In not entirely surprising news, Russia's Communist party has condemned the fourth installment of Indiana Jones, courtesy its "crude anti-Soviet propaganda that distorted history"; they've called for it to be banned from Russian cinemas. It might have a little something to do with Harrison Ford playing the role of a 1957 archeologist who's facing off against Cate Blanchett's evil KGB agent character. (Jones has previously battled the Nazis, Egyptians, and Bedouins.)

Says Viktor Perov, a Communist Party member in Russia's second city of St Petersburg: "What galls is how together with America we defeated Hitler, and how we sympathized when Bin Laden hit them. But they go ahead and scare kids with Communists. These people have no shame." [Reuters]

He then went on to criticize Sex and the City for promoting the idea that women could wear dresses, bags, and heels instead of traditional sarafans, rubashkas, and kokoshniks. And also for scaring kids with Communists.

Those two big spring movies, Indiana Jones and Sex and the City, aren't just marketing opportunities for the advertisers who paid for the privilege. (Indiana's clients include Harley-Davidson; Sex's include Mercedes and, um, a bajillion designers.) These cultural milestones are like the Super Bowl or the Oscars: Anyone can attach himself to the excitement, even without official sanctions.

And that includes eBay, which is churning out some marketing stats from bidding on the movies' items. For instance, did you know eBay moved 500 percent more Indiana Jones items than Sex and the City goods? And Manolos are selling better than Choos?

CONTINUED »

HUH Some people liked Indiana Jones. [HWT]

The Vanity Fair cover. The Entertainment Weekly cover. Can nothing save Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones from being universally panned? "I'm told by other AICN staff members (don't know if he wants his name formally associated with this info) that other people have contacted him from the same screening & that their feedback has been "uniformly rough". It's safe to assume more reviews will arrive in the coming days." [AICN] Just please don't hate it as much as Sex and the City!

CONTINUED »