Laser Rangers 2016 November Meeting

Visual Feast
Early Date

Date: November 5, 2016
Time: 4:50pm
Location: David Sooby’s home theater with 51-inch Samsung HDTV, a 5.1 Surround Sound Dolby Digital sound system, a full set of audiophile-grade speakers, and upgraded seating for about 15 people without crowding.
Captain Laser: David Sooby
Food: Thanksgiving (see list)
Costume: Puritan

To learn more, please visit our Facebook Event Page.

Short features will be shown before each feature. Don't miss them!

~~~~~
Please join us for a Thanksgiving dinner! Bring something to share. We are coordinating on the Facebook group. After dinner, we will be discussing the movies we want to watch during the upcoming year.
~~~~~

Feature Presentation!
Life of Pi

(2012, 127 minutes) Directed by: Ang Lee

Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Rafe Spall, Gérard Depardieu

"The storyline revolves around an Indian man named "Pi" Patel, telling a novelist about his life story, and how at 16 he survives a shipwreck in which his family dies, and is stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger."-Wikipedia

Watch the trailer here!










The home of the Laser Rangers is located about four miles north of the Kansas Speedway, NW of the intersection of I-70 and I-435 on the Kansas side of the Greater Kansas City area.

IMAGE CREDITS: The information for all of these shows come from the invaluable IMDB. The movie posters come from Wikipedia or the movie's respected distributors. 

The movie screen frame image used for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online. Many thanks to these websites!

Laser Rangers 2012 December Meeting

Movies You May Have Missed this Year

Date: December 1, 2012
Time: 4:45pm (Fhanish time)
Place: David Sooby’s home theater with 51-inch Samsung HDTV, a 5.1 Surround Sound Dolby Digital sound system, a full set of audiophile-grade speakers, and brand new seating for about 15 people without crowding.
Captain Laser: NOBODY (We've got no captain! It's going to be a fun ride!)
Food Theme: Pizza & Salad (Bring your own or bring to share!)
Dress Theme: Turn of the 20th Century or Vamperic (NOT Twilight!!)

See more at the Laser Rangers Website. 

Short YouTube features will precede both features!

Hugo

(2011, Appox. 128 minutes); Starring J Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Sacha Baron Cohen;

Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton.

Check out this awesome trailer!

Special Note: Johnny Depp produced 'Hugo.'  

~~~~~
During the break we will kick back and relax as we feast on pizza and salad. Please bring feel free to bring your own pizza and drinks to share or not. It's all good.
~~~~~

There will be more amazing shorts between dinner and our main feature.  

Dark Shadows
MAIN FEATURE!
(2012, 113 minutes); Starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Bella Heathcote
 
An imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins, is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection.


A truly fantastic remake of the 1960s TV show. Check out the movie's trailer here!

The home of the Laser Rangers is located about two miles north of the Kansas Speedway, NW of the intersection of I-70 and I-435 on the Kansas side of the Greater Kansas City area.

IMAGE CREDITS: The information and movie poster images for all of these shows come from the invaluable IMDB or the movie's  respected distrubutors. 
The movie screen frame image used for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online. Many thanks to these websites!

Laser Rangers 2012 November Meeting

Marvel Superheroes II (Special Thanksgiving Edition)

Date: November 3, 2012
Time: 4:45pm (Fhanish time)
Place: David Sooby’s home theater with 51-inch Samsung HDTV, a 5.1 Surround Sound Dolby Digital sound system, a full set of audiophile-grade speakers, and brand new seating for about 15 people without crowding.
Captain Laser: Ken Keller
Food Theme: Thanksgiving Dinner
Dress Theme: Fine attire, Classy dress or leftover Halloween costumes (super hero themed please, but not required)

See more at the Laser Rangers Website. 

Short features will precede our main features!

X-Men: First Class

(2011, Appox. 132 minutes); Starring James McAvoy, Micheal Fassbender, Rose Byrne, and Kevin Bacon 

In 1962, the United States government enlists the help of Mutants with superhuman abilities to stop a malicious dictator who is determined to start world war III.

Check out this awesome trailer!









~~~~~
During the break we will have our annual MOVIE MEETING where in we will plan out next year's movie schedule. This will be a longer dinner break than normal so we can all enjoy wonderful food prepared by the Laser Rangers and come up with the best possible movie agenda for the year to come.
~~~~~

There will be more amazing shorts between dinner and our main feature.

Captain America: The First Avenger

MAIN FEATURE!
(2011, 124 minutes); Starring Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones & Hugo Weaving
 
After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending USA ideals.

A truly fantastic super hero movie and the awesome trailer!

The home of the Laser Rangers is located about two miles north of the Kansas Speedway, NW of the intersection of I-70 and I-435 on the Kansas side of the Greater Kansas City area.

IMAGE CREDITS: The information and movie poster images for all of these shows come from the invaluable IMDB or the movie's  respected distrubutors. 
The movie screen frame image used for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online. Many thanks to these websites!

Laser Rangers 2012 October Meeting

Lovecraft Love

We've got a triple header for you all!!

Date: October 13, 2012
Time: 4:45pm (Fhanish time)
Place: David Sooby’s home theater with 51-inch Samsung HDTV, a 5.1 Surround Sound Dolby Digital sound system, a full set of audiophile-grade speakers, and brand new seating for about 15 people without crowding.
Captain Laser: Mike McCain
Food Theme: Something HORRIBLE
Dress Theme: Halloween

See more at the Laser Rangers Website.

Short features will precede our main features!

The Call of Cthulhu

(2005, Appox. 47 minutes); Starring Matt Foyer, John Bolen, Ralph Lucas, & Chad Fifer
The film follows the story's three-part narrative construction, and it moves from the 1920s to 1908 to the 1870s and back, as the story does. The story embodies HPL's nihilistic world view, his cosmic perspective, and his sense that mankind is doomed by its own insignificance.

Check out this awesome trailer!

 

Dagon

(2001, Appox. 95 minutes); Starring Ezra Godden, Francisco Rabal, Raquel Meroño, & Macarena Gómez
A boating accident runs a young man and woman ashore in a decrepit Spanish fishing town which they should discover is in the grips of an ancient sea god and its monstrous half human offspring.

Based loosely on 'Shadow over Innsmouth'.

Check out this awesome trailer!






~~~~~
We will break for a pot luck dinner between features to discuss what we've just seen, what is coming, and more. Usually a lively conversation. You can bring what you want to share or just something for yourself.
~~~~~
There will be more amazing shorts between dinner and our main feature.

Cast a Deadly Spell

SPECIAL FEATURE!
(1991, 96 minutes); Starring Fred Ward, David Warner, Julianne Moore, & Clancy Brown
 
In a fantastical 40's where magic is used by everyone, a hard-boiled detective investigates the theft of a mystical tome.

Oh the 90s really knew how to make an awesome trailer!

The home of the Laser Rangers is located about two miles north of the Kansas Speedway, NW of the intersection of I-70 and I-435 on the Kansas side of the Greater Kansas City area.

IMAGE CREDITS: The information and movie poster images for all of these shows come from the invaluable IMDB or the movie's  respected distrubutors. 
The movie screen frame image used for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online. Many thanks to these websites!

Pod-Play Scripts

Pod-Play 1 Acts DUE SOON!!!! 

This is a reminder that the Pod-Play scripts will soon be due in a couple of weeks! Get them finalized and wrapped up. We're in the final mile here and it's time to give it all you've got. We're all looking forward to your final product! 

Below is a reminder of what were looking for. Thank you very much for participating. Good luck with your scripts.

Please see guidelines here:

Submit entries now!

Pod-Play 1 Acts

Guidelines

• Must be Family Friendly
• Fall within a genre we cover as a club
• Include more than two people
• Can be comedic, dramatic, or any tone you’d like
• Not more than an hour long
• Is ready by October 20, 2012 (meeting date). 

 

This is an open topic project with endless possibilities. Some prompts are provided below to get you thinking. Have fun and enjoy this. We are also looking for voice talents. Please contact us if you are interested.

 

Format Guidelines

Please refer back to our July post. <Insert Link>

Thank you for your interest and participation. We look forward to seeing what you bring and the performances that result. Good luck and start writing!

Prompts

• A group of people discovers a strange object
• An out of this world party
• A UFO lands
• Guidelines for Alien encounters with dramatic enactments
• Science fiction serial series take off
• Family of psycho killers recounting “just another day.”
• Epic Fantasy quest in 1 act
• Time Safari
• Colonist’s first day on a new world
• Broken down on the galactic highway
• Adapt a 1-act play into a science fiction, horror, or fantasy genre. 
• Our Neighbors are Aliens
• Our Neighbors are LARPers
• Fantasy quest that is really just a well-played D&D game
• Lost Time Traveler

Photo Credits:

Comedy/Drama Faces by Clipart Guide: http://www.clipartguide.com/_pages/1386-0904-3008-0919.html

Parchment by KSU:

http://ocw.ksu.edu.tw/file.php/40/openclipart/index_56.html

-->

Radio Presenter US CA NY Radio Clip art:

http://modise.ns02.biz/2805/home/radio-clipart

Laser Rangers 2012 September Meeting

Mars Attacks . . . AGAIN!

Date: September 8, 2012
Time: 4:45pm (Fhanish time)
Place: David Sooby’s home theater with 51-inch Samsung HDTV, a 5.1 Surround Sound Dolby Digital sound system, a full set of audiophile-grade speakers, and brand new seating for about 15 people without crowding.
Captain Laser: Ken Keller
Food Theme: Survival Rations, Something colored red
Dress Theme: "Martian Uniforms" or British

See more at the Laser Rangers Website.

Short features will precede our main features!

Jeff Wayne's The Musical Version of 'War of the Worlds'

(2006, Appox. 2+ hours); Starring Lewis, McLeod, Richard Burton, Justin Hayward, & Alexis James 

The Dinner break will serve as an intermission between the two parts of this feature.

In 1978 Jeff Wayne composed and produced one of the most groundbreaking and best-selling musical works of all time. In 2006 after much anticipation Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds was brought to the stage for the first time, playing to sold-out arenas across the UK. The War of The Worlds Live is a spectacular mix of live music, theatre, multi-media and visual arts on a grand scale.

Check out this awesome trailer!

~~~~~
We will break half way through War of the Worlds for a pot luck dinner between features to discuss what we've just seen, what is coming, and more. Usually a lively conversation is had by all. You can bring what you want to share or just something for yourself.
~~~~~
There will be more amazing shorts between dinner and part 2. After which, we will show our final feature.

Invaders from Mars (1953)

(1953, 78 minutes); Starring Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt, & Leif Erickson
 
A young boy learns that space aliens are taking over the minds of earthlings.

One night, young David McLean sees a spaceship crash into a nearby sandpit. His father goes to investigate, but comes back changed. Where once he was cheerful and affectionate, he's now sullen and snarlingly rude. Others fall into the sandpit and begin acting like him: cold, ill-tempered and conspiratorial.




Invaders from Mars Trailer

The home of the Laser Rangers is located about two miles north of the Kansas Speedway, NW of the intersection of I-70 and I-435 on the Kansas side of the Greater Kansas City area.

IMAGE CREDITS: The information and movie poster images for all of these shows come from the invaluable IMDB or the movie's  respected distrubutors. 
The movie screen frame image used for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online. Many thanks to these websites!

Art and Pizza! What's not to love?

2nd Annual August Art Night, Logo Exhibition and first commentary, and Pizza Party Extravaganza

When: August 18th, 2012,  6:30-9:30 p.m.
Where: The Writer's Place (Map)
What: 2nd Annual August Art Night plus Pizza Party, plus choosing a LOGO!

This is a photo by Neelix, taken at the 2011 August Art Night.

Second Annual August Art Night 

We have reservations from Neelix, a totally new artist named Chris Frye, Nancy Nutt, Lucy A. Synk (with new prints!), and Jan Gephardt (hoping to be there with a new print!).

Art will be for sale at the show, but we cannot take credit cards on the artists' behalf. Most purchases will be by checks or cash only, so come prepared!

Logo Display 
We also will have our first chance to look at the logos that were submitted for the Logo Contest, and compare them with logos of the past. Each will have a "suggestion box" for you to submit suggestions or comments.

Pizza Feast

This is a "Papa Minsky's" pizza.

This meeting also features a Pizza Feast, via Business-Friend-of-KaCSFFS, 39th Street Minsky's--where your KaCSFFS membership card will get you a 10% discount! To see a PDF of a menu, check the Menus File on the KAXFEN Yahoo Group.

For those of you on the group email please find the menu in the files section and tell Cindy what you'd like. Thanks.

IMAGE CREDITS: "Neelix," A.K.A. Tracy Majkol, took the art show photo at last year's August Art Night; it is used here with his permission. We also should note that there will be a display of Neelix's photography in this year's show! The illustration of a "Papa Minsky's" pizza is from Jim Nichols' "Foodspotting" blog. The blog also includes images of food offerings from several other Kansas City-area restaurants.

August Laser Rangers 2012 Meeting

Doomsday, Knocking at Our Door

Date: August 11, 2012
Time: Around 4:45pm (fanish time)
Place: David Sooby’s home theater with 51-inch Samsung HDTV, a 5.1 Surround Sound Dolby Digital sound system, a full set of audiophile-grade speakers, and brand new seating for about 15 people without crowding.
Captain Laser: Bill O.Food Theme: Concession Stand/Drive-in
Dress theme: 1950's Garb

See more information at the Laser Rangers website!!  

A short feature will precede our first feature: 

The Magnetic Monster 

(1953, 76 minutes), starring Richard Carlson and King Donovan
IMDB Synopsis: Working for O.S.I., the Office of Scientific Investigation, A-Man agent Jeffrey Stewart and his partner Dan Forbes are sent to a local hardware store where they find a strong magnetic field has magnetized every metal item in the store. Investigating further, they eventually trace the source of the magnetism to an airborn [sic] flight carrying scientist Howard Denker, now dying of radiation poisoning, who has carted on board with him a new radioactive element which he has bombarded with alpha particles for 200 hours.
See the thrilling trailer on YouTube now! 

 

Following our potluck dinner (bring what you'd like to share) we'll be showing another short or two then our second, main feature.

The Satan Bug

(1965, 114 minutes) starring George Maharis, Richard Basehart, Anne Francis, and Ed Asner
IMDB Synopsis: A germ warfare lab has had an accident. The first theory is that one of the nasty germs has gotten free and killed several scientists. The big fear is that a more virulent strain, named The Satan Bug because all life can be killed off by it should it escape, may have been stolen.
What in amazement the trailer on YouTube now!







Reviews by Ken Keller of Kansas City.
The Magnetic Monster
First off, forget the title. If you go into director Curt Siodmak’s "The Magnetic Monster" looking for a monster movie, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. What we have instead is one of the most ernestly serious science fiction films of the 1950’s, and one of the very few that attempted to examine the newborn horrors of the Nuclear Age in a sober, non-sensational, but low budget manner. (Typical of producer Ivan Tors, who would use the same approach for his "Science Fiction Theater" syndicated TV series.)

The film opens with narrated exposition that science fiction film makers of the 1950’s loved so much: "One of the side-effects of this decade’s rapid expansion in the importance of cutting-edge science in all fields of human endeavor has been the emerging need for a federal investigative agency to deal with the unexpected consequences of these new sciences. Thus, the Office of Scientific Investigation was created to serve as a sort of scientific counterpart to the FBI." 

Dr. Jeffrey Stewart (Richard Carlson) is one of the OSI’s most talented investigative scientists. As the film opens, he and his partner, Dr. Dan Forbes (King Donovan), are sent out to look into a very strange occurrence: Every metallic object in a Los Angeles hardware store has been endowed with a very powerful magnetic charge. Stewart and Forbes determine that the source of the intense magnetic field is in one of the apartments above the store, and they go upstairs to investigate. When they do, they discover that a very odd magnetism emanates from the body of a dead man, killed apparently by some sort of unusual, unknown radiation. Stewart orders the store closed and the building evacuated, and then returns to OSI headquarters with the magnetized and radioactive body. From then on, their investigation grows only stranger, pushing the known boundaries of 1950's science, as they pursue something quite unexpected and extremely dangerous to all of humanity.

IRON SKY: We Come in Peace

ALERT TO ALL: Nazis from the Dark side of the moon are invading Independence, MO on August 23rd, 2012!  

Join the resistance for freedom and the American way, y'all.

Where: Independence Commons 20 (MAP HERE!) 
When: Thursday, August 23, 7:30pm - 9:18pm
What: Nazis!!! That's what! In an alternate future, Nazis from the darkside of the moon come to create the Fourth Reich. Also, Palin is president. Lol.
For more details check out the Wikipedia page (Potential spoilers): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Sky

You MUST reserve your tickets ASAP!--> http://www.tugg.com/events/1115
(Deadline for tickets reservation is August 16! WE NEED TO FILL 40 SEATS!!!! 10 Seats left! Full refund if quota is not met and event is not confirmed.)

Possible pre-show dinner: TBD (Options: Fazoli's, Smokehouse BBQ, and Chili's, Applebee's, Texas Roadhouse, Chik-Fillet, and 54th Street Grill. Located in (or near) the very same (large) out-front parking area near the AMC Independence Common theatre. Suggestions by Ken K.)

OFFICIAL MOVIE TRAILER:



If you would like more information please check out these helpful sites:
IRON SKY movie page: http://www.ironsky.net/
The Events page: http://www.tugg.com/titles/iron-sky?region=global&state=upcoming#.UBGeilTYNSo

Photo and media credits are © their owners. All rights reserved.

LAST CALL for Logos and Call to Pod-Play - 1 Act Plays due by October!

Logo Contest Closes Aug. 1! 

Submit entries now! 

Please refer back to our July post for details. <Insert Link>

Pod-Play 1 Acts

Guidelines

• Must be Family Friendly
• Fall within a genre we cover as a club
• Include more than two people
• Can be comedic, dramatic, or any tone you’d like
• Not more than an hour long
• Is ready by October 20, 2012 (meeting date). 

 

This is an open topic project with endless possibilities. Some prompts are provided below to get you thinking. Have fun and enjoy this. We are also looking for voice talents. Please contact us if you are interested.

 

Format Guidelines

Please refer back to our July post. <Insert Link>

Thank you for your interest and participation. We look forward to seeing what you bring and the performances that result. Good luck and start writing!

Prompts

• A group of people discovers a strange object
• An out of this world party
• A UFO lands
• Guidelines for Alien encounters with dramatic enactments
• Science fiction serial series take off
• Family of psycho killers recounting “just another day.”
• Epic Fantasy quest in 1 act
• Time Safari
• Colonist’s first day on a new world
• Broken down on the galactic highway
• Adapt a 1-act play into a science fiction, horror, or fantasy genre. 
• Our Neighbors are Aliens
• Our Neighbors are LARPers
• Fantasy quest that is really just a well-played D&D game
• Lost Time Traveler

Photo Credits:

Comedy/Drama Faces by Clipart Guide: http://www.clipartguide.com/_pages/1386-0904-3008-0919.html

Parchment by KSU:

http://ocw.ksu.edu.tw/file.php/40/openclipart/index_56.html

Radio Presenter US CA NY Radio Clip art:

http://modise.ns02.biz/2805/home/radio-clipart

Dos por del Toro

Laser Rangers + Guillermo del Toro = ONE NIGHT OF FANTASY BASED HORROR! -- DOS POR del TORO!!!!

ALERT!!::: THIS MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE ON THE *THIRD* SATURDAY OF JULY!!!!!:::  ALERT!!!

Date: July 21, 2012

Time: Around 4:15 p.m., “fan time”

Place: David Sooby’s home theater with 51-inch Samsung HDTV, a 5.1 Surround Sound Dolby Digital sound system, a full set of audiophile-grade speakers, and brand new seating for about 15 people without crowding.

Food Theme:

Captain Laser: Marylin

The Program: "Dos por del Toro" (Two for del Toro)

Check the Laser Rangers website for more information.

The Pre-Dinner Show

We're kicking off this evening with Cronos
(1993, 94 minutes)

IMDB Synopsis: "A mysterious device designed to provide its owner with eternal life resurfaces after four hundred years, leaving a trail of destruction in its path. "

Watch a trailer for Cronos, from IMDB:

Cast:
Federico Luppi
Ron Perlman 
Claudio Brook 


Crew: 
Director: Guillermo del Toro 
Screenwriter: Guillermo del Toro
Producers: Arthur Gorson, Bertha Navarro 

Dinner Break:

The Laser Rangers take a dinner break between the two features of the evening, to share a potluck dinner and discuss the movie they have just seen, or get caught up on other events.

Shorts: 

TBA

Second Feature: 

Pan's Labyrinth (El Labertino del Fauno)

(2006, 119 minutes, on Blu-ray in 1080P)
IMDB Synopsis: "In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world."

Watch a trailer for Pan's Labyrinth, from IMDB:

Cast:
Ivana Baquero 
Sergi López 
Maribel Verdú

Crew: 
Director: Guillermo del Toro 
Written by: Guillermo del  
Producers: Belén Atienza, Elmundo Gil

The home of the Laser Rangers is located about two miles north of the Kansas Speedway, NW of the intersection of I-70 and I-435 on the Kansas side of the Greater Kansas City area. For the exact address and directions, e-mail David Sooby at the email address given here.




IMAGE CREDITS: The information and movie poster images for all of these shows come from the invaluable IMDB or the movie's  respected distrubutors. The movie screen frame image used for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online. Many thanks to these websites!

Game of Thrones Maraton Part 1

Alternate Laser Rangers Meeting: Game of Thrones  

(Season 2: Episodes 1-4)

Date: July 7, 2012

Time: Around 4:45 p.m.

Place: David Sooby’s home theater with 51-inch Samsung HDTV, a 5.1 Surround Sound Dolby Digital sound system, a full set of audiophile-grade speakers, and brand new seating for about 15 people without crowding.

Food Theme: Medieval (Westeros)

Captain Laser: Ken Keller

The Program: "Winter in our Summer"

On Display: Longclaw, the officially licensed Valyrian Steel hand-and-half broadsword of Jon Snow

Check the Laser Rangers website for more information.

May it be known across the land of Kansas City and surrounding regions: the Laser Rangers will hold a special presentation of Game of Thrones Season 2. They will show the first 4 episodes of the second season in high definition in their first ever streamed session thanks to Tracy M.
 

There will be a pot-luck dinner break between the first and the last two episodes. Please bring your favorite Westeros dish and feel free to come in costume. Let a good time be had by all! (See authentic recipes here)

Shorts (In order to be shown before Season 2):

1. Games of Thrones - Season 1 - 'The Story So Far" Featurette
2. Game of Thrones: New Characters in Season 2
3. Game of Thrones: Destinations of Season 2

"The First 4 Episodes of Season 2:

1. E01: The North Remembers
2. E02: The Night Lands
3. E03: What Is Dead May Never Die
4. E04: Garden of Bones

"Immediately following each episode will be a very short HBO min-doc (3 or 4 minutes long) clarifying story elements and important plot developments shown in the episode.

"Captain Laser: Ken Keller, who will provide Season 2 film notes for the first 4 episodes."*

Season 2 Trailer (warning, may contain mild spoilers)

The home of the Laser Rangers is located about two miles north of the Kansas Speedway, NW of the intersection of I-70 and I-435 on the Kansas side of the Greater Kansas City area. For the exact address and directions, e-mail David Sooby at the email address given here.

IMAGE CREDITS: The movie screen frame image used for the Laser Rangers contact information is courtesy of Psychology Today Online. Many thanks to these websites! 
Game of Thrones Season 2 Logo is © HBO
*Update written by Ken Keller