6 Things You Totally Didn't Miss in The Last Jedi Trailer!

Unless you've been in carbon freeze, there's a good chance you know the first trailer for the new Star Wars movie dropped this weekend. Even if you're just getting thawed out now, there's a good chance someone told you about it.

There were just so many videos "breaking down" the trailer and telling us "what fans missed". I made a deal with myself awhile back to never ever click on a clickbait link that has an image like the one above with red arrows and/or circles. I mean, most of the time it's pointing out something in the picture that has nothing to do with anything. I also get really offended when I see something like "not even true fans noticed this." To me, if you're a fan, you are a true fan. End of story.

Without further ado, here are a few things that no one who watched the trailer would have missed along with some commentary.

Finn doing a whole of of nothing.

Given the way The Force Awakens ended, we have to presume The Last Jedi picks up right where we left off so it only makes sense that Finn is still recovering. John Boyega told fans at Celebration over the weekend to not worry, Finn will be in action!

Poe and BB-8 making a mad dash.

Are they under attack, does it tie in to the next clip? Seems a safe bet. The most important thing in this shot is the original trilogy inspired set design that looks gorgeous.

Poe's X-Wing goes boom.

Aw, come on! Poe must love Halloween because he's got the only black and orange X-Wing and it's getting blown up. Boo! A-Wings show up here and in the space battle clip.

Kylo Ren.

Yup, there he is with his lightsaber, sporting a new facial scar.

Leia's back!

It's her back and she is back, get it?

Rewatching The Force Awakens recently was hard enough knowing that Carrie has left us. As a long time fan, the scene where Leia and Han reunite was emotional seeing it the first time in the theater. Now, Han is gone and so is our Princess. I hope she gets more screen time for her final appearance.

This is probably the thing that got me most excited in the trailer. It looks like we'll get some flashback explaining what happened to Luke's Jedi academy. Rey got a brief glimpse of this scene from a different angle when she has her Force vision in The Force Awakens. I'm hoping for a decent sized Jedi vs First Order battle. Or maybe it'll be the Knights of Ren instead of (or in addition to) the First Order. We'll have to wait and see!

So there you have it, six things you totally didn't miss if you watched The Last Jedi trailer!

Win with the Guardians of the Galaxy

With the success of the first movie, it was pretty much a given they'd market the next one out the wazoo. But are they doing it right? Maybe it's Disney sticking with what's come before but the tie-ins just don't feel out of this world.

First up, we've got Doritos. They've partnered with the Avengers before. Every Gaurdian is featured on a different flavor. Inside each bag is a code you can redeem on the Doritos site for a chance at prizes when you Choose Your Guardian.

Each character has a three tiered group of prizes associated with them. One code puts you in for a shot at an instant win Level 1 goodie. After four codes, you unlock level 2 prizes and another four gets you in to the "most epic" Level 3 prizes. Not bad if you eat a lot of Doritos, at least you get something out of it. You know, aside from the nacho cheese dust under your fingernails.

Next, Mars Brand Candy!

I'm not usually one to collect movie tie-ins unless it's something interesting. Give me kids' meal toys or collectible cups and I'm all in! Food packaging? Not so much these days.

You'll find the Guardians on packages of Starburst, Skittles, M&Ms, and Juicy Fruit gum. That's right, I said Juicy Fruit. I remember seeing Civil War on Juicy Fruit. With the candy promotion, you can enter to win a free movie ticket. Snap a pic of your purchase receipt and upload it to the site. In the next day or so, you'll get an email telling you you didn't win.

I don't usually buy much candy but I guess the movie hype has me jonesing to buy something other than action figures. That and the fact that when I went to look for M&Ms and Skittle, "I'm Not In Love" by 10cc was playing in the store, so I took that as a sign.

The packages will be going in the trash when I'm done. I thought there would be a code inside to enter online for the contest but there isn't which is really the only reason I bought them. Uploading a receipt just isn't as exciting as entering a code.

And finally...

In the most unusual product tie-in I can think of: Guardians and Hanes. Buy a pack of underwear or t-shirts and you get a pack of four promotional trading cards. If that's not enticing enough, you get a free Marvel movie rental on Vudu!

I get partnering with food items. It might be something you were buying anyway or you might impulse buy when you see it, but underwear? And it's just regular underwear, they don't even have the characters on them. Those, I would buy! As far as I can tell, the trading cards are the same ones that are being released alongside the movie but with a promo number stamped on them.

I guess what I really want is a fast food tie-in. With Avengers and Star Wars Rebels, you could get a drawstring bag at Subway. Sure, it's more practical for a kid but you can't really put it on your desk. I want toys!

..and maybe a Lucky Charms-like cereal with marshmallows shaped like character heads, Baby Groot, and the Milano.

Meet Wreck-It Ralph!

I thought with the recent announcement of Wreck-It Ralph 2, this would be a good time to share these photos from three years ago. Timely, right?

Starting around November 2012 you could meet Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz in person at DisneyWorld's Hollywood Studios park. I was lucky enough to visit during this time frame. They were in the Art of Animation building, which has since been converted to the Star Wars Launch Bay. In 2014, they left (presumably to start working on the sequel?) to make way for Baymax and Hiro. Will they return to the parks with the new movie? We'll have to wait and see.

The sign above greets you as you enter the queue area, which is indeed themed to make it feel like you're in Game Central Station. Along the queue are a few video screens made to look like you're inside different games looking out.

The queue isn't a very big area compared to the ones you'd be in for big time characters like the Princesses or Mice but it is a fun area to hang out in. My favorite thing there was a status board that showed if games were on time or delayed.

What really surprised me is the people that put this together did their homework. Well, I guess it shouldn't be that surprising because it is Disney after all. Aside from some of the big names in video games there were also some in there that I'm guessing most people haven't heard of like Zookeeper.

Of course, there are a few mentions of Tron. Disney, all I'm asking for in the next movie is some kind of Tron cameo: lightcycle, recognizer, heck I'll take an identity disc in the background somewhere!

Eventually, the wait is over!

I enjoy meeting the characters and I don't usually geek out too much about it but I was pretty excited to meet Ralph and Vanellope. I thought it was a nice touch after going through the game themed waiting area that the meeting area looks like you stepped into Vanellope's game, Sugar Rush.

Here's a brief video I found to show you what the area is like.

Monthly Movie Recap - March 2017

2017 is shaping up to be a fun year for movies and we're just getting started!

If you're a fan of B-movies, check out Midnight Macabre Films on YouTube. They've posted a lot of greats like Chopping Mall, Spookies, and The Pit just to name a few. 

 

Logan (2017)
I don't think a lot of people like seeing their heroes get old and weak but this is probably the best way it could be done. There's a tiny bit of mystery here between figuring out what year it is and what happened to the other mutants. This is really the Wolverine movie I wanted...except a younger version...in Japan.

Cool: Wolverine is finally unleashed. Plenty of claw action! Daphne Keen is awesome, I hope she continues to act.
Lame: I'm assuming adult people brought the other kids to the meeting point. Did they just leave the kids there by themselves? I mean, they're mutants, but they're still kids.

Rating: 8/10

Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2016)
Not going to lie, as much fun as this is, it's definitely a bit sadder than it would have been a few months ago. Even if you're not a Star Wars fan (if that's possible) but are a fan of Hollywood, I'd still recommend this, it's a fantastic documentary about the relationship between two amazing women.

Rating: 9/10

Moana (2016)
I swear someone at Disney found a way to get into my brain and find out all the things to put in a movie that would make me love it! Everything about this was a home run for me: the plot of a mortal helping a demigod, Moana's journey and the theme of finding who you are, the Polynesian mythology...LOVE IT!

Cool: See above
Lame: Needed more coconut pirates!

Rating: 8/10

Beauty and the Beast (2017)
You hear "Disney magic" thrown around a lot, this is it right here. The effects are really magical. I like Emma Watson but wasn't sure she would be a good Belle. She's not, she's great!

Cool: Love the wolf scenes, very intense! Getting a peek into Belle's backstory.
Lame: New songs may need some time to catch on. Something about the design of Mrs Potts...creepy

Rating: 9/10

 Full movie on YouTube!

Rockula (1990, Amazon)
Nothing I say here can prepare you for the cheese that is Rockula. It's like 80s Mtv decided to make a vampire comedy. If not for the musical numbers, I probably would never have finished watching it. From the white boy vampire decked out like an 80s rapper (and rapping!) to Toni Basil's horny vampire mom doing a sexy number in front of her son and his girlfriend...this is Rockula.

Cool: Thomas Dolby is delicious as the bad guy. Toni Basil, just delicious. Some of the songs are actually pretty fun!
Lame: If you're not a fan of camp, steer clear

Rating: 5/10

If you want to read more about Rockula, head over to It Came From the Man Cave, which is where I lay the blame how I knew this existed.

Gantz:O (2016, Netflix)
I knew nothing about this going in other than the blurb in Netflix and the fact that it has a 4.75/5 rating. After the first 15-20 minutes I'm wanting to know where I can buy the RPG and/or video game for this universe. If you're a fan of action movies and monsters, get this in your queue! While I'm not going to read the manga this is based on, I am interested in seeing the anime and other live action Gantz movies.

Cool: Weird ass alien/monsters that can only come from Japan, like a 30' tall beast made from writhing naked lady bodies. Cool tech.
Lame: No real back story on how this whole Gantz thing came to be or why. It's not a huge deal for me though as it makes me want to know more. The lead female voice dub is just...ugh.

Rating: 8/10

Month Total

 New: 6  Rewatch: 0

Year Total

 New: 15  Rewatch: 1