Harvey Awards announced: check out the full list of nominees here!

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Denise

BaltimoreComicCon_logo_nodateAfterlife with Archie! Battlepug! Girls with Slingshots! Mouse Guard! Saga! And those are just a few of the nominees for this year’s Harvey Awards!

Yes, I have my favorites, even from this stellar list o’ noms. I’m hoping Babs Tarr gets a Harv; I love her work on Batgirl. And a peek at that paragraph above will give you an idea of where I’m at.

Why not let the official release do the talking? The Harvey Awards will be presented at Baltimore Comic-Con on September 26th, 2015.

2014 Harvey Awards Nominees Announced!

Visit www.harveyawards.org for Ballots & Submission Details
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – July 14, 2015 – The 2015 Harvey Awards Nominees have been announced with the release of the final ballot, presented by the Executive Committees of the Harvey Awards and the Baltimore Comic-Con. Named in honor of the late Harvey Kurtzman, one of the industry’s most innovative talents, the Harvey Awards recognize outstanding work in comics and sequential art. They will be presented September 26, 2015 in Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con.
Harvey Awards Nominee Logo

Nominations for the Harvey Awards are selected exclusively by creators – those who write, draw, ink, letter, color, design, edit, or are otherwise involved in a creative capacity in the comics field. They are the only industry awards both nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals. Thank you to all that have already participated by submitting a nomination ballot. Final ballots are due to the Harvey Awards by Monday, August 31, 2015. Full submission instructions can be found on the final ballot.

Voting is open to anyone professionally involved in a creative capacity within the comics field. Final ballots are available at www.harveyawards.org. Those who prefer paper ballots may e-mail harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com.
This will be the tenth year for the Harvey Awards in Baltimore, MD. Look for more details soon as to how you can attend the Harvey Awards dinner.
This year’s Baltimore Comic-Con will be held September 25-27, 2015. The ceremony and banquet for the 2015 Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, September 26th.

Without further delay, the 2014 Harvey Award Nominees:

BEST LETTERER
____ Aubrey Aiese, LUMBERJANES, BOOM! Box (BOOM! Studios)
____ Deron Bennett, HACKTIVIST, Archaia Black Label (BOOM! Studios)
____ Ed Dukeshire, THE WOODS, BOOM! Studios
____ Jack Morelli, AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE, Archie Comic Publications
____ Josh Reed, DAMSELS IN EXCESS, Aspen

BEST COLORIST
____ Elizabeth Breitweiser, VELVET, Image Comics
____ Jordie Bellaire, MOON KNIGHT, Marvel Comics
____ Laura Martin, ARMOR HUNTERS, Valiant Entertainment
____ Dave Stewart, HELLBOY IN HELL, Dark Horse Comics
____ Matthew Wilson, THE WICKED + THE DIVINE, Image Comics

BEST SYNDICATED STRIP or PANEL
____ DICK TRACY, Joe Staton and Mike Curtis, Tribune Media Services
____ DILBERT, Scott Adams, Universal Uclick
____ FOX TROT, Bill Amend, Universal Uclick
____ GET FUZZY, Darby Conley, Universal Uclick
____ MUTTS, Patrick McDonnell, King Features Syndicate

BEST ONLINE COMICS WORK
____ ALBERT THE ALIEN, Trevor Mueller and Gabriel Bautista, albertthealien.com
____ BATTLEPUG, Mike Norton, battlepug.com
____ GIRLS WITH SLINGSHOTS, Danielle Corsetto, girlswithslingshots.com
____ SPACE MULLET, Daniel Warren Johnson, space-mullet.com
____ THE PRIVATE EYE, Brian K. Vaughan, Marcos Martin, and Muntsa Vicente, panelsyndicate.com

BEST AMERICAN EDITION of FOREIGN MATERIAL
____ BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS, Drawn & Quarterly
____ BLACKSAD: AMARILLO, Dark Horse
____ CORTO MALTESE: UNDER THE SIGN OF CAPRICORN, EuroComics/IDW
____ THE COLLECTOR, Archaia/BOOM! Studios
____ THE KILLER OMNIBUS VOL. 2, Archaia/BOOM! Studios

BEST INKER
____ Roger Langridge, JIM HENSON’S THE MUSICAL MONSTERS OF TURKEY HOLLOW, Archaia/BOOM! Studios
____ Danny Miki, BATMAN, DC Comics
____ Mark Pennington, ARMOR HUNTERS: BLOODSHOT, Valiant Entertainment
____ Joe Rivera, THE VALIANT, Valiant Entertainment
____ Wade Von Grawbadger, ALL NEW X-MEN, Marvel Comics

BEST NEW SERIES
____ BITCH PLANET, Image Comics
____ LUMBERJANES, BOOM! Box (BOOM! Studios)
____ MS. MARVEL, Marvel Comics
____ SOUTHERN BASTARDS, Image Comics
____ THE WICKED + THE DIVINE, Image Comics

MOST PROMISING NEW TALENT
____ Steve Bryant, ATHENA VOLTAIRE COMPENDIUM, Dark Horse Comics
____ Daniel Warren Johnson, GHOST FLEET, Dark Horse Comics
____ Chad Lambert, “KILL ME” FROM DARK HORSE PRESENTS, Dark Horse Comics
____ Babs Tarr, BATGIRL, DC Comics
____ Jen Van Meter, THE DEATH-DEFYING DOCTOR MIRAGE, Valiant Entertainment

SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS
____ James Asmus, QUANTUM AND WOODY, Valiant Entertainment
____ James Asmus & Fred Van Lente, THE DELINQUENTS, Valiant Entertainment
____ Ryan Browne, GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS, Image Comics
____ Fred Van Lente, ARCHER AND ARMSTRONG, Valiant Entertainment
____ Chip Zdarsky, SEX CRIMINALS, Image Comics

BEST ORIGINAL GRAPHIC PUBLICATION FOR YOUNGER READERS
____ JIM HENSON’S THE MUSICAL MONSTERS OF TURKEY HOLLOW, Archaia/BOOM! Studios
____ LUMBERJANES, BOOM! Box (BOOM! Studios)
____ SISTERS, Scholastic-Graphix
____ SPONGEBOB COMICS, United Plankton Pictures
____ THIS ONE SUMMER, First Second Books

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED
____ HIT: 1955 TP, BOOM! Studios
____ MOUSE GUARD: BALDWIN THE BRAVE AND OTHER TALES HC, Archaia/BOOM! Studios
____ RAI VOL. 1: WELCOME TO NEW JAPAN TP, Valiant Entertainment
____ SIX-GUN GORILLA TP, BOOM! Studios
____ THE LOVE BUNGLERS, Fantagraphics

BEST ANTHOLOGY
____ DARK HORSE PRESENTS, Dark Horse Comics
____ IN THE DARK: A HORROR ANTHOLOGY, IDW
____ LITTLE NEMO: DREAM ANOTHER DREAM, Locust Moon Press
____ MASTERFUL MARKS: CARTOONISTS WHO CHANGED THE WORLD, Simon & Schuster
____ WILD OCEAN, Fulcrum Publishing

BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT
____ HARVEY KURTZMAN’S JUNGLE BOOK: ESSENTIAL KURTZMAN VOLUME 1, Kitchen Sink Books/Dark Horse Books
____ STERANKO NICK FURY AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. ARTIST’S EDITION, IDW
____ THE COMPLETE QUANTUM AND WOODY CLASSIC OMNIBUS, Valiant Entertainment
____ VALIANT MASTERS: H.A.R.D. CORPS VOL. 1 – SEARCH & DESTROY, Valiant Entertainment
____ WALT DISNEY DONALD DUCK AND UNCLE SCROOGE: THE SON OF THE SUN (DON ROSA LIBRARY VOL. 1), Fantagraphics

BEST COVER ARTIST
____ Mike Del Mundo, ELEKTRA, Marvel Comics
____ Francesco Francavilla, AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE, Archie Comic Publications
____ Jenny Frison, REVIVAL, Image Comics
____ Chris Samnee, DAREDEVIL, Marvel Comics
____ Fiona Staples, SAGA, Image Comics

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL, or JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION
____ BACK ISSUES, Comic Pop
____ COMIC BOOK CREATOR, TwoMorrows Publications
____ HEROES OF THE COMICS: PORTRAITS OF THE LEGENDS OF COMIC BOOKS, Drew Friedman, Fantagraphics
____ MASTERFUL MARKS: CARTOONISTS WHO CHANGED THE WORLD, Monte Beauchamp, Simon & Schuster
____ TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE ULTIMATE VISUAL HISTORY, Andrew Farago, Insight Editions

SPECIAL AWARD for EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION
____ ARMOR HUNTERS, Josh Johns and Warren Simons, Valiant Entertainment
____ HARVEY KURTZMAN’S JUNGLE BOOK: ESSENTIAL KURTZMAN VOLUME 1, John Lind and Philip R. Simon, Kitchen Sink Books/Dark Horse Books
____ LITTLE NEMO: DREAM ANOTHER DREAM, Andrew Carl, Josh O’Neill, and Chris Stevens, Locust Moon Press
____ JIM HENSON’S THE MUSICAL MONSTERS OF TURKEY HOLLOW HC, Scott Newman, Archaia/BOOM! Studios
____ THE VALIANT, Kyle Andrukiewicz and Warren Simons, Valiant Entertainment

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM ORIGINAL
____ ATHENA VOLTAIRE COMPENDIUM, Dark Horse Comics
____ JIM HENSON’S THE MUSICAL MONSTERS OF TURKEY HOLLOW, Archaia/BOOM! Studios
____ SECONDS, Ballantine Books
____ THE WRENCHIES, First Second Books
____ THIS ONE SUMMER, First Second Books

BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES
____ AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE, Archie Comic Publications
____ DAREDEVIL, Marvel Comics
____ SAGA, Image Comics
____ SOUTHERN BASTARDS, Image Comics
____ THE VALIANT, Valiant Entertainment

BEST WRITER
____ Jason Aaron, SOUTHERN BASTARDS, Image Comics
____ Jen Van Meter, THE DEATH-DEFYING DOCTOR MIRAGE, Valiant Entertainment
____ Brian K. Vaughan, SAGA, Image Comics
____ Mark Waid, DAREDEVIL, Marvel Comics
____ G. Willow Wilson, MS. MARVEL, Marvel Comics

BEST ARTIST
____ Clayton Crain, RAI, Valiant Entertainment
____ Roberto de la Torre, THE DEATH-DEFYING DOCTOR MIRAGE, Valiant Entertainment
____ Chris Samnee, DAREDEVIL, Marvel Comics
____ Fiona Staples, SAGA, Image Comics
____ Jillian Tamaki, THIS ONE SUMMER, First Second Books

BEST CARTOONIST
____ Steve Bryant, ATHENA VOLTAIRE COMPENDIUM, Dark Horse Comics
____ Howard Chaykin, BLOODSHOT #25, Valiant Entertainment
____ Farel Dalrymple, THE WRENCHIES, First Second Books
____ Terry Moore, RACHEL RISING, Abstract Studios
____ Dan Parent, KEVIN KELLER, Archie Comic Publications
____ Andy Runton, X-O MANOWAR #25, Valiant Entertainment

BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY
____ ARMOR HUNTERS #1, Valiant Entertainment
____ “Breaking Out”, DARK HORSE PRESENTS #35, Dark Horse Comics
____ JIM HENSON’S THE STORYTELLER: WITCHES #4, Archaia/BOOM! Studios
____ MULTIVERSITY: PAX AMERICANA, DC Comics
____ RAI #1, Valiant Entertainment
Congratulations to all of the nominees! If you know a nominee, please pass on the good news using email, Facebook, and Twitter.
Please submit any corrections to harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com. We try our best to list nominees correctly, and want to know if there is an error.
The Harvey Committee and the Baltimore Comic-Con will make every effort to contact all nominees. If you are a nominee and you do not hear from us by July 25, please contact us at harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com. We would love to discuss your involvement in the ceremony and the Baltimore Comic-Con.
For additional information about Harvey Kurtzman and the Harvey Awards, visit www.harveyawards.org or http://www.facebook.com/theharveyawards.

Harvey Awards banquet and award ceremony tickets, as well as General Admission and VIP Package tickets for Weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for the Baltimore Comic-Con, are now on sale. Visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com/tickets/ for more information and to purchase your advanced tickets now.

The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 16th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area. With a guest list unequaled in the industry, the BaltimoreComic-Con will be held September 25-27, 2015. For more information, please visit the website, Twitter, or Facebook pages.
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Wayback Review: The Change-Up

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Denise

In honor of the killer Deadpool trailer shown at SDCC (what?  Google y’all) I present an earlier work in Ryan Reynold’s oeuvre: The Change-Up.  As always, clicky on the title for the original piece!

Movie Review — The Change-Up

| Aug 05, 2011 |

The body-swap.  It’s an old favorite, been around since time immemorial.  Like Father Like Son, Prelude To A Kiss, The Hot Chick, 18 Again (not to be confused with 17 Again, which is a teen-again thing.  Totes diff.)  And let’s not forget Freaky Friday, Freaky Friday,  and, of course, Freaky Friday.  Can you merge the fratty humor of The Hangover with a body-swap story and make it fun to watch?  With The Change-Up, that’s a yep, you bet.

Dave Lockwood is a Type A lawyer in hyperdrive.  He works, lives and even sleeps according to a set of rules so tight it’s a wonder he’s got time to use the bathroom.  Oh wait, he kinda doesn’t.  Mitch Planko is an over 30 Man/Boy who couldn’t grow up if his life depended on it.  His life consists of morning bong hits, “acting gigs” (a.k.a. blissful unemployment) and bangin’ anything with hooters in a 5 mile radius.  Felix and Oscar…sorry, Dave and Mitch, have been besties since 3rd Grade, even though they appear to be opposites.  So when they’re peeing in a fountain one night (because that’s just what guys do) and wish for each other’s lives…bammo!  Just be careful what you wish for, fellas.
Continue reading →

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Sinister 2: red-band trailer and SDCC info!

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Denise

sinister 2 onesheetHello creepytime! Sinister was a pretty cool scare flick, and if the red-band trailer for Sinister 2 is any indication, this sequel should pack a few gut-punches too. Here’s the synopsis:

The sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit horror movie. In the aftermath of the shocking events in “Sinister,” a protective mother (Shannyn Sossamon of “Wayward Pines”) and her 9-year-old twin sons (real-life brothers Robert and Dartanian Sloan) find themselves in a rural house marked for death as the evil spirit of Bughuul continues to spread with frightening intensity.

And yet another reason why I feel like this should have been the year I hit SDCC: Sinister 2 will be creeping up everywhere!  I hope they’re planning on hitting Werewolf. That bar is the shiznit. (Try the basalmic brussels.  You’re welcome.)

SINISTER 2 is also spreading some evil at Comic-Con. Keep a look out for gruesome Sinister Sightings each night. There will be a slew of terrifying projections all over San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter tonight (Friday, July 10th) and tomorrow night (Saturday, July 11th) between 8pm and 1am. Share a photo of the projection that you spot and then post it to Instagram or Twitter with #SinisterSightings for a chance to win a trip to LA with a friend and receive VIP access to Six Flags Fright Fest.  For a preview of what people should be looking out for, please see this downloadable link: http://wdrv.it/1HwhhYl.

Follow @SinisterMovie to get more information on the sweeps, and learn where you can find the next Sinister Sighting. See Official Rules http://bit.ly/1BT2xCl

Dig the trailer below. Sinister 2 hits theaters August 21st, 2015.

 

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Elsewhere Review: The Gallows

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Denise

As always, clicky on the title for the original piece!

Movie Review: The Gallows

the gallows

A great concept hung up (heh) by a hackneyed use of “found-footage” film. Can we all agree that this “new, exciting” style is long past its sell-by date? Grade: D

What: On October 29th, 1993, a high school put on a production of “The Gallows”.  But a set malfunction — yep, those gallows — causes the death of a cast member.  Cut to October 28th, 2013, where the school decides to revisit this play.  Why?  Because they’re masochists.  Why care about something that happened in ’13?  Why indeed.
Continue reading →

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Movie Review: “Amy” will break your heart

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Denise

Amy onesheet

Nutshell: this documentary will rip you into little pieces as you watch Winehouse go from a talented snarky kid to a messed up superstar too many people took advantage of rather than tried to help. Director Asif Kapadia points no fingers, but simply lets people hang or save themselves by their own words. Powerful, thought provoking, and a fitting hat-tip to a life snuffed out all too soon. Grade: A

I have to admit that I was one of those folks that only found out about Amy Winehouse when she was already a cautionary tale. Back to Black came out when I was in the middle of my own Private Idaho, so I wasn’t really paying attention to new music even when “Rehab” hit, and hit big. But later it was impossible to miss all the news pieces on every little thing she did to herself. Missed shows, careless parents, drunken binges, drugs, a caustic relationship with a caustic man…all the greatest hits of any doomed soul. Winehouse seemed to edge closer and closer to the darkness she sang about, til she finally toppled in. I gave her final album a listen, and was blown away. And my heart hurt for a woman who was so obviously in pain. But what did I know? Nothing, that’s what.

I got an in-depth look at Winehouse’s life in Amy, a documentary that uses her personal videos, lyrics, and remembrances from friends and family, to paint a picture of a shy but saucy young girl who was caught up in the star-making machinery and paid the ultimate price. Starting as a girl with a penchant for poetry, she turns those poems into lyrics like a modern day Jim Morrison. Like Morrison, Winehouse had an addictive personality that was kicked into high gear from the combination of rapid success, easy money, a self-serving boyfriend/husband, and parents who enjoyed her success too much to stop and look at what was happening to her.

Continue reading →

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“Goosebumps” trailer delivers the goods

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Denise

Goosebumps onesheetLoved the Goosebumps series when you were a kid?  Or maybe snuck a few of those books into your college backpack or grown-up briefcase when you thought nobody would know?  Well you’ll be glad to know, as with all things, there’s a Goosebumps movie coming at’cha this year.  This October, to be exact.  Yeah, Halloween month.  The most wonderful time of the year.

Sure, there was a Goosebumps TV series back in the 90s.  But this is the first time it’s going up on the big screen. And it’s set in Maryland y’all!  Greendale, Maryland, to be exact.  (No, it’s not a real town.  But Greenbelt, Maryland and Greendale, Wisconsin are sister cities. So there’s that.)  And the trailer looks like fans will be seeing just about all of the monsters that you nightmares back in the day.  Or just last night.  I don’t judge.

Here’s the synopsis:

Upset about moving from a big city to a small town, teenager Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) finds a silver lining when he meets the beautiful girl, Hannah (Odeya Rush), living right next door, and makes a quick friend in Champ (Ryan Lee).  But every silver lining has a cloud, and Zach’s comes when he learns that Hannah’s mysterious dad is in fact R.L. Stine (Jack Black), the author of the bestselling Goosebumps series.  As Zach starts learning about the strange family next door, he soon discovers that Stine holds a dangerous secret: the creatures that his stories made famous are real, and Stine protects his readers by keeping them locked up in their books.  When Stine’s creations are unintentionally released from their manuscripts, Zach’s life takes a turn for the weird.  In a crazy night of adventure, it’s up to Zach, Hannah, Champ, and Stine to team up and get all of these figments of Stine’s imagination – including Slappy the Dummy, the girl with the haunted mask, the gnomes and many more – back in the books where they belong to save the town.

Peep the trailer at tell me what you think!  Goosebumps slithers into theaters October 16th, 2015.

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: What’s your favorite “Trainwreck”?

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Denise

trainwreck onesheetLike Amy Schumer?  Of course you do; her show Inside Amy Schumer is freakin’ awesome.  (#Protip: if you haven’t seen “12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer“, do so immediately.  I’ll wait.)

Back?  Goody.  So, Amy — I feel we’re on a first name basis because I have no boundaries whatsoever — has a new film coming out.  It’s called Trainwreck, and between her and her co-star Bill Hader, this’ll be epic.

Take it away, PR posse!

Since she was a little girl, it’s been drilled into Amy’s (Schumer) head by her rascal of a dad (Colin Quinn) that monogamy isn’t realistic.  Now a magazine writer, Amy lives by that credo—enjoying what she feels is an uninhibited life free from stifling, boring romantic commitment—but in actuality, she’s kind of in a rut.  When she finds herself starting to fall for the subject of the new article she’s writing, a charming and successful sports doctor named Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), Amy starts to wonder if other grown-ups, including this guy who really seems to like her, might be on to something.

Up for some passes?  Right this way… Continue reading →

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: Ant-Man!

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Denise

ant-man onesheet
UPDATE: WINNERS HAVE BEEN CHOSEN. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!
Marvel movie time y’all!  Though he hasn’t been big in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), he’s beloved by many Marvel superhero fans.  Who is Ant-Man, you ask?  Well, that’d take a while…but why don’t we just stick with the movie synopsis this time, m’kay?

The next evolution of the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings a founding member of The Avengers to the big screen for the first time with Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man.” Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Marvel’s “Ant-Man” stars Paul Rudd as Scott Lang aka Ant-Man, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne, Corey Stoll as Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket, Bobby Cannavale as Paxton, Michael Peña as Luis, Tip “T.I.” Harris as Dave, Wood Harris as Gale, Judy Greer as Maggie, David Dastmalchian as Kurt, and Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym. Directed by Peyton Reed and produced by Kevin Feige, p.g.a., Marvel’s “Ant-Man” delivers a high-stakes, tension-filled adventure on July 17, 2015.

Yes folks; Phase Two of the MCU is coming to a close.  Ant-Man will draw the curtain on this chapter, and Captain America: Civil War [cue comic fangirl squee] will usher in Phase 3.  So ready to send off this Phase? Alrighty then… Continue reading →

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4 for the 4th: a rainy-day binge list

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Denise
image: siliconrepublic.com

image: siliconrepublic.com

For those of you who are in the sunshine, happy 4th!  May you enjoy every moment of your fair/carnival/bbq/illicit fireworks-shooting-off-ness!  For those of us here in the rain?  Happy Binge Of July Weekend!  Here’s a list of stuff you can sink your eyeballs into, at least ’til the fireworks happen (either on TV or after the rain…)

Yeah, I could go with easy riffs like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and/or Orange Is The New Black.  But you’re already cool like that.  So here are four binge-worthy series that you may not have gotten a chance to get to yet.

1) Hannibal: if you’re a horror lover — or a fan of beautifully crafted visuals — you should be watching this.  Yes, this series will be ending with this season (at least on NBC…she said hopefully.  Hello, Hulu?)  But the story of Hannibal Lecter and his nemesis/BFF Will Graham is riveting stuff.  It’s gory, yes.  But watch this series now, and earn the right to be smug years from now when everyone bemoans the end of this visual masterpiece. [On Demand, Hulu]

2) Powers: a great comic, and an intriguing TV show.  Mash-up Men In Black, Heroes and Law & Order, and you’ve got the makings of a cool story.  Based on the excellent comic book series, Powers is about the Powers Division, a group of police officers whose job it is to keep power-enhanced humans in check.  There are “Heroes” (the good guys, or so their PR reps tell it) and “Powers” (bad guys, or indifferent ones), and Detective Christian Walker walks (yeah) the fine line between the two, as he used to be a Hero named Diamond before he lost his abilities.  [Playstation only, though the first episode is free to all on the Playstation website]

3) Grace and Frankie: like the Golden Girls?  Who doesn’t?  G&F follow two don’t-you-dare-ask-year-olds as they navigate their suddenly single status.  Why suddenly single?  Their husbands came out as gay.  And in love with each other.  As Grace and Frankie, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin are a hoot, and have a great Odd Couple chemistry.  As their former husbands, Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston seem a bit too adorable, but as the season rolls on things settle in and feel a bit more real.  Come for Fonda tripping on peyote tea, stay for the excellent performances that lift up what could have been a cookie-cutter sitcom. [Netflix]

4) The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: they alive, dammit!  It’s a miracle!  The theme song will be your summer earworm, and rightly so.  This story about “Mole Woman” Kimmy — kidnapped at 14 and forced to spend 15 years in a bunker with three other women — gets off the ground slowly (feel free to skip to episode 4 after the pilot, and then go back later for 2 & 3) but finds its feet in the hilarious episode 6.  Two words: Pinot Noir.  [Netflix]

Honorable Mentions: a few summer series that are gearing up.  [On Demand, but the first eps are free on Google Play]

* Scream: Not as good as the original movie, but what is?  Expect heads in hot-tubs, riffs on why TV can’t do slasher horror, and plenty of set-ups for the rest of the season. (bonus points for the cool soundtrack) [MTV]

* Zoo: a book that punked out at the end, but could be saved by a series format (read: TV could play out an ending that felt rushed in the book). Zoo brings Day of the Animals to the 21st Century. The first ep is intriguing, with just enough gravitas (and destruction) for me to give a look at episode 2 next week. [CBS]

* The Crimson Field: A cross between M*A*S*H and Call The Midwife, this series about WWI medics give you medical drama and a period piece.  Win! [PBS]

* The Jim Gaffigan Show: a great stand-up comic gets a show that mirrors his life.  Sound familiar?  That’s because this set-up usually works (see: Seinfeld, Louie). It works here.  Plus, Michael Ian Black! [TV Land]

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Baltimore Screening Pass-palooza: Southpaw!

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Denise

southpaw onesheetI’ve heard good things about this Jake Gyllenhaal boxing flick.  And as I loved Fuqua’s Training Day — not to mention Sutter’s Sons of Anarchy — I’m so down for Southpaw.  Here’s the 411:

From acclaimed director Antoine Fuqua (TRAINING DAY) and screenwriters Kurt Sutter (“Sons of Anarchy”) and Richard Wenk (THE MECHANIC), SOUTHPAW tells the riveting story of Billy “The Great” Hope, reigning Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World (Academy Award® nominee Jake Gyllenhaal). Billy Hope seemingly has it all with an impressive career, a beautiful and loving wife (Rachel McAdams), an adorable daughter (Oona Laurence) and a lavish lifestyle. When tragedy strikes and his lifelong manager and friend (Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson) leaves him behind, Hope hits rock bottom and turns to an unlikely savior at a run-down local gym: Tick Willis (Academy Award® winner Forest Whitaker), a retired fighter and trainer to the city’s toughest amateur boxers. With his future riding on Tick’s guidance and tenacity, Billy enters the hardest battle of his life as he struggles with redemption and to win back the trust of those he loves.

And peep the trailer:

So, ready to step into the ring?  Right this way… Continue reading →

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