Rogue One Trailer Impressions

Big O here, just wanted to give my quick thoughts on the recently released Rogue One: A Star Wars Story trailer.  If you haven't seen it yet, go ahead and give it a watch.  I even provided it below.  I'll wait.

One of the things to point out is for everything we know about this movie, we really don't know much.  The plot seems to focus around Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and a band of misfits who are charged with retrieving the plans for the original Death Star.  In case it wasn't obvious, this movie takes place before Star Wars Episode IV.  In addition to Jones, Rogue One is bringing some notable names to the table.  Genevieve O'Reilly is reviving her role as Mon Mothma from Star Wars Episode III.  We are also seeing Mads Mikkelsen, star of Hannibal and the villain from Casino Royale.  There is also Ben Mendelsohn who many will remember as Daggett from Dark Knight Rises and we will being seeing in Ready Player One.  Forest Whitaker also makes a surprise appearance.  Honestly, I could go on about the cast all day.

This trailer is relatively new but the rumors are already flying.  What do we know?  One of my first observations is that many of the shots take place on Yavin 4, the location of the rebel base from Star Wars Episode IV.  Erso is a hot tempered and impulsive rebel agent who is frequently in trouble, as we can see by her impressive rap sheet.  The movie appears to be going for a darker tone compared to most Star Wars films.  Especially, considering we know there is a good chance many of these characters will not make it to the end of the film.  The trailer ends with a chilling shot of Erso in Imperial armor.  Does Erso betray her team to the Empire?  Does she infiltrate the Empire by joining them?  We won't really know until we see the film.

In the end, this is just a two minute trailer that simply introduces us to the main character and gives us a rough impression of the plot.  There is still much about this movie we don't know.  So, did the trailer succeed?  In my opinion, the answer is an overwhelming yes.  I keep talking about how the trailer doesn't really tell us much, but that isn't the job of a trailer.  A trailer is supposed to get the audience excited to see a movie and I am certainly excited.  The Rogue One trailer shows off the cast, gives us a glimpse of the plot without giving anything away, and shows plenty of action scenes to get the adrenaline pumping.  Developing a prequel is always a challenge.  It is hard to surprise the audience when they know the outcome.  However, Disney has shown that they are more that capable with the Star Wars Rebels television show.  I will be seeing Rogue One when it comes to theaters, and I hope you all join me.  

Disney Infinity Next

Today, Disney aired the first episode of Disney Infinity Next.  An online presentation streamed on youtube.com that outlined the future releases for the brand.  Being a huge Disney Infinity nut, I was really excited to tune in.  A little bit of background, I have been receiving emails for this even for weeks now, four emails in all to be exact.  I figured if they were hyping this event so much, they were going to announce something big.  That being said, I was a little disappointed by the products announced, but more on that later.

Quick, a little background for people who aren't familiar with the product.  Disney Infinity is a video game where the player can play in premade playsets designed by the developers or use tools to create their own levels and stories.  Think of it like Disney meets Minecraft.  The characters the player can play as are determined by the actual figures they own.  The figures are placed on a platform (portal) that comes with the game and are instantly transported to the world on screen.  These figures span all of Disney's popular properties, Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel with each figure having their own special attacks and abilities.  On a side note, it is hilarious combining these properties.  Having Venom fly an X-wing around the game world brought me way more joy than I should admit as a 29 year old.  Disney Infinity is on its third edition as of now.

Disney Infinity Next started with the hosts discussing the new Zootopia figures that are available today.  Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps are two of the main characters from the film that is set to release at the end of this week.

The bulk of the presentation was spent talking about Marvel Battlegrounds playset that is set to release on March 15th.  Marvel Battlegrounds is a new adventure where the players can use Marvel figures from any edition of the game.  Loki and Ultron have teamed up and it's up the the heroes of the Marvel universe to stop them, and engage in some spirited competition in the process.  Battlegrounds is the first playset to offer support for four players.  It is still a little unclear how this will work considering the portal that transports the figures to the game only has two spots on it.  The player might need to obtain a second portal, or maybe there will be another method revealed later.  The playset will come with a new Captain America figure designed from the characters appearance in the new Civil War movie.  I'm not going to lie, it looks really cool.  Disney also announced new Marvel characters to be released at a later date.  These include Ant Man, The Vision, and Black Panther.  This playset looks like a lot of fun and I'm interested in picking it up when it is released later this month.

The final announcement from the presentation was a Baloo figure to celebrate the release of the new Jungle Book movie coming out.  The figure is designed in the style of the original animated film from 1967.

As I said earlier, I was a little underwhelmed with this presentation.  I think my expectations were built up by how many notifications I was sent telling me about the event.  I realize this complaint is purely subjective but so is this whole article.  Part of me thought they were going to announce Disney Infinity 4.0 and a new property (come on Kingdom Hearts!).  Also, there is still no word on when the stand alone Boba Fett figure will become available.  With the exception of the Baloo figure, all of the announcements were additions I had heard about in the past.  I was hoping for more new content.  That being said, it was really nice to see more footage of the Marvel Battlegrounds playset and new figures.  It makes me happy that Disney is supporting this game with new and interesting content on a regular basis and they seem to really listen to the fans about what they would like to see in the future.  If you want to watch the presentation in its full, check out the video below.

Now that the presentation is done, I have an announcement.  I'm two trophies away from getting the platinum trophy in Disney Infinity 3.0, so throughout this week I am planning on streaming the game while I work to obtain a 100% completion.  I'm planning on playing either the Star Wars Twilight of the Republic (Clone Wars) or The Force Awakens playset, I haven't decided yet.  Tune in if you're a fan of the game, or have never seen it and are curious what it's all about.

www.twitch.tv/westcoastnerdcorps

-Big O

Happy New Year!

So, in the craziness of the holidays we decided to take a little break from the blog, but now we're back and better than ever.

First, the newest episode of the podcast is up and ready to be listened to:

Episode 26 Adaptations

This is our adaptations episode, it can be books, comics, movies, video games, or whatever based off another source material.  We discuss our favorite and least favorite adaptations over the years.  Also, don't be shocked if this becomes a reoccurring subject.  We had a lot to say.

Next, one of our newest projects is streaming on twitch.  Our first official stream was our spoilercast of Star Wars The Force Awakens.  Check out the video below:

Also, I think it goes without saying but spoilers for Star Wars The Force Awakens.
We really enjoyed streaming and expect to see much more of it from us in the future.  Well, you're pretty much caught up.  Keep checking us out for updates and new episodes!

-Big O

Kylo Ren: A New Step in Star Wars Villainy

Kylo Ren: A New Step in Star Wars Villainy

12/23/2015

*SPOILERS FOR STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS FOLLOW*

Darth Vader is the poster child for Hollywood villains. Since his introduction in A New Hope, he has become a massive staple in pop culture. Regardless of your feelings about Star Wars as a whole, you know his mechanical breathing and intimidating mask. He is the epitome of badass, and a master of the dark side. But it’s for those very reasons that I believe J.J. Abrams may have created a more complex and compelling villain than Darth Vader ever was.

Kylo Ren starts out as your typical movie villain. He shows off his impressive force powers, mercilessly cuts a man down with his special three pronged lightsaber, and has a whole village burned to the ground, all of this done from behind his mask and voice modulator (not unlike Vader himself). But not long after this we begin to see some breaks in his act. He receives bad news and his reaction is to wildly destroy the consoles in front of him with his lightsaber, not unlike a child throwing a temper tantrum. Later his master, Snoke, tells him that his transformation into a true dark lord will only be complete if he is able to kill his father, Han Solo. Ren tries to sound sure of being capable of this, but you can hear the uneasiness in his voice.

Throughout the film he shows a twisted devotion to the idea of Darth Vader. He models his outfit and mask after him, and even talks to Vader’s burned and twisted helmet as if it truly was the dark lord himself. When his mind is opened to Rey, she taunts him about his fear of never being as powerful as Darth Vader and you can visually see the rage and fear building up inside of him.

Then comes his confrontation with his father Han Solo on starkiller base. When Han calls him by his birth name, Ben, he tells Han that the son he knew is dead and that only Kylo Ren remains. Han begs him to come home and Ren begins to show his internal struggle. He tells Han that he is being torn apart by his pull to the light and his devotion to the dark side. He tells his father that he knows what he has to do, but isn’t sure he is strong enough to do it. Han promises to help him, but tragically killing Han and completing his turn to the dark side was Kylo’s choice in the end.

This complex pull between the light and dark are what I think makes Ren such a compelling character to watch. Vader was a jedi who was tricked into becoming a sith by Darth Sidious. Kylo Ren is a confused kid, whose feelings are being exploited by Snoke, even though he is constantly being pulled to the light. In A New Hope Darth Vader is just an enforcer for the Emperor, it isn’t until the end of The Empire Strikes back that he becomes a deeper villain. Kylo Ren is much more than that right from the start. He is a tortured soul on a dark path to become what he has always wanted to be, Darth Vader. But from the looks of it, he will become a villain that even Vader would bow to.

-Rory

Star Wars and Twitch

Similar to the rest of the world, the West Coast Nerd Corps crew has come down with Star Wars fever.  Check out this weeks episode where we discuss our favorite Star Wars memories, give spoiler-free impressions of The Force Awakens, lament the expanded universe, and much more.

Episode 24: Star Wars

On a personal note, I feel that this is one of our best episodes to date, so make sure to tell your friends.

Now, on to our second piece of news.  We have recently set up a Twitch.tv channel.  We're still experimenting with different media formats and want to find what we like best.  Twitch is a website that allows people to stream video games live while viewers can comment and participate with the broadcaster.  We have a small list of games we intend to stream and I think you will be surprised by a few.  Also, we will be taking suggestions (just keep in mind it needs to be a game that can be played on the PS4).  Go to the link below and follow the channel if you want to be notified when we broadcast.  We are also planning on putting the recordings up on YouTube, but still working on the logistics.

http://www.twitch.tv/westcoastnerdcorps

-Big O