Monday, December 01, 2008

Lisa Frank and the Slumdog film



I used to love the Lisa Frank merchandise at Target, stationery and party supplies in garish gradients and intense colors, popular in the 80s and early 90s, especially with those under age 8. I checked out the Lisa Frank site recently and it had lost its uniqueness. Formerly it was all about sentimentalized animals, especially horses, dogs and penguins. Wonder why I liked it? A weird Chinese LSD look now lost.

I came upon a bunch of unused stickers from the early 90's today and was admiring them. Then we went to the Galleria for a matinee of "Slumdog Millionaire". We had free passes. Otherwise the tickets would have been $11.50 ea, or $13.50 at night. Plus you had to pick your seat. How do you know what seat, when you haven't seen the height of the person in front of you? Popcorn was $5.00 for one large. Fortunately they didn't sell any of the candy I crave. They were also selling gift art books in the lobby. Kind of nutso, considering you may get your greasy paws on the cover, or even worse spill your drink. eek, and you haven't even given it yet.
And please don't say "gifted it yet" or I'll press the eject button. They had a person with a name tag hanging on her neck to introduce the movie, in person! Guess I don't get out often enough, all seemed goofy to me. I kept thinking, "Where's my seatbelt?" It was an Arc Light CinEEma. How can they get away with these prices??

Oh the movie's alright and some of you will love it but I'm a bitchy critic. The colors were terrific, and it sure makes me want to cancel any travel plans to India. I got really disjointed by the lack of a horizontal composition line, but to others this will feel like setting yourself free. I thought a whole other story line was going to kick in near the end, but I dare not tell. Enjoy it. At least it's not boring, depressing and mostly about medical troubles, like Sch? the Charlie Kaufman movie I mentioned a few days ago.

Oh I forgot to write that there are connections between the Lisa Frank aesthetic and the Slumdog aesthetic, and it's not dogs, horses or penguins. (Idea: it's over the top and happy about it.)

Would have rather read another Lee Child novel but the library wasn't forthcoming. They seemed to have more books in the Korean fiction section than in the mystery section in English. Hey, I can sound as cranky as Sandra Tsing Loh if I keep at it.

5 comments:

Namowal (Jennifer Bourne) said...

I googled (is it ok to use "google" as a verb?) "Lisa Frank" and recognized her stuff immediately. I'm a sucker for garish colors but the two diva girls on her web page remind me of the mean, catty girls from junior high.
Gift books are starting to show up in the strangest places. They'll be in dental offices and barber shops if the trend continues.
That's goofy that someone goes out and introduces the movie like it's a vaudeville act. What's the point? Did they say "Now Arc Light CinEEma proudly presents...!"

Linda Davick said...

The Kabuki theatre here is like that (pick your seats) but it slants down, so that you're not blocked even if a giant sits in front of you. Also we've almost always gotten up and moved if the theatre isn't full and nobody seems to care. If you and Jon can subsist on one large popcorn between you, you're lucky. Tom and I always have to get 2, because we're not able to share. The cashiers ALWAYS remind us that the large is refillable and there's no need for us to buy two, and we always have to explain that we aren't able to share. You're so lucky that you get free tickets!

There's a live person who introduces the movies at our little neighborhood theatre, the Balboa, and it seems very sweet in that setting.

p.s. I love stickers and it is impossible to find good ones. I think we should start a sticker company. I know--I don't have enough projects started-and-dropped yet.

Sally said...

Namowal, I think bratz sent many preteen designers in the wrong direction.

The introduction was a cross between film society and airplane. She didn't actually say anything about the film other than that it was great, but there were many instructions about how to find her if you wanted to report disorderly conduct.

We're okay with sharing the popcorn because I get filled up fast.

viagra online said...

Oh I forgot to write that there are connections between the Lisa Frank aesthetic and the Slumdog aesthetic, and it's not dogs, horses or penguins. (Idea: it's over the top and happy about it.)

pharmacy said...

I really like this site, it's so important to know more about this topic, keep it up and of course every time I have time I'll love to check out again