Halloween is fast approaching, as the orange filling in my Oreos seems to indicate. At the movies however, Halloween’s favorite genres are missing in action. In terms of horror movies, the usual suspects like “Saw” and “Paranormal Activity” aren’t happening. The “Saw” franchise ended and “Paranormal Activity” will return next October with number five. Also…
The talk with television these days has been with cable shows. From the Emmy red carpet to the trending topics on Twitter, the buzz follows “Breaking Bad,” “Game of Thrones,” and “The Walking Dead” among others. It makes sense. These shows are able to push boundaries in ways that those on network TV cannot. But…
Host Neil Patrick Harris said it best with “No one in America is winning their Emmy office pool.” Last night’s broadcast of the 65th Prime Time Emmy Awards saw a number of big upsets as the usual favorites didn’t do as well as past years. In the acting categories, perennial favorites gave way to unexpected,…
Harry Potter, “the boy who lived.” He survived seven books, eight movies, confrontations with Voldemort, being discredited by the Ministry of Magic and the awkwardness of the Yule Ball. But nothing could save Harry from the inevitable end. The series is over. We got a complete story arc and a happy ending as he and…
With the end of August as an indicator, it was clear that the new releases to come in September were not going to be a great draw. Historically September is one of the weakest months at the theaters, but browsing the list there are a few movies that will pull people to the popcorn lines….
One of the big complaints in fandom is when actors play multiple comic book characters across franchises. Chris Evans is The Human Torch and Captain America, Halle Berry is Storm and Catwoman and Ben Affleck will soon be Batman in addition to his turn as Daredevil. But one of the weirdest cross franchise scenarios is…
Broadway is where the stars converge for big stage productions and the thrill of a live audience. Theater may not be for everyone, but the cultural influence of the large New York shows is significant. In addition to the many professional stage actors who make careers out of perfecting their live craft, many Hollywood actors…
There aren’t many ways for movies to stay in the headlines after they hit the theaters. Unless they make “Avatar” money, there isn’t much for the media to talk about after the initial review and box office report. But studios have found a way around that. After Credits Stingers Keep Moviegoers On Their Toes The…
In case you missed it, social media erupted last night in a way I imagine it would if “World War Z” came true. “So livid right now,” said one of my Facebook friends. “I just threw up a little,” said a Twitter follower. The news that seemingly angered the planet is the announcement that Ben…
I found July to be a fun month at the theater with “Pacific Rim” and “The Wolverine” leading the charge. Unfortunately, August movies just never seem to be as strong as the other summer months. We have a few anticipated blockbusters and studio holdovers. Then we have some random releases weak enough to fit during…
This past weekend at Comic-Con, all the buzz was about “The Avengers 2” and the Batman vs. Superman movie announcements. But playing second fiddle, the cast of next year’s huge project “X-Men: Days of the Future Past” turned up on stage for a panel discussion. Each of the cast members had already been announced with…
It still feels like we are a long way from award season, but the Emmy Awards, given for achievement in television, are less than two months away. The nominees were announced last week and there is much for geeks to be happy about. Okay maybe there’s not too much from our favorite genres, but the…
Horror is one of the most polarizing genres in the movie business. The films alienate large groups of moviegoers right off the bat. Children sure aren’t going to watch and many people just don’t like being scared. Yet, that doesn’t mean that horror movies perform poorly. Sure, there are flops, but this is 2013 and…
Do you remember when comic book movies were rare? It was a dark-time in the world. I try not to think about it too much. They came out once in a while, but we didn’t have the conveyor belt effect that we are currently enjoying. “The Avengers” and “The Dark Knight” sit atop the pile…
In the late 1990s in the United States, the latest social phenomenon that occupied the disposable income of children was “Pokémon.” With the Nintendo games and the trading cards, we weren’t hurting for products focused on Pikachu and his friends. The cartoon on WB kids was the talk of the playground. But then in 1999,…