Wednesday 28 February 2018
How humans echolocate 'like bats'
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Amelia Earhart's stolen car found in Los Angeles
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China warns parents after boy filmed peeing in lift
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Georgian boy runs away to the zoo, finds it closed
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Russian TV airs video game as Syria war footage
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Winter Olympics: Is window for US-N Korea peace closing?
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How France hopes to help radicals escape jihadist net
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Five films compete for the best foreign language Oscar
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Reality Check: Is Chinese an official language in Pakistan?
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'Euphoria killing' women jailed in Australia
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Fury over India's reporting of Sridevi death
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‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Gets Praise from ‘The Last Jedi’ Director Rian Johnson
It’s been less than a month since we got our first official look at Solo: A Star Wars Story with the Super Bowl TV spot and the full teaser trailer. For some fans it brought relief, for others it confirmed worries they’ve had since directors Phil Lord & Chris Miller were removed from the project and replaced by Ron Howard. But for one fan who has some more insight as to what’s going on behind the scenes, it sounds like maybe we shouldn’t be concerned.
Director Rian Johnson recently accepted an AARP Movies for Grownups award, as Star Wars: The Last Jedi won the Best Film prize. While at the event, he was asked about his reaction to the first Solo trailer, and his answer indicated that he’s seen a lot more of the movie than the rest of us.
Speaking to ComicBook.com last night, Johnson had this to say about the Solo: A Star Wars Story trailer:
“I knew it was coming, but I was still…I was clicking, clicking, clicking, ‘yeah, yeah!’ And I think it looks so beautiful. I can’t wait for people to see more of the film – it’s so fun, it’s so funny. The cast is so charismatic, and I think they all just did a great job with it.”
That certainly sounds like Johnson has seen much more than just the teaser trailer. In fact, him simply saying, “It’s so fun, it’s so funny,” might indicate that he’s seen a rough cut of the movie, likely to offer notes and insight. His words don’t sound like they’re just describing a small amount of footage, but rather a reaction to the entire film.
For fans who didn’t like The Last Jedi, that may not bring comfort. But for me, Johnson’s reaction makes me hopeful that Solo’s origin story will pan out in a satisfying way. Johnson feels like a fan ingrained in Star Wars, but not afraid to evolve from how we all expect the franchise to behave. So if he’s satisfied with what he saw from Solo, then maybe we will be too.
Of course, since Johnson is on the inside track, he may simply be saying kind things just to keep spirits and morale up leading up to the release of the movie. But even star Donald Glover says the movie has a bit more fun than the usual Star Wars film. The good news is that we only have to wait a few more months before we get to see it ourselves, and we’ll likely be seeing more footage in the near future too.
Are you excited for Solo: A Star Wars Story? Does Rian Johnson’s reaction give you hope?
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‘Star Wars Rebels’ Just Changed Everything We Know About ‘Star Wars’
As Star Wars Rebels moves closer to its final episode, the series has been pushing the boundaries of what we expect from an animated Star Wars show. Just like The Clone Wars before it, Rebels has become a vital part of series canon, expanding the landscape of the films, books, and comics that make up the main Star Wars universe. From the re-introduction of former expanded universe villain Admiral Thrawn to vital new characters like Kanan, Hera, and Ezra, Rebels has always been at the forefront of Disney’s plans for the Star Wars galaxy.
But with Monday’s penultimate episode, Rebels introduced something that changes a core part of the mythos of Star Wars. It will have a huge impact on the final three episodes of the show and the greater Star Wars universe…maybe even the films.
So here’s everything you need to know. Natural, major spoilers lurk ahead.
The Lothal Temple
Lothal, an outer rim planet, has long been the stronghold of the show’s titular Rebels. In fact, before they were known as Specters, they were known as the Lothal Rebels. The Jedi Temple on Lothal was originally discovered by protagonist Ezra Bridger, due to his connection with the Force. His bond with his Jedi Master Kanan Jarrus – a Force-sensitive human who managed to survive the Empire’s Order 66, which saw the Clone Troopers terminate the Jedi – was strengthened by the pair’s time in the Temple, where they went through a series of challenges. The Lothal Temple is one of the few in the galaxy which wasn’t destroyed by Order 66.
After Force-connecting to Lothal’s native Loth-Wolves in “Dume,” Ezra was warned that the Temple on Lothal contained knowledge, but also destruction, encouraging Ezra and the team to embark on a mission there during “Wolves and A Door.” As the team arrives at the Temple via some apparent Force-teleportation enabled by the Loth-Wolves, they find the Empire already in residence, protecting more of the art and artifacts that the team had come across earlier. Though the entrance to the Temple is nowhere to be seen, the team try and get a closer look. Wearing Sandtrooper disguises, Ezra and Sabine overhear a trooper talking to a strange, hooded old man called a Minister, and the Minister admonishes the disguised Sabine and Ezra for putting the Gateway at risk. That’s where things begin to get really, really interesting.
Sabine and Ezra overhear the Minister speaking to Emperor Palpatine about finding the secrets of the Temple. The Emperor speaks of the Temple as a “conduit between the living and the dead,” an interesting tease to the secrets of the Temple that are slowly beginning to become clear. We quickly learn that the art and artifacts around the Temple hold a language of secrets, one that Sabine deciphers when they come across a mural of three figures – the father, the son, and the daughter – surrounded by Loth-Wolves. Though the Temple usually needs a Jedi and a Master to get in, Ezra manages to use the Force to enter, where the true power of the Lothal Temple is finally revealed to us, changing everything we know about the way space and time work within the Star Wars universe.
Time Travel in the Star Wars Universe
“A World Between Worlds” begins with Ezra surrounded by stars, in a vast empty space with the same images of the Loth-Wolves running in a circle in front of him. We hear the voices of Yoda, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Kanan, all throughout different points in their lives. It’s a startlingly moving moment that hints at the ramifications of what’s to come. Why can Ezra hear each of these voices at the same time? It’s Obi-Wan’s quote from A New Hope that truly hints at the impact of what we’re seeing: “It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.”
As the Minister interrogates Sabine, he calls the Temple a “portal,” “the veil,” and “the door,” finally telling Sabine and us that it’s actually a pathway between all time and space! This is one of the most astounding reveals in over 40 years of Star Wars canon, and explodes all of our notions of how time and space work in this universe. Zeb and Hera attempt to save Sabine from the Minister, but he tries to force her to decipher the Temple’s mural. Ezra is still in the portal, surrounded by the voices of the future and the past. We hear Rey, Jyn Erso, Leia, Maz Kanata, and Kylo Ren. We see Ezra surrounded by transparent walkways, which appear to lead to multiple different portals. The voices get louder or softer, suggesting that each portal connects to a different moment in time.
The next huge moment in “A World Between Worlds” comes when Ezra stumbles upon a bird that would often accompany Ahsoka Tano. The fate of the beloved character, initially introduced in The Clone Wars series, has been left up in the air since the finale of season 2. But now we know what happens.
Ezra finds a portal that shows the last moment where fans and Ezra had seen Ahsoka. As she battles her former Master, Darth Vader, Ezra pulls Ahsoka out of the portal and into the ether with him. This would technically mean that anyone who enters the Temple of Lothal can go to any moment in the galaxy’s past or future to pluck people out of it, as well as enter new times themselves. The Lothal Temple gives anyone who enters complete and utter power over the galaxy.
The Emperor
“A World Between Worlds” sees the first appearance of Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars Rebels. The fact that the Emperor knows about the capability for time travel within the universe is a massive reveal. It also hints that something huge will likely happen in the final three episodes that will explain just why the Emperor gave up his mission for complete galactic control after the Temple sunk into the ground during “A World Between Worlds.”
Though we know the Emperor never attempted to utilize the Temple in the original trilogy films, this opens up is the likelihood that the legend of the Lothal Temple has been passed down through the Sith, and that the lore of the Temple has likely not been forgotten. It could have huge ramifications on Star Wars canon going forward, because if the legend of the Lothal Temple is rediscovered, anyone who finds it could end up with complete control of the galaxy.
Ahsoka
Ahsoka’s return would, in any other episode, have been the most monumental moment, and it still makes a huge emotional impact when Ezra pulls her from the portal. What really sticks out about Ahsoka’s return, though, is the fact that she runs through a different portal than Ezra as the Temple collapses. This leaves infinite possibilities as to where she might end up. Did Star Wars just create a route to introduce a fan favorite character into live action canon? Could Ahsoka be the star of Rian Johnson’s next trilogy? Could she be the star of one of the new Star Wars shows Disney is planning?
The fact that Ahsoka survived and is now in a random moment in galactic history is incredibly exciting, and opens up a world of possibilities for her story after Rebels ends. It also, for now, solves the mystery of her fate, which means the last three episodes of the show can focus on the Rebels themselves dealing with the ramifications of the discovery they just made…and the wrath of the Emperor who just lost his chance at complete omniscience.
The Jedi
From the outset, Rebels has been about the plight of the last of the Jedi in the wake of Order 66. Kanan and Ezra have always been the heart of the show, and now with Kanan gone forever – as Ahsoka explained to Ezra, saving Kanan would condemn the rest of the crew to death – and Ahsoka flung off to another place in space and time, it looks like Ezra is truly to his knowledge the last Jedi. That makes sense, as we know the series takes place just before A New Hope, in which Obi-Wan perceives himself to be the last of his kind before he finds Luke. Fans have long wondered just what would happen to Ezra and Kanan so they would fit into that part of canon. Now that we know Kanan’s fate, things are looking pretty bleak for Ezra’s future.
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Netflix is Set to Release a Total of 700 Original Movies and TV Shows This Year Alone
If you watched a new Netflix original every day for the rest of the year, you still wouldn’t be able to finish the streaming service’s ungodly number of total TV shows and movies.
Because Netflix is adding a whopping 700 original movies and TV series to its service in 2018. You heard that right.
Netflix has spent upwards of $8 billion on original content in 2018, bringing its total of new movies and TV shows this year to 700, Netflix CFO David Wells said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. Wells cited the number of “global” productions that the streaming service was bringing in, stating that it brought Netflix’s grand total in 2018 to 700. He said:
“That’s distinct from film, and that’s also distinct from television series’ that you might describe as global like Orange Is the New Black or Narcos. These are things that are produced in a non-English language market. I just want to make that distinction. So there’s even more than 80. If you think of the total number, it might be somewhere in the 700 range.”
That’s more than any streaming service has spent on non-sports content — and far more than many traditional TV media companies, ReCode reports. Unquestionably Netflix’s output seems to outstrip most traditional TV companies and movie studios, thanks to its combination of Netflix productions and productions acquired from outside the U.S. The “700-range” figure Wells cited includes 80 original productions from outside the U.S., such as Dark from Germany or End of the F***ing World from the U.K.
If you’re skeptical about Netflix truly releasing 700 original films and TV series in 2018 alone, I don’t blame you. But in March alone, the streaming service is debuting 54 (!) original TV shows and movies. At the beginning of the year, Netflix announced it was planning to release 80 films in 2018. At that rate, Netflix would easily reach over 600 original series and films by the end of the year.
Netflix has been rapidly escalating its original content since 2016, when it spent $3 billion for an estimated 126 TV shows and numerous films and comedy specials. In 2017, they were spending upwards of $6 billion. The math for 700 movies and shows in 2018 checks out.
Netflix’s Content-First Strategy
“Let’s continue to add content — it’s working, it’s driving growth,” Wells said. “People don’t care where the stories come from,” he added. “We’re about having the best content. We don’t necessarily have to do it ourselves.”
“Content” seems to be the key word in Wells and Netflix’s strategy. Content is what is driving up Netflix’s subscription base — up to 117.6 million members worldwide in 2017 — and what is pushing the streaming service to partner with acclaimed filmmmakers and TV producers.
Former Fox stalwart Ryan Murphy, who created critically acclaimed and popular series like American Crime Story, Feud, and Glee, was offered a record $300 million deal to produce shows and films exclusively for Netflix because of a key phrase: “customer joy” (via Deadline). Know what it means? Neither do I, because it reeks of corporate lingo — something that seems to be the primary motivator in Netflix’s radical business plan. More content leads to more subscribers, leading to greater success. And as we’ve been seeing that plan come to fruition for Netflix in the past few months, as their critical failures barely make a ripple when up against the hugely popular movies and franchises.
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Matt Reeves’ First Netflix Movie Will Be Science-Fiction Thriller ‘Life Sentence’
Matt Reeves is a busy man. Between prepping for the upcoming The Batman and vaguely hinting at another Planet of the Apes movie, the director recently signed a “first-look” deal with Netflix. And the Matt Reeves Netflix deal has already spawned its first project: Life Sentence.
Reeves’ first production with Netflix, Life Sentence, is a science-fiction film based on a short story penned by Matthew Baker.
According to Deadline, the story is “about a futuristic program where the memories of criminals are erased, instead of sending them to prison. The story focuses on one such man, who finds himself trying to reconcile his past actions and relationships.” Sounds like Total Recall meets Eternal Sunshine, with a dash of the new Netflix series Altered Carbon.
Reeves and Netlix won the rights to adapt the short story in a bidding war with other distributors like Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and Apple.
The story’s author, Baker, has already had much success in Hollywood selling his short stories for adaptation. His first short story, 2016’s Transition, was sold to Amazon in a bidding war and is currently being adapted with Noah Hawley producing and Joe Epstein writing. His second short story, The Appearance, was sold to Makeready with The Picture Company producing..
Netflix has been feverishly collecting acclaimed genre filmmakers for its original films and series. The streaming service saw huge numbers with their first collaboration with Suicide Squad director David Ayer, whose big-budget sci-fi film Bright became Netflix’s biggest hit yet. The Duplass brothers just signed a multi-film deal with the streaming service. And that’s not even as impressive as the showrunners they’ve signed.
While scoring a multi-picture deal with Reeves is a big win for Netflix, I wonder whether Reeves has too much on his plate. Reeves has long been working on The Batman, his upcoming solo Batman film for Warner Bros. which may or may not star Ben Affleck. That would feasibly occupy his time for the foreseeable future — but could he juggle a Netflix film at the same time? It hasn’t been confirmed that Reeves will direct Life Sentence or if he’ll just produce, so it’s possible he could make it work. But this news definitely extinguishes any hope of us seeing another Planet of the Apes sequel any time soon.
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New Blu-ray Releases: ‘Thor: Ragnarok,’ ‘Coco,’ ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ and More
(Welcome to Not Dead Yet, a feature dedicated to new Blu-ray releases and what special features you should be excited about. Because yes, some of us still like to own physical copies of our movies.)
Time for another Blu-ray round-up for all you physical media fiends out there. There’s so much good stuff here, folks. Thor: Ragnarok comes home, loaded with hilarious features; the star-studded Murder on the Orient Express also arrives, bringing with it one hell of a mustache; then you have Coco, the latest from Pixar; Gary Oldman‘s Oscar reel, aka Darkest Hour; the absolutely wonderful The Florida Project; the Stephen King werewolf flick Silver Bullet; and the home invasion horror movie The Strangers.
Here are the new Blu-ray releases you should check out this week, and beyond.
Thor: Ragnarok
(Available March 6)
The Thor franchise has always been at the bottom-of-the-barrel for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the last thing we needed was another Thor sequel, Marvel redeemed the series with a lot of help from Taika Waititi. To be clear: Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok still has a lot of problems that plague the Thor films, but Waititi is so damn funny, and able to get such funny performances from his cast, that it almost doesn’t matter.
It certainly helps that Waititi has assembled one hell of a cast around Thor mainstays Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson and, most of all, Jeff Goldblum, shine as the new additions to the series. Blanchett’s baddie Hela is woefully underused, but she makes the most of her time. Thompson’s hard-drinking, ass-kicking Valkyrie is one of the best new characters in the MCU. And Goldblum’s Grandmaster is a wonderful study in lunacy – it’s clear that Waititi trained his cameras on Goldblum and let him do whatever the heck he wanted to do, resulting in comic gold.
In Thor: Ragnarok, Thor and Loki are out of their element as their long-lost sister Hela returns to Asgard and begins to destroy everything. Thor and Loki end up trapped on the planet Sakaar, where Thor is reunited with the Hulk, AKA Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo). After recruiting the reluctant Valkyrie for back-up, Thor and company race back to Asgard to stop Hela once and for all. Along the way, there are lots of jokes.
I’m not sure there’s much room left for future Thor sequels, but if Ragnarok is to be the end of the line, it’s the perfect film to go out on.
Special Features to Note:
I was one of those weirdos who thought Thor: Ragnarok was good, not great. That said, even if you’re so-so on the film, this Blu-ray is a must-own simply because of the wealth of hilarious special features. Taika Waititi is all over the features here, giving interviews and being his usual irreverent self. Even when featurettes slip into standard making-of mode, with cast and crew giving mostly predictable answers to predictable questions, Waititi will pop-up and save the day.
The best feature here is Waititi’s commentary, which is consistently laugh-out-loud funny. When the filmmaker reveals he did the motion capture for the fire-engulfed god that Thor faces at the start of the film, he adds: “That fire is real; I was on fire when I did the motion capture for this scene.” Some other highlights from the commentary:
– “I did the motion capture for [Chris Hemsworth] as well; anytime you see him on screen, it’s me.”
– “That hammer really weighs five million pounds; that’s how strong Chris Hemsworth is.”
– “Cate Blanchett was one of the first people to sign onto the film; I tricked her into it. She took one look at me and said, ‘Yes, I’ll do it, you’re my hero.’”
– During the scene where Hela destroys Thor’s hammer: “This is a very sad scene for people who love tools.”
In between the jokes, Waititi does take time to talk about the making of the film. For instance: he has a lot to say about how the look of the movie was influenced by the art of Marvel artist Jack Kirby.
The second best feature here is “Team Darryl;”, a hilarious short in which Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster moves in with Thor’s old roommate Darryl. I could’ve honestly watched an entire feature-length film based around this premise.
Special Features Include:
- Director’s Introduction
- Deleted/Extended Scenes – Deleted Scenes: The Sorcerer Supreme, Skurge Finds Heimdall & Hulk Chases Thor Through Sakaar and Extended Scenes: Thor Meets the Grandmaster, Stupid Avenger vs. Tiny Avenger & Grandmaster and Topaz
- Gag Reel – Watch a collection of goofs, gaffes and pratfalls starring the cast
- Exclusive Short/Team Darryl – Fresh off being unseated as the ruler of Sakaar, the Grandmaster makes his way to Earth to start a new life. It’s been over a year since Thor left Australia and Darryl has been struggling to pay his rent. Now Darryl needs a new roommate to help make the monthly payments. Unfortunately for Darryl, the Grandmaster was the only one who answered Darryl’s “Roommate Needed” ad and with no viable options, the Grandmaster moves in.
- Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years – The Evolution of Heroes – Marvel’s universe is vast and transcends both time and space. We’ll examine the Cinematic Universe as a whole and revisit each of our heroes’ current location and their place in the current MCU timeline, as it all leads up to the one culminating event: “Avengers: Infinity War.”
- Getting in Touch with Your Inner Thor – “Thor: Ragnarok” director Taika Waititi has brought his unique sensibility and sense of humor to the film in a great many ways but it is the evolution of Thor’s own sense of humor, which stands out the most in the new film. This piece explores the impact Chris Hemsworth has made on the development of his widely-loved character and celebrates the mighty cast and crew who reveal the fun and hard work that went into assembling Thor’s eccentric counterparts.
- Unstoppable Women: Hela & Valkyrie – This piece explores the strong female characters in “Thor: Ragnarok,” their importance in the MCU, their incredible casting and their epic comic origins.
- Finding Korg – A tongue-in-cheek interview with Taika on casting Korg. He describes the difficult search for just the right evolution of the character design, and the nuances of this instantly classic character in the MCU. This conversation will also delve into all the extraordinary visual effects that brought Korg, Sakaar and the worlds of “Thor: Ragnarok” to life.
- Sakaar: On the Edge of the Known and Unknown – Sakaar is the collection point for all lost and unloved things. This documentary will answer all known and unknown questions while also exploring the hard work and creativity that went into creating the look and feel of Sakaar. From design inspired by Jack Kirby’s classic artwork to the dedication of the visual development team to the awe-inspiring physical and digital production, you will see this distant world come alive.
- Journey into Mystery – A deep dive story piece with the writers, director and producer Kevin Feige about the inspirations for “Thor: Ragnarok” within the comics. Most notably, the contest of champions limited series where the Grandmaster pitted our favorite heroes against one another as he does in the film. This piece also further explores Thor’s comic book origins and classic arcs through interviews with some of the most important comic creators, such as Walt Simonson and Jack Kirby.
- 8bit Scenes – Final Bridge Battle + Sakaar Spaceship Battle. Dive into these climactic sequences presented in retro video-game format.
- Directors Commentary
Coco
Pixar’s latest Coco may not be one of their best films, but it certainly has a lot of charm and heart. 12-year-old Miguel lives in Mexico and dreams of becoming a famous musician, like his hero, the late Ernesto de la Cruz. Unfortunately for Miguel, he lives with a family that has a very strict “no music” policy.
A series of misadventures lands Miguel in the super-colorful, skeleton-filled Land of the Dead during Día de Muertos. Miguel’s only hope is to track down Ernesto de la Cruz. Along the way, Miguel is aided by Héctor, a dead man in danger of being forgotten forever should no one put his picture up on a ofrenda.
To be honest, Coco’s plot doesn’t make much sense, and it requires more than heavy helping of suspension of disbelief. Once you get beyond that, though, you’re treated to a bright, beautiful, often emotional film that also happens to feature a really adorable dog.
Even if you try to resist Coco’s charms, don’t be surprised if you find yourself weeping as the film comes to a close. Damn you, Pixar. You made me cry again.
Special Features to Note:
The bulk of the special features on the Coco Blu-ray are devoted to the exhausting amount of work that went into creating Pixar’s latest. The filmmakers and creators behind the film pop up in several featurettes to discuss how hard they worked to make Coco’s Mexican settings and traditions as authentic as possible. They tell us the film was “meant to be a love-letter to Mexico,” and that certainly comes through in all their work. The creators of the film went to Mexico for multiple research trips, and nearly everything – from the music to the costumes – is rooted in Mexican tradition,
The features I enjoyed the most was “Paths to Pixar”, in which members of the crew – artists, writers, designers, etc. – talk about how they got into filmmaking, and how they came to work for Pixar. This is a rather touching segment, because it has a theme of realizing your dreams, even if they seem impossible.
Beyond the featurettes, there are also deleted scenes that reveal the film was originally conceived as a full-blown musical, with songs in almost every scene. The filmmakers realized that it was very hard to craft a musical around a family who shuns music, so most of the songs ended up being scrapped.
Special Features Include:
- Deleted Scenes with Introductions – Director Lee Unkrich and co-director Adrian Molina talk about the deleted scenes and the part they played in the development of “Coco.”
- Di?a de los Muertos – In this musical extravaganza, the colors and excitement of Di?a de los Muertos come to life as we meet superstar Ernesto de la Cruz.
- The Way of the Riveras – A musical number in which Abuelita and Miguel prepare their Di?a de los Muertos celebration while she teaches him Rivera family history and traditions.
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- Celebrity Tour – He?ctor, a Land of the Dead tour bus guide, agrees to help Miguel, revealed to be a living boy, on his quest to find de la Cruz.
- The Bus Escape – The Rivera family catches up to Miguel and He?ctor and attempts to halt their mission to find de la Cruz.
- Alebrije Attack – Miguel and He?ctor are interrupted on their journey to find de la Cruz by a fierce alebrije.
- The Family Fix – After de la Cruz reveals his true colors, the Rivera family puts their dismay aside and comes together to repair the smashed guitar needed to send Miguel home.
- To the Bridge – As the Land of the Dead counts down to the end of Di?a de los Muertos, Miguel and de la Cruz come head-to-head on the marigold bridge.
- Filmmaker Commentary – Presented by Lee Unkrich (director), Adrian Molina (co-director) and Darla K. Anderson (producer).
- The Music of “Coco” – Collaborating with musicians of Mexico and some unique instrumentation, this documentary explores the beautiful fusion of music essential to the story of “Coco.”
- Paths to Pixar: “Coco” – Explore how the film crew’s personal stories resonate with the themes of the movie itself.
- Welcome to the Fiesta – A musical exploration of the skeletons that make the Land of the Dead in “Coco” so wondrous and intriguing.
- How to Draw a Skeleton – Pixar artist Daniel Arriaga gives a lesson on the quick and easy way to draw skeletons using simple shapes.
- A Thousand Pictures a Day – Join the “Coco” crew on an immersive travelogue through Mexico, visiting families, artisans, cemeteries, and small villages during the Día de los Muertos holiday.
- Mi Familia – Developing the Riveras was a labor of love that took the cast and crew on a deep dive into the meaning of family.
- Land of Our Ancestors – Watch Pixar artists lovingly construct layer upon layer of architecture from many eras of Mexican history, bringing the Land of the Dead to life.
- Fashion Through the Ages – The cast of characters in “Coco” are from many different eras, making for some magnificent costuming opportunities.
- The Real Guitar – The majestic guitar that spurs Miguel on his journey through the Land of the Dead is a unique creation. Watch as it is initially designed by a Pixar artist and ultimately realized as a real instrument by a master luthier in this poetic ode to craftsmanship.
- Dante – How the crew fell in love with the uniquely Mexican breed of Xoloitzcuintli (or “Xolo”) dogs that inspired Dante.
- How to Make Papel Picado – Join Pixar artist Ana Rami?rez Gonza?lez as we learn how papel picado is made traditionally, and then try your own approach to this beautiful art form.
- Un Poco “Coco” – A montage of original animated pieces used to promote “Coco.”
- “Coco Trailers” – Trailers include “Feeling,” “Dante’s Lunch,” “Destiny,” “Journey” and “Belong.”
Continue Reading New Blu-ray Releases >>
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Steve Martin and Martin Short Team Up for a Netflix Comedy Special
Netflix has been giving comedy specials to anyone and everyone, so much that it’s become a bit of a joke in the comedy world. But it’s still worth paying attention when they give a special to comedians who truly deserve it.
Steve Martin and Martin Short have been partners in comedy for decades. Having appeared in various sketch shows together over the years, not to mention films like Three Amigos and Father of the Bride, the two just have phenomenal chemistry and improvisational skills when they’re teamed up together. Recently, they’ve been touring the United States with a comedy and musical show called Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life and Netflix will be adding that to their streaming library.
Steve Martin and Martin Short announced their new Netflix special on Twitter today:
Okey dokey. Here’s a video with Marty and me talking about our new Netflix special coming this summer! Now we’re like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle except for the pay! pic.twitter.com/zd4hd1kQ74
— Steve Martin (@SteveMartinToGo) February 27, 2018
Despite what it seems in the video above, The Hollywood Reporter reveals the Steven Martin and Martin Short Netflix special has already been recorded. It was taped on Friday, February 23 at their tour date in Greenville, South Carolina. During the show, the comedic duo appears in a variety of comedy and musical sketches, not to mention sharing various conversations about the careers, collaborations, showbiz stories and much more. That means you can likely expect a lot of things like this:
Helping to bring the musical side of the special to life is the Grammy-winning bluegrass band the Steep Canyon Rangers, who hae toured with Steve Martin before. You can bet Martin will be whipping out his banjo to play with the band during the special, and presumably with some comedy involved as well.
Though Martin and Short are old school comedians, their brand of laughter has never gotten old for me. Martin is more of the dry straight man while Short is a little more wiry and rambunctious. They’re just a phenomenal comedy duo, and it makes me wish they were still making movies together today.
There’s no specific date for the Netflix special’s debut, but it will be sometime later this year. Of course, if you don’t want to wait for the special to drop on Netflix, you can always get tickets to see the duo live yourself. Steve Martin and Martin Short are still touring the United States and Canada right now, and you can see the remaining stops on their calendar that last through October 2018 at Steve Martin’s official website.
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‘The Rocketeer’ Animated Series is Coming to Disney Junior in 2019
Remember The Rocketeer, Disney’s 1991 pulp adventure about a stunt pilot who finds a prototype jet pack and uses it to fight Nazis? It’s an exuberant, stylish piece of work that manages to improve on the tone of Dave Stevens‘ already-wonderful comic book series, but it sputtered at the box office and failed to garner any sequels.
The studio has been working on a film revival for a while, but it looks like Disney Junior is fed up with waiting around, so they’re taking matters into their own hands. The company has just begun production on a The Rocketeer animated series that will be aimed at 2-7 year olds. And here’s a fun twist: a young girl will be wearing the jet pack this time around. Read more about The Rocketeer animated series below.
The Rocketeer animated series
Deadline has the news about the show, which is just being called The Rocketeer. Nicole Dubuc (Transformers: Rescue Bots) is executive producing the new show, and in a throwback to the cartoons of my youth, each episode will feature two 11-minute stories. And because this is aimed at such a young crowd, there will be an original song in each episode, too. Fingers crossed for a sing-along about how Nazis are terrible!
Here’s the story breakdown for the new series:
The Rocketeer follows Kit, a young girl who receives a surprise package on her birthday revealing that she’s next in line to become the Rocketeer, a legendary superhero who has the ability to fly with the help of a rocket-powered jet pack. Armed with her cool new gear and secret identity, Kit is ready to take flight and save the day with her gadget-minded best friend, Tesh, and airplane-mechanic uncle, Ambrose, who join her on epic adventures.
As a huge fan of The Rocketeer, I’m always up for anything that brings more attention to this character, and this show sounds like it could groom a whole new generation of kids to one day become fans of the comic and ’91 movie. The Rocketeer movie adaptation is totally pure and full of an earnest “gee-whiz, aw shucks” mentality that’s hard to come by these days, so it seems perfect for this age group until that new movie finally gets off the ground. (The comics are slightly more risque, but still terrific.)
The Film Sequel/Reboot
Last we heard, Disney was developing a movie sequel called The Rocketeers which was intended to serve as both a sequel and a reboot to the movie, handing the jet pack off to a young black female pilot in a story set six years after the events of the first film. I still hope that project gets made, but in the meantime, The Rocketeer should work nicely as a piece of nostalgic programming for Disney Junior alongside the new iteration of Muppet Babies.
The Rocketeer hits the small screen sometime in 2019.
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‘The Week Of’ Trailer: Adam Sandler and Chris Rock Butt Heads Over a Wedding
Ever since Adam Sandler and Chris Rock starred together on Saturday Night Live in the ’90s, Rock has been a constant fixture in Sandler’s progressively crass repertoire — from The Longest Yard, to Grown-Ups and Grown-Ups 2.
But as the two reteam in The Week Of for Sandler’s last movie in his original four-film Netflix deal, they seem to pull off a miracle: a genuinely charming movie.
The Week Of Trailer
Now, I may be deluded, but The Week Of trailer may actually be…good? It has little of the gross-out humor that Sandler’s previous Netflix films have boasted — The Ridiculous Six, The Do-Over, Sandy Wexler — and instead seems almost demure.
It helps that Sandler and Rock give much more subdued performances than we’re used to seeing from them. The two play passive-aggressive fathers waging a war of pride over their kids’ wedding. Sandler sheds his bombastic persona for a weary passivity that we saw him capable of in Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories, while Chris Rock plays the straight man to Sandler’s quirky working-class family. It’s got all the trademarks of a family comedy, of course — the disabled great-uncle, the dirty relative played by Steve Buscemi, and the cartoonishly weird wife played by fellow SNL alum Rachel Dratch.
Perhaps I’m optimistic that Sandler will attempt to make a good film out of his last project in his original multi-picture Netflix deal, which was extended last year. Sandler co-wrote the film with director Robert Smigel, who is probably best known for playing Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Like the last three films made under the Netflix deal, The Week Of was produced under Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions banner.
Here is the official synopsis for The Week Of:
The Week Of tells the story of a devoted, middle class father (Adam Sandler) determined to pay for his daughter’s wedding despite the prodding of the wealthier father of the groom (Chris Rock). A series of calamities forces the dads (and their families) to come together and endure the longest week of their lives.
The Week Of will premiere on Netflix on April 27, 2018.
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