Interstellar: Review

(Trailer courtesy of "Interstellar Movie" on YouTube)

By Kyle Walter

         Interstellar is a movie that you have to see.  This movie is very suspensful and will have you sitting on the edge of your seat the whole time.  If you have watched Gravity, you will like this movie just as much if not more.  This movie is a slight bit longer than Gravity, but it is definatley worth the 3 hour sit.
     
          The main problem in Interstellar is that the world is about to be destroyed and the only way to save it is to go to a different galaxy. In my opinion Interstellar is a bit more suspensful than Gravity.  Interstellar goes more in depth.  In Gravity, they never left the Earth's orbit.  Interstellar took place in another dimension and they went into different galaxies.

           There are some parts in Interstellar where it is better than Gravity, but Gravity does have its shining moments too.  I rate this movie 9 out of 10.  Overall, Interstellar is a great movie.

2014 In Review

By Zach Cooper
2014 has been an amazing year in film and entertainment! Let's look back at some of our favorite moments!


2014 SOCHI WINTER OLYMPICS: History was made as the world competed in Sochi, Russia. Team USA had 230 participants competing throughout the month of February.

(Trailer courtesy of "Warner Bros. Pictures" YouTube channel)

THE LEGO MOVIE: In February, the Warner Brothers Pictures film called The LEGO Movie hit the theaters. The movie is about a guy named Emmet who is picked as the chosen one after an evil villain named Lord Business takes over all of the LEGO world. This action-packed movie was great for the whole family!

(Video courtesy of the "disneybooks" YouTube channel)

KINGDOM KEEPERS INSIDER: Earlier in April, it was a big event for author Ridley Pearson as he released the last book of his series, The Kingdom Keepers. The series is about a group of teenagers battling a team of villains who are trying to take over the Disney Parks and Resorts. The final book of the series, The Insider was released in April. Though, it isn't exactly over. Pearson is creating another group of books that follows the adventures.

(Trailer courtesy of "Disney Movie Trailers" YouTube channel)

DISNEY'S MALEFICENT: In May, we discovered a different side to the 1959 classic "Sleeping Beauty". The movie is about Maleficent, played by Angelina Jolie, growing up in a magical world of The Moors. It sits next to a large kingdom. Soon, the two sides begin to fight. And through love, betrayal and a curse, the movie plot unfolds. Defiantly a film worth seeing.

(Trailer courtesy of the "Geek Central Blog" YouTube channel)

LEGO LEGENDS OF CHIMA WATER PARK: On May 24th, LEGOLAND California Resort opened up their all new water park themed to the "Legends of Chima" series on Cartoon Network. This three-acre water park includes a 13,000 square foot wave pool, an interactive water play area and much more.

(Video walkthrough courtesy of the "Inside the Magic" YouTube channel) 

WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER- DIAGON ALLEY: On July 8th, Universal Orlando Resort opened up the expansion of their Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Diagon Alley includes many new stores and shows. The main hype is the exhilarating attractions, like riding the Hogwarts Express and taking a journey into the deep vaults of Gringotts Bank.

(Trailer courtesy of the "MOVIES Coming Soon" YouTube channel) 

INTO THE STORM: In August, the film "Into The Storm" was released. The film begins with two sides: a group of tornado documentary filmmakers and two high school brothers, along with their father. Eventually, both sides team up, fighting back the tornado that is raging through an Oklahoma town.



2014 has been an amazing year in film and entertainment. Lets see what 2015 will bring to the table...

"Frozen Christmas Celebration": REVIEW

(Video courtesy of www.youtube.com/DisneyParks)

 By Zach Cooper

On December 25th, ABC hosted the annual Disney Parks Parade. This year it was themed to the popular film Frozen. The parade united all the Disney Resorts in the United States, including Walt Disney World, Disneyland & Aulani, in one big celebration. Plus, we even got a small performance from the island of Cataway Cay in the Bahamas (apart of Disney Cruise Line).

The two-hour special was hosted by Robin Roberts, Rob Marciano and Tim Tebow. Performances included appearances by Ariana Grande, Laura Marano, Lexi Walker, Train and more. Songs ranged from sing-alongs to Frozen and also the classic songs of the season.

I was incredibly blown away from this years parade! One thing that I liked was this year there was not much of the "parade" in it, instead more performances.

I would certainly rate this years celebration a 9/10. Really well done! I was worried about the Frozen theming for the show, but they pulled if off without overdoing it! Hats off to Disney and ABC!

A look behind the scenes of the filming for the Walt Disney World portion. 

(Courtesy of www.insidethemagic.net)

"Freeze The Night!" Begins at Disney's California Adventure Park

By Zach Cooper
Late last week was the debut of Frozen Fun's "Freeze the Night! A Family Dance Party" at Disney's California Adventure Park. Formally, the exact location was home to the themed "Mad T. Party", which brought rock-and-roll and spectacular entertainment to park on various nights.

(Video by Inside The Magic)

The new Frozen "Freeze the Night" dance party includes special lighting effects, goodies and even ice sculpting. There is also a meet and greet with the Marshmallow from Frozen.

(Video by Inside The Magic)

"Freeze the Night" is all apart of FROZEN FUN, a large list of Frozen entertainment at the Disneyland Resort! It will officially debut January 7th of 2015. For more, visit disneyparks.disney.go.com/frozenfun


SOURCES:
Disney Parks Blog
Inside The Magic

Ending 2014 In The "Box Office"

By Zach Cooper

2014 has been an amazing year in films! We have been "awesome" with The LEGO Movie and "Marveled" with Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Don't be folded, the excitement of the year has not ended just yet! This month, we will leave 2014 with a "bang" in movies! Below are just two of the many that will be debuting this month.

THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES
-Release Date: December 17th (USA)
-Director: Peter Jackson

“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town.  

Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain.  

As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide – unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance."

 www.youtube.com/thehobbitbattle




NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB
-Release Date: December 19th (USA)
-Director: John Hamburg

"Get ready for the wildest and most adventure-filled Night at the Museum ever as Larry (Ben Stiller) spans the globe, uniting favorite and new characters while embarking on an epic quest to save the magic before it is gone forever." 

www.youtube.com/nightatthemuseumtomb



SOURCES:
-Each link provided leads to where we found the trailer on YouTube. It may or may not be on the channel where the trailer originated. 
-The synopsis/summary of each movie was found in the description of each YouTube video. (same link provided.)
-YouTube channels used: Warner Bros. Pictures, MOVIECLIPS Trailers. 

"Frozen Christmas Celebration" Taping at Disneyland & Walt Disney World

By Zach Cooper
Since the 1980's, the magic of Disney and Christmas has been brought home to televisions nationwide.  For many years, it was called the "Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade," but this year, the name has been replaced with the title of the billion-dollar film, FROZEN.

Earlier in November, the Disneyland Resort lit up with cameras and lights for the multi-day taping. Special guests and preformers included Lucy Hale, Trisha Yearwood, Trey Songz and also Train.

(Video by www.insidethemagic.net)

This week in Orlando, Walt Disney World hosted their own taping for the show. The 3-day taping included performances by Ariana Grande, Prince Royce and Lexi Walker.

(Video by attractionsmagazine.com)

The parade also included a full lineup of Disney characters, which included all of your beloved friends from Frozen.

The "Frozen Christmas Celebration" airs on ABC December 25th, 2014 at 10am EST/ 9am CST & PST

Sources:
Parade cover courtesy of parks.disney.com/christmas-parade

Sarah Michelle Gellar Lights The LEGO Christmas Tree at LEGOLAND California

 

By Zach Cooper
Last night, Emmy award winner Sarah Michelle Gellar and her family helped Santa pull the switch to light up the parks 30-foot tall LEGO Christmas tree inside LEGOLAND California Park.

 

That evening, LEGOLAND California Resort presented a check for $10,000, written to Baby Buggy Inc, which supports families with young kids. Baby Buggy donates gently used diapers, cribs, clothing and other essentials. Sarah was given the gift of a LEGO Star Wars Death Star ornament.

"When LEGOLAND asked me to light the tree and at the same time do it as a way to raise money for Baby Buggy, which is all about children in poverty, it's marrying my two favorite holiday traditions."

- Sarah Michelle Gellar 

After Gellar and her kids lit up the tree, setting off thousands of twinkling lights, she headed over to the new ice skating rink at the front of the park. 

Holiday Snow Days and Winter Nights runs now until January 4th, 2015 at LEGOLAND California Resort.