Monthly Archives: April 2016
The Force Continues
Learn the name Felicity Jones. Her 2016 movie calendar includes Inferno in October and Star Wars in December.
The Star Wars universe has never been limited to being mere movie events, but as a way of life. The experience does not casually start and end when you leave the movie theater. Speaking of which, did you just buy Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Blu-Rey?
(No, that’s not a misspell…).
Well, get ready to head back to the theater again this December to see Storm Troopers, the Death Star and an epic operatic space battle. The first trailer for Disney’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was released this morning.
Two strong, daring female leads in the revamped Star Wars films signal a paradigm shift in the franchise’s narrative and branding strategy by appealing to a new fan base to its science-fiction adventures on the big screen. Rey was fantastic in The Force Awakens and Felicity Jones’ character is awesome in the trailer above.
Rogue One looks like one hell of a fun Star Wars story.
April Madness
What’s Cinderella in German?
Maybe it’s VfL Wolfsburg.
(The literal answer is Aschenputtel, as an FYI).
The reason for comparing the club that’s currently sitting quietly at 8th in the Bundesliga standings with the honor of the college basketball darling this time of year is based on the aforementioned team’s shocking performance against one of the top clubs (and brands) in the world. For context, VfL Wolfsburg’s opponent in the first leg of its Champions League quarterfinal match was Real Madrid. For greater context, Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 at the Nou Camp this past Saturday in El Clásico.
The game today was a classic, but not for the Spaniards…
(Click Play, then “Watch this video on YouTube” and Return to Read the Rest of the Blog!)
2-nil is the worst lead in soccer, so when Real Madrid cannot even get one goal back against an admittedly lesser opponent, that’s a seismic statement and final result for the determined German club. VfL Wolfsburg not only held its own in front of their fans in the Volkswagen Arena, but the VW-branded team surprised the Spanish giants by playing in and excelling in 4th and 5th gears to open their quarterfinal home-and-away series in the 2016 Champions League.
Next Tuesday, in the return leg in Madrid, the world will discover if they need to learn more about what VfL Wolfsburg is and why Volkswagen’s comeback may not involve cars.
RD’s BFG in HD
There are no aliens, dinosaurs, sharks, artificial intelligence or adventure-prone professors (along with his trademark father-son struggle/dynamic), yet there’s new evidence that begs the question:
Has Steven Spielberg done it again with a giant that is uniquely big and friendly?
The full trailer for The BFG was released today.
As is the case for any movie that combines CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery) with real actors, the challenge is to seamlessly join the two forces within one environment without interruption. This cinematic synchronization is important because suspended belief needs to be constant for the audience to maintain its fluidity in storytelling, as well as enhance the believable factor. The absence of this relationship on-screen can generate (if even temporarily) imaginative detachments for the viewer.
A couple scenes from the trailer above reveal a slight disconnect where you can distinguish the real person and the imaginary backdrop. Is this simply an unavoidable consequence of filming in such high definition? Whatever the reason, the legendary director has earned the benefit of the doubt from his fans. Audiences should see this film in its entirety to fairly judge its comprehensive visual technique and merits.
Visually, this movie has a grand, glowing feel. The famed book of the same name certainly received the movie magic treatment.
Just as BFG author Roald Dahl did with his classic books, Steven Spielberg is taking a chance venturing off into a fantasy world and, ultimately, into our imaginations.
That’s something we can all connect with this summer.
Disney’s The BFG arrives in a theater near you July 1st.
P.S. Was it a good idea to reveal The BFG in his entirety in the trailer?
Happy Monday!
Light Blue v. Dark Blue.
Public v. Private.
UNC v. Villanova.
The 2016 NCAA National Championship game is set to take off in Houston, Texas at NRG Stadium, which will inspire either Chapel Hill or Philadelphia to erupt in celebration late tonight as this season’s king of college basketball.
Even though there is no Cinderella in the title game, the two major programs (sporting varying shades of blue) will have a David v. Goliath aura. The Tar Heels currently have 5 championships to their name, while the Wildcats have one title.
Roy Williams will have the opportunity to hoist his 3rd national championship as the head coach of UNC in 11 years. When you consider the relentless competition from teams around the country and the recruitment cycle and enrolling players and graduating players, winning 3 national championships in 11 years would be an incredible achievement.
In order for Roy Williams and his team to cap off (and earn another cap/hat) another golden season, the Tar Heels will have to beat a talented Villanova squad that embarrassed the Oklahoma Sooners in the Final Four with the final score of 95-51. The challenge is there and, before UNC can cut down the nets for the 6th time, they will need to burn the nets with three’s and two’s NBA Jam-style and rattle the rim with dunks.
What’s at stake?
Go Tar Heels!!
Jimmy's Daily Planet 