Anyone out there remember when Luke Skywalker drank blue milk at Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru's homestead in 1977's Star Wars...? Well, we find out where blue milk comes from in an early scene on the planet where Luke has been in hiding... when he milks a creature we've never seen before. It's a bizarre moment in the movie, but funny if you geek out on Star Wars lore. It's one of many peculiar things in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Director Rian Johnson's new entry in the Star Wars saga throws some curves in the franchise's narrative, while keeping many things close to the vest. I'll do an in depth review once I've seen The Last Jedi for a second time, but here are some initial thoughts: 1. Patience is a virtue: Rian Johnson's story unfolds slowly, building toward a crescendo. While it might not have the "zip" that J.J. Abrams's Star Wars: The Force Awakens did, the exposition helps establish the spiritual tone for this trilogy. 2. The film has a suprising amount of tongue-in-cheek humor:Star Wars: The Last Jedi has a unique tone -- different than any other entry in the series. 3. It's NOT a rehash of The Empire Strikes Back: There were some concerns that this second entry in the Disney-era Star Wars trilogy effort would be a mere rehash of Empire. Not so... to be sure, there are some nods to the Joseph Campbell-induced mythology of the past, but The Last Jedi is its own thing. 4. John Williams is back in fine form: We went to the special Star Wars: The Last Jedi -- Special Fan Event at Aksarben Cinema, and we got to see a featurette before the movie about composer John Williams. While the featurette didn't cover any new ground, I can say that the score for this movie (which brings back classic moments heard throughout the previous movies) is superior to that of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I'll be interested to hear what you think. Please post your comments below about your impressions of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Previous post: Stranger Things Season 1 Box Set Brings the Old School Cool
One of the keys to a successful streaming video service is a show that acts as a hook to pull in subscribers. Each of the services out there (along with their cable and network counterparts) spends large sums of money acquiring talent in that quest. Last year, Netflix found their "hook" with the 1980s sci-fi/horror homage Stranger Things. The show became a key hit for the streaming platform. As a fully financed and owned Netflix production (as opposed to other originals which are produced with/by other studios), the merchandising opportunities are very lucrative. I was roughly the same age in 1983 as the show's three young male protagonists, and the series's many pop culture references from the era continually strike a chord. The show has a similar feel to J.J. Abrams's movie Super 8, but is its own living and breathing thing. Stranger Things has a funky electronic soundtrack (which feels like something out of a John Carpenter movie), pieces of hit pop music of the era, and subtle (as well as not-so-subtle) nods to movies like E.T. and The Goonies. The show is a wonderful, ridculous and pulpy ride that is a tremendous amount of fun. Target brings fans an exclusive box set for the first season of Stranger Things. The set features all eight episodes of the first season on Blu-ray and DVD (the DVDs sit in a tray under the Blu-ray discs). The only special features are trailers for Stranger Things 2 (which is currently streaming on Netflix) and Marvel's The Defenders series -- kind of a shame since there is so much wonderful content out there about the show.
But let's focus on the coolest aspect of this set... the packaging. The Blu-rays and DVDs are ensconsced in a case that looks like an old VHS cassette tape. As you unfold the "cassette" inside, one half houses the discs (two Blu-ray discs and two DVDs), and the other includes a limited-edition poster of the Demogorgon (you'll have to watch the show to learn what that is...).
One of the interesting aspect of this box set is that the discs are held into the trays by a "foam rubber" spindle. I own a number of box sets like this, and it is interesting to see the novel methods employed to house discs. This is a mechanism I'd never seen before. It threw me off a bit at first, but once I figured it out, getting the discs off was just fine.
If you are a Stranger Things fanboy like me -- or if you want to see the show, but aren't interested in subscribing to Netflix -- the Season 1 box set is a neat way to enjoy the show. I didn't realize this set was available until a couple weeks after its initial release, but I'm glad I stumbled upon it. It definitely ranks as one of the cooler-looking box sets I've owned, and it is a worthwhile addition to my collection collection. It retails for $24.99... would make a great Christmas gift.
There are certain "tentpole" films that movie lovers make a point of seeing each year. These days, those tentpoles are largely controlled and owned by Disney. Disney has done a yeoman's job managing Marvel superhero movies, the latest entries in the Star Wars saga, and whatever poignant, animated tome Pixar conjures up. Thor: Ragnarok is Disney's second Marvel outing for 2017, after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Well, third if you count Spider-Man: Homecoming, a fusion of Sony and Disney's creative efforts to integrate Spidey into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (read my review of Spider-Man: Homecoming here). Have you noticed the trend toward more humor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe this year? It's worth noting, and something that was needed to keep Disney's Marvel franchise films enjoyable (although, some of the jokes in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 felt rather forced at times). The past couple of years, I've wondered if the quality of "comic book movies" was starting to wane. Sure, superhero movies continued to churn out healthy box office receipts, but a number of high-profile releases felt tired and empty. For example, Doctor Strange was capably crafted and entertaining enough, but the dreary tone and plodding pace made me wonder what the future held for Marvel movies. Other high-profile releases -- like Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Age of Ultron -- were too dour for their own good. Even the DC superhero movies that Warner Bros. brought to theaters -- like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice -- started to make you wonder if the genre lacked focus and polish. Thankfully, the 2017 calendar year brought a stable of superhero/comic book movies that show there is still life in these films.
Thor: Ragnarok is a light and buoyant romp that features a considerable amount of self-effacing, tongue-in-cheek humor. It seems to be heavily influenced by cheeseball 1980s sci-fi/fantasy movies. As a result, the film doesn't feel bogged down by Thor's mythology -- something that hurt Thor: The Dark World when it was released in 2013. No, this film doesn't take the titular norse god too seriously at all. In fact, Chris Hemsworth serves up a performance in Ragnarok that seems quite comfortable poking fun at his character, mythology, and "too serious" tone prevalent in some recent Marvel entries. This is typically the point in my reviews where I write up a brief summary of early plot points in the film. I'm not sure that is really necessary. My fellow Marvel lovers are going to see Thor: Ragnarok regardless of the story. The film features Thor... the Hulk/Banner... Loki... Jeff Goldblum waxing bizarre... Cate Blanchett scowling... a cameo by Doctor Strange... a funny rock creature... a gigantic wolf... space ships... laser cannons... and an epic final battle...
Thor: Ragnarok has a soundtrack that features Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" (something featured in the teaser trailer for the movie). The musical score in the movie is a pulsing, electronic affair that was composed by Mark Mothersbaugh -- lead singer of the band Devo ("Whip It"). In many respects, Ragnarok feels like it could have been retooled and made into an entry in the aforementioned Guardians of the Galaxy series. It has a similar tone, look, and feel. It seems like a waste to pick over the finer details. Thor: Ragnarok is fun. The film is well paced and never feels bogged down. It is the epitome of a popcorn movie -- very little nutritional value, but it just feels right when you're munching it down. Rated PG-13, Runtime 2 hrs, 10 min
Lily Tomlin once opined that "the road to success is always under construction." I've heard a number of variations and derivations of the quote over the years, used to serve various causes or efforts throughout the world.
But the core message remains the same: progress is defined by a constant rhythm and perpetual evolution.
Over the course of the past 20 years, the University of Nebraska at Omaha has undergone a significant amount of change. Various leaders have nudged the university to become more than the sum of its parts, working to give the oft-derided "commuter college" a much needed overhaul -- resulting in a metropolitan university that is attractive, cutting-edge, and hurling forward with a tremendous amount of momentum.
My wife Bridget and I are alumni of the university, and have continued our involvement with the university since graduating in 1996. Not only have we NEVER missed a UNO Hockey home game (since the nascent program began in 1997), we've also been involved with various outreach efforts like the UNO Young Alumni Academy.
The new welcome and visitor center is part of Scott Campus and is located in the heart of Aksarben Village. The area -- once home to horse racing in Omaha -- houses various facilities, including UNO's College of Business Administration, The Peter Kiewit Institute, student dormitories, conference/meeting space, and Baxter Arena (a multi-use arena that houses the UNO Hockey program).
The area also features a number of businesses including Aksarben Cinema and Dudley's Pizza & Tavern (I am proud to say that both are among my business clientele).
Maverick Landing features open spaces for students to congregate, meet, study, and learn. There is a coffee bar and snack counter within the facility.
While I was chatting with my friend Lee Denker -- President and CEO of the UNO Alumni Association -- I learned that the folks who designed Maverick Landing were inspired by Apple Stores when it came to the overall asthetic and vibe for the project.
That spark is clearly seen in the facility.
The facility is brightly lit and has casual spaces that encourage engagement. There are also plenty of electrical outlets on hand for power-hungry devices.
According to the university's website, the space will also be used by UNO's Academic and Career Development Center (ACDC) -- for advising and workshops.
Our visit featured some terrific snacks (Scott Dining provides food services for the facility). We were also able to check out the dorm rooms in the facility -- apartment-style living with a shared kitchen and bathrooms in the 4-room unit.
I would like to thank Lee Denker and Elizabeth Kraemer for giving alumni the opportunity to see this venue (and for letting us bring our nieces along).
Maverick Landing is located near the intersection at 67th and Pine St. -- a hub of activity in Aksarben Village.
The new facility is a welcoming and inviting front door for the University of Nebraska at Omaha...
I love it when Hollywood goes back and pulls some of the more cult science fiction gems out of the vault -- continuing the story for a new generation.
I'm not talking about "eternal" franchises like Star Wars or Star Trek (although, I love what they've done with those properties in recent years).
I'm referring to one-off movies like Tron -- pieces of pop culture nostalgia that didn't gain mass appeal on initial release, but cultivated niche followings as the films fermented.
In my mind, 2010's Tron: Legacy (a sequel/reboot to the 1982 original) was woefully underappreciated. I think that had less to do with the quality of film itself, and more to do with the fact that Tron was forgotten footnote in the genre.
In a similar fashion, Columbia Pictures and Warner Bros. bring us Blade Runner 2049. Blade Runner 2049 is a hybrid sequel/reboot to 1982's Blade Runner (it seems '82 was a good year for ground-breaking science fiction films that failed to find box office glory).
Despite the film's near three-hour length, I was mesermized by Blade Runner 2049.
Blade Runner 2049 is compelling eye candy -- cerebral and thoughtful in its approach. If you're hankering for something loud and combustible, you'd best look elsewhere.
The film is directed by Denis Villeneuve. His 2016 film Arrival (read my review here) also eschewed the trappings of today's bombastic sci-fi films, and aimed for territory more vague and intellectual.
That style stays true to Ridley Scott's 1982 original (based on the Philip K. Dick story Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?).
I saw Blade Runner in the mid-1980s. My family rented it on VHS tape from an Applause Video store near our home in Omaha, NE.
While I never warmed up to the film the way I did the Star Wars franchise (or even 1982's Tron), it was certainly memorable for its stunning visuals, ominous soundtrack (by new age fave Vangelis), and dystopian view of Los Angeles in the future.
If you're unfamilar with Blade Runner, the story focuses on "synthetic humans" called "replicants" made by the Tyrell Corporation in the year 2019. Replicants are used for hard-labor in off-world colonies. A fugitive replicant group manages to escape back to earth, and LA cop Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) has to "retire" them. Deckard's profession is referred to as a "blade runner."
The movie unfolds like a futuristic Raymond Chandler detective story, and by the end of the film Deckard is questioning his job and his loyalties.
Fast forward 30 years, and we find dystopian Los Angeles looking much like it did in 2019 (a gloomy place featuring a doses of Japanese culture, mentions of the Soviet Union, and digital signs for defunct businesses like Pan Am and Atari).
Replicants have become more integrated into everyday life. The Tyrell Corporation has been bought out by the Wallace Corporation. Our main protagonist is a replicant -- an LA cop who goes by the name K (Ryan Gosling).
K is investigating a growing effort by replicants to gain their freedom and remove the shackles of subservience.
K's investigation begins with him traveling to a futuristic farm. He has been ordered to retire a rogue replicant named Sapper Morton (Dave Bautista). Morton knows why K has come, and challenges K's stone-cold duty by suggesting he has "never seen a miracle."
K kills Morton in a brutal, bar-like brawl. After the kerfuffle, K finds a buried box on the property containing the bones of a deceased replicant. When the remains are analyzed in a forensic lab back at LAPD headquarters, they discover the replicant gave birth via c-section.
Replicants weren't thought capable of reproducing. As a result, K's superior (Robin Wright) orders the remains be destroyed (for fear it could start a mass conflict between humans and replicants).
Despite the fact that K has been engineered from the ground up -- and is typically a by-the-book blade runner -- his nagging curiosity keeps him on the hunt to learn the identities of mother and offspring. As a result, he begins to question his own identity and place in the world.
Thus unfolds a fascinating journey and investigation, featuring gorgeous set pieces and visual effects. K's pursuit of the truth eventually leads him to an exiled Rick Deckard.
When 1982's Blade Runner was released in theaters, the studio ordered narration for Harrison Ford's character be tacked onto the film -- something director Ridley Scott was not in favor of, and something that was removed in subsequent re-releases.
The Blade Runner films feel right without narration -- adding an element of wonder to the narrative.
As a result, the franchise will likely never have the mass followings of more pedestrian popcorn movies. Much has been made on the "interwebs" about the film not living up to box office expectations.
Sometimes it's nice to have a story where viewers fill in the blanks for themselves. I'm pleased Denis Villeneuve stayed true to Blade Runner's original vision -- even if it meant creating a less commercial film. I must also commend Ryan Gosling's performance in Blade Runner 2049. Gosling once again proves his dependability as a leading man -- a trait also on full display in his performance as Sebastian Wilder in 2016's La La Land.
His performance as K gives viewers a quiet, introspective loner who -- despite being engineered -- yearns for more meaning in his spartan existence. The closest K has ever come to experiencing love is a precocious hologram companion named Joi (Ana de Armas). Gosling's soulful stares speak volumes, and give depth to the film that goes beyond the written word.
Blade Runner 2049 illustrates how science fiction films can rise above the typical crop of genre movies, and offer thoughtful, grown-up dramas that entertain and enlighten.
The long-awaited second trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi dropped last night. Fans had been wondering if/when they'd see a new trailer for the movie. Some fans are avoiding seeing any sort of spoiler ahead of time and are going "radio silent" as it regards "The Last Jedi." Even the movie's writer/director -- Rian Johnson -- suggested on his Twitter account that viewers should avoid this latest trailer if they wanted to avoid spoilers:
I'm not worried about spoilers. I've even read Star Wars movie tie-in novelizations before seeing the movies (back when they used to publish the tie-ins prior to the movie's release date) and it didn't bother me at all (you'll be happy to note that Star Wars: Attack of the Clones was much, much better in novel form...)
The new trailer for The Last Jedi offers some new nuggets for fans to obsess over. Be that as it may, you can tell the studio is keeping a number of things close to the vest. I'd also argue that a bit of deception and subterfuge are being implemented here. For example, at the end of the trailer we see Rey (is she a "Solo" or a "Skywalker") saying, "I need someone to show me my place in all this." Her face has an orange glow, and her tone is rather forboding. The trailer then cuts from her to a shot of series heavy Kylo Ren holding out his hand...which the viewer is led to believe is for Rey.
The prevailing sentiment on the web is that this moment in the trailer is an act of clever editing on the part of the filmmakers. It doesn't seem terribly likely that Disney would want to unleash a mega-spoiler suggesting Rey is going to turn to the darkside. I'm not going to delve too heavily into all the intricacies of the trailer, but there are a number of cool looking shots. We get to see more footage of Rey wielding Anakin/Luke Skywalker's lightsaber during her training:
We get to see Chewbacca and a Porg (Lucasfilm's latest cute and cuddly merchandising ploy) in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon:
We also see a wicked looking battle between Finn and Phasma (a character many fans are hoping garners more screen time in The Last Jedi):
And we get to see BB-8 getting all "electrified" on Poe Dameron's X-Wing:
There are a number of other additional goodies in the trailer. If you're like me, you'll watch the trailer over and over and over again. If you want an in-depth analysis of this trailer, check out this video from the "Star Wars Explained" YouTube channel. I discovered this channel a few months ago. Alex Damon (and his wife, Mollie) do a nice job explaining all the intricacies of the Star Wars universe:
In addition to the new trailer, the poster artwork for the latest Star Wars: The Last Jedi one-sheet poster was released. While the lastest generation of Disney-produced Star Wars posters don't quite have the same magical quality of artist Drew Struzan's Star Wars work from yesteryear, this is a gorgeous poster:
And that's not all... As cool as the new trailer and poster are, tickets are also now on sale for the Dec. 14 screenings of Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
I plan to attend the "Opening Night Fan Event" at Aksarben Cinema for The Last Jedi. If you live in Omaha, NE, I encourage you to join us for this event. Tickets are $20 apiece and secure your ticket to the 6 p.m. showing of The Last Jedi, bonus content before the movie, trading cards, and a free concession item (a small popcorn at Aksarben Cinema). Previous post: Still Rocking A Beeper?
Many of you know I have an unnatural obsession with retro technology. Whether it is the aging television antenna in my attic, my old Super Nintendo Entertainment System, or my vintage iMac collection, I have a fondness for "blast from the past" gadgets.
It is in that spirit that I ponder the pager...or as it was often referred to back in the day, the "beeper."
Bridget and I frequently drive by the ATS "The Beeper People" building at 29th and Harney (near Downtown Omaha).
Before Americans were tied at the hip to cellphones, my wife had a pager. We were in college at the time. She had it so her family could get ahold of her... or, as was the case with pagers in that era, you'd basically "signal" her.
It was kinda handy -- especially when she was at work. I could call Bridget's beeper and type in my home number or a special code (I sometimes used 007... it made me feel like a spy).
After the connection was made, you'd have to wait until she called back (which required being near a phone).
(As I type this it sounds like the electronic equivalent of sending smoke signals).
I can't remember how long Bridget had her pager.
She obtained her first cellphone in 1996. It was one of those foot-long beige bricks that looked like something used to call in artillery fire during World War II.
I remember when we picked up the phone. Her uncle had us drive out along a desolate stretch of gravel road in western Douglas County. The phone was waiting for Bridget on the front seat of a 1960-something Dodge Dart, parked next to a dreary farmhouse.
(I can only imagine the look on my face at that moment.)
But enough about that phone... You will be happy to know that pagers are still in use.
According to a 2016 story on Slate, 85 percent of hospitals still use pagers. The devices (in various forms) have been around since the 1950s. In addition, paging networks are apparently more reliable than cellular networks, and have more broadcast power.
While cellphones and smartphones have cut into sales of pagers, they continue to serve a role in medical, emergency services, and other assorted industries.
I can't recall the last time I saw someone sporting a pager.
This scene from Tron: Legacy (where Alan Bradley tells Sam Flynn about a page he received from Sam's father) reminds me of the days when Bridget had a pager, and illustrates how the devices have become something of a humorous footnote in tech history:
"Oh man... Still rocking the pager. Alan, good for you."
