Karen Allen

Summer blockbuster season is officially in full gear! Iron Man kicked things off but this weekend it's all about Indy and die-hard fans are already in theaters watching the long awaited fourth installment of the Ford/Lucas/Spielberg film. Shia may be the newcomer but he already knows how important it is to take his mentor's advice. When ET asked Shia what he's learned from the veteran actor he said, "Stay humble." We love it and hope he sticks to it. The cast showed up last night in NYC to express their gratitude to fans for a special screening. Oh and some other celebrities like Eric McCormack showed up as well. He looks so cute, makes me miss Will & Grace a little. I wonder if they agreed with Buzz's review of the film.

To see lots more picture of Shia, Harrison, James Lipton, Seth Meyers and more just read more

There's a lot to enjoy about this fourth installment of Indiana Jones. It's fun, silly, adventure-filled and completely entertaining in ways we don't always get from movies these days, with the greatest parts coming straight from the marvelous imagination of Steven Spielberg. Plus, it's a summertime blockbuster that doesn't totally rely on CGI which feels practically old-fashioned — and I mean that in the best way possible. The performances are strong and overall it's a sequel that doesn't embarrass itself or the whole franchise. It's refreshing and, honestly, it's a relief.

Sure, there are aspects I didn't like about it, but the experience of seeing this movie with a theater full of fans and happy moviegoers pretty much trumps any quibbles I have. The story finds our beloved Indy caught up with a group of Soviets (led by one fierce Irina Spalko, played by Cate Blanchett) trying to find the secrets behind ancient crystal skulls which are said to have been shaped by some kind of higher power (or other-worldly power). They need Indy's mad archaeologist skillz (and wide base of experience) to do this and one way of luring him in is via Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), who they've taken captive. Marion gets in touch with Indy through her son Mutt (Shia LaBeouf). That's the basic gist of things but I wanted to leave plenty for you to discover at the theater, so for more of just my thoughts, read more

Well what do we have here? It looks like Shia LaBeouf has already scored his second Vanity Fair cover in less than a year's time — pretty impressive if you ask us. The legendary Annie Leibovitz shot the photos of the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull cast on the set, including Shia, Harrison, and Cate Blanchett. We also get a peek at what went into making the 4th installment of the Indiana Jones chronicles from the sources themselves — George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford. Here are highlights:

• Harrison on getting back into character: “There’s something about the character that I guess is a good fit for me, because the minute I put the costume on, I recognize the tone that we need, and I feel confident and clear about the character.”
• Steven on teaming up with Harrison again: “I mean, we’re both older, and we both look a bit older, I think, certainly, but at the same time Harrison needed to recapture the caustic, laconic spirit of Dr. Jones, and certainly he was going to have to manage the action, and he did both of those things amazingly well, certainly far beyond what I expected.”
• George on how the movie will be received: “I know the critics are going to hate it. They already hate it. So there’s nothing we can do about that. They hate the idea that we’re making another one. They’ve already made up their minds.”

George Lucas may have a pessimistic outlook, but we have a feeling that we're not the only ones who can't wait to check out the new film. How could you go wrong with all the fun of an Indiana Jones movie with great new additions to the cast?

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Comic-Con is now in full swing down in San Diego, and Team member Phasekitty is blogging from the scene — be sure to check out her great reports from the convention floor. She already told us about "Lost," and here are some highlights from the other panels:

• First of all, check out this photo Phasekitty snapped of the awesome poster for Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd starring Johnny Depp! She also got a look at the art for that JJ Abrams project definitely not named Monstrous.
• At the The Paramount Pictures panel, JJ Abrams confirmed that Zachary Quinto is the new Spock! What's more: "They also announced that Leonard Nimoy would return to reprise his role as well, so it seems there will be a 'Young Spock' and 'Old Spock.' Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy came out and joined the panel to rap a bit about how excited they are to make the flick."
• Karen Allen (Marion Ravenwood from Raiders of the Lost Ark) is officially signed on for Indiana Jones 4! Phasekitty says her appearance "made the crowd go mad with excitement."
• Phasekitty said the Iron Man portion of the panel was the best: "Jon Favreau came out and introduced some footage that was to be shown in Marvel's panel on Saturday, but he simply couldn't wait for people to watch it. Most of the footage showed Robert Downey Jr. looking fantastic as Tony Stark, but went on to show a lot of the origin of Iron Man, the first gray suit, and ending with some amazing shots of Iron Man flying. I've got high hopes for this movie and the footage they showed was very strong."

A bunch more, including Neil Gaiman's appearance, so read more