Bee Reel: Decisions, Decisions

Before we get to this week’s movies, I want you to watch this video. Be sure to watch the whole thing, because this is important.

Try not to think about the utter ridiculousness of this premise, or the awful song and dance number, or the poorly animated chihuahuas. Instead, think about this: somebody who works at a Walt Disney Studios, someone with access to the multi-million dollars budgets, and literally has hundreds of potential projects to choose from, saw the proposal for this film and said … “Yes, I want this movie to be made and I want my studio to provide whatever is necessary to make that happen.” I don’t know about you, but that makes me feel a little empty inside.

Someone else decided they wanted to make “The Chronicles Of Narnia” into a series of movies (it might have even been the same person) … and I’m starting to wish they hadn’t. While the first attempt was a faithful, if somewhat unspectacular adaptation, with the second try the series has gone completely off the rails. I saw “Prince Caspian,” as promised, and it can only be described a blunder. Several blunders, actually, all piled up on top of each other. The first being the casting of Prince Caspian himself, and the biggest being the middle hour of the film, which bears almost no resemblance to the book it was based. It was a tepid, misguided and dull adventure … and there’s only 5 more sequels left! Sigh …

Fortunately, we may only get one more sequel in the Indiana Jones saga before Harrison Ford can’t lift his bullwhip again. If you’re old enough to remember a time when Steven Spielberg and George Lucas could do no wrong, you’re very fortunate. But if you also followed their work the last decade or so, you know that their magic touch maybe isn’t so magic anymore. Once again, I’m not exactly eager to see the “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” before Memorial Day, but I probably will. (I think that’s going to be the running theme of the summer.)

After all, this weekend belongs to Indiana, the way every Memorial Day weekend belongs to the big blockbusters–blockbusters that were re-imagined by the original “Raiders of the Lost Ark” almost 30 years ago. (Yes, it’s been that long.) So you can either spend your weekend in an air-conditioned multiplex or at a backyard barbecue. Don’t choose … poorly.

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