A Week of Entertainment - Issue 12

Another busy summer weekend delaying me a day.  Gotta love the current weather (here in Iowa at least).  I've been spending my days outside with my girls, but that doesn't mean Hollywood isn't still active.  On with the news.


Is there a Doctor in the house? - Doctor Strange got a brief shout out in the recent Captain America film.  And now it seems he may get his own film.  Scott Derrickson looks to be attached to this movie.  I don't believe it is official yet, but there must be something to this rumor.  Derrickson himself not so subtly hinted on his twitter account that this will be his next project.  I'm okay with this choice personally.  I'm a fan of his last film, Sinister, and his upcoming Deliver Us From Evil looks like it will be just as dark and creepy.  Choosing Derrickson, they definitely seem to be going with a darker undertone in this film, and that could really work for a character like Strange.


Cartoons are for kids - Who needs 'em, right?  That's apparently what Disney is thinking.  Currently in theaters they have Maleficent, which is a live action twist on the Sleeping Beauty story.  Now they have plans to make straight up live adaptations of some of their other beloved animated films.  Cinderella and The Jungle Book are on the slate with the most recent announcement being that of a Beauty and the Beast adaptation.  I guess I can't say this is surprising, or even new.  We have seen this before.  You all remember Glenn Close in 101 Dalmatians back in '96 right?  I'm sure I'll check some of these out, but you know we'll all be forgetting about them a couple years down the road and going back to showing our kids the 2D animated classics.


If there's something strange in your theater - There have been rumors about a Ghostbusters 3 milling about for years now.  That's all well and good, but this year is the 30th anniversary of the original.  They are putting their focus on that right now, and rightly so.  To commemorate, there will special blu-ray releases of both Ghostbusters I & II.  More importantly however, the first film will be re-released back into theaters over Labor Day weekend.  Who needs Ghostbusters 3, when you can get the original real deal back up on the glorious big screen.


Pay for your own death - Have you ever wanted to be killed by a real professional?  Well, who's better at killing off people (fictional anyway?) than George R.R. Martin.  He makes Whedon and Kirkman look like rank amateurs.  And now he wants to kill off one of you.  If you donate to the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary you will be given prizes varying depending on the amount.  If you happen to have 20,000 pounds lying about that you would like to donate, then Martin will give your name to a small character in one of his next Song of Ice and Fire novels and kill you off, like he does.  Who doesn't want that claim to fame?  Now go out and save a wolf!


Until next time.....if someone asks if you're a god, you say yes!


Weekend top 10 at the box office:
1 - The Fault in our Stars (new release) $48M
2 - Maleficent $34.3M
3 - Edge of Tomorrow (new release) $28.8M
4 - X-Men: Days of Future Past $15.2M
5 - A Million Ways to Die in the West $7.3M
6 - Godzilla $6.1M
7 - Neighbors $5.3M
8 - Blended $4.1M
9 - Chef $2.6M
10 - Million Dollar Arm $2M

A Night Out With Mickey and Friends

So, last night my wife and I took a little break from watching the Olympics on television and took our 2 girls to see some live skating.  We got tickets to see "Disney On Ice: Passport To Adventure", and I have to say it was even more fun than I anticipated.  Mickey and the gang came out in safari gear before each of the movie themed segments of the show and introduced them as if they were visiting the locations of the films.  Then what followed was condensed versions of some Disney classics.  There was The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Lilo & Stitch, and finally Peter Pan.

Now I realize how hard all the jumps and lifts in the Olympics must be, but these guys are no slouches either.  I can't imagine how cumbersome it must be skating around in the big clunky costumes they were wearing.  Clunky not being an insult.  The costumes were quite innovative and fun.  It was interesting to see how they put together costumes for four-legged characters like Pumba and Nanny and even the crocodile from Peter Pan who laid on a platform with scales on her back and a tail dragging behind.  The sets were just as fun.  Most came from behind the main curtain, but they also utilized a big stage set 20-30 feet above the curtain.  Many characters came down from there by a giant staircase, while Peter Pan and crew actually put harnesses on up top and "flew" down to the ice.  A couple of set pieces were giant inflatable characters too.

The music and dialog was all pre-recorded and came over the speakers, but that actually made sense since they need to concentrate on the skating.  The skating was varied and great.  Most of it was pantomime acting (including the Peter Pan/Captain Hook swordfight, of course).  Then there was the synchronized skating and even lifts done to the music.  The music, obviously, I knew I would love going in.  It was basically all of the more fun and popular music from each of the subsequent movies.

My girls are 4 and 2 years old and of course know all of the Disney movies, so it was fantastic to see the absolute joy on their faces as they watched some of their favorite characters come to life out on the ice.  Great music, costumes, skating, sets, and everything else.  What is there not to love?  I even felt like a kid again myself watching this.  If you have young children I would highly recommend taking them out for a night of fun-filled Disney magic!