We didn’t expect this to be as good as the first one, and it isn’t. But I suppose we aren’t as good as we were 24 years ago either. We did like the actors—it was great to see Karen Allen again, and Harrison Ford was amusing as an aging Jones. We also liked Shia LeBoeuf as a younger version of Jones. The time period is 1957, and LeBoeuf makes his entrance on a motorcycle looking exactly like Marlon Brando in The Wild One. Cate Blanchett is Irina Spalco, a villainous Russian scientist forcing Jones to help her find the crystal skull. Don’t ask me why she wants it—it’s very convoluted. (Apparently the Russian Communists aren’t happy with this film, and plan to ban it.) The film is as well made as the first two, but we were not engaged by the story or the action. Actually, we found it rather boring. Oh, there were a few good moments and a couple of exciting close calls, but not enough to make this a good movie for us. I thought it deserved a C, but Gary thinks we should add a + because Spielberg does know how to make an action movie. (But it isn’t nearly as good as Iron Man.) GRADE C+

I loved the TV show and I loved the movie. It’s exactly what a fan of the show expects: girlfriends doing girltalk; fantastic fashions; great shoes & handbags; a goodly amount of sex, and much discussion of the perils of love and marriage. Oh, yes—and lots of New York. It doesn’t break new ground and it doesn’t attempt to become great literature, and in my humble opinion, it shouldn’t. It is set four years after the TV series ended. Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and Big (Chris Noth), reunited at the end of the TV series, take their relationship to the next level with disastrous results. Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Steve struggle with marriage and with living in Brooklyn. Charlotte (Kristin Davis) is happy with her husband and adopted daughter, and Samantha (Kim Cattrall) has moved to Los Angeles to manage the career of her young, hunky TV star boyfriend. Jennifer Hudson is the only major new character, appearing as Carrie’s personal assistant. Surprisingly, Gary, who gave up on the TV show after a couple of seasons, liked the movie a lot. He thought the story was entertaining, he enjoyed the ups and downs of the four women, and he tolerated the fashion stuff. Although many critics have been lukewarm about the film, we think it deserves better. GRADE A-

This is the kind of superhero movie I like. It has a terrific actor in the lead role, the script has clever dialogue and a healthy dash of humor, and the technology & special effects are impressive. A buff Robert Downey, Jr. stars as Peter Stark, a weapons inventor & manufacturer who develops a conscience when he discovers that the weapons he has built to protect his country are being used against it. We especially enjoyed the first 3/4 of the film, as Stark invents his way out of an Afghanistan cave/prison and takes the technology back to his fabulous Malibu home to develop it for good. Jeff Bridges, almost unrecognizable with a bald head and heavy beard, makes for a great villain. Gwyneth Paltrow provides some nice sexual tension as Stark’s competent assistant, Pepper Potts. Terence Howard appears as an Air Force officer who is Stark’s best friend, although he isn’t asked to do much here. I expect we will see more of him in the inevitable Iron Man 2. I’m actually looking forward to the next one, even though I’m sure I won’t like it as much as this one. Gary and I enjoyed the film and applaud Jon Favreau for successfully pulling off his first directing foray into the superhero genre. As A.O. Scott put it in his review, Favreau "wears the genre paradigm as a light cloak rather than a suit of iron." I say A; Gary says A-. GRADE A/A-