Cinematical

Since the arrival of the Official Indiana Jones Bullwhip, every time the UPS or DHL truck pulls up to our house my kids are all in a tizzy to see what's been delivered. This morning, when a big box was dropped off, they knew it was more than just another "boring grown-up movie," and they anxiously crowded around for me to open the box. My suggestion that I might wait until I finished my coffee was met with wails of "Mooooooommmmmm!", so I gamely ripped into the box and lifted the contents from the wads of brown paper wrapping:





"Dr. Jones! Is it more Indy stuff?" my eight-year-old son exclaimed excitedly. Why yes, it was ...





"Oooh, is it a purse?!" squealed his six-year-old sister. "No!" scoffed her brother, with all the weight of scorn an eight-year-old can muster. "Indiana Jones doesn't carry a PURSE, right mom?" Why no, he doesn't, son. A manly-man like Indy could only carry one thing ...





... an Official Indiana Jones Man-Bag! But wait, what's that inside?




Is it all three Indiana Jones films, newly remastered in digital for my viewing pleasure? Why no, it's not. We kind of felt how Geraldo Rivera must have felt upon opening Al Capone's vault. Sadly, it's just empty DVD cases, advertising the upcoming release of all three Indiana Jones movies, newly remastered in digital glory. The Paramount folder inside contained the press release, which promises all kinds of nifty extras with the new releases (available for the first time ever as individual special edition DVDs or in a spandy-new box set, on May 13). The new DVDs will include interviews with George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, a look at the special effects used to make the melting faces in Raiders of the Lost Ark, an interview with the three ladies of the Indy series, and more.

On the plus side, the kids promptly took over the cool box and the man-bag, rounded up the whip, borrowed my crystal candlestick-holder for a "treasure," and have been playing "Indiana Jones" all morning. They have big plans to use the family camcorder to make their own versions of the films, for their father transfer to DVDs so they can put them in the empty cases. The five-year-old wants to sell their movies on eBay to make money for more Wii games.

So thanks for the cool swag, Paramount ... between the man-bag and the whip, my kids are getting a lot of mileage out of this whole Indy thing. One more thing, though ... my son really wants a "cool hat" like Indy wears, so if you could just send that along, we'll be all set.