Tag Archives: Steven Spielberg

Apr 6 2018

Top Ten Ready Player One Easter Eggs & References

To try to list all the Easter eggs and references in Steven Spielberg’s latest classic Ready Player One is an impossible task. No matter what other websites and videos claim no one has discovered all the minute and obscure references in Ready Player One. Until the film comes out on Blu-ray and digital streaming/download we’re going to settle for the top 10 Ready Player One Easter eggs and references. Oh yeah, spoilers down below!

10. Superhero Cameos: Being this is a Warner Bros. film, it was a given that the noticeable superheros and villains that are seen are from DC. These include several versions of Batman, the Joker, Harley Quinn, and Deathstroke. Others such as Spawn and Marvel superheroes are mentioned, though some have pointed out that Marvel heroes make blink-and-you-miss-it appearances.

Overwatch Tracer and Chun Li

9. Video Game Cameos: Nearly every shot in the film was stuffed to the brim with video game characters, whether they’re famous or obscure. Most were just quick cameo appearances and the standouts includes Tracer from Overwatch, Lara Croft, Blanka, Sonic the Hedgehog, Chun-Li, Ryu, Goro, the Spartans from Halo, Goro and we’ll be here all day trying to go on!

serenity

8. Classic Spaceships: Ready Player One has many brief appearances from iconic spaceships from film and cinema. The standout was the Serenity from Firefly, others include rad ships from Battlestar Galactica, the Enterprise, the Valley Forge from Silent Running, and somewhere in the film there is allegedly an X-Wing fighter. The greatest film spaceship the Millennium Falcon is mentioned and the roar of a TIE fighter can be heard in one scene. Anyone else who spotted anything else please drop a comment.

7. Gundam vs MechaGodzilla: A big highlight in Ready Player One’s epic final battle was the throwdown between the bad guy MechaGodzilla avatar and good guy Gundam from Mobile Suit Gundam. MechaGodzilla tore the scene up as he should have, while Gundam was the robotic cavalry that helped save the day. Seeing the behemoths tearing into each other was a terrific tip of the hat to the great kaiju and giant robot battles in Japanese kaiju films that we geeks love!

6. Rexie and King Kong As Racing Obstacles: Director Steven Spielberg went out of his way not to include references to his own great works. However, his film works are so vast and influential that it would have been a crime if there wasn’t any kind of shoutout. The choice of including Rexie, the Tyrannosaurus Rex from the Jurassic Park films was inspired as the dinosaur ripped apart the racing cars. The now-famous opening car race in Ready Player One featured unique racing obstacles like Rexie and one of the greatest movie monsters of all time: the mighty King Kong.

zemeckis cube

5. The Zemeckis Cube: There are so many droolworthy gadgets and weapons scattered and used in Ready Player One. Some of them were critical and saved the hides of Parzival and friends like the Madball. The best one of these gadgets, however, was the Zemeckis Cube, which was clearly inspired by director Bob Zemeckis and his masterpiece Back to the Future and the real-life Rubik’s Cube. The gadget certainly came in handy as it allowed the film’s heroes to turn back time by sixty seconds and escape the IOI evil thugs. Are there any other gadgets or weapons that you think are worth mentioning? Leave a comment!

4. Chucky: The killer doll from the Child’s Play films could be considered a gadget or a weapon with the way he is used. He is used by Parzival and Art3mis as a deadly distraction for the IOI soldiers trying to prevent them from reaching the final challenge. The way the doll just cuts through the soldiers like a mad cartoon character is hysterical! “It’s f#@**ing Chucky!” is one of the immortal lines from this film and quite funny, too.

the shining revisited

3. Revisiting The Shining: The second challenge in the virtual quest in Ready Player One was a visit to the terrifying Overlook Hotel as seen in Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining. Sure, novelist Stephen King hates this film adaptation but The Shining is one of the greatest horror films and it is well used in Ready Player One. It is amazing how Steven Spielberg was able to recreate the look and feel of The Shining and integrate it with his own film as Parzival and his allies confront the ghostly horrors in the hotel.

2. The DeLorean: The film was bumper-to-bumper with iconic movie cars like the Batmobile, the Mach V from Speed Racer, the Bigfoot muscle car, the Akira motorcycle, and so on. The one car that blows the rest of them away is the DeLorean as seen from Back to the Future. It was pure joy seeing that famous car racing across the silver screen again and brought back many fond memories from Back to the Future. The only drawback is that it did not fly. Oh, well. Maybe next time.

1. The Iron Giant: Of all the many Easter eggs and references featured in Ready Player One, the one that literally stands above them all is the Iron Giant. After The Iron Giant flopped in theaters back in ’99, it seemed as if the gentle metal Goliath would never be seen again. Thankfully, the animated film has become a cult classic and it was only a matter of time before the Iron Giant returned to film. Thankfully it was in Ready Player One that he made his triumphant return. Hopefully his prominence in Ready Player One will draw more attention to The Iron Giant and will lead to more appearances somewhere.

Any of you have your own top 10 Easter eggs and references from Ready Player One? Jot them down below!

Mar 29 2018

Ready Player One Is A Breathtaking Ode to Gaming & Geek Culture

Ready Player One Poster

The latest Steven Spielberg sci-fi epic is Ready Player One, based on the novel by Ernest Cline, and this is Spielberg’s best film in years.

It takes place in Columbus, Ohio in 2045 and follows the saga of Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), a downtrodden teenager who escapes his drab existence by living in a hyper VR called the OASIS. This online universe is a place where you can be anyone through avatars and live any kind of existence.

iron giant ready player one

Many visitors are active gamers like Wade who goes by a customized avatar called Parzival. Others have imaginative avatars as well, some unique, some are replicas of popular fictional characters. Some of these include the Iron Giant, Freddy Krueger, Chucky, Batman, Lara Croft and others. They all sport assorted gear, drive various vehicles and mixed costumes from across popular games, films, TV shows, etc. A great example is the DeLorean vehicle from Back to the Future that Parzival drives or a Clark Kent disguise that is used at one point. Comparing Wade’s drab real world, which is literally crumbling apart, to the wondrous marvel of the OASIS, it is easy to see why most of the world’s populace chooses to spend most of their time in the OASIS.

In the film, the mysterious and super-rich creator of the OASIS, James Halliday (Mark Rylance) died a few years earlier. Before his death, Halliday set up an epic quest in the OASIS where gamers have to find three keys to gain control of the artificial realm and become insanely rich. Halliday had a deep love of pop culture, especially sci-fi, fantasy, anime, horror and comic books, and so sprinkled many Easter eggs throughout the OASIS as clues to finding the keys.

Wade lives in squalor and like most players sets out to find the keys to figuratively open the door to a better life. He also shares Halliday’s love of pop culture and thinks creatively, which gives him a distinct advantage in the quest. Joining him are a ragtag team of Gunters (Easter egg hunters), who include Samantha Cook/Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), Aech (Lena Waithe), Daito (Win Morisaki) and Sho (Philip Zhao). Standing in their way are not just billions of other online gamers and Gunters but the CEO of Innovative Online Industries (IOI), Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn). He commands a virtual army in the OASIS and desires to gain complete control of the online world. Needless to say, Sorrento will stop at nothing to win the ultimate prize, even if that means using the resources of IOI to endanger everyone, including Wade and his friends.

Ready Player One is a fresh, exciting and nostalgic ode to our ever-expanding pop culture, especially our favorite genres.  Nearly every moment in the film just stuns our eyes with all the references that are too many to list here or even see after a few viewings. There are millions of them and part of the fun watching the film is trying to spot as many of them as possible. For a lesser director it would be so easy to let them overwhelm the film, but since Spielberg is Spielberg, he keeps the focus on the story and the characters. Many of the references and eggs actually serve a purpose in Ready Player One, in fact one of them, a certain film, plays an important role during a sequence that leaves you marveling over how Spielberg and his team managed to pull it off.

As great as it is, Ready Player One may be too much for some, probably those that look down upon geek culture. Others who embrace the culture will love what this film offers. There are some drawbacks, however. A bit more time should have been spent in the real word just for comparison purposes. It is established that reality is undesirable, but it should have been shown more. We never learn why the world is decaying, is it solely because most people retreated to the OASIS? Wade’s real life was depressing but what about his friends’ lives? Aside from some screen time with Samantha, the others are ciphers. Also, a key message in the film about living your real life instead of retreating into fantasies is hit over our heads repeatedly to the point of overkill.

Thankfully, Steven Spielberg’s mastery behind the camera and some genuinely good performances by Sheridan, Cooke, Waithe and Mendelsohn elevate the film above its faults. Of this group, Cooke and Mendelsohn stand out. Cooke’s character expresses a quiet sensitivity while exhibiting great strength and ingenuity. Meanwhile, Mendelsohn does a terrific job portraying the villainous corporate head of IOI.

say Anything ready player one

Nonetheless, the film is a pure joy and captures the fun and wonderment of Steven Spielberg’s earlier works. It reminds us why he is still the master storyteller in cinema. It lets us revel in our love of nerd culture while reminding us that the simple things are the best.  Ready Player One is a heartfelt and visual spectacle that celebrates our love of geekdom. Go see it now and a few dozen times before buying the download or home release.

José Soto

 

 

Jan 3 2016

Ten Films To Look For In 2016

team cap 2 id42

We’re clearly in the decade of the superhero film and this year’s slate of films reinforces that notion. Yet, there are plenty of other interesting genre films that range from fantasy to solid sci-fi. Here are ten films being released this year that are the most anticipated.

10. Passengers: The two superstars of genre films Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence co-star in this film about a man (Pratt) who wakes up prematurely in a generational starship and awakens a second passenger (Lawrence) for companionship. Given its release date and potentially controversial subject matter (the morality of waking someone up in that situation just to cure loneliness), this film may get lost or get moved to a different date. Still, Passengers sounds like a fascinating film worth watching if done right. (Release Date: December 21)

fantastic beasts9. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Inspired by the book by J.K. Rowling and set in the Harry Potter universe, it’s directed by David Yates, who helmed the last few Harry Potter films. Focusing on an adult sorcerer who comes to America and the strained relations between magical and non-magical people (muggles) the trailer captured the mood of the Harry Potter film universe. The question is will it please the die-hard fans who will miss Harry Potter? (Release Date: November 18)

8. The BFG: The latest genre offering from the master filmmaker Steven Spielberg is based on a Roald Dahl fantasy book of the same name about a girl who befriends a friendly giant. It may be off putting to some fans who may want a genre film from Spielberg with more heft, especially those aching for the long-delayed Robopocalypse. However, it’s a Steven Spielberg film and he is arguably the greatest living director around, so The BFG is something worth checking out. (Release Date: July 1)

7. Deadpool: After a long gestating period deadpool poseand a terrible debut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the Merc with the Mouth gets his own solo film. Thanks to a tireless campaign by star Ryan Reynolds and others, 20th Century Fox finally greenlit the film last year and soon we’ll see if the efforts were worth it. Everyone involved promises that Deadpool will be a no-holds-bar, in-your-face but most of all, a faithfully violent interpretation of the Marvel Comics mercenary with the superhuman healing power thingy. (Release Date: February 12)

6. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: The first Star Wars anthology film comes out a year after the mammoth return of the space fantasy franchise. Eager to cash in on their billion-dollar franchise purchase Disney will increase the Star Wars movie presence with this prequel of sorts that is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Forest Whitaker and Alan Tudyk. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story details the effort of a team of Rebels out to steal the plans of the Death Star. (Release Date: December 16)

star wars rogue one cast

5. Suicide Squad: A film that expands the DC Expanded Universe (DCEU), DC Comics and Warner Bros.’ answer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), focuses on a group of captured supervillains sent out on a deadly mission by the U.S. government. Highlighted by a Batman (Ben Afflec) cameo and Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and guaranteed scene-stealer Jared Leto as the new Joker, Suicide Squad will explore a darker corner of the DCEU as it gives audiences a unique spin on superhero films. (Release Date: August 5)

suicide Squad

4. Doctor Strange: The second MCU release for 2016 is already making waves on the Internet ever since we got our first glimpse of Benedict Cumberbatch as the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange. Marvel Studios is known for not resting on its superhero laurels and Doctor Strange doesn’t seem like an exception based on released concept art, which is quite eerie. Now forging a new storytelling avenue, that of the mystical and horror realm, this live-action presentation of the Marvel Comics character will hopefully be another hit for Marvel Studios. (Release Date: November 4)

doc strange

3. Independence Day: Resurgence: Finally after twenty years, we’re getting the sequel to Independence Day, the smash hit of 1996. Reuniting most of the original cast and newcomers like Liam Hemswoth, director Roland Emmerich picks up the alien invasion story twenty years after the giant alien motherships nearly destroyed humanity and the world. Now armed with hybridized alien tech, humanity, led by Jeff Goldblum, prepares for another confrontation with the aliens when they return to our solar system. (June 24)

2. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Eagerly awaited ever since this film was announced back in 2013 during Comic-Con, it’s the first live-action meeting between Superman/Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) and Batman/Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and it looks like a monumental event! Not only does Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice boast the first encounter between the two but it also has the debut of Wonder Woman/Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) and a new Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg). The last character may not thrill fans who aren’t too keen with the casting of Luthor, but Affleck’s once-controversial casting has won over many fans. With Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the DCEU will boldly engage the MCU in the Superhero Film War. (March 25)

batman meets superman

1. Captain America: Civil War: The epic throwdown between Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.) is the centerpiece in the third Captain America film. Loosely based on the Marvel Comics’ mini-series Civil War, this film, directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, promises to be as hard-hitting and thought-provoking as the last Captain America film. But that’s not all Captain America: Civil War has going for it. The film will also feature the MCU debuts of Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Marvel’s flagship hero Spider-Man (Tom Holland) himself. Still, with all this going for Captain America: Civil War can the Russo Brothers beat the director sophomore curse that has plagued the second MCU films done by veteran directors (see Joss Whedon and Jon Favreau)? On the other hand, the Russo Bros.’ Captain America: The Winter Solider was one of the greatest superhero films ever made and showcased their talents as directors so they should be able to repeat their success. (May 6)

cap vs iron man

Other noteworthy genre films coming out this year include: The 5th Wave (Jan. 22), another young-adult sci-fi film about an alien invasion; Kung Fu Panda 3 (Jan. 29), Dreamworks Animation’s martial arts, talking animal saga continues with Jack Black; Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (February 5), adaptation of the horror romance of the same name; Midnight Special (March 18), delayed from last year about a father on the run with his superpowered son; The Jungle Book ( April 15), Jon Favreau’s live-action adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling classic; X-Men: Apocalypse (May 27), apthe sixth X-Men film brings back the rebooted franchise and a new slate of characters, including a mighty foe; The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist (June 10), this sequel directed by James Wan reunites the stars from the first frightfest, but many wonder if it can be as scary as the first one; Finding Dory (June 17), Pixar’s sequel to the classic underwater animated film looks just as magical and colorful as the forgetful Dory goes missing; finding doryWarcraft (June 10), director Duncan Jones hopes to beat the video-game movie adaptation with this epic-looking fantasy adventure; Ghostbusters (July 15), a controversial, all-female reboot/remake of the beloved, comedic paranormal hunters; Star Trek Beyond (July 22) the terrible trailer with its Beastie Boys music dampened expectations for the latest Star Trek film, but it could be better than the trailer lets on; The Legend of Tarzan (July 1), David Yates directs this jungle epic starring Margo Robbie and Alexander Skarsgard as the title hero; Pete’s Dragon (August 12), a remake of the Disney classic about a boy and his oversized but cuddly dragon; Gambit (Oct. 7), another live-action adaptation of a Marvel Comic book character starring Channing Tatum; and Assassin’s Creed (Dec 21), stars Michael Fassbender as Callum Lynch/Aguilar, a master assassin in this long-awaited, video-game adaptation.

José Soto

Aug 31 2015

Falling Skies Concludes

falling skies picture

After five seasons the TNT TV series Falling Skies has come to a conclusion. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Falling Skies told the saga of the Mason family and a ragtag group of human fighters resisting an alien occupation of Earth. It was a rocky road getting to its endgame with unexpected highs and lows.

Looking back at Falling Skies, it could be seen that it was trying to emulate the same post-apocalyptic feel of the more superior The Walking Dead, but it couldn’t achieve those lofty goals. Still, it was for the most part entertaining to watch.

The first three seasons were easily the best for Falling Skies since the show displayed a desperate, squalid atmosphere where the freedom fighters were always on the run and for the most part were just staying one step ahead of the alien Espheni and their minions. As the show progressed so too did the humans.

fs castLed by Tom Mason (Noah Wyle), his wife Anne (Moon Bloodgood) and Col. Dan Weaver (Will Patton), the human fighters got better at fighting the aliens and were able to set up a provincial government thanks to the help of alien allies called the Volm, represented by one of the coolest TV aliens, Cochise (Doug Jones). Despite its limited budget, Falling Skies was generally entertaining, well acted and had some impressive production values. The set design was extremely dark and disheveled, which sold the fact that the American countryside was decimated by the alien invaders. The show had its faults such as delving too much in Mason family drama that involved Hal’s three sons, and the stories and characters were uneven.

hal and cochise skitters attack truck

Regrettably, Falling Skies took a turn for the worst in its fourth season, which was just a symptom of its behind-the-scenes hurdles where the show went through many showrunners. How bad was it? Well, one of the worst sci-fi clichés was used: the alien/human hybrid who prematurely ages into a young adult and has superpowers. Then the show’s characters were split up; some were put into a ghetto where Tom Mason became a vigilante superhero (I’m not making this up), then one of his sons wound up in an alien youth camp where the children were being indoctrinated to welcome the alien conquerors. If the aliens had conquered Earth why go through all this trouble?

Luckily, Falling Skies improved somewhat in its final season. It became grittier and darker even though the writing and character motivations were all over the place. Take for example, breaking bad popethe character of John Pope (Colin Cunningham), who was first introduced as a villainous biker type then became an antihero. During the final season, Pope decided to go back to his murderous, evil ways and was after Tom Mason. At that point, Pope became like Jason Voorhees and was impossible to kill. He would show up in the last few shows in an extended cameo and be unceremoniously dispatched only to turn up alive in the next episode. This went all the way into the final episode, but at least his final scenes were actually effective thanks to Cunningham’s acting ability.

It was easy to tell that the showrunners wanted to wrap up the show in the last episodes, which is why things felt so rushed. But what was maddening, was the insistence of introducing and then ignoring new characters. Some were interesting, others were forgettable. Like with Pope, this trait went on into the final episode “Reborn” where a new biker type entered the picture (Jeff Fahey), who basically provided off-screen cannon fodder.

find your warriorThe final battle between the humans and the aliens showed its budgeted limitations with much of the action happening off-screen and with sound effects. But at least “Reborn” ended on a satisfactory note, even if it won’t go down as a great finale. Looking at its pluses and minuses, the final episode represented the entirety of Falling Skies. Some good ideas with uneven execution, but on the whole, the show was a decent diversion on TV for the summer.

Lewis T. Grove

Jun 28 2015

Jurassic World Dominates The Summer

irex rules

For the third weekend in a row Jurassic World is the box office champion having beaten off challenges from Inside Out and Ted 2. To date the film has earned $500 million in North America (and over $1.2 billion worldwide) making it the biggest film hit of the year, which is an amazing feat considering it’s the fourth film in a disregarded franchise.

Think about it. Of the three Jurassic Park films, only the first one is considered a classic, while the two that followed are seen as inferior, even though Steven Spielberg, the director of the first film, helmed the second one. The last film, Jurassic Park III, came out fourteen years ago and is a weak entry in the series. With such diminishing returns, the amount of time since Jurassic Park III came out and the thin credentials of Jurassic World’s director, Colin Trevorrow, not much was expected of the fourth film.

In fact, when the trailers first started making their way through the Internet, many kept snarking about how fake the dinosaurs looked and how dumb the idea was that the film had trained Velociraptors. The Summer of 2015 was supposed to belong to Avengers: Age of Ultron, remember that film? Well, to say that Jurassic World defied expectations is a gross understatement.

The question is why is it so successful? There are many reasons and theories. There’s nostalgia for the first film, which has endured for all this time and broken gyronow the second film has come around to being recognized as a worthwhile sequel. So the public appetite was there for more adventures at Isla Nublar. Another reason has to do with the universal (no pun intended) appeal of dinosaurs. Out of a crowded summer schedule filled with superheroes and explosions, the sight of majestic and deadly dinosaurs was welcomed by those wanting something different. This leads to another reason; maybe the public is getting tired of superhero films. Avengers: Age of Ultron was over-marketed just like last year’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and although it was a huge success it didn’t match the original film in terms of quality and box office returns. The likely culprit for that has to do with that film’s merits and word of mouth. Then that leads to a final point, the word of mouth about Jurassic World and weaker-than-expected competition gave the film legs.

irex rampageBut the underlining reason for its success is that it’s a downright fun and well-made film. Jurassic World doesn’t have any pretensions and it isn’t a perfect film, but it accomplishes what it was supposed to do, being thrilling and entertaining. The textbook example of a summer film. Some may think it’s too early to declare Jurassic World the King of the Summer, but consider what’s left; Terminator: Genisys, Fantastic Four, Pixels. Seriously, can anyone expect these films to fire the imagination? Maybe Ant-Man and Minions will be contenders, but as of now Jurassic World rules the summer!

Waldermann Rivera