Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Ok, so I know this isn't really a historical movie, but it is Indiana Jones and deals with historical things. At least, it should. Unfortunately, this movie has no history to speak of, at least not of Earth. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but honestly I advise not seeing it anyway, but there are aliens and stuff, and a spaceship at the end. Lame. Seriously, has George Lucas lost his mind? He should have just left this franchise alone. And Harrison Ford, I love him as an actor, but he was just boring in this one. Where are all the good one-liners and quips that makes Indiana Jones great? Parts of this movie made me laugh, and not because they were supposed to be funny. They were just cheesy and fake. Honestly, Star Wars is more realistic and believable than this piece of crap. And I really hate to say that, because I had hoped it would equal the original three movies. I had a feeling it might be bad, though, and unfortunately I was right. Maybe Lucas and Spielberg should just give up, because lately their movies have kind of sucked. (War of the Worlds come to mind?). And the way the Russians were depicted..... I thought the Cold War was over. I realize that we had harsh feelings towards them during this time, but they are portrayed as mindless, drunken idiots. In one scene they are dancing around the fire like a bunch of morons. I really felt like I was watching a movie from the 50s, and I don't necessarily mean that in a good way. The movie did somewhat portray the communist witch hunt that was going on at the time and how dumb it could be, but beyond that the movie really lent nothing. Let's hope they put the Indiana Jones franchise back to bed, where it should have stayed in the first place. However, knowing George Lucas and his desire to market anything he can (by the way, I don't remember Indiana Jones toys from the original movies), he'll probably make like six more. Maybe Indy will go to Mars or another dimension this time. Obviously Lucas's head is out there somewhere.

Band of Brothers Part Two

So after finishing the miniseries, I of course had to get the book it was based off and read it. I have read a little of Ambrose's work in the past, and I really like his stripped down, personal style of writing history. It's interesting to read about just one company in the entire U.S. Army. Sometimes reading WWII histories gets too complicated trying to keep everything straight, but since this book follows only one company it was easy to follow and easy to relate to the soldiers. The book offers much deeper insight into what the soldiers were feeling and thinking than the miniseries, which is usually true of any book. I will have to read more of Ambrose's work later, as I really enjoy his style and analysis. This book read like a narrative, but he does a great job of inserting his own analysis as well as the analysis of the soldiers themselves, and also uses outside sources well to back up some of his points. Excellent book.