SHARKNADO On The Big Screen For One Night Only

Yep, that’s right. It was too big to be contained on the little box, so now it’s moving to the silver screen to chew it up! Set the calendar reminder for August 2, 2013 midnight showing at select theaters and brought to you by Fathom Events, The Asylum, and the SyFy Channel. You can get your tickets at Fathom Events – Sharknado Tickets.

 

 

 

 

Produced by The Asylum, “Sharknado” is the story of beachside bar regulars including owner Fin (Ian Ziering, "Beverly Hills 90210"), bartender Nova (Cassie Scerbo, "Make It Or Break It") and local drunk George (John Heard, "Home Alone") as they team up with Fin’s ex-wife April (Tara Reid, "Scrubs") to investigate the ecological nightmare that has sharks swimming through the streets of Los Angeles and falling from the skies.~The Asylum

Pocket Sandwich Theatre Presents STAR TRIP II–HATS OF HORROR

If you like the theatre, but aren’t a snob about it, check out Pocket Sandwich Theatre and their production of STAR TRIP II – HATS OF HORROR. Written by Joe Porter and directed by E. Lee Smith, STAR TRIP II is a sequel to 2010’s STAR TRIP. It opens at 8:00 PM on Thursday through Saturday, 7:00 PM on Sunday and runs through August 17, 2013. Click here for the Pocket Sandwich Website and more info.

Also, take note that they have two shows in their Late Night Comedy slot that may be of interest to adult geeks.

Captain Kurt, Smok, Spotty, and others return in “Star Trip II,” another of The Pocket’s infamous, boo-hiss-throw popcorn melodramas. The crew of the Star Ship Compromise must foil the diabolically maniacal plans of a monstrous villain while dealing with a divisive situation. Will they make it in time?!! ~Pocket Sandwich Theatre

CarniePunk Tour Kicks Off With Mojitos

Well, not everyone was drinking Mojitos, but yours truly had one (as did a few at our table) and the company was wonderful! If you haven’t seen my previous post, tonight was the tour kick-off for CarniePunk, the new anthology that came about as Kevin Hearne and Hillary Jacques were messing around on Twitter. A lot of things come from messing around on Twitter, but not all of them always turn out good. This one I feel will be one of the good ones. You can get a copy on all the usual websites or in stores, so if you’ve read it, let me know what you think. I’m still waiting on mine.

Anyway, there was a pretty large gathering of folk over at Maggiano’s Little Italy, where we dined and conversed. I had the joy of sitting at a table with several lovely ladies and Mark Henry, who also goes by the nom de plume Daniel Marks. One of the ladies turned out to be Jaye Wells’ street team wrangler, Annie Slasher, who also runs the website Booked And Loaded. After a nice Italian meal, a Mojito, and good conversation, we headed over to the Barnes & Noble. There was a slight snag in the number of books available for the signing, but I won’t go into that, since I don’t know all the facts. But there were things to sign and questions to be asked.

You can check out some of the photos that I took over at my Facebook CarniePunk Tour Photo Page. I’m looking forward to reading the book and I hope that they have great fun on the rest of their tour which will take them to Houston and then back to Austin.

RiffTrax Live: Starship Troopers

Just in time for my birthday, give a day, RiffTrax makes fun of one of our favorite movies to hate! In a one night comedy event, stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 return to riff STARSHIP TROOPERS! Join Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett on August 15, 2013 at 7:00 PM CT in a live simulcast that will also be seen in Canada! Get your tickets to RiffTrax Live: Starship Troopers here.

It’s so bad, it’s gotta be good!

Planet of the Apes (1968) at Texas Theatre

Running August 1st through the 4th, be sure and get out to the Texas Theatre for Planet of the Apes (1968). It will be seen in glorious classic 35mm.

Stars: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter

An astronaut crew crash lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes are the dominant species, and humans are the oppressed and enslaved.

From IMDB.com

Movie Review–Red 2

When Marvin (John Malkovich) tracks down Frank (Bruce Willis) and Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) to warn them of his latest conspiracy theory, it doesn’t take long to find out that he’s on to something. Before you know it, they’re on the run and being shot at in almost a half a dozen different world locations.

This movie picks up sort of after the last one and we find Frank & Sarah settling in to a nice cozy routine. Frank is all about protecting his love and his love is longing for the danger and action of spy life. What follows along with the action and explosions is the help from friends who truly want Frank and Sarah to work things out. If only our friends were like that in real life! What’s funny is the odd moments when they start talking about the relationship, but I guess you can focus like that when you’ve been shot at so many times over the years.

The characters are as good as ever. Frank is the same old business-as-usual ex-black ops, while Marvin has gotten a little more paranoid and zanier. Malkovich really works the character. Mary-Louise Parker also gets more time with Sarah and like Pepper Potts in IRON MAN 3, she sees more action and handles it very well. Helen Mirren as Victoria is back and as bad-*** as ever. I remarked when I saw RED that there was something about an older woman with an automatic weapon in her hand, and after this, I’m in love. As Ivan (yes, Brian Cox returns) watches, Victoria nonchalantly takes out guards from the privacy of a hilltop picnic spot. Ivan comments on her beauty, but especially her feet and how the toes curl right before she pulls the trigger . . . . well, in our defense, she was wearing stockings with the seam down the back of the calf. If you young men have never witnessed a woman wearing those, then you haven’t witnessed class. And all the more class when she’s got that rifle in her hands.

Well, didn’t mean for that half of a paragraph to turn into an ode for older classier women. So, on to Sir Anthony Hopkins. The befuddled old scholar who was the core of the mission that has everyone in an uproar. Now we find that he’s been in confinement for 32 years. While watching his Professor Edward Bailey, Hopkins goes from genius to dementia patient and back with skill. His character becomes the linch pin in the movie and Hopkins plays it very well.

Catherine-Zeta Jones and Byung-hun Lee give us Katja, the Russian agent, and Han, the Korean assassin with a grudge against Frank. There characters weren’t really needed to push the plot along but the side-story with Sarah and Katja is hilarious! You’ll also find a familiar face in David Thewlis, better known as Remus Lupin, playing the Frog, another operative with info.

I found this movie a non-stop action-packed ride with very little time to get boring. The action scenes are great, with everyone having there moment to shine. The plot is a basic run-of-the-mill plot, but then again, I’m not watching it for the plot, I’m watching it for the characters.

Let me know what you thought of the movie or why you didn’t go see it!

Red is a mini-series that was published in 2003 and 2004 by Homage Comics with writer Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner doing the art work.

Official Trailer from Comic Con | COSMOS | FOX BROADCASTING

So, I was a little skeptical when I saw this airing on FOX. All I could think was Carl Sagan rolling over in his grave as they introduce the different teams of aliens that had to compete in this new "reality" show. But, I'm kind of glad to see this video. First, I am a big fan of the original. I never got tired of hearing, "billions and billions" and even now, I'll catch an episode on Netflix. I'm also a fan of Neil DeGrasse Tyson. It took me awhile, especially after that whole "Pluto's not a planet", but he makes learning fun. I think a great runner-up to host the show would have been Brian Cox from the Science Channel's "Wonders of Life." He just has that nice calming voice that makes you comfortable as you race across the universe.

Let a new era begin! Neil DeGrasse Tyson IS the Cosmos!

Did you or do you watch Cosmos? Are you interested in the new version and are you happy with who they chose to host it?

By the way, what was that "monolith"-looking thing just inside Saturn's rings about :30 seconds in?

Movie Review: R.I.P.D.

I and my friend, Thomas Chick of The Fellowship of the Geeks, filled the seats at Studio Movie Grill this week for R.I.P.D. (REST IN PEACE DEPARTMENT). Les is on assignment (vacation) at San Diego Comic Con.

JEFF BRIDGES and RYAN REYNOLDS headline the 3D supernatural action-adventure R.I.P.D. as two cops dispatched by the otherworldly Rest In Peace Department to protect and serve the living from an increasingly destructive array of creatures who refuse to move peacefully into the afterlife. ~www.RIPD.com

At first look, I have to say that I was amused at the premise of the movie and especially at the fact that Jeff Bridges was attached. I am ashamed to say that I made jokes about how this was nothing but Rooster Cogburn in the 21st century. Needless to say, I really enjoyed this movie.

The movie jumps pretty quickly into the action and there is only one moment that it tends to slow down, but it’s not for very long. From the beginning action shot, CGI is handled pretty well. There are a few moments when something does look weird, but that can’t be helped when your dealing with things that look weird already. The main scene where Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds) gets killed is awesome as they freeze all the action and let him walk through it. Great eye candy.

The comedy is awesome as Nick and Roy (Jeff Bridges), Roycephus Pulsifer, nyah-nyah back and forth at each other. Nick tries to come to terms with his demise and the limits that are imposed upon him and Roy just doesn’t seem to know when to shut up. Ultimately, they learn to trust each other and become partners, but it’s that repartee that endears you to the characters. Plus, I enjoyed the glee that Roy exhibited when chasing the bad guys. It will have you giggling as you listen to him.

Kevin Bacon as Bobby Hayes is pretty evil as the bad cop, but you find he’s got just a little more than that to make him bad. Bacon has been doing more bad guys lately and seems to be pretty good at it. Mary-Louise Parker as Proctor is a great character and you’ll find that her and Roy have other “things” going on. I never thought I would like a woman in go-go boots, but she’s very easy on the eyes in her uniform.

Except for a few plot points that didn’t get covered, this movie is a lot of fun. It shies away from ideas in the graphic novel that it’s based on, but it’s not enough to make the movie unwatchable. One thing that I would have liked was more face-time for James Hong as Nick’s Avatar and  Marisa Miller as Roy’s Avatar. I thought there was a lot more room to see them. Overall, I liked R.I.P.D. as did my movie buddy, so it’s a safe bet that you will, too.

If you’ve seen it, let me know what you thought! If you aren’t interested, what about it doesn’t float your boat?

North Texas Comic Book Show July 27th, 2013

I and my friend, artist Thomas Branch, will be holding court at the next North Texas Comic Book Show. It will be held July 27th at the Doubletree Hotel at Dallas Market Center. Guest include Clint Cummings who was the winner of the Inkmaster Star Wars Challenge, Former DC Comics Batman Beyond artist Craig Rousseau, and Sketch Card Artist, Jason Adams!

Local artists include Bobby Blakey, Ryan Davis, and another friend of mine, Eddie Medina. Tom will be offering up prints of his artwork and I will have a table with flyers, giveaways, and graphic novels and books for sale.

For those that like to dress up, there will be a cosplay costume contest. Check out the website for more info on the $100 top prize! Over 65 dealers will be in attendance taking up space in TWO rooms this time around. There will also be comic BUYERS on hand if you wish to sell your comics to make a little cash. Admission is only $5 and kids 12 and under get in FREE!

Hope to see you there!

***UPDATE 7/24/13***

$3 admission to the first 100 people. Doors open at 9:30 AM and close 5:00 PM.

Roll2Play Celebrates It’s First Year

Ah, I can remember it like it was . . . . last year. But I remember it nonetheless! Tiffany Franzoni’s passion has come to materialize into a brick-and-mortar storefront for games of all kinds! After two years of working the conventions, she was able to set down roots in Coppell and go to work. Now, she celebrates a year in location and is sowing seeds in the community and it’s schools and is gearing up to present one of the largest conventions of it’s kind right here in North Texas, T.A.B.L.E.

Join her and the crew on Saturday, July 20th, as they celebrate their first year. Open board gaming, card games, and other fun activities. Feel free to bring store-bought goodies to share with the gang. You can check out all the details here on the Roll2Play’s Birthday Partaaayyyy!!! page!

There is still time to help make T.A.B.L.E. a reality by going to Kickstarter and help fund it! I did and so can you!

CARNIEPUNK Tour Starts With Dinner

Join authors Jaye Wells, Mark Henry, Nicole Peeler, and Liliana Hart Thursday July 25, 2013 at Maggiano’s Little Italy in the North Park Mall for a little food and vino before the book signing at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Park. Dinner is at 5 PM and you pay for your own. RSVP is for head count purposes. Once the meal is finished, all will proceed to B&N for the signing which will start at 7 PM. Registration will end July 25th at 4 PM.

I met Jaye Wells back in the Fall of 2009 when she was promoting her first book, Red-Headed Stepchild. I had met her at FenCon and remembered her when she came in the Borders Bookstore that I worked at to drop off book marks. She eventually became an author that my wife loved to read and an occasional Twitter acquaintance with a wicked sense of humor. Her five-volume Sabina Kane series kept my wife occupied for a long time. You can check out her new novella Meridian Six available online.

Nicole Peeler writes the Jane True series of novels concerning Jane True who is only half human and begins with Tempest Rising. Characters and creatures in this series run the gamut from vampires to succubi to kelpies! If paranormal romance is your thing, then check this one out.

So, his bio says that he went from helping scarred minds to scarring minds. Not a bad career choice. Mark Henry’s first novel was called Happy Hour of the Damned and concerns the life, or afterlife, of undead celebrity Amanda Feral. I thought “Zombie Love” was pushing the envelope but I seem to have forgotten about “Zombie Glamour.”

A short career as a music teacher gives Liliana Hart experience to add flavor to her Addison Holmes Mystery Series, which is just one of many books that tout her name. Kill Shot was just recently released and the first chapter is available for reading on her website.

These folks will be signing copies of CARNIEPUNK at Barnes & Noble Lincoln Park, but they are only a small representation of all of the authors, including Rachel Caine! Kevin Hearne, who is one of Jaye’s homies (his word) and a contributing author, does a really great write-up on the book here.

Check it out! There should still be some reservations and if you can’t make dinner, come to the book signing.

CARNIEPUNK is set for release July 23, 2013.

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Moves Into The Neighborhood

I’m sure you are well-aware of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas of Austin and San Antonio, and you may have heard that we are getting an Alamo Drafhouse Cinema Richardson. Located in the Richardson Heights Shopping Center on top of what used to be an auto parts store, Alamo Drafthouse is slowly taking shape. Owned by father and son, Bill D. and Bill C. DiGaetano, this location will have it’s grand opening on August 9th.

That’s not to say that there haven’t been events yet! Just recently there was a 40-foot screen in the parking lot showing DAZED & CONFUSED with food and brews on hand to quench the hungry and thirsty.

The next movie in their “Free Outdoor Summer Series” is THE LOST BOYS! Watch the late (boy, it’s weird typing that) Corey Haim and Corey Feldman fight vampires. Food trucks, local breweries representing, and film-themed surprises and giveaways will be in abundance. They have also hooked up with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive which will take place from 4:00 until 6:30. Every donor gets a free pass! Check out the link to the LOST BOYS Facebook Event Page. THE GOONIES will be shown on July 27th.

The July 25th double feature of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ leads up  to the August 23rd release of THE WORLD’S END! Both are going to be awesome because they both will have Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and Edgar Wright in attendance. If this is how they are going to kick-off, then I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

 

 

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Richardson

Richardson cast in supporting role for Alamo Drafthouse opening

Recap of RED DWARF X Series Preview at Studio Movie Grill

Hopefully you were able to make it out to the Studio Movie Grill Spring Valley location back on July 1st to view the first episode of RED DWARF SEASON X. Local public television station KERA has gotten permission to run it making us a test market for the rest of the country. Bill Young, VP of Programming at KERA was in attendance and brought along this special message from Kryten, the Red Dwarf mechanoid.

A special greeting by Kryten of RED DWARF.

Upon viewing that, we were entertained by the first episode, “Trojan.” After busting a gut for about a half hour, we were allowed to ask questions of Bill about upcoming and axed TV shows and, of course, what’s with all the pledge drives.

When it was all over, we got to talk to Bill face-to-face. Very nice guy and very knowledgeable. Be sure and check out his website below on British media, TellySpotting!

This was as good as it gets with my phone.

There were more than a few questions about pledge drives. Here’s the thing folks, KERA is a not-for-profit educational organization that is paid for by soliciting donations from individuals and foundations. You know how we hear that the top 1% of taxpayers will pay almost 30% of the tax burden? Well, it’s almost the same thing with people who donate to KERA. I can’t remember the actual total, but around one in thirty viewers actually foots the bill for about 60% of the budget. Imagine how much better KERA could be if they had money for improvements or to pay for more syndication? Plus, think about this. I’ve cut out my cable here at the house. I use Netflix, Google, Amazon Prime, etc. I can buy a season of my favorite show on Google for anywhere between $15 and $20. Why can’t I donate that money to KERA to say thank you for shows like RED DWARF, DOWNTON ABBEY, and SHERLOCK? Did you know that if they hadn’t shown MONTY PYTHON for the first time in the States back in 1974, we might not be quoting so much at the D&D tables!?! Show some support out there!

You can watch Red Dwarf on KERA Saturday nights 10 PM central time.

Donate to KERA here!

A few more photos

Tellyspotting – Your Brit TV Pub

Free Preview Screening of RED DWARD X – original event post

A New (K)ERA – RED DWARF X to make USA premiere.

Lewisville SciFi Book Club Discusses HOMELAND by Cory Doctorow

This month's meeting of the Science Fiction Book Group will be on Friday July 12th at 7:30 PM. It will be held at the IHOP in Lewisville. This month's book will be "Homeland" by Cory Doctorow. I hope to see everyone there!  Louis

HEROES OF COSPLAY Reveals the World of Competitive Cosplay

Or, so they say. I never really thought it was that competitive, just that folks liked dressing as their favorite characters. Then, again, I don’t dress up, so maybe this show will actually make me more aware. I know that they have a competition-style show on TBS called KING OF THE NERDS, but I’ve never watched it, mainly because I’ve gotten rid of our cable to save money and keep my three year-old from becoming a vegetable. Has anyone else ever watched that show? I see that it’s coming back in 2014, so it must have had some audience.

Anyway, this looks to be a six-part documentary on the world of cosplay and the “competitiveness” that goes on at the cons. It will follow nine cosplayers of all skill levels as they “put their imagination and skills to the test to make a name for themselves in the competitive world of cosplay.” So far, Yaya Han is the only name I recognize, but I will be researching the others and tweeting and Facebooking about them.

Really. Is it the competition or is it the reward of doing a costume right that makes people enjoy it? I just look at something like this and think the film makers are trying to sensationalize it and make it something that it’s not. How do you feel about the show? Are you a cosplayer? Let me know what you think.

The show is called HEROES OF COSPLAY and airs Tuesday, August 13th at 9:30 central on the Syfy Channel.

Heroes of Cosplay – Syfy

Heroes of Cosplay – Facebook

Heroes of Cosplay (@HeroesOfCosplay) – Syfy Twitter

***UPDATE***

I had a tweet from Heroes of Cosplay (@HeroesOCosplay) which is the actual cosplayers themselves and not the show. It clears up the “competitive cosplay) statement.

@Galaxy_Dallas "Competitive Cosplay" means competing in the masquerade at conventions, not that cosplay in general is competitive.

— Heroes Of Cosplay (@HeroesOCosplay) July 10, 2013

I thank them for the reply and truly look forward to seeing the show. Follow the cosplayers at:

Heroes of Cosplay: Unofficial Cast Blog

Heroes of Cosplay: Unofficial Cast Blog Twitter Account (@HeroesOCosplay)

Heroes of Cosplay: Unofficial Cast Blog Facebook Page

Happy Fourth of July to Dallas-Fort Worth Geeks

However you decide to celebrate, do it safely. Let’s not forget the guys and gals that are working to keep our freedoms and liberties safe at home and abroad and especially those that have paid the ultimate price with their lives. Happy 237th birthday, America!

 

Interior artwork from DCU Brave New World #1 (Aug, 2006). Art by Daniel Acuña.

 

 

Here are a few links to help you cook up some munchies in geek style and a list of movies to watch this Independence Day!

The Geek Friendly, Fourth of July Viewer’s Guide – Geek Insider

Top 10 Geeky 4th of July Treats – MTV Geek!

Captain America Fourth of July Party – 3 Chic Geeks

So, what’s your favorite geeky thing to do on the Fourth of July? Favorite movies? Let me know! And have a safe and happy Fourth!