Comic-Con 2012: Firefly 10th Anniversary Reunion Panel & Press Conference
There aren’t too many television shows that can draw an audience of screaming 7,000 fans to Comic-con to celebrate its tenth anniversary and if there are any, they were most likely created by Joss Whedon. Before becoming the celebrated director of the world’s third biggest hit, The Avengers, Whedon specialized in making awesome television shows that were never given the respect they deserved. First it was “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, then “Angel”, and then most importantly in my book, “Firefly”. Fox’s mishandling of this show is legendary and even when it was still on the air, it was hard to find thanks to it being moved too much and even the pilot for the show didn’t start the show. For a show that had everything against it, “Firefly” still managed to win fans with its fantastic characters, thrilling action, and fantastic humor. That audience grew even larger once the show was released on DVD and Blu-ray which allowed new fans to discover the show that had only been allowed to run thirteen episodes before being canceled. This year’s big event was “Firefly’s” tenth anniversary reunion which served as a touching reunion and tribute as well as vindication for Whedon that the show truly mattered then and now. Continue reading ‘Comic-Con 2012: Firefly 10th Anniversary Reunion Panel & Press Conference’
The Hunger Games is the first in a trilogy of books published by Scholastic that has already become a literary phenomenon with over 36.5 million copies in circulation. Set in the future, one male and one female from each of the twelve districts of the nation is forced to participate in the annual competition called The Hunger Games, which is broadcast live throughout the country for the entertainment of the Capitol’s wealthy residents. Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) volunteers in her younger sister’s place to enter the games, and is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy when she’s pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. Blu-ray details within… 
An exhilarating campaign to save mankind unfolds on the high seas, in the skies and on land when Battleship – the entertaining, action-adventure made with unprecedented support of the US Navy – comes to Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand August 28th, 2012, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Peter Berg (Hancock, The Kingdom, “Friday Night Lights”) directs and produces Battleship, and Taylor Kitsch plays Lieutenant Alex Hopper, a naval weapons officer assigned to destroyer USS John Paul, and humanity’s last hope in the face of a global alien invasion. Alexander Skarsgård (“True Blood,” Melancholia) is Hopper’s older brother, Stone, Commanding Officer of USS Sampson; global music superstar Rihanna makes her motion-picture debut as Petty Officer Second Class Cora Raikes, Hopper’s crewmate and a weapons specialist on USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker (Just Go With It) is Sam Shane, Hopper’s fiancée and a physical therapist specializing in the rehabilitation of military combat veterans; Tadanobu Asano (Thor), is Captain Yugi Nagata, commanding officer of the Japanese destroyer Myoko and Hopper’s arch-rival; and Academy Award nominee Liam Neeson (The Grey, Taken) plays Hopper and Stone’s superior (and Sam’s father), Admiral Shane, Commander of the Pacific Fleet.
Starring Academy Award winners Christian Bale,
HBO Films critically acclaimed and Emmy nominated film Too Big To Fail presents a searing and explosive account of the events that led to the 2008 financial crisis and how the U.S. economy was brought back from the brink of collapse. Too Big To Fail is based on the bestselling book by Andrew Ross Sorkin and offers an intimate look at the powerful men and women who decided the fate of the world’s economy in a matter of a few weeks. Centering on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the film goes behind closed doors to examine the symbiotic relationship between Wall Street and Washington. Directed by Academy Award winner Curtis Hanson (LA Confidential), the film features an all-star cast lead by Academy Award winner William Hurt (Kiss of the Spider Woman), Emmy and Academy Award nominee Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man, John Adams), Academy Award nominee James Woods (Ghosts of Mississippi), Emmy winner Cynthia Nixon (Sex And The City), Topher Grace (Spider-Man 3) and Billy Crudup (Public Enemies). 
Academy Award-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg stars as a sassy lounge singer forced to hide from the mob in the last place anyone would ever look for her – a convent. In the side-splitting sequel, Whoopi is back for another hilarious adventure as Sister Mary Clarence spreads the gift of music and the power of laughter at an inner-city school. The casts include Dame Maggie Smith, James Coburn, Kathy Najimy, Michael Jeter, Harvey Keitel, Lauryn Hill, and more. 
The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), an outcast high-schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors’ alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero. 
Coming this fall, the third highest-grossing movie of all time and the #1 movie in the world, “Marvel’s The Avengers” assembles as you’ve never seen it before on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital and On-Demand platforms on September 25, 2012. In anticipation of this release, Marvel is also launching an all-new App in July – “The Avengers Initiative: A Marvel Second Screen App” (available for the first time on iPhone) – that gives fans unprecedented access to exclusive content building up to the home entertainment release. The announcement comes as “Marvel’s The Avengers” crossed the incredible $600 million domestic box office threshold on June 26 – only the third film in history to do so. It has now grossed an estimated $1.44 billion globally. 
There are a few vacations I’ve taken that greatly overshadow any others I’ve been on. Ilha Grande, Brazil. Red Rocks National Park in Colorado. The San Diego Comic-Con. Ah Comic-Con, the only man-made stop of the aforementioned trio. After attending three Cons (’08-’10), I can honestly say I was extremely disappointed on missing last year’s and have been suffering from withdrawal ever since. So when a book came across my desk to review, aptly titled Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture, I took notice and gladly accepted the task to cover its content. What started out as a literary whetting of the convention appetite, turned into one solidly educating and entertaining read.
Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. From Disney and Pixar, a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald) confronts tradition and challenges destiny to change her fate. Brave follows the heroic journey of Merida, a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the unruly and uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (voice of Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (voice of Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (voice of Robbie Coltrane). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric Witch (voice of Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to harness all of her skills and resources – including her clever and mischievous triplet brothers – to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late, discovering the meaning of true bravery. Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, Brave is a grand adventure full of heart, memorable characters and signature Pixar humor that audiences of all ages around the world have come to eagerly expect. 
It’s been 50 years since man first ventured into the unknown, and the heavens are only now yielding their greatest secrets. Season 6 of the pioneering series “The Universe” takes viewers further than ever, to the extreme edges of our solar system where chaos and catastrophe bring epic drama to the planets – including some of the most horrifying days on Earth. Through stunning CGI, witness the birth pangs of the solar system, shocked into existence by a nearby supernova, and enduring over 700 million years of brutal bombardment by deadly asteroids; colossal cataclysms that shaped the planets and transformed their climates forever; and startling new scientific discoveries revealing a hellish history of continuous devastation on Earth. And travel to the system’s very fringes to explore the possibility that the Sun has an evil twin, a monstrous star known as Nemesis suspected of causing every mass extinction in Earth’s history. In signature cutting-edge style, The Universe: The Complete Season Six, available in both blu-ray and DVD, features astounding NASA footage and the opinions of leading astrophysicists to probe even more deeply into the billion-years-old story of the world beyond Earth. 
Around the globe, headlines break the news: a scandal takes down an Indian cotton tycoon; a Chinese opium trader dies of an apparent overdose; bombings in Strasbourg and Vienna; the death of an American steel magnate… no one sees the connective thread between these seemingly random events-no one, that is, except the great Sherlock Holmes, who has discerned a deliberate web of death and destruction. At its center sits a singularly sinister spider: Moriarty. Holmes’ investigation into Moriarty’s plot becomes more dangerous as it leads him and Watson out of London to France, Germany and finally Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead, and moving perilously close to completing his ominous plan. If he succeeds, it will not only bring him immense wealth and power but alter the course of history. Filmmaker Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes) returns to direct Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which stars two-time Academy Award nominees Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) and Jude Law (Contagion) along with Rachel McAdams (The Notebook), Kelly Reilly (Sherlock Holmes), Eddie Marsan (War Horse), Geraldine James (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Jared Harris (TV’s Mad Men), Stephen Fry (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), and Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). 
