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Mention Coney Island and five images simultaneously fill my mind: The Cyclone, The Parachute Drop, The Boardwalk, Nathans, and The Wonder Wheel. From afar, The Wonder Wheel is just that. Wonderful. Up close, it is an amazing piece of brute mechanics. It looks more like an industrial machine than one of amusement. But it is amusing. Admittedly, the ride itself (on the swinging cars, of course) is far less spectacular than it looks from the ground. The swinging cars appear more intense than they actually are, but until you experience the first run along the tracks, you envision terrible, terrible things. But a ride on this icon is unique in the sense that, if for a moment, you can imagine all those that preceded you on this ride, and how it continues to slowly grind away, hopefully for future generations to enjoy, and wonder. Timberman mentions ".The Warriors". in his review, but the movie I find the most amazing connection to is ".Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.". The stunts performed are insane, but the best line has to be Remo saying ".Jesus!"., to which Chiun replys ".Concentrate! This is no time for prayer!". Thankfully, we only have the option of riding INSIDE either stationary or swinging cars. But hopefully, we will still be able to make that choice in the future. Here is a link to the Remo clip for anyone who may have never seen this quirky 80s action/adventure film, which I think was not too bad. And William Hickey as the barker at the end of this clip is classic. Lady luck is still late for a craps game in Bensonhurst. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uawUQjlcPuc
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