Watching Indiana Jones The Night Indy Comes Home

You can pick the reason why but on the night before we are to pick up our new puppy "Indy", I decided to watch Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones has nothing to do with puppies I don't think.

Puppies don't have anything to to with Indiana Jones but for some strange reason, the circle fits. Our new little puppy is named "Indy" after Indiana Jones. A great movie (which I have seen at least 20 times). And a great new dog. Tonight, couldn't get any better.

A Golden Retriever puppy just like Indy

The Star Wars Bar Scene - A Flight Into Sillines

There is no doubt, the original Star Wars movie (Episode IV - A New Hope) is one of the great movies ever, a classic in every sense of the word, and a model of clear concise storytelling. Add to it the special effects created for the movie, long before the digital age, and you have got a movie experience that is really something special. Granted, the acting leaves something to be desired in places except the craft masters of Alec Guiness and James Earl Jones but it doesn't detract from a great movie that I sat and watched yesterday for probably the tenth time.

But each and every time, one scene bothers me, and bothers me, and bothers me some more. It's that bar scene when our heroes first encounter Han Solo. This scene, with its gazillion weird characters, each one more garish than the next, accompanied by some really hokey music seems like an exercise for George Lucas's ego and when it comes down to it, just plain silly. It isn't dramatic, it doesn't add a whole lot to the story, but in the end, just seems like about 5 minutes of just plain non-sense. Weird looking characters do not necessarily make good characters. The bar scene screams with George Lucas saying "look at what I can create that you people have never seen before." I got news for you George. I didn't want to see it 40 years ago and still don't want to see it now. The encounter with Han Solo and Chewbacca could been handled so much better and far more compelling.

Yep, as an admirer of the original Star Wars, that bar scene does everything possible to sabotage a great movie. Luckily it's short enough and I can create my own intermission by going out and raiding the refrigerator while its playing.

Within the last week, Lucasfilm (now Disney) released still another package of Star Wars movies in blu-ray. I'm not sure of the latest count but this may be the fourth or fifth package that's been made available just for blu-ray.. I guess they'll keep trying until everyone has one. And once again, individual movies are not available. You either buy Episodes I - III (which are a tough watch for a number of reasons) or the original Episodes IV -VI. Given a choice I would only by Episode IV and V - the original Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. These are the only two great Star Wars movies though if you wanted some questions answered, you do have to buy Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. You just have to but up with annoying scene stealing Ewoks.

So I think a little later today, I'll go over and buy the last package Star Wars IV - VI. I'd feel much better about it if I didn't think I was being strong armed into buy a movie I really didn't like simply because it's part of the package (see Indian Jones - they did the same thing with that one).

Barney Stinson's Ewok Line

Over the years it has been hard for me to put into words that while I have held Star Wars Episode IV, V, and a part of VI in such high regard, I sluff of with disdain the other part of episode VI and the first three prequel episodes. What George Lucas has done with the Star Wars franchise simce "Luke, I am your father" is a sad case of epic movie making gone very, very wrong. And it all starts with Ewoks.

But leave to the character of Barney Stinson, masterfully portrayed by Neil Patrck Harris, on How I Met Your Mother to eloquently, concisely, and graphically explain how Star Wars got derailed with his Ewok Line presentation. It makes complete sense

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Temple of Doom: How Bad Was Kate Capshaw?

So here's the question of the day in the midst of today's Indiana Jones Labor Day Marathon. Is Kate Capshaw's ear splitting shrieking performance in Indiana Jobs and the Temple of Doom the worst female acting job in movie history? Well, I'm not expert on these things but in my book (or blog as the case may be) it is definitely in the top 3 worst performances. 

Through some subsequent reporting we've come to learn that both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were in various stages of getting a divorce from their wives during the filming of Temple of Doom. And we know Spielberg was smitten enough to eventually marry Capshaw, but really... how can the two cinematic geniuses sit through a showing of this movie without shaking their heads. Temple of Doom wasn't a complete failure of a movie but Capshaw did her best to do her worst and take it down a few notches. 

Indiana Jones on Blu-Ray: All or Nothing

Don't you just hate greed? I had the Indiana Jones Trilogy when it was on DVD. I have since sold the DVD collection off. DVD's are becoming extinct, replaced by blu-ray discs (if you don't go the digital download / streaming route) and I've had my eye on getting Indiana Jones blu-ray replacements for awhile now. Well, what was a Trilogy consisting of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is now a 4-pack with the absolutely dreadful Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull crashing the party and added to the Indy collection. None of the original movies 3 movies are available separately on blu-ray. You must the whole collection including the Crystal Skull embarrassment. Bang - 50 bucks, give or take.

But then again, if left to their own, most movie fans would buy Raiders of the Lost Ark and leave the rest alone. The all or nothing approach makes good economic sense. Raiders is a must have. Why not add the rest of the movies and a huge profit margin. (Actually, if one really wanted, one could buy Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull separately, but why?)

So I stopped by Best Buy on my home from work yesterday with the purpose of buying the Indiana Jones blu-ray collection to watch with my father-in-law this Labor Day Weekend. Guess what? Best Buy was sold out and I came home empty handed (well, not quite since I finally picked up a blu-ray copy of Jaws). Butt sometimes there's some luck in this world and as I was flipping the satellite channels this morning there it was - the Indiana Jones Labor Day Marathon on the USA Network. Queue up the DVR, here they come, all 4 Indiana Jones movies. In this case, a little luck trumped greed. The blu-ray collection can stay on a store shelf somewhere for now and I've still got 50 bucks in my pocket.