Token Casting in Alita: Battle Angel!

The new trailer dropped yesterday for Alita: Battle Angel set for release on the most crowded release day, December 21st.  I had hopes for it as a long delayed James Cameron project, I heard him say Alita would be his next project when he was at Comic Con in 2002 for Solaris.  Then, there was the announcement that Robert Rodriguez would be directing the film, his early films are brilliant, but lately his movies are hollow and lifeless.  The part of Alita, she was known as Gally in the manga, was then said to be played by Rosa Salazar.  One of her aliases was Yoko Dornburg, which points to the character’s Asian heritage.  So you can see that they took the Asian likeness of the original manga character and CG’d it on Salazar.  Nothing new.  Christoph Waltz’s character is named Daisuke Ido, obviously Asian, renamed Dyson Ido for the movie.  You can just look at rest of the cast list; Ed Skrein, Jennifer Connelly, Eiza Gonzalez, Michelle Rodriguez, Mahershala Ali, which is diverse, but what seems to be missing is again Hollywood’s problem, no Asians in an Asian based story.  It was revealed later that the Scrapyard is near Kansas City, Missouri, but this is another Ghost in the Shell (2017).   

Ghost in the Shell is based on the Masamune Shirow manga and brilliant adapted in the 1995 Mamoru Oshii anime.  The main character is Major Motoko Kusanagi.  In the 2017 movie, she is played by Scarlett Johansson.  There is a history of whitewashing for these films, Emile Hirsch played the character originally named Go Mifune Americanized to Speed Racer in the translation in the 2008 film.  Justin Chatwin played Goku in Dragonball: Evolution (2009).  Tom Cruise played Bill Cage in the film Edge of Tomorrow (2014) who was Keiji Kiriya in the All You Need is Kill manga.  Gary Daniels played Kenshiro in the 1995 Fist of the North Star movie.  Jack Armstrong played The Guyver in two films, but the manga had the original Guyver, Sho Fukamachi.  Netflix adapted the manga Death Note with Light Yagami changed to Light Turner played by Nat Wolff.  It looks like Hollywood is trying to chase down a new franchise like the comic books and now manga.  They take the stories from manga and anime, the designs like in the case of Alita: Battle Angel, but the casting is white washed.  

There is potential there, anime has been popular world wide, slightly niche compared to American comic books, but it may play strong with the Asian markets (if cast properly).  It seems like the Americanized manga films are thirty years behind, no one has the bold vision to cast Asians, so these adaptations will flounder.  The potential is really seen in the Japanese live action films, Battle Royale, the 2000 film which many fans say was stolen for Hunger Games.  A full Japanese cast of course.   There was a 2015 Attack on Titan film based on the popular manga.  I thought the Gantz (2010) movie based on the manga (which would be rated R) was fun.  Blood: The Last Vampire (2009) was also entertaining.  My favorite though was the live action Space Battleship Yamato (2010) which had effects that didn’t look off the shelf and actually improved on the anime story!  They had the navigator girl, Yuki Mori, as a pilot and she actually knocks out the hero, very not Japanese and I loved it!

The Japanese adaptations are successful, last year there was a Fullmetal Alchemist movie.  Also, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure from Takashi Miike.  A Blade of the Immortal movie, also from Miike, it was released on April 2017.  There has been a film of Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira in development.  Also, studios have been trying to bring Robotech to the screen, based on the Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982) anime series.  The test for the viability of Asian casts in film will be Crazy Rich Asians to be released on August 15th.  It is based on the bestseller by Kevin Kwan.  The last time there was a predominantly Asian cast was in The Joy Luck Club (1993) based on the 1989 Amy Tan novel.  The appeal is not only setting films in Asia, especially if it is not part of the story, but also a number of Asian actors. Bingbing Li is in the upcoming The Meg, out on August 10th, a new character who was not in the Steve Alten novel.  Also, it looks like a Chinese setting, I guess to appeal to the Chinese audience.  She was incredible in The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) that teamed up Jackie Chan and Jet Li as the White-Haired Witch.  The lead actress in that film, Liu Yifei has the lead in Disney’s live action Mulan.  

There is also Tian Jing who is in Legendary films starting with The Great Wall (2016) directed by Zhang Yimou. She played Commander Lin Mae, who led the Crane Troop, female warriors who leap off the wall to take on the invading creatures called Tao Tieh.  There was criticism that the lead actor, Matt Damon, was a white savior.  His character, William, is an archer who allies with the defenders of the Great Wall.  William is not given awards and praise by the Chinese for his part in stopping the Tao Tieh, his character is not superior to the Chinese warriors, just risky, the film depicts the Wall defenders as brave and unyielding.  There is not a lack of Asian actresses who could play Alita, besides all of the actresses mentioned before, there is Karen Fukuhara who played Katana in Suicide Squad (2016), Rinko Kikuchi who is Akane in Westworld and was also in Pacific Rim (2013), Jamie Chung who currently the mutant Blink in The Gifted, and Ellen Wong who is Jenny Chey in GLOW and also Knives Chau in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010).  Alita: Battle Angel faces competition from Aquaman, the Transformers film Bumblebeee, the Will Ferrell comedy Holmes & Watson with Mary Poppins Returns opening on December 19th, Alita will need all of her Panzer Kunst to face these opponents in the box office Motorball arena.   

#BattleAngelAlita, #MasamuneShirow, #RobertRodriguez, #GhostintheShell 

Happy Birthday Daniel Radcliffe!

Happy Birthday Daniel Radcliffe!  Daniel’s first film role was as Mark in John Boorman’s The Tailor of Panama, the thriller based on the John le Carre novel.  Then, he began his long running and iconic parts in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001).  Next, he was in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005).  After Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), he appeared in the drama, December Boys (2007), and then starred in the tv movie, My Boy Jack (2007).  Also in 2007, Daniel starred in the play Equus in London and New York.  Daniel continued with the series starring in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), appeared in Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (2010) for the theme park, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010), and finally Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011).  It is a brilliant adaptation of the J.K. Rowling novels following young wizard Harry Potter growing up and learning at Hogwarts while facing his destiny to ultimate face Voldemort.  

Also in 2011, he was in the Broadway production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  Leaving Harry Potter behind, Daniel was in the horror film, The Woman in Black (2012).  Next, he played Beat poet, Allen Ginsberg, in Kill Your Darlings (2013).  Daniel had the part of Ig Perrish in the horror movie Horns (2013) which has him waking to find horns that has the power to reveal secrets and hopes to find the killer of his girlfriend.  He had the lead role in A Young Doctor’s Notebook & Other Stories, a tv series that ran from 2012-2013.  Daniel had a part in the comedy Trainwreck (2015) and played Igor, the assistant of Victor Frankenstein (2015).  In 2016, he played the corpse, Manny, in Swiss Army Man (2016).  Daniel portrayed Walter Mabry, the tech genius who challenges the Four Horsemen in Now You See Me 2 (2016).  He played Nate Foster, an F.B.I. agent going undercover as a white supremacist in Imperium (2016). Daniel had the part of Rosencrantz in the play for the National Theatre, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (2017).  In this year’s Beast of Burden, Daniel plays Sean Haggerty who has an hour to deliver cargo to keep his wife alive.  Happy Birthday Daniel Radcliffe!   

#DanielRadcliffe, #HarryPotterandtheSorcerersStone, #Equus, #BeastofBurden   

Incredibles 2: Crisis in Mid-Life & Other Stories #1 Review!

There was an Incredibles title released during the first movie by Boom Studios.  There is a Disney Comics with Dark Horse Comics release Incredibles 2: Heroes at Home in hardback now.  The cover is by Gurihuru which has Mr. Incredible taking on a robot while Violet is protecting civilians with her force field and Dash is racing by.  The first film came out in 2004 with the second Incredibles opened on June 15th.  The first story is “Crisis in Mid-Life!” by Christos Gage who has written for Marvel, but also Buffy the Vampire Season Ten for Dark Horse.  Gurihuru provides the interior artwork, talented Japanese artists, they have worked on Avatar: The Last Airbender comics for Dark Horse.  It opens with a black and white flashback set in Mr. Incredible’s superhero past.  He is at the Municiberg (a new location!) Naval Base inaugurating the Swordfish-class submarine.  

The scaffolding holding up the submarine breaks (sabotage?) and the crowd scatters as the submarine is about to fall.  Mr. Incredible smiles as the shadow of the submarine falls on him.  He of course heroically holds up the submarine and slowly brings it down. It jumps to the current time with the perky reporter, Brenda, interviewing Mr. Incredible about that day when she was in kindergarten!  The visual flow of images by Gurihuru is brilliant.  He is inaugurating a new submarine, the Sunfish-class, but he says it’s all about the crew.  This time the event is disrupted by the super villain, Bomb Voyage!, he appeared in the first film.  Mr. Incredible swats away the bombs to explode in the bay, but Brenda notes that one heads toward the scaffolding.   The submarine’s shadow falls on the crowd and once again Mr. Incredible, in a close-up, holds up the submarine.  It’s weight crushes Mr. Incredible and a medium shot we see it fall on him!  He is freed later by Frozone.  

A naval officer notes that the new submarine is lighter than the previous version.  This leads to the headline that Mr. Incredible is losing his powers.  Another plot connected to the submarine sabotage?  At their home, Bob worries about his weakened power while Elasti-Girl uses her powers to get her children ready, clever.  She tells him to visit Rick Dicker.  At the National Supers Agency, the agent and confidante shows a pic of his son, Rick Junior, and that his son is his legacy.  This very poignant for a comic book or cartoon.  He returns home to see Dash making a mess of Violet’s room at super speed after she cleaned it up.  Their father tells him that he should have messed up the room like Violet so he wouldn’t be blamed.  Then, he tells Violet that even if she is invisible, she can leave footprints like her shoes on a fallen shirt.  Bob calls a family meeting and agrees to train Violet and Dash.  Helen is hesitant, but reluctantly agrees to the training.  To be continued in part 2!  

The next story, “Bedtime Story”, features art by J Bone.  Jack Jack is bouncing on a bed in his red, shape-shifted form and Bob agrees to tell him a story if he settles down in his normal form.  Bob relates a time when the Supers were meeting at “The Summer Crossover”, when they crossed over the Metroville Bridge, clever!  I like the seminar, Secret Hideout Feng Shui, but the event is broken up by Baron Von Ruthless!  He is a caped villain with a monocle operating a giant robot.  Von Ruthless blasts all of the Supers with a “Power-Draining Ray”, a technology all of the villains (and some heroes) could use, but Mr. Incredible leaps out, unaffected!  He smashes the giant robot, every part shatters from one blow!, and Dash and Violet enter disbelieving the story.  Bob promises all of this children that he will tell them the full story in Part 2!   

The last story, “A Relaxing Day at the Park”, is by Landry Q. Walker with art by Emilio Urbano and Andrea Greppi.  Landry has worked on many young reader comics and Andrea has worked on many Disney titles, Duck Tales and Disney Fairies.  At the park, Bob brings Jack Jack to the sand pit while he relaxes on a bench, tired from staying up all night with Dash’s homework from the second film.  Jack Jack sees a little boy looking at a statue of a turtle holding balloons. He imagines that the turtle is a super villain and teleports to an elephant play area with a slide in the center of it’s head and trunk, he slides off it, past the wheel go round, and flies over to the turtle.  He lamps it to give the boy the balloons.  Heroic, but kinda destructive.  This comic is packed with fun stories and a peek at more of the Incredibles world!  

Five Masks out of Five! 

#Incredibles2CrisisinMidLife&OtherStories, #DarkHorseComics, #Gurihuru, #ChristosGage 

Archie Meets Batman `66 #1 Review!

The Archie limited series are fun ways to combine favorite characters and on the other side, Batman `66 has the fun of the tv show with the inclusion of more comic book villains.  One of the covers is by Michael Allred showing the Dynamic Duo crashing into a band rehearsal of the Archies.  It has Pep!  The comics is written by Jeff Parker, who crafted many of the issues of the Batman `66 comic, and Michael Moreci, who has written Roche Limit for Image Comics.  The artwork is by Dan Parent, longtime Archie comics artist, and has his own Die Kitty Die comic.  Parent’s art is simple, but has all of the action to cross both worlds.  “The Batman of Riverdale” kicks off with a splash page as Poison Ivy rides a Winged Snapdragon driving away the crowds of the World’s Science Fair at Gotham!   One of the persons running away looks like Aunt Harriet from the Batman tv show.  

The Batmobile flies in using it’s parachutes to slow down. Batman rushes to take on Poison Ivy while Robin uses the Batmobile’s Bat Beam to burn the Winged Snapdragon’s head.  Poison Ivy plants some back-up, her Sprouts, they look like Jolly Green Giants at human size.  She uses her Salad-Shooter to blast Batman.  This was all a diversion for the Batman tv villain, The Bookworm, played by Roddy McDowall.  He has arrived with his female companion, Footnote, to see the book of the future, an electronic book that contains many books to read at any time!  The idea is so outlandish that it is right out of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) with the absurd plan to build a freeway.  Batman has called in help in the form of Batgirl who gives a smile as she pulls up in her Batcycle. She leaves the villains behind to give Batman a weapon to take on the Sprouts, weed killer!  Batgirl takes out Poison Ivy and Gotham is safe for science!  

This shifts with a radio broadcast of Batman’s heroism to Riverdale, the broadcast is repeated, but I think it should’ve been kept to one sentence and finished on the next page. Archie is listening to the radio as he is working on his car and Jughead arrives to tell them that they have to head to school.  We get a splash page of the United Underworld that was in the Batman (1966) movie; Penguin, Catwoman, Riddler, and Joker.  They go over the failure of Poison Ivy and Penguin suggests that they can escape Batman by taking on another town - Riverdale!  He has already contacted an ally to help with their nefarious plans, Siren, a songstress who looks right out of Archie Comics, but is actually a character played by Joan Collins in 1967 episodes of Batman.  Next to her picture is the description, “Siren controls men’s minds with her songs.” She is in a van singing “Bali Hai” from the Roger and Hammerstein musical South Pacific outside of the Lodge Mansion.  

Hiram P. Lodge watches from the window and doesn’t notice his daughter, Veronica, dropping in to show him her new multi-colored dress in a Mondrian design.  Hermione Lodge is ready for her shopping trip, but Hiram snaps out of it and stomps off to a van.  Veronica is worried about her daddykins.  There is another problem at Riverdale High, Archie and Betty are trying to help Jughead prepare for his history test.  He can only think of food since he is so hungry.  They leave Veronica behind so she heads over to the police station, but the chief is as entranced as Hiram P. Lodge.  Holy Hit Song!  She returns to school now in a flower print dress like a kimono, I think her super power is her changing outfits!   She gets the help of geeky Dilton Doiley and possibly with his help they can get to the mystery taking over Riverdale!   This comic is fun from first to last page.  Will the Caped Crusaders find a way to save Riverdale?  Tune in same Riverdale Channel, same Riverdale time! 

Five Milkshakes and Batarangs out of Five!

#ArchieMeetsBatman66, #DanParent, #Siren, #Riverdale 

Happy Birthday Diana Rigg!

Happy Birthday Diana Rigg!  Diana worked in television and landed the iconic part of Emma Peel in The Avengers (1965-168), not the superhero group, but the British show that was also transmitted in America about secret agents.  Rigg’s character had an incredible fashion sense; her leather catsuit is well known.  She could fight, drive, and do all of the spy tasks as her fellow agent, John Steed. Next, Diana appeared in the Peter Hall adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1969) as Helena.  She returned to the world of espionage as Sonia Winter in The Assassination Bureau.  Then, she took another iconic part as Countessa Terese di Vincenzo in the James Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). She accomplishes something no other other woman has ever done, get James Bond to marry her.  Still, Tracy Bond is assassinated by Bond’s foe, Blofield.  

Next, Diana played Charlotte Mittelheim in the Harold Prince directed movie musical, A Little Night Music (1977). Diana played Clytemnestra in the Greek tragedy Oresteia (1979) which was on television.  She was in The Great Muppet Caper (1981) as Lady Holiday.  Diana was in Evil Under the Sun (1982), adapted from the Agatha Christie mystery.  She played Regan in the tv movie, King Lear (1983), and then played the Evil Queen in Snow White (1987).  A little later she was Mrs. Gillyflower in a 2013 episode of Doctor Who.  Another genre role was as the clever Olenna Tyrell, head of the Tyrell house, in Game of Thrones (2013-2017).  Diana witnessed a comet ready to destroy the world in the mini-series, You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015).  Recently, Diana played the Duchess of Buccleuch in the tv series Victoria (2017). Happy Birthday Diana Rigg! 

#DianaRigg, #EmmaPeel, #TheAvengers, #GameofThrones

Clone Wars is Saved!, New Series in 2019!

The Clone Wars were the mysterious mention by Luke Skywalker in Star Wars (1977).  We finally got to see the beginning of the war in Attack of the Clones (2002) and the end of the war in Revenge of the Sith (2005). There were a series of animated shorts by Genndy Tartakovsky which aired on the Cartoon Network from 2003 to 2005.  It introduced us to the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi played by James Arnold Taylor.  They were rendered Legends, but I see it as still compatible with the canon.  Lucasfilm Animation was formed and produced the animated film, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, to theaters in 2008.  This was made up of episodes intended to introduce the animated series.  It introduced us to Anakin Skyywalker, played by Matt Lanter, and his apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, voiced by Ashley Eckstein.  Dee Bradley Baker provided the voices for the clone troopers including Captain Rex. Star Wars: The Clone Wars also aired on the Cartoon Network.  

The show was innovative in providing the events of the middle of the Clone Wars.  We got to understand the tactics and the people involved in the war.  Dave Filoni was the director of the Clone Wars film and supervising director for the Clone Wars series.  He was also the voice of the bounty hunter Embo and provided many other voices for the show.  The program won several daytime Emmy awards for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program which was presented by Carrie Fisher in 2013 and also Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for David Tennant as the droid Huyang.  On December 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm, and The Clone Wars was cancelled mid-way through the sixth season.  Thirteen of the episodes were released as “The Lost Missions” on Netflix in 2014.  Production shifted to a new show, Star Wars: Rebels, set in the time of the Original Trilogy.  It aired on Disney XD from 2014 to it’s final episode on March 5, 2018. The series was scored by Clone Wars composer Kevin Keiner.  

At the finale of season one, Ahsoka Tano was revealed to be working for the Rebellion!  This all brings us to the announcement yesterday at the San Diego Comic Con by Dave Filoni.  On the tenth anniversary of Clone Wars, Filoni attended the panel with producer Athena Portillo, composer Kevin Keiner, Ashley Eckstein, and Matt Lanter. Filoni told the crowd that Clone Wars is returning on the Disney SVOD streaming service which will launch in 2019.  There is 12 episodes for the new season.  The trailer for Clone Wars was shown.  It features narration by Captain Rex getting his troops in line while we see rows of helmets.  We hear troopers Fives, Heavy, and Echo, and Commander Cody.  While the camera pulls back we see artillery being fired in the background. A Republic gunship flies towards a base in sunset, a beautiful shot, Anakin is there with two troopers as they see the Senator-class Star Destroyers in a scene reflecting the end of Attack of the Clones. Anakin and Obi-Wan enter a control room as Captain Rex watches a hologram of Ahsoka Tano and a Mandalorian.  The Siege of Mandalore was where Ahsoka disappeared covered in the Ahsoka (2016) novel by E.K. Johnston. There is a new hope for Star Warriors!  

#CloneWarsSaved, #DaveFiloni, #MattLanter, #AshleyEckstein 

Re:tro Re:view - A Quiet Place!

A Quiet Place made me think of Jordan Peele’s Get Out, a film that is bold creates it’s own world, in this case apocalyptic, that centers around a family, from a director that I never expected would direct.  This film is of course about silence and well known for hushed audiences, there was a guy in the back munching loudly.  For this alone, A Quiet Place is you must-go-to-the-theater experience.  The film is of course directed by John Krasinski who of course is known for playing Jim on The Office, never really watched that show, but this has great promise for a directing career for Krasinski.

The screenplay is by Bryan Woods and Scott Beck.  They worked on the thriller Nightlight (2015). Krasinski is also a co-writer, he went in and changed the ending, and re-worked some of the characters.  I’ve watched some interviews to see how this film got made.  It opens in Day 59, some two months after an event that has resulted in a deserted town.  It is quiet with the wind blowing leaves on the street of this town.  The other part of this film is that nothing is really identified.  We pick up on what is happening gradually through the movie. We get a general store, a family is there including the mother (Emily Blunt) silently picking up medicine for a sick child, a boy (Noah Jupe).

Another kid (Cade Woodward) wants to get a space shuttle toy, almost knocks it down, to be caught by a girl, (Millicent Simmonds).  He signs that he thinks a rocket will take them away.  The bearded father (Krasinski) doesn’t want him to have the toy since it makes sounds and takes out the batteries.  The girl sees the boy is disappointed at leaving the toy and she gives him the space shuttle.  He snatches up the batteries.  They start walking back, there is white sand that muffles their footsteps, and start across a bridge.  Then, the space shuttle toy goes off, the father panics, and runs toward the boy.  He is snatched by a black creature.  This is a shocking beginning.  Krasinski reworked this as the beginning instead of a flashback.  Then, it shifts to the current time, about a year later at the family farm.

At the end of the film, we get the Abbott mailbox so let’s get into identifying the characters from their credits.  The girl, Regan, is a deaf actress, and she is incredible in conveying everything without speaking.  I can’t wait to see Simmonds' next film.  They are playing Monopoly with felt pieces from a sewing kit, it is not uncomfortable silence since now we know what is at stake making noise.  We get the normal routine, the father, Lee, works in his padded basement on his daughter’s cochlear implant, but it doesn’t work.  There we also see on Lee’s board that the creatures are blind, invulnerable, and there are three of them seen.  The other discovery is that the mother, Evelyn, is pregnant with another child.  I actually didn’t assume that the kids were the children, I had the idea that the parents could have taken in these lost children, but no, they are the Abbott son and daughter.

The caring and peril that the mother gets into a fantastic look at Blunt’s acting and we get her paired with her real life husband.  This film is really about a family and what parents will do for it. There is a scene where the two kids are playing at night, a lantern is knocked over, and Lee rushes over to smother the flames, all shot real.  The tension of daily living without trying to make sounds is all cleverly worked out.  Another scene has Lee on top of a roof lighting a fire which other signal fires start popping up far in the valley.  So there are survivors.  At no point did I think that there would be some outside force to come in and save the family.  It is a survival story on a basic level. The movie uses some horror movie tropes so they work, not showing weakness in the script.

Lastly, the creatures, they have an unknown origin, but Krasinski recently revealed where they came from which I suspected from what was shown in the movie.  They look basically like the Demigorgon in Stranger Things; thin, with wicked claws.  The interesting part is the closeup of their ears which trembles and slides with sounds. Their threat is ever present though we don’t know where they rest or spend their time.  It is so tense that every moment you identify with the family members and want them to somehow pull through.  I never found sound and sound design more important in a film than this one.  In the end, the film is not about an apocalypse or monsters, it is really a story about family.  I really hope everyone goes out and experiences A Quiet Place.

Five Cochlear Implants out of Five!

#AQuietPlace, #JohnKrasinki, #EmilyBlunt, #MillicentSimmonds 

Cloak & Dagger, “Ghost Stories”, Review!

Young Tandy watches cartoons on the tv practicing ballet while young Tyrone has a thumb war with Billy.  Tandy’s father says there will always be distractions.  Billy says that Tyrone will be better than him.  It runs up to the first episode with the car accident and Connors shooting Billy.  Officer Fuchs (Lane Miller) makes pancakes for O’Reilly.  They are going to get Connors.  Tandy brings flowers to Ivan Hess at his hospital room, he can’t remember the explosion, except that they were digging at something ancient.  He knows of a memo placed in a safe deposit box under the name Bernoli, a safe word.  Tandy returns home and compliments her mother Melissa.  Tandy brings up the safe deposit box.  Tyrone’s father, Otis, asks him about his day at the breakfast table.  His mother, Adina, goes through a box and finds the key. The parallel narratives has Tandy ready to work out Roxxon’s secrets while Tyrone is about to take on Connors.  

Adina puts away the dishes, uncomfortable silence, Otis wants to bring over the Red Hots to the house.  A knock and Tyrone sees it’s Tandy.  He introduces her to his parents.  She explains her father died the same day as Billy.  Tandy walks out with Adina’s Roxxon i.d.  Flashback, little Tandy walks the streets in her ballet outfit.  She takes a cellphone from a woman’s purse.  Tandy tries to call home.  O’Reilly is at her desk, she is called over by Connors to i.d. a suspect.  The police sketch is Tyrone.  The Red Hots have come to visit Otis Johnson.  Roland Duplanter (Luray Cooper) checks on Tyrone.  He tells Tyrone about the difference about the cloak and a cape, “a cape hugs you.”  Otis tearfully holds the bundle of his son’s cloak.  The drive for both characters is delicately handled throughout the season, it is not a just a simple jumping off point to them becoming heroes.  

MARVEL'S CLOAK & DAGGER - "Ghost Stories" - (Freeform/Alfonso Bresciani).

Tyrone gets a text from Detective O’Reilly and sees her outside of the house.  She tells him Connors is looking for him.  Young Tyrone walks over to a woman guide explaining about Jack Rogers and blood transfusions.  He runs off and in the closet Tyrone sees Billy’s cloak.  Tandy is getting ready taking out fingerprints of Nathan Bowen.  Tyrone prepares Billy’s cloak and smears blood-like paint in a pattern on his sweater.  Tyrone brings the cloak to tell O’Reilly and Fuchs to pose as Billy to haunt Connors.  He puts on the cloak and closes his eyes.  A bloody foot, it’s young Tandy trying to return home, she takes a key from under the mat.  She finds her mother unconscious on the couch and makes a call.  Tyrone’s plan to trick Connors is an improvement over his earlier path of vengeance.   

At Roxxon, Tandy is sneaking in.  Connors is about to get to his car, Tyrone in his cloak reaches for his gun.  Tandy uses her Light Dagger to slice into the walls of Roxxon.  Connor’s gun is gone.  Tandy throws the Light Dagger at a circuit box.  Tyrone touches Connor’s neck, he flashes to seeing himself killing Billy, Tyrone whispers, “You killed me.”  Tandy holds the Light Dagger to Peter Scarborough’s (Wayne Pere) throat, the executive behind her father’s disgrace.  Connors goes to see O’Reilly who has identified the suspect from the police sketch at the docks.  He says he can see someone, but O’Reilly tells them there is no one.  Tyrone runs and Connors follows with his gun.  He fires and Tyrone appears and disappears as he shoots.  Tyrone says he tried to kill him and says his name is Billy Johnson. “I shot you”, Connors admits.  Fuchs has him on video and O’Reilly puts him in handcuffs arresting the killer.  This seems like justice is finally done.  

Peter Scarborough wakes up taped to a chair.  Tandy tells him that the fear drove the workers crazy.  She says that he got Greg, her mother’s boyfriend, killed.  Tandy holds the Light Dagger to his throat.  He tries to bargain for the evidence.  She leaves him.  O’Reilly tells Fuchs that she’s seen things in New York and kisses him.  Connors looks at them.  Night as the waves roll in, Tandy is there and Tyrone joins him, she admits she didn’t get a confession.  Her mother walks up and Tandy explains about him.  Tandy has a lantern, they quietly hold hands, in the Cloak and Dagger World, the duo finds her old front door, opening it, there is a theater.  Her mother is sitting and watches home movies on the theater.  Her mother smiles in the audience.  The film stops and flickers.  Tandy has her Light Dagger and stabs the screen, a black and white home movie with the music slowed, distorted.  She spills coffee on his papers.  He hits her.  Tandy looks at her mother.   It is interesting to see this layer to Melissa’s character.  The nightmare with Connors is not over, it is just beginning with a shocking revelation at the end! 

Four Light Daggers out of Five! 

#CloakandDagger, #GhostStories, #OfficerFuchs, #RoxxonOil

Happy Birthday Benedict Cumberbatch!

Happy Birthday Benedict Cumberbatch! One of Benedict’s early film roles was a supporting part as Paul Marshall in the adaptation Atonement (2007). One of his iconic roles was playing Sherlock Holmes in the contemporary setting of London in the series created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, Sherlock (2007-2017).  Next, he played William Carey in another adaptation, in this case for Phillippa Gregory’s novel, The Other Boleyn Girl (2008). In 2011, he was in the National Theater Live’s presentation of the Danny Boyle directed Frankenstein.  Benedict starred as Major Jamie Stewart in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the play War Horse (2011).  

He portrayed the Necromancer in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012). In 2013, he played the villain in Star Trek: Into Darkness.  Benedict was in the drama, 12 Years a Slave (2013) playing Ford.  Then, he took the part of real life Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate (2013).  He later voiced Smaug and the Necromancer in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013).  Benedict had a brilliant role playing the genius Alan Turing working to break the Nazi codes in The Imitation Game (2014). He voiced Classified, the British wolf and leader of the North Wind in the animated Penguins of Madagascar (2014).  He completed the Hobbit trilogy in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).  

In 2015, he played the lead role of National Theatre’s production of  Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  Benedict entered the MCU portraying Dr. Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange (2016). He played a surgeon finding a cure for his trembling hands learning from the Ancient One and becoming Master of the Mystic Arts.  Benedict had a cameo as Doctor Strange in Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and then this year’s Avengers: Infinity War taking on Thanos.  He is currently getting acclaim for his title role in the television drama, Patrick Melrose.  Benedict has upcoming the Andy Serkis directed Mowgli playing Shere Khan.  In November, he also has a lead role in the animated movie, The Grinch.  Happy Birthday Benedict Cumberbatch! 

#BenedictCumberbatch, #Sherlock, #DoctorStrange, #PatrickMelrose 

Happy Birthday Kristen Bell!

Happy Birthday Kristen Bell!  Kristen had an early film role in the comedy Pootie Tang (2001).  She also played Mary Lane in Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical (2005).  Then, Kristen had the iconic role of Veronica Mars (2004-2007), clever show created by Rob Thomas.  Next, she had the lead role in the comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008).  I actually took notice of Kirsten in the show Heroes (2007-2008) playing Elle Bishop with electrical powers. She played Zoe in the Fanboys (2009) film.  Kristen voiced Cora in the animated movie, Astro Boy (2009). Kristen returned as Sarah Marshall in Get Him to the Greek (2010).  She joined the musical Burlesque (2010) as Nikki.  Then, she was in the horror film, Scream 4 (2011), as Chloe.  

Kristen then starred in Colin Trevorrow’s debut film, Safety Not Guaranteed (2012). Then, Kristen had another iconic role voicing Anna in the animated film, Frozen (2013). The klutzy, but spunky princess who could sing a duo with Idina Menzel charmed everyone.  She also returned as Veronica Mars in the 2014 film that was crowd funded.  Kristen returned to voice Anna in the Frozen Fever (2015) short that ran before the Cinderella live action movie.  She followed that short up voicing Priscilla, the sloth workers at the DMV, in Zootopia (2016) animated film. Kristen was one of the Bad Moms (2016), Kiki, in the comedy movie. She starred alongside her husband, Dax Shepherd, in his comedy adaptation CHIPS (2017).  Kristen returned as Anna in Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (2017) that ran before the film, Coco.  Then, she was back as Kiki in Bad Moms Christmas (2017).  Kirsten currently stars as Eleanor Shellstrop in the primetime television comedy The Good Place.  This summer, she voices Jade Wilson in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies.  Later, she also voices Anna in Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2.  Happy Birthday Kristen Bell!  

#KristenBell, #VeronicaMars, #Frozen, #TheGoodPlace

The Outpost, “Two Heads are Better than None”, Review!

We were introduced in the premiere to Talon, who was just a child when her people, the Blackbloods, were eliminated by the soldiers that raided her village.  She took refuge with a farming family and cut off her curved ears.  Now, as a young adult, Talon plans her revenge on the mercenaries who killed her people.  She is saved by Captain Garret Spears.  This episode starts with Marshall Wythers testing blood on a sword.  He is interrogating the survivor of the attack.  Wythers takes the man’s sword and sends off the warrior.  He points out the unusual blood and a mute soldier, Danno (Charan Prabhakar) signs that it was a Blackblood, but the Marshall thinks that he says it was a demon.  Wythers wants to find out what happened.  He is our antagonist troubling our hero.   

Day, Talon is asleep from her wounds, she is awakened by The Smith (Kevin McNally) who has sewn her wounds, and gets him in a choke hold.  McNally played Gibbs, Sparrow's first mate in the Pirates of the Caribbean films!  He says her black blood is precious.  Talon passes out.  I imagine it is her blood that enables her to open the portal for the demon that saved her when she was a child.  Later, she wakens with a bandage around her middle, and he tells her that Magmor is dead.  The blacksmith mentions the Blackblood Prophecy, a “Blackblood will awaken the Slayers of Men”, he gives her scroll of paper from her people.  She stubbornly goes to put on her jacket to leave, but thanks him.  I like McNally as the mentor.  

"Two Heads are Better than None" -- Photo: NBCU International -- © Outpost TV LLC. Courtesy of Electric Entertainment

Gwynn gestures for Garret to kiss her excited that Magmor is dead.  He suspects it’s Talon and then is called to meet with General Calkussar (Michael Flynn) who asks him about who killed Magmor.  The Greyskins are retreating and the two work out asking for money from the Prime Order.  He warns Garrett about touching his daughter.  A military camp, Captain Garret arrives with a weapons supply, a soldier, Kell (Thor Knai) takes a drop of green liquid to sniff as a drug.  Garret asks about the Plagueling outbreaks and gives a message.  Talon jumps down a chimney and then sees the brewer Janzo.  Wythers ponders the bloody writing and sends off a message to Everit Dred. The leader, Dred, is so far looming in the background, but we know Talon has to face him. 

Janzo takes Talon to her room.  He knows about her Blackblood and offers to clean the wounds.  Janzo taps a white powder on the wound and then leaves.  The owner of the inn, the Mistress (Robyn Malcolm), is brought a box of raw colipsum by a man, which appears to be the drug.  She knows that the price of the drug is dropping, but he is overcharging her.  She sends two men to follow the drug dealer.  The drug element, where does it come from?, is found in sword and sorcery tales, Robert E. Howard’s Conan had a world with the lotus drug.  Talon has visions of the past with the words spoken to summon the demon.  She starts to read the scroll and a blue light appears, a portal, something at her temple glows, and a demon steps out of the portal with an insectoid head.  It approaches and she shouts to go away so it crashes through the window. 

THE OUTPOST - - “Two Heads are Better Than None” - - JAKE STORMOEN, IMOGEN WATERHOUSE - - Photo: NBCU International -- © Outpost TV LLC. Courtesy of Electric Entertainment.

Morning, Talon wakes up to see a hole in the roof and her wound is completely healed.  The soldier questions the Mistress and Janzo’s answers make him run up to Talon’s room, but she slips out of the window.  Talon enters The Smith's house, he asks if she read the scroll and what appeared he identifies as a Lu-Qiri.  He says she can control it, but the demon will kill soon.  The Smith saw a miracle and started learning about Blackbloods.  Talon leaves and meets up with the soldier who has brought more men.  She takes on his soldiers, but is captured by more armored guards.  Captain Garret returns to the Outpost and is told about the arrest of Talon.  Wythers shows Talon the chopping block.  

He cuts her cheek to see her Blackblood.  Garret enters and has time to question Talon and wants to know what is her mission.  Wythers enters, Garret takes his leave, and the marshall is ready to execute her.  Garret meets Gwynn and he wants to talk with her father.  Gwynn runs to save Talon.  Marshal Wythers gives his sentence.  This is an interesting development with the consequences of Talon's action at the Outpost and also the drug that has dangerous consequences.  I imagine that the drug, colipsum, is controlled by the Prime Order and maybe the Blackbloods also interfered with it’s production.  It could be that the Demon feeds on the drug and will wipe out the Plaguelings if unleashed on them. I like that there is something added to the Outpost world with every episode.   

Three Daggers out of Five! 

#TheOutpost, #TwoHeadsareBetterthanNone, #KevinMcNally, #RobynMalcolm, #MichaelFlynn, #LuQiri

Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire Review!

I scheduled Secrets of the Empire at the Void in Downtown Disney.  I saw the construction and it looked like a press opening.  It seemed like forever and suddenly the day in February was here. This is the VR experience that is currently at Downtown Disney across from Splitsville. The company is the Void which also has VR experiences with Ghostbusters: Dimension. You sign up for a four person team.  They have you sign up, give you wristbands (which are scanned), and then lead you into a room where you can an introductory video by Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) who gives you the debriefing by a Rebel soldier (great cameo from an actor in Rogue One!, revealed in recent Void commercial).

He informs you that your mission is to retrieve a crate “with information necessary for the survival of the Rebellion”, ok, swiping the movie line there. They have tracked it down to the planet Mustafar and you are to go undercover as stormtroopers.  This gives you all of the fun of the 501st without building armor and putting it on. There is a pad on a console that you can enter your armor configuration and color.  You enter the room with racks of gear, a vest that you put on, and a VR helmet.  It feels heavy, but the weight is distributed so it’s not a work out.  The helmet is strapped on and you adjust the noise level with a lever by your ear.  An attendant helps to adjust your vest and helmet.  The limitations are you have to 48” or taller and age 10 or older.

The Void, Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, photo by the author.

Then, you shuffle into the next room, it is four blank walls.  The stunning part is that you can see your stormtrooper armor, lifting up your arms, seeing the armor and your arm at the same time!  Now, this is all very disorienting since you enter a shuttle, but just go with the flow and the Star Wars “reality” will catch up to you.  It is just stunning to touch walls, look around you, and see your fellow stormtroopers.  K2-SO (Alan Tudyk’s voice) goes along with you on the mission.  He has some instruction, but mostly it’s to chastise you for hesitating or getting things confused.  I was told to pull a switch, but again it didn’t feel real to me, until I finally grabbed hold of it and pulled it down.

You walk to a skiff, a platform, that carries you across the lava below and it does not strike you with vertigo.  Soon, you get into a firefight with stormtroopers, there was no tactics for our group so random shooting.  I clung to the left wall for cover and started firing at stormtroopers at the level above us.  You do get slight taps from the vest when you are hit by stormtrooper fire.  There are of course more surprises in store.  I think the basic story fits with canon.  Once you exit the rooms you get a photo op with your visor and vests.  The other merch includes a black t-shirt, sweater, and hat. This is the ultimate Star Wars experience.  It is now open at the Glendale Galleria.  I’m thinking that it will top anything in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge which is still a year away.

#StarWarSecretsoftheEmpire, #TheVoid, #DowntownDisney, #K2SO

Strolling Through the (Theme) Park One Day: Bye Bugs Land!

Bugs Land sign, photo by the author.

The Bugs Land opened in 2002 based on the A Bug’s Life (1998) Pixar film.  It is set to close in the summer to make way for the Marvel expansion in 2020.  I wasn’t impressed by the movie, the characters didn’t interest me, and I didn’t learn anything about insect behaviors like I did with Dreamworks rival film, Antz (1998).  The feature attraction was the It’s Tough to Be a Bug ride which opened with DCA before the rest of the land is now closed.  I actually rode the attraction possibly a year before the movie opened and also before Disney’s California Adventure opened at Animal Kingdom. It was under the Tree of Life and featured characters that I thought it was strange to see something that wasn’t in a film, but seemed like they were from an animated movie.  This is the same feeling I had from Countdown to Extinction which had Alodar in the Disney animated film, Dinosaur (2000), I love that movie.  The 3D glass are called Bug Eyes.  The nice part is the animatronics including Flik peeking from the roof, the giant spiders descending on webs, and the villainous Hopper.  

Still, I lost interest going to it from not the stink bug cloud, water spraying, or air bursts, but the sting that pummels you in the back!  I wore my backpack to block it the last time.  I last went into the pre-show area to see the Coco displays.  It was used as to preview upcoming movies.  I actually don’t know what kid watches A Bug’s Life and knows the characters.  It doesn’t run on a loop on the Disney Channel and I don’t remember it playing on broadcast tv.  The queue itself is very relaxing, water streams, and you walk into a rocky cavern.  Still, the design of this part of the park is brilliant, it really does make you feel that you are bug size.  The entrance across from Grizzly Peak and next to It’s Tough to be a Bug an arch invites guests to Flik’s Fun Fair.  Flik is the main bug in the film voiced by Dave Foley.  There were figures of Flik and Hopper at the exit.  I hope they and the other figures show up in Pixar Pier or somewhere to remind us of the land.  What is impressive about the theming is the beautiful garden of flowers outside of It’s Tough to be a Bug.  There are always bees humming and I saw a little robin taking refuge under leaves. I hope that there is the same beauty kept in the new Marvel land. 

Heimlich's chew chew Train, photo by the author.

Continuing through the Flik’s Fun Fair entrance there is large boxes of what looks like cereal with the cutout parts showing Bugs Life characters as prizes.  There are clever lamps on the roof that look like insect cocoons.  To the left is a restroom that looks like a giant tissue box, Country Fresh Facial Tissues.  All around the Fun Fair are giant clovers with fire flies with a lamp as part of their behinds!  For the most part, these are carnival rides geared to young riders.  To the right is Heimlich’s chew chew Train which has a cupcake on a giant fork as a sign.  The lead train has Hemlich the caterpillar’s pudgy face holding a candy corn and the rest of the train has his long body with two seats for riders per segment.  He is  voiced by Joe Ranft and the short ride is charming.  He goes along a giant rind of watermelon, a box of Animal Crackers, and of course past Candy Corn!  In the center is Princess Dot’s Puddle Park, in the movie she was voiced by Hayden Panettiere, here it is giant garden hose that sprays people underneath in a circular area.  There is a churro stand next to it, but not too many food offerings.    

Figure of Rosie from A Bug's Life, photo by the author.

To the right is an umbrella covering Tuck and Roll’s Drive `Em Buggies, I like the clever name, it is basically bumper cars in the shape of the grinning and smiling pillbugs.  Tuck and Roll are both voiced by Michael McShane in the movie.  Next to it is Francis’ Ladybug Boogie which has a giant record single as a sign.  Riders get into the smug ladybug named Francis and spin around.  The last ride is Flik’s Flyers which has a paper airplane sign.  It flies around boxes of raisins, Casey Jr. cookies, and Chinese food.  The contraption has a pole with a Whip-O-Whirl box, clever, and a pie tin with twigs to carry the boxes.  This is where you can enter from Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout!  Past the churro stand are Bug’s Life figures of Rosie the spider and Heimlich behind her.  In the back is Francis the lady bug.  Plus, there were other bugs from the movie.  The strange part of the land is that I hardly ever saw the Flik characters walking around Bug’s Land maybe he will be there the day it closes.  These rides are low key, but there are four of them and Marvel Land will have two, probably marquee rides with long lines.  Also, the Marvel Land will get kids excited, but it is not exclusive to them.  Here is the one thing I noticed about Bug’s Land that I will miss - it is the only place in all of DCA that has shade!  The sun is brutal in Cars Land.  The new Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios has a few umbrellas, but the theming does not include shade.  Kids areas without shade are just punishing for kids.  I hope Marvel Land will have good shade.   

#BugsLand, #DisneysCaliforniaAdventure, #ABugsLife, #HeimlichschewchewTrain