Whenever one of my sisters or I was sick, Mom would let us watch a Christmas movie no matter the month. White Christmas was usually the number one film of choice. Nothing like Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby to lift the spirits. Today, I reinstated that tradition when I came down with a cold–this time I chose
Tag: favorite movies
Princess Leia Hologram Quiz
Princess Leia’s transmission was the first use of Holograms in the Star Wars Trilogy. Here short message of 111 words signaled the transition between the 1st and the 2nd act of the film. The hero (Luke Skywalker) must now make a choice between staying at home or embarking on an adventure with Obi-Wan Kenobi.
In a bit of good fun, the game site Sporcle has created a Princess Leia Transmission Quiz where you have 10 minutes to fill in all the words in her holographic plea for aid.
My best was only 104 words, see if you can top that.
“Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope!”
I even gave you an 8 word head start.
May The 4th Be With You
The official Star Wars website has been counting down until today (May 4th) with an announcement regarding the Star Wars Saga on Blu-ray. The countdown site describes the upcoming Blu-ray release in September and contains a moving slideshow video of Blu-ray case art and concept art. The slideshow is unlocked by your country depending on
Legoland Star Wars Scenes
The only thing better than watching scenes from Star Wars on DVD is seeing them made out of tens of thousands of Legos! Or perhaps watching Lego live on the Legoland Webcam
I recently took a short trip to Legoland California, now you might be asking how can Lego interact with a movie blog? The Maser Builders at Legoland selected seven scenes to depict, one from each movie and one from the clone wars animated tv show. I will analyze those seven choices.
Episode I : The Phantom Menace
It was one of the first scenes in a major motion picture to be completely digital. The droid army emerged from their armored troop transports and marched on the cgi band of gungans. From the grass to the mist in the air, this digital battle was very impressive and was only barely possible with the CGI technology in 1999.
Since all Star Wars films are marketed as “family films” in the 90’s it is convenient that the major battle takes place between CGI aliens with long eats and CGI robot droids. No humans were harmed in the depiction of this scene.
Episode II : Attack of the Clones
Another huge CGI battle in Attack of the Clones pits faceless and nameless clone troopers against the evil droid army. This film make it a point to establish the Jedi as the Generals of the clone army. While Jedi are well established to be being wise and knowledgable it seems slightly far fetched that every one of them would be master tacticians of military strategy.
The Clone Wars
I have only seen some of the first season of the Star Wars Clone Wars. These series are set between Episode II and III at the hight of the clone wars. This scene shows a towering droid backed by a small army of battle droids slowly advancing on a last line of clone troopers.
Episode III : Revenge of the Sith
Moments before Order 66 is given, the Wookies and the Clone army are fighting side by side against the droid army. The massive battle tank rolls towards the ocean shore, the Lego model sands over two feet tall and four feet long, and impressive feat of Lego engineering.
Episode IV : A New Hope
All of the models in Legoland’s Miniland are made in 1/20th scale. The models are more like sculptures than Lego sets, with curves and angles formed out of small (one x one) studs built up step by step. The Millennium Falcon sits poised to blast out of Mos Eisley and escape the Stormtrooper attack. This scene marks a turn in the film, it cements Han’s commitment to the Rebels in the beginning of the second act.
Episode V : The Empire Strikes Back
The eery imperial walkers stalk across the icy plains of Hoth. (made of colored sand at Legoland) But you can see Luke Skywalker climbing up beneath the AT-AT. These Lego miniatures are roughly the same size as the stop-motion models used in Empire. Soon these walkers would be tumbled and destroyed. It would have been interesting to see Legoland depict an explosion in thousands of red, yellow and orange studs!
Episode VI : Return of the Jedi
This scene had a great setup and reveal as the AT-ST approached the bunker Han and Leia seemed caught, thankfully “Chewy” was in the AT-ST. At 1/20th scale all of the sculptures of people are around 6″ tall. I is fun identifying your favorite Star Wars characters among these tiny sculptures. It is similar to pixel art, sometimes you need to blur your focus to see the characters really pop out.
Weather you are an AFOL (Adult Fan of Lego), a Lego loving child, or a Star Wars fanboy all of the new Star Wars installations at Legoland California were built for you and worth a trip down to Carlsbad. May the force be with you.
Dr. Sci-Fi
Maureen
Married to the Movies 