It has been 19 years since the last outing of Dr. Jones, the globetrotting whip-cracking adventure-seeking archaeologist. It is now 1957 and the Russians have replaced the Nazis as the bad guys. The movie opens with Indy and his sidekick Mac (Ray Winstone) taken at gunpoint to a mysterious warehouse in the Nevada desert by Russian agents led by Colonel Irina Spalko (Blanchett with a bad accent). They are in search of an artefact that Indy helped to unearth ten years earlier (the crate is labelled Roswell, so you can figure things out from there). Indy escapes in a terrific action set-piece, which has with a massive explosive climax (literally). While dodging more Russians, he is partnered with a motorcycle-riding "greaser", Mutt (LaBeouf), whose first appearance in the movie resembles Marlon Brando from the The Wild One (1953). You don't have to be a Heinrich Schliemann to work out that there is a special relationship between these two, which is revealed towards the end of the movie. Together they head to South America to search for the "Crystal Skull", an artefact with mystical powers. Indy is also reteamed with Marion (Allen), the feisty leading lady from the first Indiana Jones film. The major disappointment with the film is the extensive use of CGI, particularly during the film's finale. The special effects were more convincing in the earlier films. But for fans of the series, the action and one-liners will entertain.

PS: Heinrich Schliemann was the archaeologist who discovered the historic site of Troy. It was a gratuitous archaeological reference to show that I can keep up with the Joneses!

In 1978, Amir (Ebrahimi) and Hassan (Mahmoodzada) are young boys living in Kabul. Hassan and his father Ali, who are members of a minority ethnic group in Afghanistan, the Hazara, work as servants for Amir and his father, Baba (Ershadi). Amir and Hassan make an excellent kite flying team, successfully running down other people's kites. After one competition Hassan is cornered by a group of bullies led by Assef, and is raped, while Amir watches helplessly. (This scene, although intense, is not explicit). Following the Russian invasion, Amir and his father flee to the United States where they make a new home in San Francisco. Amir grows up (now played by Abdalla) and at college meets a beautiful Afghani woman, Soraya (Leoni). But Amir continues to be haunted by his cowardice and decides to return to Afghanistan to set things right. By this stage the Taliban are in control of the country and the return involves great risks.

Based on the bestselling novel by Khaled Hosseini, the film makes a successful transition to the screen, with solid performances by the cast, including the debut of the young leads, and a noteworthy music score by Alberto Iglesias. The Afghan scenes in the film were filmed in Western China bordering Afghanistan.