I spy, with my little eye, an A-frame Pup ‘n’ Taco forty seconds into the trailer for Fanboys. There’s only one problem: the film takes place in 1998 and all PnTs were demolished or renovated by the mid-’80s. Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Taco Bell, of course.
Geez, guys. Get it straight.
Still, though – Pup ‘n’ Taco and Star Wars in one flick? What are the odds?
Tags: movies, nostalgia, star wars
OK, this pisses me right off. An artist (I won’t give him a plug) is selling Lucasfilm-authorized gicleés via an online company (I won’t give them a plug) at $100 a pop showing Indiana Jones praying.
You heard me – praying.
The illustration, titled “Resolve,” infers that Jones draws the inspiration for killing Nazis and destroying heathen temples from his almighty Lord and Savior. Funny, I always thought he was inspired by “fortune and glory” or “this belongs in a museum.” Bathed in the golden blessed light of his bedroom window – with the oh-so-sly crucifix shadow on the wall, natch – Jones looks like such a nice boy.
Truth be told, the illustrator should’ve depicting him contemplating his bank account, champagne in hand. The character of Jones is agnostic at best, Holy Grail leap-from-the-lion’s-head “illumination” notwithstanding. For an artist to tweak such an iconic character to his own religious worldview – no wait, “lifestyle” – with the consent of Lucas Licensing is so disappointing. For shame.
They even got the size of his satchel all wrong.
Yesterday, the family met up with with Dad & old buddy Chapman for what I suspect will be our last waiting-in-line event at Edwards Newport to see the new Indiana Jones flick. It was great to have everyone together again at the old haunt I’ve been visiting since the summer of 1977. Once billed as “the largest screen west of the Mississippi,” it’s still the best place to see “big deal” movies – they really don’t make ‘em like they used to.
Speaking of which…
I’ll start by saying the first film (“Raiders of the Lost Ark,” 1981) is one of a handful of perfect films that cannot be improved upon. None of the sequels have come close by a long shot. I accept them for what they are, simple entertainment.
Now – “Crystal Skull” is not great, but it’s not awful, either. It’s neat to see Indiana Jones in the late ’50s with atomic annihilation, McCarthy paranoia, ruthless Commies, teenie boppers, and all that. The film has a lot of the elements I was hoping to see (sci-fi “Saucer Men from Mars” stuff included). There are a few great set pieces, good characters, and nothing as over-the-top as that 500-foot drop out of the plane in the inflatable raft in “Temple of Doom.” Two moments come close, but it’s hard to top that for ridiculousness.
My biggest gripe by far is Janusz Kaminski’s cinematography. He bathes every shot in this stupid glowing haze (probably added in post) that really threw me out of the story. Put it this way: he’s no Doug Slocombe.
Overall, it’s worth seeing, has some good laughs, good action, and is worth a trip to the theater. Make it Edwards Newport.
Tags: movies, orange county
1977. “Saturday Night Fever”, Zots, “Undercover Angel”. Bulgy pants and bright teeth. Tickle deodorant and they told two friends and they told two friends and so on; and so on; and so on…
And along comes Saturday, June 4. I had originally gone to see this new movie “Star Wars” with Jimmy Marks and his dad at The Plitt City Center in Orange on opening weekend, but the line was literally wrapped around the mall, all parking was taken, there was security up on the roof of the mall with bullhorns and walkie-talkies directing traffic, helicopters were circling overhead and news vans were there. Pretty freaked out by the whole scene, we gave up.
The next weekend (and I’m glad it worked out this way), I went with my Dad to Edward’s Newport. This is a classic, old-school theater built in the late ‘60s during the waning years of Cinemascope “event” films. It’s a huge (I mean HUGE) amphitheater with what they advertise as “the biggest screen on the west coast” — seventy-one feet wide. They had recently upgraded to “six-track Dolby stereo” at that time. I had no idea what to expect. I hadn’t seen any of the trailers, hadn’t read the novel published six months prior, maybe just read Charles Champlin’s review in the L.A. Times. It starts with the 20th Century Fox fanfare, the “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” thing – my Dad & I look at each other with a smile. We already know this is going to be cool after only thirty seconds and no story. The main title explodes and the scroll-up draws us in. I’m fascinated — what is this? No opening credits? No director, no producer, no stars…? Pan down to a desert planet with a couple moons orbiting. There’s a sound coming from behind us like fifty jet planes six feet over our heads then this very cool-looking ship with eleven red engines comes screaming past, shooting lasers back and forth and getting hit by unseen pursuer. A beat, then the rumbling starts. I swear to you, the whole theater felt like it was shaking and this HUGE wedge-shaped ship starts crawling past overhead. In this vast theater, it literally fills my eyesight. It keeps going and going and going — and just when I think it can’t be any bigger and my head is about to explode from sensory overload — it keeps going some more.
It was at that moment, at age eleven, that I knew what I wanted to do with my life — become a professional visual artist. I spent the rest of the summer, fall & winter devouring everything I could get my hands on: Ralph McQuarrie’s portfolio, Joe Johnston’s sketchbook, every picture I could find — I must have gone through twenty Strathmore pads drawing and drawing and drawing. Our neighbor across the street owned a design firm (he did the Sunkist logo, among others) and he graciously volunteered a couple drawing lessons and a tour of his studio. The world seemed to open up; all things became possible without limits. Limits came later.
Tags: 1977, movies, nostalgia, orange county, star wars
