Obscurorant 2.0

Attention must be paid, my peeps, as the planets are aligning in a Hollywood style conjunction. Today is the 30th anniversary of the release of Star Wars, while tomorrow while marks John Wayne’s centenary. I am here to tell you how to observe these High Holidays… by watching movies of course.

Try this double feature: Rio Bravo, the Howard Hawks feature starring John Wayne and Dean Martin, followed by The Empire Strikes Back, easily the best of the Star Wars films. The connection? As I’ve mentioned before, both films were written by Leigh Brackett. So, compare and contrast… and enjoy.

UPDATE: Somehow it previously escaped my notice that this week also marked the centennial birthday of Herge, creator of Tintin. I spent hours devouring Tintin’s exploits as a kid; recently I re-acquired several volumes of said adventures at a very reasonable price, courtesy of Rodney’s Bookstore.

Anyway – this is obviously a very auspicious week.