Sony surprised audiences tonight at their E3 conference with the announcement of an all-new Spider-Man game coming exclusively to PlayStation 4. The game is being developed by Insomniac games, recently known for Sunset Overdrive, and if Spider-Man plays anything like that, fans should be very pleased.
Along with the announcement came a trailer, which you can watch below. The trailer shows the Web Head swinging his way around New York City and fighting baddies. Also interesting, Spidey’s suit is unlike anything we have seen before. Some elements seem like nods to the recent Civil War suit but overall, it looks to be something entirely new.
On the PlayStation Blog, developer Insomniac posted, “Spider-Man is one of the most iconic and well-known characters in the world, and we’re thrilled to be given the responsibility to create a brand new, authentic Spider-Man story”. They also mentioned that this Spider-Man is unrelated to the upcoming MCU movie.
No release window was provided for the game, though given that it was just a CG trailer, I’d say we have at least two years before we get our hands on Insomniac’s Spider-Man.
Sony showed off a new trailer for the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens tonight at their E3 Press Conference.
The Trailer shows some of the best moments from the movie and in typical LEGO fashion, there is tons of humor added to the mix. Check out the trailer below to see all your favorite Star Wars characters interact with each other.
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set to release on June 28 for PS4, PS3, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, 3DS, and PC. In the meantime, a free demo is now avaibale for all PS4 owners. You can now try the game before it is even released!
During Sony’s E3 Media Briefing, EA’s new Star Wars Battlefront VR experience was shown for the first time, with more detail and a proper name. Officially titled Star Wars Battlefront X-Wing VR Mission, the game is just that. Developer Criterion Games will be bringing this experience for free to anyone that already owns Star Wars Battlefront on PS4.
James Svensson, a producer at Criterion, had this to say, “You will be instantaneously transported from the comfort of your living room to an X-wing cockpit in space”.
Disney has released the official poster for it’s upcoming live action film, “Pete’s Dragon”. The trailer for Disney’s Pete’s Dragon will debut online tomorrow!
To celebrate, Bryce Dallas Howard will go LIVE on the Disney Facebook page this afternoon to present an exclusive sneak peek.
A reimagining of Disney’s cherished family film, “Pete’s Dragon” is the adventure of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliott, who just so happens to be a dragon. “Pete’s Dragon” stars Bryce Dallas Howard (“Jurassic World”), Oakes Fegley (“This is Where I Leave You”), Wes Bentley (“The Hunger Games”), Karl Urban (“Star Trek”), Oona Laurence (“Southpaw”) and Oscar® winner Robert Redford (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”). The film, which is directed by David Lowery (“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”), is written by Lowery & Toby Halbrooks based on a story by Seton I. Miller and S.S. Field and produced by Jim Whitaker, p.g.a. (“The Finest Hours,” “Friday Night Lights”), with Barrie M. Osborne (“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Great Gatsby”) serving as executive producer.
For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales…until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley). Pete is a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete’s descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham’s stories. With the help of Natalie (Oona Laurence), an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack (Wes Bentley) owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon. Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon” opens in U.S. theaters on August 12, 2016.
Disney Vacation Club members have often complained how far it can be sometimes to get from their resort room to the front of the hotel’s main lobby. If a guest staying at Bay Lake Tower wanted to valet park their car, they would have to walk all the way down to the front of the main building of the resort next door, a lengthy hike for a paid add-on service. Well, Bay Lake Tower is now testing a valet parking service for guests of the hotel, located right at the main entrance of the Bay Lake Tower building.
The test could mean a roll-out to other Disney Vacation Club resorts with their own separate entrances (Grand Floridian, ETC.), but may also be paving the way for a major milestone in the Disney Vacation Club that we unfortunately aren’t ready to disclose just yet…
In addition, rumor has it that Magical Express may soon offer to drop Bay Lake Tower and other DVC resort guests off at the front door of their resorts, rather than dropping them off at the often distant main lobby of the hotel overall.
Rumors have been swirling for weeks that a major menu change is coming to the Jungle Navigation Co. Skipper Canteen Restaurant at the Magic Kingdom. On top of that, Disney suddenly began accepting advance dining reservation up to 180 days out for the restaurant just last week in an effort to draw in more guests. Well, over the last few days, the kid’s menu at the restaurant underwent a few changes…
Now gone from the menu:
Safari Soup – egg drop soup
Amazon Annie’s House-made Arepas – slow cooked beef, black beans, and queso fresco served with Yuca planks. Comes with choice of dessert (see below) and choice of small lowfat milk, small bottled water or small apple juice
New items replacing these dishes are the Safari Snack and Chef Tandaji’s Crispy Chicken.
Also, the mac and cheese received a name change and less complex description (probably in an attempt to appeal to more kids). Here is the original description:
Junior Skip’s Special Mac and Cheese – a typical Egyptian dish consisting of ground beef, pasta, bechamel sauce and house-made JBen cheese gratinee served with broccoli. Comes with choice of dessert (see below) and choice of small lowfat milk, small bottled water or small apple juice
The bigger changes to the main menu are still expected, but appear to have been delayed, at the very least, for now.
The Daily Poutine opened on the border of the Marketplace and Town Center of Disney Springs back on May 15th, 2016. The stand serves traditional poutine (which are large french fries with cheese and gravy), as well as some interesting new takes on the Canadian favorite. You may be asking yourself now, “Tom, you seem to like to be the first to talk about new items at Walt Disney World, why is this review a month late?” Well, honestly, I forgot, and that’s the problem. What sounded like an exciting quick stop for loaded french fries ended up being a bit of a disappointment. We were so excited about so many other options that have opened at Disney Springs that this one kind of just got lost in the shuffle, which is pretty much what I feel the fate of this booth will be in the grand scheme of Disney Springs.
It is located just steps away from World of Disney and Amorette’s Patisserie.
There are 4 varieties of the fries offered here, as well as a nice drink selection.
In WDWNT fashion, we ordered them all.
We also ordered the Fireball Sangria, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I never really though to throw whiskey in sangria, but it makes for a good (and surprisingly refreshing) combination. This is a solid drink option for a hot summer day at Disney Springs.
The fries themselves are thick steak fries. They are good on their own, but as this is a “poutine” stand, the focus is on the toppings. The Italian style was my least favorite. The marinara sauce reminded me of the more awful faux-Italian counter service offerings from Disney. The cheese was barely melted as well, which didn’t help the cause.
The Latin were my overall favorite. The pork was seasoned really well and the yucca, cheese, and black beans all mixed for a really good flavor, even though I’m not sure french fires are the best item to throw these toppings on.
I thoroughly enjoyed the French version, as the Gruyere cheese melted onto the fries was pretty perfect. I also enjoy mushrooms, so the added taste of those in this dish was a pleasant addition to some bites.
While I enjoyed the cheese curds, I am not a big fan of brown gravy which hampered my enjoyment of the Classic option.
The Daily Poutine is good, it’s just not great, and that’s a problem when it is surrounded by some really great counter service or food stand options. While the portions are large and filling, I would much rather dine at B.B. Wolf’s Sausage Co., D-Luxe Burger, or even Earl of Sandwich if I was at Disney Springs looking for something fast. If time and money were no option, my choices would broaden ten-fold, leaving the Daily Poutine completely off of my radar, and that’s the issue. The Daily Poutine just isn’t good enough or priced well enough to survive in the “theme park for food” landscape that is the Disney Springs of 2016. My recommendation would be to skip this and visit any of the other establishments we have positively reviewed from Disney Springs over the last year.
On Sunday evening, EA held their E3 event called “EA PLAY”. During the show, the company laid out the future of their Star Wars games for the next few years.
Throughout the rest of 2016, EA will continue to support games like Star Wars Battlefront, Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, and Star Wars: The Old Republic with tons of new content, some of it will even be free! In December, Battlefront will receive a new premium DLC that has yet to be specified, leading most to speculate it will be a Rogue One tie-in.
Things start to get really interesting in 2017, when developers DICE and Motive release a new Star Wars Battlefront game, presumably Battlefront 2. The sequel is said to include a single-player campaign, which the first one lacked. For now, EA has just said that the game will include “significant additions”.
In 2018, players will get the Star Wars game that everyone has been so eagerly waiting for. The team at Visceral, makers of Dead Space, will be bringing an action adventure Star Wars game that is set in an all-new Star Wars universe. The game is expected to have a large emphasis on great story telling, thanks to the collaboration with writer Amy Hennig (writer for the Uncharted series).
Finally, EA mentioned that Respawn Entertainment (creators of Titanfall) is hard at work on a new third-person action Star Wars game. No specific release window was provided for the game, though it was mentioned that this Star Wars title will take place on a different timeline that has not been visited before in anyother Star Wars game.
“Finding Dory” Is A Good Sequel To A Great Movie; “Piper” Short One Of Pixar’s Best
Can you believe it’s been 13 years since Finding Nemo was released? And I thought Alice Through The Looking Glass was a long time to wait for a sequel…
When last we saw Nemo, Marlin and Dory, everyone was happy. Marlin learned to have faith in his son’s judgment and that his son no longer needed his constant protection. Nemo was given the freedom to do things on his own and it created a better bind between father and son. Dory was accepted as a new member of Marlin and Nemo’s family and it was nice to know that she actually was part of a family when previously she just kept swimming aimlessly having no real attachments. Basically it was your definition of a happy ending.
When Finding Dory was first announced I was concerned because I felt, “Does this movie really need a sequel?” The original ended perfectly. Why mess with perfection? I was also tired of Pixar going sequel crazy and not coming up with original animated features, which long ago they were known for. It brought back painful memories of Cars 2. I was not a huge fan of Cars, but the sequel really made things worse for the franchise. In Cars 2, Pixar had a supporting character become the lead in the sequel, and that really ruined the movie. Mater was a clueless, naïve character that was tolerable in the original movie in small doses, but once he became the lead in the sequel, he quickly became annoying because he was always meant to be just comic relief. I was afraid that Pixar did not learn from it’s mistakes and we were going to see history repeat itself.
The good news is that after seeing Finding Dory I did not feel the same way as I did about Cars 2. It’s a good movie, well written and a fun story. The only thing I would say is that I still feel a sequel to Finding Dory was never really needed, but it does nothing to harm the original and Finding Dory itself can stand on it’s own as a good Pixar movie. I would say it is not in the league of Toy Story, Monsters Inc or The Incredibles, but it’s not at the bottom of the list either. It’s somewhere in the middle.
As traditional with Pixar films, we are first treated to their newest animation short, Piper. Piper is a beautifully animated film and in my opinion even more so than Finding Dory itself. Piper is a young sandpiper that struggles trying to overcome his fears of the big world ahead of him. It’s nice to see a movie with talking animals but sometimes it’s even nicer seeing animals being able to communicate to us without words and that is what Piper does as we witness his world from his point of view. Piper does an excellent job of conveying the story with just expressions and emotion and the short is very reminiscent of the best classic silent movies. Hopefully we will get to see more of Piper in the future. I really think that the next Piper could progress to a full featured animated film. Finding Dory may not be ranked at the top of Pixar’s movies but when it comes to it’s short films, Piper definitely is up there.
Finding Dory begins shortly after Finding Nemo where we find Dory(Ellen Degeneres) now living next-door to Marlin(Albert Brooks), Nemo(Hayden Rolence) in the coral reef. Certain words and objects activate memories for Dory of her past that include the memory of her parents (Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton). Remembering that she had loving parents makes Dory journey to find them. Marlin and Nemo join Dory on her quest along with some old familiar characters and some new favorites. Does Dory find her parents? Do we have another happy ending? You’ll have to see the movie yourself to find out.
I’ll get into the good first. Find Dory is not a rehash of the original’s story. It’s a smartly written original story. It can have it’s emotionally sad moments at times, but it focuses more on it’s comedy. Even though the movie is called Finding Dory, Dory is never really lost and I would say a more appropriate title would be Finding Dory’s Parents. For the most part, the original voice cast returns and performs another excellent job.
The movie is a definite upgrade, animation quality wise, from the original. The original was beautiful, but it’s like the animators learned how to fine tune the underwater world to make it even more visually striking. Certain things that I noticed this time around were the reflections of the fish as they came closer to the surface. It looks more realistic and really glad that they found the time to focus on such detail.
The humor is even better than the first. Some of the new characters are very funny, especially the sea lions (Idris Elba and Dominick West) and Becky, the whacky loon. Hank (Ed O’Neil), the octopus that we have seen in trailers, is a real visual treat. I doubt Pixar could have accomplished such a technological marvel in the original, but due to the advancements in CGI animation, Hank movies all of his appendages very realistically and cleverly blends into certain objects with the use of his camouflage-like abilities.
OK, so here is the bad. I felt the movie becomes overly complicated at times. I kept thinking, “How is a kid able to follow this story?” I just think they could have cut some of the scenes out and made it a little more direct. It seems a little bit like Mission Impossible where Dory has to do several things in specific order to get to a location she believes that is where her parents are. Then when she does get there, it’s the wrong place but there are clues to where the right place could be.
Another thing is Dory’s forgetfulness. One of the first scenes has Dory awakening from her sleep going into Marlin and Nemo’s home, the anemone, and being shocked over and over again and repeating the process due to her forgetfulness. It could have been three times, could have been four, but it stopped being funny after two. You meet baby Dori, who is really cute, but just as forgetful as Dory. We get several long conversations with Dory and another character and then Dory is distracted, turns around and says to the character, “Hi. I’m Dory”. It happened a few times in the first part of the movie and I was afraid that this joke was going to be constantly used throughout the film. Fortunately, as the movie progressed, so did Dory’s memory.
We also meet two new characters, Destiny the whale shark (Katlin Olson) and Bailey, a beluga whale (Ty Burel). They looked nice and will sell a lot of merchandise but I honestly think they weren’t needed and didn’t add anything to the plot. I felt that they could have been cut out all together and made the movie tighter. The great composer Thomas Newman returns for the musical score but it lacks the emotional weight and memorable pieces from the original.
The bottom line is Finding Dory is a fun movie that both adults and children can enjoy, just don’t expect it to be better than the first.
I give Finding Dory 3.5 out of 5 stars. Would have been a 3, but Piper is that good.
