The Legacy of Tron
--- Steven Albers
Movie: TRON: Legacy
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: PG
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde
TRON: Legacy follows almost thirty years after the seemingly-concluded battle for the Grid in the first TRON. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), son of famed programmer Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), quickly finds himself lost in the dangerous 3-D world of the Grid, on a wild mission to find his lost father. All in all, fledgling director Joseph Kosinski created a spectacular visual presentation with an overall confusing plotline to the technologically illiterate.
Soon after telling his son that he has found something of “a miracle” on the grid, Kevin Flynn vanishes off the face of the earth, leaving his son to grow up as an orphan. Some twenty years later, however, Sam is found undermining ENCOM’s (Flynn’s company before his disappearance) latest press-release; arguing that the company’s new intentions are not what his father would have strived for.
After escaping the fiasco at ENCOM, Flynn is led to his father’s old lab hidden behind the old TRON machine at his old arcade, and accidentally warps himself deep within the Grid. Not long after, Sam is fighting for his life alongside his father and companion ISO named Quorra against Clu; the program Kevin Flynn had created so long ago to help him on his first adventure.
Sound confusing? If you’re not paying attention to a lot of the small details sometimes hidden within the movie’s contents, you’ll only end up hurting your brain trying to piece everything together. If you do manage to keep up, though, the story itself is very engrossing and well-thought out. The gladiator contests and Light Cycle scenes are (no surprise here) a vast improvement over the original movie’s counterparts, and are fantastic action sequences when seen in 3-D.
Where the movie suffers a little is in the presentation and explanations of many concepts introduced throughout the film. The world of TRON isn’t exactly the most logical, and most things common in the Grid are barely explained to the viewer. Sam is thrown into the middle of a tense power-struggle, and a lot is left to the viewer to piece together. Tron’s involvement in the battle is also kept secret for a majority of the movie, which is odd, considering that the movie is named after him.
Regardless, Daft Punk’s techno musical accompaniment captures the essence of the TRON universe, and the stunning visual effects make the overall TRON: Legacy experience an enjoyable one.
Celebrity Spotlight
--- Sarah Luo
Celebrity: Garrett Hedlund
Birthdate: September 3, 1984 (Age: 26)
Birthplace: Roseau, Minnesota
Years Active: 2004-Present
“Same team, remember?” Sam Flynn aka Garrett Hedlund says in his raspy voice and melts millions of girls’ hearts as they watch Tron for the 12th time. The hottest new male celeb, Garrett Hedlund, is sweeping girls right off their feet, riding in on his virtual glowing motorcycle.
Garrett, 26, was born in Roseau, Minnesota and raised on a family farm where he chased cattle in order to stay in shape. It seems like these days, talent doesn’t matter as much as look anymore in the entertainment world. Actors with talent like Johnny Depp, Matt Damon, and George Clooney are hard to come by, but good looking celebrities with little talent like Miley Cyrus and Robert Pattinson are everywhere. Garrett definitely falls under the category of actors with talent. He first began with supporting roles in Troy, Friday Night Lights, and Four Brothers, but most recently he’s landed the leading male role for Tron. Granted his acting in Tron still needs a bit of work, but he’s definitely getting there, unlike many other younger actors.
In addition to his growing acting talent, his boyish charm and good looks is enough to win over any girl. As shallow as that may be, it’s merely the truth. Why else would Twilight have such a big fanbase? Garrett’s super deep, Southern country accent is endearing, and besides who doesn’t love a guy with a ridiculously deep voice? In Tron, his voice is already deep enough, but trust me, it gets deeper. In the most recently released movie he stars in with Gwyneth Paltrow and Tim McGraw, Country Strong, fans get to hear him sing and play the guitar. His voice is even deeper when he sings and he’s definitely the ultimate country singer.
Garrett’s fame seemed to be hard to come by. Not many people knew of who he was during his smaller roles even if they were in big movies with big stars. Finally now with his big break, he’s getting the fame and attention he deserves. Let’s just hope his head doesn’t get too big. As of right now though, he’s modest, because the fame is just slowly growing on him, but confident and you can tell just by the way he holds himself.
Garrett is most definitely the next big star in more ways than one. Not only will he be starring in big name movies but his good looks will aid in the accumulation of his fanbase. Nowadays, it seems like looks will get you farther than actual talent, but thank God, that doesn’t apply to Garrett. At least he has talent to back up his good looks. Make sure you keep a lookout for Garrett Hedlund, because without a doubt, he’ll be your next Edward Cullen (except he doesn’t glitter, he glows).
YouTube Spotlight: WongFu Productions
--- Lena Lam
In 2006, they released Yellow Fever, a short revolving around an Asian guy’s problem of “losing” all of the Asian girls to Caucasian guys. Now, five years later, Wong Fu Productions is still going strong despite the fact that everything is still written, filmed, and edited by just three guys: Phil, Wes, and Ted. Despite the fact that many of their projects are run on a small or nonexistent budget, their work is incredibly refined, entertaining, and refreshing.
Most of the videos they have posted on YouTube recently feature other YouTube stars such as KevJumba (Kevin), Nigahiga (Ryan), Chester See, David Choi, and Dave Days. These collaboration videos not only spread the WFP (Wong Fu Productions) love, but they show how far they have come as emerging Asian American artists (they created the concert series International Secret Agents (ISA) to encourage such artistic growth in the Asian American community).
In the summer of 2010, WFP released the web series “Funemployed.” Actors included Kevin, Ryan, Chester, and David, all of whom made their characters unique, each adding their own sense of humor to the web series focused on two recently unemployed friends who enter a music video contest in the hopes of meeting the famous (and haughty) Nigahiga and winning the grand prize money.
“Agents of Secret Stuff,” which was released in November 2010, already has close to 7 million views. Ryan and Arden Cho play the lead roles in the independent feature film, which focuses on an Agent of Secret Stuff’s (A.S.S.) mission to protect a high school girl from the evil character (played by Dominic Sandoval from QUEST) and thereby earning his Honorary Operative License Entitlement (H.O.L.E.).
Wong Fu Production’s most recently released work was a music video for Dave Days’ original song “What Does It Take.” It’s a cute video with the characters rehearsing a play reminiscent of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
It is amazing how much Wong Fu Productions has done since they first released “Yellow Fever,” but personally, I am more impressed with their connection to their fans. They remain human and humble through their tours, frequent updates via “Wong Fu Weekends,” and relatable videos.
Visit their YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/wongfuproductions?blend=4&ob=4
TV Show Spotlight: Merlin
--- Stevie Chang
In a land of myth, and a time of magic, the destiny of a great kingdom rests on the shoulders of a young boy. His name… Merlin.
Merlin, a British television show, began airing back in 2008, and has since spread to over 180 different countries and spanned three seasons.
For those of us who aren’t quite Arthurian nerds, here is the basic explanation of the legend: Arthur, the secret illegitimate son of the king of Camelot, won fame and acknowledgement as the next heir to the throne by pulling a sword out of a stone. Aided by his trusty friend and teacher, Merlin, Arthur led all of Britain to an age of glory, creating the Knights of the Round Table and searching for the Holy Grail.
However, the television show’s rendition of the tale is much different. But not in a totally bad way.
Here, we have a younger, possibly teenage-Merlin, played by Colin Morgan, as he enters Camelot for the first time. Rather than being a wise old man, he is a bit gullible and too kind for his own good, as well as something of a smart-aleck. Unfortunately for Merlin, he was born with strong magical powers – a dangerous ability, as the current king of Camelot, Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head), seeks to kill all sorcerers and magical beasts in his realm. In order to survive living at the capital, Merlin must learn to hide his magic and lie low as a servant: the two things he seems totally incapable of doing. Yet adorable gangly kid with big ears he may be, he never fails to save Prince Arthur’s royal behind and keep Camelot’s best interests at heart.
And of course, one of the first people Merlin has the luck to run into is Prince Arthur, son of Uther. Arthur, played by Bradley James, is definitely not the compassionate, magnanimous man of the legends, but instead an arrogant prat (in Merlin’s words) and a bully. Nevertheless, deep inside him (very deep, I must say), Arthur does in fact care a lot about the kingdom, his people, and his father. Unaware of Arthur’s identity, Merlin manages to insult the prince on their first meeting, earning him an appointment at a jail cell and a great first impression. To the horror of both the prince and the warlock, the king decides to reward Merlin with the position of being Arthur’s personal servant. And thus, the Golden Pair has been created!
Joining our reluctant heroes are Guinevere (Angel Coulby), a serving girl in the castle, Morgana (Katie McGrath), the king’s ward and unknowing owner of a little magic herself, and Gaius (Richard Wilson), the court physician and one of the few people to know of Merlin’s magic.
The show itself takes on an episodic storyline- each week is dedicated to a new evil or beast that Arthur or Merlin (or both Arthur and Merlin) need to destroy. Although I will admit that this show is not exactly critically acclaimed, I love its characters and their interactions (and Colin Morgan’s cheekbones, and Gwen’s awkwardness, and Arthur in general, and the bromance – but you heard nothing from me). As long as this show can keep me smiling at the end of each arc, I will keep watching.
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