Willow - 30th Anniversary

On May 19, 1988, the movie Willow came out in theaters. Since this is one of my favorite movies, I wanted to do a post on this. My purpose here is not to talk about how the movie got made, but talk about my experiences with it, and also how it affected the industry as a whole. As well, I would like to talk about things that I would like to see from the 30^th Anniversary.

The first time I discovered Willow was when I was 5 or 6 years old, I was living in Brampton Ontario, which is up in Canada. Me and my older sister were at home with a babysitter and he put that movie on, I did not watch it all at the time, but I remember coming in at certain parts throughout the movie and just being mesmerized at the parts I was seeing. Later on when I would go back and recheck it out, I was just blown away by this world that was presented, something about this world ignited my imagination to new territories. I discovered this movie before I discovered Star Wars. This movie throughout the early part of my childhood was not something I would watch every single night or anything like that, but it stood out to me on a consistent basis. Also, the movie featured the best demise for a villain ever.

When I learned about DVD, and that all my entire childhood that I was getting only half the picture when I was watching the movie on VHS, I began to wonder how much of the picture I was missing all the years I was watching it as a kid. Then in late 2001, Willow finally arrived on DVD and I got to experience Willow in a new way with the entire picture, I was so excited. I felt that I could experience Willow in the way it was meant to be seen, in 2.35 aspect ratio. Also with the DVD came a few extra features which allowed me to see some behind the scenes work. The biggest surprise was to learn that one of the visual effects was a groundbreaking achievement that helped pave the way for computer generation work. A simple way to put it, all the great visual effects that can be done on the computer today are partially thanks to this movie. The sequence in question is when Willow must transform Raziel back into a human, she is currently a goat near the last half an hour of the movie and so he must use the spell he was taught to transform her into a human, and as he does so, she is transformed into many different animals until she is finally back into her human form. This sequence used a technology that was not yet created at the time. The only idea they had was to fuse images together, it would scan the pictures into the computer and then would program various aspects of the picture to transform from one animal to another. If you look up the featurette “From Morf to Morphing”, you can learn how they developed the technology and how it affected things from that point on. This technology helped evolve digital effects and amazing effects like in Terminator 2: Judgement Day back in the day, and would continue to push the digital effects industry.

 

When the 25^th Anniversary took place five years ago, the movie was re-released on Blu-Ray, which of course I bought, no questions asked. The movie was restored and the picture was great to look at, as they took time to make the picture look great for high definition, and even added a few new extra features on top of what they already added for the DVD. Unfortunately, it appears the movie was discontinued on Blu-Ray, so if you were trying to find it on Blu-Ray, you would not be able to as easily, and it would be expensive to get a copy. So for the 30^th Anniversary, that would be my first big recommendation, to re-release it on Blu-Ray, or even 4K Ultra HD. If they restore the picture yet again for 4K, I will buy a new copy, especially if they add any new extra features. I think they could do a lot of cool for the 30^th Anniversary, so I will take time to put my wish list on what I would like to see. It would make sense that not all of these would happen, but a few of these could and would be awesome. Anyway, here you go:

-A 30^th Anniversary release of the movie on 4K Ultra HD or Blu-Ray with a 4K restoration of the film. Even include new bonus features including a documentary on the whole making of process of the movie, cover from how the movie started in pre-production, and how some more of the practical effects were made, how certain shots were completed, and how the scoring session for the movie was done by the late James Horner. Also talk about the legacy of the movie, especially after all these years and how it’s still remembered by many fans, and the impact it had.

-a new 2 disc CD of the original soundtrack of Willow, it will feature of the score done by James Horner. They could even do an isolated score on the Blu-Ray.

-A Visual History book of Willow. If you are familiar with the Visual History series of books like Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, Labyrinth, or Dark Crystal, then you should know what I am talking about. This would be a great way to get a bunch of sketches or photos or anything from the production of the movie.

-Re-release the comics that were released at the time the movie came out and include them in a new graphic novel. If I am not mistaken, Marvel released a few issues in comic book form to promote the movie. They could even do a new limited comic book series that touches on other aspects of the world of Willow, like the backstory of Madmartigan, or even on the feud between Bavmorda and Raziel, or even the story of the brownies. It could be a 4 to 6 issue mini series that would be cool to get.

-a new board game to get our hands on, or even re-release the old video games, like Willow on the NES, or the arcade version of the game that could be ported to an SNES cartridge. The SNES cartridge sounds like a bizarre idea but I have seen companies reproduce old game cartridges for old systems, so this could be done. But of course the easiest way is to make it available to buy and download as a digital version for the Nintendo online store or something like that.

After 30 years, there are fans like me that have been affected by this movie. It still holds a special place in my heart, and I still enjoy visiting the world of Willow every time I put the movie on. I hope they try to do something special with the movie for it’s 30^th Anniversary and don’t let this moment pass by.

Where Do We Go After Infinity War? (SPOILERS)

I waited to write this to give everyone time to see the movie. Before I dive into spoilers and where everything could go after Infinity War, I want to give my quick spoiler free reaction. It’s very simple, it’s incredible and you should see it, especially if you are a Marvel fan. If you haven’t seen it, drop everything and head over to the theater.

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WARNING: SPOILERS

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Okay, I presume if you are still reading, you have seen it. This was an epic event, I got to experience it on an IMAX screen opening night, and it was totally worth it. Right off the back, one of the concerns on our minds was if juggling too many characters would be too high of a risk and it wouldn’t work out the way they were hoping it would. The good thing with Marvel is that they have been building to this, and they have experimented with many heroes in the past, like the first Avengers. They took their time to build it, and because they proved themselves with different approaches including team ups, I was confident they would succeed, still concerned but confident.

I want to take time to address my thoughts on big questions that came up during the movie. Some are confirmed, others are pure speculation:

Why can’t Bruce Banner turn into the Hulk? 

There are ideas, but the one that really stood out to me was that the last time he was on Earth, he basically did a ton of damage to an entire city in Age of Ultron, in fact if you remember they had a warrant for his arrest for the damage he did, which was when he was under the influence of Scarlett Witch when she was working for Ultron. At the end of the movie, when Black Widow was trying to get Hulk back, Hulk just shuts her off and flies away, and we find out he makes it to Sakaar, and there is a quote from Hulk which stands out, “Earth hates Hulk”. Though Thor tries to convince him otherwise, Hulk does think this and when you think about the destruction that he has done, it probably is hard for Hulk to make an appearance when they are on Earth. This will be one thing that will be fixed in the next one I am sure.

Where is Hawkeye?

Simple answer…..he was playing Tag……okay I am kidding, but Jeremy Remner has a movie called Tag coming out later this summer. The Russo brothers have confirmed that he is on a secret mission, and that is why he isn’t found during Infinity War, and also he was under house arrest when he cut a deal with the government to protect his family. Scott Lang (Ant Man) did the same thing, and there is more to his story (more on that later). I feel there will be more to Hawkeye’s story in where he was at, especially that Nick Fury and Maria Hill were about to contact him when the insanity started to take place.

Is Gamora trapped in the Soul World? 

This theory has been confirmed by the Russo brothers themselves, they explained that Gamora is trapped in the Soul World, which is why after Thanos snapped his fingers, he was transported to the Soul World and he was able to see her as a child. I think her presence will play a big part in Avengers 4.

What possibility did Doctor Strange see that would make him give up the Time Stone? 

If you remember throughout the movie, Doctor Strange refused to give up the Time Stone, and vowed to protect it, it was brought up so many times, but when they were on Titan, Doctor Strange looked into the future to find over 14 million possibilities and only one of them was where they were successful. At the moment when Thanos was about to kill Iron Man, Doctor Strange was willing to give up the Time Stone. When Doctor Strange was about to turn to ash, he told Tony that this was the only way. We aren’t sure if Doctor Strange revealed the plan to Tony Stark or if he had him try to figure it out for himself, but if anything, it’s clear that Tony Stark will play a very big part in the next movie.

What did Shuri do when the Black Order was breaking into her lab to steal the Mind Stone? 

Shuri was working to get the Mind Stone off and after the Black Order broke in, she was doing something before turning off the hologram and kicking butt. She was probably doing one of two things, one was trying to back up Vision’s mind into her computer, or she could have been backing up the data on the Mind Stone. Either way, what she was doing is probably going to help the Avengers out in the next one.

Did Valkyrie and Korg make it out alive? 

At the beginning of the movie, we see Thanos attack Thor’s ship, and we immediately presume that Thor lost all his people….or did he? The directors confirmed that Valkyrie had made it out alive, and I believe they confirmed that Korg made it out too. So yes, they are still around.

Did the Collector get killed? 

I think it’s safe to assume yes, but you never know because it’s obvious that the Guardians of the Galaxy showed up after Thanos got the Reality Stone, but that doesn’t mean that the Collector was there when he got it, he could have escaped beforehand.

As you know, this was Thanos’s movie, yes the Avengers and all the Marvel characters played big parts, but this was focused on Thanos’s quest to find all the Infinity Stones and to wipe out half the universe. That is why the ending is very bleak, because it is about the bad guy achieving his goals, and the next Avengers movie will be about everyone trying to fix the problems that have occurred. This is where some of my thoughts on the future Marvel movies will come into play. I honestly think that the next two movies in the MCU were set up this way on purpose between Avengers 3 and 4, I think each movie will bring things to the table that will solve the problem that had just occurred.

Ant Man and the Wasp (July 6, 2018)

Of course, after the dark ending, we will want a fun adventure movie in the MCU to brighten our day, and this appears to deliver that. I have been told that this will start with taking place sometime after Civil War. Scott Lang is placed under house arrest after the events of Civil War and after that had occurred, Hope Pym and Hank Pym approach Scott with a new mission where they need him. They are trying to stop a new villain called the Ghost who stole Hank’s tech. In the most recent trailer we find out that Hank opened up the Quantum Realm and that his tech was stolen and that they need to retrieve it. We don’t know why the Ghost wants the tech but it appears that she is able to come in and out of the Quantum Realm at will. As you already know, I really liked the first Ant Man movie, and this is something I am really looking forward to because the tech and ideas just look really cool. Of course, we get Michael Pena’s character and his two sidekicks back as well, which will add to the fun in this. Also, based on what I hear, they will find Hank’s wife in the Quantum Realm, I don’t know how but that is a big part of the story. So, why do I think this will play a big part in leading up to Avengers 4. Well, the big thing is the Quantum Realm, I think the things they discover there will play a part on trying to bring everyone back from being turned to ash. So first off, there are different theories as to what exactly happened to everyone when they were turned to dust at the end of Infinity War, and one of them is that they are put in the soul stone. If you remember at the end of Infinity War after Thanos had snapped his fingers, he first goes into the soul world and approaches Gamora who is a child, and it’s all orange and all, at least that is how I think of it. Discovering the Quantum Realm and what is possible there will open up many possibilities as to how they can fix the problems after Infinity War. If you click on this link, you can see why I think these predictions are solid. Regardless on how big or small the answers are, I am still looking forward to this for so many reasons.

Captain Marvel (March 6, 2019)

During the end credit sequence, you may recall Nick Fury and Maria Hill were in New York when they were turned to ash, right before Nick was vaporized, he was trying to use a pager to reach out to someone, when he was gone and we saw the pager, you saw it was sending something and then a logo appeared and there were many that were probably confused, for those that are familiar with Captain Marvel knew exactly who Nick Fury was trying to reach out to. For those that aren’t familiar with Captain Marvel, she is the equivalent of Superman, she ended up getting all these super powers and she is basically invincible. I don’t know much of her origin story this movie will explore a bit of that. In case you don’t know this will be a prequel movie, it will take place in the 1990s, so before the first Iron Man, and we see Nick Fury before he got his eye patch. Also, Agent Phil Coulsen will make a return here. Some of the things I hear is that she will be working for the Nova Corp on Xandar. I don’t know all about her powers since I haven’t read her comics, but I am intrigued and I might take a look into those. One of the things is that she can fly in space. The reason her movie is a prequel is to help set up her character and help show why she was called at the end of the movie, but most importantly she is going to play a big part in helping to defeat Thanos or to help fix the current problem everyone is in.

Avengers 4 (May 3, 2019.....maybe a week earlier than that if we are lucky)

Now the obvious next big question is what is going to happen in Avengers 4. How will the fix the problem?

One of the big things that kept getting discussed was that Avengers 4 was going to be a time travel movie. So will they go back to stop Thanos and create a new timeline? That is a possibility, but I have a different idea in terms of that. I think they are going to use time travel to go into Thanos’s past and see what lead him to want to seek out the Infinity Stones in the first place, and see what they could to do to change Thanos’s mind. With Gamora trapped in the Soul World and her being the only thing that Thanos truly loved, something will happen that will help to want to have Thanos reverse this big issue.

Another theory about Avengers 4 that has been brought up is that they are going to make a new Infinity Gaunlet for Iron Man to wear and collect the stones so he can reverse the damage done. This would be appropriate since he started the Marvel Cinematic Universe and it would be fitting for him to end this arc of the MCU, plus his character has grown tremendously over the many movies. Plus there is something that was pointed out to me lately that I never considered but started paying more attention, and when I point it out, it will incept into your minds, but it has to do with Tony Stark’s left arm, it always seems to get injured and there are times you see him in later movies holding his left arm, and even in Civil War, he makes the comment to Black Widow, “My left arm is numb, is that even normal?” So there is a theory where he could lose his left arm when fixing the universe, especially when you realize that Thanos’s gauntlet was damaged after he snapped his fingers and destroyed half the universe.

One thing that was confirmed, the characters that die here will remain dead. One of the comments I read from one of the writers is that the feeling overs Infinity War is short lived, and that the feelings over Avengers 4 will be greater and more lasting. Let me explain what I think that means. Yes, the impact on the after effects of Infinity War were devastating, heck, my entire theater was stunned at the end. Regardless, as many are already predicting, everyone that turned to dust will be coming back during Avengers 4 (Spider Man, Black Panther, and Guardians of the Galaxy all have sequels coming), so we basically know this feeling is short lived, but they want this feeling to stick for a while. However, many have confirmed that the deaths in Avengers 4 will be permanent, especially with the fact that many of the contracts for these actors will be up after this upcoming movie, and Avengers 4 is meant to be a finale of sorts. Something really interesting, all of the heroes that were spared from being turned to dust are basically the original Avengers, with the exception of a few like Nebula and Rocket. It obviously sets it up that this will be the last hurrah for the original Avengers team before they move on, and it would make sense for a few of them to be killed in this next one. Captain America is high on the death prediction list, and I could see that be the case.

Do you remember that kid from Iron Man 3, the one that helped Tony Stark out after ending up in Tennessee? He is supposed to return in Avengers 4. I don’t know what role he will be playing or if it will be a big or a small role, but he will be in it. I bet some other MCU characters will make a return in this one. Right now it’s hard to say who they will be, I am going to guess that Erik Selvig will be involved in some way. I think I heard a while back that the actor Stellan Skarsgard mention that he had one more movie in his contract with Marvel before he was done, this was pre-Thor Ragnarok, and we assume it’s going to be for this. He could help with coming up with ideas in defeating Thanos since he had been controlled by one of his minions. Speaking of Thor characters, maybe Lady Sif could come to help since she was not killed off in Thor Ragnarok. I would like to think that Agent Coulson would make an appearance since he is alive in the show Agents of Shield, but I am going to chalk that as an unlikely, but here’s to hoping. Maybe Valkyrie could show up and help out since they were on the way to Earth at the end of Thor Ragnarok before the invasion happened. I am sure Pepper Potts and Happy will show up. A part of me is really hoping that Elisabeth Ross makes an appearance, she is Bruce Banner’s original love and hasn’t been seen since the Incredible Hulk, many consider that move to be non-existent but they brought back William Hurt’s General Ross for Civil War and also briefly in Infinity War, so I consider the possibility there. Plus, with Bruce Banner’s issue of turning into Hulk, maybe she would be the key to help him. Also, when you consider the idea of time travel, that opens up any character that have died to make an appearance, for example, characters like Obadiah Stane who was the villain of the first Iron Man that was killed off could show up when they are going back in time, and like Red Skull they could find a reason to return to his character again. The possibilities are limitless with time travel. One thing that has been told to us by the writers, if we thought Infinity War was big, they told us that they only scratched the surface and Avengers 4 would be bigger.

The title for Avengers 4 will be ???. I am not good at guessing titles, so I am not going to try here. The directors did say it was a spoiler and would not reveal the title until sometime after Infinity War was released. I presume we won’t find out until later this year, maybe they will reveal when they drop the trailer for Avengers 4 in (November?). We heard it is not Infinity Gaunlet as originally predicted, and that it is suppose to be something that would scare us, one of the predictions was Endgame since this is more about the end of one era of the MCU and heading into a new one. Other popular predictions are Avengers: Disassembled, though I think it would be something more positive since this is Marvel we are talking about.

Regardless of what the predictions currently are, this is exciting and I can’t wait to see the movie when it arrives in theaters next year. The killer part is waiting for the movie to arrive, but I am also excited for the bread crumbs that will be placed along the way to help us get ready for this. I hope you enjoyed this read and I will catch you next time.