Auction: Collection of Disney Artist Rolly Crump

Auction: Collection of Disney Artist Rolly Crump

Posted on April 15, 2018 at 9:12 am

Copyright Disney 1960
Rolly Crump is a true Disney Legend, an artist and designer who helped create some of Disneyland’s most iconic images in attractions like the Tiki Room, the Haunted Mansion, and It’s a Small World. His lifelong collection of Disney treasures is being auctioned April 28, 2018 by Van Eaton Galleries and the gorgeous catalogue can be viewed online. It includes animation cells, drawings, posters, correspondence, props, and Crump’s own stories about the objects.

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Cool Stuff
Get Ready for Avengers: Infinity War (a Crib Sheet)

Get Ready for Avengers: Infinity War (a Crib Sheet)

Posted on April 13, 2018 at 3:56 pm

Copyright Disney/Marvel 2018
A lot is happening in “Avengers: Infinity War,” opening April 27, 2018, and there are a lot of characters and locations in 240 action-packed minutes. Some refresher/background:

Characters include the Avengers we already know: Iron Man, Captain America, Ant Man, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Black Widow, Thor, Hawkeye, Hulk, Dr. Strange (all of whom except Black Widow and Hawkeye have had their own movies), plus the secondary characters like Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, and Heimdal and a few who are sometimes on our side, sometimes against us characters: Loki, Scarlet Witch, Bucky (glimpsed at the end of “Black Panther”), War Machine, Jarvis, Nebula, plus the “Guardians of the Galaxy” group, including Star Lord/Peter, Gamora, Drax, Groot, and Rocky Racoon.

The bad guy is Thanos, played by Josh Brolin, who basically wants to control or destroy everyone and everything. For that he needs all of the infinity stones, some of which we have already seen. Nerdist has a great, detailed breakdown of the stones and their history and powers.

Basically, all you need to know is that the bad guy is going to destroy everything and the good guys in various quippy combinations, are going to do their best to stop him, and if they can’t, of course they will AVENGE!

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Comic book/Comic Strip/Graphic Novel Understanding Media and Pop Culture
Aardvark

Aardvark

Posted on April 12, 2018 at 5:27 pm

B
Lowest Recommended Age: Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for mature thematic issues, language, some sexuality and violence
Profanity: Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs: Some drinking, references to psychotropic medication
Violence/ Scariness: Some violence, character injured, references to sad deaths
Diversity Issues: None
Date Released to Theaters: April 13, 2018
Copyright 2018 Great Point Media

“Aardvark” has three thoughtful performances and a couple of intriguing interactions, but is ultimately undermined by an underwritten script. The parts are greater than the whole.

Zachary Quinto, who also produced, plays Josh, and we meet him on his first visit to a new therapist, which conveniently gives us a chance to learn very quickly that (1) he is underemployed in a coffee shop but sees it as progress so he must have been pretty badly off, (2) he has plenty of money, but keeps it crumpled up in his pocket so does not seem too on top of things, and (3) he has a brother who — he says — is a successful and very talented actor named Craig, and who is back in their home town for the first time in many years.

Josh is clearly fragile, but is he an unreliable narrator? Should we believe him? The new therapist, Emily (Jenny Slate) is not sure, and neither are well. Josh emphasizes that his brother is such a gifted actor that he can appear as anyone. In a couple of exceptional scenes, Josh speaks to an older homeless white woman and a black cop, who — are we seeing into his mind? — turn out to be Craig.

Is there a Craig? Is he anything like Josh’s description? We probably have concluded it is unlikely as perhaps Emily has, too, until he does, in fact, show up at Emily’s door, played by Jon Hamm. And this is where the movie starts to run out of ideas.

Slate gives an underwritten character as much depth as possible, and two intriguing encounters suggest that perhaps there were other versions of the story that provided more background (or should have). It is disappointing that writer/director Brian Shoaf could not come up with a less well-worn set of conflicts for her. Hamm continues to be one of today’s most thoughtful and adept performers. Especially in his early scenes, Hamm is able to show us the personality distortion of Craig’s years of semi-stardom (as the lead in a popular television series) and distance from his home and his brother. And Quinto is perceptive as he portrays Josh in different stages of his illness, with and without medication.

It is very good to see a movie about someone with mental illness who is not portrayed as cute or a savant, and especially good to see one that grapples with the survivor guilt and exhaustion of family members. Shoaf shows some promise as a writer and director and we look forward to what he comes next.

Parents should know that this movie’s themes include severe mental illness and psychotropic medications, references to sad loss of family members, some violence, strong language, sexual references and situation

Family discussion: Why didn’t Craig want to see Josh? What did Josh miss when he was taking his medication?

If you like this, try; “Entanglement,” “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

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Drama movie review Movies -- format Movies -- Reviews
Royal Wedding Watch on PBS

Royal Wedding Watch on PBS

Posted on April 11, 2018 at 4:43 pm

It seems just yesterday we watched his parents get married, but now we are looking forward to the wedding of Prince Harry and his American bride, Meghan Markle. Not since Princess Grace married Prince Rainier of Monaco has there been such a real-life Cinderella story, and the prince and his bride have captivated the world with their obvious affection and commitment to good works.

Today, PBS announced Royal Wedding Watch, premiering Monday-Thursday, May 14-17, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET and Friday, May 18, 10:30-11:30 p.m. ET (check local listings), a five-part nightly series of special programs leading up to the live broadcast of the royal wedding on Saturday morning, May 19, on PBS.

It will be hosted by American news anchor Meredith Vieira and British television presenter Matt Baker, who will update viewers on the preparations for the much-anticipated wedding of Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle.

During the week prior to the ceremony, which will occur in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor, the hosts will be joined in-studio by experts, commentators and special guests. BBC presenter and host Anita Rani will report live from Windsor each night, and English historian Lucy Worsley, Joint Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, will delve into the pageantry, pomp and protocol surrounding Harry and Meghan’s nuptials.

Royal Wedding Watch will also showcase Britain’s rich royal heritage and illuminate how history and tradition will influence the union of this modern couple.

“From cakes to choristers, banquets to bouquets, gowns to crowns, viewers will get a fun and informative insider’s briefing on royal etiquette, and an unprecedented look at the elaborate planning, secrecy and care that goes into this royal wedding that has captured the imagination of people around the world,” said Shawn Halford, PBS’ Senior Director, Programming.

Lisa Ausden, Creative Director, BBC Studios’ Topical and Live Unit, added: “BBC Studios is thrilled to be working with PBS in this unique collaboration, giving U.S. viewers a front row seat in the build-up to the big day. We’ll capture all the excitement as Windsor becomes the focus of the world, and we’ll have unrivaled expertise in our central London studio to discuss the history and tradition of royal weddings, plus, of course, the romance which brought the Prince and his American bride together.”

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