bmhorton's definitions

It

'It' (chapter one for distinction) is a supernatural horror film released in the year 2017. This film is the first of a 2 part movie series (the other being It: Chapter Two released in 2019) based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, it is set in the fictional town of Derry, Maine and follows 7 middle school kids who are labeled as rejects and losers who are pursued by a clown named Pennywise after the main character, Bill's, little brother named Georgie goes missing after he takes a little hand crafted boat out in the rain. It documents the kid's attempts to destroy Pennywise and a gang of bullies led by Henry Bowers.

Cast for It
Jaeden Lieberher as Bill Denbrough. The leader of the loser's club

Bill Skarsgård as It/Pennywise the Dancing Clown. An ancient, trans-dimensional evil that awakens every 27 years

Jeremy Ray Taylor as Ben Hanscom, a shy, overweight boy who studies on the cruel history of Derry, Maine

Sophia Lillis as Beverly Marsh, the only woman in the group who lives with her abusive, pedophile dad.

Finn Wolfhard as Richie Tozier, the comedy relief of the story

Wyatt Olef as Stanley Uris, a Jewish boy who is haunted by a ghoulish woman from a creepy painting

Chosen Jacobs as Mike Hanlon, the African-American member who lives with his ill-tempered dad who slaughters pigs

Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie Kaspbrak, the sick and asthmatic kid who has a really overprotective mom.

Nicholas Hamilton as Henry Bowers, a sociopath who leads the gang of bullies who taunts the loser's club

Jackson Robert Scott as Georgie Denbrough, the little brother to Bill who is eaten by Pennywise in the opening scene

by bmhorton October 5, 2022

Soarin'

Soarin' is a series of simulator rides at most Disneyland Parks in the world. Each one has one of 2 ride films:

Soarin' Over California (Disney's California Adventure Park)
Locations in order of appearance:
*Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
*Redwood Creek, Humboldt County
*Napa Valley
*Monterey Bay
*Heavenly Mountain Resort and Lake Tahoe
*Yosemite Falls and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park
*PGA West Golf Course, La Quinta California
*Valencia Orange Farms, Ventura County
*Anza-Borrego State Park
*USS John C. Stennis, San Diego

*Malibu Beach
*Downtown Los Angeles
*Disneyland Resort

The music in this specific ride film was composed by Jerry Goldsmith

Soarin' Around the World (Epcot), Soaring: Fantastic Flight (Tokyo DisneySea), and Soaring Over The Horizon (Shanghai Disneyland Park)
Location in order of appearance:
*The Matterhorn in Switzerland and Italy
*Isfjord, Greenland
*Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany
*Kilimanjaro National Park and Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
*The Great Wall of China
*The Great Pyramids, Egypt
*The Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh, India
*Monument Valley in Arizona/Utah
*Lau Islands, Fiji
*Iguazu Falls in Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay
*Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
*Shanghai Disneyland, Shanghai China (Shanghai version), Epcot (Epcot version), Tokyo DisneySea, Chiba (Tokyo Version)

The music in this specific ride film was a newer score composed by Bruce Broughton but was based heavily on Jerry Goldsmith's original score

by bmhorton May 22, 2022

Avatar

A 2009 epic science-fiction film written, produced, and directed by James Cameron. It is currently the highest-grossing film and has been since 2010. In 2019 it was briefly overtaken by Avengers: Endgame but retook the top spot in March 2021. The film currently grosses $2,788,416,135. It was released in London on December 10, 2009 and premiered in the United States on December 16, 2009. The film received relatively positive reviews from critics. The film is set in the year 2154 on a gas giant's habitable forest moon called "Pandora" in the Alpha Centauri star system and follows Jake Sully, who is a former marine who is paralyzed from the waist down who learns that his identical twin brother Tommy Sully, who was part of the Avatar program, was shot and killed. He is asked to drive Tommy's Avatar body, which is made from blending human DNA with Na'vi DNA (the indigenous, intelligent, species on the moon) because they're DNA code is almost identical. The film also follows, Neytiri, a Na'vi who is the daughter to the chief of the clan, who eventually falls in love with Jake, as they both fight to protect their habitat and they're people. James Cameron also made 2 sequels to the movie, which are set to release in December 2022, and December 2024.

Cast to James Cameron's Avatar:
Humans:
Sam Worthington as Jake Sully
Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quadritch, the head of the mining operation on the planet for Unobtanium (an expensive mineral found on the planet)
Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine, a biologist and head of the Avatar Program
Michelle Rodriguez as Trudy, a pilot who supports the Avatar Program
Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge, the corporate administrator for the RDA mining company
Joel David Moore as Dr. Norm Spellman, a xenoanthropologist
Dileep Rao as Dr. Max Patel, a scientist who works for the Avatar Program

Na'vi

Zoe Saldana as Neytiri, daughter to the leaders of the clan (the Omaticaya) who eventually falls in love with Jake
CCH Ponder as Mo'at, the Omaticaya's spiritual advisor, Neytiri's mother
Wes Studi as Eytukan, the Omaticaya's clan leader
Laz Alonso as Tsu'tey, the clan's finest warrior and heir to the chieftainship, who at the beginning is Neytiri's supposed husband in an arranged marriage

by bmhorton December 29, 2021

How Ridiculous

How Ridiculous is a YouTube channel based in Perth, Australia. The three main members of the group are Brett Stanford, Derek Herron, and Scott Gaunson. They currently have 9 million subscribers and 3 billion total video views. They are mostly known for performing drop experiments off of a 45 meter tall tower at the Perth Gravity Discovery Centre, the 165 meter tall Luzzone Dam in Ticino, Switzerland, and a 200 meter tall cliff aside a waterfall in Lesotho, Africa. They also performed trick shots, including collars with celebrities like Brodie Smith, in the early days of their YouTube channel. Other members of the channel include main editor Jack Wallace, and the guy Michael who puts a bunch of the projects together and gets authorization to perform them. They also have a stuffed dinosaur who is their mascot and stuntman named Rexy

How Ridiculous also makes heavy custom things such as a number of giants darts, a giant axe, a giant atlas stone, a 4”x 4” x 4” cube of tungsten, a steel model of Hulk’s Fist, and a model of Thor’s Hammer. All these things can only go to the top of the tower via a winch because they’re too heavy to carry. They have dropped these items onto things such as bulletproof glass, pools of oobleck, orbeez, and regular water, trampolines (one being the strongest in the world made with Mark Rober), and giant gym balls. They have broken a number of world records the most notable being the worlds highest basketball shot achieved at the 200 meter cliff in Lesotho

by bmhorton March 23, 2022

The Matterhorn

The Matterhorn, also known as Matterhorn Bobsleds, is a pair of intertwined roller coasters at Disneyland Park in in Anaheim, California. It is modeled after the Matterhorn, a mountain in the Swiss Alps. It is the first known tubular steel continuous-track roller coaster. Disney used forced perspective to make the mountain appear larger than it actually is. Opening on June 14, 1959, it was the first roller coaster built at any Disneyland Park. The ride has 2 sides, the left side (the Tomorrowland side), and the right side (the Fantasyland side). It is said that the Tomorrowland side is more intense and fast and the Fantasyland side is more smooth at tame. In 1978, to better theme the ride, Disney introduced the Yeti (or Abominable Snowman) to the ride where he appears first in the dark after the riders leave the lifthill, then a few seconds later he can be seen by both sides as the bobsleds enter the main track. Later on they encounter him one last time but can only be seen by the specific side they're on. In 2015, the Matterhorn was temporarily shut down and a new Yeti was introduced to the ride, this one moving a lot more than the previous and being more territorial and defensive and having a different roar than the last. The ride ends as the sleds splash down into a small pool similar to Splash Mountain, but the water is mainly used as a braking mechanism, and cools down the brake pads mounted underneath the cars.

In 1956, 2 years before construction for the Matterhorn began, Disney was in a pinch for he was having trouble attracting guests to the park so he thought he needed a thrilling ride in the park. At the time, Disney was shooting a movie called "Third Man on the Mountain" in Switzerland where the real Matterhorn is, and Disney sent a postcard with a picture of the mountain to his lead imagineer with only 2 words saying: "Build This".

by bmhorton April 5, 2022

Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission Breakout!

Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission Breakout! is an accelerated drop tower dark ride in Disney's California Adventure in Anaheim, California. Based on characters from Marvel (mostly from the Guardians of the Galaxy films), it depicts Rocket recruiting guests to help free the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy form the Collector's Fortress. The ride was previously The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror but was re-themed as Guardians of the Galaxy in 2017, however, in Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando Florida, it is still themed as the Tower of Terror. A fun trick to do on this ride: when you're dropping down, hold a coin in your hand and watch it float off your hand. This happens because the huge motors that are used on the ride pull you down a little bit faster than a freefall.

Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission Breakout! has six randomized drop programs or sequences, each one has a song associated with it
I Want You Back by The Jackson 5
Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar
Give Up The Funk by Parliament

Free Ride by The Edgar Winter Group
Burning Love by Elvis Presley
Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf

by bmhorton April 6, 2022

Real Salt Lake

An MLS team (Major League Soccer) team based in the Sandy neighborhood of Salt Lake City, UT. They first joined MLS as an expansion team in the 2005 season. The first goal in the team's history was scored by Jason Kreis against the LA Galaxy. In 2007, he was asked by owner Dave Checketts to retire and be the head coach of the team. They opened their new stadium (Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy Utah) on October 9, 2008. In 2009, RSL beats the Colorado Rapids 3-0 to clinch a playoff birth. They upset the Colombus Crew in the Easter Conference semifinals 4-2 and the Chicago Fire 0-0 (5-4 on penalties) in the finals. They then play the LA Galaxy in the MLS cup final. The match took place at Qwest Field (now known as Lumen Field home of the Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Sounders FC) on November 22, 2009. Mike Magee scores early for the Galaxy but in the second half, Robbie Findley scores for RSL to tie. The match continues through OT to a penalty kick shootout. Robbie Russell scores the game winning penalty causing RSL to win 5-4 on penalties. They also made an appearance at the 2013 MLS cup final at Sporting Kansas City but lost in penalties

Guy #1: Did you see Real Salt Lake upset the LA Galaxy last night?
Guy#2: I was blown away

Guy#1: Yeah I'm sure Nick Rimando's back still hurts from carrying the team

by bmhorton March 9, 2021