Dinner & a movie (a.k.a. Fork & Screen)

I had the most enjoyable dinner and a movie experience I've had in awhile. This may be more of a product that I hardly ever go out to dinner and a movie on the same night than anything else (at least since Thurman was born). I do wish my kids could have experienced it with me though.

I'm at a conference (AIR) in downtown Atlanta this weekend, which would be much cooler if downtown Atlanta actually had anything interesting to do. (Yes, yes, there's the Coke museum and the aquarium...and lots of hotels and parking garages.) Seriously, Hoboken has more restaurants and things to do than downtown Atlanta.

I learned from the local planners of the conference that more of the "night life" and entertainment are in little suburban clusters around the city. So, having nothing on my schedule after 4:00 today, I decided I'd take the MARTA train out and check out one of them. I ended up party by chance in the suburb of Buckhead, GA- about a 20 minute ride.

My main goal for the evening was to find a movie theater and go to dinner afterwards, and my trusty iPhone found a couple of cinemas in the area. One had kind of a weird name, the AMC Fork & Screen. I figured it must be some kind of local whimsical name or something. It was the nearest to the train station, so I headed over to check it out.

I knew going in that my family was going to see "Up", and a showing of that movie was starting soonest (my other choice, Terminator, was starting at 8:00, too late). So I got a ticket at the outside ticket window and headed inside. I was greeted by an attendant, and saw there was a bar in the movie theater, which seemed a bit odd. The attendant took my ticket, and then handed me a menu, which I must have looked at in a rather blank or confused manner. He asked if I had ever been there before, to which I admitted I hadn't.

The attendant than calmly explained to me the concept of the Fork & Screen...it's eating dinner while watching a movie. As you can imagine, this is a concept I can buy into easily. I like movies, I like dinner. And ever since watching Pulp Fiction (1995), I have fantasized about eating a big sloppy cheeseburger while watching a movie in a theater just like John Travolta's character bragged about doing while in Amsterdam.

Anyway, it was a very pleasant time. The movie was great. The food was good (Fish & Chips, I had a big sloppy burger last night). I even had popcorn for desert. It was great, I even got to fill out a survey afterwards.

So, upon returning to my room I decided to try to find out how many other AMC Fork & Screens there were. Other than Buckhead, GA there appears to be only one...in Olathe, KS (suburb of Kansas City). Which is really kind of sad. I hope they get more so I can recommend them to friends. I can still recommend them I guess, but no one I know gets to Kansas City or Atlanta that often. Well, enjoy it if you can!

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Separately, I will highly, highly recommend "UP". Just about everything Pixar does is great at minimum, and often achieves movie greatness. "Up" is definitely among the best of the best of the Pixar movies. Do yourself a favor and go see it (with your kids if you have any) in the theater.

Return of the Jedi

Ok, so this post was started by watching the most recent episode of Lost, "Some Like it Hoth". A mild spoiler: in the episode Hurley disses the ewoks in Return of the Jedi. I had the gall to agree with the idea that the ewoks were lame on Facebook. Banter ensued. And now I must resurrect my blog to state my case.

When Return of the Jedi came out, I was 9. Of course I loved it at the time. What kid didn't? My own sons like it the best of the movies as well. But for me, it hasn't held up well over time. The original Star Wars was ground-breaking, entertaining, and enjoyable. The Empire Strikes Back still remains a pinnacle of the genre, a well-done character driven story set in a rich universe.

But Return of the Jedi? It is a so-so film with poor dialog, wooden acting, and ewoks. Let's detail some of these faults of the film and its divergences from its predecessors.

1) The neutering of Han Solo. Han Solo in the original Star Wars was a smuggler, a borderline guy who had his back up against the wall, shot first (originally), trusted only Chewie, and was only in it for the money, until the end. In Empire, he's still relatively consistent in character, and his growing care and love for Leia is one of the main storylines. In Jedi, literally he does nothing to progress the story, and is essentially a cardboard cut-out of a character that shoots a few one-liners. Granted, part of this may be Harrison Ford's fault for not wanting to really be the character anymore, but who could blame him with this awful script? He might as well be wearing a t-shirt saying "I'd rather be filming Indiana Jones".

2) All those who hate Jar-Jar, raise your hands. Now, blame the ewoks. They were the first shot fired in the "Dang! I can print my own money selling toys!" war against the movie patron. Seriously, the ewoks are probably the first-ever mass introduction of a commercial product into what was supposed to be a feature film. Legend has it that the original concept was to have a planet of Wookies- Chewbacca's home planet (much later introduced in Episode 3). But Wookies weren't new, cuddly, and loved by children under the age of 8 that had parents with decent disposable incomes. No, instead we got ewoks. And the Ewok Special. And cartoons, toys, plush ewoks, lunch boxes, playsets, Underoos, and "comic relief". (And the awful, awful "Yub-nub!" song.)

Consider this tidbit of information: the word "ewok" is not in the movie. Anywhere.

3) Carrie Fisher was clearly stoned out of her mind during the filming of this movie. Not that it really detracted from her "acting" skills. This isn't really evidence supporting my case, but I'm just feeling bitter.

4) Another reason to hate RotJ: the Death of Boba Fett. Boba Fett was a ruthless bounty hunter, responsible for the capture of Han and the near-capture of Luke, and was the second-most formidable foe next to Darth Vader that the heroes faced. So, what happens to him?

He is killed off in a comical manner to serve up a burp joke.

This travesty is not in keeping with the tone of the movies that had been established. Really, it's a farce. It shows what sort of nonchalance the movie itself was being treated with, and that it was not a creative vehicle, but one motivated by profits alone. Which also serves as a strong condemnation of Episodes 1-3 as well, come to think of it.

Haiku Movie Review: The Dark Knight

Corrupt government,
economic depression,
dark times for us all.

Go to a movie!
Get some popcorn and enjoy!
We'll go see Batman!

Corrupt government,
economic depression,
dark times for them too.

But they have Batman!
But also a madman who
has a magic trick.

Joker is cunning,
perfectly maniacal,
always a step ahead.

Anarchy does rule,
pushing heroes to limits,
and sometimes beyond.

Haiku Movie Review: WALL*E

Lovable robot
who's grown a soul of his own
captured all our hearts.

Complacent people
and lack of effort are the
society's scourge.

The lesson is large,
and will take time to sink in.
Will it be heeded?

Haiku Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda

Po the Panda says

"There is no charge for awesome!"

Happy to pay more.

Matinee was cheap,

But awesome was delivered.

My kids cheered loudest.

There were lots of laughs,

and tons of Kung Fu action.

Though, popcorn was stale.

Haiku Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones-

Old man trying to be young!

Me? Or mister Ford?

Despite the effects,

mundane and predictable.

Others were better.

A Need for Speed

Last Friday, I took the boys to Speed Racer for a 'Boys Night Out' (which from Carma's perspective translates to "Guilt-free Mani-Pedi", to which I have absolutely no objection). After seeing Iron Man the previous evening (which I liked a lot), I was fully prepared for a movie let-down. Granted, I didn't have high expectations walking in, but those expectations were easily exceeded and then some.

I knew both my boys would like it, but they were blown away. There was enough of a storyline to lure in adults as well, but this really is a film for kids. I'm apparently enough of a kid at heart to have enjoyed it thoroughly.

If you're not a fan of the cartoon (and I wasn't) Speed Racer is about a young racing protege named (surprise) Speed Racer. Pops Racer is a mechanic who fixes/builds cars and they've always raced Independent, i.e. without the Evil Corporate Sponsorships. Admittedly the plot, dialog, and characters aren't all that deep- but here's the thing. They're not supposed to be. The movie is essentially a live-action cartoon. Can you imagine someone critiquing Scooby Doo (the cartoon or the movie) expecting Oscar-worthiness? Well, don't look for it here, either. But what is there is done very well, with good character performances, some slap-stick kid-friendly humor, and hyper-surreal racing. It's supposed to be a bit over-the-top, defy physics, and be extremely colorful.

The races are what really make this movie. I guess there's just something in the Y chromosome that loves horsepower and break-necking speeds. These races captured on film and displayed on the big screen are the races that occur in the mind's eye of all boys 3-12 (and beyond?) while playing with Hot Wheels cars. They are the epitome of hair-raising, death-defying, physics-destroying adventures that only occur between a boy (and possibly few fortunate girls) and his favorite car. Any man that denies this has forgotten his childhood.

I humbly submit here an excellent cartoon and review of the movie by Joe Dunn of "Joe Loves Crappy Movies." Check it out, and come back, I'll wait.



As supported by Speed Racer's box office returns last weekend, Joe is spot on, the movie is a bit of a tough sell. People are expecting "Cody Banks 4" or "Shark Boy and Lava Girl", but it is so much better than that. This is the kid-friendly movie elevated to an art form, but not enough people are going to see it, at least until it's out on DVD- where the experience will be about a tenth of what it is on the big screen.

So, if you have young boys, I heartily encourage you to take them to see it on the big screen. It will be an experience that they won't soon forget. You may not either. (But if you get easily motion sick, or are epileptic- stay far, far away.) Just be forewarned, your kids will probably want you to drive a bit more recklessly on your way home.