I don't know if anyone caught the latest AFI special the other night, but I saw some of it and Star Wars placed #2 (behind 2001) in the Sci-Fi category.  They had their rankings of the top 10 movies in 10 categories (Animation, Romantic Comedies, Westerns, Sports, Mystery, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Gangster, and Courtroom Dramas).  Another movie on the lists of note, the Fellowship of the Ring placed #2 in the Fantasy category.  You can see the lists HERE, along with video comments that were shown in the special, and trailers, etc.  It was kind of neat re-watching the Star Wars and FOTR trailers again .

I was just reading a thread over at the Fwoosh that is saying that many TRU locations (not all...yet) are pulling a number of Mattel lines from the shelves this week.  There isn't a reason yet (although speculation points to safety issues), but some members have already seen lines like The Dark Knight, Speed Racer, DCU Classics, and Kung Fu Panda pulled from the shelves.  I don't know if this will eventually be nationwide or not.  I was at our local store yesterday, and saw both TDK and DCUC stuff on the pegs.  Apparently this hasn't happened at any other stores, so it may just be a TRU thing.

I was just wondering what is everyone's opinion of George Lucas?  Sure, we all make the various jokes about George - but I've noticed (again recently with the new Indy) that a lot of people seem to blame him for anything wrong with these movies.  Granted, a lot of this probably started with TPM, and I think that Indy will suffer from that same sort of backlash as the fanbase seems to be really split on this recent movie.  TPM is probably more negative overall, but I can see the same type of situation.  Anyways, back to Lucas, what do you think of him really?  I guess, even though I don't agree with everything he has done/does (which you could say of everyone), I've always had some respect for him as he's been responsible in the creation of two of my favorite franchises (Star Wars and Indy).  With Star Wars in particular, he's really come up with what I think are some great characters/designs (obviously, with the help of many others).  Watching some of the specials (such as Empire of Dreams, or George Lucas' biography) recently again, its kind of nice watching those old days when he was working to first get Star Wars made - and then moving on to the rest of the OT.  As many people in those specials say, it is astonishing how he pushed movie making and special effects (and other areas) into a different realm.

Overall, I guess I am thankful for the ideas that George Lucas has brought to the big screen.  Star Wars (and also Indy) were movies that really had (and continue to, obviously) a big impact on my life and I never get tired of watching them.  Although I don't like the prequels as much as the OT, I still enjoy them for the most part (ROTS in particular is very good) - and I guess I've never been one of those "George Lucas raped my childhood" type of people.  Like I said, I'm not trying to be an apologist for Lucas - he's made decisions that we've all questioned - but I don't quite get the overall hatred some people seem to have for him.  Granted, a lot of it comes from online - where people are more passionate with their opinions and can be anonymous if they so choose - and some of it might be the fact that he does seem to be a stubborn person (he says as much I think) and treats things as "his movies" and does what he wants with them.  Just reading reviews since KOTCS was released last week, I've seen/heard a few instances of "you can tell Lucas got his hands on this part", or "Spielberg should have kept Lucas out of this" when referencing anything they disliked in the movie.  Anyways, I was just curious how people really feel about George Lucas and his contributions.  Is he more likely to deserve "credit" or "blame"?

I was just checking out what was in stock over at HTS, and found this listing.  It is an 8-pack of the Ceremonial Luke Skywalker (pictured with gold coins), apparently to be given out at b-day parties and such.  There's also one in the Galactic Heroes section (Old Ben/Vader), as well as the TSC section (Vader).  I just thought it was interesting.  I suppose that would be a cool party favor, although a figure other than that Luke might be a better choice .  How about, SA Clones or Biker Scouts for everyone!

Just saw this new rumor list over at RS, supposedly for Legacy Collection "vintage" figures.  According to this listing, there is 6 waves - yes, waves - for 2009.  The list provided includes OT, PT, and a mention of EU figures.  Let the speculation begin...

Not sure what this means for the line (especially with PT characters listed and EU mentioned as well), but the OT characters listed sound pretty good to me.  I'd like to see some spiffy re-dos of each of them.  Here's the listing:

Walrus Man
Death Squad Commander
Jawa
Princess Leia (Hoth Outfit)
Zuckuss
Emperor's Royal Guard
Wicket
Gammorean Guard
Admiral Ackbar
Luke Skywalker (no specifics provided)
Han Solo (no specifics provided)
Darth Maul
Jar Jar Binks
Queen Amidala (Theed Invasion)
...and some EU characters

Hopefully the Han Solo is the Bespin version, and Luke is either Hoth or the DSII Jedi version we've been waiting for.  This could be interesting.

Although, like Star Wars, we all have these on DVD most likely - I just wanted to pass along that USA is showing the three original Indy movies this weekend.  From what our cable box tells me, they are playing all three this Saturday, in reverse order (with Raiders last on Saturday night).  If there are any other Indy airings, specials, etc., I thought it might be a good place to post them if anyone is interested.

Looking at some of the more recent trends, it seems like many retailers (Target in particular) are scaling back on the mass movie line releases that we've seen in the past.  Aside from Star Wars, which seems to have the selling power to drive big releases, it seems like a lot of others are having their problems.  I remember movies (aside from SW) like Fantastic Four, Superman Returns, Spidey, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. all having entire aisles dedicated to them at the stores (Wal-Mart in particular with the first couple), or at least large sections.  More and more it seems like some of the stores just have an endcap or regular sized action figure section in the aisle.  I've noticed that TRU seems to be banking on Speed Racer, as that still has a large set up at our local store - but movies like Iron Man just have a normal section stuck at the back of the store.  Wal-Mart has little to no space for Iron Man, and Target has an endcap and that's it (at least at our store).  From what I've read, Indiana Jones might be much the same (endcap/section).  Also, other movies (Narnia) seem to just be TRU exclusive type releases (although I'm sure they won't be huge sellers, so it makes sense).

Anyways, not complaining at all, because it seems to be a better approach overall - but it seems like aside from Star Wars and possibly Spider-Man/Transformers, that stores are kind of scaling back on the huge releases for movie lines that we used to see across the board (at least for awhile there).  I expect Hulk will see a smaller release as well (like Iron Man), and possibly even The Dark Knight seeing a similar release.  I've said before, I think the strategy with Iron Man is a good one.  It has a balanced lineup with villains and alternate armors, and doesn't seem to be quite the sea of Iron Men like we've seen with other superhero releases.  Again, maybe the big push is still on the way for some of these things, but it seems like many retailers/toy companies are taking a little bit different (better?) approach with some of these movie lines.  Heck, I'm still surprised that they don't put out Harry Potter toys for at least the kiddos anymore, but those early Mattel lines must have really bombed.  Has anyone else noticed a change in the movie lines, or is it just the fact that there are so many to get "in and out" of the store in a summer now - or the larger number of action figure lines in general that are keeping retail space at a premium these days?  I know it seems like the number of different action figure/collector lines out there has exploded just since I started collecting SW again in the late 90s.

Ok, another vehicle opinion question.  With the short break coming up from most of the current SW offerings, I've been looking at some things I had to pass on earlier and see if I wanted to pick them up now or not.  One of those is the AAT.  I know its been released a few times in various pain schemes, and I was just curious if this was a decent ship.  I see the TAC version is currently in stock at HTS, so I could pick it up from there I guess if I decided I wanted it.  After checking out TPM for the first time in awhile on Spike TV lately, it sort of "reminded" me of some of these prequel ships that I never got around to picking up.  Can anyone recommend the AAT, or is it better to pass?  Is one version/paint scheme significantly better than another?