Marvel’s Doctor Strange

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Erin

Marvel’s Doctor Strange

By Erin

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Marvel Studios brings us the 14th installment in theMarvel Cinematic Universe, “Doctor Strange,” the story of world-famous neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange whose life changes forever after a horrific car accident robs him of the use of his hands. We join Strange on his dangerous, mystifying, and totally mind-bending journey. The movie has all the usual action and explosions that you can expect as it shares the same look, feel, and fancy corporate sheen as the rest, but it also has a lot of originality and freshness to it. The main character is a little different, where a flawed hero’s personal search for purpose leads him to the New Age realm of magic and sorcery where he ultimately finds his calling in life. He discovers powerful magic in a mysterious place known as Kamar-Taj—the front line of a battle against unseen dark forces bent on destroying our reality. It’s thrilling to see Strange embrace his inner spirit, finding power by going with the current, instead of against it. Staring Benedict Cumberbatch as the superhero Doctor Strange and Tilda Swinton as “The Ancient One.”

Dr. Stephen Strange is completely arrogant, he senses himself as the greatest neurosurgeon in New York, if not the world. He is also a bit of a different kind of superhero being that he is a sorcerer. At the start, his arrogant and selfish ways shine through, but he slowly learns humility: to better himself and to think of others. This film is filled with comic book-style action, violence includes large-scale destruction, a brutal car crash as the result of distracted driving as he was texting and driving and not paying attention to the road, bloody wounds and scenes on operating tables, a lot of crashing through glass and falls from large heights. There’s also tons of martial arts fighting, fighting with magical and supernatural weapons, and other rather dark and scary stuff. For those with kids, this might be one you don’t want your really young ones to see with all of the blood, gore and dark moments. It just depends on what your child can handle and what they’ve already been exposed to.

Marvel's DOCTOR STRANGE..The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton)..Photo Credit: Film Frame ..©2016 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

The doctor is an unusual, but very entertaining, member of the superhero club, and the movie’s mystical elements provide food for thought as well as fun.

Before you go out and see the film (but even if you have seen it these are still some fun facts to know!) check out these fun facts about Doctor Strange!

Marvel's DOCTOR STRANGE..Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch)..Photo Credit: Film Frame ..©2016 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

*Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” was shot in London, New York, Kathmandu (Nepal) and Hong Kong.

* Steve Ditko’s comic book art influenced the environments that were created for the film.

Dreamworks Trolls in Theaters November 4th!

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Erin

Dreamworks Trolls

By Erin

Dreamworks Trolls is on it’s way to theaters this Friday and I had the opportunity to screen the movie a little early and attend a special press junket held at DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox a couple of weekends ago. We chatted with Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick and got a preview of the many things from the Trolls world that we can now experience for ourselves like some yummy frozen yogurt, their awesome songs, and some cool wigs so you can actually BE a troll yourself!

So what did I think of the movie? Trolls is a cute, colorful adventure inspired by the tall-haired troll dolls that first became popular in the 1960s. I remember having a lot of these as a kid, which was a big factor that drew me to this movie (besides Justin Timberlake lol). Princess Poppy (Anna Kendrick) partners up with grumpy pessimist Branch (Justin Timberlake) to rescue her friends from the crazy troll-hungry Bergens. There are lessons they learn about inner happiness, never giving up, and being proud of who you are. The film has a very fuzzy, felted look to it, that filmmakers took a lot of time to create which softens some of the danger, but little kids are still likely to be scared by the greedy, hungry giant Bergens. Glitter farts of Poppy’s sparkly friend, Guy Diamond are sure to make viewers of all ages laugh, along with all of the catchy songs, the strong themes of friendship and empathy, and the fun characters. The messages are positive and easy to understand. Happiness is inside everyone, if you know where and how to find it. You shouldn’t have to change who you are to get someone to like you. Musical numbers are used to move the story along and have a lot of meaning to the storyline. Classics like “The Sound of Silence” enter at just the right moments and often at just the right time to make you chuckle. With all the colors, music, action, and glitter; there’s so much to look at and listen to all at once. This is a movie the whole family can enjoy.

Meet the Cast

After a very fun day full of good food, crafts, and previewing the Trolls items you will see below, we got to meet the cast and directors of the Movie Trolls. Here is a little bit of what they shared with us about the movie and the music.

We all wanted to know from Justin what were some of the unique challenges between doing the songs that are covers versus his own songs.

Justin Timberlake: Well, every song was pretty situational, whether it be for a comedic purpose or dramatic purpose. So I think you really just kind of break down each moment and you know, at the end of the day it’s theatrical as well. For instance, there were some great opportunities to write songs to use almost like you’re writing your own source music. The roller-skating scene to write the song for Ariana Grande, that worked out. I saw the scene and they had something else tempted in there and went back and sort of rethought that. But when you’re using a song like ‘The Sound of Silence’, as soon as you hear those two opening, it’s so recognizable that immediately all the adults in the room laugh. And then with something like ‘True Colors’, I can’t imagine actually having to write a song after hearing that in that scene and just it literally is like it worked so well. I’ll shut up now.

What attracted Anna to this particular project and was it different than any other musical element?

Anna Kendrick: Well, I think music and animation, I grew up in an era when all animated films were musicals, so that made perfect sense to me. And I didn’t know that, when I signed on I didn’t know how much of it was going to be covers and that just made it even more fun. Because I already knew the words and stuff. But, when I was recording ‘Sounds of Silence’ I was like, “Oh my God, my dad is going to be so excited,” because we listened to this in the car when I was growing up. Singing these songs is just so cool. Like I can’t believe I get to do it. So, I mean, I would say that because if Justin had been a part of it before I signed on that would have obviously been a huge factor. And so the fact that he came on after that I was like, “This is like getting better and better. Like is someone going to give me a Ferrari next? This is the best job I’ve ever had.”

Exploring the Islands and Legend of Moana

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Erin

Exploring the Islands and Legend of Moana

By Erin

*I attended an early press day as a guest of Disney for purposes of this post. All thoughts and opinions remain my own.*

Tenacious teenager Moana (voice of Auliʻi Cravalho) recruits a demigod named Maui (voice of Dwayne Johnson) to help her become a master wayfinder and sail out on a daring mission to save her people. ©2016 Disney

Not too long ago, I introduced you to the Characters of Moana. We had learned all about the creative process of creating the characters for Moana. We met the members of the team who brought Disney’s adventurous heroine to life, from the initial sketches to costume design to animation – and how a lot of research helped to bring Moana to life and inspired the artists. Moana is set to be the 56th film from the Walt Disney Animation Studios and will set audiences on a magical voyage across the tropical pacific. Inspired by the deep-rooted sense of community in the South Pacific, Moana will prove to be one of the best Walt Disney Animation Studio films to date. Now I want to share with you a bit about the intense research that was done to create this magical film and the history behind it.

Visual development for the island of Motunui, and the layout of the village. Artist: Andy Harkness, MOANA Art Director, Environments and Color.

Oral histories of the people and cultures of Oceania was a huge inspiration for the story. Filmmakers traveled to learn as much as possible. For centuries, the greatest navigators in the world masterfully navigated the vast Pacific, discovering the many islands of Oceania. But then, around 3,000 years ago, their voyages stopped for a millennium – and though there are theories, no one knows exactly why. “Navigation— wayfinding—is such a big part of Pacific culture,” says Musker. “Ancient Polynesians found their way across the seas, wayfinding island-to-island without the use of modern instruments, using their knowledge of nature, the stars, the waves and the currents.” The Pacific Ocean is home to thousands of islands and island nations, known to generations as Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. Many Pacific Islanders consider the entire region not in sections, but as the whole of Oceania. The islands themselves may range in size, but inhabitants of these islands consider the ocean between them very much a part of their world. A world many times bigger than the United States. Filmmakers were deeply inspired by the people who live there, the cultures they celebrate, and the history and traditions passed down from generation to generation.

Visual development for the island of Motunui. Artist: Ian Gooding, MOANA Production Designer.

“We came away from these trips not only with ideas, images and inspirations for our story, but with an even stronger resolve that we wanted to make something that the people we met would enjoy,” says Musker. “We aren’t making a documentary, of course, it’s an animated feature. But our experiences infused our imaginations in a way we hadn’t anticipated.” Clements, Musker and several members of the production team ventured first to Fiji, Samoa and Tahiti, and later to New Zealand. “We wanted to, as much as possible, avoid the ‘touristy’ things, to go deeper,” says Clements. “We wanted to meet people who grew up on islands; we wanted to listen and learn what makes these Pacific Island cultures so remarkable.” The filmmakers were invited to take to the seas, coming as close as possible to voyaging like the early explorers who inspired them. “We sailed with a Fijian navigator aboard a camakau, which is a traditional Fijian sailing vessel,” says Musker.

Horsing Around In LA

Monthly Archives: November 2016

Marvel’s Doctor Strange