new Stand movie
30/08/11 15:36 Filed in: Movies
Stephen King’s landmark 1978 post-apocalyptic novel The Stand is going to be adapted, probably as a trilogy, by Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves and director David Yates.
Comments
11/22/63 film version
11/22/63, have been sold to Jonathan Demme, the Oscar-winning director of the legendary The Silence of the Lambs.
David Morse
30/08/11 15:25 Filed in: Actor of the Day
"Treme," "St. Elsewhere," "Contact," "The Indian Runner," "16 Blocks"
Here's the remarkable thing about David Morse, whose long career kicked into high gear with CBS' "St. Elsewhere" almost 30 years ago: No matter what role you see him in, you assume he is exactly what he appears to be. And then he shocks the hell out of you. If he decided to ditch acting and become a con man or card sharp, I don't doubt that he'd become a retired millionaire in no time flat.
You never carry any typecasting expectations into a film or TV show featuring Morse. He can play strong or weak, good or evil; sometimes he plays weak men who appear strong, or strong men who appear weak, or evil men who initially seem good, or vice-versa, and somehow he always surprises you. He can currently be seen on HBO's "Treme," playing the good-hearted reformer cop Terry Colson, and he's played plenty of other knight-in-shining-armor types, including Jodie Foster's sainted father in "Contact" and the do-gooder hero of CBS' "Hack." But if you flip around cable a lot, you're bound to come across Morse in bad guys parts: "16 Blocks," "Training Day," "The Long Kiss Goodnight." He's got the kind of handsome baby face that seems instantly trustworthy, which might explain why he makes such a terrific secret villain, and why Sean Penn was so right to cast him as the tormented, morally compromised hero of "The Indian Runner" and "The Crossing Guard." Morse is sympathetic no matter who he's playing. He is Everyman. And he's funny and romantic, too. Why didn't he have Tom Hanks' career? Maybe it's because he's so damned tall.
He was nominated for two Emmys in the same year, for playing George Washington in HBO's "John Adams" and detective Michael Tritter on Fox's "House," but didn't win, and seems to have trouble getting recognized for his consistently fine work. Maybe it's because when you're watching Morse, you don't think, "There's that actor I like so much," but "What an interesting character." If Morse were a worse actor, he might be a lot more famous.
Underrated Scifi Movies
30/08/11 14:51 Filed in: Movies
Michael Bay certainly deserves most of the criticism he receives for the Transformers series, but this 2005 Bay film usually gets overlooked and I’m not sure why. Seemingly a rip-off of Logan’s Run and The Running Man, the movie tells the story of a couple of runaway clones who are searching for their counterparts. In this world, the rich and powerful buy contracts that enable them to have a supply of replacement organs in the case of a serious accident. What these people don’t know is that entire clones are grown instead! Between an awesome chase sequence on a hover-bike and some sweet McGregor and McGregor action, this movie is actually really fun. A lot of people will claim that it seems like Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson are just reading their lines, but since they’re playing clones who have never known the outside world, maybe that’s the right approach.
A lot of action movies are derivative of other action movies and the sci-fi variety are usually being derivative of basic, old school SF concepts. Equilibrium borrowed (stole) thematic elements from Brave New World and 1984. In fact, it’s probably a better 1984 adaption than the movie version of 1984. The action movie stuff it stole was way more contemporary though, as many have correctly pointed out that its something of a faux-Matrix. And yet both the over-the-top action sequences and the hammy dystopian messages work fairly well together. The movie also seems pretty low budget which, unlike the Matrix, means it’s not trying to impress you. With Christian Bale, Emily Watson, Sean Bean, and yes, Taye Diggs, you’ve got an action movie cast at least as good as the far inferior Terminator: Salvation.
Classic Book Cover Tees
29/08/11 15:21 Filed in: Tshirt of the Day
Great, oversized prints of your favorite classics on super-nice tees and sweatshirts. Lots more are available from Out of Print Clothing.
Death
28/08/11 15:05 Filed in: Comics
Neil Gaiman's bestselling Sandman tackles many genres besides horror, but it began its life as a horror comic back in 1989, and as such introduced (in issue 8) what is unquestionably the loveliest version of the Grim Reaper ever conceived, Death -- sister to the book's title character, Dream. Artist Mike Dringenberg is responsible for her look, but Chris Bachalo, who illustrated her spin-off miniseries The High Cost of Living, also gave us a young woman worth dying for.
Smallville Replacement
27/08/11 13:38 Filed in: Television
So Raven is out and Deadman is in....
Deadman, aka Boston Brand, was a famous acrobat until he was murdered by a man with a hook for a hand (yes, really). He's given the chance to avenge his death by faux Hindu goddess Rama Kushna as a spirit who can inhabit the bodies of others. He continues on, though, inhabiting the bodies of others and helping them solve crises in their own lives.
I remember reading this comic as a boy. He was never as popular with my friends or the public like Batman or Superman. But he had an interesting story nonetheless. And he would pop up from time to time in different comics or miniseries. Recently, he’s played important roles in the last two DC event series, Blackest Night and Flashpoint. It's likely that his fan following has played some part in the decision to bring Boston Brand to the small screen, too.
Flea
26/08/11 12:48 Filed in: Quote of the Day
I love when an hour or two into the run something opens up and I feel divine energy flowing into me. I try to send the energy all over my body. I love the feeling of it - I'd love to be running right now.
- Flea (aka Michael Balzary), bassist in The Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Flea (aka Michael Balzary), bassist in The Red Hot Chili Peppers
Born Too Late
26/08/11 12:47 Filed in: Song of the Day
Vincent will you teach me how paint
Theresa will I ever be a saint
((John Lennon|John)) I really think your songs are great
I was born too late
William will you teach me how to write
Cassius will you show me how to fight
Thomas A. I think I see the light
I was born tonight
I've had a hard time leaving this town
I've been losing everything that I've found
I'm gonna search the sky
Kiss the ground
Build it up and tear it back down
I've had a hard time leaving this place
I've been counting all the lines on my face
I'm gonna curse the sky
Hit the ground
What goes up comes tumbling down
((Jimi Hendrix|Jimi)) show me how you play that thing
((Elvis Presley)) will I ever be a king
Jerry all the joy and love you bring
I was born to sing
Martin Luther King show me the way
Jesus Buddha teach me how to pray
Christopher I think I see the bay
((Scott Blasey|I)) was born today
Theresa will I ever be a saint
((John Lennon|John)) I really think your songs are great
I was born too late
William will you teach me how to write
Cassius will you show me how to fight
Thomas A. I think I see the light
I was born tonight
I've had a hard time leaving this town
I've been losing everything that I've found
I'm gonna search the sky
Kiss the ground
Build it up and tear it back down
I've had a hard time leaving this place
I've been counting all the lines on my face
I'm gonna curse the sky
Hit the ground
What goes up comes tumbling down
((Jimi Hendrix|Jimi)) show me how you play that thing
((Elvis Presley)) will I ever be a king
Jerry all the joy and love you bring
I was born to sing
Martin Luther King show me the way
Jesus Buddha teach me how to pray
Christopher I think I see the bay
((Scott Blasey|I)) was born today
Fall Season 2011
23/08/11 16:11 Filed in: Television
- Supernatural (CW) – Returning Season 7 - premieres September 23
- Fringe (Fox) Returns With season 4 - premieres September 23
- Person of Interest (CBS) – New Series - premieres September 22
- Vampire Diaries (CW) – Returning Season 3 - premieres September 15
- Death Valley (MTV) – New Series - premieres August 29
- Secret Circle (CW) – New Series - premieres September 15
- The Walking Dead (AMC) – Returning Season 2 - premieres October 16
The Thing - prequel
22/08/11 14:01 Filed in: Movies
“Antarctica: an extraordinary continent of awesome beauty. It is also home to an isolated outpost where a discovery full of scientific possibility becomes a mission of survival when an alien is unearthed by a crew of international scientists. The shape-shifting creature, accidentally unleashed at this marooned colony, has the ability to turn itself into a perfect replica of any living being. It can look just like you or me, but inside, it remains inhuman. In the thriller The Thing, paranoia spreads like an epidemic among a group of researchers as they’re infected, one by one, by a mystery from another planet.
“Paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has traveled to the desolate region for the expedition of her lifetime. Joining a Norwegian scientific team that has stumbled across an extraterrestrial ship buried in the ice, she discovers an organism that seems to have died in the crash eons ago. But it is about to wake up.
“When a simple experiment frees the alien from its frozen prison, Kate must join the crew’s pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton), to keep it from killing them off one at a time. And in this vast, intense land, a parasite that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish.
“The Thing serves as a prelude to John Carpenter’s classic 1982 film of the same name.”
“Paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has traveled to the desolate region for the expedition of her lifetime. Joining a Norwegian scientific team that has stumbled across an extraterrestrial ship buried in the ice, she discovers an organism that seems to have died in the crash eons ago. But it is about to wake up.
“When a simple experiment frees the alien from its frozen prison, Kate must join the crew’s pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton), to keep it from killing them off one at a time. And in this vast, intense land, a parasite that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish.
“The Thing serves as a prelude to John Carpenter’s classic 1982 film of the same name.”
Ghost Rider sequel
21/08/11 14:00 Filed in: Movies
TV Shows 2011
21/08/11 13:15 Filed in: Television
Castle
Where: ABC
When: Mondays September 19th
Charlie's Angels
Where: ABC
When: Thursday, Sept. 22nd
Terra Nova
A family escapes the horrible polluted future into the past, with dinosaurs. Together they work on becoming a better family and finding the cure for humanity's future polluting ways.
Where: Fox
When: Monday, Sept. 26th
American Horror Story
All I know about this disturbing show from the creators of Glee is that it stars Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott.
Where: FX
When: Wednesday, Oct. 5th
Grimm
One man discovers he's part of a long lineage of fairy-tale cops. This show then becomes a fairy-tale police procedural. From the makers of Angel.
Where: NBC
When: Friday, Oct. 21st
Once Upon a Time
Possibly the most interesting of the new fairy tale shows. All the magical folk from fairytale-land were banished by the Evil Queen to Earth. There they sit waiting for their savior who will fight the Evil Queen and reunite them all with their magical land. But here's the catch, none of them remember their storybook past.
Where: ABC
When: Sunday, Oct. 23
Where: ABC
When: Mondays September 19th
Charlie's Angels
Where: ABC
When: Thursday, Sept. 22nd
Terra Nova
A family escapes the horrible polluted future into the past, with dinosaurs. Together they work on becoming a better family and finding the cure for humanity's future polluting ways.
Where: Fox
When: Monday, Sept. 26th
American Horror Story
All I know about this disturbing show from the creators of Glee is that it stars Connie Britton and Dylan McDermott.
Where: FX
When: Wednesday, Oct. 5th
Grimm
One man discovers he's part of a long lineage of fairy-tale cops. This show then becomes a fairy-tale police procedural. From the makers of Angel.
Where: NBC
When: Friday, Oct. 21st
Once Upon a Time
Possibly the most interesting of the new fairy tale shows. All the magical folk from fairytale-land were banished by the Evil Queen to Earth. There they sit waiting for their savior who will fight the Evil Queen and reunite them all with their magical land. But here's the catch, none of them remember their storybook past.
Where: ABC
When: Sunday, Oct. 23
Archer
21/08/11 13:10 Filed in: Television
Supposedly there will be 16 more new episodes of Archer in the third season. Three episodes are supposed to start airing on September 15, and the rest will air in the new year.
Where: FX
When: Thursday, September 15th
Where: FX
When: Thursday, September 15th
Conan death toll!
20/08/11 13:59 Filed in: Movies
The movie, which is 112 minutes long, boasts around 113 deaths—by our math, that means there is literally one death a minute in the movie.That doesn't even count the implied deaths and ones caught in aerial footage post-battle. The remake's body count actually makes it 43 more deaths than the original 1982 Conan the Barbarian film which had 70.
The Last Werewolf
20/08/11 13:05 Filed in: Books
A grisly novel about a 200-year-old werewolf is not my usual fare, but I was seduced by this lively hybrid of literary and supernatural fiction, which features the irresistible line, "Reader, I ate him." Glen Duncan, author of seven previous midlist literary novels, manages to make the intellectual cannibalistic beast in The Last Werewolf both wildly original and endearingly sympathetic as he discusses Nietzsche, Darwin, mortality and morality while fleeing members of WOCOP — that's World Organization for the Control of Occult Phenomena — who are out to exterminate him, the last of his kind.
Jake Marlowe, afflicted by "the Curse" at each full moon, is sick of "the lunar shuffle" and "the endless logistics" that life — and his monthly transformation from single malt-loving man to fanged monster — entail. He's weary of the challenges he's set himself — "Sanskrit, Kant, advanced calculus, t'ai chi" — and feels he's exhausted every mode of existence "from miserable Socrates to the happy pig" over his two centuries. Still, Marlowe is not quite ready to give up, especially after finding unexpected love. He asks, "What can it mean that I killed and consumed my wife and unborn child and now have love in my life again — except that there's no justice and that one must, if one can bear it, live?"
Jake Marlowe, afflicted by "the Curse" at each full moon, is sick of "the lunar shuffle" and "the endless logistics" that life — and his monthly transformation from single malt-loving man to fanged monster — entail. He's weary of the challenges he's set himself — "Sanskrit, Kant, advanced calculus, t'ai chi" — and feels he's exhausted every mode of existence "from miserable Socrates to the happy pig" over his two centuries. Still, Marlowe is not quite ready to give up, especially after finding unexpected love. He asks, "What can it mean that I killed and consumed my wife and unborn child and now have love in my life again — except that there's no justice and that one must, if one can bear it, live?"
Ghost Story
19/08/11 02:07 Filed in: Books
“Easy words,” she said. “Easy words. They leave little trails of slime on your lips when they pass them. But it doesn’t make them go down any more smoothly.”
People adore monsters. They fill their songs and stories with them. They define themselves in relation to them. Do you know what a monster is, young shade? Power. Power and choice. Monsters make choices. Monsters shape the world. Monsters force us to become stronger, smarter, better. They sift the weak from the strong and provide a forge for the steeling of souls. Even as we curse monsters, we admire them. Seek to become them, in some ways.
“There are far, far worse things to be than a monster.”
God, my town is beautiful. Chicago. It’s insane and violent and corrupt and vital and artistic and noble and cruel and wonderful. It’s full of greed and hope and hate and desire and excitement and pain and happiness. The air sings with screams and laughter, with sirens, with angry shouts, with gunshots, with music. It’s an impossible city, at war with itself, every horrible and wonderful thing blending together to create something terrifying and lovely and utterly unique.
I’d fallen victim to one of the other classic blunders, along with not getting involved in a land war in Asia and never going in against a Sicilian when death was on the line.
...only the dead feel no pain...
Pain isn’t a lot of fun, at least not for most folks, but it is utterly unique to life. Pain—physical, emotional, and otherwise—is the shadow cast by everything you want out of life, the alternative to the result you were hoping for, and the inevitable creator of strength. From the pain of our failures we learn to be better, stronger, greater than what we were before. Pain is there to tell us when we’ve done something badly—it’s a teacher, a guide, one that is always there to both warn us of our limitations and challenge us to overcome them.
For something no one likes, pain does us a whole hell of a lot of good.
“Dead is a grey word,” Mab hissed. “Mortals fear it, and so they wish it to be black—and they have but few words to contain its reality. It escapes from such constraints. Death is a spectrum, not a line.
People adore monsters. They fill their songs and stories with them. They define themselves in relation to them. Do you know what a monster is, young shade? Power. Power and choice. Monsters make choices. Monsters shape the world. Monsters force us to become stronger, smarter, better. They sift the weak from the strong and provide a forge for the steeling of souls. Even as we curse monsters, we admire them. Seek to become them, in some ways.
“There are far, far worse things to be than a monster.”
God, my town is beautiful. Chicago. It’s insane and violent and corrupt and vital and artistic and noble and cruel and wonderful. It’s full of greed and hope and hate and desire and excitement and pain and happiness. The air sings with screams and laughter, with sirens, with angry shouts, with gunshots, with music. It’s an impossible city, at war with itself, every horrible and wonderful thing blending together to create something terrifying and lovely and utterly unique.
I’d fallen victim to one of the other classic blunders, along with not getting involved in a land war in Asia and never going in against a Sicilian when death was on the line.
...only the dead feel no pain...
Pain isn’t a lot of fun, at least not for most folks, but it is utterly unique to life. Pain—physical, emotional, and otherwise—is the shadow cast by everything you want out of life, the alternative to the result you were hoping for, and the inevitable creator of strength. From the pain of our failures we learn to be better, stronger, greater than what we were before. Pain is there to tell us when we’ve done something badly—it’s a teacher, a guide, one that is always there to both warn us of our limitations and challenge us to overcome them.
For something no one likes, pain does us a whole hell of a lot of good.
“Dead is a grey word,” Mab hissed. “Mortals fear it, and so they wish it to be black—and they have but few words to contain its reality. It escapes from such constraints. Death is a spectrum, not a line.
SUDDEN EXPERIMENTS MAKE GOD JUMP
19/08/11 01:29 Filed in: Tshirt of the Day
SUDDEN EXPERIMENTS MAKE GOD JUMP.
Katharine Hepburn
18/08/11 22:49 Filed in: Quote of the Day
“I never lose sight of the fact that just being is fun.” -Katharine Hepburn
If I Can't Change Your Mind
18/08/11 22:47 Filed in: Song of the Day
Tears fill up my eyes
I'm washed away with sorrow
And somewhere in my mind
I know there's no tomorrow
I see you're leaving soon
I guess you've had your fill
But if I can't change your mind
Then no one will
And all throughout the years
I've never strayed from you my dear
But you suspect I'm somewhere else
You're feeling sorry for yourself
Leaving with a broken heart
I love you even still
But if I can't change your mind
Then no one will
Even though my heart keeps breaking
Don't you know that I'll be waiting
Here for you
Then when you return
When will you return
I hope you see I'm dedicated
Look how long that I have waited
If you come back then you will find
A different person
If you change your mind
How can I explain away
Something that I haven't done
And if you can't trust me now
You'll never trust in anyone
With all the crazy doubts you've got
I love you even still
But if I can't change your mind
Then no one will
Someday you'll see I've been true
I'll stay that way until
But if I can't change your mind
Then no one will
A Rising Thunder
17/08/11 23:28 Filed in: Books
Coming March 2012
Peril and strife strike on a double front for Honor Harrington and company. After a brutal attack on the Manticoran home system, Honor Harrington and the Star Kingdom she serves battle back against a new, technologically powerful, and utterly nefarious enemy. And as if that weren’t task enough, Honor must also face down a centuries-old old nemesis in the crumbling, but still mighty, Solarian League. The war between the People’s Republic of Haven and the Star Kingdom is finally won and peace established, but grave danger looms – for there is a plan well on its way to completion designed to enslave the entire human species. Behind that plan lies the shadowy organization known as the Mesan Alignment. Task number one for Honor is to defend against another devastating Mesan strike – a strike that may well spell the doom of the Star Kingdom in one fell blow. It is time to shut down and secure the wormhole network that is the source of the Star Kingdom’s wealth and power – but also its greatest vulnerability. Yet this is an act that the ancient and corrupt Earth-based Solarian League inevitably will take as a declaration of war. The thunder of battle rolls as the Solarian League directs its massive power against the Star Kingdom. And once again, Honor Harrington is thrust into a desperate battle that she must win if she is to survive to take the fight to the real enemy of galactic freedom – the insidious puppetmasters of war who lurk behind the Mesan Alignment!
Tarjeta de Residencia
16/08/11 23:36 Filed in: Legality
So this is the last step in the arraigo process. You go with the receipt from 40 days ago, get in line, show your passport with receipt, and they hand you the card.
Now it’s only good for one year, and I will have to renew, but it’s great to be legal.
Avengers plot
16/08/11 22:53 Filed in: Movies
Marvel’s The Avengers picks up when an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security. And Nick Fury, director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. With director Joss Whedon at it’s helm, and an ensemble cast including Chris Evans (Steve Rogers), Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark), Chris Hemsworth (Thor Odinson), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner), Scarlett Johansson (Natasha Romanoff), Clark Gregg (Agt. Phil Coulson), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), with Tom Hiddleston (Loki Laufeyson), and Stellan Skarsgard (Professor Erik Selvig), the film releases worldwide May 4, 2012!
