Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's always fun to celebrate Halloween by carving your favorite characters into a the face of a pumpkin. I'm sure the pumpkin enjoys it, too!

“The wind outside nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats.
Tom Skelton shivered. Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows' Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades. From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells: gourds being cut, pies being baked.”
― Ray Bradbury, The Halloween Tree

Chip 'n' Dale

Here we find Kermit the Frog, playin' his banjo and singing!

Villains Release Dates - Disney Infinity 2.0

According to the Disney Store online, the Villians, Yondu, and Falcon now have release dates. While January and especially March seems a long way off, we still have the two unknown characters to join the game in 2015. Hopefully that will tide us over until we can get our hands on Loki and the Green Goblin.

Marvel's "Avengers: Age of Ultron" - Teaser Trailer (OFFICIAL)

It's here. It's mind-blowing. It's awesome. It's Ultron. It's the Avengers!



Take a gander at the beginning of the end. We get some good looks at Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Ultron. As well as a haunting version of Pinocchio's "I've Got no Strings."

Disney's Moana for 2016

Ron Clements and Jon Musker (the guys responsible for Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Frog, and our childhoods), are back with a brand-new film for Walt Disney Animation Studios, Moana. The film tells the story of Moana, a spirited teenager on an impossible mission to fulfill her ancestors’ quest. It’s set in the ancient South Pacific world of Oceania, and Moana, a born navigator, sets sail in search of a fabled island. During her incredible journey, she teams up with her hero, the legendary demi-god Maui, to traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous sea creatures, breathtaking underworlds and ancient folklore.

“Moana is indomitable, passionate and a dreamer with a unique connection to the ocean itself,” Musker said. “She’s the kind of character we all root for, and we can’t wait to introduce her to audiences.” Well, Mr. Musker, we cannot wait to see more from the film and meet Moana as well! The film comes to theaters in late 2016.

Review: Doctor Who - Mummy on the Orient Express

Doctor Who

Mummy on the Orient Express

A murder, a train, and the Doctor, all in one place. This episode finds our heroes on their last hurrah together, as Clara had decided previously that she couldn't keep traveling withe the Doctor. It was strain on her and a strain on her relationships on Earth. Their last hurrah, however, would prove to bring them back together.

An ancient curse is running rampant on the Orient Express in space. A confined little setting that allows, what looks like, folks from the 1920s to witness bizarre events that lead to the deaths of a few passengers. A curse known as the Foretold, a mummy that only appears to its victims and kills in 66 seconds. It's a fun little curse, but we don't get much explanation about the curse and the wrapped cadaver's motivation. I quite enjoyed the idea of a fear that only you can see that is truly real. What do you do with your last 66 seconds? Does it really matter how you behave when you know your in danger? 

Clara ends up trapped most of this episode away from the Doctor, perhaps allowing her to reflect on her travels and how much she really enjoys them, even though she's in danger much of the time. 

The theme of soldiers comes back up again as we find out a little bit of information about the Foretold's origins and the train conductor. Both soldiers of some kind. The Doctor sure has been running into a lot of them this season! Is that important? Yes. Yes it is.

Even though things work out just fine, the Foretold disappears (ending a 5000 year old fairy tale) and the artificial intelligence known as GUS, who is the mastermind with vague motivation behind the Foretold and the voice of the train itself, is destroyed, many things remain unanswered. Who is GUS? What did the Foretold really want? Why 66 seconds? 

In the end, Clara decides to continue traveling with the Doctor. And who wouldn't?

Final Thoughts:

It was a fun episode with a great setting and an interesting challenge to overcome. I find that this Doctor is all about slightly morbid Curiosity as a theme (the insides of a Dalek, the creatures that live in the dark, etc), whereas the Eleventh Doctor was mostly about Hope. Let's see where this curiosity takes us!

Profile: Battra

First Appearance: Godzilla Vs. Mothra: Battle for Earth

Twelve thousand years ago, the spirit of Earth created Battra. Battra was created to destroy a device built by an ancient civilization to control Earth's climate. Battra began to do his job well beyond his purpose and Mothra was forced to intervene. There was a huge battle between Mothra and Battra. When Mothra finally won, Battra was laid to rest in the North Sea, while Mothra survived in the mountains with the Cosmos. Unlike his benevolent twin Mothra, Battra sees humanity as a blight on Earth, and won't stop until humanity is removed from the planet. It's because of this that Battra came into conflict with Mothra, who seems intent on protecting humanity.

Thousands of years later, Battra was awoken by a meteorite in Siberia. Battra swam to the coast of Japan and burrowed, reappearing and attacking Nagoya. The JSDF fought Battra but were no match, and Battra left a wrecked city behind as he burrowed again. Battra appeared in the waters off the archipelago of the Philippines, where Godzilla and Mothra were battling. Battra engaged Godzilla, who was the bigger threat. The two monsters battled down to the sea floor in the Philippine Trench, where a volcanic eruption supposedly killed them. But Battra and Godzilla lived on, appearing near Mount Fuji, with Godzilla exiting an erupting volcano and Battra emerging from the ocean's depths. Upon metamorphosing from his larval form, he flew to Tokyo to exact his revenge on Mothra. The sinister moth seemed to have an upper hand against his less violent counterpart, but soon, in the heat of the battle, Godzilla appeared. Mothra and Battra teamed up to combat Godzilla together in defense of both Earth and humankind. Once Godzilla was defeated, Battra and Mothra carried him out to sea. However, Godzilla, still conscious, killed Battra by attacking him with an atomic ray at point-blank range while he was being transported. Godzilla and Battra dropped into the ocean below. Mothra then flew in a circle and placed a seal over the final resting place of Battra, honoring his sacrifice.

"Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy" Animated Series - NYCC Test Footage

As if we couldn't get enough of Dancing Baby Groot and the Guardians of the Galaxy, Disney let's this little raccoon out of the trash can! 

Guardians of the Galaxy is coming in 2015 as animated series to Disney XD. Test footage was shown at New York Comic Con by Marvel Entertainment. 

Any thoughts? Yay or nay for this one. I'm indifferent. I've been pleasantly surprised by The Avengers: Earth's Mightist Heroes, Avengers Assemble, and Ultimate Spider-Man. I'll wait to watch it before I judge it.

Review: Phineas and Ferb - Night of the Living Pharmacists

Phineas and Ferb: Night of the Living Pharmacists

"Lots of Me."

I had thought that Phineas and Ferb was not coming back for more episodes. I'm happy to say I thought wrong! After one new episode, the Halloween special aired. This episode finds our heroes battling an army of Doof replicants, Isabella tries to finally tell Phineas how she feels to earn a patch, Candace wants to be more nonchalant and cool, and Stacy is hooking up a home entertainment system with lots of remotes.

The episode has a wonderful opening sequence that is very much reminiscent of Saul Bass and his work on Hitchcock films. The whole plot revolves an evening in which Doofenshmirtz creates an -inator that will make his brother, Roger, repulsive, allowing him to take over the Tri-State area. However, things turn ironic and everyone starts turning into Doof replicants, complete with lab coat. These replicants can only say "Lots of me." And, if someone is touched by a replicant, they become a replicant, too!

As this repulsive disease is spreading across Danville, everyone quickly ends up in trouble. Except Stacy, who is safe inside hooking up her new home entertainment system with a back-up generator, oblivious to what is happening outside while watching Grievance movies. I love that the fictional movie franchise crops up again here.

Phineas and Ferb, in the meantime, have built a device that makes you rubberized so you can bounce like a ball. It turns out their rubberized skin prevents them from becoming a replicant, as the rubber protects against the static shock that transfers the repulsiveness, though it does wear off.  Eventually, the boys to have come up with another method of protection. Why? Because Isabella has disappeared and no one can find her! In a race to find Isabella, things quickly go down hill. It may be the Dawn of the Living Pharmacists!

The episode has four new songs, including one about triangulation, which was very entertaining. There are a few cameos as well. George Romero is a newscaster and Shaun and Ed, from Shaun of the Dead, discuss the implausibility of non-living clothing being part of the transformation. They all turn into Doof replicants.

Final Thoughts:
The episode was a lot of fun, poking fun at horror films in general with clever dialogue and observations. The story moved along at a good pace and tied all of the subplots together nicely. It even had a wonderfully tongue-in-cheek ending. Overall, a great Halloween special to add to the other amazing Halloween Phineas and Ferb episodes!

Review: Doctor Who Kill the Moon

Doctor Who

Kill the Moon

This episode finds the Doctor and Clara traveling to the moon to change the course of mankind. But this time is a little different - the Doctor stays out of it! 

When Clara tries to get the Doctor to apologize for calling a student "not special," the Doctor makes a bold decision to prove himself. Clara, the Doctor, and Courtney are whisked away to the moon in the Tardis where something universe altering is about to occur.

This episode is mostly about decisions. People are making a lot of decisions, from deciding to go to the moon, to explode 100 nuclear bombs, to save the moon, or to just run. Many things hang in the balance in this episode - future of mankind and the moon, as well as a relationship that was already slightly strained between the Doctor and Clara.

We find that companions are probably the best when traveling with the Doctor, rather than trying to live two lives. Clara begins to realize, or perhaps Danny Pink has had some influence, that the Doctor's life, and therefore her life, are difficult to balance. Hard decisions must be made and the Doctor will not always tell you the right way.

I really liked that the Doctor stepped out of this episode for a little bit. He left everything up to three humans who, right or wrong, were going to make a very human decision. One that would change the course of the universe.

This episode brought up some interesting ideas about what the Doctor knows and doesn't know. Did he know that Courtney was special and was just saying she wasn't to help push her along? Contrary to what the Doctor claimed about grey areas in his mind, he seemed to clearly know the outcome of the situation, but not how the decision was going to be made perhaps. This Doctor is a keeper of secrets, mores than any other. He is dark and brooding sometimes, but all for good reason. 

Final thoughts:

I liked the episode just fine. This season is really driving home the idea of what it is like being a companion to the Doctor. It affects you. Inside and out. Your decisions. Your life. Your way of thinking. Clara has a lot of thinking to do now. She's a wonderful companion and brings  avery human soul to the show, much like Donna Noble did.

Inside Out Teaser Trailer

Disney*Pixar has finally released a little more about Inside Out! This time, in teaser trailer form. In true Pixar trailer fashion, we get a quick recap of why we love Pixar movies so much and then jump into the  new film.

It's a fun trailer that doesn't tell us too much, but does show some neat visual representations of the mind. Such as orbs that contain memories that are somehow moved and stored in the brain. We're looking forward to this movie!

Directed by Pete Docter and with a cast that includes Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black, Mindy Kaling, Phyllis Smith, and of course, John Ratzenberger, with music by Michael Giacchino (one of our favorites!), Inside Out premieres on June 19, 2015.

Profile: Cri-Kee

First Appearance: Mulan (1998)

Cri-Kee is one lucky bug. At least, he wants you to believe that. Loyal companion to Mushu and Mulan, Cri-Kee is a side-kick no one would want to be without. Either caught or purchased by Grandmother Fa, Cri-Kee is given to Mulan during her matchmaker session. However, the lucky bug proves to be anything but lucky, causing chaos during the session and ending in Mulan bringing dishonor to her family.  Cri-kee, having sympathy for Mulan, joins Mushu in trying to get Mulan back after she flees to take her father’s place in battle. Eventually he proves to be lucky, narrowly escaping every peril and dangerous event that befalls the unlikely cast of characters and eventually bringing down Shan Yu.

Here’s hoping Cri-Kee eventually makes an appearance in Disney Infinity 2.0. I’m sure Spider-Man could use a lucky bug side-kick.