Happy Birthday Richard Ayoade!

Happy Birthday Richard Ayoade!  The completely talented Richard Ayoade had a brilliant role as Dean Learner in Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (2004) which you can’t miss on youtube.  The one role that he is well known for is Maurice Moss in The IT Crowd (2006-2013).  “I like to go back to being weird. I like being weird. Weird is all I got… That and my sweet style.”  It’s streaming on Netflix so catch every episode.  He parodied chat shows with Man to Man with Dean Learner (2006).  One of his most interesting projects was writing and directing Submarine (2010).  It followed a teenage boy played by Craig Roberts who gets involved with a girl played by Yasmin Paige (who was in the Sarah Jane Adventures) while trying to get his mother (Sally Hawkins who was in The Shape of Water) away from her new boyfriend.  

In 2012, he was in the comedy The Watch teaming out with three other comic actors to defend a neighborhood from alien invasion. Ayoade hosted a few shows, Gadget Man (2013-2015) and Travel Man (from 2015 to the present).  He also wrote The Double (2014) with Jesse Eisenberg playing a shy clerk who finds his confident double also starring some of the cast of Submarine.  In 2014, Ayoade provided the voice for Mr. Pickles in the Laika animated film, The Boxtrolls.   Also, he is an author writing Ayoade on Ayoade: A Cinematic Odyssey (2014).  Next, he provided voices for the British animated series Danger Mouse (2015-2016).  Ayoade was the forensic investigator in Paddington 2 (2017).  He began hosting the game show, The Crystal Maze, in 2017 to 2018.  He was the voice of Treebor in the Aardman Animations film Early Man (2018).  This year, he provided a voice in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.  Happy Birthday Richard Ayoade!  

#RichardAyoade, #TheITCrowd, #Submairne, #TheCrystalMaze

Ignited #1 Review!

Humanoids had previewed its H1 shared universe with the Free Comic Book Day preview, H1 Ignition.  It was one of the most intriguing preview comic books.  There seems to be someone who is watching all of the Ignited and understanding that their powers are a reaction to changes with the Earth.  Ignited features a cover by Phil Briones that has crowded cover of people, but they are all in grey shades except the full color standoouts of the Ignited characters with one distorted in 3D colors. “Triggered Part 1” is written by veteran comic scribe and Director of Creative Development, Mark Waid, and also co-writer Kwanza Osajvefo.  The art is by Phil Briones, he worked on the Marvel/Soleil series Tales of the Dragon Guard and Aquaman with the Rebirth issues.  Briones’ art has simple lines, simple backgrounds, that are mixed with some detailed figure work.  It has a title page that brings together panels from the preview comic.  It is explained in more detail so hopefully you have H1 Ignition, but it is not required for reading.  

It opens with an angry, bald radio host, Brent Smythe, in Phoenix, Arizona discussing a school crisis which he has written about in his Phoenix Academy Hoax book.  The issue is topical and also interesting in that the real world has very little reflection in comic books.  Wars, severe weather events, and other crises usually are not dealt with in the realm of super powers.  Smythe gets a caller who reveals in splash page that he is at the host’s home which we see is in not great shape with the appearance of the Ignited.  The narrative moves to “two months earlier” with a teenage girl going through her morning getting ready for school while trying to reassure herself that everything is normal.  Her routine is broken by the shocking appearance of bullets in a red scene.  She then gets chauffered to school.  Then, we get the news crews trying to get an update at the school.  The girl, H1 Ignition identifies her as Anouk Lovari, thinks about their intrusive presence.  The introduction of character names are sometimes confusing.  One student with green hair, Callum Healey (he is later identified), is annoyed at the reporter when the microphone comes his way.    

The students are going through a security check, once past it, Anouk sees students bullying a girl, Marisol Flores (her name is whispered), for not carrying a transparent backpack.  She responds with a Spanish swear word.  Other strong words are distorted.  Anouk recognizes the bullies who taunt her with her usual phrase, “Getalong.”  Classes continue, there are pictures of students and flowers, and then it gets interrupted with all of the phones ringing.  There seems to be a good reflection of On screen, is masked figure in gas mask and hood with another with a tv screen head, who introduce themselves as @Viral and @Wave. @Viral warns the teachers and administrators to turn down the school board’s action of arming teachers or everyone will become sick.  This brings hope to all of the students.  Principal Romero makes an announcement that the notice was given by a hacker and to ignore it.  He later sees in his office, the ClassAlert which notifies all of the students, was rejected by the school board. 

The next day, the school personnel all get sick, and somehow the school board reverses its decision.  The students are excited, but don’t know the identities of @Viral and @Wave.  Anouk suspects Callum.  In art class, another student, Himari Saito (her name is said), with blue and purple hair has finished an origami swan.  Anouk is distracted and then struck with a flashback of gunshots.  Later, Anouk talks to Himari about the two mysterious people, and she runs off.  Week two, a flashback of students running while there is gunshots, suddenly waking is a teen, Luther Ray Henschen (his name is also called), he heads downstairs and finds that his parents and others are dressed as soldiers.  They intend to protect the students with their firearms.  The tense students and this group encounter the Ignited who look to stop the adults.  This of course gets Anouk to discover them.  It is explained how their powers Ignited in H1 Ignition and their names.  The powers are only hinted here and it is more centered on the tragic event.  The first issue is interesting weaving in different characters who are part of the Ignited.  An intriguing launch for the H1 shared universe.  

Four Transparent Backpacks out of Five! 

#Ignited, #MarkWaid, #KwanzaOsajvefo, #PhillippeBriones

Happy Birthday Peter Dinklage!

Happy Birthday Peter Dinklage! He had a starring role in The Station Agent (2003).  In Jon Favreau’s Elf (2003), he played Miles Finch.  Next, he played Trumpkin in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008).  The role he may be best known for was as Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf who survives with his clever mind, in Game of Thrones from 2011-2019.  He won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2011, 2015, and 2018.  Of course, season 8 has just finished the series.  Tyrion is best known for his words, “Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not.  Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you.”  

He was the voice of Captain Gutt in the animated Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012).  Dinklage was awesome as the LARPer, Hung, in Knights of Badassdom (2013). Next, he was Dr. Bolivar Trask, creator of the Sentinels, in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).  Dinklage then starred in Pixels (2015) taking on a video game invasion with his gamer skills.  He looked into his past to uncover a mystery in Rememory (2017).  Dinklage played James in the drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).  He was the narrator of The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special (2017).  This year, he played Eitri in Avengers: Infinity War (2018).  In 2018, he portrayed the painful story of a star in My Dinner with Hervé (2018) for HBO.  Dinklage has upcoming his voice role of Mighty Eagle in the animated Angry Birds Movie 2 on August 14th!  Happy Birthday Peter Dinklage!  

#PeterDinklage, #TheStationAgent, #GameofThrones, #MyDinnerwithHervé

Strolling Through the (Theme) Park One Day: Millennium Falcon: Smugger’s Run!

The Millennium Falcon is located towards the end of Galaxy’s End park expansion.  It is past the First Order base and at the end of the Market.  The Falcon is of course a centerpiece to the park, there are several cast members to control guests taking pics and also moving them to the PhotoPass photographer queue.  This is for the most part full-sized, the cockpit seems to fit only Chewbacca, from the dedication ceremony.  I think it was said that this is will be the version of the Millennium Falcon for here on out.  To the left of the Falcon is the start of the attraction queue.  There is single rider lines and the stand-by queue which wraps around the Millennium Falcon.  The cast members have blue vests as part of the hangar crew.  Since the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run is the only attraction, there is heavy traffic for it, Galaxy’s Edge has one group finishing and then another group enters.  So the beginning and end of your time will be a 45 minute wait.  If you go in the middle of your time, it is about 20 minutes.  I went on twice and the last one was past my reservation time by about 20 minutes.  

Millennium Falcon at Galaxy's Edge!, photo by the author.

The Falcon seems to be the only ship in the docking bay, it would be interesting to see other ships taking off on a screen, or landing profiles on a flight controller data pad similiar to Star Tours.  The queue area features some great details; flight crew lockers and droids that are being worked on.  A very excellent queue, but it is not interactive like the queue in the Indiana Jones Adventure.  This leads up ramps to the next level which winds around an engine that reminds me of the Space Mountain queue.  It looks like a podracer engine and the engine is tested every now and then.  This offers a view of the Millennium Falcon outside of windows that give you great overviews of the Falcon with Black Spire Outpost backgrounds.  This leads to the area where you assigned your flight positions; Pilot, Gunner, and Engineer.  These are cards that has your group color.   You are then led into the crew quarters with the dejarik table.  This is at the far end and you can take pics there, but you have make your way there and be patient.  

An alarm goes off and you have to hit a red button so there is some interactivity.  You see a tool set and just wonder at all of the detail like the training remote, which I didn’t notice at the time.  Once your group is called, cast members collect your cards, remember you can trade cards in your group if you want a certain position.  Then, your group enters a hangar bay, on another level is Hondo Ohnaka.  He first appeared in the Clone Wars episode, “Dooku Captured” (2009) and then showed up in Star Wars: Rebels with The “Wynkaththu Job” (2016).  Ohnaka is a Weequay smuggler and con artist who had his own smuggling group in the Clone Wars, the Ohnaka Gang.  He worked with Anakin Skywalker and other Jedi.  He lost his group and was running cons in the Galactic Civil War taking a liking to Ezra Bridger and his fellow Rebels.  So this is the first time we have seen him in a live aciton form.  He is a full motion audio-animatronic, gesturing, and moving on his gantry simliar to the dynamic Na’vi Shaman of Songs in the Na’vi River Journey attraction.  

Hondo Ohnaka in the Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run queue, photo by the author.

The original voice artist, Jim Cummings, returns to voice Hondo Ohnaka.  He also voices Winnie the Pooh in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh attraction at the Disney parks.  Ohnaka has assembled your crew to fly the Millennium Falcon and he is interrupted by Chewbacca who has agreed to this arrangement in exchange for parts.  Next, your group is taken to another room where on a screen Hondo Ohnaka explains the mission.  You have to fly to Corellia and retrieve some important cargo.  He informs you that certain buttons will flash when they need to be pushed.  This is similar to the Mission: Space attraction at EPCOT.  Then, you get to the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.  This is an experience, but you have to buckle in and check your controls very quickly.  I was left hand pilot, the controls are a handle that you turn side to side, the left-right orientation of the ship.  The co-pilot on the right, has the up and down control, plus can hit the lever to jump the Falcon to hyperspace!  

View of the Falcon's cockpit during the ride, photo by the author.

The gunners have controls that fire the overhead cannons.  The engineers press buttons, they have control of the harpoons which brings in the cargo.  One of the concerns I had is the ride motion. Health-wise I can’t ride attractions with drops or sudden motion.  I watched many ride videos to see what was going on.  The movement would be equivalent to a very bumpy car ride so I was fine.  You are guided on what to do by Hondo Ohnaka.  Similar to Mission: Space, if you are missing a position, don’t worry, the action happens anyway.  First flight, my group had pilots and gunners, but no engineers.  You score points, but it was sort of meaningless because there is no total points to compare scores.  There is not too much time after the scores are on screen, you unbuckle, and cast members escort you out.  There is a corridor that leads to the outside right by the steps to the Market.  I would like some Falcon merch, like a “I Flew the Millennium Falcon” t-shirt which can be explained is produced by Hondo.  I wonder if your Smuggler’s Run score will have any impact with smugglers who don’t have a presence at Black Spire Outpost yet.  It really is a must-ride.  

#GalaxysEdge, #MillenniumFalconSmuggersRun, #HondoOhnaka, #Chewbacca  

Happy Birthday Natalie Portman!

Happy Birthday Natalie Portman!  Her first role was as Mathilda in Luc Besson’s  Leon: The Professional (1994).  One of her first genre roles was in Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks! (1996).  She played Anne Frank on Broadway in The Dairy of Anne Frank (1997).  Natalie’s next film was as Queen Padme Amidala Naberrie in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999).  She returned as Padme as senator in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (2005).  An interesting role for Portman was playing Ever in V for Vendetta (2005) based on the Alan Moore and David Lloyd comic books.  Next, she was in the fantasy, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (2007). 

Her most recognized part was as Nina Sayers in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan winning her the Academy Award for best actress.  Strangely, she was in the fantasy comedy, Your Highness (2011) as Isabel, an archer and huntress.  Then, she entered the MCU as Jane Foster in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor (2011).  Portman returned as Jane Foster in Thor: The Dark World (2013).  She directed her first film in A Tale of Love and Darkness (2015).  She took the lead role in Jackie (2016) with more award recognition.  Then, Portman had the Alex Garland sci fi film, Annihilation. Portman portrayed the life of a pop star in Vox Lux (2018).  She has upcoming the sci fi movie Lucy in the Sky.  Happy Birthday Natalie Portman!    

#NataliePortman, #LeonTheProfessional, #StarWarsRevengeoftheSith, #BlackSwan 

Dark Phoenix Review!

Dark Phoenix is the latest superhero mutant movie that has some standout character moments, but has some weak villains and plot points.  It is a film filled with controversy, inititally set for March 2018, then September 2018 until reshoots were needed, next February 14, 2019 until it was finally released to the box office on June 23rd.  It is based on a fan favorite storyline, “The Dark Phoenix Saga” that started with Jean Grey gaining the Phoenix Force in Uncanny X-Men #101 (1976) by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, then she became the Dark Phoenix in Uncanny X-Men #129-138 (1980) by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, all of whom are given end credit thanks and Claremont has a cameo in the movie.  

Jean Grey, played by Famke Janssen, sacrificed herself in X2-Men United (2003).  There was a hint of the Phoenix over the lake waters that had crushed her.  She returned as the Phoenix, spoilers here, in the muddled X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and it was revealed that Professor Xavier, played by Patrick Stewart, mentally supppressed her Phoenix powers.  The end of the movie had Jean become Dark Phoenix and then Wolverine, Hugh Jackman, stopped her threat.  The part of Jean Grey had her at a younger age at an earlier time in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).  Now played by Sophie Turner, she unleashed her powers in a Phoenix display, but that event doesn’t connect here.  A very head spinning continuity which resembles the comic books.  Dark Phoenix is helmed by first time director, Simon Kinberg, and he wrote the script, he has written the X-films since X-Men: The Last Stand.  

It starts in 1975, where a family is driving on a road, which is almost exactly like the opening of Shazam!  Of course, this is the Grey family, father, John Grey (Scott Shepherd), who is in the True Detective series, and mother, Elaine Grey (Hannah Emily Anderson), she was Jenna Betancourt in The Purge (2018) series, and the young Jean Grey (Summer Fontana).  Jean’s powers go out of control and has consequences for her family.  There is an impressive effects shot with Jean’s telekinetic powers deflecting broken glass as the car spins in the crash.  She later meets with Professor Charles Xavier at the hospital.  Now, played by James McAvoy, he was in the X-films since X-Men: First Class (2011), continued his character in Glass this year, and has upcoming It Chapter Two which opens on September 6th.  

Xavier brings Jean back to his mansion and explains that her power is a gift to be used however she will use it.  There is an interesting dimension to the character of Charles Xavier when his dream has been the ideal.   The current time is set in 1992 which is also the time of X-Men: The Animated Series.  We have the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor, but at Mission Control, all signals are lost from the shuttle in space.  The president makes a direct call to Xavier who decides to risk his X-Men to show that mutants can be an example to humanity.  There seems to a rift between Xavier and his long time friend, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence).  The character has become a central character to the X-films even though she is a villain in the comic books.  Of course, there is now star power to Jennifer Lawrence who has become well known for The Hunger Games movies, winning the Academy Award for Best Actress in Silver Linings Playbook (2012), and starred in the X-films since X-Men: First Class.       

Xavier also presses Hank McCoy known as the Beast (Nicholas Hoult) if the X-Men’s Blackbird has been modified enough for space travel.  The answer is that an aircraft could not break atmosphere and would not be ready for the vacuum of space, but ok, let’s go with it.  Hoult has been a standout in the later X-films, he is also noteworthy for Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), he is currently in the biopic Tolkien, and has also been playing the Beast since X-Men: First Class.  Hoult’s Beast is one of the best characters in the series and here his loyalty to Xavier and the family of X-Men is tested.  Also featured in the rescue mission is the adult Jean Grey played by Sophie Turner.   We have of course followed her over the years as Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones (2011-2019), she was in the time travel romance Time Freak (2018), and started the X-films with X-Men: Apocalypse.  

Another team member is Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan), he started with The Tree of Life (2011), Sheridan was Parzival in Ready Player One (2018), and also entered the series with X-Men: Apocalypse.  Cyclops has been portrayed as too much of a generic superhero, but Sheridan is given more of a part since the comic character was leader of the X-Men.  Next is Storm, Ororo Munroe, played by Alexandra Shipp.  She was in Love, Simon (2018), Shipp is in the upcoming Shaft, and she also started in X-Men: Apocalypse.  Storm is given her moment, but what I think is a loss is that she is considered Jean Grey’s sister in the X-Men with the comic books.  There is also Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee).  He played the lead role in the prehistoric drama Alpha (2018), he was also in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), his first X-film was also X-Men: Apocalypse.  Lastly, there is Evan Peters as Quicksilver, he was in Kick-Ass (2010) with the other Quicksilver, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Peters appeared in American Horror Story (2011-2018), and his first X-film was X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).  His character is a fan favorite, he provides some humor here, but is more of a cameo here.  

The Blackbird is lifted up from the mansion’s basketball court and takes off towards space.  I would have liked powers to be involved to make it space worthy, instead of booster rockets, it could be the optic blasts from Cyclops and heat shields generated by Jean Grey.  They reach space and see what has disabled the space shuttle, a mass of cosmic energy that they think is a solar flare.  Another Cosmic Cloud in a superhero film.  This is of course the Phoenix Force, if it struck the shuttle, would they become the Fantastic Crew?  Mystique sends over the X-Men, Nightcrawler to teleport in and out of the shuttle, Quicksilver to use his super speed to bring in the crew members, like X-Men: Apocalypse he forgets one person, has he not learned from his mistake?, and Jean Grey seals the breaches in the shuttle.  They find that the captain has gone back to check on something, Mystique doesn’t want to risk team members, but Xavier doesn’t want anyone left behind.  Jean is left behind in the rescue and takes in the Phoenix Force!  

They land the Blackbird, no ill effects from entering zero-g, and now the humans cheer the appearance of the X-Men.  The government also doesn’t seem interested in any kind of debriefing or interviewing the X-Men about the space mission.  Xavier finds that he can longer read Jean’s mind and has Hank run medical tests on Jean and he finds that her power is “off the scale.”  So she is somehow cleared with her limitless power and not monitored.  This shifts to several celestial lights that descend and a house next to a lake.  This is Jessica Chastain’s character, Margaret, who goes out to check on the barking dog.  Before you say Starman, she is replaced by a mysterious alien.  Shape-shifting aliens were already seen with the Skrulls in Captain Marvel.  This is a complication to the Dark Phoenix story, it doesn’t add anything fresh to it, and the villain is just a villain.  I would have liked Chastain to play a mental reflection of the Phoenix Force coercing Jean’s darker side.  In the comics, it was the mental powers of Mastermind that corrupted the Phoenix.  She also has several fellow aliens who have undefined powers.  

Jean is out with the others having a party out in the woods.  Hank and Mystique discuss leaving the X-Men, but Hank convinces her to stay.  Jean’s power is unleashed and she falls unconscious.  Xavier finds out that he needs his Cerebro device to check on Jean.  He discovers that the Phoenix Force has broken the secret that was hidden all of this time.  Jean returns to her family’s home to find the truth.  Xavier leaves with the X-Men on the Blackbird.  They face Jean with some dark consequences.  In the comic book storyline, Dark Phoenix loses control by destroying a star system, so there has to be something equally sinister.  Jean leaves on her own.  She travels to a mutant commune, this may be the comic book nation of Genosha, but it is unidentified.  

Defending it is a character with dreadloks, not identified, but he is listed as Ariki (Andrew Stehlin).  He has been a stuntman, Arvin in 30 Days of Night (2007) and also in Ghost in the Shell (2017).  It is later shown that he has mutant powers, but apparently it is the mutant power of using his dreads, I keep hearing Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair.”  Another member is Selene (Kota Eberhardt), this is one of the most powerful villains in the comic books, here she just has telepathic power.  Leading them is Erik Lehnsehr played by Michael Fassbender.  He was of course David in Alien: Covenant (2017), brilliant in the lead role of Frank (2014), Fassbender became Magneto in X-Men: Days of Future Past.  Magneto has turned away from his path of revenge, but has to deal with his past.  There is no end credit scene.  The moments are fan service that has long been denied in this series, but the characters sometimes veer into questionable decisions.  This is a superhero movie that is right in the middle of the spectrum which is good for fans of the X-films.  

Three Phoenix Forces out of Five!   

#DarkPhoenix, #SimonKinberg, #SophieTurner, #NicholasHoult, #TyeSheridan 

Happy Birthday Michael J. Fox!

Happy Birthday Michael J. Fox!  He had many tv roles, but it was really Alex P. Keaton that made Fox well known when the sitcom Family Ties ran from 1982-1989.  His most timeless part was as Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985).  Fox won Emmy awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 1986-1988.  He was also the lead in Teen Wolf (1985).  Then, he was in the comedy movie, The Secret of My Success (1987).  One of Michael’s dramatic roles that stays with me is Brian De Palma’s Vietnam War drama, Casualties of War (1989).  He returned as Marty McFly in Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Back to the Future Part III (1990).  Fox had a 1991 episode of Tales from the Crypt. He was a paranormal investigator, Frank Bannister, in Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners (1996). 

Then, Michael was in Tim Burton’s wacky invasion Mars Attacks! (1996).  Next, he was in another sitcom, Spin City (1996-2000) playing Mike Flaherty, Deputy Mayor of New York City.  Fox repeated his Emmy win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his last season.  In 2000, Fox founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.  He voiced Milo James Thatch in Disney’s animated film, Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001). In 2002, Fox recieved his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Next, he had his own sitcom, The Michael J. Fox Show (2013-2014) which ran one season.  Michael currently is in the Designated Survivor (2018) television series.  Recently, he was in the sci fi movie, See You Yesterday released on May 17th on Netflix.  Happy Birthday Michael J. Fox!

#MichaelJFox, #FamilyTies, #BacktotheFuturePartII, #DesignatedSurvivor. 

Happy Birthday Johnny Depp!

Happy Birthday Johnny Depp!  Johnny Depp started off his career in genre films starring as Glen Lantz in Wes Craven’s original A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).  He also had a role in Oliver Stone’s Platoon (1986) as a young soldier and interpreter.  In 1987, he took everyone’s attention as Officer Tom Hanson in 21 Jump Street as an undercover officer posing as a high school student.  In 1990, he starred as Edward Scissorhands in Tim Burton’s film.  Johnny starred in another Tim Burton film as Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow (1999).  It was in 2003, though, that Johnny took an almost iconic part as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).  He starred once again in a Tim Burton film, in one of his many remakes, as Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Johnny Depp voiced Victor Van Dort in Tim Burton’s animated Corpse Bride (2005).  

He returned as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007). He also sung in Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007). Johnny had another strange part as the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland (2010).  He reprised his role as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) that sputtered the franchise.  Another interesting part for Johnny was the Wolf in the Into the Woods (2014) musical.  Johnny returned as the Mad Hatter in Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016).  He had a surprise cameo in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016).  My favorite Pirates film is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017).  He was also the mysterious Edward Ratchett in Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express (2017).  Johnny Depp returned as a villain in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).  Recently, he was also in the true crime film, City of Lies (2018). Happy Birthday Johnny Depp!

#JohnnyDepp, #PiratesoftheCaribbeanDeadMenTellNoTales, #FantasticBeastsTheCrimesofGrindelwald, #CityofLies

Strolling Through the (Theme) Park One Day: Star Warrior’s Guide to Galaxy’s Edge!

Galaxy’s Edge had a dedication ceremony on May 30th, opened on May 31st to reservations, and will open to the public on June 24th at Disneyland.  It will open at Hollywood Studios on August 29th.  So for Star Warriors, the fans of Star Wars, Disney fans, and everyone else here are some considerations ro know before you go.  First, know that June to August 11th, is some of the busiest times for Disneyland.  

Hollywood Studios has more lighter guests at that time, but it might get more with the opening of Galaxy’s Edge.  The park expansion was announced by Bob Iger at the D23 Expo on August 15, 2015 during the Star Wars portion of the live action movies presentation.  Side note: D23 Expo returns to the Anaheim Convention Center on August 23 to 25th.  The theme park presentation might reveal what we will have in store for Galaxy’s Edge in the future.  I’ve tried to keep surprises for you to discover at Galaxy’s Edge.   

A-Wing fighter at the Resistance Base, Galaxy's Edge, photo by the author.

I was able to get a reservation for June 6th, initially it was for a group of five, but was changed to only one additional guest.  I submitted the other group members, but only one guest was added to my reservation.  I heard at Galaxy’s Edge that one group had four.  I’m not certain what is the current policy.  There are several groups that enter Galaxy’s Edge.  The reservation establishes when you start two hours before your reservation time.  This is at Star Wars: Launch Bay in Tomorrowland.  There is a queue to the side of the Launch Bay displays, winds past the cantina-like booths, to several cast members that enter your reservation into computers to get your group wrist bands.  

They are color coded which identifies your group.  Then, about one hour before your reservation, you gather at the Hungry Bear Restaurant.  It extended to the side of the Splash Mountain queue.  Next, it goes to the side of Hungry Bear by the river, and your wristband QR code is scanned.  The last queue area is right before the Resistance base, it has an aisle for guests who may be from the previous group.  There are cast members, residents of Black Spire Outpost?, who are there to answer guest questions.  Shout out to members of the Resistance; Thomas, Tina, and Brian!  The usual greeting is "Bright suns!"  

You see the Resistance X-Wing, some people were amazed at the engine sounds, and there are several merchandise kiosks.  I was unable to see what they offered in terms of merch.  Wandering around is Rey and Chewbacca, they were celebrities like rock stars, followed around by guests.  Once the group is given entry, there is a crowd that heads to Black Spire Outpost.  Cast members block off entry at what is the entrance of the Market.  Then, you can enter towards the First Order base entrance.  

Here Kylo Ren wanders around, but there are mostly stormtroopers.  This is the Galaxy’s Edge entrance by Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  Now here is the other consideration, there are highly popular areas in Galaxy’s Edge that also need reservations.  The reservations run out fast for the four hour time so that may be your first place to go if you are interested.  There is Savi’s Workshop and Oga’s Cantina.  Only one person is needed to make a reservation so you can divide up your group.  You may want to see both places, but note that you must purchase the $199 lightsaber to enter Savi’s Workshop.  There was also a queue for Droid Depot, but unfortunately, I never entered it.  

Lighsabers at Savi's Workshop, photo by the author.

Savi’s Workshop, the queue ends at a counter where you select your lightsaber style, there are four, and purchase it.  You are given a pin to wear and a color-coded card.  The time for your group is given to you and there is a separate queue area with seats.  Once your group time is up, you enter the darkened room of the workshop.  There is a long, rounded table which you find your section; I think there is space for about sixteen Force-sensitives.  It is a show similar to Ollivander’s at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, except it is for everyone not one volunteer.  

The other important part is that you get to build your lightsaber.  The three assistants, called Gatherers, are incredibly helpful in helping you construct your saber.  Shout outs to Gatherer Adam and Sam!  Oga’s Cantina has a return time that is notified by cell phone messages.  There is also a queue to the side of the building before you enter the cantina.  It is a large, darkened room with booths right out of A New Hope.  There are tables around the curved bar where you can order alchololic drinks and drinks like lemonade or snacks.  Also, there to provide music is DJ Rex, he of course is the former droid pilot in the original Star Tours.  

Let’s get to food, drinks, and snacks.  First, of course is Blue Milk at the Milk Stand, it needs a more distinctive name.  This is across from the First Order Cargo shop.  Blue Milk is delicious!  It is made with coconut milk with fruit flavors which is refreshing on a hot day.  The cost is about $8 and worth it.  A drawback is that it is iconic, yet served in a cup, I think it should be in a collectible bottle similar to Harry Potter’s butterbeer.  There were Coco Cola thermo detonators at the Resistance Base and at the Market by Savi’s Workshop, but I don’t like its Star Wars theming. 

 Kat Settle’s Kettle offers popcorn and you can buy a collectble mouse droid container, about $20.  It is around the corner from Ronto’s Roasters.  It is a showcase having a podracer engine cooking a ronto.  I bought a Ronto Wrap and a non-alcholholic Tatooine Sunset.  The wrap was in a pita with pork like a hot dog, yummy, and the Tatooine Sunset was a tea, lemonade, with melon and blue berry flavors.  Shout out to Anthony!  I did see Docking Bay 7 Food and Cargo, but passed up it’s menu, maybe next time.  I like the Galaxy’s Edge food and drink offerings, they are different, it seems less exotic than the offerings at Pandora: The World of Avatar at Walt Disney’s World’s Animal Kingdom.  I didn't get to Kat Saka's Kettle, long line, but had my Ronto Wrap on the table next to it.    

    

Dok-Ondar at Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities, photo by the author.

There are also some shops to cover including Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities.  There is a large statue of a female Jedi where you queue to enter Dok-Ondar’s den.  You enter the den which is filled with so many creatures, weapons, and artifacts that you can really just look around the shop.  I bought a holocron, $49.99 and kyber crystals, $12.99 in small capsules.  You can place the kyber crystals into the holocron for a message!  There is a button on top that activates the voices.  Of course, there is Dok-Ondar himself, who is in a cage, busy at work.  He is featured in the Galaxy’s Edge comic book.  It is the most fun place I went to at Galaxy’s Edge.  Shout out to Natalie!  

Then, there is the Creature Stall in the Market, I really wanted a Puffer Pig.  There isn't animation or creature sounds from parts of the store like what is in Harry Potter at Universal parks so it is just rows of stuffies.  I ended up a Krykna Spider, $19.99, it is of course based on a Ralph McQuarrie design for Dagobah.  It showed up in Star Wars: Rebels.  The best part is that it skitters, once I saw that, I bought it.  All of your creature purchases come in large boxes like carrying cases.  This is something that is not at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  The Kowakian Monkey Lizards are on the side of the shop. I would like to have seen a Womp Rat or a Dianoga.  I did not get to Toydarian Toymaker which was across from the Creature Stall.  

I hope this gives you good ideas about what to expect at Galaxy’s Edge.  There was some signage, but I was mostly confused about locations there.  The cast members are there to help you.  There are some wrinkles to be worked out, “patience you must have”, cast members are working out their characters, and service is being smoothed out.  I didn't get too much interactivity with the cast members, there weren't too many hints of an ongoing story such as that of Knott's Berry Farm's Ghost Town Alive! or a Renaissance Faire.  Also, there didn't seem to be any missions to search for things like the map quests at Walt Disney World.  

There are hints of the Resistance and First Order, but there really isn’t a store for supplies for the smugglers who seem to be a big part of the Falcon ride.  The entertainment offerings are minimal, there is a First Order searches for the Resistance offering, but I didn’t see it and there doesn’t seem to be times for it.  The theming is excellent, not to the extent of being on another planet, still very hot, there needs to be more tarps or places with shade.  We will cover the Millennium Falcon attraction soon!  There were a few shops that I did not visit so I do expect a return trip to Batuu.    

DJ Rex at Oga's Cantina, photo by the author.

#GalaxysEdge, #Disneyland, #StarWarsLaunchBay, #SavisWorkshop.     

Happy Birthday Karl Urban!

Happy Birthday Karl Urban!  He is a Kiwi actor who started in the Hercules: The Legendary Journeys show as both Cupid and Julius Caesar.  He was also the enemy of Xena: Warrior Princess as Caesar.  Urban explored the Ghost Ship (2002) and then had the part of Eomer in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).  Then, he played Vaako in the sci fi movie, The Chronicles of Riddick (2004).  Then, Urban was John Grimm in the video game adaptation Doom (2005). Urban entered another big franchise playing Doctor “Bones” McCoy in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek (2009).  He was in another horror movie with vampires in Priest (2011).  

Then, he had the lead role of Judge Dredd in Dredd (2012). Then, he returned as McCoy in Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013). He was once again Vaako in Riddick (2013).  Karl was in the tv turned film, Walking with Dinosaurs 3D (2013) as Uncle Zack.  One of my favorite roles for Karl Urban was his lead playing Detective John Kennex in the sci fi tv show Almost Human (2013-2014). He was once again Dr. McCoy in Star Trek: Beyond (2016).  Next, Urban played the villainous Gavin in Pete’s Dragon (2016).  He was the Asgardian Skurge in Thor: Ragnarok (2017).  Last year, he was in the crime movie Bent (2018).  Recently, Karl Urban is in the tv series, The Boys, as Billy Butcher, based on the comic book by Garth Ennis. Happy Birthday Karl Urban! 

#KarlUrban, #TheLordoftheRingsTheTwoTowers, #StarTrek, #Dredd, #TheBoys

Happy Birthday Liam Neeson!

Happy Birthday Liam Neeson! He has a long genre career starting with Gawain in Excalibur (1981).  He was also in Krull (1983).  Still, I actually took notice of Neeson in the High Spirits (1988) comedy as an Irish ghost who falls for Beverly D’Angelo’s character.  His lead role as Peyton Westlake in Sam Raimi’s Darkman (1990) was almost iconic.  Liam Neeson’s incredible career defining part was as Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s award winning Schindler’s List (1993).  Two years later he was in Rob Roy (1995) and then Michael Collins (1996).  He starred as Valjean in the drama Les Miserables (1998).  Neeson returned to genre films as Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999).  He also investigated ghosts in The Haunting (1999).  Neeson also had a great role as Ducard in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins (2005).  

Next, Liam Neeson voiced Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) and the sequel Prince Caspian (2008). Also in 2008, he brought a “certain set of skills” to Taken (2008) which led to a series of films; Taken 2 (2012) and Taken 3 (2014).  Neeson played Zeus in the Clash of the Titans (2010) remake and the sequel Wrath of the Titans (2012).  He returned to voice Aslan in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). Neeson was Admiral Shane in Battleship (2012).  He returned in The Dark Knight Rises (2012).  Liam Neeson also returned as Qui-Gon Jinn in episodes of Clone Wars.  The voice of The Monster was Liam Neeson in A Monster Calls (2016).  In 2016, Neeson played Ferreira in Martin Scorsese’s powerful Silence (2016).  Neeson was in the crime drama Widows (2018).  Recently, he is in the action film, Cold Pursuit (2019).  Neeson is also in Men in Black: International out on June 14th. Happy Birthday Liam Neeson!    

#LiamNeeson, #StarWarsThePhantomMenace, #Taken, #MeninBlackInternational

Happy Birthday Dave Filoni!

Happy Birthday Dave Filoni! He began as a storyboard artist and character layout artist with such shows as King of the Hill (1997-1999) and storyboard artist on Kim Possible. Then, he moved into directing with the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender in 2005. Filoni went on to Lucasfilm Animation and was the supervising director for Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) and then the Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2013) animated series.

Dave Filoni talking to Simon Kinberg with Freddie Prinze Jr., Star Wars: Rebels panel at Celebration, 2015, photo by the author. 

He voiced the bounty hunter Embo in various episodes from 2010-2014. Then, he went on to working on Star Wars: Rebels (2014-2018) as executive producer. Dave Filoni provides the voice of the droid Chopper in Star Wars: Rebels and Star Wars: Forces of Destiny. Filoni was given a promotion in 2016 to oversee all Lucasfilm Animation series.  Next, he developed the Star Wars: Resistance animated series. Filoni has directed two episodes of the upcoming The Mandalorian to be streaming on Disney Plus!  He is also working on Season 7 on Clone Wars, filling an unresolved part of that show, also for Disney Plus!  Happy Birthday Dave Filoni!

#DaveFiloni, #CloneWars, #StarWarsRebels, #TheMandolorian 

Happy Birthday Jason Isaacs!

Happy Birthday Jason Isaacs! He was in the “Lady and the Tiger” (1993) episode of the Highlander tv series.  Next, he played Lord Felton in DragonHeart (1996).  Isaacs was then exploring a black hole in Event Horizon (1997) from director Paul W.S. Anderson.  The film that I took notice of Jason Isaacs was as the brutal Colonel Tavington in The Patriot (2000).  He later was Captain Mike Steele in the film, Black Hawk Down (2001), based on the 1999 non-fiction book by Mark Bowden.  Isaacs was in another of Paul W.S. Anderson’s films, the video game horror film, Resident Evil (2002).  It was in 2002 that he started a long series of films as Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002).  Isaacs starred as Captain Hook in 2003’s Peter Pan.  

He voiced Commander Zhao in the popular Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005) animated series.  Jason Isaacs returned as Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) and then Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). Isaacs next starred in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010).  In 2011, Isaacs finished his role as Lucius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011). Isaacs played Detective Michael Britten who finds himself in two realities in Awake (2011-2012). He returned to voice Commander Zhao in the 2013 episode of The Legend of Korra. Another noticeable role was as Captain Waggoner in the World War II tank film, Fury (2014), from writer/director David Ayer.  Isaacs entered the Star Wars universe playing the Grand Inquisitor in the Star Wars: Rebels (2014-2015) animated series. Also in 2017, he took the brilliant role of Captain Gabriel Lorca in Star Trek: Discovery.  Isaacs has a number of parts as villain, hero, and everything in between across genres.  Happy Birthday Jason Isaacs!    

#JasonIsaacs, #ThePatriot, #HarryPotterandtheChamberofSecrets, #Awake, #StarWarsRebels, #StarTrekDiscovery