They had a large selection of props and costumes from the various movies and a number of science-themed kiosks to explain the science behind the fiction. We also waited for the 30-minute presentation on robots that featured that “shiny guy that worries a lot,” but skipped the extra-fee hyperspace simulator.

The selection of Star Wars items in the gift shop was a little disappointing, focusing on a lot of regular junky toys, Halloween costumes and, rather surprisingly, a bunch of Family Guy Blue Harvest items. Not much in the way of exhibit guides or merchandise specific to the Science Museum either. They were selling unwrapped Star Wars trading cards, though, for $8.50 per pack (with a warning to *not* eat the gum).

Worth a visit if your childhood included Luke, Leia, Han and Chewy. Anakin et al. don’t count…

UPDATE: Photo gallery of low-res iPhone shots

I first became aware of the Timothy Treadwell story via Richard Thompson’s soundtrack to the Werner Herzog film Grizzly Man. I thought the movie was interesting and was anxious to read another take on this strange guy from California.

The movie contains a lot of the footage shot by Treadwell himself, which is rather eerie. The book goes into more detail on the attack of Treadwell and Huguenard, including the gruesome audio tape that is talked about in the movie (but never heard). I also found the sections about bear behavior and how to survive attacks very interesting.

I love Alaska and want to go back some day, but count me out from getting anywhere near those huge creatures.

I so want to watch the version that I watched as an eight-year-old kid in 1977. Countless Star Wars nerds have described the changes made to the new version that make me so mad, so I won’t go over all that. Let’s just say that I hope I never meet George Lucas in person.

Maybe it’s time to get a replacement laser disc player on eBay…

We watched Pirates at the Muller Monster Screen at Lakeville 21 Theatre. At 80 feet wide and 35 feet tall with more than 30 Dolby Digital speakers, it’s the largest indoor screen in Minnesota. Bring your cash if you go, though, no checks or credit cards accepted (when was the last time you saw that?).

I really wanted to like Pirates–there was a lot more Keira (yeah!) and more references to the original ride–but unfortunately, I think it’s the worst of the trilogy. It starts out slow, runs too long, has lots of bizarre scenes that don’t fit in with the Pirates style and has a poor ending (but be sure to stay for all the credits). The action scenes aren’t of the same caliber as the other two movies, which was disappointing considering the potential of the storyline. Maybe I need to watch it again after watching the first two in sequence…

As for Shrek the Third, my expectations were low, as most of the reviews hadn’t been very good. I wasn’t a big fan of the second Shrek (LOVED the first one), so I was very happy to find a franchise back on track. Eddie Murphy as Donkey was the highlight for me, but the story was also better than Shrek 2 and the characters were engaging. No need to stay to the end of the credits on this one, though.

Movies I’m waiting for now: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (July 13), The Simpsons Movie (July 27) and The Bourne Ultimatum (August 3).

More Keira! More Keira!

It’s been crazy busy at work the past week, but we’ve managed to take in a few diversions. Last weekend my wife and I went to see Grindhouse at the local theater in Eagan. I’m a big fan of past Tarantino and Rodriguez movies like Pulp Fiction and El Mariachi, but this one just didn’t do it for me. It was way too long and I didn’t like the actors nearly as much as the other films. The distressed look got old after a while too. The car scenes were great, though, and I loved the ending. My favorite part of the whole thing was the opening trailer for the “mock” film, Machete. Danny Trejo rocks! I hope they really do make that movie.

Tonight I stopped at the local Best Buy and picked up the new Son Volt CD, The Search, and the new Tanya Donelly CD that I didn’t know about, This Hungry Life. It’s been a long time since I bought any new music, so I’m anxious to add these to my iPod.

Lastly, I’m a late convert to the show 24. Via Netflix, we started from the beginning and tonight I started disc five of season two. Some parts (and characters) are hokey, but overall it really draws you in and keeps you watching. Only 78 more hours to catch up to this season!

Opened in 1926, the Heights claims to be the Twin Cities longest continuously operated show house. The theater was beautiful and we made sure to catch the organist playing the very unique Wurlitzer organ before the show. After about 20 minutes, the disco ball lights came on, the organ dropped down and the movie started. Wow.

Being a Kingsbury, I love all things British. I thought the movie was very good and it made me want to visit London again. We’ve been to St. Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster and Buckingham Palace and it fun seeing all of them again. I’d really like to take the girls there soon–it’s such a great city.

After the movie, we stopped by one of my favorite downtown Minneapolis restaurants, Ike’s. I think they stopped publishing their website (it used to be ilikeikes.com), but here are a few reviews. Ike’s serves one of my favorite burger and fries combos in town, all in a great 1940s cocktail lounge atmosphere. How can you not like a place that brings you hot chocolate chip cookies and dum dum suckers when you’re finished?

Apparently I didn’t explain it well enough to her before we went. This was a movie we tried to see at the Uptown in Minneapolis a few weeks ago (before it went into wide release) and the line was down the block.

I loved it. Dark, intense, violent, shocking, sad, moody and well-made, this adult fairy tale (in the traditional sense of the word) was full of eye candy for nerds. I wish I knew Spanish better so that I could have spent more time watching the actors.

This was our first time at the new AMC Rosedale 14 theaters and I still can’t get over how dumb an idea it was to have outdoor ticket windows in Minnesota (and not connecting it to the mall directly–you have to go outside to enter the rest of the mall). Still, it’s always nice to have brand-new seats and projection equipment.