Medium-level spoilers here, though I'm guessing that the basics of the plot revealed here are revealed fairly early in the movie, like in the first third or so.

Nevertheless, the actual plot has been kept out of the trailers, so be alerted to that.

I think if you read what the plot is about you're going to be disappointed. Let's just say that the Indiana Jones trilogy has featured one fantastical element -- magic and mysticism -- and that this film seems to introduce two more, hitherto unhinted to exist in the world of Indiana Jones. Maybe I'll end up buying them, but I liked the old rules of the trilogy better.

Here are some spoiler-free quotes:

The big problem with the movie is that the traps or perilous moments are completely ass-inine and ridiculous. From a quicksand trap that Indy has time to yack on about, to being saved from said trap by LeBeef using a snake as a rope.

BTW, this snake is as crappy as a Mad TV prop when they don't CG it up, and that is another failing of this movie. The fake stuff doesn't mix with the real stuff at all. In the opening scenes where they are outside of the warehouse and Indy is pulled out of the trunk of the car (you'll recall the previews), they go from a real outdoors set to a fake indoors soundstage (pretending to be still outside). The jungle chase in the duck amphibious vehicles (I wonder if those will go in water at one point or not?...) looks like the whole jungle was made of plastic.

And then we go with the actual acting and characters. Well, everyone will be pleased to hear that LeBeef was horrible....

Marion was actually really great when she was first introduced (about half way) and she and Indy have some good banter. But after that five minutes, she was sporting a big muggy smile as they continued on their adventure and she was never scared, worried, or nervous, even with the stupid moments that she tries to help (duck in a tree; you will cringe when you see it...).

...

And then we have Indy himself. He has a few lines that work and a million that don't. He just never shows signs of worry or distress. Again, no Tension. He also has a weird tendancy to help the bad guys figure out the clues; never figured out why.

Anyway, I don't want to rant on forever, as it doesn't matter what I say, you will see this movie regardless. And even though it's not as bad as Allan Quartermane, it's definitely not a good Indy Movie. But for those of you that feel that the new Star Wars Movies robbed your childhood, expect some molestations from Uncles' George and Steven...

I saw the trailer when I saw Iron Man.

I'm a huge Indiana Jones fan and have the DVD boxed set and have watched them all dozens of times (including the bonus making-of disk, which I love), but I didn't bother to watch most of the trailer, choosing instead to play with my cell phone. What I did see struck me as anemic and the sort of forced fun one attempts on New Year's Eve. And Harrison Ford is ancient; it comes through more in his voice than in his look.

They try to gin up enthusiasm by featuring The Whip (yes, capitals) a lot, and throw in a bonus whip-crack over the title shot, but for whatever reason, I had no interest. The magic just didn't seem to be there.

It doesn't build confidence that one of the Big Crowd-Pleasing Jokes they feature in the trailer is Indy poking between Marion and his son with a bazooka, saying "You may want to cover your ears." Is that a joke so much as simply sound advice? I dunno. But if that's the sort of cracklin' dialogue they're featuring as the movie's top-drawer stuff, I worry for the rest of it.

Ah, well. How much worse could it be than Temple of Doom? Sad estimate: Much worse.

Via Hot Air's Headlines.

Posted by: Ace at 09:07 AM | Comments (67)
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Just a source of Snapped Shot, repeating a rumor. But...

There are now sporadic gunfights between Hezballah and Lebanese security forces.

Supporters of the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, trying to enforce a general strike called by labour unions, clashed with government supporters and blocked roads in Beirut yesterday, escalating the country's worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Mobs of men belonging to Hezbollah blocked roads with burning tires and garbage cans, and set cars on fire to enforce a strike called to protest government economic policies and to demand higher minimum wages. They fought occasional gun battles with their political opponents.

A security official said at least five people were slightly injured, including a cameraman for Hezbollah's Al-Manar television.

Opposition spokesmen said the protest, including blocking roads, will continue until the government cancels decisions taken earlier this week that affected Hezbollah.

The government said Tuesday that it would act against a private telephone network operated by Hezbollah in south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, and accused the militant group of placing several spy cameras on a road outside the airport to monitor pro-government officials. The cabinet also removed the airport's head of security, a figure close to Hezbollah, from his post.

The telephone network was mainly used for communication between members of Hezbollah during the 2006 July war with Israel, and Hezbollah officials were quoted in local newspapers as saying they would consider anyone who interfered with the network Israeli spies.

Nazrallah's Threat: At Commentary:

I said . . . that any hand that reaches for the resistance [i.e., Hezbollah] and its arms will be cut off. Israel tried that in the July War, and we cut its hand off. We do not advise you to try us. Whoever is going to target us will be targeted by us. Whoever is going to shoot at us will be shot by us.

Posted by: Ace at 08:45 AM | Comments (8)
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Via Hot Air Headlines, from NewsBusters.

Pretty funny, really, and the sort of thing that should shame the MSM into backing away from its incessant cheerleading, but the MSM has no shame left.

TUCKER CARLSON: It's gonna be such a great election; it has been so far.

JOE SCARBOROUGH: Especially when you have the media loving one candidate as much as they love Barack Obama.

CARLSON: But it's more than love. I mean, it's the kind of love that anybody who's been a 9th-grade boy understands this species of love. Do you know what I mean?

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Wow.

SCARBOROUGH: No, it's the truth. It's all-consuming.

CARLSON: It's red-in-the-face, I-think-about-you-when-I-go-to-bed, too embarrassed to stand up, it's sealed-with-a-kiss love. I mean, it's real, it's palpable.

Heh.

Healing the World: Abe Greenwald at Commentary wonders about the liberals' article of faith that Obama will heal the world simply by demonstrating America is tolerant and multicultural, giving the rest of the world seems not to give a rat's ass about tolerance and multiculturalism.

Posted by: Ace at 08:27 AM | Comments (86)
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But not, for some reason, the Super Bowl against the Rams.

But: They did tape the Steelers' signals for the AFC Championship game.

Videotapes to be sent to the NFL by a former New England Patriots employee will show the team violated league rules by recording coaches' signals from opposing teams between 2000 and 2002, the NFL said Thursday.

But the tapes will not show that the Patriots recorded the St Louis Rams during their pre-Super Bowl walk-through in 2002 as had been reported, spokesman Greg Aiello said.

Aiello said the league received a list of the tapes that were to be delivered to the league Thursday by Matt Walsh, who worked for the Patriots from 1997 to 2003.

"The list indicates that all eight tapes are of opposing coaches' signals, consistent with what we already know," Aiello told Reuters.

The tapes show New England recorded signals in regular-season games against Miami, Buffalo, Cleveland and San Diego and against Pittsburgh in the 2002 AFC championship game, the New York Times reported.

Seems very likely they did tape the Rams' signals. They just don't have a tape that proves that.

What a mess.

Posted by: Ace at 07:58 AM | Comments (29)
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Uhhhh-huh.

Greyhawk is pleased, though, that at least the story is getting some coverage in the MSM.

Posted by: Ace at 07:14 AM | Comments (40)
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As a lifelong Mets fan it pains me to do this but sometimes you have to give the Devil his due.

Derek Jeter is known as a player in every sense of the word, and Maxim's upcoming Hot 100 list reflects that sentiment.

The magazine told amNewYork exclusively that six members of the Jeter exes club have made the annual list, which hits newsstands May 20.

The sexy ladies are Jessica Biel, Scarlett Johansson, Mariah Carey, Vanessa Minnillo, Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba.

Johansson and Biel land somewhere in the top 10, though Maxim wouldn't give any more specifics.

Now some of these were awhile ago but considering the readership of this blog, I think itÂ’s safe to say the number of women on this list you, yeah, I am looking at you, have dated at some point is zero. And no, working on preventing prostate cancer while looking at their picture doesnÂ’t count as dating.

Posted by: DrewM at 07:03 AM | Comments (35)
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This word recession they keep using, I do not think it means what they think it means.

The number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits dropped much more than expected last week.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits fell to 365,000, a decline of 18,000 from the previous week. Economists had been looking for a much smaller decrease of around 5,000.

But fear not! They are still looking for that pony amid the pile of shit.

Many economists believe that a prolonged housing slump and severe credit crisis have pushed the economy into a recession. For that reason, they believe job layoffs will rise in coming months as the unemployment rate climbs higher.

Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist for High Frequency Economics, said that even with the improvement this week, claims are now at a level equal to where they were at the start of the last recession in March 2001. He predicted that layoffs would increase further in coming months.

Admitedly this is just a one week snapshot of one economic indicator (and not a great one at that) but the realities of whatÂ’s going on the economy are simply swamping the Democrat/MSM narrative.

A slow and sluggish economy? Yes, it happens every so often.

Worst economy ever? No but that rhetoric gets trotted out every so oftenÂ…like whenever thereÂ’s a Republican in the White House.

Update [Ace]: AP economics reporters still bitterly clinging to their recession meme.

Posted by: DrewM at 06:42 AM | Comments (31)
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This petition to save the life of Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani.

Mr. al-Khaiwani is everything that is antithetical to most of the Middle East today. He is anti-dictator, and anti-theocracy. He's pro-America and pro-democracy.

And he may be executed for it.

Posted by: Open Blog at 09:25 PM | Comments (14)
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I pity the poor Deputies who had to answer this call:

The hooch-chugging woman screamed profanities at, threw a dog at, questioned the manhood of, and donkey kicked the poor guys:

The meltdown, which deputies witnessed along with the couple’s 3- and 4-year-old children, started when the husband, 24, had told his wife they had three hours to quit smoking, drinking, swearing and engaging in some sex acts because “they were going to be good Christians now,” the woman said.

The man said she had woken him up to have relations, but then became disappointed and angry.

A neighbor called the police after yelling, crying and slamming doors were heard.

When deputies arrived, the woman denied any assault had taken place, and repeatedly, without sparing a vulgar euphemism, told the deputies about how unsatisfied she was with her sex life — some of the time carrying around a half-gallon of whiskey while doing so.

HereÂ’s where it starts to get really weird:

During an argument with one of the deputies, the woman picked up the familyÂ’s 20-pound dog and threw it at the deputy, who caught it, the report said.

The deputies convinced the couple to separate for the night, and the man said he was taking their children to a hotel. But the 28-year-old returned to the apartment and took her husbandÂ’s wallet, military identification card and keys.

The woman resisted being arrested for theft — her screams were described as “blood-curdling” by one of the deputies. The deputy who drove the woman to jail reported she questioned his manhood, asked God to forgive him because “he knows not what he does,” and “donkey-kicked” him in the shin while he attempted to walk her from his patrol car to the jail, reports said.

Talk about sexually frustrated!

She was booked for second-degree theft and third-degree assault.

Hat Tip: Crime Scene KC

Cross-Posted at Nice Deb

While you're there, please check out the petition drive for Yemeni journalist, Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani. He's facing the death penalty for the trumped up charges of "insulting the president and demoralizing the military with an article about the SaÂ’ada war". He is an internationally renowned journalist and one of YemenÂ’s most prominent and outspoken democracy advocates.

Posted by: Open Blog at 09:22 PM | Comments (46)
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A veritable plethora, nay cornucopia of silly, lame, and potentially offensive videos of this grand tapestry we call life. Language, content, and appropriateness warning on all videos.

Home Shopping: The Skank Sack
(HT to Claudia)

video.vh1.com

more...

Posted by: Open Blog at 06:11 PM | Comments (11)
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