Oh man. This one takes me back. When I was a kid, I had the amazing opportunity to take a vacation to Disney World with my family. I remember a lot about the trip, but one of the highlights was seeing Captain EO, starring Michael Jackson. It was the first 3-D movie I had ever seen, and I saw it at a time when Michael Jackson was probably the most popular person on the planet.
As I was sifting through the news today, I saw an article on the LA Times blog that said the Captain EO movie will be returning to Disneyland starting today (Feb-23). WTF?! Really?! Wow! According to the post:
At 10 a.m., the 17-minute, science fiction-themed musical returns to the Tomorrowland Theater for limited engagement.
This is awesome. Just the fact that there is a theater called ‘The Tomorrowland Theater’ makes me feel sentimental and nostalgic. And now they are bringing back the 17-minute movie from 1986. What’s next? Bringing back the original ‘The Transformers: The Movie‘ to theaters nationwide? Now that would be awesome!
For now, I have collected several pictures from the days of Captain EO. Enjoy!
Michael Jackson as Captain EOMichael Jackson as Captain EOMichael Jackson as Captain EOCaptain EO with FuzzballCaptain EO Movie PosterCaptain EO Comic BookFuzzball from the Captain EO movieMichael Jackson, Francis Ford Coppola & George Lucas (filming Captain EO)
Ho. Ly. Crap. Go see this movie. Like yesterday. The Star Trek movie is entertaining from start to finish. I never looked at my watch during the entire 2 hours and 6 minutes. I don’t even remember glancing away from the screen. Not even once. Here’s why I thought Star Trek was awesome with a capital A:
The plot was fantastic.
The flow of the movie kept me engaged and enthralled.
The bad guy was fierce, cruel and detestable.
The good guy was a total rebel badass who gets his ass kicked all over the place.
The movie was perfectly cast.
Deadly creatures on other planets!
Time travel and black holes are part of the storyline.
In true Star Trek form, an inept redshirt dies.
StarFleet Academy girls wear short skirts.
J.J. Abrams makes everything awesome.
So there. That’s why the Star Trek movie is awesome.
On a side note, I need to warn you about the Wolverine movie. Apparently it’s terrible. Steve’s review of the movie makes me sick to my stomach. I hate that they ruined a movie that could have been awesome. It seems that a popular trend of the 2000’s decade has been making movies focused on comic book super heroes (Batman, Superman, Iron Man, X-men, Wolverine, Incredible Hulk) and cartoon action figures from the 1980s (Transformers, G.I. Joe).
I think we can all agree that many of these movies have been awesome, but we should also realize that movie studios are going to produce some duds. I feel badly for Steve that Wolverine turned out to be a terrible movie for him (though I have spoken with some people who enjoyed the movie). Steve probably could have written a better screenplay for that film. He won’t even go see the G.I. Joe movie coming out this year, and I don’t blame him. A blond Baroness? Are you kidding me?
As for me, I’m hoping that the second Transformers movie blows away the first one because I wasn’t too impressed with the first Transformers movie. I’m not sure if it’s Michael Bay’s fault. Because I grew up worshipping G1 Transformers, it’s honestly hard for me to see them in a form other than cartoon. But I’m giving it my best shot. And I did like the first one. I’m just looking forward to the extended cast of Transformers in Revenge of the Fallen. Arcee! Devastator! I can’t wait!
Did you know that Virgin Galactic is set to send a few hundred people to space? I know. Simply incredible. Even more incredible is the price tag of $200,000 per ticket. And for $200k you get some great customer service from highly trained space travel agents. Wait a minute. Are they experts at travel agent stuff, or are they experts in traveling to space and back? Don’t worry about that part.
Book your place in space now and join around 250 Virgin Galactic astronauts who will venture into space.
Tickets cost $200,000 and deposits start from $20,000. If you are interested in discussing your reservation with us directly please fill in this page and we will be in touch as soon as possible to answer any questions you may have. Or you can contact one of our Accredited Space Agents around the world. They have been specially selected and trained by us to handle all aspects of your space flight reservation. If you just want to receive regular updates from us then please click here.
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipOne
Virgin Galactic actually has two spaceships: SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo. They are carried into orbit by WhiteKnightOne and WhiteKnightTwo. Those look like two planes that share an adjacent wing. That looks expensive. Much like hybrid cars, it seems space travel is slightly cost prohibitive for most people. But I don’t really care because I am happy that human beings will soon be traveling to space for fun. NASA’s cool and all, but their astronauts must have PhD’s in all types of sciences. And NASA astronauts have to do a lot of work when they are in space. No space work with Virgin Galactic! Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic only requires that you have $200,000.
Imagine the excitement. Imagine the adventure. Imagine re-entering Earth’s atmosphere at 6G’s. I’m thinking some rich people are going to throw up all over the place. I guess it only makes sense that wealthy people get to be the first to enjoy space tourism. As my mom would say when I wanted Optimus Prime back in 1984, “You’ll just have to settle for Ratchet. That’s just the way it goes.” And then I’m all like, “Aw, man. Ratchet? He’s an ambulance Transformer. He doesn’t even have a gun. Just give me Cliffjumper, I guess.” In my opinion, that’s a great analogy of this situation. It’s also kind of like vacationing in sunny Midland, TX instead of traveling to the sub orbital boundary of Earth’s atmosphere. Wouldn’t it be cool if everyone had the option of taking a trip to space?
Even though it sounds expensive, people are lining up to go to space. According to this article, close to 300 people have already made deposits:
Virgin Galactic, part of Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, has collected $40 million in deposits from would-be space tourists including physicist Stephen Hawking and ex-racing driver Niki Lauda, and hopes to start commercial trips within two years.
Holy crap. $40 million in deposits. I’d say that have a solid business model. The demand is certainly there. Maybe I could sell ads on this site and raise $200,000. Then again. I don’t think anyone reads this blog. Oh well. I guess I’ll just go home and play with Ratchet. Yeah. I’ve still got him for sentimental reasons.
Ratchet, the ambulance Transformer
[Shut up, Wheeljack. In fact, can you just get outta here? I’ve gotta get this right if I want that promotion.]
