What is “Morgan”? Disappointing.

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Denise

morgan onesheetNutshell: like its title character, Morgan is a hybrid; a sci-fi/horror mashup that doesn’t know what to do with its interesting premise except beat it to death with ennui.  A waste of not only a fine story idea, but a cast that seem to know they’re all too good for this. Grade: D

“You know the cruelest thing you can do to someone locked in a room? Push their face to the window.”

And you know the cruelest thing you can do to a genre fan?  Create an interesting story, and then waste it.  With Morgan, there’s hints of Ex Machina, Firestarter, Stranger Things, Blade Runner, and other finely twisted stories of natural order gone boink.  And by “hints”, I mean the screenwriters ripped off the basic ideas, but not the themes or behind ’em.  And that’s a crying shame. Continue reading →

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Happy #WomensEqualityDay, and #HappyBirthdayKatherineJohnson!

Posted on August 26, 2016 by Denise

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To celebrate the day and to honor of Dr. Johnson, Fox 2000 Pictures has decided to donate to STEM Education for every share of this video.  Lovely, right?  Well, I’m all for celebrating, and for getting the word out about this fabulous woman.  Read on, peep the vid…and share it far and wide!

2000 steps. 120 miles. 5 honorary degrees. 4 great-grandchildren. These are some of the numbers that have defined Katherine Johnson’s legacy. And today is her 98th birthday.

20th Century Fox and HIDDEN FIGURES are wishing the brilliant and trailblazing Katherine G. Johnson a Happy 98th Birthday! Katherine is the NASA mathematician who served as the brains behind one of the greatest space missions in US history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit. Join in on her birthday celebration by checking out the below video and learning more about her inspiring story.

To honor this remarkable woman on Women’s Equality Day, Fox will be making a donation to STEM EDUCATION for every share of this video on August 26th, 2016.

Hidden Figures hits theaters everywhere on January 13, 2017!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms92fv9L9aY

 

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Con News: have cookies with “The School for Good and Evil”!

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Denise

BaltimoreComicCon_logo_nodateOoh!  Cookies!  Gorgeous art!  And creators that sound like they’re gonna be a whole lot of fun to hang out with!  I’m abusing exclamation points because The School for Good and Evil is coming to Baltimore Comic-Con.  They’ll be at the “Kids Love Comics” pavillion, and they’ll have some sweet sounding panels as well.  Because who doesn’t love fairy tales?  And cookies?

So read on for the full deets, whydon’cha?  And see you at the con!

Continue reading →

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Blu-Ray Giveaway: cool off with “Winter’s War”!

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Denise

winters war bluray coverAugust is always a hot one.  But not if you’re inside watching a movie, amirite?  Well, I’ve got 10 copies of The Huntsman: Winter’s War from the lovely folks at Universal, and I’m itching to give ’em to you.  Synopsis!

The Huntsman: Winter’s War stars Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, Monster) as the evil Queen Ravenna, who betrays her good sister Freya (Emily Blunt: Sicario, Edge of Tomorrow) with an unforgivable act, freezing Freya’s heart to love and unleashing in her an icy power she never knew she possessed. Retreating to a kingdom far to the north, Freya raises an army of Huntsmen as her protectors, with the only rule that no two of them should ever fall in love. As a war for domination escalates between the two queens, the hero standing between good and evil is Freya’s most elite Huntsman, Eric (Chris Hemsworth: Thor, Star Trek Into Darkness). Alongside fellow warrior Sara (Jessica Chastain: The Martian, The Help) — the only woman who has ever captured his heart — Eric must help Freya vanquish her sister or Ravenna’s wickedness will rule for eternity.

Along with the movie itself, there’s an extended version of the film, a peek behind the scenes, deleted scenes, and a director’s commentary!  I thought the visuals and the performances were lovely.  And I admit I’m jealous; I want to check out the Blu-ray extended cut to see how the story plays out at that length. What will you think? Only one way to find out…

Continue reading →

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TrailerWatch: Samara goes viral in “Rings”

Posted on August 24, 2016 by Denise

rings posterReady to get your scared on? In today’s all-cellphone-all-the-time culture, NOT watching a video is like not thinking about an elephant when someone tells you not to. (GOTCHA!) Samara, the long-haired well dweller from Ring, is back and wants to take things to the World Wide Web. Is she gonna? Uh, DUH. Synopsis!

A new chapter in the beloved RING horror franchise. A young woman becomes worried about her boyfriend when he explores a dark subculture surrounding a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after he has viewed it. She sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend and in doing so makes a horrifying discovery: there is a “movie within the movie” that no one has ever seen before…

Rings crawls into theaters October 28th.

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: The Light Between Oceans

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Denise

140672CM01B_Trp_Email_LR.pdfGearing up for Awards Season Onslaught, readers?  I know I am; it’s the most wonderful time of the movie year! For your consideration, I have passes for The Light Between Oceans, a bittersweet story that has gold statues written all over it.  Synopsis!

In the years following World War I, Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender), a young veteran still numb from his years in combat, takes a job as lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, a remote island off the coast of Western Australia. As the island’s sole inhabitant, he finds comfort in the monotony of the chores and the solitude of his surroundings. When he meets the daughter of the school’s headmaster, Isabel Graysmark (Alicia Vikander), in the local town of Partageuse on the mainland, Tom is immediately captivated by her beauty, wit and passion, and they are soon married and living on the island. As their love flourishes, he begins to feel again, their happiness marred only by their inability to start a family, so when a rowboat with a dead man and infant girl mysteriously washes ashore, Isabel believes their prayers may have finally been answered. As a man of principle, Tom is torn between reporting the lost child and pleasing the woman he loves, and against his better judgment he agrees to let Isabel raise the child as their own, making a choice with devastating consequences. DreamWorks Pictures’ “The Light Between Oceans” opens in U.S. theaters on September 2, 2016.

The trailer looks amazing, and I’m already dying to see more of those performances.  And that adorable Fassbender/Vikander romance started in 2014 while these two filmed this movie…so hello added cuteness!  Who’s with me?

Continue reading →

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Columbia Screening Pass-palooza: Morgan!

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Denise

morgan onesheet“What you don’t understand is, Morgan is still evolving.”

Digging Stranger Things on Netflix right now?  I know, right?  Totally awesome.  And if you’re someone like me who’s already sucked up all the current episodes and is looking for more supernatural wonderkid stories, may I suggest Morgan?  The trailer is spooky-cool, and the casting combo of Kate Mara, Rose Leslie, Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Paul Giamatti is looking pretty sweet. Synopsis!

A corporate troubleshooter (Kate Mara) is sent to a remote, top-secret location, where she is to investigate and evaluate a terrifying accident.  She learns the event was triggered by a seemingly innocent “human,” who presents a mystery of both infinite promise and incalculable danger. www.WhatIsMorgan.com

Ready to find out more?  Right this way… Continue reading →

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7 Pieces of: “Hell or High Water”

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Denise

hell or high water onesheet

“Days of robbing banks…long gone for sure.”

Story: Toby’s desperate to save the family ranch after his mother’s passing. So he taps brother Tanner to help him with things. And by “help him with things”, I mean “rob banks to get money to play poker and score big”. What could go wrong? Oh, that Texas Ranger and his partner gunning for you? Don’t pay ’em no mind.

Genre I’d put it in: Low key modern day cowboy epic.

Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Original.

Continue reading →

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Con News: SPX announces the 2016 Ignatz Award nominees!

Posted on August 18, 2016 by Denise

SPX 2016 banner 2It’s time, folks!  Small Press Expo has released this year’s list of nominees for the Ignatz Awards!  What are they?  Well, they’re named after a really adorable mouse…with a not so adorable way of throwing bricks.  Read Krazy Kat.  You’ll thank me later.

Some of the titles that have passed my way this year?  Jason Shiga’s Demon, Carol Tyler’s Soldier’s Heart, and of course online stuff like Octopus Pie and Vattu…but there’s so much good stuff here.  Feel free to use it to fill out your read list this Fall.  I know I will.

Read on for the full Ignatz Awards nominations list. And congratulations to all the nominees!
Continue reading →

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7 Pieces Of: “War Dogs”

Posted on August 18, 2016 by Denise

war dogs scarface onesheet“The war is happening.  This is about money.”

Story:  Wanna make some serious dollars?  Run guns for the government!  It’s not just for big contractors anymore.  When junior high BFFs Efraim (Hill) and David (Teller) decide to go into the business by picking up the teeny contracts nobody wants, things look pretty sweet for a while…until things aren’t sweet anymore.  And they find out what happens when arms dealers stop being polite, and start getting real.

Genre I’d put it in: Douche-bro gunrunner buddy comedy. Continue reading →

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