#Elmore Colossal Cards

[oldschoolfrp]

“Wraith’s Wrath,” “Death from the Swamp,” “Death from the Marsh” -- Larry Elmore has given this 1993 painting several different titles.  It appeared on the cover of the 1994 novel “Demon Blade” by Mark A Garland and Charles G McGraw, and was card #22 “Demon Blade” in the Elmore Colossal Cards set.

#Larry Elmore #fantasy art #wraith #undead #Demon Blade #Colossal Cards #monkey #Wraith's Wrath #Death from the Swamp #Death from the Marsh #swarmp #marsh #Elmore Colossal Cards #Mark A Garland #Charles G McGraw #1990s

[achristmasmovieaday]

A Movie for Christmas Day 2019

Jackie Brown (1997)

Today’s themes: Greed, Drugs, Smart Women, Dumb Men, Getting Away With It

Quentin Tarantino is a great filmmaker. Having only a handful of movies to his credit, they are all without question precision instruments of the art of film; carefully constructed, precisely orchestrated, and crafted as intricately as a Swiss watch. The content of his films may put you off your dinner, as they tend to be hyper-violent and grandiosely vulgar, reveling in the use of four-letter words and splattered blood, usually portraying men as thuggish, revenge-driven villains and women as thuggish, revenge-driven…hmm. Anyway, to my mind, where the man falls apart is that his scripts, though often assembled like puzzles you have to fill in without the edges, are virtually empty. Tiny capsules of character-driven scenes with little other threads that can pull the fabric together. The man knows dialog, but as for plotting, well….

The lone exception is Jackie Brown (1997), starring Pam Grier and based on the novel Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard. It is the sole film in this screenwriter/director’s oeuvre that is based on material not his own, which is to say that he didn’t steal someone else’s ideas and copy their style for this one. It is, consequently, his best film.

Sometimes the best gifts are the ones we give ourselves. You know how it is; you’ve had your eye on that (100% Icelandic wool winter coat, new electric bike, amazing fleece-lined hiking boots, original pressing of Unknown Pleasures on vinyl) but no one could afford or was willing to provide the most excellent thing for you, so you got it for yourself. You deserve it! Look how awful your year has been, and what a drag your job and/or boss is, and you need something to keep you going, something just for you!

For Jackie Brown (the amazing, colossal Pam Grier) that special gift is over half-a-million dollars she, as a stewardess, has been tasked with bringing into the country for bad guy with bad facial hair Ordell Robbie (the inevitable Samuel L. Jackson) but you got caught. The rest of the film is both caper (Tarantino’s favorite genre) and romance (something I suspect Tarantino knows squat about unless you’re romancing your own .45) with an unbeatable cast including - but not limited to - Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton, Robert Forster, and Bridget Fonda. I won’t give away any of the twists, turns, and torture the film explores as it finishes its roughly two-and-a-half hour tour of deceit, revenge, murder, and grifting, but let’s just say you’ll come away from this particular Quentin Quest both happy and satisfied.

If you’re not a Tarantino fan, I hope you give this one a shot. If nothing else, and like every Q.T. film, it has a killer soundtrack featuring the likes of Johnny Cash, The Delfonics, The Brothers Johnson, The Supremes, Elvin Bishop, and Randy Crawford. Put it on the turntable and give it a spin. I guarantee that you’ll fall in love with Jackie Brown, too.

But just like that new premium video card for your gaming rig you placed under the tree for yourself, just don’t expect her to love you back.

Watch now

#xmasdaymovies #Austins favorites