Disney Finally Confirms ‘Star Wars’ Release Schedule

Just about every Star Wars fan has Dec. 18 circled on the calendar as the release date for J.J. Abrams‘ Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens, but what will happen after that? Well, there’s the mysterious standalone movie slated for Dec. 16, 2016.  But then what?

Thanks to Disney’s annual shareholders report, we now know for sure that Star Wars: Episode VIII (directed by Rian Johnson) will be released in 2017 and Episode IX (probably also to be directed by Johnson) in 2019.

Fifth Doctor Opposes Casting a Female Doctor

With the smashing success of Peter Capaldi‘s debut season as the 12th Doctor, no one is looking to recast the lead of DOCTOR WHO anytime soon. But we’re between seasons, so that means the troublemakers have to start manufacturing “news” in the absences of real tidbits from the production. And that means, sooner or later, someone is going to ask, “Hey, what about a female Doctor?”

After dutifully wishing that former producer John Nathan-Turner could have been imprisoned in the heart of a neutron star for having the bad judgment to try to drum up interest in the series by tossing this hand grenade into fandom — when he had no intention of ever casting a woman — I generally sigh and wait for the hysteria to blow over.

Marvel Drops First ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ TV Spot

You don’t have to wait for the Super Bowl to see this cool commercial — the first official TV spot for Avengers: Age of Ultron!

This clip is heavy on Hulk and Black Widow action.

Directed by Joss Whedon, A:AoU opens May 1.

‘X-Men: Apocalypse’: Mutants of a Different Age

Turner, Sheridan and Shipp are the new mutants on the block.

Director Bryan Singer has revealed the newest members of the cast of the newest X-Men movie, next year’s X-Men: Apocalypse. Sophie Turner (Sansa, GAME OF THRONES) will portray Jean Grey/Marvel Girl/Phoenix;  Tye Sheridan will play Scott Summers/ Cyclops; and Alexandra Shipp will be Ororo Munroe/Storm.

On Jan. 22, Singer (@BryanSinger) tweeted:

Meet our new and brilliant young mutants: @Alexshipppp as #Storm @SophieT as #JeanGrey and @TyeSheridan as #Cyclops. #XmenApocalypse

Ice Hockey — in Africa!

Forget the Jamaican bobsled team — when it comes to an unlikely sport in an unusual place, I think ice hockey in Kenya takes the cake! I love NHL hockey and think more people need to embrace the sport. The league needs this kind of dedication.

There is only one place in the entire country to play hockey on ice — the Panari Hotel in the capital city, Nairobi — but enthusiasts also play on inline skates. In an odd coincidence, “Nairobi” translates from the local Maasai language as “cool water”!

The X-Men. All of Them.

The good folks over at gaming site IGN apparently had a little free time on their hands, so they decided to make a video covering every X-Man in the Marvel Comics universe — ever. That’s a pretty daunting task on its own, but the editors also decided to try to explain X-Men continuity! They do a pretty good job for such an expansive subject.

It all goes by too quickly to be sure IGN got everyone, but it looks to be pretty inclusive.

Anderson’s ‘Inherent Vice’ Opens Today!

Based on the novel by Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice is the latest film from Paul Thomas Anderson (of Boogie Nights and Magnolia fame), and it opens wide today, after premiering in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 12 in order to qualify for the Oscars.

If there were an Oscar for casting, this movie might get it. The stars include: Joaquin Phoenix, Katherine Waterston, Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Benicio Del Toro, Jena Malone, Martin Short, Eric Roberts and Josh Brolin.

2014 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 35,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 13 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.