Your all-time favorite film

[kindofdoon]

I'll start: M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable".

What about you?

[wilco64256]

Jet Li's Fearless.

[KatieHal]

Tie: Fellowship of the Ring/Josie and the Pussycats

It depends what I'm in the mood for

[Enchantermon]

Josie and the p****cats

Forum censor ftw!
I can't really pick one. There are so many movies that I absolutely love! The first one that comes to mind is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, but honestly, I love all three and a great deal more than that.

[Damar]

Just one movie?  Either Amadeus or Royal Tenenbaums I guess.  Not sure which.

[snabbott]

Josie and the p****cats

Forum censor ftw!
I can't really pick one. There are so many movies that I absolutely love! The first one that comes to mind is The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, but honestly, I love all three and a great deal more than that.

I was reading the archives a while back, and it was censoring things like hello, Michelle, shell, etc.

I think I'd have to go with the Lord of the Rings, too - the whole trilogy.

[wilco64256]

Tie: Fellowship of the Ring/Josie and the p****cats

It depends what I'm in the mood for

LOL@Censoring.  That's the funniest thing I've seen all day.

[KatieHal]

LOL, and now everyone will think I'm watching dirty movies!

[waltzdancing]

Not you, Katie. You're too sweet.

I don't have a single favorite and to list them on this forum will probably overload the server. 

[wilco64256]

And we don't need any more of that thank you very much!

[waltzdancing]

Dang it. I wanted to give you more to do. 

[KatieHal]

So unrelated, but what's your avatar from Adrienne?

[waltzdancing]

It is from the strategy game Age of Mythology. You can play as the Greeks, Norse, or Egyptians through historic battles. This character is Hera and she wields some serious power. 

[Lambonius]

Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Sometimes it switches to Temple of Doom, if my mood is right.  Lol...and for a long time, it was Last Crusade.  

*See my homemade avatar.   

[TheReturnofDMD]

Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Sometimes it switches to Temple of Doom, if my mood is right.  Lol...and for a long time, it was Last Crusade.  

*See my homemade avatar.   

From one big Indy fan to another: What did you think of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and have you ever watched any of the Young Indiana Jones series? Or read any of the novels?

[Haids1987]

I've had the same favorite movie since I was fourteen--Moulin Rouge!  It is very, VERY closely followed by Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet. 

Though The Princess Bride definitely deserves an honorable mention!  If the above two movies had never been made, The Princess Bride would be my favorite.  I grew up on it, and it never ceases to make me laugh.  "No more rhymes, now I mean it!"  "Anybody want a peanut?"

[Lambonius]

Raiders of the Lost Ark.  Sometimes it switches to Temple of Doom, if my mood is right.  Lol...and for a long time, it was Last Crusade.  

*See my homemade avatar.  

From one big Indy fan to another: What did you think of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and have you ever watched any of the Young Indiana Jones series? Or read any of the novels?

Lol--this post turned out a lot longer than I initially intended it to be (and I apologize to others if it brings this thread a little off topic.)

I like KOTCS, though I definitely don't think it's as good as the original three.  I don't mind most of the cheesy moments that are often cited as film-ruiners for a lot of people (thought the monkey vine swinging bit is a little much), and I personally LOVE the nuke part, even if it is ridiculous and unrealistic.  

I think the film as a whole is kind of roughly edited, and too fast paced for its own good.  It is one action scene after another and doesn't really have any of those quieter character-focused moments that the other films had--and I think that really hurts it overall.  

Also, having followed its development and read the novelization and comic book adaptation, there are a few scenes that were cut from the film that I can't help but think would have helped round out some parts of the movie that were a little lacking (namely a whip fight with one of the skull-faced Nazca indians and some extended portions in Akator city/temple where Indy and crew come across the ruins of aqueducts and what appear to be electric lights before getting to the final skeleton throneroom.)  

I think the ancient alien astronaut concept is perfect for the Indy series, and is actually something that he's dealt with before in some of the extended literature/comics, though I think it could have been handled a little better here than it was.  Unlike a lot of others, I don't mind seeing the alien at the end, and though I don't really think the CG looked that great, I don't buy the arguments that I've heard that say it would have looked better as a puppet or something.    Mostly, I think they didn't spend enough time actually IN Akator--this gigantic lost city, and they just randomly find the gods' throneroom in 5 minutes?  In the novelization, their journey through the city is a lot longer and more grand, but almost all of that got cut out of the film in favor of more and longer action scenes, unfortunately.

I think the first half of the movie is pretty much awesome all the way up to the jungle chase, and then it starts to go downhill for me--the ending in particular felt very rushed, as I've said.  

I think Ford's acting is mostly great, despite a few really awkwardly delivered lines, mostly at the very beginning ("wubble-yous?" Really??)  I like Shia as Mutt--I think he did a great job and I loved the character--but I think the idea of him being Indy's son was pretty obvious and uninspired from a story standpoint.  It was nice to see Karen Allen back as Marion, but I can't help but think her inclusion in the movie was nothing more than fan service, as she doesn't really do much beyond her first few scenes and giving Indy a reason to go to South America in the first place.  I also don't think she quite captured the spit-fire essence and depth of her original Raider's performance, but I think the script may be more to blame for that than her own acting ability.  I like the idea of the Mac character, and I love Ray Winstone's portrayal of him, but I wish they had done more with the character throughout the course of the film.  Kate Blanchett was excellent as always, but I think her character was badly written--just a little TOO cartoonish, in my opinion, like she's going to bust into some "moose and squirrel" dialogue any minute.

The biggest issue with the film as I see it is pacing, followed closely by a lot of awkward script moments (mostly failed attempts at humor.)  If they had cut about a third or half of the jungle chase out of the film and used the extra space to flesh out the final Akator sequence, I think the film would have improved quite a bit, even with all the other flaws.

Mostly, I just see KOTCS as something of a missed opportunity.  I like the film, overall, and I really LOVE certain parts of it, but on a whole, it could have been so much better.  First half: very strong--love almost every moment of it.  Second half: a lot weaker, kinda falls apart towards the end.  

Okay, enough about KOTCS.  

To answer your other questions, I have seen the Young Indy series, and I have the DVD sets.  I watched the show religiously as a kid, for the short time it was on TV, and I still love it, though it has quite a different feel than the movies.  The production values are through the roof for a made-for-TV show, and it still amazes me that they did all that on-location shooting all around the world.  Initially when the DVDs came out, I was a little upset by the cutting of intro and ending sequences and George Hall's narrations, but having rewatched some of those clips online, I realized that they are for the most part TERRIBLY acted.  Just atrociously bad--Lol.  So I don't mind them being gone, even if some of the linking footage with Correy Carrier being several years older does look a bit awkward.  

I only have a handful of the novels, and I like them mostly--I still have yet to read any of the Max McCoy books, which are supposed to be the best and most like the films, so I may try to pick those up one of these days.  I really enjoy the novelizations of the movies in particular though--I love reading the additional scenes that didn't make it into the films, and hearing Indy's internal monologue, which puts a cool new twist on some of the familiar moments from the movies.

My favorite non-film Indy material is and will probably always be Fate of Atlantis, though, naturally.    SO good.  Did you know that in the comic book adaptation of the game, the Atlanteans are actually...*drumroll*...visited by Ancient Alien Astronauts, who teach them advanced technology and help them build their city.  The whole reason they build the god-machine in the first place is to attempt to transform themselves to be more like these aliens creatures that they worship as gods.  The parallels with KOTCS are striking, ironically.    The game itself only hints at this though, mostly in the dialogue with Dr. Heimdall in Iceland, and maybe a bit in the Lost Dialogue text.

[Allronix]

The NeverEnding Story - only the first one. Truly lovely, with special effects that still hold up, an "Yes, it's awesome, but one could only get away with it in the 80's" soundtrack, and the fact I really could see not only myself but my childhood best buddy in that poor Bastian kid. 

[KatieHal]

Love that movie. A friend and I also have a little tradition of singing "The Never Ending Story" at the karaoke night we go to sometimes

[Haids1987]

Awww, the Never Ending Story!  I love that movie too.