“Rouge One: A Star Wars Story” Review

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY Directed by Gareth Edwards; Written by Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy; Story by John Knoll and Gary Whitta; Based on Characters and Situations created by George Lucas; Starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn ; Rated PG-13 for extended sequences of sci-fi action and violence; Running time 133 minutes

Rogue One was the first Star Wars movie that I had to skip out on opening night because I made a scheduling error and told my wife that she could plan her work Christmas party on the same night. However, I was lucky enough to see it twice, for free, the next day with the first screening being with my wife and her amazing coworkers and without J. It was kind of nice not seeing my first screening of Rogue One without J because I’m usually checking on him to see how he’s taking in the movie and I usually end up missing some things. It also gave me the chance to catch as many Easter Eggs as I could so I could share those with him when we saw it together, which was an hour after my first screening.

If I had to choose one word to describe Rogue One it would be superb. The story was amazing, the actors were fantastic, and K2SO almost took the top spot for my favorite droid. Rogue One had something for everyone. I believe that even if you’ve never seen a Star Wars movie, that you would enjoy Rogue One. The action sequences were on par with any other Star Wars film (minus the lightsabers), the comedic timing of K2SO was mesmerizing (Thank you Alan Tudyk), and the drama was pulling away at my heart strings the entire time.

There have been a few articles telling parents not to take their younger kids to see Rogue One. While I get that this is one of the franchise’s “darker” films, it is still a Star Wars movie. If your kids know the difference between fantasy and reality, and have seen all of the other Star Wars movies, then they should be able to sit through Rogue One. J (5) saw it with me last night and he absolutely loved the movie. He was catching Easter Eggs like a pro, and was squeezing my hand in excitement throughout most of the movie.  That being said, you know your kids better than I or any other person writing about Rogue One would, so the final say is up to you.

Something that I would recommend that fans of the Saga do, that was recommended to me by Bryan Young from the Full of Sith Podcast, is watch A New Hope one more time before seeing Rogue One. You will never be able to watch it again without having Rogue One on your mind. As a matter of fact, I am watching it right now as I write this and all I am thinking about is Rogue One. I am really looking forward to the next time I watch A New Hope with J.

If you can’t tell, we absolutely loved Rogue One and would recommend that every man, woman, child, droid, and Jawa see it. You will leave the theater forever changed, and it is worth it. I have some spoilery things to say, but I will leave that for private messages and Facebook groups. If you’ve seen the movie and you want to talk to someone, send me a message on our Facebook page or Instagram. I’d love to hear what you thought and if you caught the same Easter Eggs as I did.

We hope you have a great holiday season and May the Force be With You. 

The Leonardo: A Pinnacle of Edutainment

About The Leonardo

The Leonardo opened it’s doors on October 8th of 2011. It is located on Library Square at 209 East 500 South in Salt Lake City. With The Leonardo being on Library Square, it is near two UTA TRAX stops (Courthouse & Library). If you would rather drive to The Leonardo, there is metered parking along the street. The metered parking is $2/hour with a 2 hour maximum. The metered parking is free on the weekends, with the same 2 hour limit. You can pre purchase your admission tickets online, or at the front desk. Tickets for children 2 and under are free, children 3-12 are $8.95, students (with ID)/military/seniors are $9.95, and adults (13-64) are $12.95. Your admission gets you access to exhibits, hands on labs and studios, and allows you to interact with installations. Special traveling exhibits, such as Mummies of the World, will have a charge separate to The Leonardo’s general admission.

Inside The Leonardo

Inside the Lobby of The Leonardo

Now that the numbers are out of the way, let’s talk about the inner workings of the Leonardo. The Leonardo is a wonderful facility that stimulates the minds of all those who enter their doors. The Leonardo is the pinnacle of edutainment in the Salt Lake Valley. The hands on labs and studios encompass all aspects of STEM learning, and the best part is that it will leave your kids wanting to learn more. From LEGOs in the lobby to building simple machines and even simple circuits in Leonardo’s Workshop, your kids will have so much fun learning that they may never want to leave. But there is more to the Leonardo than the Lobby and Leonardo’s Workshop. Just behind the lobby is Leonardo’s Studio. There kids can learn about animation, green screen technology, and even a little about shadow puppets. The first floor is also home to the massive and amazing Flight exhibit. There, kids can climb into a C-131 aircraft and use their imaginations to pilot the C-131 from the plane’s cockpit. Guests will also be able to pilot one of two amazingly accurate, and original to The Leonardo, flight simulators that are similar to ones that real pilots train on. Guest will also be able to learn about animal flight, and the future of manned flight included future space exploration. Once you have finished learning about flight, stop by the sculpture of one of Leonardo DaVinci’s designs for a quick photo op. Share the picture on social media and tag The Leonardo so they can see all the fun you and your family are having. Now it’s time to move to the second floor.

Green Screen J

#ReadyForFlight

Training to be a pilot

Flying the C-131

 

As of this posting, the second floor is home to the eye opening exhibit, Where Children Sleep: Photographs by James Mollison. This exhibit takes you through the sleeping arrangements of children of all different economic background throughout the world. After you leave the exhibit, you will head into the Science Lab. There, you can check out the Science Fact or Fiction Wall, see some amazing experience, and test your reflexes. After spending time in the Science Lab, make sure you take your smaller kids to Pixel Playland. At Pixel Playland, your younger kids will learn all bout pixelation and pixilation by creating their own patterns on the pixel wall and by building with pixel blocks.

Just across from Pixel Playland is the already mentioned Leonardo’s Workshop. Kids can really feel like Leonardo DaVinci by building and problem solving. There guests can also learn about electricity with Jacobs ladder, learn about static electricity, and even play on one of the first electronic musical instruments, the theremin.

J Dancing at Pixle Playland

As you finish in Leonardo’s workshop, guests will be whisked away to a land of Perception. Guests learn how amazing the mind really is as it manipulates your senses to make you see, feel, and do things you are not expecting to see, feel or do. One of our favorite things to do in this exhibit is get a Virtual Haircut. You sit in a chair, put on some headphones, and the sound of a barber shop fill your ears making your brain think that you might actually be getting a haircut.

After you explore perception, you can check out the brand new cardboard exhibit. Check out the cardboard sculptures, go inside a cardboard fort, build your own fort with some boxes, look at the cardboard chess set and ping pong table, sit behind the wheel of a cardboard train/plane, or just sit back and watch a documentary about a kid who made a neighborhood arcade with some cardboard. This one was a really fun exhibit to go through and I recommend taking some extra time in this exhibit.

When you are done with the cardboard exhibit, you will be walking directly into the Think Math room. In this room, you will experience the magic of the Infinity room, solve some math riddles, use your visual logic, and cross the math bridge. Math was never one of my favorite subjects, but I do love going to the Think Math room whenever we go to The Leonardo.

When you have finished in the Think Math room, head on down to the main floor and stop in the Leo Store to pick up some educational merchandise for guests of all ages. The Leo Store also shares a space with the amazing and delicious Salt Bistro. Choose from starters, sandwiches, salads, drinks, and even a kids menu to make sure that everyone in your group gets nourished physically after being nourished mentally.

Becoming a Member

Our Leonardo Membership Cards

Memberships to The Leonardo are very reasonably priced and come with some pretty amazing benefits. Members get free general admission, discounts to the Salt Bistro and the Leo Store, discounts on event packages, discounts to traveling exhibits, ASTC reciprocal membership, and more. Memberships start at $45 and go all the way up to $1000. You can click here to see more details about the pricing and benefits of memberships. Also, as a bonus for following J and I, if you buy a membership from now until January 31, 2017, you can use the code JE1910 to get an extra month added to your year membership.

Take it from us, once you go to The Leonardo once, you will want to go back again and again. That year membership (13 months with the special code) will pay for itself within the first month, if you use it as much as we do. On a personal note, we have had memberships to other facilities around the Salt Lake Valley, and I feel like you get the most “bang for your buck” with a membership to The Leonardo.

**This post is sponsored by The Leonardo. We were provided with a family membership (which I upgraded to a family plus with my own money) to share my thoughts about the Leonardo. All thoughts are my own and my opinion was not swayed by the membership. We loved going to The Leonardo before becoming part of this campaign.**

J’s Top 10 Netflix Downloads

Netflix has changed holiday road trips forever! Recently Netflix added a certain feature that allows subscribers to download some of it’s vast library to their devices. J has gone through all of the kids movies to help me create a top 10 list of the best downloadable movies on Netflix (for kids under the age of 8, probably).

10) Thomas & Friends: Santa’s Little Engine & Merry Christmas Thomas 

©HIT Entertainment

©HIT Entertainment

 

These have been  J’s favorites to watch on PBS Kids. In Santa’s little Engine, Thomas helps guide Santa’s sleigh, gets trimmed like a Christmas Tree, and learns about being safe on the snow. Merry Christmas Thomas has Thomas searching for the best tree in Sodor, helping one of his friends out of a snowy jam, and a few other fun stories. J wanted to put both on his list, but didn’t want them to take two spots. So if you’re kids love trains and especially love Thomas, make sure you are a useful engine and download these one for your kids today! Santa’s Little Engine has a 58 minute runtime and Merry Christmas Thomas clocks in at 1 hour.

9) The Cat in the Hat Knows a lot About Christmas

Another one of J’s PBS Kids favorites has made the list. In the Cat in the Hat Knows a lot About Christmas, Jake, Sally, the Cat, and Fish must help a reindeer find his family after being separated at a Christmas Party. If you grew up loving Dr. Seuss, this is the perfect download for you and you kids. Cat in the Hat Knows a lot About Christmas comes in at 58 minutes.

8) DreamWorks Holiday Classics 

Do your kids like Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, Madagascar, and of course The Penguins of Madagascar? If yes, they will love DreamWorks Holiday classics. In one story, Donkey creates his own Christmas caroling stage show, in another one Santa crashes his sleigh on the island of Madagascar leaving Alex, Melman, Gloria, and Marty to save Christmas. You can download all 4 shorts for 1 hour and 9 minutes of silence in the car, or your kids can pick and choose which stories they want to download.

7) DreamWorks Kung Fu Panda Holiday 

This is a fun short for those who are fans of the Kung Fu Panda movies. We see Po struggling to balance his duties as the Dragon Warrior and the holiday traditions of his family as the town prepares for their annual Winter Feast. This short has a runtime of 26 minutes.

6) Puffin Rock: Sliky’s New Friend/The First Snow/Oona’s Cave (Season 2 Episode 7) 

J absolutely loves Puffin Rock. Around this time of year, he especially loves shows that have a “Christmasy” feel, meaning anything with some snow. Which is one of the reasons that Puffin Rock made his list. This Episode has a runtime of 19 minutes.

5) The Magic School Bus Holiday Special (Season 3 Episode 10) & The Magic School Bus In the Arctic (Season 3 Episode 1) 

In the Holiday Special, we join Ms. Frizzle and her first cousin as they teach the class all about recycling. In The Magic School Bus In the Arctic, Ms. Frizzle takes the class to the Arctic for a magical field trip to learn about why it gets cold. I love the idea of this episode because on past road trips J has asked why it’s cold, and he never seems to understand when I say it, so maybe Ms. Frizzle can finally teach him what I seem to not be able to. Both episodes have a runtime of 25 minutes, totaling 50 minutes of car silence.

4) Super Why: Twas the Night Before Christmas & Other Stories (Season 1 Episode 17) 

Another fantastic PBS Kids show has made J’s top 10 list. In this episode, Whyatt wants to know why Santa visits on Christmas. Join Super Why and the Super Readers as they read Twas the Night Before Christmas in hopes of answering Whyatt’s question. This episode has a 26 minute runtime.

3) Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas 

If you can’t tell, J really likes the PBS Kids shows. Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas has been one of J’s favorites since he was but an infant. In this Curious Christmas special, George and the Man in the Yellow Hat are having a hard time trying to decide what to get each other for christmas. J has always enjoyed Curious George’s methods for solving his problems, and his methods in this special made him smile. This is a great download for the little ones. This special has a 58 minute runtime.

We have made it to J’s top 2 downloads, and as you will see these are not Christmasy movies. These are movies that J loves to watch and would watch all day if given a chance. So far we’ve given about 7 or 8 hours of car silence for your big upcoming road trip. These last two movies may put you in the 11-12 hour range, so lets get to the reveal!

2) The Angry Birds Movie 

That’s right, the app that took the world by storm a few years ago is now one of J’s favorite movies. He knows all the birds’ names and will sing the song at the top of his lungs. I know what you are thinking, “could a movie based off an app be that good?” Well, it definitely has it’s moments. I found myself laughing at some of the jokes and the movie got me playing the game again. So download the movie and let your kids join Red and the other birds as they fight the evil pigs and try to get their eggs back! This movie has a runtime of 1 hour and 37 minutes.

1) YO KAI WATCH: THE MOVIE 

This has to be the TV Movie of the Year in J’s eyes. J has loved following Nate on his journey to discover all the Yo Kai (invisible beings that cause all of life’s little mishaps), so of course he would love a movie expanding that story leading into Season 2. I never really watched the show with J all that much, but I thought the movie was funny while also tugging at the heart strings. If your kids are anything like J, you will want to download YO KAI WATCH: THE MOVIE before your road trip for 1 hour and 35 minutes of silence with the occasional whoop and holler. If you need any more convincing, check out this trailer for YO KAI WATCH: THE MOVIE.

There you have it, J’s (and a little bit of mine) Top 10 (or 12) Netflix Downloads for your upcoming holiday road trip. While silence is nice sometimes when you are on the road, make sure you engage with your kids. Don’t just let them stare at the screen for 8-12 hours, have them take breaks in between each show/movie so you can sing a road trip song or two. You could even talk with them about what they watched. Take an interest in what your kids are watching. You might enjoy some of it. Travel safe, and travel smart this holiday season. If you made it this far, thank you for joining J and I on this wonderful journey. Merry Holidays everyone!!

Zelda Symphony of the Goddess

My wife and I rarely take in the symphony, but when we do it’s usually for a great show. Recently, we were lucky enough to attend Zelda Symphony of the Goddess at the Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, thanks to our friends at Utah Valley Online. I’ve played a few Legend of Zelda games in my time, but Zelda Symphony of the Goddess showed me there are many games that I have yet to play.

The show started off with a bang, and held your hand through 30 years of nostalgia. The orchestra was on point and the Zelda Symphony choir was fantastic. Conductor/Music Director Amy Andersson and Producer Jason Michael Paul put together one unforgettable show. The crowd was into every medley, cheering for their favorite songs and for some of the clips from their favorite games. Quite a few fans showed up in cosplay and they were put up on the big screen before the show and during intermission.

I asked a friend of mine, who took his kids, what he thought of the show.

  NaHD: As a parent who enjoys video games, how did it feel bringing your kids to Zelda                        Symphony of the Goddess?

  Mike:  I grew up playing Zelda on the NES. My kids grew up playing Zelda games.                                  Sharing this experience and listening to the music performed live with my kids was pretty  emotional. They’ll remember this for a long time.   

Mike’s kids even had some amazing things to say about the show.

  Serenity (13): I’m not a huge fan of Legend of Zelda, but I do play cello and other instruments.           After tonight, I definitely want to start playing the game. I loved it.

  Kolo (14):  It was unbelievable. It was life-changing. I would definitely go see this again.

After the show, I was lucky enough to have a quick chat with Zelda Symphony of the Goddess Producer Jason Michael Paul.

  NaHD:  What made you want to put together Zelda Symphony of the Goddess?

   JMP:  Well, I’ve been doing Zelda since about 2006 as part of another concert series that also featured Super Mario and Metroid. The premiere concert I’m talking about, Play! A Video Game Symphony, actually had Koji Kondo come down from Japan and he acutally performed. So, I’ve been working with Nintendo through that concert series and then when the 25th Anniversary rolled around, they contacted me to create a show and the rest is as they say history.

  NaHD:  What were you interested in more first? Classical Music or Video Game Soundtracks?

  JMP:  I created a concept with Final Fantasy in 2004, and prior to that I had been working in the video game industry, Square and also Playstation, and at the same time I was also having my hands in working with Luciano Pavarotti, so I kind of had both things going on in a very pivotal moment of my life and so I was successfully able to pitch the concept to Square Enix to do the concerts and they loved the idea and, of course, that is the launching pad for where we are today.

  NaHD:  My son is really drawn to the soundtracks of video games and movies, do you have any thoughts about kids being exposed to soundtracks at such an early age?

  JMP:  This concert is hopefully a gateway to other symphonic performances or other Utah Symphony concerts. When I first came up with the concept, it was really about trying to create a project that would really help get people back in the symphony halls. We’ve had a lot of success in not only bringing in a younger audience, but also getting them to appreciate classical music. I think a lot of young kids are inspired to play instruments and Zelda being that inspiration is great. This concert is designed so you don’t have to be a Zelda fan, you can close your eyes and just sit back and the music stands on it’s own.

  NaHD:  Is there a game, besides Zelda, that you just love listening to the music?

  JMP:  There’s all kinds. Skyrim, Kingdom Hearts, Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Journey, Bio Shock, the list really goes on and on. Metroid has great music, Pikmin has good music. I’m a big fan gaming music in particular, but I am also more into the music that I can shape into a concert. That’s what I’m always thinking about. How can I present it as part of a concert.

  NaHD:  Are there any other games that you want to bring into a concert?

  JMP:  I’ve pretty much done them all, but in terms of scale in whether or not they’re like, for example, a Zelda only concert or a Final Fantasy only concert, that’s kind of where we are at right now. I don’t know of any other franchises that can be as prolific or garner as much interest, so in that sense I’m a little hesitant. I am working on it. I have some great ideas. I really think it depends on the cooperation with the game development team and the publishers. That’s really what’s going to ultimately drive the success of the concerts. Especially when you don’t have a brand like Zelda.

  NaHD: What has been the crowd reaction to Zelda Symphony of the Goddess?

  JMP:  I’m blessed. Pretty much every city we go to we have not lukewarm responses. People are very boisterous, very devoted to Zelda and Nintendo for that matter, you know they are just extremely passionate. It’s a very captive audience. It’s great. It’s exciting.

  NaHD: What advice would you have for young symphony musicians?

  JMP:  Practice. A lot of great orchestras hold auditions you know, but you gotta obviously study and be in that loop. At that level if you are great at what you do, it’s almost impossible to not be noticed. There’s a lot of great orchestras out there with musicians who are getting older and their seats need to be filled. Make sure to study a lot of the classics, but also mix it up with new rep, stuff that’s more contemporary.

  NaHD:  Last Question. Do you ever just turn on a game and just sit back, close your eyes and enjoy the music?

  JMP:  I have, but it’s kind of difficult unless the game play is pretty fluid. But, yeah absolutely I have done that.

I don’t think I can recommend Zelda Symphony of the Goddess enough. If you are reading this, you should hop on their website, check the remaining dates of the tour, and if there is a show happening near you, buy yourself some tickets. You will not regret it. A big thank you to Utah Valley Online for sending my wife and I to such an amazing show, and a big thank you to Jason Michael Paul, Amy Andersson, and the fantastic musicians for such a magical night. Check out our Instagram page to see some pictures from the Salt Lake City performance. 

*This is a sponsored post. Utah Valley Online provided us tickets to Zelda Symphony of the Goddess.*