Trailer Watch: Playing for Keeps and Trouble With The Curve

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Denise

Two new trailers for your enjoyment…or to make sure you don’t spend your money on something that sucks. You do you.

First up, cuteness, kids and eye candy for everybody: Playing for Keeps has got Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Dennis Quaid. And it’s got adorable kids, a story about love and loss and adults growing up. Basically it’s catnip for the laydeez. Release date? December. Just one more thing to do when you sneak out of the house during family overload.

Next, Clint Eastwood lets someone else direct him in Trouble With The Curve. Eastwood plays a baseball scout who is losing his eyesight. Cute his daughter (Adams) who acts as his eyes, and who begins to fall for a rival scout (Timberlake). “I don’t want you to live life in the cheap seats”…oh, but playin’ to the cheap seats is where it’s at. Anyway, it’s got Clint, Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake (who hopefully will get the respect he deserves as an actor with this role).

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Comic Professionals: vote for your faves to win a Harvey Award!

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Denise

Press release from the Harvey Awards (some emphasis added by yours truly):

2012 Harvey Awards Ballot Reminder

Harveyawards.org Relaunches for Online Balloting!

 
Harvey Award Recipient LogoBALTIMORE, MD (August 10, 2012) — Comics Pros, take note!  Ballots for the 2012 Harvey Awards are due by midnight on Friday, August 17th, 2012!   The final ballot, presented by the Executive Committees of the Harvey Awards and the Baltimore Comic-Con, is available for online voting at harveyawards.org.
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 8, 2012 in Baltimore, MD, in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con.

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 final vote ballot submission.

Voting is open to anyone professionally involved in a creative capacity within the comics field.

Please visit our relauched website at harveyawards.org. Voting can now be completed using online balloting, PDF ballot, or simple email text ballot.  The Harvey Awards committee would like to thank Glenn Hauman and Mark Wheatley for their continued design and technical work in the service of the Harvey Awards.
This will be the seventh year for the Harvey Awards in Baltimore, MD.  Tickets to attend the Harvey Awards dinner will be available soon at http://baltimorecomiccon.com/harvey-awards/.

This year’s Baltimore Comic-Con will be held September 8-9, 2012.  The ceremony and banquet for the 2012 Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, September 8th.

For additional information about Harvey Kurtzman and the Harvey Awards, visit harveyawards.org!

The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 13th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. With a guest list unequaled in the industry, the Baltimore Comic-Con will be held September 8-9, 2012. For more information, please visit the website, Twitter, or Facebook pages.

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The Great Gatsby moves to Summer 2013

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Denise

Shifting a movie’s opening date tends to be a regular occurrence in Hollywood.  Usually we never know the goings-on with exact opening dates for movies, but every so often we get a peek because the film’s marketing has geared up prior to the date switch.  Case in point; Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby.  Honestly, I was worried about this adaptation until I saw the trailer that was released a few months ago.  Even the modern musical score goes with the Art Deco hipness of the film.

Gatsby was slated for a Christmas 2012 release, and all the posters touted it.  But now it’s been moved to Summer 2013.  Why?  Read the press info:

BURBANK, CA, August 6, 2012 – Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures have moved the release date of “The Great Gatsby” to Summer 2013. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

In making the announcement, Fellman stated, “Based on what we’ve seen, Baz Luhrmann’s incredible work is all we anticipated and so much more. It truly brings Fitzgerald’s American classic to life in a completely immersive, visually stunning and exciting way. We think moviegoers of all ages are going to embrace it, and it makes sense to ensure this unique film reaches the largest audience possible.” Kwan Vandenberg confirmed, “Baz is known for being innovative, but with this film he has done something completely unexpected—making it in 3D—while capturing the emotion, the intimacy, the power and the spectacle of the time. The responses we’ve had to some of the early sneak peeks have been phenomenal, and we think ‘The Great Gatsby’ will be the perfect summer movie around the world.”

I think they may be on to something; this is a flashy, bold & beautiful film, which is perfect popcorn fodder.  Though the film looks like iit has Oscar printed all over it, moving the release date to the Summer is a risky move for awards season, as earlier-in-the year films tend to get run over by Fall’s upstarts.  However, I’m putting my bettin’ money down now; The Great Gatsby will definitely be up for art direction, costuming and other “that looks purty” awards, Summer release or no.

Now all we have to do is wait to see the exact release, and plan our Summer 2013 accordingly.  Which gives me plenty of time to rustle up a low-waist dress & groovy long necklace.  I’m a sucker for the flapper look.

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The Walking Dead issue #100: thoughts and such

Posted on August 4, 2012 by Denise

Okay, so it’s hit the shelves.  In fact, it’s blown off the shelves and headed into a second printing.  For those of you that are fans of TWD, be it Kirkman’s comic or the TV show, you’ve probably heard about the big release for issue number 100.  Several variant covers (including the one below showing Rick in a field of characters we’ve all seen die in this series), teaser posters (“Lucille is Coming”), and of course all the brouhaha at San Diego Comic-Con.  And after folks got their paws on the issue?  The hate nearly caught the interwebs on fire.  Yes, Kirkman kills off a popular character.  Yes, that sucks.  But I had to see for myself where all the hate was coming from.

Usually, I go for the trade paperbacks.  It’s a great way to get a bunch of issues in one clip.  However, with the bell-ringing for 100, I figured read it soon before it gets spoiled for me.  So I finally finished the issue (and a few of the ones before that, as The Walking Dead Volume 16: A Larger World stops at #96.  And I have to say that I hated to see that character go.  It’s a wicked, senseless act that has some calling snuff, and it really is very gross.  Adult HORROR comic series, folks!  Easy to forget that with all the work Kirkman does to pull you into the characters.

I kinda loved that Kirkman breathed an ill wind into the world of Rick Grimes and his band of survivors.  Things were getting a bit too commonplace, everyone was getting a little too comfortable.  Remember what happened last time?  Yeah; the Governor.  I hated that character, and I hate this new character, Negan.  It feels as if Kirkman crossed Mad Max with his own Governor.  Yet, I ain’t mad.  In this new world of zombies, where the structure of civilization has crumbled?  It’s not hard to imagine that there are some really sick puppies that are looking for a way to scam their way into surviving.

Warning; beyond this image lies spoilers….

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Playing catch-up: reviews & news from hither & yon

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Denise

Just some news & reviews from Geek for e that I’ve worked on lately.  As always, clicky for the full story!

Movie Review: The Watch

Raunchy, potty-mouthed humor!  Famous guys we love to watch making asses of themselves!  The Watch, the latest boobies, booze & bros comedy is heading your way, and this time there’s gonna be an interstellar throwdown.  Is this The Hangover: Who Invited The Aliens?  Well kinda.  And it kinda rocks.  Oh yeah, and this movie may be manly, yes, but gals will like it too.

Evan (Ben Stiller) is a kindly pain in the ass.  You know the dude in your neighborhood that is in charge of just about every neighborhood group, the fella who is a bit too in-your-face to be truly neighborly?  Yeah, that’s Evan.  So when something bad goes down at the local Costco, Evan — who just so happens to be the manager of that Costco, thankyouverymuch — decides to form a neighborhood watch.  The problem is, only three guys show up to the first meeting.  Bob (Vince Vaughn), an overprotective dad with quite possibly the coolest Man Cave ever; Franklin (Jonah Hill), a guy that never got over not making it onto the police force; and Jamarcus (Richard Ayoade, from the hilarious BBC show The IT Crowd), a guy who is new in town and just wants to hook up with an asian chick meet new people.  Needless to say this watch is more about drinking and hanging out than security.  But when the guys stumble upon real, honest-to-goodness aliens, they need to step up or face the destruction of the world.

Movie Review — Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

In a world full of information, how do you figure out what’s truly important?  How do you make sure you learn about the world if there are parts of that world that are hidden from view?  Artist and political/social dissident Ai Weiwei (as his name is Chinese, his “surname” is first, and his “first” name is second, got it?) shines a harsh light on the Chinese Government’s corruption, cover-ups and lies, at great personal risk.  All the while creating art that is as breathtaking in it’s complexity as is the man himself.  Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry takes viewers through the most harrowing years of Ai’s life, showing not only the man but the injustice that lead him to act.  It’s a powerful, thought-provoking film that demands to be watched.

Help a Baltimore singer “Sparkle”!

Sparkle.  The movie is starring Jordin Sparks and Whitney Houston.  Great voices, right?  Well, a few weeks ago I wrote about the Sparkle Singing Challenge that was to be held here in Baltimore.  And we have a winner — congratulations to Quinten White!

But it’s not over yet; Quinten goes on to compete with winners from  New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cleveland, San Francisco, Miami, Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, and St. Louis for the grand prize, which includes a recording session and an appearance on BET.

Let’s show the nation that we support our Baltimore talent by voting for him to win it all! So get to voting, the votes stop tallying on August 1st.

Wanna know how to do that?  Read on; read on!

“British Invasion” at this year’s Baltimore Comic-Con

You’re still on a convention high after all the info from San Diego Comic-Con.  The Olympics are being held in London, England this year.  Comics, the U.K….two great tastes?  You bet.  Word has it that there will be a slew of Brit-tastic talent at this year’s Baltimore Comic-Con.  Cheers!

SDCC 2012: A few of my favorite things

If, like me, you had to get your 411 on what was happening over at the San Diego Comic-Con from tweets, Facebook, TV and the internet, it got a little daunting.  But I have complied my personal favorite bits for your viewing pleasure.  Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?

 

Phew.  Is it me, or did July just blast past?  Here’s to one more month of summer blockbuster season, and tons more info on movies, books & comics when Baltimore Comic-Con hits in September!

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Step Up Revolution make ya wanna dance dance

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Denise

Is this the new Wii dance craze?  No…well, not yet.  But Dance Dance* Step Up Revolution will make you wanna get up and shake that thang.  And, as Fat Albert and the Gang said, there’s a little bit of “learning from each other, while we do our thing”.  Na, na, na — gonna have a good time, hey hey hey!

Okay, first things first.  Forget the movie poster and all that “this is a luuuuurve story!” pink, purple and sweaty hugging.  I love me some pink and purple — I’m a chick, I think it’s the law — but save that color scheme for Katy Perry’s film, where it’s appropriate (and cooler, btw.)  This film is about how a group of dancing pals (“The Mob”) that want to do what every Generation Whatever-Letter-We’re-On wanna do; score high on YouTube baby!  Yep, in Step Up Revolution there’s a ton of moola waiting for the first channel that gets 10 million hits.  In order to do that, there’s a lot of dancing that’s gotta be done, and it’s all very, very good.  This is the kind of dancing that will make all the idiots (example: me) head down to their basements to try out those moves and look hilarious.  Why?  Because these dancers make it look easy.  That’s talent right there y’all.
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Wanna hang out with Stan Lee on a Friday night?

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Denise

With the Baltimore Comic-Con headed our way September 8th & 9th, some of the big-name artists and creators will be coming in early to settle in.  But one guy will be coming in and then hitting the town.  Yeah, that’d be Stan Lee, folks.  And you can join him!

Straight from the horse’s – er, Con’s grand poo-bah’s – press release (emphasis in text added by moi):

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – July 26, 2012 – Comics industry legend Stan Lee is back at the 2012 Baltimore Comic-Con!  Taking place September 8-9 at the Baltimore Convention Center in downtown Baltimore, Stan Lee will be appearing at the show on Saturday, September 8th.  As an added bonus, VIP Gold Ticket holders are afforded a very unique opportunity to attend a special panel with Stan Lee and friends followed by a meet and greet with Stan Lee.

On Friday, September 7th, Stan Lee will participate in an off-site limited-access Q&A panel and meet-and-greet along with newly-expanded special guests Walter Simonson, Louise Simonson, Herb Trimpe, Frank Cho, Barry Kitson, Mark Buckingham, Larry Hama, and Roger Stern.  Only guests with a VIP Gold Ticket will have access to this very special event.  As an added bonus, Stan plans to do a signing for VIP Gold Ticket holders so that they won’t have to wait in his line on Saturday!

In addition to General Admission tickets for Saturday, Sunday, and both days, Stan Lee VIP and VIP Gold Tickets are available at baltimorecomiccon.com/tickets, and Stan Lee signature tickets from Desert Wind will be available via the same link shortly.

“We’re so excited to provide this limited opportunity to Stan’s super-fans,” said Marc Nathan, show promoter for the Baltimore Comic-Con. “We’ve found a great way to provide much-requested Friday programming and provide special value in doing so.  It’s the chance of a lifetime.”

No waiting in Comic-Con lines (last year’s lines were crazy…convivial, but crazy)?  Getting to see Stan the man, along with some other high-octane stars of ink & paper?  If this isn’t a squee opportunity, I don’t know what is.

See y’all at the con….

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Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Denise

Oh Dark Knight, we hardly knew ye.  In Christopher Nolan’s swan song to the Batman, things look bleak indeed.  It’s a hard, cruel world that doesn’t look a thing like the happy-happy joy-joy world we’ve seen in other hero flicks of late.  And I don’t know if it’s the sadness of knowing that this is the final film in the Dark Knight trilogy or just a longing to escape from the colossal blergh that is the state of our world today.  Maybe all the adrenaline from The Avengers and The Amazing Spiderman has me longing for more high-octane action, when all along Bruce Wayne has been quite a bit more low key.  Whatever it is, The Dark Knight Rises latches on to that distress and despair, churning out a film that oftentimes hurts to watch.  But Nolan’s risk in creating a dystopian fantasy pays off, as he has created a haunting film that will sit in your mind long after the credits unspool.

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A Minute With Michael Caine – revisiting Batman’s Alfred

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Denise

Photo: Reuters/Ina Fassbender

Well folks, The Dark Knight Rises will be hitting theaters in less than 24 hours.  What better way to celebrate than to take a peek behind the man behind the Bat?  In this interview from Reuters, Sir Michael Caine discusses father figures, laughing at retirement and whether or not he’d come back to Alfred if Christopher Nolan wasn’t at the helm (hint: that’s a yes.)

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The 2012 Emmy Nominations are up

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Denise

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences just announced this years nominations for their Primetime Emmy Awards.  And lemme tell  you, this is looking like the hardest Emmy pool in the history of ever.  Mad Men and American Horror Story lead the pack with 17 nominations each, while breakout hit Downton Abbey gathered 16 noms.  For comedies, Modern Family snagged 14  nominations — no surprise there.  And I’m happy to see Game of Thrones get 13 nominations, though True Blood got shut out (to be fair, last season wasn’t it’s best.)

A few of my favorites got nods, including Louis C.K. for his work on Louie  and his special Louis C.K. Live at the Beacon Theater (a total of 7 nominations), Melissa McCarthy for Mike & Molly, Margaret Cho for her role as Kim Jong-il in 30 Rock, Idris Elba for Luther, and the documentary 6 Days To Air: The Making of South Park.

The 64th Primetime Emmy® Awards program to air live on ABC Television September 23, 2012 at 8e|5p.

Full list of the noms after the jump.  Congrats to all the nominees!

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