Tuesday Night Movies

We've Moved!

2013-10-22T19:30:00.001-04:00

Exciting news! Tuesday Night Movies has been completely redesigned and now has a new home. You can find us at tuesdaynightmovies.com. Please update your bookmarks, as this will be the last update here on the old site.

We look forward to seeing you at the All-New Tuesday Night Movies!

NYCC 2013 Exclusives

2013-10-08T22:24:00.000-04:00

Once again, Hasbro has decided to snub NYCC (Hey Hasbro, maybe if your exclusives weren't so lame in 2011, people would have bought them). There will be no NYCC exclusive Minimates. Those two pieces of news would be bigger downers if there weren't so many awesome exclusives at New York Comic Con this year. We combed through the very large list of NYCC exclusives to bring you this list of what we think are the coolest ones.

Agent Coulson SHIELD Badge and ID and Personalized ID Card - eFX Collectibles - Booth #1869
You got in on the pre-sale for this, right? If not, hit this booth up early. I think this will be the most popular souvenir of NYCC 2013.

Marvel Toon Tumblers - Marvel - Booth #1354
Price: $15.99, Limited to 200 for each design
A few years ago, when Toon Tumblers was first starting out, they partnered with Marvel to release an exclusive Ghost Rider Toon Tumbler at NYCC. This year, Marvel and Toon Tumblers have partnered again for an astounding eight different Toon Tumblers. They are: Angela by Sara Pichelli, Deadpool by Skottie Young, Hawkeye by David Aja, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD cast photo, Scarlet Witch by Adi Granov, Superior Spider-Man by Ryan Stegman, Spider-Man by Skottie Young, and Thor and Jane Foster from Thor: The Dark World.
I'm very, very, very tempted to come home with the Skottie Young Deadpool and Spider-Man pint glasses. Maybe that Agents of SHIELD one too. I need something to drink out of when I'm writing my Agents of SHIELD episode reviews.

Rocket Raccoon Plush & Lithograph - Marvel - Booth #1354
Price: $34.99, Limited to 1000
Rocket Racoon isn't exactly a household name. He's a character in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. If you're not familiar with Rocket Raccon, don't fear buying this. He's definitely not the Jar Jar Binks of Guardians of the Galaxy.

Zombie Magneto Bust - Marvel - Booth #1354
Price: $99.99, Limited to 300
Designed by Gentle Giant, this Zombie Magneto bust is exquisitely designed...in an entirely gut wrenching way. Check with your significant other before putting this on your shelf.

Phase 1 Marvel Cinematic Universe Blu-Ray Collector's Set - Marvel - Booth #1354
Price: $150
I'm recommending this one with a caveat. If it doesn't come with a Tesseract, skip it and buy this version from Amazon.

Thor: The Dark World Cast and Crew Tee Loki Fan Variant - Marvel - Booth #1354
Price: $34.99, Limited to 399 across various men's and women's sizes.
This shirt looks so cool. The only thing making me second guess getting it is the the $35 price tag.

Agents of SHIELD Coulson Lives T-Shirt - Marvel - Booth #1354.
Price: 19.99, Limited to 550 across various men's and women's sizes
Show your support to the agents of Marvel's new hit TV show with this shirt. Coulson lives! But exactly happened in Tahiti?

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD "Bus" Blueprint - Marvel - Booth #1354
Price: $12.99, Limited to 300
This is the same blueprint hanging behind Coulson's desk on "The Bus" aka SHIELD-616, the Agents of SHIELD team's mobile headquarters.

Captain America Hooded Scarf - Marvel - Booth #1354
Price: $24.99, Limited to 100
Super cute or silly? You decide!

Chew Smorgasbord Edition - Limited Red Slipcased Variant - Image Comics - Booth # 1444
Price: $100, Limited to 150
According to the NYCC website, this will only be on sale during John Layman and Rob Guillory's signings at the Image booth and at their Artist's Alley table. It collects the first 20 issues of Chew. There is also a non-slipcased, non-limited, black cover version of this book as well.

East of West Volume 1 Limited Edition Hardover - Image Comics - Booth #1444
Price: $40, Limited to ??
This hardcover was designed by series creator Jonathan Hickman, so it's bound to be gorgeous.

Lazarus Volume 1 Paperback with Limited Edition Bookplate - Image Comics - Booth #1444
Price: $9.99, Limited to 200
A similar paperback with book plate was released for Saga last year at NYCC and it was sold out less than an hour into the day on Thursday. This one may not sell out as fast, but I'd be surprised if this was still available two hours into Thursday.

Star Wars R2-Q5 ARTFX+ Statue - Kotobukiya - Booth #1654
Price: $29.95, Limited to 1000
R2-Q5 has become the unofficial droid of NYCC. It was an exclusive Star Wars Christmas ornament last year, and is an exclusive ARTFX+ statue this year. I might be wrong, but I think the only thing that separates this limited edition from a similar unlimited edition is that it includes a metallic coin.

Mind MGMT Custom Dust Cover - Matt Kindt - Artist Alley H5
Price: $??, Limited to 5
Custom drawn, brown paper bag dust cover for your copy of Mind MGMT. This is one of the coolest exclusive ideas I've ever come across.

Takara Transformers Asian Exclusive MP-08 Masterpiece Grimlock - Lunar Toy Store - Booth #1581
Price: $??, Limited to ??
The Masterpiece Grimlock Transformer is very hard to find and when one does find it, it usually has a high price tag attached to it. From what I understand, Lunar Toy Store will have a limited supply of these on hand at a reasonable price. If you're in the market for this figure, hit the Lunar Toy Store Booth early.

Cheetara 14" and Snarf 5" Deluxe 2-Pack - Mezco Toys - Booth #1855
Price: ??
Thundercats, ho! At 5" tall, is this the biggest Snarf action figure ever?

Batman Arkham Origins Flip Up Knit Hat - Midtown Comics - Booth #1736
Price: ??
The perfect thing to wear next time you're standing on a long line outside Midtown Comics on a cold day during a Scott Snyder signing.

NYCC 2013 Brooklyn Defender T-Shirt - NYCC Official Store - Booth #1132
Price: ??
With art by Cliff Chiang, this is easily the coolest of the NYCC 2013 t-shirts being sold directly by NYCC.

Polarity Hardcover - Boom! Studios - Booth #1344
Price: $??, Limited to 40
Boom! is selling 20 at each of the two signings they are hosting for it.

Disco Nightwing Mini-Print - Christopher Jones - Artist Alley D9
Price: FREE
All you have to do is show Christopher Jones that you follow him on Twitter or are a fan of him on Facebook and he'll give you one of these signed Disco Nightwing mini-prints free of charge. Sweet deal!

Metallic Batman Beyond Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Fugitive Toys - Booth #410
Metallic Nightwing Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Fugitive Toys - Booth #410
Metallic Harley Quinn Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Conquest Comics - Booth #3004
Black and White Harley Quinn Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Harrison's - Booth #2254
Glow in the Dark Deadpool Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Harrison's - Booth #2254
Glow in the Dark Ghost Rider Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Harrison's - Booth #2254
The Walking Dead Bloody Rick Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Harrison's - Booth #2254
The Walking Dead Bloody Daryl Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Harrison's - Booth #2254
The Walking Dead Bloody Michonne Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Harrison's - Booth #2254
White and Gold Phoenix Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Conquest Comics - Booth #3004
White and Black Deadpool Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Matt's Cavalcade - Booth #3027
Stan Lee NYCC Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Conventionexclusive.com - Booth #1274 or Crazy Cat Collectibles - Booth # 1555
Unmasked Wolverine Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Toytastik.com - Booth #2544
Glow in the Dark Unmasked Wolverine Funko Pop Vinyl Figure - Toytastik.com - Booth #2544
Price: $??, Stan Lee is limited to 1000, White and Black Deadpool limited to 1500, Unmasked Wolvering limited to 1500, Glow in the Dark Unmasked Wolverine limited to 500.
If you collect Funko Pop figures, you are going to love NYCC 2013. You'll have to travel to a few booths to catch them all. Personally, I think the Stan Lee one is the coolest.

FUNKO Batmobile - Toy Tokyo - Booth #101
Adam West-style Batman Pop Vinyl driving a 1970s tin-style Batmobile. This is all kinds of yes.

Power Rangers Tokyo Vinyl Metallic Red Ranger - Bandai - Booth #1628
Price: $??
The metallic paint job sets this figure apart from the regular version.

Hal Jordan and Saint Walker 3 3/4" Action Figure 2-Pack - DC Comics/Graphitti Designs - Booth #755
Price: $29.95, Limited to 3000
Hal comes with a big green fist. It kind of looks like Green Lantern is wearing Hulk Hands.

Super Best Friends Forever Poison Ivy PVC Figure - DC Comics/Graphitti Designs - Booth #755
Price: $24.95, Limited to 2500
A nice companion to SDCC's Super Best Friends Forever 3-pack.

Man of Steel Christmas Ornament - Hallmark - Booth #1554
Price: $??, Limited to 150 per day
Superman in his black costume from when he saw Zod's nightmarish vision of the future.

Star Trek: USS Kelvin Battle Scarred Variant Christmas Ornament - Hallmark - Booth #1554
Price:??, Limited to 175 per day
From the 2009 JJ Abrams Star Trek movie. This ornament features light and sound.

Star Wars: Wrath of the Rancor Christmas Ornament - Hallmark - Booth #1554
Price: ??, Limited to 200 per day
Ever since I saw this would be a SDCC/NYCC exclusive this summer, I knew that I would be buying it at NYCC this fall.

The Ewoking Dead by Peter Goral - Tenacious Toys - Booth #208
Price: $80, Limited to 50
More than any other exclusive this year, this one made me say "WTF?!" Peter Goral has designed a Zombie Ewok action figure out of resin. The figure comes carded on a card that evokes the old Star Wars Kenner cards if they crossed with the art of The Walking Dead. The $80 price tag makes me balk, but I really want to see this in person.

Doctor Who Titans: 10th Doctor Tuxedo Variant - Titan Entertainment - Booth #2142
Price: $15, Limited to 500, Limit of 2 per customer
The Titan booth is a must stop at booth for Doctor Who fans. This variant features the 10th Doctor in his tuxedo from the 2007 Christmas special, The Voyage of the Damned. Interestingly, Titan is charging $5 for me this figure than they did at SDCC.

Doctor Who Titans: 10th Doctor Parting of the Ways Variant - Titan Entertainment - Booth #2142
Price: $15, Limited to 1000, Limit of 2 per customer
This variant has the 10th Doctor in the 9th Doctors signature outfit, right after his regeneration in The Parting of the Ways.

Doctor Who Titans: Glow in the Dark 8" Statue of Liberty Weeping Angel - Titan Entertainment - Booth #2142
Price: $30, Limited to 700, Limit of 2 per customer
What a perfect exclusive for New York Comic Con. It's NYC's iconic Statue of Liberty, revealed to be a Weeping Angel, from the 2012 episode The Angels Take Manhattan. And it glows in the dark!

Breaking Bad Walter While in Green Hazmat Suit Action Figure - Mezco - Booth #1885
Price: ???
If you're looking for a toy to flip on eBay, this might be the one. NYCC isn't even here yet, and it's already going
for over $90 in active auctions.

Variant Covers:
I'm not a a big fan of con-exclusive variant covers. They're for the most part exactly the same as the standard cover, but with the con's logo added to it. Why pay extra for that? But there are some NYCC exclusive variant covers this year that I'm digging...and one that I'm shaking my head at.

Adventure Time #20 Get a Sketch Variant - Boom! Studios - Booth #1344
$??
I'm a sucker for blank variants. I have far more than I'll probably ever sketches on, but I can't stop buying them.

Afterlife With Archie #1 NYCC Variant - Archie Comics - Booth #1936
$10, Limited to 350
Limit of 2 copies per person per day

Lady Death: Dragon Wars #1 Metal Edition
Price: $??, Limited to 69
Really? Limited to 69 copies? Really? Excuse me while I facepalm. SMH.

Superman/Wonder Woman #1 NYCC Variant - DC Entertainment/Graphitti Designs - Booth #755
Price: $10
The Official 2013 NYCC poster is also the cover of this variant. Is it me or does Superman look a lot like artist Paolo Rivera here?

Lazarus #1 Splash Page Comic Art Variant - Splash Page Comic Art - Booth #2405
Price: $??
This variant features a sweet wraparound cover from series artist Michael Lark.

Mars Attacks Sketch Cover - Topps - Booth #1561
Price: $??
If the listing on the NYCC website is correct, Topps artists will be on hand to draw you a sketch when you buy this variant. If that's true, this might be a great way to get your convention sketch collection started.

Archer and Armstrong # 14 NYCC Variant - Valiant Comics - Booth #2028
Price: $??
Unlike most NYCC variants, which are just recolored covers emblazoned with the NYCC logo, this variant cover has Archer and Armstrong at NYCC. Or maybe it's cosplayers dressed as them.

Mighty Avengers #2 Cosplay Variant - Marvel - Booth #1354
Price: $10, Limited to 2,000
Okay, this variant is definitely cosplayers, Avengers cosplayers. Avengers cosplaying other Avengers. This wins the award for Most Fun Variant Cover at NYCC 2013.

NYCC 2013: Sunday Panel and Screening Highlights

2013-10-07T16:11:00.001-04:00

You did it! You survived New York Comic Con until Sunday! By today you're probably a little achy in the feet, especially if you've been NYCCing it up for all four days. Thank goodness for the chairs in panel rooms. Here are the cooler panels and screenings where you can rest your legs.

10:45 - 11:45 - Sunday Conversation with Dan DiDio - 1A06
The Sunday DC panel is a NYCC tradition, and it usually one of the best panels of NYCC. This panel is less about promoting and more about a dialog between Dan and DC's fans. If you have some constructive criticism for DC, this is the venue to air it.

11:00 - 12:00 - Q&A with Gareth David Lloyd - 1A23
Have a question for Torchwood's Ianto Jones? I do: will he sing? Because of John Barrowman sings at his Q&A, I want Gareth David Lloyd to sing too.

11:00 - 12:00 - TimesTalks: Adventure Time - Empire Stage 1-E
I feel like having a TimesTalks focused on Adventure Time elevates Adventure Time's cache and gives it a certain legitimacy. To me, this signifies Adventure Time not just being entertainment, but a genuine touchstone in this period of pop culture.

11:00 - 12:00 - Marvel Plus Member Event - 1A08
Are you a Marvel Plus member? It's basically Marvel's comic version of Netflix. It opens up a sizable portion of Marvel's back catalog to you. I recently signed up for a Plus membership and love it. One of the perks of the plus membership is the ability to attend this specially ticketed panel. I'm very excited to check it out.

11:00 - 11:45 - Mark Duplass Autographing - Booth #2319
I applaud Mark Duplass for being the rare actor at NYCC who is not charging fans for his autograph. Bring your copy of The League, Safety Not Guranteed or Cyrus and let him know how much you love his work.

12:00 1:00 - Marvel: House of Ideas - 1A22
This panel is all about Marvel's digital platform. If you're thinking about going digital, this is the panel for you.

12:15 - 1:15 - The League - Main Stage 1D
The League is one of the funniest shows on TV. You should watch it, even it you don't play fantasy football. Watch if for what these friends put each other through for the sake of a fantasy trophy.

12:15 -1:15 - Star Wars Origami - 1A03
Sunday is kids day at New York Comic Con. If you have your kid with you today, here's a fun activity you can partake in together.

1:15 - 2:15 - Women of Marvel - 1A06
Some of the top female creators in the industry will be talking about what it's like to a woman in the comics industry.

1:30 - 2:30 - The Following Special Video Presentation and Q&A - Empire Stage 1E
The entire cast, including Kevin Bacon, will be here. The Following was one of the breakout shows of last season. Come here to see what's in store for season two.

1:30 - 2:30 - Warner Archive Presents: Almost Forgotten Heroes - 1A10
There was almost a live action, prime time Superfriends show? Why can't footage of this exist?!?

1:30 - 2:30 - Marvel Minimates: A Toy Line Turns Ten - 1A08
I love Minimates. I can't believe they've now been around 10 years. There will be special Minimate prizes given out at the end of the panel. If you're a fan of this toy line, be sure to be here.

1:30 - 2:30 Aw Yeah Comic Drawing Competition and Hullabaloo with Art Baltazar and Franco - Family Room 1B02
Here's another great Kids Day event to bring you child to. Art and Franco, the creators behind Tiny Titans and Aw Yeah Comics are terrific. Your kid will definitely have fun here.

2:45 - 3:45 - The Making of Return of the Jedi - 1A23
Return of the Jedi turned 30 this year! Come here and see photos and hear stories from the film's production. Wear your Scout Trooper helmet.

4:00 - 5:00 - Superior Spider-Man and Friends - Empire Stage 1E
Superior Spider-Man is one of Marvel's top selling, best written and best drawn titles month-in and month-out. Rumor has it that big news will be coming out of this panel. Return of Peter Parker, maybe? Or a third Superior Spider-Man title, perhaps? Dress as Superior Spider-Man or The Doctor and make Dan Slott's day.

NYCC 2013: Saturday Panel & Screening Highlights

2013-10-07T15:30:00.002-04:00

Say hello the busiest day of New York Comic Con. There are some very cool panels and screenings today. Companies know today is the busy day, and most of the stellar programming is scheduled for today. That said, it might even be worth going to a panel you're only mildly interested in just to take a break from the crowds. Ah, seating, glorious seating...

11:00 - 12:00 - Archer: Discussion and Q&A - Main Stage 1-D
Pretty much everyone on the show will be here. What a great way to start Saturday. Can't make it to Javits in time? You can watch it on the internet live here: www.newyorkcomiccon.com/nycclive.

11:15 - 12:15 - 50 Years of Doctor Who - 1A23
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like any of the actors associated with Doctor Who will be here. But creators of the comics and TV series will be here to talk about the long lasting endurance of Doctor Who during the past 50 years.

11:15 - 12:15 - IDW: The Ultimate Panel - 1A10
Well, this is an interesting one. Has IDW had a presence at New York Comic Con over the past few years? I want to say no. I'm glad they're appearing here this year. I only wish the special edition of the Jeff Smith Artist Edition was debuting here as well. But good news: Darwyn Cooke will be on this panel. Hello, Parker news.

12:15 - 1:15 - Marvel Video Games - Empire Stage 1-E
Remember when licensed video games sucked? I guess in some cases they still do. But Marvel's games have been good lately. I'm definitely looking forward to Marvel: Lego. Or is it Lego: Marvel. Either way, I'm in.

12:15 - 1:15 - Diamond Select Toys: Best of All Worlds - 1A01
Do you love Diamond Select Toys? You want to be here.

12:15 - 1:15 - Superman 75th Celebration - Main Stage 1-D
Superman is 75! Mike Carlin, the group editor behind the Death of Superman and Dan Didio, the head honcho of DC responsible for the death of any decent stories in the Superman comics (sorry, couldn't resist) will be on hand to talk about comic's most iconic character.

12:30 - 2:30 - Yaya Han - Celebrity Cosplayer Autographing - Booth 2537
Celebrity cosplayer? This is a thing? Really?

1:00 - 1:30 - Stan Lee Photo Op-Saturday - Photo Op, Autographing Area
Quite possibly the best 60 bucks you'll spend this weekend.

1:15 - 2:15 - Marvel: Inhumanity & All-New Marvel Now - 1A06
Interested in the future of the Marvel Universe? This is the panel you need to be at. Inhumanity is Marvel's follow-up to Infinity and many titles will be launching under the All-New Marvel Now banner. Be there!

1:30 - 2:30 - Justice League: Forever Evil! - 1A22
I find it weird that Geoff Johns isn't listed as an attendee for this panel. I would find it even weirder if he doesn't show up for it.

2:00 - 2:15 - Andrew McCarthy Photo-Op - Booth #2142
Only if we can recreate the poster to Weekend at Bernies.

2:00 - 3:00 - Scott C. Signing The Great Showdowns The Return - Booth #2142
Scott C.'s The Great Showdowns is one of the best purchases I made at New York Comic Con in 2012. Go to this signing. Scott is super nice and last year he drew characters in everyone's books.

2:30 - 4:00 - IFC's Back to Back Comedy Event Comedy Bang! Bang! & The Birthday Boys - 1A06
This should be a very funny panel. If your energy is running low at this point in the day, and you need to rest your dogs, this might be the perfect place to sit, relax and laugh.

2:45 - 3:45 - Star Wars Rebels: The Might of the Empire - Empire Stage 1-E
Of course this would be on the Empire Stage. New Star Wars TV show! It takes place during the classic trilogy! Eeeeeeeee!!!!!

2:45 - 3:45 - The Thrilling Adventure Hour World Domination Tour - 1A14
Fresh from their two sold out shows Friday night at The Bell House in Brooklyn, the writers and cast of The Thrilling Adventure Hour will be at this panel moderated by Greg Rucka. Sorry, IFC, but this might be the funniest panel of Saturday.

3:00 - 4:00 - Archie Comics: Zombies, Heroes, Cartoons, Movies and More!
No lie, Afterlife With Archie is the comic I'm most excited for this fall.

3:40 - 4:00 - Gillian Anderson and David Duchovney Photo Op - Photo Op Booth, Autographing Area
Look, if you're going to spend $220 on this, wear a black suit, white shirt and black tie. Don't wear your stained I WANT TO BELIEVE t-shirt from 1996. Do it right!

4:00 - 5:00 - Marvel: Cup o' Joe - Empire Stage 1-E
Expect a lot of those one word press releases to have their secrets revealed here!

4:00 - 5:00 - Valiant Comics: Must Read Valiant - 1A01
Valiant controls less than 2% of the comics market, but it's a very loyal, energetic and vocal audience. They're still starting up their new shared universe. Now might be a good time to jump in.

4:00 - 5:00 - Neil deGrasse Tyson Autographing - Autographing Table 7
Neil deGrasse Tyson is the coolest scientist since Bill Nye. It's a free autograph AND you get to talk to Neil deGrasse Tyson! Bring you copy of Action Comics 14!

4:15 - 5:15 - Robert Kirkman's Skybound - 1A08
Here's your go to spot for all Robert Kirkman news non-The Walking Dead related!

4:30 - 5:30 - Roberto Acquirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla Autographing - Booth #1936
I previously mentioned how excited I am for Afterlife With Archie. The creative team of that comic will be signing it here. Expect me there.

5:00 - 6:00 - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD - Main Stage 1-D
Tuesday Night Movies is reviewing every episode of this series. I'm loving the series so far and am very much looking forward to this panel.

5:15 - 6:15 - DC Comics: The New 52 - Empire Stage 1-E
This panel happening at the same time as the Agents of SHIELD panel might explain the nice, enjoyable lull in show floor traffic around 5:30 on Saturday.

5:30 - 6:30 - Hanna-Barbera and the Designs of Alex Toth -1A03
Alex Toth is cool.

5:30 - 6:30 PM - Abrams Presents the Adventure Time Encyclopedia Panel with the Lord of Evil and Marceline the Vampire Queen - 1A08
6:45 - 7:45 - Adventure Time Encyclopedia Autographing - Autographing Table 21
If you are a fan of Adventure Time, here is the panel for you. There will be a reading from this book from the cast. If you can't make tonight's signing at NYCC, there are other signings scheduled at Forbidden Planet and Bergen St Comics this week.

6:30 - 7:30 - AMC's The Walking Dead - Main Stage 1-D
If you want to attend this panel, get here early. There will undoubtedly be a long line to get in, and I'm guessing more people interested than there are seats. The cast will be here and they will be showing footage from the upcoming fourth season.

6:30 - 7:30 - John Barrowman Q&A - Empire Stage 1-E
Depending on the quality of the questions, this could be one of the coolest panels of NYCC. I hope John Barrowman does a song.

7:45 - 8:45 - Batman: Arkham Origins - Empire Stage 1-E
Is there an upcoming video game more anticipated than Batman: Arkham Origins? Not in my house, there isn't.

8:00 - 10:00 - NYCC Charity Auction - 1A17
I've been following Mike Negin on Twitter. He runs the NYCC Charity Auction and has been posting pictures of the art that has been donated. All I can say is wow! You need to go to this auction. The money raised goes to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, a very worthwhile cause. Check out @MightyMikeNegin on Twitter for a peek at the art. You'll be glad you did.

NYCC 2013: Friday Panel & Screening Highlights

2013-10-07T11:30:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the first full day of New York Comic Con! Lots of cool panels today. Let's get right to it!

11:00 - 12:00 - Marvel: Amazing X-Men & The Marvel Universe - Empire Stage 1-E
If you've been following along with any comics news sites recently, then you've no doubt seen Marvel's very vague, one-word teaser ads. The mystery behind those ads will be revealed at NYCC. Most of the X-book writers not named Brian Michael Bendis will be here for this one: Marjorie Liu, Dennis Hopeless, Peter David, Gerry Duggan, Brian Wood and more. I'm most curious to hear what Peter David has planned now that X-Factor has ended. Could X-Factor be morphing into X-Corp?

11:00 - 12:00 - Mattypolooza - 1A01
If you're a Masters of the Universe Club Eternia subscriber, you'll definitely want to go to this panel, as you'll be able to vote which upcoming figure gets made: Darius or Mara.

11:15 - 12:15 - DC Collectibles - 1A10
DC Collectibles has been steadily producing high quality tchotchkes of your favorite DC characters for a decade now. You'll be able to preview their 2014 product line here.

12:15 - 1:15 - He's Back! Celebrate Chucky's 25th Anniversary with the Creators & Cast - Main Stage 1-D
If you are a fan of the Child's Play series of movies, this panel is for you. Creator Don Mancini will be here, as will cast members Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Danielle Bisutti and Jennifer Tilly. Friends to the end!

12:15 - 1:15 - Marvel Television Presents - 1A06
Jeph Loeb, the head of Marvel Television, will be talking all things Marvel TV. He will show previews of Hulk and the Agents of SMASH, Avengers Assemble and Ultimate Spider-Man. I don't know if any Agents of SHIELD stuff will be shown here, as they have their own panel later.

12:15 - 1:15 - Felicia Day and Geek & Sundry Presents! - 1A22
Geek & Sundry, Felicia Day's internet television network looks very cool. I've never watched Spellslingers, but after reading that it's celebrities playing Magic: The Gathering, I very much want to watch it.

12:15 - 1:15 - Image Comics: Behind the Creations - 1A14
Some of the coolest comics being published right now are coming from Image. If you've found yourself bored with recent releases from the big 2, check this panel out. Kieren Gillen, one of my favorite current writers, will be there to talk about his new book Three, which is launching the same week as NYCC.

12:15 -1:15 - Adam Berry Q&A - 1A01
Adam Berry ain't afraid of no ghost. Bustin' makes him feel good!

12:30 - 1:30 - Game of Thrones with Jerome Flynn - 1A23
Bronn talks all things Game of Thrones TV show related. I suddenly know where I'll be at 12:30.

12:30 - 1:30 - Straczynski Writing Workshop - 1A03
Calling this a writing workshop seems a little misleading, as you won't be doing any writing in this room, or get critiqued on writing you've brought with you. But it is a lecture on writing from a very successful writer of TV and comics.

12:45 - 2:00 - Editiors on Editing - 1A08
If you're interested in breaking into the comic book field, the head honchos of IDW, Valiant and Dark Horse are on this panel.

1:30 - 2:30 - DC Entertainment All Access - Empire Stage 1-E
Scott Snyder will be on hand. I wonder if he has a new book launching soon.

1:30 - 2:30 - BJ Novak's One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories - 1A22
BJ Novak was one of the best parts of The Office. He now has a book of stories, one of which he might perform at this panel. Oh hey, and he's being interviewed by Lev Grossman.

1:45 - 2:45 - I Have No Sewing Machine, But I Must Cosplay - 1A03
There's no question that cosplay has grown steadily in popularity over the past few years. If you're interested in dipping your toe into the cosplay water, here's the panel for you. Personally, I think the 11th Doctor is the best costume for first time cosplayers. Bowtie, sport coat, sonic screwdriver and you're set!

2:15 -3:45 - Inside the Creators Studio with Jimmy Palmiotti - 1A08
I hope interviewer Buddy Scalera does his best James Lipton. "What is your favorite curse word?"

2:45 - 3:45 - First Look - Justice League: War - Main Stage 1-D
2:45 - 3:45 - The Walking Dead 10th Anniversary Panel - Empire Stage 1-E
What?! These two are at the same time?! What the hell, New York Comic Con?! Both of these panels are going to have broad appeal. The only reason I think of to hold them both at this time is so that neither is overcrowded, because I would definitely go to both if I could.

2:45 - 3:45 - A Look at The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds with Eiji Aonuma - 1A06
Man, with this panel and the two panels above, expect Friday around 3 PM to be a nice time to walk around the show floor. If you have a Nintendo 3DS, then chances are you are getting this game. Check out an early preview of it here.

2:45 - 3:45 - Marvel: Breaking Into Comics the Marvel Way - 1A22
If you're a writer, their advice will be "Get published somewhere else first," so feel free to skip this panel and check out one of the three excellent panels happening at the same time. If you're an artist, you'll find out how to get your work in the hands of editors, so you may want to check this out.

4:00 - 4:45 - [adult swim] Presents: The Venture Bros - Main Stage 1-D
The [adult swim] are always some of the best panels at NYCC. Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick will both be here. What more do you need?

4:00 - 5:00 - Marvel: Avengers - Empire Stage 1-E
The Avengers is Marvel's current flagship line, and the franchise that is the center of the currently running Infinity event. Jonathan Hickman will be here. I'd expect a good Q&A session, as long as people can avoid "asking" "I love your writing so much." Come one, people! Here is a Q&A that is asking for questions that dig deep into Hickman's writing!

4:00 - 5:00 - David S. Goyer - Autographing - Autographing Table 7
It's a free autograph session! Bring your Starman Omnibus Volume 5 and The Dark Knight Blu-ray!

4:15 - 5:15 - Max Brooks Zombie Survival & Extinction Parade Highlights - 1A23
I haven't seen the movie adaptation yet, but the book World War Z is amazing. Max Brooks wrote it. I may sneak into this panel after I get my The Dark Knight Blu-ray autographed by David S. Goyer.

4:15 - 5:15 - Eat, Read, Love: Chew's Ascendance - 1A10
Both Rob Guillory and John Layman will be here. Plus, Image will be selling a very limited edition slipcased red variant of the Chew Omnibus. Buy the omnibus at the Image booth. Bring it with you here.

4:15 - 5:15 - Rich Johnston's Bleeding Cool Magazine Forum - 1A03
I love Bleeding Cool, and not just because it picked up our Who is the Outsider? story. Rich Johnston's site is a rumor site, but it seems to get the news right more often than news sites.

5:00 - 5:45 - [adult swim] Presents: Robot Chicken - Main Stage 1-D
The Robot Chicken panel is MUST ATTEND panel. Seriously, consider it mandatory. You will laugh harder here than at any other event at NYCC! (Sorry Thursday night comedians...)

5:00 - 6:00 - Ewok Autographing - Booth #101
There's not much detail listed here. Are the actors who played the Ewoks in Star Wars doing a signing? Is there a new Ewok book out? Has an actual Ewok been discovered?! I like that the speaker is listed as "Ewok."

5:15 - 6:15 - DC Comics - Batman - Empire Stage 1-E
Batman by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo has been consistently one of the best selling and most acclaimed books in the New 52. The other Bat-titles are pretty hit and miss. Some are good, and some are...Catwoman. Snyder and Capullo should both be here.

5:15 - 6:15 - Beautiful Books: Graphic Design in Comics and Graphic Novels - 1A01
What a great idea for a panel. Have Jonathan Hickman talk about visual design. Why does this panel not happen at NYCC every year? It should.

5:30 - 6:30 - CBLDF: The Secret Origins of Comics Censorship! - 1A03
The CBLDF is a worthwhile cause. Even if you don't attend this panel, I think you should buy some of its very cool merch at its table. You'll be helping out the charity and taking some fun stuff for your collection.

6:00 - 7:00 - Oldboy - Main Stage 1-D
The thriller Oldboy is the latest Spike Lee joint. While Spike isn't listed as one of the attendees, I really hope he'll show up.

6:30 - 7:30 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Empire Stage 1-E
Forget the upcoming travesty from Michael Bay. The current TMNT show on Nickelodeon is where it's at!

6:30 - 7:30 - Spotlight on the Fifth Beatle: The Story of Brian Epstein - 1A01
Artist Andrew Robinson was at NYCC last year, drumming up interest for this project in Artist's Alley. It looks like a very cool graphic novel. This panel is definitely worth your time if you're a fan of the Fab Four.

6:45 - 7:45 - Beer and Comics: NYCC Edition - 1A08
Ever consider the similarities between making beer and making comics? Well, here you go. Note: There will likely be no beer at this panel.

6:45 - 7:45 - Morning Glories Study Hall Live - 1A03
Do you understand Morning Glories? Really, you do? Liar! Come to this panel, ask questions, probably receive less than helpful answers.

7:45 - 8:45 - CollegeHumor Live! At New York Comic Con Starring Kumail Nanjiani - 1A22
Free Kumail Nanjiani show? And there might be other comedians? This might end up beating out Thursday's comedy night! This panel might win the award for most underrated panel. If you free, hit it up.

8:00 - 9:00 - Bleeding Cool: The Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll of Comics, Revealed - 1A03
Hearing comics gossip from Rich Johnston in person? This might be the most fun panel of NYCC.

Movie References Abound in Guillermo Del Toro's Couch Gag for The Simpsons

2013-10-03T21:23:00.000-04:00

How many movie references can you catch in Guillermo Del Toro's opener to The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror XXIV?

NYCC 2013: Thursday Panel & Screening HIghlights

2013-10-03T14:45:00.002-04:00

Unless you have an Exhibitor or Pro Pass, New York Comic Con opens for you at 3 PM on Thursday, October 10. Thursday will be the least crowded day of the con, since it's open only to people with 4-Day Passes and people who specifically bought Thursday passes. Because of this, Thursday is a great day to nab the hotter con exclusives or meet your favorite creator. Just be sure to check the NYCC website to make sure that creator is there that day.

The Panel and Screenings schedule is pretty light on Thursday, but there are definitely some that are worth checking out.

3:15 - 4:15 - Comixology Submit: The Future of Self Publishing - 1A08

3:15 - 4:15 - Protect It and Publish It: Creating and Protecting Your Comic Book Property - 1A03

If you're interested in creating your own comics, Thursday has some panels aimed right at you. Unfortunately, these two conflict directly with each other. Fortunately, they're close enough to each other that you could pop into one at the start and move to the other later. Comixology is the giant in the room when it comes to digital distribution, but if your concerns are more legal in nature, you may want to hit up the Protect It and Publish It panel.

3:15 - 4:15 - Women in Comics - 1A15

This looks like it will be an interesting discussion regarding female protagonists in comics. Plus, Becky Cloonan will be there.

3:45 - 4:45 - DC Comics 101: Essentials - 1A06

Or..."We're not just the New 52! Promise!" Going by the description of this panel, it looks like it's DC pitching you its back list.

3:45 - 4:45 - 60 Years of Bazooka Joe - 1A01

Anyone else think the surprise giveaway to everyone in attendance will be gum?

4:15 - 5:15 - Bill Plympton's "Cheatin'" & Kickstarter - 1A08

4:15 - 5:15 - Bad Karma - 1A15

Even if you don't have a direct interest in these two Kickstarter funded projects, the Q&A session at either of these panels might be an excellent resource for anyone looking at crowfunding their next creative endeavor.

4:15 - 5:15 - Protect It and Publish It: Meeting With Publishers - 1A03

Here's another panel aimed at would be comics creators. It seems like it will be equal parts "How to pitch" and "Know your rights before you sign anything." The ability to pitch effectively is an essential skill if you want someone else to believe your work is as good as you know it is.

5:00 - 6:00 - Superheroes: A Never Ending Battle - PBS Documentary - 1A01

You get a sneak peak at this new PBS documentary plus Dennis O'Neill, Mark Waid, Louise Simonson and Phil Jimenez will all be on the panel. Win-win!

5:00 - 6:00 - World Premiere of Necessary Evil: Super Villains of DC Comics - 1A06

This is the new release from Warner Home Video. It's not an animated feature, but rather a retrospective and analysis of the villains that permeate the DC universe. It almost sounds like a DVD extra turned into its own movie. In this case, that's not a bad thing, as the DVD extras on DC's animated movies have all been excellent.

5:30 - 6:30 - Kotobukiya Fall Preview 2013 - 1A15

Kotobukiya's line of vinyl action figures are amazing. Their Star Wars and Iron Man figures look like they were taken directly out of the movies themselves. You can find out about Kotobukiya's upcoming releases here, and some lucky attendees will be going home with prizes, which will probably not be gum.

6:15 - 7:15 - New York Times Out and Geeks Out Present LGBT and Allies in Comics - 1A14

The past couple of years have seen an acceptance of LGBT characters from the major comics publishers like no other time before. Some of the creators behind those books will be on hand to talk about their LGBT characters and the changing face of the industry. I think this will be one of the more interesting panels of NYCC.

6:15 - 7:15 - Editing Comics The Boom! Studios Way - 1A01

Ever wonder what a comic book editor does? Come here and find out. Hint: It's not all just spell-check.

6:15 - 7:15 - SimCity and The Sims: Designing for the Future - 1A17

I'll admit it. I might have a wee bit of a Sims obsession. I've said "Just one more half hour, then bed!" before...at consecutive half hour increments...before going to bed hours later. You know what I'm talking about.

6:45 - 7:45 - Carmine Infantino: A Visualecture Retrospective - 1A08

When I think Carmine Infantino, I think DC Silver Age. I love Carmine Infantino. He's gone, but not forgotten.

6:45 - 7:45 - Crowdfunding Your Vision: How to Achieve the Results You Want - 1A03

Another great panel for up and coming creators. This panel will have a speaker from Indiegogo, Kickstarter's main rival in the crowdfunding sphere. After you've heard Kickstarter's pitch earlier in the day, you may want to hit up this panel to hear what their competitor has to say.

7:30 - 9:00 - Charlie Adlard Signing - Booth 2405

The artist of The Walking Dead will be signing here. With NYCC variants of The Walking Dead being sold at the con, and just the massive popularity of the show and comic, expect a line. But if you want Adlard's autograph, getting it tonight at the Splash Page Comic Art booth might be your best bet. Adlard isn't charging a fee, but he is requesting that everyone make a donation to the Hero Initiative. They're a worthwhile cause.

8:00 - 10:00 - NYCC Thursday Night Kickoff with Comedy Mutant Featuring Janeane Garofalo, Brian Posehn, Myq Kaplan, Mike Drucker and More - Main Stage 1D

Last year we got Ben Folds Five. This year, we get a mix of really good comedians. The Thursday ticket is turning into something worth getting just for the Kickoff. I've seen most of these comics on stage before. I predict a very fun show. Recommended.

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD: Episode 102: "0-8-4" - Review

2013-10-02T14:47:00.000-04:00

4/5 - But the last 5 minutes makes me want to give it 5/5.

The second episode of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD aired last night. During the preview at the end of the first episode, we were teased with the phrase "Oh-eight-four." In last night's episode, we found out what an 0-8-4 is. It's the code for an object of unidentified origin. The last 0-8-4 Coulson dealt with was Thor's hammer in the dessert. This 0-8-4 takes the team out of the country to a South American jungle.

The episode began excitedly, with a gaping hole in the SHIELD plane's hull mid-flight. We then immediately flashback to the start of the mission. I know this cold open with the plane in distress was used to lure in viewers, but I think I would have preferred finding out about the hull breach when it actually happened. This opening telegraphed Camilla's betrayal too much.

Speaking of Camilla, when she first started flirting with Coulson, I started to think that Coulson was like Will Ferrell's character Detective Gamble in The Other Guys. Hot women are just throwing themselves at him. We find out later Camilla had other plans.

Another thing about Coulson: he bleeds. After he gets punched in the face, Coulson is clearly bleeding from the mouth. If Coulson is some kind of Life Model Decoy, he's an advanced one, with blood pumping through his veins...or tubes.

If Coulson is a LMD, I hope we get a scene that involves a decapitated head with wires sticking out.

FitzSimmons continues to delight. They are easily my favorite part of the show.They remind of equal parts Doctor Who companions and Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter. I would watch a FitzSimmons spin-off.

Fitz (left) and Simmons (right)

Ming-Na Wen's character Agent May is my other favorite. She's just so bad ass. I like that the mysterious bad ass agent with a past on Agents of SHIELD is a woman. It seems like a refreshing change of pace from most shows. But I honestly wouldn't expect any less from Joss Whedon.

Melinda May is the Wolverine of Agents of SHIELD.

The only downside to this episode is that it felt a bit uneven. While the episode served to bring this team of disparate individuals together as a unit, the build-up in the first half of the episode was on the slow side. The focus shifted a bit too often, but I guess that's a problem when you're still introducing a cast this big to the audience. I'm hoping future episodes, once we know everyone, will be a bit more streamlined. But the episode still has all the wit and charm you'd expect from a Joss Whedon show and I don't see that stopping, so I can't complain too much.

This episode's fanboy service comes to you courtesy of the SHIELD team's airborne mobile command center, whose call sign is SHIELD 616. In the Marvel Universe, 616 refers to the Earth where all the classic Marvel superheroes live. Captain America, Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, if you grew up reading Marvel comics, chances are you were reading the 616 universe. This term originates from a Captain Britain comic from the 1980s, in which Captain Britain discovers he's a member of an interdimensional group of Captain Britains. He's the Captain Britain of Earth-616.

Did you catch the blueprint of the SHIELD 616 behind Coulson's desk?

Marvel will be selling this blueprint at NYCC 2013.

How awesome was Nick Fury's appearance at the end of the episode? It felt like an after the credit scene in a Marvel movie! The fact that we got Samuel L. Jackson in this episode makes me hopeful that we'll get some of the other bigger names from the Marvel Cinematic Universe showing up in future episodes, even if it's just for a cameo. Maybe a debriefing with Thor after the team handles a problem of Asgardian origin, or an appearance by Jon Favreau as Tony Stark's head of security Happy Hogan if the team needs to secure something on Stark property.

"Does the SHIELD 616 look like a bitch? Then stop treating it like one!"

Two episodes in and the only complaint I really have with Agents of SHIELD is that it conflicts with Brooklyn 99, my other favorite new show of the season.

Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods - Review

2013-10-01T14:23:00.003-04:00

5/5 - Fascinating.

I had wanted to watch Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods for some time now. Unfortunately, Netflix didn't have it on disc or streaming, and my halfhearted attempts at tracking down a copy never produced any results. One of my friends brought the movie up in conversation recently, asking if I ever saw it. When I mentioned I hadn't, he lent it to me. Success!

The movie spans the entirety of Grant Morrison's career up to when the documentary was made in 2010. Grant talks about his childhood, growing up the son of an anti-nuclear activist. Hearing about some of the places his dad would bring him as a child makes be better understand what makes Grant such a unique guy.

Grant's charm definitely comes through in the film. He's not full of himself, and doesn't treat his own writing like it's the work of God. I had the chance to meet Grant last year at NYCC. I was intimidated, but he turned out to be one of the nicest and enthusiastic comic book creators I've ever met.

Hearing Grant's theories about chaos magic are absolutely fascinating. He clearly believes it works, and he and others point out instances where Grant's chaos magic does seem to have indeed worked. Who knows, maybe chaos magic is real. If it is, I feel that Grant may be tuned into its workings far beyond the scope of most people.

Interspersed throughout the movie are The Office-style talking head interviews with comics creators talking about Grant. It's interesting to hear what his colleagues and collaborators have to say about him, especially Phil Jimenez relating his experience of working on The Invisibles with Grant.

Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods is intimidating. No, not because of Grant Morrison's mind full of crazy ideas. Well, yes, there is that. But I mean because it's two full discs long. The special features disc takes up as much time as the movie itself. But you cannot skip the second disc! Trust me on this one. In some ways, the second disc, despite being full of bits that didn't make the movie, is better than the movie itself. There's an interview of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely together that is a must see for anyone who's a fan of their work together. Hearing them talk about their collaborative process is a real treat. If you read Grant's run on X-Men, you really have to watch this second disc. He goes into detail about his entire run, including how Marvel treated his work towards the end.

This conversation is the best part of the 2-disc DVD set.

Grant Morrison: Talking With Gods is a must-see if you enjoy Grant Morrison's writing. This very personal documentary gives us access to this creator that I don't think we've had anywhere else, outside of maybe parts of Grant's book, Supergods. Hopefully one of your friends has the DVD sitting in his house too.

WIN a 3-Day Pass to New York Comic Con From Tuesday Night Movies!

2013-09-30T17:55:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! New York Comic Con is only 10 days away! The Tuesday Night Movies team will be covering it each and every day of the convention! Needless to say, we are very excited for NYCC!

And we want you to be excited too! NYCC tickets sold out faster than ever this year, so we're giving one lucky Tuesday Night Movies reader a 3-Day NYCC Pass!

It's easy to enter! Just follow the instructions on the RaffleCopter form below. You don't have much time, so enter today! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Marvel's Agents of SHIELD S1E1: "Pilot" - Review

2013-09-26T14:44:00.001-04:00

Without a doubt, the new series that I was most excited for this fall was Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. In September, I was counting down the days until the show premiered. I pre-ordered the SHIELD agent badge and ID for New York Comic Con. September 24 could not get here soon enough.

My expectations were high. I started to worry that they might be too high. What if this Agents of SHIELD series turned out to be a train wreck like the 1999 David Hasselhoff Nick Fury made-for-TV movie?

Never forget.

On second thought, forget. For the love of all that is good, forget!

Tuesday, 9/24, 20:00 hours arrived. I was bolted to my seat at 19:57.

This was the pilot episode? Aren't pilot episodes supposed to suck? This was awesome! Marvel/Disney is definitely giving them the budget they need. Thanks to the budget, the show fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe not just in story, but in style too.

While the SHIELD agents don't have superpowers, I'm very happy that the show will feature people with powers. I'm sure I'm not the only one who hoped that the super strong character that turned out to be Michael Peterson was in fact Luke Cage. Michael Peterson on the show and Luke Cage in the comics come to their powers through similar means. Maybe since Skye wiped Michael from every database we'll see him reemerge with Luke Cage as his new alias.

Not Luke Cage...yet.

Let's talk about Coulson for a minute. There's definitely more to his return from death than it being all a set up by Fury to fool the Avengers into forming and that Coulson was cooling his jets in Tahiti. Dr. Streiten (Ron Glass! Shepherd! Yes!) and Maria Hill basically say as much when Coulson leaves them. Streiten is surprised Coulson still believes the Tahiti story and Hill counters that Coulson can never find out the truth. I think Coulson has definitely been completely lied to. I don't think his death in Avengers was planned in advance. Life Model Decoys were mentioned in the Avengers movie, making me believe that this Coulson we're seeing today is a Life Model Decoy that's been programmed with the original Phil Coulson's brain patterns. For those of you unfamiliar with the Marvel comics from which Agents of SHIELD is based, a Life Model Decoy, or LMD for short, is basically a very advanced android that looks, sounds and feels like the real person, but is in fact a robot. Think of it as half clone-half robotic decoy. For you Battlestar Galactica fans, Coulson is basically a toaster now. Or at least, that's my theory. Whatever the explanation turns out to be, I'm glad Clark Gregg is a part of this show.

Everyone who is still human, take a seat. Not so fast, Coulson!

One quick thought on Maria Hill: With How I Met Your Mother wrapping up this season, I wonder if Cobie Smulders will have a much bigger role on Agents of SHIELD starting in season 2.

Cobie Smulders stars in How I Met Your Hydra

The pilot episode's script had the right amount of both suspense, action and humor that you'd expect from a Joss Whedon show. I loved the porcupine/poop-with-knives-sticking-out-of-it bit, as well as Agent Ward's "Gramsy" line when he's being interrogated by Skye. The best though might have been Simmons announcing that she's not Hermione. Aw yeah, Harry Potter reference.

Agents of SHIELD tied very well into both Iron Man 3 and Avengers. I like that Extremis heavily factored into this episode and that gamma rays played a part in powering Michael. I also like that SHIELD has been given a shadowy enemy to hunt down with this new power broker business. I just hope the show doesn't turn into a "monster of the week" show like the first season Smallville.

I think Joss Whedon has done a great job of making a show that is accessible to both long time Marvel fans, fans of the Marvel movies, and people who are just walking in cold and who want a dose of sci-fi with their police procedural.

Other random thoughts on the episode: I think they're setting us up for Skye-Agent Ward romance, but I'm more interested in Fitz and Simmons. Having Lola's wheels turn down and fly at the end was the best form of fan service imaginable, though using the phrase "journey into mystery" in a line of dialog was a close second.

Flying car! Okay, this is SHIELD!

I loved the first episode of Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. I'm in for the long haul. Expect to see a review here for every new episode. Next week we find out the answer to the question of just what is an Oh-8-4.

The Other Guys - Review

2013-09-24T14:19:00.000-04:00

5/5 - This peacock flies.

I distinctly remember not wanting to see The Other Guys when it was first released. I can't remember why, but I can remember not wanting to see it.

I ended up catching it on HBO recently through no fault of my own. I was vacationing in Cancun. There was a torrential rainstorm outside. Some other movie had just ended on Mexican HBO and The Other Guys came on. I wasn't even paying attention as it started. But by ten minutes into the movie, I was hooked. I wouldn't let the channel be changed and once I returned home to the US, I rented the movie from Netflix just to watch it all the way through from the beginning.

Been there.

Without a doubt, The Other Guys is the funniest movie I've seen in a while. It is so over the top and so ridiculous, but the movie just goes with it. Even when it questions its own ridiculousness, it answers back with an even more ridiculous answer. Why does Mark Wahlberg's rageaholic Detective Hoitz know how to dance like a ballerina? Simple, it's because he took classes so that he could "make fun of guys when we were kids to show them how queer they were."

Will Ferrell is hilarious as the buttoned up Detective Allen Gamble. This role is up there with my favorite Will Ferrell roles of all time. When we got Gamble, er I mean Gator's, origin story, I was dying.

Careful, Hoitz. Gator don't take no shit.

If you get your hands on the DVD, make sure to watch the gag reel and improv outtakes. I can't believe I'm recommending a gag reel, as it's usually a collection of boring "watch this actor break and then everyone on set laughs" clips one after the other, but the gag reel for The Other Guys is really funny, as is seeing what improvised lines didn't make the final cut of the movie. Rob Huebel really shines here.

Samuel L. Jackson and Duane "The Rock" Johnson steal the movie as action-hero cops in the beginning of the film. I still laugh to myself whenever I think of the line, "Aim for the bushes."

With all the serious movies that he's done, I forgot how funny Michael Keaton can be. He's awesome as the precinct's captain that can't stop quoting TLC songs.

The combination of a very funny script and a cast who go the distance with their improvised lines make The Other Guys a must-see movie. Definitely watch it. Twice.

Jeff Who Lives at Home - Review

2013-09-17T14:11:00.000-04:00

2/5 - Watch Cyrus instead

On paper, I should love Jeff, Who Lives at Home. It stars two of my favorite comedic actors, Jason Segel and Ed Helms. I really liked the Duplass brothers' previous movie, Cyrus. But Jeff, Who Lives at Home just did not work for me.

I'm not exactly sure why Jeff, Who Lives at Home didn't work for me. Maybe I wasn't in the right mindset that particular night for a story involving kismet and the interconnectedness of things. Or maybe, the movie is just too slow. That's the danger of making a lazy stoner your main character; you end up devoting a good amount of time to that character being a lazy stoner.

Jason Segal and Ed Helms star in Two Men, One Bathtub

I thought the ending of Jeff, Who Lives at Home was terrific. It not only paid off on things set up earlier in the film, but it was also in my opinion, the best part of the movie. It was both touching and thrilling. However, I don't think I can recommend sitting through the rest of the movie in order to reach this high point.

Jeff, Who Lives at Home is currently streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime, and is available to purchase on Amazon.

Pre-Order Kotobukiya's NYCC Exclusive R2-Q5 ARTFX+ Statue

2013-09-16T19:24:00.001-04:00

Kotobukiya has opened up pre-orders for its NYCC 2013 exclusive R2-Q5 ARTFX+ statue. The statue is $29.99 and will ship out one week after NYCC. Shipping adds over $11 to your order. Unfortunately, they are not taking any pre-orders for pick-up at NYCC. If you're definitely attending NYCC this year, you may want to wait to buy it at the show and save yourself the cost of shipping.

But if you're a Star Wars fan who can't make it to NYCC this year and has a thing for dark side astromech droids, this is your perfect opportunity to secure a R2-Q5 for yourself!

The NYCC version of R2-Q5 comes with an exclusive coin.

You can pre-order R2-Q5 on Kotobukiya's website.

What's with companies and using R2-Q5 as their NYCC exclusive? The same droid was a Hallmark NYCC exclusive Christmas ornament last year.

NYCC Exclusive Agents of SHIELD Phil Coulson Badge and ID Pre-Order!

2013-09-16T14:16:00.000-04:00

One of the coolest looking exclusives at the upcoming 2013 New York Comic Con is eFX Inc's Agent Phil Coulson Badge and ID. Cast from the master molds used in ABC's Agents of SHIELD TV series, these prop replicas look like the same badges carried by SHIELD agents on the show. The badge and ID come in a genuine leather wallet embossed with the SHIELD logo.

What's more is the NYCC version includes a personalized ID card with YOUR photo and information! Going by the reaction I've seen so far on Twitter, I expect this to be one of the most sought after NYCC collectibles this year. The NYCC exclusive badge and personalized ID set is limited to 1500 pieces and costs $50.

Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday 9/17/13 at 9 AM Pacific (12 Noon Eastern), you'll be able to pre-order your badge directly from eFX for pick-up at NYCC. You'll even be able to upload a photo of yourself so that your badge and custom ID will be ready for you at NYCC, allowing you to skip the sure to be long line for this collectible. I wouldn't be surprised if eFX completely sells out from just the pre-order.

It's time to break out your black suit, white shirt and black tie!

Information on how to pre-order the badge tomorrow can be found on the eFX website.

Mud - Review

2013-09-13T14:21:00.000-04:00

5/5 - Like Stand By Me, but with more McConaughey

When you watch Stand By Me, do you think to yourself, "This movie is good, but it would be great if it had Matthew McConaughey in it." If you do, then Mud is the movie for you.

Okay, maybe I'm being too glib. Mud is neither a carbon copy nor a rip off of Stand By Me. But I am guessing that if like one one, you will also like the other. Tonally, they are very similar.

Of course McConaughey is shirtless in Mud.

McConaughey plays the titular character in Mud, but he's not the main character of the film. That would be Ellis, a young teen who, along with his best friend, Neckbone, encounters Mud living in the boat they want to salvage from up in a tree. I'd like to pause here and say that Neckbone is the coolest name I've heard for a supporting character this year. Who names a kid Neckbone? It's not his given name, that gets used a couple of time throughout the movie, so how on Earth does a kid pick up that nickname? I'm hoping for a Neckbone: Origins prequel in 2014.

Neckbone and Ellis

Mud is a gritty movie. Not over the top gritty like Sin City, but gritty in a these are real people with real problems kind of way. People who have fallen out love, people who have fallen on the wrong side of the law, or in Mud's case the wrong side of some very bad men; these are the people that inhabit the world of the film Mud. But like the character Mud, the the overall film Mud has a lot of heart.

Okay, Matt, we get it. You're ripped. Put a shirt on already.

One word of caution though, be careful what advice you take from Mud. As it turns out, a snake will cross a braided rope.

Mud is a serious contender for the best of 2013. Buy it now on Amazon.

This is the End - Review

2013-09-12T14:03:00.001-04:00

5/5 - Funniest movie of 2013

On the eve of This is the End's release, I still had no idea what the movie was about. The poster tells you nothing. I hadn't seen any trailers. I wrongly assumed it was a Hangover-like bachelor party movie. All I knew about it was that quite a few people whose opinion I like said it was hilarious. And really, that's all the information I needed.

I really liked that the actors in this film are all playing themselves. It helps that they're all real life friends who have worked together before, as they take a lot of comedy from their past experiences working together. Like when James Franco showed off his art to Seth Rogen.

I want similar paintings at my place.

The This is the End poster says "with Michael Cera and Emma Watson." Oh man, if these two have had funnier roles before, please point me in the direction those movies. Michael Cera was especially hilarious, playing the douchiest version of himself imaginable. There are more celebrity cameos that I'd hate to spoil here...they're just too damn funny.

George Michael is all growns up.

There are so many funny scenes in this movie. The rapture of James Franco might be my favorite. That, or how Michael Cera comes to his end.

As I was watching the movie, I found myself falling in the Friends/Sex and the City game of trying to match my friends up with the characters on screen. Who in your group would be the Danny in the post-apocalyptic world? After you figure that out, you might want to avoid that guy from here on out.

If you haven't seen This is the End yet, I highly recommend it. It's easily the funniest movie I've seen in the theater this year. It's probably too late to see it in any theater unless you have a third or fourth run theater near you, but it will be available on DVD and Blu-ray on 10/1 from places such as Amazon.

The Outsider Revealed! - Justice League #23 Review

2013-08-28T15:01:00.002-04:00

5/5 - Perfection from Johns, Reis & Prado

First off, I would like to welcome all the new readers who discovered our site from Bleeding Cool and New Earth 2 linking to our Who Is The Outsider? post.

I woke up early like a kid on Christmas morning and rushed to my iPad to buy Justice League #23. After putting out my Outsider/Alfred post, the suspense of waiting to have my suspicions confirmed was killing me. I had the feeling we'd be getting answers this issue and did we!

Ivan Reis, Joe Prado and Rod Reis knock the art in this issue out of the park. I think this is best I've ever seen out of this art team. Every panel on every page is expertly rendered. If there's any complaint about the art here, it's that not enough comics from Marvel and DC look this good.

I'd like to warn you all that I am going SPOILER CRAZY from here on out, so if you haven't read Justice League #23 yet, perhaps now would be a good time to close this window and come back when you have. Cool?

The Spoiler is giving you a warning!

Justice League #23 reveals The Outsider's identity as the Alfred Pennyworth of Earth-3. I had the feeling that we would get that reveal either in this issue or in Forever Evil #1. Needless to say, I was very excited to read confirmation for my theory on The Outsider's identity.

Alfred works for Owlman, the evil Batman counterpart from Earth-3. Some people have speculated that Earth-3 Owlman and the Owlman that appeared in Scott Snyder's Court of Owls are one and the same, but that does not appear to be the case. While they do have costumes very similar to each other, going by how he addresses Alfred, it sounds like the Earth-3 Owlman has been trapped on Earth-3 alongside the rest of the Crime Syndicate all this time.

Geoff Johns is a writer who loves the Silver Age. He's the man who made Hal Jordan and Barry Allen relevant again. Because of that, I am insanely excited to see his take on the Crime Syndicate of America. I've had a thing for the Crime Syndicate since I first encountered them the first time I read Crisis on Infinite Earths. I have always loved evil versions of heroes. It's a concept that doesn't get old to me. Grant Morrison perfected the Crime Syndicate in his Earth-2 graphic novel, and I'm looking forward to Geoff Johns taking them to the next level. The amount of thought that Johns has already put into these new versions of these characters is great. Power Ring being a coward is so clever, yet I'm surprised no one ever thought of that before. Superwoman's golden lasso being made out of barbed wire makes her appear like even more of a sadist that when Grant Morrison wrote her.

Power Ring is no Hal Jordan.

Has Cyborg ever been treated as brutally as he was in his takeover by The Grid? This panel makes Magneto ripping Wolverine's adamantium out look like a spa exfoliation treatment. I'm really hoping that Vic having his cyborg half ripped from him means we're going to get a slimmed down redesign of Cyborg in the near future.

My other favorite scene in the book is when Atomica reveals herself as the traitor. The way that Reis and Prado draw the expression on her face when she's revealing the truth to Vic is just classic.

Everything you need to know about the character is revealed right there in that panel. She's not the guilt-ridden wet blanket that she's been portraying herself as in the previous parts of Trinity War. She played both leagues. Somehow she even managed to hide it from J'onn. I really like that Johns hid her duplicity as The Outsider's inside woman in the league by having her cover being she was a secret agent spying on the Justice League for the Justice League of America. Looking back on it though, it makes so much sense. The Outsider bragged about having a mole in the Justice League of America and the Justice League. It should have been obvious that the mole would be the one person who has access to both leagues.

I wonder if the outing of Atomica means we'll see the return of Ray Palmer to the DCU. I certainly hope so.

It's funny, Justice League #23 had much bigger reveals than Marvel's Age of Ultron #10, but DC didn't feel the need to wrap Justice League #23 in a black polybag. The end of the Trinity War succeeded where Age of Ultron failed. Age of Ultron's lackluster tenth issue made me less excited for the Marvel events that immediately followed. But after reading Justice League #23, I am psyched for Forever Evil and Villains Month! Bring on the bad guys!

Who Is The Outsider?

2013-08-22T20:13:00.001-04:00

Since his first appearance leading The Secret Society of Super-Villains, fans have guessed at the identity of The Outsider. I have my own theory about The Outsider's true identity, which I will reveal now.

I believe that The Outsider is the Alfred Pennyworth from The Crime Syndicate of America's Earth-3.

Here are my reasons for believing this is so.

The original Silver Age Outsider was Alfred Pennyworth.

The character The Outsider goes back to the 1960s. In 1964's Detective Comics #328, Batman's butler Alfred is killed when a boulder crushes him. Shortly thereafter, a mysterious criminal mastermind named The Outsider begins working in Gotham. In Detective Comics #356, it is revealed that a mad scientist brought Alfred back to life using a machine that also made Alfred evil and gave me the worst case of eczema ever.

Side effects of regeneration machine include skin irritation and insanity.

At the end of the issue, Batman punches The Outsider onto the machine, activating it. This restores Alfred back to his usual happy, not-dead, not-evil self.

The New 52 Outsider looks like Alfred Pennyworth.

More than any other DC character, The Outsider looks like Alfred Pennyworth. Remove the color from the panel below and you'd be hard pressed to say if this was Alfred or The Outsider.

The Outsider knows where Batman lives.

Justice League of America #5 gives us many clues to the Outsider's identity, as you'll see in the panels below. After The Outsider kills Catwoman, he announces he's going to drop her body at Batman's doorstep. Signalman asks, "You have Batman's home address?" The Outsider responds, "Yes. Ha. I do."

The Outsider knows The Joker.

"If The Joker could see me now." It almost sounds like a throwaway line, so I wouldn't be surprised if most readers glossed over that panel as they read Justice League of America #5. But Geoff Johns is too good a writer to put that line in for no reason.

I think that line gives us a glimpse to the origin of both The Outsider's stark white skin and his tic where he says "Ha." in between lines of dialogue. Perhaps at some point on Earth 3, Alfred fell into a vat of the same acid that made The Joker.

The Outsider has a deep knowledge of all-things Batman.

He calls Catwoman Selina.

He has a map of the Batcave.

He knows everything there is to know about The Scarecrow.

The Outsider watched his world die.

This has been the clue most cited by people who think the New 52 Outsider and The Outsider from Flashpoint are one and the same. The Flashpoint universe in no more, perhaps The Outsider is the only survivor of it. But The Outsider from the Flashpoint universe looked nothing like Alfred. He was an Indian man named Michael Desai. Michael Desai and the current Outsider share little in common other than a love of well-tailored suits.

Michael Desai, The Outsider of Flashpoint

I think the world that the New 52 version of The Outsider watched die was not the world of Flashpoint, but rather the Earth that is home to the Crime Syndicate of America. In Earth 2 #1, it is revealed that Apokolips attacked Earth 2 and the main New 52 Earth at the same time. The main New 52 Earth's heroes fought off Darkseid and his hordes before they could do much damage. Earth 2 didn't get off as lucky, losing both Gotham, Metropolis and other cities, as well as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman before the might of Apokolips. There's a chance Earth 3 fared even worse.

On Earth 3, characters who are heroes on the main Earth are villains. The Justice League is the Crime Syndicate. Perhaps self-interest got in the way of the villains of Earth 3 being able to work with one another to fight back the hordes of Apokolips. I think this Outsider made his way through a boom tube from Earth 3 to the New 52 Earth, and has been plotting for a way to bring the Crime Syndicate of America over to the New 52 Earth since then. I strongly believe that Pandora's Box, the focus of the Trinity War crossover, will be the key to bringing the Crime Syndicate of America to the main Earth.

What if this scene that Madame Xanadu sees in her vision in Justice League #22 isn't a vision of the future, but a glimpse into Earth 3's past or present? Instead of Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman, what if that's Ultraman, Superwoman and Owlman?

The Crime Syndicate of America plays a huge role in Forever Evil.

Right after Trinity War concludes, the DC Universe will be thrust into Forever Evil. It is revealed in the promotional image below that the Crime Syndicate of America will be major players in this event. This makes me more firmly believe that the evil Alfred Pennyworth of Earth-3 is their herald on the main Earth, setting things up for the Crime Syndicate to take over. By settings things into motion for the Justice League to square off against the Justice League of America in Trinity War works in the Crime Syndicate's favor. Divide, conquer, and pick up the pieces.

"Forever Evil" is also the translation of the Latin phrase "Aeternus Malum" from the Secret Society's communicator coins, the face of which looks a lot like Death Storm from the Crime Syndicate of America.

With only one week to go before Trinity War concludes in Justice League #23 and two weeks before Forever Evil #1, I believe The Outsider true identity will be revealed very shortly, and that he will be revealed as the Alfred Pennyworth of Earth 3!

UPDATE! Two pages from the Justice League: Trinity War Director's Cut #1 give more credence to my theory that The Outsider is the Alfred from The Crime Syndicate's Earth!

Justice League: Trinity War Director's Cut #1 is a reprint of Justice League #22, but featuring Ivan Reis's artwork in penciled form. In the back of the issue is Geoff Johns's full script for Justice League #22.

During Madame Xanadu's horrific vision, Johns specifically calls for Reis to draw Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman in sillouette, and then refers to them as SUPERMAN-LIKE FIGURE, BATMAN-LIKE FIGURE and WONDER WOMAN-LIKE FIGURE. If these were the actual Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman, there would be no need for him to refer to them in that way.

But it's later in the script that he get the closest thing to definitive confirmation I feel like we're going to get until it's revealed in-story. Geoff Johns refers to The Outsider as Leader/Alfred. That's right. It's right there in the script. The leader of the Secret Society is Alfred.

I'm surprised DC would let that LEADER/ALFRED line go to print. I can only speculate that the inclusion of this was an oversight by the team who put this script book together, as it is a HUGE reveal!

GI Joe: Retaliation - Review

2013-08-21T18:13:00.000-04:00

5/5 - COBRAAAAAAAAAAAA!

When I first saw the trailer for GI Joe: Retaliation, with its ninjas swinging from mountaintops, I thought "Man, this looks awesome," immediately followed by "Man, I bet this is going to suck." It's a lesson that has been beaten into me by the previous GI Joe movie, the Transformers franchise. There are enough cool looking action scenes to cobble together a trailer that makes me want to see what ends up being a tremendously awful movie.

Despite feeling that I really should know better, I still wanted to see GI Joe: Retaliation. I missed it in the theater, but I caught it on Blu-ray recently.

I wish I saw it in the theater. It's awesome. If you were a fan of the GI Joe cartoon and comic from the 1980s, you will love this movie. It is so evocative of the cartoon that I half-expected to hear Cold Slither on the movie's soundtrack.

Dear Michael Bay: GI Joe: Retaliation is how you make a movie based on a 1980s franchise and not be accused of ruining people's childhoods.

The movie was awesome from the moment I popped the disc in. When it loads, you choose your side, GI Joe or Cobra. Depending on which side you choose, you'll see different clips and graphics on the menu screens. I thought it was a cool touch. Also, Cobraaaaaaaaaa!

In the behind the scenes special features included on the Blu-ray, it's made clear why this GI Joe movie is so much better than the previous one. The main reason is director Jon Chu. He's such a fan of the 1980s franchise and it comes through in the film. He pays a lot of fan service, but it's not hollow. He's putting this stuff in there because he's a fan himself. I'm really hoping Chu sticks around for the next movie. Also, the producers wanted to ground it more in reality. Gone are the crazy super soldier suits and sci-fi vehicles. There's still some cool tech in this movie, like Roadblock's click-in, click-out arsenal, but overall, the weapons and vehicles in this movie seem much more grounded in real world technology.

As a fan of the TV show Friday Night Lights, I was super-excited when I realized that Lady Jaye was played by Adrianne Palicki, aka Tyra Collette. Seeing her kick ass in GI Joe: Retaliation made me wish that her Wonder Woman pilot had been picked up.

Hey! Wasn't Scarlet the red head?

After realizing that Tyra was Lady Jaye, it struck me that quite a few notable Dillon graduates have gone on to the military, as both Riggins and Landry were in Battleship.

If there's any disappointment to be had with GI Joe: Retaliation, it's the casting of Rza as The Blind Master. I haven't seen acting this wooden since Hayden Christensen in Star Wars: Episode II. His line delivery was beyond comical. He sounds like a guy imitating a Kung Fu movie. On the one hand, in the behind the scenes special features, he clearly comes across as a true fan of the Joes, and must have been crazy excited to be part of this movie. He even notes that The Blind Master has only appeared in the comics, never on the cartoon, so he was the first to give voice to him. But that voice is terrible! It sounds like a 10-year old voicing Doctor Doom. I couldn't help but laugh every time he was saying his lines. Seriously, it was ridiculous.

The coolest to come out of Rza's casting as The Blind Master?

Rza action figure!

DO NOT PASS JINX IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS!

Remember the original Jinx action figure that had red nail polish so you knew she was a girl ninja?

When GI Joe: Retaliation was delayed, I heard it was because of Channing Tatum being a much bigger star now than he was when the first movie was released. The producers realized that Tatum was arguably now the biggest star in the movie, and was being killed off very early on. The delay, as I heard, came from them rewriting, shooting new scenes and editing the movie so that Tatum lived. But then when I watched the movie, fully expecting Tatum's Duke to survive, he totally bit it. So what's up? Anyone know the real reason the movie was delayed from the theater for so long?

Who ordered the stripping soldiers? Because here they are!

I was kind of bummed when Cobra Commander kicked Destro out of the band. Not cool CC.

When Roadblock and Firefly faced off against each other, I thought, "Wait, isn't Roadblock supposed to be the one with the Cajun accent?" And then I thought, "Wait, what exactly is Firefly's accent? Is that southern? Australian? South Australian?" I liked that in a special feature on the Blu-Ray, they addressed the mystery of Firefly's odd accent.

If you were a fan of the GI Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon from the 1980s and like your action movies to be fun, I think you'll enjoy GI Joe: Retaliation.

Yo Joe!

Amazon.com Widgets

Keep Calm and Carry On

2013-08-08T09:31:00.002-04:00

NYCC 2013 tickets go on sale today at the Midtown Comics downtown location at 12 noon. Spurred on by the quick sell-out on New York Comic Con's website and the high price tickets are commanding on eBay, people started camping out for tickets yesterday evening, lest they miss out. Depending on which comment you believe on the Midtown Comics Facebook page, there are 50-200 people camping out for tickets in the alleyway next to the store. This alleyway greatly stinks of the refuse of the nearby fast food joints.

Fittingly, the first person in line was dressed like sewer-dweller Casey Jones.

Did I mention it rained last night?

This is foolishness. But this is what happens when people panic.

There is no need to panic. Keep calm and carry on.

Midtown Comics announced on its Facebook page that it would have plenty of New York Comic Con tickets, and that there was no need to camp out. Also, starting Friday, Midtown Comics will be just one of many stores that will be selling NYCC tickets. The full list can be found here. The downtown store, through a special promotion with NYCC is selling them one day early.

One interesting note about the retailer list: Midtown Comics is the only store where you can buy a 4-Day pass, anywhere. If you are interested in a 4-Day pass, I recommend hitting up a Midtown Comics location early. But by early, I mean sometime today or tomorrow. And if you're camping out for a 3-Day pass, why? Seriously, why? Why not just stroll into one of the many stores selling 3-Day passes Monday to pick one up instead? Sleep in your beds comics fans, not in wet, smelly alleyways.

Shag - Review

2013-08-07T14:16:00.003-04:00

2/5 - The horniest bunch of white folks you will ever see

A recent vacation with a group of friends in the Outer Banks led to me watching Shag. They love the movie and have watched it many times, usually when on similar beach vacations to this one.

I had never heard of the movie. Have you? If you're not in this group of girls who made a deal with me that if I watched Shag, they would watch The Princess Bride, I'm guessing the answer is no. Also, what's up with people not having seen The Princess Bride?

Shag is neither the story of Scooby Doo's partner in mystery solving, nor is about Mr. Boombastic. Rather, it's about a group of girls in the 1960s who head away for a wild beach weekend before one of them gets married.

Mr. Lover Lover is nowhere to be found in Shag.

From the onset, it seemed obvious that Shag owes its existence to the success of Dirty Dancing. Shag was released just two years after Dirty Dancing. It's set in the 60s. A shy girl discovers joy and love through dance. There are elaborate dance numbers. Sure, it doesn't take place at a Catskills country club, but I'm guessing that Dirty Dancing's runaway success led to Shag getting the green light.

There are four girls in the Shag crew. The main girl is Carson, but my favorite of the four is Pudge, her "fat" friend. As one of the girls watching the movie with me pointed out, "The only thing pudgy about her is her tits!" That's not why she's my favorite. She's the underdog of the crew. Carson has the fiance at home and the new guy pining after her. Melaina, played by Bridget Fonda, has the "looks" and the hope of being a Hollywood star. I put looks in quotes for a reason. Melaina is supposed to be the hot one, but Pudge and Carson are easily cuter (and saner) than she is. Luanne rounds out the crew. There's not much to say about Luanne, because she's the classic stick in the mud. Every time she was giving someone a lecture, all I could think was "Can we get back to Pudge, please?" Pudge rules.

FACT: Ivan Rodriguez loves Shag.

That's why he insists on being called Pudge, the best character in Shag.

Shag is one of those two-star movies that is especially fun to watch in a large group. People heckled the movie with jokes (myself included), and it was great, because I didn't have to worry about missing anything, because there isn't much there. Please don't take this as me not enjoying Shag though. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it, but more for my friends' on-the-spot live Rifftraxing of the movie than for what was on the screen. That said, "Y'all is the horniest bunch of white folks I ever seen." may be my new favorite line of dialogue in all of cinema and I would definitely watch this movie again with the same group of friends.

As far as I know, my friends have yet to watch The Princess Bride. Maybe next year.

CONTEST! WIN Zombie Massacre on DVD!

2013-08-06T15:06:00.001-04:00

Exciting news! Tuesday Night Movies is now on Twitter!

To celebrate, we've partnered up with eOne to give away three DVDs of their new movie, Zombie Massacre!

There will be three winners! Winners will be announced on Tuesday night, August 20th. And if you can't wait to win, you can buy Zombie Massacre right now on Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00D3XMNUQ.

Entering is easy and there are multiple ways to enter. Simply use the RaffleCopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spike Lee's Kickstarter

2013-07-31T14:39:00.000-04:00

Filmmaker Spike Lee is the latest celebrity to turn to Kickstarter to fund his new project, a currently untitled movie going by the working title of The Newest Hottest Spike Lee Joint for the purposes of the Kickstarter.

What's really cool about the campaign is Spike's level of sharing with his donors. There have been 14 updates in the 10 days the campaign has been active. Some are videos of actors showing support. But he's also posting some very cool stuff there too, like his Essential List of Films for Filmmakers.

I contributed a ten spot to the campaign. This nets me an autographed Malcolm X Production Crew Patch if the Kickstarter gets funded. Spike is currently at $478,000 towards his goal of $1,250,000

Mine!

Spike has opened the vault when it comes to donor prizes. Besides the afformentioned Malcolm X patch, there's a signed 40 Acres and a Mule patch (for half the price of the Malcolm X patch!), signed movie posters, signed postcards from Spike Lee's movies and more. It was interesting to see the posters priced at different price levels. It makes sense; the demand for Inside Man is probably much higher than the demand for Red Hook Summer.

I'm tempted to contribute on a second Kickstarter

account just to get this signed 40 Acres patch.

If there was an award for Best Kickstarter Copy, it would definitely go to Spike's plea for $10,000 pledges, which reads:

This Award Is For All Playa-Playas. For 10 Grand I'm Taking You to Dinner, Then You Will Have The Honor And Privilege To Sit Next To Me (IN MY WIFE'S TONYA'S SEAT) COURTSIDE - FRONT ROW IN THE BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE AT THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ARENA - MADISON SQUARE GARDEN TO SEE OUR BELOVED NEW YORK KNICKERBOCKERS, ORANGE AND BLUE SKIES. IF YOU DON'T KNOW THIS IS ONE OF THE TRUE GREAT SPORTING EVENTS TODAY. YOU WILL REMEMBER THIS EXPERIENCE AS LONG AS YOU LIVE. THIS IS A VERY LIMITED ITEM. YOU SLOW - YOU BLOW. THIS IS BIG, BIG TIME. PS. KNICKS WILL BE GREAT THIS COMING NEW SEASON. ------------------------------------------------- So There You Have It. The Awards Are Affordable To One And All We Need Everyone To Help This Cause. Many Thanks In Advance. I Can't Do This Without You. This Will Truly Be A Community Generated Spike Lee Joint. YA-DIG? SHO-NUFF"

Seriously, after reading that copy, I wish Spike Lee wrote the copy for every Kickstarter.

Oh, and 25 people have already made the $10,000 contribution.

Are you contributing to Spike Lee's Kickstarter? If so, what did you get?

UPDATE: I went in for the signed 40 Acres patch.

NYCC 2013 Retailer Tickets Go On Sale 8/12/13 (UPDATED!)

2013-07-31T12:58:00.002-04:00

Buried at the bottom of an email New York Comic Con sent out today announcing that Batman artist Greg Capullo will be attending NYCC this year was an announcement that will have far more immediate impact for people have been unable to score their weekend pass to New York Comic Con 2013. Here is the image from the email.

The Retailer Ticket page on NYCC's website doesn't list any stores as of this writing. We do know that Midtown Comics will be selling them at all three of their locations. Midtown Comics may be the only comic book store in New York City itself where you'll be able to buy tickets. Midtown has already announced that all of their NYCC ticket sales will take place in person; there won't be any mail order available for them.

Retailers will be selling 4-Day, 3-Day and single day passes to New York Comic Con, so if you missed out on a 3 or 4-Day pass, this is your chance. Don't miss out.

UPDATE! According to the Midtown Comics Twitter and Facebook pages, Midtown Comics will have NYCC tickets for sale starting on 8/8/13 at 12 noon.