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Fine, visual, and performing arts; movies, television, and videos; festivals and fairs; amusement parks; etc.

Newsies: A Movie Ahead of Its Time [Gallery]

In April 1992, Walt Disney Pictures premiered something that had not been seen in six years: a big-budget movie musical. The movie, Newsies, was helmed by established choreographer Kenny Ortega in his directing debut. The story loosely follows the adventures of a group of young newspaper carriers in 1899 New York City. The “newsies” stage a strike against Joseph Pulitzer and other child labor exploiters of the day. Much of the story is advanced directly through song and dance.

The history of Hollywood feature-length musicals dates back to The Jazz Singer of 1927, reaching record numbers in 1929 and 1930. Musicals stayed strong through the mid-50s, before largely falling out of favor by the end of the 60s. Movies continued to include songs, dances, and even occasional musical numbers, but the idea of telling the story through song and dance had become a rarity. Rock musicals, where established musicians performed in movies focused on the performers’ music, gained some popularity from the 60s through the 80s.
The 1986 Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Frank Oz and starring Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene, was a film adaptation of a successful off-Broadway musical comedy. Little Shop was a critical success, nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture in a Comedy or Musical. Its success seemed to indicate that audiences were finally ready for Hollywood to release more musicals—musical comedies at least.Read More »Newsies: A Movie Ahead of Its Time [Gallery]

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Review: Alice in Wonderland (2010) [Gallery]

Alice in Wonderland is a fun and exciting movie, and it was excellent in IMAX 3D. If you are expecting the original Disney animated feature, there are a few very well done nods to it, but overall, this is a grown-up adventure fitting a grown-up Alice. There is lots of eye candy (and I mean that in a good way) for both adults and children, but many of the scenes are too intense, disturbing, or scary for younger viewers—especially without adult supervision.

Aside from several “gloomy” sets, and two disturbing ones (involving beheadings and decapitated heads), Tim Burton seems to have finally left his juvenile fascination with the grotesque, heavy Gothic influences, and dark humor. Perhaps it was a positive influence from Disney, but the movie had an overall uplifting feel to it, despite many side trips through dark places. I hope that Burton will continue to “lighten up” in his future works, while maintaining his wonderful sense of style, surprise, and hyper-reality.

Mia Wasikowska was a brilliant casting choice. Her character development from a dazed and confused innocent (almost annoyingly so) to her final state of mind was very well performed. She is a beautiful actress, and does a fantastic job—very believable.

Johnny Depp was terrific—as always. His accents and mannerisms were zany, but avoided the creepiness of his Willy Wonka performance.Read More »Review: Alice in Wonderland (2010) [Gallery]

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Hot Dog on a Stick, the Musical

It appears to be an ordinary day at the food court in your local mall. You’re calmly eating your Hot Dog on a Stick, when suddenly something strange happens… The cashier needs a napkin. She breaks into a musical number asking for one, and before you know it, the whole food court comes alive with singers, dancers, and very surprised customers. Enjoy the charming and humorous thrill that is: “Hot Dog on a Stick, the Musical”

Homer Simpson, Noah Style

Back in September 2006, Noah Kalina got his 15 minutes of fame by posting a video on YouTube showing his face photographed every day for six years (see my earlier post to watch that video). Somebody at The Simpsons must have seen that video, because in Sunday’s episode, we get to watch Homer Simpson’s life flash before his eyes in the same way over a 39-year period. It ranges from baby Homer, to his school years (improving from F’s to D’s), acne-ridden teenager, and beer drinking, balding Homer.

Watch the video after the jump.
Read More »Homer Simpson, Noah Style

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Video: World of Warcraft: Dancing

If you haven’t seen the World of Warcraft: Dancing video yet, you should. The combination of avatar dancers superimposed over dance clips is pretty cool, but what really makes it impressive to me is just how far desktop computer animation technology has come over the years. I still remember how impressive PONG, a first generation video game, was with a single blocky pixel bouncing around the screen in black and white. Fast forward 30 some years, and now there are these game characters able to dance with the likes of John Travolta or Michael Jackson.

Here’s the video and list of clips:
Read More »Video: World of Warcraft: Dancing

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Do you poi?

I remember the thrill of watching the dancers at the Tahitian Terrace at Disneyland (before it was dumped for an Aladdin show in the same location) from a front-row seat as they spun burning batons around. It was very exciting–especially being so close to the action.

Today, I stumbled across a related form of entertainment called, poi. Quoting from PlayPoi.com:

Poi is a form of dance, where balls on the ends of ropes are swung through rhythmical patterns. It is rooted in the History of the Maori people of Aotearoa (aka New Zealand). It began as a physical exercise, used by the women to develop grace and flexibility, and by the men to develop strength and coordination. Today it is mostly practiced by the women, who combine the poi movements with songs and physical actions in traditional performances such as the Kapa Haka.

Here is the beautiful and entertaining YouTube video that led me to the PlayPoi site. It even includes a little fire spinning in the middle. Very cool stuff (ignoring the irony of calling fire spinning “cool”).
Read More »Do you poi?

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Harry Potter and the Half-Right Wikipedia

Being a person who cares about what happens to Harry Potter and his friends, I wanted to find some spoilers about the latest book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (HP&tHPB) before I tackled this rather lengthy piece of literature.

When the 5th book came out, a few fan sites helped prepare me emotionally for the death of a key figure in the story. I don’t like unhappy surprises or sad endings, so I wanted to check out HP&tHPB before I started reading.

First, I visited The Leaky Lounge, the discussion board for The Leaky Cauldron. I don’t know what is the matter with the e-mail system (probably overwhelmed), so I have not received my activation e-mail for my account. That limits my access, so I turned to Google.

Read More »Harry Potter and the Half-Right Wikipedia

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