Saturday, May 17, 2014

New TV Series Trailers... So Good!!

The toy/guest room is taking alot longer then planned but that always seems to be the case. I also have way more then I even thought. I'm going to have to make some hard choices in what to display and put out and what to sell or get rid of.

I saw three new trailers for new TV series that will be premiering this fall and I wanted to share them with you.

First one is for The Whispers. Aliens have invaded Earth by using our most unlikely resource to achieve world domination—our children. As the kids unwittingly help these unseen enemies, the clock counts down in this suspenseful race to save humanity.

I found the trailer kind of creepy and spooky... I'm looking forward to this series.


The next one is for Forever. A 200-year-old man works in the New York City Morgue trying to find a key to unlock the curse of his immortality.

This one looked interesting so I'll be sure to watch the first few episodes to see if it's any good.


The third one looks the best to me.. Scorpion. It follows an eccentric genius and his international network of super-geniuses as they form the last line of defense against the complex threats of the modern age.

This one looks soooooo goooood... it's fun, suspenseful and geeky.. I'm all over it.


So many new and interesting series are starting up this fall.. I hope a few survive to make it a full season.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Potter, Toys, Wars and More Potter

A friend on Facebook posted this picture in my time line and I got a kick out of it so I figured I'd share it with you all. I'm not big into beer pong but I'd play this version for sure. ---->

If you know me or read my blog on a regular bases you know I collect action figures and other movie and TV memorabilia. In the past I would have up to 70% of it displayed in the extra room I always had when renting apartments. When I purchased the house some years back my plan was to build a toy building on my property but as you know things didn't quite work out as planned and my collection sat in the plastic bins in the garage for over four years. Well I sold the house and am now living in a much smaller two bedroom apartment. And as much as I hate to do it, it's time to thin out my collection once again. I did this once before around 10 years ago and it's time to do it again. I plan on selling up to 1/3 of my collection. Some of the things are easy to get rid of like Chicken Run action figures.. why did I buy these back then... not a clue. Guess I enjoyed the movie so I purchased the figures. But others are tough like my X-Files action figures. I'm still a big fan but I don't love them like I do my Harry Potter, Star Wars, Star Trek or Lord of the Rings things.

So starting today I am going through about 50 plastic bins and seeing what I can't live with out and what I sell on ebay or give away. It's tough to get rid of things but I know there is no way I'll be able to display everything and there is no point in keeping it if it can't be displayed... I gotta be strong.

Today social media went crazy with the release of the very first image from the new Star Wars Episode Seven movie. I mean it's only a slate with the title on it but it's official.. a movie that we thought we would never see has actually started filming... woohoo.

And the last thing I wanted to share with you guys is a USA Today video taking it's readers behind the scene of the new section of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley. I can't wait to go (though it will probably be several years before I get there.. I still can't wait).

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Flash, Twin Peaks & Some Movies

Two pieces of geeky news that I wanted to share with you guys.. first is the extended trailer for the new CW series The Flash. I've always been a huge fan of the The Flash so I was excited to hear that they were going to make a series about him. Well I have to say that after watching this trailer I am even more excited. This looks amazing and I can't wait for it to start this fall. 


The second geeky piece I wanted to share with you all is the announcement that Twin Peaks is coming to blu-ray. I'm a huge Twin Peaks fan.. I watched it originally when it first aired on ABC and owned it on VHS and DVD, but this new Blu-ray set sounds amazing with so much bonus material.

On stunning High Definition Blu-ray, Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery is a comprehensive collection with every episode from the complete television series; both the U.S. and international versions of the series’ Pilot; the North American Blu-ray debut of David Lynch’s follow-up feature Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me; and nearly 90 minutes of deleted and extended scenes from the film. The set also features newly transferred Log Lady introductions for each episode; picture upgrades to many shots in the TV series; a new featurette with series creator Lynch and the actors who portrayed the Palmer family which includes a mesmerizing return to the lives of their characters today; and hours of never-before-released material that dives into the fascinating story behind the celebrated pop culture classic.

It comes out on July 29th.. this is defiantly going on my list of things to buy when I get a job. 

I watched two more "gay" themed movies. First one was "Petunia" An off beat family of New Yorkers must come to terms with their own misgivings about life, relationships and the sheer unpredictability of love itself. Petunia weaves together the lives of brothers Charlie, Adrian and Michael as they unlearn everything their psychoanalyst parents have taught them. While Michael's cynical wife Vivian discovers she is pregnant, the family is also changing. Charlie's would be boyfriend George is in a polyamorous relationship with fitness fanatic Robin and Adrian has developed a unrelenting sex addiction. Meddling parents Felicia and Percy must decide whether to reignite the spark in their relationship or start all over again. Petunia is a film about a dysfunctional family unit on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This is the story of how they pick up the pieces. 

I wouldn't say this was a "gay" themed movie per se. I mean it does have several gay characters but it's more about a very dysfunctional family. It had some amazing moments of human relationships, very true and honest but then there were some that were so over the top to the point of being ridiculous. There were a few inconsistency in the storyline but only one that I felt pulled me out of the film. The acting was good and I did enjoy the 'gay' character though he was a bit to quirky, even for me. Over all a decent film, not what I was expecting but still enjoyable. I don't need to see it again or buy it on blu-ray. I'd give Petunia a C+

And the second movie was called "Were the World Mine" Timothy is an openly gay student at a private boy's school. Although now in his senior year, he is still persecuted by the aggressive rugby team, on whose captain, Jonathon, he has a crush. Timothy lives with his mother, Donna, who is struggling with her son's sexuality and with getting a job, and his father who is not a part of his life.

Timothy is cast as Puck in the senior production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. While reviewing his lines, he discovers the recipe for creating the flower love-in-idleness. Timothy uses the flower to have the homophobic town take a "walk in his shoes". The entire town is thrown into chaos as previously heterosexual community members fall in love with their same-sex friends, bosses, and co-workers: whomever they first saw after being sprayed by the flower. The school drama teacher, Ms. Tebbit, guides Timothy towards the question of whether his actions have caused more harm than good.

I've passed by this movie many times as I didn't like the idea of someone turning someone "gay". But I have watched quite a few of the gay themed movies on netflix and am running out of new stuff so I gave it a shot. I have to say it wasn't anything like I expected. It was more fantastical then reality based.. It's kind of like a gay version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's also a musical with some very cool "dream/musical" sequences. I liked the acting and the story was entertaining for the most part. I do think they went a little over board at turning the town gay and the way they resolved it was just okay.

I would watch this again just for the musical aspect of it as those were defiantly some of my favorite parts. I'm glad I watched it and would consider buying it on blu-ray. I give "Were the World Mine" a solid B.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

More Potter, Attacking Cats and B5

Warner Bros announced the release date for the first of three films adapted from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter companion book; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The date they chose is November 18, 2016. Interestingly, this release is only two days after the 15 year anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone movie release, which was in theaters on November 16, 2001.

The film will be set in New York, 70 years before the tale of Harry Potter becomes famous within the wizarding world.

What is crazy is the release date is set but that's about it, the have not announced a director, or cast for this film.. but I guess there is plenty of time for that.

This video is making the rounds on the internets today and when you first watch it, it's hard to believe.. but this is what happens with a dog picks on this cats human.

 

TV night continues with my buddy Robert. We are still watching Babylon 5. Tonight we watched S4 Episode 15, 16 & 17

First is S4 Ep 15 "No Surrender, No Retreat" After Clark's order causes the death of civilians, Sheridan decides it's time to attack Clark's forces directly. First mission is a colony that's being oppressed by some Earth Cruisers. Some in Earth force also distrust Clark, Sheridan might find some allies, amongst those he might be fighting. Meanwhile, Londo and G'Kar begin the slow process of rebuilding their frayed relationship.

I really enjoyed this episode, it's the beginning of a new civil war. It has some great writing and the battle scenes were cool. It brings up a good question about the military. When is following orders to much, when do you say no to killing innocent people. I like that we got a wide spectrum of different opinions among the ship captains. It's not so black and white. 

I liked the scene with Londo offering an olive branch to G'Kar and G'Kar's initial reaction to it. By the end he does take Londo's offer and signs a joint resolution to support Sheridan efforts to free Earth (But of course he won't sign on the same page at Londo). 

And Garibaldi leaves Babylon 5 for good and heads to Mars. If you have read my previous review you know I haven't been a fan of Garibaldi this season. I know "something" happen to him and he's not being himself but it doesn't make me like or accept what he is doing any better.

Our second episode of the night, S4 Ep 16 "Exercise of Vital Powers" Garibaldi meets with his benefactor. He wants to join with Edgar Industries. But his employer wants proof of his commitment. He want Garibaldi's to bring in Sheridan. Meanwhile Franklin finally manages to temporarily revive a telepath that had been captured by the Shadows. He'll need Lyta's help to continue his research.

Another good episode, both A& B stories dealt with telepaths. First we kind of find out what Williams is up to and that it involves telepaths. Back on the station Lyta and Dr. Franklin are also working on helping the telepaths they have on ice on B5. I like the Lyta character so it's always nice when she has a bigger role. I can't wait to see her full potential. I know they are leading up to something with the telepaths.. I just don't know what exactly... 

I'm so hating Garibaldi more and more, I hope they explain what happen to him very soon as he's pissing me off with everything he does. They have taken one of my favorite characters and turned him to one of my least favorite. Kind of like what they did to Londo and though Londo has his moments of being a decent person I still dislike his character and think it will take a lot for me to like him again.

And our final episode of the night, S4 Ep 17 "The Face of the Enemy" Garibaldi sets up Sheridan who is promptly taken into custody by Clark's men. Garibaldi's behavior and what happened to him when he disappeared in his Starfury is revealed.

We go further and further down the telepath rabbit hole in this episode. We find out that telepaths are taking the law into their own hands and doing things that made Lyta want to leave the core. Garibaldi finds out that William has a virus that will kill all telepaths unless they take the antidote every few weeks, which of course William has control of as well. Garibaldi set's up Sheridan and when he just sits at the table while Sheridan is beaten down. I didn't think I could dislike Garibaldi any more.. but I was wrong.

But the big reveal of this episode is that they finally explain what happen to Garibaldi and why he is the way he is now and I have to say it was a satisfying explanation. I had no clue what had happen to him so it was a surprise to me when they revealed that Bester and the telepaths were controlling him.

During the beginning of the episode Robert and I were discussing that maybe this was all planned by Sheridan to get Garibaldi in good with William but when he turned on Sheridan and betrayed him we realized that this was not the case.

I'm so glad that we finally found out what's be going on. And unlike Londo's character I felt sympathy for Garibaldi, I look forward to his redemption. It's going to be a struggle because all of his friends think he betrayed Sheridan, and in a way he did, but not by his own doing. 

So that's it for our TV night.. the story is ramping up.. I know something is going to happen with all these telepaths.. can't wait to see what it is.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Batman, Gambit, Finales and Trailers

Lots of geeky and TV news today.. first up. Zack Snyder released the first picture of Ben Affleck at Batman (also a glimpse of the Batmobile). I don't really have an opinion about the suit. I mean it looks like Batman I'm more interested in how he portrays him and Bruce Wayne.

There was also news that Channing Tatum will be Gambit in the next X-Men movie, X-Men Apocalypse (Sequel to X-Men Days of Future Past). I think he's a good choice, I look forward to seeing his costume and how they portray him in the movie.

I got to watch several finales (with Erik via Skype), first up was Jim Henson's Creature Shop and I'm happy with the outcome. I really wanted Melissa to win but would be happy if Robert won as long as Ben didn't and Robert did won. I hope we see a second season for this series. It's super fun and creative.

Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D. season one finale was amazing. The action was great but what I really liked about this episode was the writing. The character banter was so Joss Whedon, the Fitz and Simmon stuff brought me to tears. I loved when Garrett, who you thought was dead, gets up and gives himself cyber enhancements and starts to give his great speech about being back when suddenly he is blown into a million wispy fibers by Coulson... that was very much a Joss moment. Samuel L. Jackson's Fury character not only had a cameo but some pivotal key moments in this episode. And last but defiantly not least.. May kicking Wards ass and nailing his foot literally to the floor.. AWESOME!!

So glad ABC picked them up for a second season.. I can't wait!!

Several trailers for upcoming TV series were released.. here are a few that I'm interested in.

First is Constantine on NBC. This is based off the comic book Hellblazer, they did do a movie of the same name that starred Keanu Reeves a few years back and it was okay. This looks amazing, looks like a movie trailer.. I hope they can keep the quality up for the series.


Next is a comedy from NBC called A to Z. The only reason I want to watch is because of the main female lead, Cristin Milioti, who I just feel in love with as the Mom in the last season of How I Met Your Mother. This series looks cute.


The next show is a Fox show called Wayward Pines. Besides it having a lot of "big" stars in it..  It has a Twin Peaks kind of feel to it. I think I'll give it a chance


And the final one is also from Fox called Hieroglyph, The world of ancient Egypt -- a time of magic, Pharaohs, gods and thieves. When I heard about this series I thought it sounded kind of cool. But from the trailer it looks more drama and soap opery then fantastical. But I think I'll still give it a chance.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Wil Wheaton Project & PSA

Today my friend Jes and I went to a test recording/filming of Wil Wheatons new Syfy show The Wil Wheaton Project. We got there around 3:30pm (suppose to be there no later then 4:30) We were audience members 10 and 11. By 4:30 there were about 35 or so people in line. Come to find out that the audience is fairly small and only can hold 25 people. Three of those spaces were reserved for Wil's family so only 22 of us audience members got in. Luckily we made the cut but I felt bad for all those who didn't. We were suppose to start loading in at 4:30 but there was delays and we didn't get into the studio until around 6pm.

We were fortunate that we were in the NBC/Universal lobby area while we waited and not outside in the heat.

When we walked into the studio it was smaller then I expected. As I mentioned the audience area only had 25 chairs, there were cameras and crew around, including my favorite wardrobe person Kristen (who I have worked with on The Guild & My Gimpy Life). The stage consisted of a "green" screen and there were several TV's, one for Wil to reference and one for the audience to watch.

Prodcuer Josh came out to entertain the audience, he thanked us for waiting so long and did some Wil trivia and gave away a few gifts. Wil came out shortly after and talked to the crowd and explained what we were about to see.

I can't go into great detail about the show but it took about three hours to record everything, along with some promo's. This episode will never see the light of day... it's a test episode for the network to see everything put together with an audience. It's a bummer that it won't air on TV but also kind of cool that just a few of us actually get to see this "special" episode.

By now it's just after 9pm, it was a long day but totally worth it. After the show as the audience was leaving Wil stood at the stage door and high fived everyone (such a great guy). When it was my turn to high five him, we did and then his smile widen and he said.. "Hey Kenny I didn't know you were here." I said "Yep...Great show" and walked out. I would have liked to chat more but there were people behind me waiting for their high five.

I don't know why it always surprises me when Wil remembers me, though it has been a few years since we have seen each other, I did work with him on The Guild for several seasons, interviewed him several times for Knights of the Guild podcast and email him from time to time. He also did this "special" PSA for The Guild Season Four DVD easter egg a few years back.


It was a great time and I hope to get tickets for future shows. Be sure to watch The Wil Wheaton Project on Syfy started Tuesday May 27th at 10pm.

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Mom, Blogging, Mutants & Carnival

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful Mom's out there but I want to wish my Mom in particular a very Happy Mother's Day.... love you. Also I want to give a special shout out to my sister-in-law Lora, who's an amazing mom to my niece and nephew.

I get asked why I blog everyday... well I blog partly to keep friends and family up to date on my daily life as I don't get to talk to them everyday. Another reason I blog is that it's a great way for me to get things out of my head and off my chest... a kind of diary. It's fun to go back and read posts from a years pasts and bring back great memories. And a small part of me likes the notoriety, I know I'll never be famous but it's fun to think that there are "fans" out there that enjoy my work (podcasts, blogging, webseries, etc..).

It always confused me as to why some blog posts will get a few hundred hits while others get 20. Most of the time the content is similar and there really isn't anything different about the posts. It could be the timing of the post. I have noticed that if I post a blog during the week during work hours I tend to get more views (people at their computers), as compared to weekends when I post something I get less views (people not at their computers). But I also think it has something to do with the title of the blog post. Recently I posted a blog with the title "Penis Size and Bitches" Which was about a movie I watched and TV series I just finished. Well this particular blog post got 80 views within 6 hours, that's extremely rare for me. My average blog post normally get 40 to 60 views total. So obviously the title brought in the views this time but it seems so random at times. I'm just happy that folks enjoy my blog be it 20 or 200.

Played some more SWTOR with my buddies Chris and Brett. Again I gave myself a 3 hour limit to play and sure enough I could have gone on for many more hours but didn't... so yay me.

I pre-purchased tickets for the new upcoming X-Men movie Days of Future Past. I've been super excited for this movie as I have loved all the X-Men movies. I created an event on Facebook to see if I can get a group together for it. I'll be seeing it on Saturday May 24th at 4:40pm at the Arclight Sherman Oaks. I'm seeing it in the Dolby Atmos (which is the best theater audio system by far). If you want to join me, let me know.

Went jogging/walking with my buddies Adam and Andrew. I saw a tweet from Adam debating on jogging for a third day in a row and I replied that if he'd go I'd go with him and then our buddy Andrew asked to join in. It was fun, we walked, then jogged and walked again around the NoHo park a few times before heading to Starbucks for a drink. Hope we can do it again soon. 

During the evening a group of friends had planned to go to the local carnival which was at the NoHo park (across the street from my house). When the time came everyone bailed but my buddy Robert, his girlfriend Cait and myself. So the three of us went and enjoyed the carnival. First thing we did was the big slide (Cait won). Then Cait and I did the scrabbler and that ride lasted at least 10 minutes. I was ready to get off that thing halfway through the ride, but it was fun. We then went and get a few snacks before Cait and Robert did this kind of drop ride.. we then headed over to games booth to win Cait a stuff animal. We choose the water guns/balloons game. What is funny is Cait actually won and got herself a stuff animal, she don't need no man to win her anything. :) 

Robert and I then went on the one ride that I wanted to do the most. It's hard to explain but it's like a roller coaster car on a track that goes in a loop. So you rock back and forth a few times before going completely in a circle (3 times) and then you do it backwards (3 times). It was a crazy but super fun ride.. I definitely felt wobbly kneed when I got off that one. 

We called it a night (we were there for little over an hour). It was alot of fun, just wish more friends would have shown up. Oh well.. the three of us had a great time.