A Return to Theaters

Yesterday night, we went to a showing of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It was part of a summer-long weekly Steven Spielberg film retrospective at our local theater in Culver City—we missed Raiders of the Lost Ark last week, but plan to see Last Crusade next week, which concludes the series.

Like many people, Temple of Doom is my least favorite of the Indiana Jones films. Though I love the opening Busby Berkeley-inspired musical number and the terrific action sequence that immediately follows (which has a very strong Terry and the Pirates flavor to it), I had not seen the movie in its entirety beyond those opening scenes in many years. I primarily went to accompany my wife who really wanted to see it and ended up really enjoying it. Seeing it on the big screen with a nearly full house made it great fun. (Our 19 year old son also accompanied us—he’s seen the movie too but never in a theater.)

As you’ll see in the photos, people even came in cosplay as Indiana Jones and other characters! They all gathered in the lobby afterwards—one even came dressed as Shia LeBeouf’s Mutt character in his Marlon Brando-inspired The Wild One leather biker outfit, though I didn’t take a photo.

I assume showing films in repertory has been a success because the theater is now running several retrospectives concurrently. A few weeks ago, we saw Babe as part of a weekly family summer film series and watched The Iron Giant as part of the same series a few weeks before. Both screenings were also well attended. A horror film series, presumably in the run up to Halloween, kicks off shortly with Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness. I should add these films are also at reduced prices—the family films were only $5.99/ticket while last night’s film was only $8.99/ticket (it’s reserved seating and they don’t even charge an online service fee!). Showing familiar classic films that people have a fondness for may be a way to get people back in the theater.

By the way, I had forgotten how intense and scary both Temple of Doom and Babe can be for younger audiences—during both films, in the middle of the show, I noticed that some families with young children left the theater.

I particularly look forward to a 100 Years of MGM retrospective that kicks off in September—it includes, of course, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind and Singing in the Rain, but also 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as A Night of the Opera, Shaft and others. (I’ve seen all these films theatrically, including 2001 in 70 mm). I remarked on how I’d like to see Singing in the Rain and 2001—my wife initially said she wasn’t interested in the latter, but changed her mind when she saw the trailer for it that screened before Temple of Doom, because it’s so beautifully shot! What particularly makes the venue ideal for the series is because the old MGM Studios (now Sony) lot is in Culver City as well, just down the street from the theater.

This local theater is a multiplex that was once an ArcLight. It went dark during the pandemic when ArcLight declared bankruptcy, but was purchased by Amazon Studios, which is next door to the property at the historic Culver Studios, in downtown Culver City. The theater is on a promenade next to one of the studio’s entrances. Though owned by Amazon, the theater still screens first-run theatrical films, though I’ve occasionally noticed special events and screenings there. Indeed, the 2022 West Coast red carpet premiere for Amazon’s Rings of Power series was held there, when the theater was technically still closed—we saw the temporary red carpet area they had set up, which included the Prime Video logo over the top of the theater entrance (see accompanying photo). I thought it was going to be a permanent fixture of the renamed theater, but the next time I was there, it was gone, so I guess it was just temporary for the purpose of the event. The venue is now simply the Culver Theater, though it is indeed owned by Amazon.

Below are two photos from 2022 of the ArcLight Theatre in Culver City, which by this time had gone dark due to the pandemic, and had been purchased by Amazon Studios. Though the theater had not been re-opened, it was used for the West Coast red carpet premiere for the Amazon series, The Rings of Power.

Capsule Reviews!

Since this is a geek blog, I thought it certainly appropriate to comment on two films that I actually got to see in the theater, a rare treat for me as the parent of two young children!

Iron Man
Though one of my earliest comic-book memories was some early issue of Iron Man (I’m sure it was drawn by Gene Colan), I’ve never otherwise been a fan of the old shellhead. But for some reason, I sensed in the previews for the movie a real winner that would be entertaining and fun, and I was not disappointed. Robert Downey, Jr., was an inspired choice to play Tony Stark, and as in the Spider-Man films (and Marvel Comics in general), director Jon Favreau does a terrific job of credibly making a character like Iron Man part of our real world. Perhaps the highest praise is the fact that one of my non-comics fans buddies attended the film with me and enjoyed it immensely.

My one disappointment was the climactic fight scene. Given how strong the movie was, my friends and I agreed that the film deserved a more exciting climactic sequence. The chemistry and romantic tension between Downey’s character and Gwyneth Paltrow was also a big plus.


Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
My wife and I had the fortune to catch this movie opening weekend at the Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, California. Located just outside my alma mater, UCLA, it was a chance to see it in one of L.A.’s classic big-screen movie-house theaters, where I recall seeing many of the big event films of the 1980s and ‘90s. Indeed, it seemed like the ‘80s all over again, because we actually had to get on a line that snaked around the block after we purchased our tickets—something I haven’t done much in this era of saturated multiplexes!

Lucas, Spielberg and Ford faced a tall order: to make an aged series relevant and exciting again for a new generation of filmgoers who have been weaned on expensive action films with high quality special effects, while bringing along those who grew up with the Indiana Jones series, beginning with Raiders of the Lost Ark.

While the movie didn’t break new ground or take the series to a whole new level—and it certainly stayed true to the series' formula—within those parameters the film more than delivered. Harrison Ford does look markedly older, but they didn’t try to hide that in the film. (Regardless, one’s gotta be impressed at how physical Ford still is at 65.) Cate Blanchett was impressive as the movie's villainess, proving that fine acting can even elevate a popcorn movie like this, and I was pleasantly surprised to find myself invested in Shia LaBeiouf and his character. And the 1950s milieu worked. It’s likely the last one with Ford in the title role, a worthy addition to the other films, and a great way to go out.

I actually saw one other fun foreign-language film over the Memorial Day weekend, but I've save that for a future post....