Need your fix on movie news? We have just the podcast for you! Reel Film Chatter is a new film news podcast hosted by our Film News editor Patrick Campbell, and his co-host Sam Taylor, as they embark on a journey through the newest happenings in Hollywood. The weekly podcast will cover casting, big announcements, and whatever big news comes across their path, and is going to be used as a way for new cinephiles and older cinephiles alike to get their newest movie news fix. The newest episode is below, which covers the most recent batch of Marvel Studios film news, including Robert Downey, Jr. returning for Captain America 3, the first images of Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, and more! Check it out, and subscribe on iTunes as well. You can also follow the podcast on twitter at @reelfilmchatter, and it’s hosts at @pj_campbell and @SamTheFilmMan.
Wow, what a shocking turn of events, and not one that many may have seen coming. But in a bold move, Marvel Studios has renegotiated with Robert Downey, Jr. to play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe a little bit longer, as he has just signed on to co-star in Captain America 3 with Chris Evans, who will once again reprise his role as Steve Rogers. Variety broke the news. It appears that the film, which will most likely be titled Captain America: Civil War, will be an adaptation of the popular crossover event series Marvel Comics published a few years ago.
This news is really surprising, but not completely unexpected at the same time. Downey, Jr. has been teasing his return in the MCU for more than just his time in The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and The Avengers 3, his last contracted films with the studio. While many thought he may be teaming up for returning for Iron Man 4, or even an off chance Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but not many expected he’d be returning in Captain America 3. This definitely makes sense though, as the threads for Civil War had already been quietly placed in the first Avengers film, as well as in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Now, the real question is, where does this take the Marvel Cinematic Universe from here, and how many more films has Downey, Jr. now signed to star in? Because if the rumors are true, we may not be reaching a huge showdown with Thanos until The Avengers 4, and all heroes will be needed at that point. This is certainly very exciting news, especially for fans of the comics and filmgoers alike, and I can’t wait to see just how much of an impact that this film, and the colossal Civil War will have ramifications on the ever growing MCU.
Captain America 3 is scheduled to open on May 6, 2016.
If you were a fan of the classic film Alien directed by Ridley Scott you will thoroughly be pleased with this “sequel.” Even if you are too young and never got a chance to watch the film the game does a good enough job to bring you into the fold. Let’s start with a brief plot: The game takes place 15 years after the events portrayed in Ridley Scott’s Alien. You play as Amanda Ripley, daughter of missing warrant officer Ellen Ripley (the heroine from Alien). She is approached with word that the flight recorder from the Nostromo (the ship her mother was aboard) has been recovered and is currently on The Sevastopol, which is a free port space station. She is offered a spot on the team to retrieve it, but what is supposed to be an easy retrieval mission soon becomes a nightmare. When Ripley and her team arrive at the Sevastopol station they find it with a vast amount of damage. As Ripley and two others try to board the Sevastopol, some debris separates them and now it’s up to Ripley to investigate what happened and retrieve the flight recorder.
From the moment you step onto the Sevastopol Station you are filled terror; the entire ambience gives you this claustrophobic feeling where you always think something is right behind you. You have no idea what has happened on the station and why it has been riddled with corpses and a few survivors. I was only able to play this game a few hours at a time because the amount of tension was simply too much for me. The designers of this game did very well to invoke a tense atmosphere and the scariest moments were actually when you were by yourself. Every sound caused me to jump from my seat even when it was just a piece of metal falling caused by the damage the station has sustained. I constantly felt as if the alien was right there behind me, ready to pierce my abdomen. The alien itself is terrifying as well, the developers gave the alien AI and so it was very unpredictable. Just because you got to point A did not mean that the alien would be at point B and do a certain action. The alien could be alerted if you set off an alarm or fire your weapon. This really made you think what course of action you need to take to get past certain obstacles and just because it didn’t work for you one time does not mean you’d get the same result the next.
By far, this game has been one of the stress inducing games I have ever played. It’s not the conventional scary game by depicting gruesome images or by constantly shocking you with things pooping out; this game invokes a sense of fear caused by putting you in the unknown. You never know if any of your actions will alert the alien or other enemies to your location and kill you. If you don’t like stealth games or get easily bored with them, then Alien: Isolation may not be the best for you. If you want to survive the nightmare you’ll have to move slowly to explore and avoid detection.
As you explore the space station you’ll be given tasks like locate a key to open a certain door, hack a computer system to allow you certain access, but not until you first locate “X.” These constant tasks are great at first, but later become redundant. It feels as if anything that could go wrong will go wrong. You are hampered at every turn and every “simple” mission is not quite so simple. On the other hand, there is a makeshift crafting system where you can make anywhere from Med Kits to noise makers and flamethrowers. This does allow for variation in the game and makes you really think how you can use your tools to proceed. Moreover, all of this is done in real-time and so you must remain exercise precaution otherwise you can be detected and killed. Like it was said before this game is all about high tension; there is no auto-save feature to the game. If you want to save your progress you have to reach these Emergency Phones to save your progress and even that takes time. In the 3-5 seconds it takes to save you can be killed by the alien, which can cause some frustrations. It seems as if there are more save spots earlier in the game where it’s not really needed than later on when you truly wish for a slight break.
Overall, the game does a really great job portraying the retro futuristic look with the green screen computers and block lettering. The entire ambience is right on point; you truly feel as if you’re on a decimated space station and you feel pretty alone. The faults of this game is that it feels like it was too drawn out too long; by the end you get tired of having to hide in a locker for the umpteenth time waiting for the alien to leave. The tasks become monotonous and extremely difficult when you have to deal with all of the prior elements at once and you just want to escape.
The Verdict:
So the main reason why you’re reading this is “should I buy this game”? There’s no clear answer for this. If you are a fan of the series and enjoy stealth games then this game is totally for you. If you prefer fast-paced games where there are hordes and hordes of enemies you must face then you might not enjoy it so much and might get bored with it. I for one truly enjoyed it; it was the first game I have played that took a different approach to playing a horror survival game. Alien: Isolation is available for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC. The game also offers two DLC where you get to play as one of the crew on the Nostromo trying to flush the alien out of the air duct and the other where you play as Ellen Ripley trying to initiate the ship’s self-destruct sequence and escape in the shuttle. One last comment: this review was done playing the PlayStation 4, which was a copy provided by SEGA prior to launch. This version comes with the option of utilizing the PlayStation camera to track your head for when you’re in Peek Mode or you can enable it to detect noise if you want an added challenge. I do not own a PlayStation Camera and so I cannot comment on what it is like playing with these features. If you have please comment to let us all know!
Welcome to The Queen Mary, a haunted ship used as a tourist attraction and hotel in Long Beach. What can be scarier than that? Well just wait until you visit Dark Harbor, which is a whole different beast entirely! I have been attending haunted events since I was 7 years old and nothing has scared me more than what Dark Harbor had in store for 2014. If you are looking to visit Southern California this Halloween season, the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor is absolutely the top Halloween event to attend.
Your host “The Captain” and his brigade of featured stars for their respected mazes.The entrance to where “Evil Lurks Within”The Captain giving is opening speech and amping us (and the monsters) up as Dark Harbor begins.
Mazes
With six horrifying mazes to experience, three on land and three on the ship, and an all new experience on the ship titled “Encounters” (which unfortunately my party and I didn’t get to experience) a great night was definitely meant to be had! These also aren’t your normal Halloween Haunt mazes to go through. These were long and vicious mazes that tricked us into thinking it is almost over when, maybe, we were halfway through. It was tiring, but worth it 110%!
We started off with the three on land mazes (Voodoo Village, Circus, and Dead Rise) and saved the three ship mazes (Submerged, B340, and Soulmate) for last! And this was a decision we didn’t regret in the slightest. When you do attend, we HIGHLY recommend purchasing Front of the Line (Fast Fright) onto your tickets. These lines for the mazes get up to an hour to two hours long and we know how exciting waiting in an extremely long line can be… NOT! It is worth every penny you pay for that front of the line pass!
In our reviews we aren’t going to give much away, because we want all of you to go and experience it for yourselves!
Voodoo Village (New for 2014)
The Voodoo Priestess and her following rabid gypsies have taken over the Village. Encounter voodoo spirits, tombstone monsters, horrifying sacrifices and murky bayous as you make your way through.
Rated: 7/10
This was the first maze we went through to begin our night and this maze was phenomenal! From the sets to all of the scare actors, this maze was the perfect way to start off. How the creators found a way to create this mazes are absolutely amazing and this maze (I’m sorry Knott’s) beats Voodoo in every possible way. From entering the Voodoo workshop to visiting the girls of Mardi Gras and entering deep into the bayou. This maze has you screaming from beginning to end. The catacombs feels like I entered a movie and the deeper we went, the more intense and terrifying it got. As amazing as this maze was, the talent is always needed to help immerse us into the story a little bit more. There were times through out the night that when we did go through, a lot of talent was missing and we were left wandering through empty corridors and catacombs. I recommend visiting this maze first when entering Dark Harbor, it’s a trip you will definitely not want to miss!
Deep inside the Voodoo Workshop
Circus
Face your nightmares as you fight your way through the horrors under the Ringmaster’s big top.
Rated: 8/10
The second maze of the night and I thought this was more of a fun maze with scary moments than truly terrifying horrors. The maze puts you in different scenarios of not knowing which way to go, until a clown laughs at you and points you into the (im)proper direction. This was a literal maze at certain points that had us circling around until we found the path to get us into the next eerie part of the maze. This made the maze a lot of fun, but don’t expect it to be all fun and games under the big top! The clowns and freaks in this maze made us howl with fear with the littlest of ideas of where we will head towards next. With all of the gags and fun props in this maze, it seemed to have more of a fun house feel than an actual circus. Also be careful if you consume a lot of alcohol before entering, there is an effect at the end that we completely loved that may have you lose your balance!
DeadRise
Board if you dare, and run for your life from Half Hatch Henry and the vengeful souls of his long lost warship, previously buried beneath the waves.
Rating: 6/10
Oh, Deadrise! What looks like a tiny maze from the outside, it actually feels like the longest once you step in. I completely adore the theme and what they used to decorate the maze, as well as what they used for their walls (storage containers). But the theme just felt repetitive after awhile. It was difficult to understand what was going on throughout, and I know that there is only so much you can do with a sunken warship theme. The talent was ridiculously above and beyond with some of the best scares we had all night, but with the limited theme, it was hard to get into the story in a majority of the areas. With that being said, it did feel like we were at the bottom of the ocean with the beautiful blue and green lighting going on, but boy was that fire hot towards the end. Be careful when entering the bunks!
Submerged
Descend into a sinking ship and encounter the drowned souls that reside there or risk the wrath of Scary Mary.
Rating: 9/10
As the first maze on the ship, my expectations were high as I felt more excited being on and venturing through the forbidden corridors of the ship than anything. Scary Mary decided to change all of that once we entered the swimming pool area of the ship right at the beginning of the maze. Soon after we would be submerged deep into the bowels of this sinking ship and experience monsters and ghosts that would haunt us through out the journey. The talent was amazing in giving us top notch scares and the smells of the moldy water as well as the theming inside was fantastic! The water pouring into the ship created a state of panic that we would be going down with the ship. Our only gripe? The crying guest behind us, haha!
Want to go for a swim?
B340 (New for 2014)
Journey through the terrifying of Samuel the Savage, and find out the truth behind stateroom B340. There is no way out but his.
Rating: 10/10
B340, in my opinion, was the only maze that had a constant story that stuck throughout the ship. With entering the maze you are thrusted into the mind of Samuel the Savage and you even take a quick cruise through, what I believe is, his brain. This is the maze that not only had the best talent of the night, but it had the best soundtrack as well. The constant ticking of the clocks and listening to Samuel go a little bit more crazy the deeper we got was surely something that I will soon not be forgetting. This maze also had a lot of tight spots that you have to squeeze through, so if you’re a little bit claustrophobic., be careful! Also the bridge! The bridge gag was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced! Kudos to those involved with that amazing effect! This was easily the top maze of the night and I hope to see it return for many more years to come!
Soulmate (New for 2014)
There is a masquerade ball aboard the Queen Mary, and Graceful Gale is searching for her eternal soulmate. Could it be you?
Rating: 7/10
As we entered the last a final maze for Soulmate, the quiet beginning gave a horribly eerie and uncomfortable feeling. That soon all changed once we entered the lobby of the hotel where a bellhop started pointing at us and gave us one of the best scares of the night. Besides that beginning scene, I felt like this maze wasn’t as memorable in the middle. It also didn’t seem to make much sense until you’ve gotten to an area where it looks like a monster is creating the fluid white dress for Miss Graceful Gal. The Masquerade Ball which Gale was in was the only highlight of the maze besides the beginning and even then, it didn’t feel quite complete. I loved the music used in the ball, but as before, the rest of the audio and maze wasn’t quite as memorable. I hope next year this maze will make a little bit more sense or have the talent act to what is going on in the story. Like all other mazes before, this maze had some awesome scares and the talent did the absolute best with what they had. Being in the different areas of the ship was amazing and I can’t wait to see what this maze will have in store in the future.
Welcome to the Masquerade Ball
Overall Pros
Mazes – They are some of the top and longest mazes in Southern California at a haunted event! We loved it!
Monsters – From the atmosphere to the inside of the mazes, the talent absolutely blew our minds with how creepy, terrifying, and morbid they all were! The make up was jaw dropping in every way imaginable.
Activities – From riding a mechanical bull all the way to seeing a freak show for $5 with a girl nailing a nail through her nose to “Encounters” which is an all new paid haunted experience aboard the Queen Mary. There is something for everyone to do! Don’t forget to take a ride on the Sinister Swings which is from Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch!
Shows – We only caught the story telling show that detailed all of the main characters for the mazes, but throughout the night there are continuous shows on the stage to keep you all entertained! The show we saw was excellent and started around 8:30.
Atmosphere – The theming and detailing around the event is outstanding with amazing theatrical lighting, fire and props!
Food – From kabobs and hotdogs/burgers to your greasy deep fried food, you are definitely not going to go hungry at Dark Harbor. They also have drink/food stands right near the mazes for your convenience!
Follow the Flames so you can visit the Freak Show!
Overall Cons
Alcohol – We completely understand that alcohol is a huge boost in sales at any event, but please don’t let it be at a Halloween event. It created some horribly awkward situations in both inside and outside the mazes. It gets me worried for not only the talent, but themselves and the guests around them.
External Camera Lighting – The biggest pet peeve that I will ever have going through a haunted attraction (besides the alcohol) is the use of video/camera lighting inside the mazes. This not only ruins the atmosphere and experience for the guest, but can also cause harmful issues with the talent. I hope that this gets taken under control and won’t be an issue in future events.
Lines – If you can get Fast Fright (Front of the line) or VIP… Do it! No questions asked! You will be waiting for more than an hour for each maze if you don’t and “Heads Up” with friends can only be fun for so long. You will not regret buying the Fast Fright and will be able to experience each maze multiple upon multiple times!
Dark Harbor runs and operates an extremely horrifying and professional event! I cannot wait to return and for those of you who WILL attend, you will not be able to wait either. This is the years top Halloween event and it will definitely be hard to surpass it!
In a ceremony at Sleeping Beauty Castle, Disneyland Resort President Michael Colglazier announced that cast members Jessica Bernard and Allie Kawamoto will represent the Resort and its 26,000 cast members as the 2015-2016 Disney Ambassador team, a program celebrating its 50th anniversary.
The team will continue a tradition started by Walt Disney in 1965, established to assist him with sharing the magic, inspiration, and optimism of Disneyland. Julie Reihm Casaletto, the first Disney Ambassador who was selected by Walt Disney, helped welcome the new team at today’s ceremony.
Bernard and Kawamoto were selected from nearly 60 applicants, and will spend a two-year term bringing the magic of the Resort into the community by acting as emissaries of goodwill. As part of their full-time duties, they will represent the Resort at a variety of events, such as hospital visits with Disney characters, promotional tours and cast recognition ceremonies. In addition, the pair will serve as spokespeople for the Resort.
“Disney Ambassadors have played an important role at the Disneyland Resort throughout the past 50 years,” said Michael Colglazier, president of the Disneyland Resort. “This tradition will certainly continue as Allie and Jessica help us share the excitement of our upcoming 60th Anniversary Diamond Celebration with our guests, community and fellow cast members.”
In 2007, Kawamoto began her career in the Disney College Program and most recently served as a food and beverage manager on Main Street, U.S.A. She participated in the Resort’s Emerging Leaders Program and is a member of the Disney VoluntEAR Leadership Council. Kawamoto is from Cerritos, Calif.
Bernard began her career with Disney in 2012 in entertainment and performed in shows including “Mickey & the Magical Map.” She has volunteered with a number of organizations, including The Ronald McDonald House and Mary’s Soup Kitchen. Bernard is originally from Bend, Ore.
The tradition that started at Disneyland 50 years ago now includes Ambassadors at Disney Destinations around the world, most recently adding Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, and Shanghai Disney Resort, which will select its first Ambassadors this year.
Disney Infinity 2.0: Marvel Super Heroes features more than 20 new interactive figures from across the Marvel universe, original storylines penned by award-winning Marvel comic writer Brian Michael Bendis, and an all-new Toy Box mode that makes it easier for players to create and share their one-of-a-kind levels and mini-games with family and friends. In addition, all characters and power discs from last year’s release of Disney Infinity will be compatible with the Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes Toy Box.
Players can easily swap between characters and adventures or add items to their gameplay simply by swapping out what is on the base. Adventures are pure fun and simple. I caught myself saying “Wow!” the first time I soared through the sky with the Iron Man character. Each adventure comes with roughly five hours of story-driven gameplay, with challenges and collectible game unlocks providing a seemingly endless challenge. Mix that with different characters, each with their own unique powers and feel, and you’ll find yourself lost in their world.
For those avid fans that have already invested heavily in the original Disney Infinity, the good news is the older figures and accessories are all compatible with Disney Infinity 2.0, with the exception of the original play sets. Having pretty much all of the 1.0 characters, I was happy to be able to play the characters in the new toy box worlds including my favorite, Sorcerer Mickey.
In the new Toy Box Mode, players can now build rooms and theme them to their favorite characters using hundreds of furniture pieces and decorations based on iconic Disney and Marvel properties. In addition, players can create any type of game with incredible detail.
It’s a safe bet that kids who are fans of Disney, Marvel and video games will love the new characters and worlds in Disney Infinity 2.0. Older teens and adults will enjoy collecting the physical figures and Building new worlds in the Toy Box mode.
Disney Infinity is an interactive gaming platform where players have unprecedented freedom and endless opportunity to create stories and play experiences starring the beloved characters from across the worlds of Disney. Building on the success of last year’s initial launch, Disney Interactive announced that Disney Infinity’s next chapter, Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes, will hit stores this fall. In the all new game, players use real-world interactive figures to activate original storylines (Play Sets) in the virtual game worlds of popular Marvel franchises and create new adventures with other Disney Infinity characters in the Toy Box mode.
Disney Infinity 2.0 is now available for the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, the Wii U™ system from Nintendo, PC and iOS tablets and smart phones.
Disney Infinity 2.0 has also released 82 new Power Discs. These discs unlock powers, abilities, and various items and themes. They are great for enhancing your game play. New Toy Box game discs give players new structured gamplay modes to the Toy Box where players engage in classic Dungeon Crawler and Tower Defense gameplay using any Infinity character.
Additional play set bundles sell for about $34.99 – Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider-Man sets are the first to be released for Disney Infinity 2.0 – and additional figures are $13.99 each. So if you want the full Guardians of the Galaxy team to add to your collection, you’re looking at $74.99 for the starter kit, $34.99 for the play set that comes with Star-Lord, Gamora and the Guardians of the Galaxy play set, and $13.99 each for the separately sold Groot, Rocket and Drax.
One last comment, this review was done playing the PlayStation 4 Starter Pack, and a copy was provided by Disney Interactive.
“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” media preview was held at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. The movie based on the book written by Judith Viorst is the story of 11 year old Alexander who seems to suffer from very bad days in contrast to his family who seem to have it together.
The movie begins with the family driving back home in their demolished van looking worst for the wear and upon opening the front door they encounter something that scares them.
The next scene 24 hours earlier, shows Alexander waking up to start his day with gum stuck in his hair and to news that his school rival is throwing a party the same night as Alexander’s. The day continues with one catastrophe after another for poor Alexander – from tripping over a sprinkler in front of his crush – Becky (Sidney Fullmer) to setting fire to her lab notebook at school. At dinner later that night, Alexander’s “perfect” family is sharing their exciting day, Mom has a special event with her book agency – Dick Van Dyke will be reading one of the kid books she is promoting, Dad has an interview set up with a big video game company and siblings Anthony (Dylan Minnette) who is excited about getting his driver’s license, and making prom plans with girlfriend, Celia (Bella Thorne). While Emily (Kerris Dorsey) has the lead in the school play, are sharing their own special news.
Frustrated about his day and his family’s lack of compassion, Alexander makes himself a birthday sundae at midnight and secretly makes a wish hoping his family experiences a bad day too.
The next day, is Alexander’s birthday and the family starts the day with chaos, waking up late, car troubles and pimples are just a few of the mishaps the family encounters and that’s just before breakfast. Mom has to deal with an error in printing and problems with a book reading by Dick van Dyke (who has a cameo). Dad finds himself dragging the baby to his job interview and setting himself on fire at the second interview. Anthony gets suspended from school and flunks his driver’s test and Emily wakes up with a cold the day of the play premiere. Even Baby Trevor has a bad moment with a green permanent marker.
Meanwhile Alexander is having the best day of his life and worried that he has jinxed his family. The terrible, horrible day ends on a fantastic note with Alexander’s birthday party celebration that is Australian themed and included a petting zoo complete with kangaroos and crocodiles and a special visit from “dancing cowboys” from THUNDER FROM DOWN UNDER. Do not miss this funny and heartwarming family movie with a great soundtrack that will have you smiling and humming all the way home.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is now playing in Theaters. Let us know in the comments if you have seen the movie and what you thoughts are.
In 1959, Walt Disney continued to evolve the medium of animation by releasing Sleeping Beauty, one of the most technologically sophisticated animated features to date. For the first time ever, he was making a cartoon for the 70mm format instead of the usual 35mm. Walt dubbed the process Technorama70. The film itself was bigger, which meant that the animation had to be bigger. There was more detail and more depth within every single frame and the results were amazing. Costing six millions dollars and taking six years to complete, audiences were treated to something truly special. All of this makes Sleeping Beauty an ideal film for Blu-Ray, a format that lends itself to an epic viewing experience.
When Disney released Sleeping Beauty on DVD in 2008, they transferred every detail from every frame of that 70mm print, enabling audiences to see the full picture as originally intended. When making the movie, Walt envisioned a “moving illustration.” He wanted every individual frame to be a perfect image worthy of hanging on the wall. What seemed like a perfect image back then is even sharper on Blu-Ray, with an extreme clarity that truly does justice to the magnificent artistry of the film.
There are several documentaries carried over from that DVD, as well as a few new one. New features include a documentary entitled “The Art of Evil: Generations of Disney Villains.” This is exactly what you’d expect, a short look at the history of evil in Disney animation. It’s fun to see current clips of modern animators interspersed with classic interviews with the legends of Disney animation. However, there isn’t a whole lot of new insight to be found. It’s mostly just an excuse to show clips of these iconic characters.
One of the more interesting features is entitled Disney Animation: Artists in Motion, a look at one of the Disney artists whose sole job is to develop and create character designs made solely out of paper. These models serve as references for the animators, and are amazing works of art in their own right. It’s a fascinating look at a job that I didn’t even know existed. In this feature, we get to see her create a full 3-D model of Maleficent from scratch. It’s a beautiful image, and my only complaint about this feature is that we don’t get to see more of her work.
Sneak Peek: Fantasy Parade
Finally, there is an over-the-top, yet interesting, feature called “Once Upon a Parade,” featuring Sarah Hyland from Modern Family. Essentially, this is a commercial for Walt Disney World’s new parade, Festival of Fantasy. However, it’s disguised as a short film about Sarah getting 15-year-olds interested in the parade by creating a back-story for the parade’s creation. The main piece of the segment is shot very much like a commercial, but I have to say that the footage depicting the story she is telling, set in a kingdom where the concept of Fantasyland is essentially reality, is extremely well done. It appears to have been shot on location in Fantasyland, and actually conveys the idea that it is a real mythical kingdom. While not something I would ever watch again, I was impressed at what they were able to pull off with such cheesy material.
As for the returning features, these include a look into a brilliant color stylist named Eyvind Earle who provided the elaborate backgrounds for the film. There is also a 43 minute documentary that covers all aspects of the production. Combining current interviews with footage shot back in the fifties, this is a must-see for animation buffs. There are also two deleted scenes, and one alternate scene.
While the film has definitely never looked better than on this Blu-Ray release, I am a little bit disappointed that it doesn’t have all of the same extras from the DVD release. Not only were those features more comprehensive regarding the making of the film, there were storyboards, art galleries, and just a lot more detail regarding the history of the film itself. The new features are feel a little bit more slapped together, and not quite as historically relevant. That being said, this film is one of Disney’s greatest accomplishments, and this release is by far the best way to see it. This is absolutely a must own for any fan of Disney animation.
The Happiest Place on Earth gets merrier beginning Thursday, Nov. 13, when the traditional warm and festive Disneyland Resort holiday celebration begins, bringing themed entertainment, sparkling decorations, delicious treats and holiday shopping to locations throughout the Resort.
Additional Highlights Include Snowfall in Disneyland Park, ‘Olaf’s Frozen Ice Rink’ at the Winter Village in Downtown Disney, Spectacular Holiday Décor Throughout the Resort
The season, Nov. 13 through Jan. 6, 2015 (ending with Three Kings Day) will welcome the return of the breathtaking “World of Color – Winter Dreams” holiday spectacular and “Disney ¡Viva Navidad!” holiday celebration in Disney California Adventure Park along with beloved Disneyland Park holiday traditions.
At Disneyland, the popular “A Christmas Fantasy” parade will be presented daily, with Disney characters celebrating the holidays and a special appearance by Santa Claus who, through Dec. 24, will also be greeting guests and listening to holiday wishes at Big Thunder Ranch. Over in Disney California Adventure, guests may find Santa in a familiar department store setting, greeting guests at Elias & Co. on Buena Vista Street.
Guests won’t want to miss the special seasonal transformations of “it’s a small world” into “it’s a small world” Holiday or Haunted Mansion into Haunted Mansion Holiday. And nighttime in Disneyland during the holiday season is highlighted by the lights of Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle and the “Believe…in Holiday Magic” fireworks show followed by a holiday snowfall on Main Street, U.S.A., New Orleans Square and “it’s a small world” mall.
Returning to Disney California Adventure after its successful 2013 debut, “World of Color − Winter Dreams” is hosted by Olaf the snowman from Walt Disney Pictures’ hit animated feature “Frozen.” The holiday version of the popular nighttime “World of Color” show features classic winter scenes from such beloved Disney films as “Bambi,” “Fantasia,” “Toy Story” and, of course, “Frozen.”
Both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure parks get spectacular seasonal makeovers with towering Christmas trees, wreaths and, in Disney California Adventure, festive – and often whimsical – holiday décor in Cars Land, “a bug’s land,” Paradise Pier and Buena Vista Street. “Disney ¡Viva Navidad!” at Paradise Gardens in Disney California Adventure is a daily celebration inspired by the warmth and joyous spirit of Latino culture and holiday traditions, with festive music and dancing, vibrant colors, delicious food, Disney character appearances and the lively “Disney Viva Navidad! Street Party.” “Disney ¡Viva Navidad!” will conclude with a five-day celebration of the traditional Three Kings Day, Sunday through Tuesday, Jan. 4 through 6.
In the Downtown Disney District, guests may take a break from their holiday shopping and dining to go skating on “Olaf’s Frozen Ice Rink,” part of the seasonal Downtown Disney Winter Village where shoppers will find additional holiday gift items on sale from the windows of the charming village houses. Disneyland Resort hotels join in the holiday festivities with twinkling lights and ornaments, special entertainment and holiday dining with themed menus. Expanded hours at both Disneyland Resort theme parks extend the family fun and offer more time for guests to enjoy all there is to see and do at the Disneyland Resort.
“My father is a lot of unpleasant things, but murderer is not one of them. ”
Sometimes, a good drama is all you need. One that has strong and interesting characters, a story that will tug at your heart strings, and an interesting story to pull you through it all. Sometimes films like this are clearly made as Academy Awards bait, but that’s ok, because as long as the movie is good, it shouldn’t pull away from your enjoyment of the film. Such is the case of David Dobkin’s new film, The Judge, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Robert Duvall. Downey, Jr. plays Hank Palmer, a lawyer who uses his considerable talent and skills to get criminals off what they’re being charged, no matter the crime. But while he may be slick in court, his life outside the courtroom is a mess. Faced with an oncoming divorce, and an already broken family, Palmer is forced to come home when his mother passes away. Things are rough when he gets home, as he and his father, Joseph Palmer (Duvall), continue to butt heads and fight, never seeing eye to eye. But as Hank is about to head home, his father, the longtime town Judge, is faced with a manslaughter charge. Forced to put their past problems aside, Hank must find a way to clear his father’s name in a case that could not only take his father’s reputation away, but it could send his father to prison.
This film is clearly one that is made to show of the talents of its cast, and that is honestly the film’s strongest hand. With the likes of Downey, Jr. and Duvall, you have to give them material to work with that will bring out the best in them, and this is a film that gives them a chance to really give some powerful performances. Downey, Jr.’s Hank Palmer is maybe his best role since the 2007 David Fincher film, Zodiac. It’s a really strong, moving, and wonderful performance, and one that Downey, Jr. simply owns. Sure, there’s a small layer of the usual Downey, Jr. snark, but it’s balanced with an unusually weighted performance that we haven’t seen him give in a long time. It’s great to see him getting out of the action roles and returning to something more akin to Chaplin, really flexing his acting muscles. Duvall is also great as Joseph, Hank’s father, who’s a proud, strong willed, and stubborn man who just wants to hold onto his legacy as long as he can. It’s not a huge stretch for him, but Duvall has never really phoned in a performance, and he does great work here. The way he and Downey, Jr. play off each other is incredible, and there’s a real palpable tension and chemistry between them. There performances really carry this film from beginning to end, and really make it feel much stronger overall.
There’s a great group of supporting characters as well, from the likes of great character actors such as Vera Farmiga, Billy Bob Thorton, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Jeremy Strong. Thorton plays Dwight Dickham, a man with a personal history with Hank, and the opposing lawyer on Joseph’s case. Thorton rarely gives a bad performance, and as always, he’s strong here. It’s a good role for him, and he chews up his scenes very well. Much like Thorton, Farmiga is very good in her role as Samantha Powell, Hank’s old girlfriend, it’s just too bad she’s not given much to do in the film, to the point she feels like she’s almost expendable. But it’s really D’Onofrio and Strong who give the two best supporting performances in the film. The duo play Hank’s brothers, and they knock their roles out of the park. D’Onofrio is so contained and calm, it’s a very subtle performance, which is so different than his louder, larger than life roles many will be used to him in. But Strong in particular, as the mentally impaired Dale, who has a fascination with home videos, who really stands out. Dale is a great character, and Strong really owns the role. It never feels like he goes too far with it, and it’s handled in a very real way. He’s honestly one of the film’s biggest highlights, and it would be great to see his career continue to grow from here.
A film like this can be a balancing act, because it’s not just a family drama, but a court room drama as well. So you need to have a director and a script that can handle that. David Dobkins is mostly known for his work on comedies such as Wedding Crashers and The Change Up, is jumping into his first real foray into dramatic territory, and he handles the film very well. It’s a well shot, well put together film, and Dobkins doesn’t really seem to be out of his element. There’s a nice balance to everything to the film, and he you can tell he really felt comfortable behind the lends, which is especially good when you have to powerhouse leads in Downey, Jr. and Duvall. The script, written by Bill Dubuque and Nick Schenk, is also mostly balanced, but there’s a little too much going on at times for its own good. There’s a whole plot centered around Hank and Samantha’s past, which honestly, the film could do without. The two are great characters, and Downey, Jr. and Farmiga are fantastic together, but the plot point takes up a little too much time in the film, which would easily have been trimmed out. But everything else really seems to gel well, with the court room scenes in particular being some of the film’s strongest, but the best moment in the film comes from a scene between Downey, Jr. in Duvall where they confront each other in the middle of the storm. It’s one of the script’s strongest scenes, and you can’t help but get swept away in it. It’s a really important scene in the film, and Dobkins really brings it home with the help of his actors.
Many will probably fault the film for being a little too schmaltzy, but if you can get past the Frank Capra style drama, there’s a lot to be liked here. The story really is a tale of redemption, addiction, finding one’s true self, and burying old wounds, and it handles all these things brilliantly. The family dynamic is sweet, sad, and heartbreaking all at once, and as the film unfolds and the underlining truth to a lot of what’s happening comes to light, you can’t help but feel the pain that Hank must feel. The way things are unveiled slowly as the film progresses along with the case really works in the film’s favor, and while it may clumsily tug at the heart strings at times, other times it completely nails what it’s trying to do. That’s all you can ask from a movie like this, and with the strong performances and great story, the film works much more often than when it doesn’t.
The Judge isn’t a perfect film, but it’s one that audiences will eat up for the strong performances of Downey, Jr. and Duvall alone. While the film gets a little muddled throughout, it’s not enough for it to stop the film from being highly enjoyable from beginning to end, even if at times the emotional tugging seems almost forced. This is a more mature Frank Capra style film, and David Dobkins does great work behind the camera to bring it to life. While it may not win any awards, it’s ok, because that’s not what will hold the true merits of the film. Backed by strong performances from the supporting players, an interesting and intriguing story, and a real sense of family and court room drama, the film really just gels forward when it needs to. It’s not one of the year’s top ten, but it’s a fun and solid film all the way that deserves to be seen.
From Walt Disney Animation Studios, the team behind “Frozen” and “Wreck-It Ralph,” comes “Big Hero 6,” an action-packed comedy-adventure about the special bond that develops between Baymax (voice of Scott Adsit), a plus-sized inflatable robot, and prodigy Hiro Hamada (voice of Ryan Potter). When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into the midst of danger, he turns to Baymax and his close friends adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago (voice of Jamie Chung), neatnik Wasabi (voice of Damon Wayans Jr.), chemistry whiz Honey Lemon (voice of Genesis Rodriguez) and fanboy Fred (voice of T.J. Miller). Determined to uncover the mystery, Hiro transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes called “Big Hero 6.”
Check-out this new Sizzle video that was recently shown at New York Comic-con!
Inspired by the Marvel comics of the same name, and featuring breathtaking action with all the heart and humor audiences expect from Walt Disney Animation Studios, “Big Hero 6” is directed by Don Hall (“Winnie the Pooh”) and Chris Williams (“Bolt”), and produced by Roy Conli (“Tangled”). The film hits theaters in 3D on Nov. 7, 2014.
I’m going to cut right to the chase and admit that my least favorite film genre is the sports drama. There’s something about the rah-rah, feel good, go team mentality behind these films that just drives me crazy. Throw in the absolute predictability, along with the forced life lessons and sentimentality, and I just can’t get on board. Going into a film such as Million Dollar Arm with that mentality was a recipe for disaster. I know my bias, and was determined to stay as objective as possible. I don’t know if it was this forced objectivity, or if the film actually stands out above the rest, but I was shocked to discover as the film went on that I was actually, GASP, enjoying myself.
True, the film follows the expected story beats, and everybody does learn valuable life lessons throughout. However, what really makes this film work is that it’s not actually about the sports aspect of the story. This is a film about characters, with sports as a backdrop. Jon Hamm plays JB Bernstein, a shallow caricature of a man (despite being based on a real person) desperate to save his failing career in the sports industry. This desperation leads him to create a reality television competition, Million Dollar Arm, in which Indian cricket players would attempt to win the chance to travel to America to become a Major League pitcher.
The sequences in India really stand out, having been shot on location. The filmmakers captured the chaotic nature of this lifestyle, often in very humorous ways. This dirty, crowded setting creates a backdrop far more compelling, especially on a visual level, than most films of this sort. It’s only a small portion of the film set in India, but these sequences really stand out, elevating the material around it.
Casting is great across the board, with Jon Hamm playing a variation of Mad Men’s Don Draper just different enough to not seem like an outright copy. As the film progresses, and he becomes more likeable, Hamm believably sheds the image he is almost always associated with, bringing a humanity to his portrayal that I found highly endearing. Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal stand out as Rinku and Dinesh, the two Indians he brings back to America. They bring a humanity to the roles, overwhelmed with this lifestyle that is such an extreme from that they have always known. While not the greatest performance ever, Lake Bell is also a welcome addition to the cast, holding her own as the potential love interest for Bernstein.
Yes, the film is predictable, and yes, everybody learns and grows by the end. There are moments of forced drama where it is obvious the characters are about to overcome their dilemmas, and all story beats are completely telegraphed throughout. However, the ensemble and unique backdrop make this film something special.
The Bonus Features are about what you’d expect in a film such as this. As it is based on a true story, there is a feature where the real people who inspired the story discuss the actual events from the perspective of those who lived it. There is also a feature on the actors having to learn to believably throw a baseball, and there is a look at the making of the terrific score by A.R. Rahman, who also did the fantastic score to Slumdog Millionaire. Rounding out the extras are an alternate ending, deleted scenes, and outtakes.
Far from a great movie, this is a highly entertaining movie, which is far more than I was anticipating. Not necessarily worth a purchase, this would be a great rental, and a terrific film to watch with the whole family. It’s wholesome Disney fun that is both inspiring and entertaining.
I’m going to cut right to the chase and admit that my least favorite film genre is the sports drama. There’s something about the rah-rah, feel good, go team mentality behind these films that just drives me crazy. Throw in the absolute predictability, along with the forced life lessons and sentimentality, and I just can’t get on board. Going into a film such as Million Dollar Arm with that mentality was a recipe for disaster. I know my bias, and was determined to stay as objective as possible. I don’t know if it was this forced objectivity, or if the film actually stands out above the rest, but I was shocked to discover as the film went on that I was actually, GASP, enjoying myself.
