Steph and I had a dinner + and movie last night, starting with food + libations at The Cheesecake Factory. That was an interesting meal, as the manager at the Factory was Steph's manager at Friday's in Ft. Myers some 12 years ago... small world, eh? So Hugh came by and we chatted for a bit. He is in interesting fellow, and we chatted about our favorite Caribbean things (he's from Barbados) like Carib beer and Bake & Shark in Trinidad.

The piece of the resistance was getting to see Indy IV on opening night - a real treat! It was a little bittersweet since one of my childhood heroes is pushing 70 and he's not buckling nearly as much swash as he used to, but he did pretty damn good for a geezer (sorry Dad). It was neat seeing some of the original characters either through reference or return, and it was an interesting switch replacing the Nazis with Soviet Union Russkies. The script did well to hint at some OSS work Indy did between the previous Indy flicks - all set in and around WWII. And, I'm interested with the Mutt Williams character - he could be a good choice to continue the franchise, if that's possible. I was wondering what supernatural relic would be the gretchen in this release, and it seemed a tad far-fetched at the time... but then I thought afterwards that previous gretchens were the Ark of the Covenant, the more esoteric Sankhara Stones, and finally the Holy Grail. So, really, how far-fetched is the crystal skull? Not much for this flick, and all the previous Indy films in which suspension of disbelief is a requirement. Here's hoping Indy V doesn't take 15 years...