D23 Expo

Recently, Disney had their Exclusive "D23" Expo where they revealed many bombshells regarding the future of Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel Comics. Lately, Disney has been racking up W's left and right through their own production, along with Marvel and Star Wars. This Expo was filled with many reveals that have shaken the foundation of Disney in a positive way. They are not holding anything back when it comes to their future plans as they gave full detail. Here are some of the highlights of D23.

Avengers: Infinity War

I would have to say that this was the Biggest Reveal of the night because this is pretty much the Finale of the MCU. The Infinity War is the Ultimate Showdown between Thanos vs. The Avengers. This story is so big that the Movie has to be a Two Part Series. The coolest part is when the figure of Thanos was revealed along with his children known as the "Black Order". The Life-Sized Replica of the Infinity Gauntlet was my favorite reveal along with the unveiling of the Thanos figure itself. This movie is also significant because many of the Actors have contracts that will expire when this movie is through. After this, Marvel will pretty much go back to square one with their mainstays that got the ball rolling to where we are now. This will be a Battle with a Hall of Fame lineup of Marvel Legends, from Ironman, Capt. America, Spiderman, Hulk, Thor, etc. Marvel would also reveal future movies in their MCU lineup. The future will continue to shine brightly at Marvel. 

Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi

For all of the Star Wars fans, Disney unveiled new behind the scenes footage of the latest installment of the Historic Franchise (Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi). It featured footage of the Millennium Falcon, Rey, Luke Skywalker, Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma. Finn will have more action in this movie, and it looks like he will get to "Strike Back" against Capt. Phasma (No Pun Intended). The cast came out to reveal new exclusive character posters for the film. There is also a special poster in honor of Carrie Fisher. The color theme for each of these posters happens to be red, which means this movie will be gruesome. The Force is strong, and so is the Color Red. 

Kingdom Hearts III:

The Popular Disney Video Game Franchise has returned with a MAJOR Reveal. After years of demands from the fans, Disney has finally made this happen. In Kingdom Hearts III, there is a new Toy Story World that you can play in using Sora, Goofy, and Donald Duck. At D23, there was a video of Sora and his team opening their eyes to find out they were shrunk down to the size of toys. They find themselves looking around a room that happens to be Andy's room from Toy Story. The crowd lost their minds when they saw this. It was even cooler to see Woody and Buzz Lightyear introduce themselves. Disney knows that their fans have been waiting for this for a long time, and they have delivered. Even I have always wondered when they would add the Toy Story World on this game because you cannot tell the story of Disney without Toy Story. You can also play through other Pixar themed worlds like Big Hero 6 and others. In previous Games, you could go through different Disney Movie worlds from Lion King, Aladdin, Hercules, Little Mermaid, and even Nightmare Before Christmas. Now, things have gotten even better with the addition of my favorite Pixar Movie of all-time. I'm looking forward to Woody telling Sora "You Are A Toy!!!". 

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge:

This is an interactive experience where you get to ride in the Millennium Falcon and live out the legendary Adventure through the Galaxy. 

Star Wars Themed Resort: 

This new Disney Themed Resort will help you live out your dreams of being a part of the Star Wars Adventure. As you join the Resort, you will be immediately supplied with Star Wars attire. It is also filled with characters, stories, and adventures that unfold. It is part of Disney's Plans for the 50th Anniversary of Walt Disney World Resorts.

Guardians of the Galaxy Resort:

With the success of Marvel's latest franchise, Disney has decided to have a special resort with the theme of Guardians of the Galaxy. This is an attraction that will definitely catch the imaginations of those that visit.

Pixarland:

Disney has revealed that they will have an exclusive Theme Park dedicated to the World of Pixar. From Toy Story, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Inside Out, etc, this Park is filled with plenty of rides and attractions that are centered around the Iconic 3-D Animated Movies. Pixar has been a vital part of the Disney story, and it will have its own Theme Park at Hollywood Studios.


New Releases:

Disney has also announced the new releases of their own exclusive Movies.

Incredibles 2:

After nearly 15 years, Disney has decided to pull the trigger and release a sequel. As a fan of the Original Movie, I am extremely thrilled to see the long awaited sequel. Mr. Incredible, his Family, and his long time friend Frozone have made their return and we are in for a ride.

Toy Story 4:

Here we are for the Fourth and possibly final Installment of Pixar's Innovative Franchise. Director John Lasseter has decided to step down and pass the role over to Josh Cooley. Cooley, along with producer Jonas Rivera started as Interns at Pixar Studios. Now, they have been promoted as the leaders of Pixar's second generation of Movies. This movie picks up where we left off at Part 3 when Andy leaves his Toys to a new owner. It will be very interesting to see how they make their transition. Toy Story 4 is set for release in the Summer of 2019.

Wreck It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks the Internet

One of the surprises at D23 was the announcement of the sequel to Wreck It Ralph. The Sequel shows Arcade Game Character Wreck It Ralph and his sidekick Vanellope fighting pop-up ads and listicles as they invade the Internet. In the previous film, we saw several cameos from Street Fighter Icons like Ken, Ryu, Chun-Li, M. Bison, Cammy, Blanka, and Zangief, along with Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr. Eggman, along with Bowser from Mario Bros among others. This time, there are cameos from the Stormtroopers as well as famous Disney Characters. Those cameos include Disney Princesses such as Jasmine, Pocahontas, Ariel, Rapunzel, and Belle. The Actresses that played those roles will reprise them for the movie.

Frozen 2/Olaf's Frozen Adventure

With the massive success of the breakout film Frozen, Disney and Pixar have decided to team up again for the awaited sequel. This time, they have also added a holiday special for Elsa's sidekick Olaf called "Olaf's Frozen Adventure". When a movie breaks historical box office records, a sequel is naturally in demand.

There were also announcements made for live action versions of The Lion King and Aladdin. If Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast did great in the Box Office, I expect these movies to smash records.

Conclusion: 

Disney put everyone on notice at this Expo and unveiled Major Plans for their future. They pulled everything out of their arsenal when it comes to Marvel Comics and Star Wars. The Star Wars Themed Attractions are a great way to honor their 40th Anniversary. It was also great to see Toy Story make its way to the world of Kingdom Hearts. The presence of Pixar was also very strong as they unveiled their own theme park along with sequels to their most popular movies. The future appears to be extremely bright in the land of Disney and we are just getting started.

Classic Albums: BAD by LL Cool J

This year marks 30 years since LL Cool J dropped his classic sophomore masterpiece BAD: Bigger And Deffer. This was the year of going Bad because Michael Jackson himself released his own album of the same name. LL became a worldwide sensation with his debut album Radio, as it went multiplatinum and was a huge critical success for Def Jam and the world of rap overall. Young James Todd Smith proved that he had what it took to carry Def Jam on his shoulders. By 1987, LL had reached the prime of his career and was on his A game from a creative and lyrical standpoint. Cool J continued to bring the fire that he had on his first album with this classic. LL knew how to take command whenever he performed and this album was another prime example of how dominant he was. Released on May 29, 1987, this album would take LL's career to a whole new level. This was also the time where LL would start to explore another side of his personality. On this album, fans would understand why LL stands for Ladies Love as he broke ground with the first rap ballad "I Need Love". LL was still the classic B-Boy that everyone respected, but he slowly started to make himself more well-versed as he would collaborate with producers from the West Coast like the LA Posse.

Track Listing:

1. I'm Bad
2. Kanday
3. Get Down
4. The Bristol Hotel
5. My Rhyme Ain't Done
6. .357-Break It Down
7. Go Cut Creator Go
8. The Breakthrough
9. I Need Love
10. Ah, Let's Get Ill
11. The Do Wop
12. On the Ill Tip (Skit)

The Tracklist speaks for itself. It shows LL exploring different ventures. From being the B-Boy hero in "I'm Bad" to his romantic side in "I Need Love" to his savage side in "Kanday", LL was multi-dimensional. He was also never afraid to dig into history with samples of legends like James Brown in "Kanday" to Chuck Berry in "Go Cut Creator Go". In "Go Cut Creator Go", LL paid tribute to his legendary DJ as he sampled "Johnny B. Goode" and "Roll Over Beethoven". This was clearly one of my favorite tracks along with the title track of the Album. "My Rhyme Ain't Done" was a great freestyle track that showed what kind of master he was in that area at the time. LL was still hungry for more and to go for bigger and greater things, and this was evidence of that, especially in his song "The Breakthrough".

Many of LL's critics came at him for "I Need Love" because it showed a softer side of him. You could say that it helped to create the stigma, but it helped him crossover between Rap and Pop. I don't fault LL for doing songs for ladies because LL stands for "Ladies Love". Marvin Gaye can go from singing "What's Going On?" to "Let's Get It On" and nobody says anything. James Brown could go from "I'm Black and I'm Proud" to "Sex Machine" and nobody blinks. Yet, LL goes from "I'm Bad" to "I Need Love" and people have a problem. You like Women don't you? I know I do, so LL made a great move in that sense to balance things out. That song also reached number 1 on the "Hot Black Singles" chart and number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Title Track "I'm Bad" was a breakthrough single in the UK.

The Overall Album reached number 3 on the US Billboard 200 Chart and number 1 on the Billboard Charts for R&B/Hip-Hop Albums at the time of the release. The front cover of the Album was taken outside of Andrew Jackson High School in Queens (The school that LL attended before he dropped out). The back cover was shot in the basement of LL's Grandmother. Marvel Comics even paid tribute to this album in their Hip Hop Variants Cover Series where they replaced LL with Luke Cage. LL himself even posted the picture on Instagram.

In 1998, The Source ranked this Album on their 100 Best Rap Albums list while receiving mixed reviews. Overall, it was LL's biggest career album as it went Triple Platinum (3,000,000 copies).