Sunday afternoon, thousands of journalists, film critics and invited guests were anxiously awaiting the first screening of the new Indiana Jones film, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," here at the Cannes Film Festival. It has been nearly 20 years since the last Indy movie, after all.

The first screening was at 1 p.m. at the main theater at the Palais. The civilized group of patrons patiently waiting to be allowed entrance into the theater quickly turned into a mob scene as reporters with looming deadlines worried they wouldn't be let inside before the theater reached capacity. I remember a similar situation when "The Da Vinci Code" premiered here at Cannes two years ago. It was unpleasant, but hopefully everyone who needed to see the film was able to do so.

That scene really demonstrated how this is the big movie here at the festival. Watch some of the anticipation surrounding the "Indiana Jones" premiere

The day before, over at the famed Carlton Hotel on the Croisette, I interviewed the cast and filmmakers .. .and some of them were very worried about the reception the movie would receive. Director Steven Spielberg initially declined to do any press other than international, but in the end, he agreed to talk to CNN. He told me he was extremely nervous about showing the movie, but that he feels that way about all of his films. Star Shia LaBeouf asserted he loves the film but is terrified his individual performance could be the one to "bring the house of cards down."

Now that it's been shown, "Crystal Skull" is getting mixed reviews. People magazine film critic Leah Rozen told me, "You wanted to love it and I think most of us liked it. It's fine, you feel kind towards it, but there are stretches where you're going, why isn't this more fun, why isn't this really popping."

USA Today asserted, "There is considerable fun, and it's good to see that Indy, though slightly weary, still has the goods."

Other critics weren't so kind. The Chicago Tribune called it a "cockamamie" story, and The Hollywood Reporter said Indy "gets swamped in a sea of stunts."

Star Harrison Ford told me he's unconcerned about the critics and he's "damn proud" of the movie.

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" opens worldwide this week. Do you have a review of the film? Submit it to us at iReport.com.

- Brooke Anderson, CNN Entertainment Correspondent

There’s so much out there, it’s no wonder plenty of good stuff gets overlooked.

The Goodies: Famous to some, obscure to many, laughter-inducing regardless.

The Village Voice put together a list of unjustifiably overlooked books not long ago. A friend of mine, digging further, found this list of books from Antaeus magazine.

And that’s just books. No doubt there are remarkable albums, TV shows and movies that have also rarely - or never - gotten their due.

For some people, they’re guilty pleasures. Other people believe they’ve stumbled on something brilliant and wonder why the rest of the world hasn’t caught up. And many subjects of people’s faith -– or obsession -– likely fall somewhere in-between.

So what’s your overlooked classic? You can nominate a movie, TV show, album or book – but please, just one to a customer. And remember: One person’s fantastic obscurity is another’s “Everybody’s heard of that” mediocrity. Which is kind of what the Internet is all about.

- Todd Leopold, CNN.com Entertainment Producer

(P.S. You want one from me? Well, I really miss “The Goodies,” a British comedy from the mid-‘70s that allegedly killed a viewer from laughter. It barely aired in the U.S. and the only fans I can find are native Brits. And no doubt one of them is out there is saying, “ ‘The Goodies’? Gawd, I am SO SICK of ‘The Goodies’!”)

Hunter S. Thompson said it best: “How low do you have to stoop in this country to be President?”

"The Candidate," starring Robert Redford, earned an Oscar for Jeremy Larner's screenplay.

See, it happens every four years: A host of presidential candidates start out with the best of intentions –- well, many of them do -– but before you know it they’re stuck coping with the media’s horse-race mentality, a focus on pointless minutiae and the sound of rough, human edges being polished to a sterile gleam by a raft of consultants.

So I try to arm myself with two works that expose the gears and sludge of our political process, a book and movie that remind me that it’s always been this way: Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ‘72” and the 1972 film “The Candidate.”

“The Candidate” gets much of its attention for its central performances: Robert Redford’s turn as Bill McKay, the idealistic lawyer and governor’s son who gets pulled into an allegedly hopeless U.S. Senate race; and Peter Boyle’s work as Marvin Lucas, the hard-charging campaign consultant who turns McKay into a winner – at the cost of McKay’s willing soul.

Both are excellent, but “The Candidate” is full of terrific elements, from the name of McKay’s Republican competitor (Crocker Jarmon, played by the great character actor Don Porter), to Michael Ritchie’s deliberately ragged, verite direction, to -– best of all -– Jeremy Larner’s Oscar-winning screenplay, which offers both brilliant set-pieces and cool detachment.

Indeed, Larner (like most screenwriters) is too often the film’s forgotten man. The former Eugene McCarthy speechwriter knew what he was writing about, and his bitter knowledge shows in every frame. (One of these days, I’ll get around to reading his 1970 political memoir, “Nobody Knows: Reflections on the McCarthy Campaign of 1968.”)

Amazingly, “The Candidate” only has one DVD edition, a bare-bones job from the late ‘90s. Talk about a movie that deserves the full-on Deluxe Special Anniversary version.

And then there’s Thompson’s “Fear and Loathing ’72,” which put the good Dr. through the election-year wringer as Rolling Stone’s National Affairs Correspondent. Thompson was the perfect man to chronicle the circus. He hadn’t spent years on the Washington cocktail-party circuit, so he could look at the campaign as a jaundiced outsider -– but he also cared, deeply, and his passion burns on every page. When McGovern loses to Nixon, nobody takes it harder.

Exchange the typewriters for computers, and all too much of what Thompson wrote 36 years ago is still true today: idealistic supporters clashing with craven deal-makers, bleary candidates watching their plans turn to ashes, and mints of money flying out the window.

Let that be a lesson to all of us.

So, as McKay asked, what do we do now?

Well, we make our way through the next six months. And me, I’m going to read two new books - Rick Perlstein’s “Nixonland” and Thurston Clarke’s “The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America.” Because I always need to learn the lesson over and over again.

- Todd Leopold, CNN.com Entertainment Producer

The fourth season of "Mission: Impossible" hits shelves next week on DVD. Nothing against the show - it was often stoically clever, and the fourth season added Leonard Nimoy to the mix - but when I think of "Mission: Impossible," the first thing that comes to mind isn't Peter Graves or self-destructing tapes or agents in disguise.

It's the theme song.

Lalo Schifrin's tense, jazzy music - its menacing horns like little explosions - IS "Mission: Impossible." It did what the best TV themes did: established a tone and elevated what was to come.

Much has been made of the decline of the TV theme, with most of today's shows' opening credits barely lasting long enough to show a title card, much less air a 30- to 60-second piece of music. But even those discussions often focus on the themes with lyrics - "Gilligan's Island," "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Happy Days" - and neglect the great instrumental compositions.

Which gets me pondering some of the classics. Some that come to mind right away are "Hawaii Five-O," Morton Stevens' brilliant, pounding horn-and-organ concoction; Barry De Vorzon's "Theme from S.W.A.T.," a terrific instrumental that was far more exciting than the show it was written for; and Thomas Newman's theme for "Six Feet Under," a yearning, unusual melody that suggested its show's bittersweet mix of joy and pain.

What are some of your favorites? Remember, instrumentals only.

- Todd Leopold, CNN.com Entertainment Producer