Tag Archives: star wars

Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – more star warrrrs, nuthin’ but star waaars!

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is the first stand-alone film installment in the epic space opera of Star Wars Anthology series. Rogue One is directed by Gareth Edwards, written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy, from a story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta. It stars; Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, DonnieYen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. 
The plot follows Jyn Erso (Jones), the daughter of the designer of the Death Star, and her quest to retrieve the plans for destroying it. Continue reading

Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Star Wars! nuthin’ but Staar Waars!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is finally out. This is truly the most anticipated movie of the year. Now that the world has been given ample time to watch this film, here, we, go!
The Force Awakens takes place about thirty years after Luke became a Jedi and the second Death Star was destroyed. Now he’s disappeared and the First Order (what became of the Galactic Empire) and the Resistance (backed by the Republic and led by General Leia) search the galaxy to find him.

Continue reading

Star Wars Parody Music Videos – And Another One – All About That Base.

So, if you haven’t noticed in your Facebook stream, there is a new music video parody of Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass.  Nerdist.com presents Team Unicorns’ Star Wars Parody, “All About the Base (No Rebel)”

Meghan Trainors original song is already pretty catchy with it’s beat and lyrics.  Team Unicorn continues that with their take.  And maybe, I’m being too factoid nerdy but their lyrics are a bit off.  In the repeated chorus, they say:

“The emperor said don’t worry about the size. He says, “It’s not like it’d be blown up twice by the same Jedi”

And I could be wrong, but I believe Lando destroyed the Death Star the second time.  Luke was in the middle of a father-son battle with an Emperor audience. So mild continuity issue with that. Other than that, pretty entertaining and otherwise, good lyrical playfulness.

Of course, this isn’t the first and it won’t be the last of music parodies to Star Wars franchise.  It’s been a while, but Galactic Empire State of Mind is still rattling in my brain.

2012 Comikaze: Talking With Cosplay Fans (Day 1)

We didn’t capture as much footage of last weekend as we had hoped. Sorry guys. There’s no costume contest video 🙁

Check out some interviews with cosplay fans below.

00:00 – Steampunk fans tell us why they love the culture. It’s very accepting but remember to bring some katanas for self-defense

02:03 – Marvel Girl and a gender bender Catwoman. He loves her because she has good taste. Marvel Girl wanted to take a picture with Stan Lee. She wants another X-Men movie done right and Catwoman agrees. Her favorite moment is watching other fans loose their cool while meeting Stan Lee

04:20 – Henchman of the Mighty Monarch (Venture Brothers) are a little older than most of the kids out at Comikaze but they just as much spirit and enthusiasm. They would love to see a movie made or a Dr. Strange.

07:10 – Tifa Lockheart is a standard cosplay character at conventions and this one picked Tifa Lockheart because of peer pressure. She games a lot and hopes to one day work for Disney.

10:02 – This New California Republic Soldier (Fallout) is somewhat obscure but still gets recognized by gamers. He wanted to cosplay a character that was less known and he really pulled it off. He’s studying history but doesn’t know what he’ll do with the degree. His flag doubles up as a signature canvas.

13:10 – The R2D2 couple caught the attention of many people and cameras. All you could hear is “Awwwww”

14:28 – Walter White (Breaking Bad) is a fan of the show and shares with us the secrets to making the meth used in the show (raspberry rock candy)

16:09 – I ran into a lot of memory card issues while recording this interview. What a shame. Suki (Avatar: The Last Airbender) wanted to show her face entirely. She made the costume herself and worked on her costume for months. She liked the costumes of the movie but doesn’t offer any praise for the movie.

18:25 – Steampunk Storm (X-Men) is part of a group of cosplay friends who really turned heads with their rendition of a steampunk X-Men. It’s hard to tell, but she’s a bit older than she looks (came to this country in the 60’s).

WonderCon: Talking with Cosplay Fans (Day 3)

So this post should have been up much sooner but I was busy doing other things.

00:00 – Joker and Harlequin loves that his character is so sporadic

01:27 – Captain America loves his character’s love for America

03:18 – A Underworld death dealer has very convincing fangs talks about a gender bender cosplayer that will scar her for life

05:55 – Peter Pan loves never growing up and cosplaying other Disney characters

07:10 – Ariel (Little Mermaid) claims she is not a hoarder but wants you to visit her under the sea

08:50 – Skull kid (Zelda) is a mini-boss is older than he sounds and supports PETA

10:35 – Kato (Green Hornet) thought Jay Chow did a great job as Kato even though he didn’t like the movie much.

12:13 – Talon is way into his character says the craziest thing he’s seen is his creator nerdgasming over him

14:07 – this original character is a steampunk/rogue warrior is very impressive looking. Check out her cosplay page on Facebook

15:47 – Kromp is known for stealing, drug deals, putting children on sex trade, and thinks elmo is a unic. He gives indispensable advice for surviving the ghetto. Check out more kromp at puppetmayhem.com

18:30 – The pedo bear thinks we’ll believe he is a pokemon player. He’s studying child development and knows kids love candy

19:59 – storm trooper escorts Chewbacca

20:18 – Scarecrow’s outfit has gone through several redesigns

22:05 – Red Robin doesn’t care for the new Batman movie. He doesn’t like the look of Nolan’s versions of the Batman

23:18 – Star Wars cosplayers gives a special message to George Lucas

24:33 – The Ice King loves his character’s swag

25:25 – Yuna (Final Fantasy) loves her kickass character

WonderCon 2012: Interview with Alex “Ultra” Buckner (Ultra Sabers)

One of the busiest booths at WonderCon was run by Ultra Sabers. Workers were constantly moving, showing off, and assembling light sabers. A convention with avid fans was definitely the right place to sell a lot of sabers.

I talked with Alex Buckner about how the company started and was rooted in building his kids light sabers that were more durable than the retail ones that were expensive and often broke so easily. Through growing requests from friends, Alex recognized his talent of making light sabers could be turned into a business. One of the main selling points of Ultra Sabers is the fact they are produced with cosplay choreography specifically in mind. Unlike other sabers in the market, you can strike Ultra Sabers together and not worry about lights going out.

As far as unconventional light saber blades goes, Alex noted some common requests include trident blades, curved blades, and very long blades.

If you thought they looked busy at the convention, Ultra Sabers knows how to crank out light sabers. Alex noted that a comic book store once ordered 500 blades.

Although these blades won’t actually disembowel your foes, I was curious about the steps necessary to fly with a light saber. Alex noted after proper disassembly, they can be transported and recognized as a flash light by the TSA.

The journey to a perfect light saber is never ending. When I poked Alex for what the future holds for saber wielding fans, he was tight lipped about details but hinted at advanced components for the next generation of sabers.

Check out Ultra Sabers on the web: ultrasabers.com and like them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UltraSabers

Trying to Understand Tebowing

Victory poses.  You’ve seen them before in video games. After a winning match, Ryu, from the Street Fighter series, faces away his opponent and poses as some magical wind blows by moving his head band.  Mario even strikes a pose when he finishes a level.

Even people in real life have memorable poses.  Rocky Balboa lifts both his arms triumphantly after running up the Philadelphia Museum of Art front steps. WWE’s Dwight “The Rock” Johnson lifts up one arm and one eyebrow, as he stands against the top corner of the wrestling ring.

Last night, I watched the Denver Broncos win over the New York Jets (17 to 13). I also watched Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow perform his signature pose at the end of the game – “Tebowing”. Basically, the pose consists of getting down on one knee and start praying even if everyone else around you is doing something completely different.

Much like ‘Planking’, Tebowing is a growing viral phenomenon.  Heck, there’s even a site called tebowing.com that allows users to submit photos of their own pose.

After some thought, I came to the following theory.   Tebowing is simply another victory pose.  The only thing missing from Tebowing is Final Fantasy VII’s victory fanfare music.  Play this video from Youtube and look at the photo above and it will change your perspective.

In the end, this could be just another internet meme gone viral. No matter what this phenomenon is, all I know is that Tebow keeps doing his pose, because he keeps on winning games.

The Force Is Strong with Comikaze Expo!

Just when you thought meeting Stan Lee and Elvira was awesome, word on the street is that Mark Hamill will also be attending Comikaze Expo this weekend!

Just let that sink in for few seconds.

Guess what, tickets are still $12 for one day or $20 for a two day pass!

In case you don’t know (I really hope you do know who he is), Mark Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord Ozai in Nickelodeon‘s Avatar: The Last Airbender, and various other animated series, films, and video games.

Check his IMDB page or Wikipedia page for a full list of credits.

He’ll be there at the Sushi Girl Panel Nov 5th at 5pm! Room 306AB!  I for one, can’t wait for this weekend!

Source

Darth Vader say Noooooo!!

Star Wars Fans Say No to Darth Vader’s Noooooo!!!

“Noooooo!!!”

What’s that the sound of? It’s the scream of about a million Star Wars fans*, upon learning the addition of a new sound byte to their beloved original Star Wars trilogy.

The original Star Wars trilogy is being released on Blu-rays. Some review copies have come out and in the final climactic scene of Return of the Jedi, where Darth Vader saves Luke by throwing the emperor over the railing, Vader now says “No. Noooooo!!!”

Watch the following clip (from WideAsleepFilm):

Many devote fans do not like this addition. In fact, they loathe George Lucas even more. (Remember, how much hate Lucas got for adding Hayden Christensen to the end Jedi-ghost scene of Return of the Jedi?) There are more changes in the Blu-ray, such as the animal scream that Obi-wan uses to scare off the Sand people in Episode 4, or that Ewoks can blink now.

No one likes messing with a “winning formula”, especially Star Wars fans. Time and time again, it seems George Lucas, whether he means to or not, tests the loyalty of his fans by adding things that weren’t part of the original, or by creating a new trilogy that is both laughable and cringe-worthy (episodes 1-3).

As much at it hurts not to have Star Wars in Blu-ray beauty, in the end, if you don’t like it… don’t support it.

What are your thoughts on this addition?

Watch more Star Wars Blu-ray additions on WideAsleepFilm YouTube

 

 

* – Rough guess of the number of fans screaming.

A Look At Cosplay Fans (Los Angeles Anime Expo 2011)

This year, I attended my first Anime Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I had a brief love affair with anime during high school but I have since been a bit out of touch with the latest franchises and hottest series. The wonderful thing about expos is that there really are no qualifications into getting in besides your ticket and an open mind. One can visit to see characters they love have developed or discover and fall in love with new ones. The Los Angeles Anime Expo is North America’s biggest convention that caters to hardcore fans and recent converts alike. One of the distinct features of an anime expo is that the show isn’t just made up of vendors, publishers, and creators. The fans play a huge role in creating a world that attendees are transported to once they enter the building and sky’s the limit when it comes to how far some fans will go to express how much much they love the genre.

Here are some things I discovered while at the Anime Expo, watching and talking to cosplay fans

Disconnect from reality

Anime has a huge following but relative to live action, it’s fan base is still considered minor. When you think about it, anime isn’t very different. It’s all about story telling. Unlike western cartoons and animation, there’s an anime series for every genre one could ask for: sci-fi, love, action, adventure, comedy, and that other category (the one with tentacles and other interesting visuals). The great part about a scene that’s so big is that outsiders like myself can’t even tell the difference. Once you take the red pill,  even security guards, janitors, and information booth attendants look like they are cosplaying!

Come as you are

Anime comes in all different forms. Artists embrace liberties to alter your notion of realism with elements like gravity defying hair, disproportionate female measurements, vibrant eye colors, vampire fangs,  giant impractical weapons… just search youtube for clips and you’ll get the point. Humans, in contrast, are pretty boring. We come in a few sizes and colors and that’s it. The key part of making a great cosplay outfit is really ignoring any of your limitations. Disregard differences in height, weight, skin tone, age, sex, cup size (In fact, NEVER get implants for any reason. It will just look even more silly if you are cosplaying), ethnicity, and MOST of all, don’t be discouraged to cosplay if you have braces. Regarding age, it actually seems the younger you are, the more drive you have at making an awesome costume. I was totally blown away discovering that high school students were making such detailed, professional looking costumes. Maybe there’s a connection between growing up and losing a connection with dreaming.

You don’t need THAT much time to make your costume

Some of THE best costumes/makeup I saw were done by fans that claimed the time they spent was only days. Don’t listen to what Hollywood tells you. All the required materials can be found at your local Michaels/Home Depot! The most important ingredient in your costume is sheer determination. If that means calling sick from your H&M part time job or missing a day of class to complete your costume, it will be worth it. Honestly though, some costumes obviously require more time than others. I met one fellow who cosplayed a Space Marine Scout who spent two months making his awesome costume. It definitely turned heads. On the flip side, the most affordable costumes I saw included a simple inkjet print and some tape to cover your face (I’m looking at you Mr. Trollface)

Mashups = fun!

My biggest takeway from the Anime Expo was discovering the Pokemen. That’s not a typo! I’m talking about the fit Asian guys who wear bright colors, suspenders, and wafer sunglasses. Who says you can’t add your own twist on a series.

Mobility is inversely related to costume appeal

Let’s face it: there are a lot of guys into photography, and what do guys LOVE? Duh! Girls cosplaying. This is Los Angeles. Fashion is always evolving. We’ve seen attractive people in those same outfits our favorite celebrities rock. But the Anime Expo is like an alternate fashion show for outfits that will never make it to retailers. So if we see fantasy become reality, we are most certainly obligated to document it. If you’ve invested enough time and resources into your costume, chances are people will stop you to take pictures and this is how that goes:

Me: “Awesome work! Mind if I take a picture?”

Fan: “Sure”

Me: “Great… 1 sec”

(30 seconds to pull out phone from pocket and switch to camera mode or 1 minutes to put down backpack and take out camera out)

Me: “Cool! 1 sec”

(5 shots quickly taken that all look identical)

Me: “Oh shoot! I had it on the wrong setting. Can I redo those shots?”

Just remember: that exact scene will happen with multiple people all starting at different times. Looking for the most popular person on the floor? Just stand still and look for the person with the biggest crowd around him/her looking around in all angles in confusion trying to figure out which camera to pose for.

Sorry ladies. The ratio of topless guys with 6-packs to pretty girls in costume is roughly 0:(pretty girls in costume)

Have fun

Trolling is not allowed! If you think there’s any costume that you can’t do, you’re doing it wrong! One of my favorites was a mid twenties red-head guy who cosplayed Misty from Pokemon. Check out the video after the break for some Q & A with cosplay fans.