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Comic Con Day 1: Twilight Fans Devour Comic Con

Linda — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:30:15 +0000

Thursday July 23rd, 2009

Comic Con Day 1: This will forever be the day Twilight attacked and ruined a lot of things for a lot of people. I was hoping to go see the Disney 3D panel for Alice in Wonderland and Tron as well as the panel after it for a 3D preview of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Hole, and Final Destination. Twilight was after that, which I wanted nothing to do with. While I was waiting in line for my badge, my friends informed me that the Twilighters had taken over Hall H, and there’s no way any of us were going to get in until after that panel was over. So the consolation prize was to see a preview of Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy.

I never know what to expect when an old (very old in the case of Astro Boy) comic, manga to be precise, is being redone as a CG spectacle, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. The movie looks awesome! They have an excellent cast of voice actors, including Freddy Highmore as Astro Boy, Kristen Bell, Nicolas Cage, Nathan Lane, Samuel L. Jackson, and many more. The makers seemed to take great care in preserving the essence of the story while modernizing some elements, as it was created nearly 60 years ago.

Afterward, I decided I’d head to the Exhibit Hall and see about getting myself a Resident Evil shirt. I show up at the Capcom booth and I discover that instead of waiting in an interminable line, they do daily signups, and the signups are full for the day. Drat. I wander over to the Paramount booth where they are rotating give-aways hourly, and you just have to get in line. Considering they were giving out USB Star Trek badges, Tribbles, Transformers mp3 speakers and other things, it seemed like a good line to wait in. I meet up with my friends, and we wait, and wait. Finally, we get to obtain our Star Trek badges, then it’s to the back of the line to wait some more for the next thing. If you haven’t guessed by now, waiting is a recurring theme in your time at Con, you just have to make sure you’re waiting for something you want. After getting a Tribble, I decide I wanted to try and duck into the Burn Notice panel, see Bruce Campbell, then head over to Bill Plympton, a very cool and very odd independent animator.

I arrive near where the Burn Notice panel is and discover that the line is closed, and I can’t even wait in line anymore. So much for Bruce Campbell, but off to Bill Plympton. There was a line, but it wasn’t long at all, so I waited, and I was rewarded with some awesome animation shorts, a coupon for a discounted t-shirt, and an autographed sketch if I swing by the booth sometime and say hi.

After the panel, the plan was to see the Science Behind Science Fiction panel, and possibly the Legend of the Seeker panel if I made inside in time. We did indeed get in, and we were treated to a sneak peek at the 2nd season, which was cool, but due to the filming schedule, only a small portion of the cast was there. The series is based off of The Sword of Truth novels from Terry Goodkind, and if you’re a fan of fantasy shows, I recommend checking it out.

Then the panel I was waiting for, the ever geeky Science Behind Science Fiction panel. Basically, the science advisers for Eureka, Battlestar Galactica/Caprica, etc. discuss how real science shapes some of the things we see in the shows. It’s a panel that always makes my inner former science major happy.

My friend was working the Drawn Together panel, so we waited and watched that. I was never too big of a fan of the show, but some of the inappropriate stuff they did on stage, that I don’t think I should repeat, were really funny. After the panel, we were beat and decided to head home for the night.

I rate this day a 4.5 out of 5

-Zack loathes the Twilighters.

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Music and Movie Tuesdays … And TV Shows Too!

Will — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:07:15 +0000

Hey gang, back again this fine Tuesday to let you in on some of the latest music, movie, and TV show releases. I don’t know about you, but to me it seems like this week was when fall really started. The weather got colder, there was a lot more fog, and it seemed like the sun was setting a lot earlier. I know some of you will point out how this has been happening for months, but honestly, I felt like last week was when it finally stopped being an extended summer. Anywho, let’s talk about some new releases.

—–

Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition [Limited Edition]

Mystery Science Theater 3000, hereafter known as MST3K, is not only one of the greatest Sci Fi shows of all time, it’s also one of the funniest shows of all time. The thin plot, about robots and evil scientists and space stations, is really an excuse for a delicious mocking of science fiction movies spanning many decades. If you watched The Muppets as a child, and your favorite part was Statler and Waldorf, this is for you.

—–

Tinker Bell (DVD – 2008)

Tinker Bell is a new made-for-TV movie from Disney that shows off their new acquisition of Pixar. This Computer Animated movie is basically the life story of Tinker Bell, a character from the 1953 Disney class Peter Pan. This film was largely panned by the critics, so it is not really one of those childrens’ films that adults will enjoy as well. However, if you have a younger girl (under 8) she will probably enjoy this a lot.

—–

Snow Patrol – A Hundred Million Suns

Snow Patrol is an alternative rock band from Scotland. I saw them myself when they opened for U2 during the 2005 Vertigo tour. Although I liked their sound, I thought their music was kind of depressing, all about “feelings.” This new album has been cast as a more positive, upbeat collection, with songs about how great things are going, rather than how miserable the artist is. If, like me, you’re tired of musicians either being bland pop stars or just whining about everything, you’ll give this CD a try.

——

Music:

Toby Keith – That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy
The Cure – 4:13 Dream

—–

TV Shows:

The L-Word: The Complete Fifth Season

—–

Movies:

Journey to the Center of the Earth (Limited-Edition)

—–

That’s all for now, MMT fans!

Will

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Music and Movie Tuesdays…And TV Shows too! (on Wednesday)

Will — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:39:18 +0000

Faithful readers, you may be wondering why Music and Movie Tuesdays has been moved to Wednesday this week. To continue the focus on debates and politics, we are posting on the day of the final presidential debate. To my mind, no TV show, or even movie, captures the excitement (and occasional non-excitement) of campaigns and debates like the West Wing did, so even though West Wing DVDs didn’t come out this week, we’re going to look at them anyway! (Hope I don’t get in trouble for this)

The West Wing – The Complete Seventh Season

The final season of The West Wing was all about the presidential campaign between Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda). One of my favorite episodes was a live debate they aired between the two actors. Interesting side note, even though the writers wanted to make Santos look like the hero in the debate, an actual poll was commissioned of viewers, the majority of whom thought Alan Alda out performed Jimmy Smits in the semi-improvised debate format. If this election has whetted your taste for politics, this is a perfect place to sate your appetite.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year Premiere Edition

For those of you with kids, especially teenage girls (or who ARE teenagers), High School Musical 3 has been hotly anticipated for years as the first Disney TV movie to make it to the big screen. It follows the further adventures of Zac Efron and his many friends as they go through senior year. Since the movie is a musical, the highlights are, of course, the songs. The movie’s soundtrack has all the top hits, and makes for a great gift for anyone who likes the movies.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Two-Disc Special Edition)

One of the greatest series of all time, Indiana Jones is all about action and fun. This movie, made 19 years after the last one, is kind enough to actually be set 19 years after the last one. Indiana has moved on from mysticism and fighting Nazis to science fiction and fighting commies. Shia Lebuff is there for the younger generation, while, in my opinion, it is Cate Blanchett who really steals the show. This is a great family movie.

Also released:

Movies:

The Ultimate Matrix Collection [Blu-ray]

TV Shows:

The Unit – The Complete Third Season

Oh, and for those of you wondering why THIS debate isn’t wasting my time while the VP one was, it’s simple: The Office and 30 Rock don’t air on Wednesdays.

Will

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Music and Movie Tuesdays…And TV Shows too!

Will — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:38:43 +0000

Hello faithful readers! I’m sure many of you are planning to watch the Presidential debates tonight. I know I am. But I’m still smarting over the Vice Presidential debates last Thursday. Why you ask? Because two of my favorite shows, 30 Rock and The Office, were not shown that night in favor of the debates. I had to go and educate myself about politics and the issues and America’s future when I could have been getting my funny on! With that in mind, this week I want to point out some TV shows and movies you can watch the next time someone tries to make you “informed” or “do your duty as citizen.”

The Simpsons – The Complete Eleventh Season

Widely considered one of the greatest television shows of all time, The Simpsons are a great way to make you laugh whenever you need some cheering up. Although some people claim the show “jumped the shark” after the 8th season, I am compelled to disagree, as my favorite Simpsons episode ever was in the 11th season. Saddlesore Galactica features Bart adopting and racing a bad boy horse, while Homer discovers the terrible secret of the jockeys! A definite must-see.

Sleeping Beauty (Two-Disc Platinum Edition)

One of those all time classics that young girls have been watching for many decades, Disney has digitally remastered this movie to make it really shine. A truly ambitious film for its time, the villainess, Malificent, has acted as a template for evil animated villains ever since.

30 Rock: Season 2

As I mentioned earlier, this show is definitely one of my favorites on the air. Tina Fey (besides being a body double for Sarah Palin) stars in this smart and funny comedy show… about a comedy show. She shares the spotlight with Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan in a sharp satire that has won numerous Emmy awards. In this season, Jack Donaghy (played by Alec Baldwin) dates a woman who was the star of a Lifetime movie, and competes ruthlessly with Will Arnett for the coveted job of CEO of General Electric. I cannot recommend this show highly enough.

Also released:

Music:

Bob Dylan – Tell Tale Signs: the Bootleg Series Vol. 8

Celtic Woman – The Greatest Journey: Essential Collection

The Dillinger Escape Plan – Under the Running Board

See you guys later,

Will

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