I think Shia LaBoeuf is quite talented and has done a good job getting out from under the Disney umbrella. (Plus he's very cute, and I'm young enough that I don't have to feel that dirty for saying that.)

I think I've figured out why I had such a poor reaction to Indy... this movie is like Indy fanfic, and Indy's not my fandom.

1. Shia La Boeuf isn't actually that young. I look at him and I see late 20s and the scrawniness is a permanent feature, not a bug of adolescence. Wasn't there a bit of a scandale about it back when he was on Disney, because his IMDB listing had him as like 15 when he was actually considerably older? It appears that age-fuzziness persists, because he's theoretically 21 right now, which I'm pretty sure is a lie.

2. You're not a cougar unless you (a) could reasonably -- not just theoretically -- have given birth to the target in question; (b) have a tiger-print themed bedroom; (c) don't know what appropriate cleavage would be for an ordinary trip to the grocery store; and (d) actually make rawr noises, not for the funny of it, in public.

I like Nutty's definition of cougar, if only because I can hide behind the tiger-print requirement forever.

I thought Shia was all wrong for HJIII. HJIII should be lankier.

IJS.

I saw Ironman at a matinee and then Indy in the afternoon and I think Indy suffered by comparison. I wish that they hadn't gone with the space aliens. Also, jilli weren't there undead protectors? I mean, who were those people who were skeletons and then flesh and were lurking in the gravesites, if not undead protectors ?

I have to say seeing Cate Blanchett playing a psychic communicator brought a strange twisted Galadriel vibe to it.

Agreed on your last point, sumi. I kept waiting for "All shall love me, and despair" in the Natasha accent. Hee!

sumi, in regard to your first section of whitefont, I think they were just wearing skull masks, but were actually living protectors. Someone hit one and the mask shattered, revealing a person underneath.

Oooh, okay.

I saw Ironman at a matinee and then Indy in the afternoon and I think Indy suffered by comparison.

Yeah, so far Iron Man is still my main squeeze movie of the summer.

Wasn't there a bit of a scandale about it back when he was on Disney, because his IMDB listing had him as like 15 when he was actually considerably older?

Not that I can find on Google.

What's that German word for a face that cries out to be punched? Because I get that feeling anytime I see Mike Meyers mugging for the camera.

Matt, is it backpfeifengesicht? I had backpfeifengesicht as a tag once, and have it saved in my profile. I think it might be your word.

Of course, this means that I'm going to actually have to see Chronicles so that I know what the hell is going on in Prince Caspian.

I'm not sure that is true. If it's like the book you could pick up on things pretty easily without having read the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I mean, it takes place long after the first book. (Narnian time.)

Book-wise, you can start the series with Prince Caspian. In fact, as a child, I did. I'm not sure that's the case with the film. We took the kids to see it, this past weekend. I've read all the books, but not for a good long time. I saw The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when it came out. I wished I'd rewatched it, before we went to see Prince Caspian. I know the story, but like The Two Towers, I felt like Prince Caspian just dropped me right into the middle of a story.

If you haven't seen Prince Caspian yet Aims, I think it would be worth your while to rent TLTW&TW, first. That will give you a chance to get to know the Pevensie children and understand how important they are to Narnia, and why. It will also add about seven more layers to interaction between all of the children. The Prince Caspian film makers seem to assume you'll come in knowing them, already. I want to accuse them of making the same assumption with the titular character, but I might just be needing to re-read the book.

It's funny, because I liked the movie while I was watching it, but I've felt this vague, mild feeling of discontent ever since the end credits rolled. I don't think it succeeded in taking me to Narnia, if you know what I mean (and if you haven't read the books, you maybe can't). I may just be feeling a little let down too, because a friend saw it before me, and he thought it was much better than TLTW&TW. Maybe it was, but TLTW&TW film managed to take me to Narnia, whereas the closest Prince Caspian got me was to a lookout tower from which I could see Narnia. I couldn't feel it. I couldn't taste it. I think at best, I caught a whiff of it on the breeze.

It is action packed. There are lots of battles but there isn't any gore (which is a plus for a children's film). It's solid enough, but I can't help but think it could and should have been more. And it's not the length at fault. I'm pretty sure the film clocked in around 2 hours and 20 minutes.

If they do it chronologically, it's Magician's Nephew, TLTWATW, The Horse and His Boy, then Prince Caspian, Dawn Treader, Silver Chair, and Last Battle.

It is. The Magician's Nephew was written -- I don't want to say as an after-thought, but it was written last, yet serves as a prequel to whole story. It's the Narnia creation story.

Prince Caspian was written (and maybe published) directly after TLTW&TW, but if I recall correctly, the events of The Horse and His Boy take place during the same era (in Narnia) as TLWT&TW, whereas Prince Caspian is set 1300 years later in Narnian time.

Lewis reportedly had no problem with the publisher ordering and reordering of the series, but I still recommend that my kids read The Magician's Nephew last. I sort of think of it as fanwank in the original sense of the word. If you fall in love with the concert that is Narnia, TMN is the encore that caps off your evening, because although you were sated, you just needed a little bit more.

Apparantly DH was talking to Maureen O'Hara for a couple of hours last week and had no idea. And when he was informed, had no idea who she was. For shame, DH, for shame.

Jarsy, that's grounds for divorce. Annulment, even.

Great segue for mentioning that I saw Speed Racer at an Imax theater this afternoon. I think it's a touch too long for such a (continued...)