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Showing posts with label Power Rangers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Power Rangers. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Your Morning Linc: Pacific Rim, Lucas Awarded National Medal of Arts, Power Rangers 20th, EW Interviews Moffat, Saving Mr. Banks

Hoo boy, it's hot out there! If you're looking to beat the heat, I suggest heading to a nice cold theater and seeing  Pacific Rim. My friends and I went to the "old man opening night" screening at 8:00 last Thursday (yeah, they do that now) and I really enjoyed it. The monsters, known as kaiju, were particularly impressive and creative. All credit goes to visual effects supervisor John Knoll, a visionary of our time.

Yep, my childhood just squealed a little bit.

The human element of the story was a little cliche, but an overall good job done by the cast, including potential Twelfth Doctor Idris Elba and a manic Charlie Day as a scientist. Pacific Rim also had a very mech anime vibe (like the Gundam series or Voltron) which I enjoyed. At the end of the day, it was a movie about giant robots fighting monsters, and you can't ask for anything better than that.

And now, on to today's Lincs!

1. George Lucas Honored With National Medal For the Arts
For those of you keeping score at home. That's humans: 3 medals, Chewbacca: 0
On July 10, George Lucas was honored by President Barack Obama with the National Medal for the Arts. The citation for the award reads:
"George Lucas for his contributions to American cinema. By combining the art of storytelling with boundless imagination and cutting-edge techniques, Mr. Lucas has transported us to new worlds and created some of the most beloved and iconic films of all time."

I sincerely congratulate The Maker on this incredible honor and thank him for all the moments that Star Wars, and his other films, have transported me to places beyond my imagination. Thanks, George. And May the Force Be With You.

2. Morphenomenal! Power Rangers Celebrates 20th With Morphing Sequence

The show about teenagers with attitude (and a giant floating head) turns 20 this year. Saban is celebrating with a huge anniversary episode and has also recently released a cool video of all the red rangers (and Tommy's White Ranger) from each season morphing into one another.



How many can you name? Which is your favorite season of Power Rangers?

3. EW Interviews Moffat On Doctor Who's 50th And The Search For Twelve

Doctor Who Eleventh Doctor
Soon.
Entertainment Weekly recently sat down with the Moff himself to discuss all things Who. They dished on everything from the Matt Smith's departure, the search for the Twelfth Doctor, the 50th anniversary special, Tennant and Smith's Doctors, and whether or not Matt Smith will wear a wig on his last outing as the Time Lord. Here are a few snippets, but click the link above for the full article:

EW: So how goes the search for the next Doctor?
SM: Well, it’s always just terrifying...If you’re a Doctor Who fan, as I have been all my life, you’ve been doing fantasy casting for this part for as long as you can remember. But when you’re suddenly faced with the reality that you are going to sit there and you are going to make that decision it does feel absolutely chilling. There’s a very big range of people who could play it and different ways you could go with it. We must get this right. One false move and the show’s over.”

EW: Is Matt going to have to wear a wig when he films the Christmas special? He seems to have had a very severe haircut for his role in Ryan Gosling’s How to Catch a Monster.
SM: We’re sprinkling fertilizer on his head as we speak. I don’t know. If you care to take a look at “The Angels Take Manhattan” there are a couple of scenes that Karen Gillan came back to do in the graveyard after she’d had her radical haircut and she is wearing what seems like a strategically draped otter on her head. [Laughs]
However, we effect it, the Doctor will turn up in his trademark coif. We can’t have Matt’s last stand in the TARDIS without his proper look. So, thank you, Ryan Gosling…

EW: What was it like having Matt and David together?
SM: They really loved each other and had a huge laugh together. And of course they’ve been through this experience that only the two of them can talk about, really, in the modern world. They are the two people that have played that part at a time when the series is this big. They spent the entire time just sitting together talking animatedly.

EW: Could you talk about how their Doctors relate to each other? Traditionally, there’s been a bit of edge when Doctors have met each other onscreen?
SM: Well, when you’re talking to yourself, there’s no filter! You don’t spare yourself! They’re quite a fun pairing, I would say. There’s a bit of the normal joshing of each other but they’re both such enthusiastic Doctors. While they might be sort of competing slightly, they’re both standing there saying, “Oh god, it’s so cool, there’s two of me!” So, it’s very different. I think the other one that worked brilliantly was Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton. They were incredibly funny together. This is very different from that but it’s a sublime double act.

Doctor Who 50th

EW: Are you aware that David Bradley (who plays William Hartnell in the movie An Adventure in Space and Time) is now a thousand times more famous in America than he was a couple of months ago thanks to his pivotal role on the recent season of Game of Thrones?
SM: Oh, brilliant. That’s excellent. I love David. He’s such a clever actor. And we’ve had him in the proper show as well. He’s in “Dinosaurs On a Spaceship.”

Only a few more months to go before we get all the answers we're looking for! And that, of course, means the fall of the Eleventh. I really can't wait to see all of this amazing Who history unfold!

4. Saving Mr. Banks Will Be Supercalifra....Ahh You Know The Rest

Not many people think about the work and effort it took to create one of the most iconic Disney films of all time. Indeed, it wasn't easy for old Walt to convince Mary Poppins writer P.L. Travers to even give up the rights to her creation. Saving Mr. Banks tells the story of how Disney convinced Mrs. Travers to do just that, and what he learned about the mysterious nanny in the process.


Saving Mr. Banks is out December 20th, 2013 and stars Emma Thompson as Mrs. Travers, Tom Hanks as the Man Behind the Mouse himself, as well as other notable celebs such as Colin Farrell, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, Bradley Whitford, Annie Rose Buckley, Ruth Wilson, B.J. Novak, Rachel Griffiths, Kathy Baker, and others.

Of course, I hope they finally explain how Mary Poppins got here from Gallifrey:

Marry Poppins Time Lord
How else do you think she learned about the cartoon world?
'Til Next Time!

- Joe

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Your Saturday Linc: The Missing Linc Heads to Germany, Peter Cushing as the Doctor, Warp Speed vs. Hyperdrive, The Green Ranger Returns

Welcome to the weekend! Grab your tablet, jump on a float in the pool, and read the latest from the Missing Linc!

1. Deutschland Über AWESOME: The Missing Linc Heads To Germany for Celebration Europe II

Essen, Germany

The Missing Linc is heading to the biggest Star Wars celebration across the Atlantic! Celebration Europe II will be held on July 26-28 in Essen, Germany. Among the highlights include host Warwick Davis, Kathleen Kennedy's debut among the fandom, a special first look at Star Wars: Rebels, and a screening of Episode II: Attack of the Clones in 3-D! And, to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Return of the Jedi there will be a "Jabba's Palace Reunion" of actors who played or puppeted some of the most vile creatures in the galaxy. And I'll be meeting up with some friends from all over the world for a taste of how they get their Wars on on the other side of the Pond. And you can bet that I will be covering all the highlights and reporting back to you!

Now I just have to practice saying: "Möge die Macht mit dir sein!"

2. Grand Moff Tarkin, A Time Lord?

Peter Cushing was a brilliant actor who brought depth and force to any performance. He graced the silver screen as Sherlock Holmes, Van Helsing (opposite future Sith Lord Christopher Lee's Dracula), and, of course, as the embodiment of an Imperial officer as Grand Moff Tarkin in A New Hope. But, did you know that Mr. Cushing was also a Time Lord? In the 1960's two movies, Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D., saw Cushing as the mysterious figure known as the Doctor. Neither were meant to be canon, but they certainly are classics!
Doctor Who Daleks
"I'll take Regenerations for $500, Alex."
Here's a synopsis of Dr. Who and the Daleks provided by our friends at The TARDIS DataCore:
"Accidentally thrown together, Dr. Who (Peter Cushing), his granddaughters, and their friend Ian cross the universe in Who's new invention, the space and time machine known as "Tardis". When they land on the planet Skaro, the travellers meet the kind and placid Thals, who live in fear of the dreaded Daleks. Somehow, the Doctor and his party must find a way to help the Thals overcome the deadly mutants who live inside impenetrable metal casings."
And for Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.:
"Policeman Tom Campbell stumbles into Tardis on a normal day and ends up being taken to 2150 A.D. by Dr. Who. The future seems to be deserted, but the group soon finds out that the world is controlled by the evil Daleks. The human survivors hide, lest they be turned into Robomen. The Doctor teams up with the survivors to take down the Daleks."
Invasion Earth also stars a young Bernard Cribbins, who would go on to play Wilfred Mott, grandfather of Tenth Doctor companion Donna Noble, and the man who accompanied Ten on his last adventure (and ultimately be the cause of his regeneration). Sadly, you can only get the Blue-Rays in the UK, but hopefully one day we'll be able to relive these classic adventures here in the US! In the meantime you can watch clips of the movies here.

3. The Fastest Ships in the 'Verse

For generations fans have debated the superiority of warp speed vs. hyperdrive, of time travel vs. travel by dark matter reactor. Well, the good people over at Slate have endeavored to answer this question once and for all!

Warp Drive vs. Hyperdrive

Click on the link above and set a course to one of three destinations (Alpha Centauri, Galactic Center, Andromeda Galaxy) and see how fast it takes your favorite craft to reach it. Not only do they compare the Millenium Falcon and the Enterprise, but they throw in the TARDIS, the Serenity, the Planet Express Ship, the Battlestar known as Galactica, the Heart of Gold (from the "Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy"), the Jupiter 2 (from "Lost in Space") and even the real-world Voyager 1

Ready....set.....PUNCH IT!

4. Go Green Ranger Go! Jason David Frank Returns to Power Rangers!

Power Rangers Megaforce, the latest incarnation in the long-running franchise, has the distinction of celebrating the series' 20th Anniversary, and they are doing it in grand style. No full details yet on the episode, but we do know that they are bringing back many past Rangers, including the Rangerest Ranger of them all.

Green Ranger Megaforce

Jason David Frank was introduced as Tommy Oliver in the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers where, under the control of Rita Repulsa, he almost succeeded in destroying the "teenagers with attitude" as the evil Green Ranger. Deciding to fight for good, Tommy eventually lost his Green Ranger powers, but donned the spandex of the White Ranger with new powers, a new zord, and a talking sword named Saba. Tommy also led the team as Zeo Ranger 5 (Red) when the series changed for the first time to Power Rangers: Zeo. He would also go on to be the Red Turbo Ranger, appear alongside first Red Ranger Austin St. John in the 10th Anniversary special "Forever Red", and lead the team as Dr. Tommy Oliver, the Black Dino Ranger, in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder.

Tommy Green Ranger
Wear ALL the costumes!

Is it any wonder why he's the most beloved ranger of all time? Currently Master Frank is a Mixed Martial Arts instructor and champion. You can check out some pretty cool production pictures over on JDF's Facebook Page. HSET-HIYA!!



And that's it for today. Enjoy the sun, but most importantly, enjoy all the things you love as a fan!

Til' next time,

- Joe

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Go Green Ranger Go! New Power Rangers Figures to Celebrate the 20th Anniversary!

Hat tip to my own personal Green Ranger, Joe Hogan, for this one. In honor of the 20th Anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise (Yep, we're that old, folks), S.H. Figuarts is releasing a set of incredibly detailed and articulated figures from the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series.

Tommy Oliver
Yep, I squealed like a little girl too.
MMPR was a staple for any kid growing up in the 90's (whether you watched it religiously or were forced to endure it by your younger sibling). And no character was more loved than Tommy, the Green Ranger. Originally an evil agent of Rita Repulsa, Tommy was lured to the good side, along with his kickass Dragonzord. Tommy would go on to become the White Ranger, Red Zeo Ranger, Red Turbo Ranger, and Black Dino Thunder Ranger. But to me, he'll always be forever green.

Tommy Oliver
You can almost hear him say "hset-HIYAAA!"

The figures will be out in July and retail for $49.99. Not enough Green Ranger awesomeness? Check out the pics below!

Tommy Oliver

Tommy Oliver

Jason and Tommy
"Let me tell ya 'bout my best friend!"

Tommy Oliver

Tommy Oliver

Tommy Oliver

Tommy Oliver


Morphenomenal!

-Joe