 2:43PM, Aug. 24, 2017
If you ever want to see how good Eastwood actually is, try watching the Elvis Presley movie, Charro!, which was meant to be another Eastwood Western. It's pretty near unwatchable, yet you get the feeling it would have been a much different, and better, picture with Eastwood in the role.
thunderdavid at 2:29PM, Aug. 24, 2017
So i dont think they were bland its just different . And you know what, that bland boring personality made alot money in Holloywood.
thunderdavid at 2:25PM, Aug. 24, 2017
But you know the acting style these men Harrison and Clint, display (the low emotion very conservative in talk) are very similar to that era of how men were. The Steve McQueens and Chuck Connors type.
KimLuster at 9:03AM, Aug. 24, 2017
Well I loved Bladerunner, but because of Rutger Hauer, not H. Ford!! Sometimes Harrison can be a bit bland (in Presumed Innocent I kept thinking, Show Some Life!!). Anyway... the article... Yeah, there are some stories that really need to pull away deviate from the main theme, to give us time to gather ourselves, a bit of contrast to show how good/bad something was, so we don't feel like we're getting beaten over the head with it!! Even dark movies like Schindler's List need to have a few breaks from the dreary carnage... The last thing we should do in movies like that is 'tune out'!
Ozoneocean at 1:30AM, Aug. 24, 2017
I've seen all those films and more, even his Rawhide stuff. Like most hollywood big name draws he started out as a pretty face, not a great actor (good, but not up to his reputation), and didn't develop much beyond that because he didn't need too. There are a lot of people who DID (Kirk Douglass, Tony Curtis etc) but actors like Ford and Eastwood weren't among them.
bravo1102 at 12:57AM, Aug. 24, 2017
Don't talk about Clint Eastwood until you've seen more than a couple of Sergio Leone and Dirty Harry movies. Watch all the Dirty Harry films, the Beguiled, Play Misty for Me, Heartbreak Ridge. But he came to grips with his limited range back with Don Siegel which is one of the reasons he wanted to direct. He couldn't play the roles he really wanted to do, but he could make that movie from behind the camera with actors who had the range he didn't.
bravo1102 at 12:44AM, Aug. 24, 2017
I blame Harrison Ford's lackluster performance in Blade Runner on Ridley Scott. He's all style and flash but gives nothing to his cast. Sean Young was nothing but a hairdo and Rutger Hauer was great because he had done movies with Paul Verhoeven who even managed to get a great performance out of Peter Weller!
Ozoneocean at 12:43AM, Aug. 24, 2017
Now Clint Eastwood is another hugely overrated actor. He has more range than ford, and maybe he's a bit of a better actor, but he's still not much more than a very limited paper cutout tough-guy mask.
Ozoneocean at 12:41AM, Aug. 24, 2017
Hanks has fantastic range.
Ozoneocean at 12:40AM, Aug. 24, 2017
I don't think Ford ever had that much Range Bravo. He can act pretty well but emotionally he has about a 2 notch range to either side of the emotion he's playing at the time: Angry, less angry, more angry; Grumpy, less grumpy, more grumpy; Tired, less tired, more tired etc.
bravo1102 at 12:36AM, Aug. 24, 2017
Can't we talk about Tom Hanks instead?
Ozoneocean at 12:33AM, Aug. 24, 2017
I LOVED Indy back in the day too.
bravo1102 at 12:33AM, Aug. 24, 2017
Harrison Ford got stuck always being expected to play Han or Indy, so that's all he ever had to deliver. Gotta look outside his fanboy movies at Patriot Games or Cowboys and Aliens or his last turn as Han Solo. He played a great has-been who was never there daddy. If the script had focused on him and the son more than the girl it could have been a more emotional experience. But that's the thing with Star Wars. They try to stuff too much and too many characters into one movie and a lot gets lost.
Ozoneocean at 12:24AM, Aug. 24, 2017
I think you should have situations that matter to your character, the audience should be able to SEE that they matter and empathise with them, and see that they matter to THE CHARACTER. Sadly I don't think Ford is really capable of the latter now (if he ever really was...). Sorry, after re-watching Blade Runner all these years later I see him in a new light now.
Ozoneocean at 12:21AM, Aug. 24, 2017
You might have just been seeing Form for how he really is. He's never had that much range I think, but the parts he played accommodated that. He's also gotten a bit tireder and tuned out as the years have gone by... too much cannabis. OMG I just went full Bravo on you! :D
bravo1102 at 12:20AM, Aug. 24, 2017
Remember in Looney tunes when Daffy Duck did that incredible tap dance that should have brought the house down but all he got were crickets? And all Bugs Bunny had to do was show his face and he'd get thunderous applause? Emotions don't matter. You can hit them all and it's still an awful schmaltzy Joan Crawford tear jerker with fake boobs and huge shoulder pads. Or you can focus on one or two and hit them all perfectly and you have a Angels with Dirty Faces or Key Largo. Steven Spielberg screwed up going back to Indy. He'd done Schindlers List and Saving Private Ryan. He'd grown past the simple stuff and couldn't focus anymore. Rogue One had that focus in a way no other Star Wars film had since Empire .