DVD review: ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ a fun, nostalgic adventure with plenty of pixelated charm

By Ashley Bergner
Box Office Buzz

For 30 years, Wreck-It Ralph has played the villain inside an arcade video game. Each time a child puts a quarter into the machine, he starts smashing a high-rise apartment building. As the residents begin to panic, out pops “Fix-It Felix” with his magic hammer to repair the damage Wreck-It Ralph has done. At the end of the game, Ralph is banished, while Felix is showered with praise and given a bright, shiny medal.

The only problem is, when the arcade closes and all the characters inside the games come to life, similar to “Toy Story,” Ralph still is ostracized, and he’s beginning to grow tired of feeling so lonely. He wants to escape from the “bad guy” label, and he longs to have friends and be accepted like Felix. So, Ralph decides to break the rules and venture outside his own video game and into “Hero’s Duty,” a modern first-person shooter game, where he hopes to win a medal of his own. However, things don’t go quite as well as he planned, and his actions threaten not just his own game, but all of the other games in the arcade.

Ratchet RetroCast Episode 4 – The Disney Deluxe Retro Jumbo XL Edition

John can’t stop smiling, CD is a princess, and Q is surrounded by woodland creatures, we must have leaped straight into the mind of Walt Disney. Luckily for us we have our special guest Brian Kesinger to guide us through, a Disney Story Artist and the talent behind Brian Kesinger’s Tea Girls! In this (extra long) episode we talk about the retro Disney animation films, and the illustrious history of the Disney company. Find out each of our top 3 picks of Disney movies as we discuss their impact on our childhood. Tune in for a special announcement from Brian about an upcoming project. And of course, “Achievement Unlocked”, our educational segment, and “The Clockwork Quarter Hour”, for all the to-do about the steampunk community. This episode is like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, so sit back and enjoy!

Earth Station One Episode 136: ESO Gets Shiny and Celebrates the 10th Anniversary of Firefly

This week’s episode is a total geekfest! Mike, Mike, and Bobby are joined by Jason & Rita (Transmissions from Atlantis podast), Phantom Troublemaker (ESW), Jessa Phillips (GoodtoBeaGeek.com) and the award-winning artist Mark Maddox to discuss the 10th anniversary of Joss Whedon’s Firefly. We are also honored to be joined by actress Claudia Christian as she discusses her new book, Babylon Confidential, and takes a turn in The Geek Seat. Plus, our rants and raves about the recent Lucasfilm/Disney deal, the Khan report and Shout Outs

Join us for yet another episode of The Earth Station One Podcast we like to call: ESO Gets Shiny and Celebrates the 10th Anniversary of Firefly

Box Office Buzz: What does Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm mean for the future of ‘Star Wars’?

By Ashley Bergner
Box Office Buzz

Like many “Star Wars” fans, I’m still trying to process the announcement that Disney has purchased Lucasfilm and now will be at the helm of the “Star Wars” media empire. Maybe it’s just me, but this news took me completely by surprise, and I certainly didn’t see it coming. As a movie buff, I normally monitor movie news websites and magazines fairly closely, but I didn’t hear any rumors about this sale before it happened.

It’s a major purchase — worth about $4 billion dollars — and it’s one Disney plans to quickly put to use: a new “Star Wars” movie, Episode VII, is slated for release in 2015, and other “Star Wars” related projects could soon follow. Overall, I’m feeling pretty positive about the announcement of this sale, and I think Disney has strong potential to successfully continue the “Star Wars” franchise.

DISNEY ACQUIRES LUCASFILM

George Lucas has sold Lucasfilm Ltd. to the Walt Disney Company. Disney announced plans for new Star Wars movies to premiere beginning 2015.

Movie review: Pixar’s ‘Brave’ a break with tradition?

By Ashley Bergner, Box Office Buzz

Merida, the star of Pixar’s new animated movie “Brave,” isn’t exactly your typical Disney princess. Instead of spending her days in a castle pining for “prince charming,” the Scottish princess (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) loves to be outdoors, riding her horse through open fields, climbing up the side of steep cliffs and practicing archery. She’s strong-willed and fiercely independent — traits that often put her at odds with her mother, Queen Elinor, who’d rather she be a more traditional, demure lady.

The conflict between the mother and daughter comes to a head when Queen Elinor announces the clans of the kingdom will be gathering, and the chiefs’ sons will be competing for Merida’s hand in marriage. Merida hates the idea of a forced betrothal and tries to purchase a spell from a witch that will “change her fate.” However, the spell doesn’t work out quite like she planned, and instead it brings a curse down on her family. The princess must work to heal bonds that have been broken and find a way to save her family’s kingdom before the curse becomes permanent.

How Avengers gave a 1,000 percent box office boost to John Carter

By Matthew Jackson, Source: Blastr.com

Hey, remember John Carter? It’s the movie that lost as much money as The Avengers just made in three days. But Disney’s epic sci-fi bomb saw a dramatic jump in box office revenue last weekend, and it’s all thanks to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

The weekend before The Avengers was released, John Carter ranked 38th in domestic box office, thanks to the few theaters that were still screening it. After The Avengers’ opening weekend it jumped to 12th and saw a week-to-week increase in revenue of over 1,000 percent, raking in $1.5 million two months after it debuted to extremely disappointing numbers.

Is Disneyland Paris launching its own Star Wars Land in 2015?

By Jeff Sray, Source: Blastr.com

Toss that red flag for a “No Fair” foul! Rumors swirling around the Mouse House tell us the French are getting their very own Star Wars world in the next five years. Really? Before us?! Makes you almost want to boycott cheese.

Disney and Henry Selick will bring Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book to the big screen

By Lauren Davis, Source: iO9

We loved Henry Selick’s stop-motion adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s creepy Coraline, and now the Nightmare Before Christmas director is taking on a second Gaiman tale, with a Disney-backed version of The Graveyard Book.

The Gorillaz’ Pete Candeland To Direct Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride Movie

by Brendon Connelly, source: Bleeding Cool

I took a trip on the Disney theme park attraction Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride once. It involved a lot of keeping my eyes shut and covering my ears. It’s a trip straight to hell, don’t you know.

Very, very creepy.

The ride was based on Disney’s short toon of the same name, adapting a segment of The Wind in the Willows. The next iteration in this chain is to be a full length feature.