Our first look at Marvel Studio’s “Captain Marvel” has just arrived, bringing a full length trailer and a more in depth sneak peak along for the ride. The film will act as a prequel to the previous events in the MCU, building up to the aftermath of Avengers: Infinity War.
The trailer debuted on Good Morning America, which comes shortly after Disney releasing a similar tease of this winter’s Mary Poppins Returns earlier in the week. From first impressions, the nostalgia level will be high, winding the clock back to the 90s. The very first frame tosses us literally back to the era of Blockbuster Video. From there, fragments of past and present remain, leaving a trail of mystery around who Carol Danvers really is. It’s our first taste in what’s about to become an even larger universe.
The film stars Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Rune Temte, Algenis Perez Soto, Mckenna Grace, with Annette Bening, with Clark Gregg, and Jude Law.
Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel” is produced by Kevin Feige and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jonathan Schwartz, Patricia Whitcher and Stan Lee are the executive producers.
The latest Marvel adventure comes your way in March 2019.
Real magic awaits Disney fans across the globe, as the creative minds at Scentsy have released a new Disney-themed fragrance collection. Unveiled earlier this summer at the company’s annual family convention, it’s a collaboration like no other. Imagine being able to capture the charm of Mickey Mouse, the scents of the famous Hundred Acre Wood, or the daring and brave elements of Belle. The new collection is slated to do just that.
The products will feature scented plush toys from all over the Disney brand that include Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh and Friends, as well as Disney-Pixar’s Finding Nemo. “We’ve worked very closely with the Disney product design team to deliver an incredible lineup of characters with signature fragrances that fit within the imaginative storytelling of the Disney brand,” said Heidi Thompson, Scentsy President and Co-Owner. “We couldn’t be more excited for Scentsy to align with Disney, one of the world’s best, family-oriented brands. We know Scentsy Consultants and customers around the world will be thrilled.”
The collection will bring together over 100,000 independent Scensy consultants across 11 countries, bringing the fragrances to a global market. “We couldn’t find a brand that better matches our aspirations and values. Family-friendly, industry leading, creative, artistic, to warm, enliven and inspire are words from Scentsy’s mission statement, but these words
could be used to describe the standards Disney has set for the world,” Scentsy Co-owner and CEO, Orville Thompson stated. “Where Disney creates powerful memories through parks and entertainment, our products will help people remember and re-live those experiences through fragrance.”
You can learn all about the new Scentsy collection by checking out the official site!
In Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns,” an all new original musical and sequel, Mary Poppins is back to help the next generation of the Banks family find the joy and wonder missing in their lives following a personal loss. Emily Blunt stars as the practically-perfect nanny with unique magical skills who can turn any ordinary task into an unforgettable, fantastic adventure and Lin-Manuel Miranda plays her friend Jack, an optimistic street lamplighter who helps bring light—and life—to the streets of London.
“Mary Poppins Returns” is directed by Rob Marshall. The screenplay is by David Magee and the screen story is by Magee & Rob Marshall & John DeLuca based upon the Mary Poppins Stories by PL Travers. The producers are John DeLuca, p.g.a., Rob Marshall, p.g.a. and Marc Platt, p.g.a. with Callum McDougall serving as executive producer. The music score is by Marc Shaiman and the film features all new original songs with music by Shaiman and lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman. The film also stars Ben Whishaw as Michael Banks; Emily Mortimer as Jane Banks; Julie Walters as the Banks’ housekeeper Ellen; Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh and introducing Joel Dawson as the Banks’ children, with Colin Firth as Fidelity Fiduciary Bank’s William Weatherall Wilkins; and Meryl Streep as Mary’s eccentric cousin, Topsy. Angela Lansbury appears as the Balloon Lady, a treasured character from the PL Travers books and Dick Van Dyke is Mr. Dawes, Jr., the retired chairman of the bank now run by Firth’s character.
LEGOLAND® California Resort transforms into a monster mash bash for the ultimate family fun during its Brick-or-Treat Party Nights Halloween celebration, presented by Disguise Costumes, every Saturday night (Sept. 29, Oct. 6, 13, 20, & 27) at 5 p.m. with more Park after dark! LEGOLAND® California‘s Halloween festivities is filled with sweeter treats, exciting entertainment and not-so-spooky thrills. Along with 16 Treat Stations sure to satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth, guests can collect specialty items such as LEGO® commemorative brick, LEGO® Life Magazine containing a special gift and enjoy a bonus treat station inside SEA LIFE® aquarium!
New this year, Frankenbrick’s Lab, kids can partake in an interactive show with a chance to act as scientists on stage and create their own slime! The kids have to use their imagination and help Dr. Frankenbrick bring his LEGO® Monster to life. Mail Order Monsters returns to the Courtyard Theatre where Princess Playwright orders scary monsters from a catalog; however, playful Jester Funny Bones casts a spell on them making the monsters sweet as sugar. Returning this year, the Model Shop roof will be the home to AstroBash, a space-themed dance party that’s out of this world. Midnight Monster Jam is back at Fun Town Stage where guests can boogie down with the monster crew as they bring their spooky fun character concert to life! Deep in the castle at Courtyard Theatre, The Witchettes, five kid witches, return to celebrate the season of Halloween. The popular Brick-or-Treat celebration brings back Ghost Cruise adventure, a new pop-badge challenge in Fun Town, a fall festival complete with a LEGO® pumpkin patch building activity, BOOgrass Band and a special LEGO® Friends meet and greet in Heartlake City, where kids can decorate their own craft.
LEGOLAND® Hotel and new LEGOLAND® Castle Hotel join in the fun with their own Halloween celebration Friday and Saturday nights. At LEGOLAND Hotel, guests can enjoy The Monster Bash where the Heroes step inside Mad Marty’s Monster Machine, become part monster and the only cure is dancing. Guests can also enjoy monster training from the Hotel’s certified monster trainer. New entertainment at LEGOLAND Castle Hotel includes a Royal Carnival, where guests can enjoy juggling, acrobatics, games and more plus the Musical Monsters Show and the Trickster Brigade, who are on the prowl and ready to run amok throughout the Hotel where they can freeze time and play pranks. Plus, on Oct. 31 guests, can revel in exclusive entertainment, candy giveaways, a dance party and a special visit from Brick-Or-Treat Characters at both Hotels.
Brick-or-Treat Party Nights is a special event and admission can be purchased for as low as $54 if purchased online in advance. Additionally, guests can purchase a full 2nd day Resort Hopper ticket to enjoy LEGOLAND California, SEA LIFE aquarium and LEGOLAND® Water Park. Special event ticket holders can enjoy costume contests, trick-or-treating at candy stations filled with tasty goodies and other surprises, festive music and live entertainment.
LEGOLAND California and SEA LIFE Aquarium are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on select dates throughout October and LEGOLAND Water Park is open weekends 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. through October 29. With special event admission to Brick-or-Treat Party Nights on September 29, October 6, 13, 20 and 27, guests can extend their day until 9 p.m. at both LEGOLAND California and SEA LIFE Aquarium to enjoy all the Halloween festivities plus add on a 2nd day Resort Hopper to extend the fun all weekend long. For exclusive savings and more information, visit www.BRICKORTREAT.com or call 760-918-5346.
Disneyland Resort is hosting a job fair on Sept. 19, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., at Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. Full- and part-time opportunities are available in housekeeping, laundry, lifeguard, culinary, dishwashing and parking services roles.
There’s never been a better time to join the cast of 30,000 that make magic for guests every day. With the recent launch of Disney Aspire, the company’s new education program for hourly employees, Disney is paying 100% of the cost for all eligible hourly employees who want to pursue their education goals, including GED courses, associate’s and college degrees, vocational training and more — opening doors to future opportunities.
Job fair attendees will have the chance to meet with recruiters and department leaders to ask questions and find out what it’s like to be a part of these dedicated teams. Qualified candidates can even apply, interview and accept an offer on site.
This event is open to the public and candidates are encouraged to apply online in advance to reserve an appointment. Walk-in appointments will also be available the day of the job fair, and computers will be available to complete applications.
Complimentary parking for those attending will be located behind Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel. For more information about current openings at Disneyland Resort, including full role descriptions, or to apply online, visit Disneyland.jobs/jobfair.
Disney is an equal opportunity employer, drawing creativity from diversity.
Up until this point, the Predator franchise has been a roller coaster of quality and narrative structure. Every film is mostly standalone, with some call backs to a previous film in some small way, but nothing so overt new comers will fall behind. Unfortunately, it seems the more we explore the Predator, the lesser the films — as well as the titular movie monster — become. Enter Shane Black’s The Predator — the first film in almost a decade for the series, and fourth overall in the standalone franchise — which hopes to bring the series back to the fun 1980’s feel, with the visceral action of the John McTiernan original, all rolled into one collective nostalgic package. Unfortunately for Black, and fans of the franchise, the film blows up in the famed filmmaker’s face in a big way, delivering instead what is arguably the weakest, as well as most disappointing, entry in the series’ history.
Set on present day earth, The Predator finds Boyd Holbrook’s Quinn McKenna, a sniper in the US military, on a simple mission in a foreign country. Things quickly go south when a Predator space ship crashes near McKenna’s location, setting off a chain of events that lands McKenna in a psychiatry military hold. McKenna meets a group of mercenaries who are all like him — potentially crazy, very expandable, foul-mouthed, and most importantly, afraid of no danger — who band together when the Predator returns to his town, in search of something McKenna took from him. The hunt is on for McKenna and his team to track down the Predator before he’s able to find McKenna’s son, who may be the key to stopping the Predator race once and for all.
In theory, the above film sounds like it could be a lot of fun, but instead, we’re taken on a near two-hour ride that is haphazardly edited, as well as both overstuffed and yet undercooked. Black is known best for his buddy cop films, starting early on in his career with writing Lethal Weapon. So while he’s no stranger to action films, he seems to be a much bigger stranger to ensemble films. Even with his more recent work on things like The Nice Guys, Black finds a voice for three or four great characters, but he’s never had more than that front and center. Unfortunately, The Predator suddenly finds him with an overwhelming amount of characters who never feel real, but instead feel like caricatures who the audience really never get behind. With the amount of talent in front of the lens — with guys like Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane, Sterling K. Brown, and Trevante Rhodes– you’d think they would all get great material to work with. But instead, none of their characters feel fleshed out or real, so you have no emotional investment in any of them. Every time it feels like we may start getting to know them, the film decides to quickly go another direction, never taking the time to really breath, or allowing the characters to grow. Thankfully, Boyd Holbrook gets decent material to work with, or at least elevates what was written for him, easily standing out as the film’s MVP. On the other hand, Olivia Munn couldn’t be more miscast, giving a stilted and awkward performance very reminiscent of Denise Richards’ “star turn” in The World is Not Enough. Every line delivery feels awkward, and it’s clear that both Black and Munn had no real idea how to handle her character, which is frustrating because we really had a chance to have a kick ass female lead front and center. This franchise has always been big on ensembles, but here it feels like Black has no handle on how to use his characters, or how to even set them up, leaving for nothing but confusion and disappointment for the audience.
Unfortunately, the film’s biggest sin isn’t just about not getting characters we care about, but it’s that the film as a whole just doesn’t work, or really make sense. This is clearly a product that has been taken apart and put back together multiple times, and it shows. The narrative thrust feels all over the place because the film really has no idea what it wants to be. At times, it almost feels like a parody of the original, while other times it wants to emulate it, all the while winking at the camera. That feels very much like Shane Black’s MO at times, but here it just doesn’t work, really souring the audience on the film. Character motivations are almost non-existent, and most seem to be there just for convenience instead of adding to the film. The worst part is how many characters pop up, just to disappear and never be seen again, for no reason other than the film just has no use for them anymore. One in particular is Jake Busey, son of Gary Busey, who actually plays the son of his father’s character from Predator 2. But instead of being a badass looking to avenge his father, he’s an awkward science geek who adds nothing to the film, other than say his name and then disappear. Everything feels forced, and that’s really upsetting because the potential to do something really cool with this franchise just evaporates in every frame.
Which leads us to the Predator itself, which is arguably the biggest problem with not just this film, but the franchise overall. As cool as these creatures are, the more we start to explore them, the less interesting they become. One of the coolest things about the original Predator was that we don’t see the monster for so long into the film, and it truly feels like something menacing. As the series progresses, directors have felt the need to not only explain where they come from, but why they’re here, and it’s really starting to hurt what makes the original work so well. Here, there’s two warring Predators: an original Predator, that most fans know, and a bigger, more steroided out version of the monster who has been using the DNA of other species to get stronger. The latter sounds incredibly cool in concept, but in execution, it’s messy and really makes the character less scary in the process. It feels like every time we peel back the curtain to get an idea of what these creatures are, the less interesting they become, which has made each subsequent film frustrating to watch in the process. Going all in on a sci-fi concept like that would be great, but instead it feels like an unnecessary addition to a film hellbent on the hopes of getting a sequel. This is clearly a set up for bigger things, but why should the audience care at this point? If the movie was more like the first, and just a story about a group of mercenaries that are just south of sanity fighting the Predator in the woods, it would have been so much more interesting than the convoluted film we ended up with here. Sure, it would have been too similar to the original, but maybe that’s what these films should be. Instead of trying to over explain the creatures, it would have been better if we got a nostalgic rehash where we care about the characters, and just let the Predator be the Predator.
This also leads to fact that the Predator action really isn’t all that interesting throughout the film, more feeling empty and vapid instead of badass and fun. Sure, there’s a lot of blood to be had, but why does it matter if the action feels so disappointing and stilted? The Predator honestly never feels all that threatening because the action doesn’t deem it to, and instead, it just happens, never feeling visceral. Gone is the feeling of the hunt, and instead we’re given a film that tries to replicate it, but never meets that mark. It may be the most bland feeling film in the series in terms of action, which is truly disappointing. With someone like Black in the director’s chair, you’d expect the action scenes to seem more inventive and interesting, but they just never come together in any way that really pops. Fans hoping to get great action set pieces and carnage galore may very well walk away disappointed in what this movie has to offer.
The Predator lacks the charm and the fun of the series thus far, giving audiences a cast of misfits who — on paper — should work splendidly, but instead fall short due to material they’re given to work with. Black tries his hardest to take the series in a new direction, but instead he’s seemingly stalled the franchise out in a really unfortunate spot that may take quite a while to recover from. Fans may get a kick out of some of the action in the film, but they won’t get much more from it. In the end, The Predator is a film for no one in particular, leaving old school fans frustrated, and potential new fans wondering why people are so high on the property to begin with. This is easily one of the most disappointing films of the year, as well as in the franchise.
Hollywood’s legendary El Capitan Theatre presents a special return engagement of Disney•Pixar’s COCO, September 27 to October 7, shown in brilliant Dolby VisionTM Laser Projection & Dolby Atmos® Sound Technology. Tickets are now on sale at www.elcapitantickets.com, by calling 1-800-DISNEY6 and at The El Capitan Theatre box office.
“We are very pleased to be bringing back Disney•Pixar’s COCO – one of the most beloved films to have played our theatre,” said Ed Collins, General Manager of The El Capitan Theatre. “And as a special treat, the Grammy® Award Winning MARIACHI DIVAS will perform live on stage with BALLET FOLKLÓRICO DE LOS ÁNGELES September 27-30 and October 6-7 as guests enter – just as they did a year ago during the premiere engagement of the film here.”
ALSO, prior to every showing of COCO, guests will dance in their seats and sing along to exclusive Disney Junior on-screen content themed to its hit series VAMPIRINA, featuring music videos of Vampirina and THE GHOUL GIRLS on the big screen! Upon entrance and exit of the theatre, guests will also be able to take pictures in front of the VAMPIRINA photo-op and receive bat ear headbands, while supplies last.
Disney•Pixar’s COCO showtimes: opening night, Thursday, September 27 at 7pm (only). September 28 to October 7 daily 10:00AM, 1:00PM, 4:00PM, 7:00PM & 9:45PM (9:45PM on Fridays and Saturdays). Mariachi Divas and Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles perform live on stage September 27 to 30 and October 6-7. Showtimes and dates are subject to change. Special group rates for Disney•Pixar’s COCO of $10 for parties of 20 or more are available by calling 1-818-845-3110.
Featuring A12 Bionic Chip, 6.1-Inch Liquid Retina Display, Aluminum and Glass Design in Six Beautiful Finishes, Face ID and Advanced Camera System
Apple has announced iPhone XR, integrating breakthrough technologies from iPhone XS in an all-screen glass and aluminum design with the most advanced LCD in a smartphone featuring a 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display and six beautiful finishes. iPhone XR brings the powerful A12 Bionic chip with next-generation Neural Engine, the TrueDepth camera system, Face ID and an advanced camera system that creates dramatic portraits using a single camera lens. iPhone XR will be available to pre-order beginning Friday, October 19 and in stores beginning Friday, October 26.
“iPhone XR helps us reach even more people with the latest iPhone innovations. It is packed with the newest technologies including a 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display that goes edge to edge, the latest TrueDepth camera with faster Face ID authentication, new 7-nanometer A12 Bionic chip with second generation Neural Engine and a 12-megapixel camera that takes advanced Portrait mode and Portrait Lighting photos,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The new iPhone XR has a gorgeous new aerospace-grade aluminum and glass enclosure that has IP67 protection from liquids and dust, long all-day battery life and comes in six beautiful finishes. iPhone XR makes it possible for even more people to have the great experience of the latest iPhone X technology, in beautiful new designs, at a more affordable price.”
Groundbreaking Aluminum and Glass Design in Six New Finishes
A stunning all-screen design pushes the display of iPhone XR to its edges. The most durable front glass ever in a smartphone is wrapped in an elegantly matched anodized band made from durable 7000 series aerospace-grade aluminum, and the glass back design enables wireless charging.
iPhone XR comes in six new finishes: white, black, blue, yellow, coral and (PRODUCT)RED. A seven-layer color process gives the glass back beautiful nuanced hues, and the aluminum band and camera trim are color matched to give a sophisticated finish. This new design is splash and water resistant, with a rating of IP67, and protects against everyday spills including coffee, tea and soda.
A portion of proceeds for iPhone XR (PRODUCT)RED purchases will go directly to Global Fund HIV/AIDS grants that provide testing, counseling, treatment and prevention programs with a specific focus on eliminating transmission of the virus from mothers to their babies.
Most Advanced LCD in a Smartphone
The beautiful 6.1-inch all-screen Liquid Retina display2 is the most color accurate in the industry, with wide color support and True Tone for a more natural viewing experience. Precision-milled glass, advanced pixel masking and sub-pixel antialiasing allows the display to follow the curves of the device, while a new backlight design enables the display to stretch into the corners.
iPhone XR supports fast and fluid iPhone gestures like tap to wake, swipe up to the home screen, swipe down to access notifications and the Control Center, and the new haptic touch feature for pressing on the home screen to instantly launch the camera or flashlight.
A12 Bionic Chip with Next-Generation Neural Engine
The Apple-designed A12 Bionic, the smartest and most powerful chip in a smartphone, features the first 7-nanometer chip ever in a smartphone that delivers industry-leading performance in a more power-efficient design. A12 Bionic features a six-core fusion architecture with two performance cores that are up to 15 percent faster, four efficiency cores that are up to 50 percent more efficient, a four-core GPU that is up to 50 percent faster, powerful Apple-designed Image Signal Processor (ISP), video encoder and more. All of this unlocks new experiences for games, photography, video editing and graphics-intensive apps while still offering great battery life. Even with all this power, iPhone XR lasts up to an hour and a half longer than iPhone 8 Plus.
The next-generation Neural Engine is built for advanced machine learning in everything from photography to augmented reality. A new eight-core design allows it to complete up to 5 trillion operations per second compared to 600 billion in A11 Bionic. This enables new capabilities like faster plane detection for ARKit and new features that use real-time machine learning. For the first time the Neural Engine is open to Core ML, empowering developers to build apps that utilize this highly efficient machine learning engine. Core ML running on the A12 Bionic Neural Engine is up to nine times faster than on A11 Bionic, with as little as one-tenth the energy usage.
Face ID, The Most Secure Facial Authentication System Ever in a Smartphone
Face ID is faster on iPhone XR, enabled by software optimizations and a faster secure enclave. The TrueDepth camera system uses precision depth-sensing technology that goes far beyond the capabilities and security of two-dimensional facial scanners to unlock iPhone, use Apple Pay, gain access to secure apps and many more features with just a simple glance.
Advanced Single Lens Wide-Angle Camera
iPhone XR features a 12-megapixel f/1.8 aperture wide-angle lens with an all-new sensor, delivering faster auto-focus, while larger and deeper pixels improve image fidelity and low-light performance on photos and videos. Improvements to the ISP, Neural Engine and improved software algorithms enable portrait photos with a beautiful bokeh effect. Smart HDR brings better highlight and shadow detail across photos.
New Depth Control allows users to adjust the depth of field both in real-time preview3 and post-capture to create striking portraits with a beautiful bokeh effect. Selfies have never looked better with an enhanced Portrait mode on the front-facing TrueDepth camera and Portrait Lighting for dramatic studio lighting effects.
Wireless Technologies
iPhone XR uses LTE Advanced for fast download speeds4 and introduces Dual SIM5 through the use of a nano-SIM and digital eSIM.
Featuring iOS 12
iPhone XR comes with iOS 12, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system. iOS 12 changes the way iOS users see the world using augmented reality, helps people rediscover and share photos, and makes communications more expressive and fun with new Animoji and Memoji. Screen Time helps customers understand and take control of the time they spend interacting with their iOS devices, Siri Shortcuts give any app the ability to work with Siri and new privacy features help protect users from being tracked on the web.
Pricing and Availability
iPhone XR will be available in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB models in white, black, blue, yellow, coral and (PRODUCT)RED starting at $749 (US) from apple.com and Apple Stores, and is also available through Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers (prices may vary).
Through Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Program, customers in the US can get iPhone XR with the protection of AppleCare+, choose their carrier (no multiyear service contract required) and have the opportunity to upgrade to a new iPhone every year. The iPhone Upgrade Program is available for iPhone XR at apple.com and Apple Stores in the US with monthly payments starting at $37.41.
Customers will be able to pre-order iPhone XR beginning Friday, October 19 with availability beginning Friday, October 26, in more than 50 countries and territories including Andorra, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UAE, UK, US and US Virgin Islands.
Featuring a Stunning New Display, Electrocardiogram and Fall Detection
Apple has introduced Apple Watch Series 4, redesigned and re-engineered to help users stay connected, be more active and manage their health in powerful new ways. While retaining the original iconic design, the fourth-generation Apple Watch has been refined, combining new hardware and software enhancements into a genuinely singular, unified form. The stunning display is over 30 percent larger and seamlessly integrates into the thinner, smaller case, while the new interface provides more information with richer detail. Apple Watch Series 4 with watchOS 5 brings advanced activity and communications features, along with revolutionary health capabilities, including a new accelerometer and gyroscope, which are able to detect hard falls, and an electrical heart rate sensor that can take an electrocardiogram (ECG) using the new ECG app, which has been granted a De Novo classification by the FDA.
“We’re thrilled Apple Watch has become an essential part of people’s lives,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “The completely redesigned Apple Watch Series 4 continues to be an indispensable communication and fitness companion, and now with the addition of groundbreaking features, like fall detection and the first-ever ECG app offered directly to consumers, it also becomes an intelligent guardian for your health.”
Beginning Friday, September 14, Apple Watch Series 4 (GPS) will be available to order in 26 countries and territories and Apple Watch Series 4 (GPS + Cellular) will be available to order in 16 countries and territories. Both models will be available in stores beginning Friday, September 21.
Design
Apple Watch Series 4 is more than an evolution — it represents a fundamental redesign and re-engineering of Apple Watch. It’s offered in two sizes, 40mm and 44mm. The speaker is 50 percent louder, optimized for phone calls, Siri and Walkie-Talkie, and the microphone has been relocated, to reduce echo for better sound quality. The device includes the next-generation S4 chip with a custom 64-bit dual-core processor, delivering twice the speed while maintaining the same all-day battery life.
The back of Apple Watch Series 4 is composed of a gorgeous black ceramic and sapphire crystal, allowing radio waves to easily pass through the front and back for better cellular service. The Digital Crown now includes haptic feedback, offering a more mechanical and responsive feel through the sensation of incremental clicks.
The user interface is optimized for the larger display, allowing for app icons and fonts that are bigger and easier to read, while complications have been beautifully enhanced to be more precise and informative. New watch faces take full advantage of the Series 4 display, from the endlessly customizable Infograph face, to the Breathe face, where the animation is timed around a deep breath. Additionally, a suite of motion faces, including Vapor, Liquid Metal, Fire and Water react uniquely with the curved edges of the case.
Health
Apple Watch Series 4 enables customers to take an ECG reading right from the wrist using the new ECG app, which takes advantage of the electrodes built into the Digital Crown and new electrical heart rate sensor in the back crystal. With the app, users touch the Digital Crown and after 30 seconds, receive a heart rhythm classification. It can classify if the heart is beating in a normal pattern or whether there are signs of Atrial Fibrillation (AFib), a heart condition that could lead to major health complications. All recordings, their associated classifications and any noted symptoms are stored in the Health app in a PDF that can be shared with physicians.
With watchOS 5, Apple Watch intermittently analyzes heart rhythms in the background and sends a notification if an irregular heart rhythm such as AFib is detected. It can also alert the user if the heart rate exceeds or falls below a specified threshold.
Fall detection utilizes a next-generation accelerometer and gyroscope, which measures up to 32 g-forces, along with custom algorithms to identify when hard falls occur. By analyzing wrist trajectory and impact acceleration, Apple Watch sends the user an alert after a fall, which can be dismissed or used to initiate a call to emergency services. If Apple Watch senses immobility for 60 seconds after the notification, it will automatically call emergency services and send a message along with location to emergency contacts.
Fitness
With watchOS 5, Apple Watch becomes an even better fitness and workout companion. Activity competitions allow users to challenge other Apple Watch wearers, automatic workout detection provides an alert to start a workout while giving retroactive credit, and Yoga and Hiking are new dedicated workout types that accurately track active calories burned and exercise minutes earned. Running enthusiasts can take advantage of extended battery life — which is increased to six hours — for outdoor workouts and enjoy high-performance features, including cadence for indoor and outdoor runs, pace alerts for outdoor runs and rolling mile pace, which shows pace for the immediately preceding mile.
Staying Connected
Customers can reach their friends with just a tap of the wrist with Walkie-Talkie, a watch-to-watch connection that is an entirely new way to communicate around the world over Wi-Fi or cellular.4 The Siri watch face is more predictive and proactive, offering shortcuts and actionable content from favorite third-party apps. watchOS 5 also lets users listen to their favorite podcasts on the go with Apple Podcasts on Apple Watch, and stream any podcast in the catalog by using Siri. With Apple Watch Series 4, enriched complications offer a more detailed view of helpful third-party apps like Dexcom, which allows for continuous glucose monitoring, or Streaks, which shows daily progress on tasks.
Apple Watch Line-Up
Apple Watch Series 4 (GPS) starts at $399 (US) and Apple Watch Series 4 (GPS + Cellular) starts at $499, both featuring the updated design and new health features. Series 3 will be available at the new starting price of $279, making it even more accessible to customers. Along with the three aluminum finishes anodized in silver, gold and space gray, Apple Watch Series 4 now comes in a striking gold stainless steel with matching Milanese band, joining the silver and space black stainless steel models. A new collection of bands debut for fall and all bands continue to work with any generation of Apple Watch.
Universal Studios Hollywood is turned Upside Down with their latest Halloween Horror Nights’ maze, Stranger Things. Socalthrills was invited for an Exclusive behind the scenes look at the latest pop culture-themed maze that is coming September 14, 2018.
John Murdy, Creative Director and Producer of Universal Studios Hollywood’s “Halloween Horror Nights” transported us to Hawkins, Indiana for a tour of the work-in-progress maze. The Stranger Things Maze showcases the eerily-authentic TV show sets and environments including the Byers’ “Alphabet” living room dressed with an unpredictable display of flashing Christmas lights, the creepy Hawkins National Laboratory and the particle drifting Upside Down, plus Will’s sweet makeshift fort called Castle Byers and more.
Here are some cool facts about the maze:
Murdy credits the Halloween Horror Night fans for pointing out the brand to him. He talks to fans every day on twitter. They are the ones who pointed out Stranger Things to him the moment it aired. He watched it because of the fans, “If all of my fans are telling me to check out something, I should probably check it out. So they very much made me aware of this brand.”
The maze is based on the first season of stranger things. Initially, the creators toyed with the idea of combining season 1 and 2 but changed directions when they felt they were missing stuff. Luckily the duffer brothers were on board with the plans.
Murdy shared an interesting fact from a props and dressing standpoint. Stranger Things takes place in the 1980s but when you really start digging into the series, that really means its a blend of the 80s and 70s. The Byers family doesn’t have a lot of money so most of the decor in the home looks like it’s from the 1970s. Props were sent out to source items that would match the decor from the show. The team had to replicate sequences to the best of their ability from matching the wallpaper to the Christmas tree lights that created the iconic alphabet wall in the Byer’s living room which Will uses to communicate with his mom.
One of the big decisions from a creative standpoint was how to deal with the kids characters because they are all middle schoolers. The average age of the actors working the Halloween event is around 20. One of the ways the creative team delivered the kids in the maze is through audio. The kids are always talking on their walkie-talkies, particularly when they are out looking for Will. You’ll hear the Demogorgon in the woods but you’ll also hear all the kids searching for their friend as well as the search party looking for him.
Speaking of audio, there is multi-channel audio in every scene. You are hearing real music from the show, real audio from the show, sound effects from the show and real dialogue from the show.
You’ll see about 15-16 Demogorgans throughout the maze. Some will be actors in full-bodied suits while others are holding casts of a Demogorgon arm on a stick. But know that they all can see you and will be looming in the darkness.
The Maze starts with Will’s journey as he leaves the Dungeon and Dragon’s games, just like in the pilot episode, where he is abducted by the Demogorgon in the woods. The woods is where guests will enter the maze. Will’s bike will be there with the wheels spinning and the headlights going on and off. The ending is also true to the series, as guests will step into the science lab at Hawkins High School where Eleven is vanquishing the Demogorgon.
One thing that Murdy shared, is that over the years, they’ve noticed visitors will drop their guard at the end of mazes. They can actually see it in people’s body language. This is the best opportunity to prey upon them. We hit them when they stop looking for the scares.
So, don’t ever let your guard down, and channel Eleven’s bravery by clutching onto that box of Eggos!
“Halloween Horror Nights” begins Friday, September 14 at Universal Studios Hollywood and Orlando. Tickets and vacation packages are on sale now. For more information click here: https://www.halloweenhorrornights.com/
Vampirina is flying into the Disneyland Resort this weekend to help kick off Halloween Time celebrations, joining her fellow Disney Junior Characters in Disney California Adventure.
She will also be making a special appearance in the popular “Frightfully Fun Parade” during Mickey’s Halloween Party. This will be the character’s first appearance in Disney Parks, who already feature other well known Disney Junior characters such as Doc McStuffins and Sofia the First.
For fans on the east coast, Vampirina will also be visiting her friends over in Walt Disney World for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. During the festivities, Vampirina will be sharing her best dance moves with anyone who wants to party in the all-new Storybook Circus Disney Junior Jam.
To celebrate her arrival, The Disney Parks Blog will feature a live stream of her debut during Mickey’s “Boot to You” Halloween Parade. The stream will be held on Sunday, September 9th, at 9:25 Eastern/6:25 Pacific.
Just in time to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, Haunted Mansion Holiday has opened its doors, creating a frenzy with its new gingerbread house. In a recent interview with the Disney Parks Blog, the creative team behind the Disney Parks staple came together to discuss the inspiration for this year’s tasty addition.
“We wanted to create a monster movie vibe, and a scary spider is a classic and iconic Halloween image. With that in mind, we designed a giant 5-foot spider with eerie glowing eyes and moving legs and mandibles. This multi-color spider is suspended above the Haunted Mansion’s Grand Hall table, attempting to pry the edible mansion from its foundation, revealing candy cane rebar and sparking lights. General chaos ensues as gingerbread zombies watch in astonishment and cocoon-wrapped gingerbread zombies wait to become spider snacks,” said Tim Wollweber, associate art director for Disney Parks. Wollweber is one of many hard working Cast Members that help make the annual tradition so memorable, being attached to Haunted Mansion Holiday since 2001. Check out the recipe and fascinating facts that helped bring the house back to the Haunted Mansion this year!
It takes no less than 12 pastry chefs to create and transform the house each year.
Over 90 pounds of gingerbread were used this year.
30 pounds of confectioners sugar were used for the project.
10 pounds of white chocolate were used.
Over 45 pounds of fondant were used to help create the finishing touches and decorative patterns.
Make sure to check out the gingerbread house yourself when you visit the Disneyland Resort for Halloween Time. This year marks the return of Haunted Mansion Holiday, Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout Monsters After Dark.
