Tripping Through Gateways
Entering the Alternate Worlds of the Movies
Month: September 2017
Ain’t It Cool…No It Ain’t
So, about a year ago, a semi-popular geek movie critic named Devin Faraci was accused of some pretty serious sexual harassment. He had some deep ties in the Austin Film Community and was a pretty big part of the Alamo Drafthouse. This stung for…
In Search of White People (Allen Quartermain and the Lost City of Gold, 1986)
Pretty sure this sequel was greenlit before the previous film hit theaters, hoping to have a franchise. For Chamberlain and Stone, this was the end of the road. Everything that plagues King Solomon’s Mines? Is still here. There are no improvements. Poor effects, awkward…
To a Pulp (King Solomon’s Mines, 1985)
To cash in on Indiana Jones, Cannon Films produced this film based on the pulp works of H. Rider Haggard. King Solomon’s Mines has been adapted more than once, both before and after this 1985 version (mainly TV and direct to video). Allen Quartermain is…
Why Did It Have to Be Aliens? (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,2008)
Or…Indy Gets Old. Lucas envisioned a new Indiana Jones trilogy, with one change. Where the first three films focused on religious and supernatural artifacts, the new films would focus on science fiction themed artifacts. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is set in the 1950’s…
Choose Your Adventure Wisely (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, 1989)
After the criticism of Temple of Doom, Lucas and Spielberg opted to return to Judeo Christian artifacts. This time was far more myth, in that they search for the Holy Grail, the cup Christ used at the Last Supper and gifted with the power…
Love Is Illness (The Big Sick, 2017)
The Big Sick is a fictionalized account of the beginning of the relationship of comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife, writer/producer Emily V. Gordon. Kumail plays himself while Zoe Kazan takes on the fictional version of Emily. Kumail grew up in Pakistan and his…
The Adventure Continues (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, 1984)
Of course, Indy had to return. And Spielberg and Lucas have returned, with longtime Lucas collaborator Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz providing the script. The film opens with a musical number and Indy meeting with Chinese Gangster Lao Che. After a double cross, Jones makes a…
The Adventure Begins (Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981)
1981 was the meeting of two titans. Steven Spielberg had thrilled the world with Jaws and two years later George Lucas had started to take over the world with Star Wars.The two teamed up to create the ode to pulp novels and action serials…
Mumms the Word (The Mummy, 2017)
Everybody wants a shared Universe these days. Granted, this is not an entirely new concept. And Universal used to cross over their monsters all the time. Dracula Untold was supposed to kick off the “Dark Universe” and then got “removed from Canon” and this…
Kingly Status (The Scorpion King, 2002)
So, in the Mummy Returns, the Scorpion King is a threat to the world, a servant of Anubis. In this prequel, set well before that part of the story, the Scorpion King is more the underdog hero, seeking vengeance on the King responsible for…
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