It’s happened to all of us. You hear that a sequel to one of your favorite movies is in the works. The days and months creep by as the anticipation builds in your mind. You talk to everyone you know about how much the sequel is going to “rock,” you scour the internet for every bit of spoiler-free information you [...]

The Artist, directed by Michel Hazanavicius, is a film about films, about the people in them, the people making them, and the people who watch them. It is a film about the ever-changing and developing world of cinema, a subject that resonates even now. In our era, we grapple with CGI and 3D; in the era of The Artist, one confronts the [...]

More and more things are coming out this week for you to spend your hard-earned cash on. Spend it wisely…or not. DVD/Blu-ray New Releases for January 31st, 2012 Drive. Starring Ryan Gosling and Bryan Cranston. Trailer In Time. Starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried. Trailer The Thing (2011). Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton. Trailer The Double. Starring Richard Gere and Topher [...]

Should we attack Iran to preempt their achieving nuclear weapons capabilities? Some argue it is imperative for our security, for Israel’s security, for the security of the oil supply. Others, though, warn not to make the same mistake we made in deposing Saddam Hussein. It was easy to take out the leader, but not wanting another failed state out there, [...]

Ohyacon came and went, and I was stuck at work. Although I missed a great opportunity to spend way too much money and rub elbows (and other miscellaneous body parts) with people that even I would call way too nerdy, I still got to read comics. Here are my scores. Green Lantern- The New Guardians 5/5 Justice League – 5/5 [...]

Person A: “Mega-Riboxord-san is the best, his special attack is un-blockable!” Person B: “No my favorite character is Tim, he has the best combos. I will pwn¹ you!” [steps on soapbox] This fictional dialogue demonstrates the difference of opinion I’ve seen when it comes to fighting games, even among the fighting fans themselves. Sometimes when I just sit in a room [...]

It’s been a little less than two weeks since I accepted this fool’s bet. I find it repugnant that it’s only been 13 days. Until I counted for this article I had it in my head that this had been going on for months. How did my life become a recurring nightmare of me saying “challenge accepted” in slow motion? [...]

Recently, my doting husband purchased a collection of Sega Genesis games for Xbox 360. Sonic the Hedgehog (my nostalgic favorite) is on the cover, front and center. Behind him is a curved wall of video monitors with screen shots of classics from days gone by. Long gone by. Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection is pretty much everything I’d hoped it would [...]

I used to be a huge Tool fan. Of course, it’s been 5 years since Tool’s last album, so most of their fans have had trouble not moving on. That may or may not be true. I really can’t speak for all Tool fans. I, however, have let my mind wander quite a  bit since 10,000 Days. With plenty of [...]

Like most young people, as an eager girl at St. Martin of Tours Parish School in Philadelphia, I learned a lot about dead people. Saints, scientists, presidents, dictators, the Holy Family. I pondered their accomplishments, memorized their cardboard faces taped on Catholic chalkboards, and repeated my prayers to the sky in their honor. I even had favorites. One was Alexander [...]

First of all, let me thank all the brilliant responses to my first article on this subject. Who knew out-sourcing my nursery could be so much fun? There were a lot of great ideas that came pouring in, but I’m narrowing the field (Get that allusion to the title? I’m crafty LIKE A FOX!) to steampunk. LET THE CHEERING COMMENCE! [...]

We’ve all heard the stories. A guy dies after spending 12 hours a day playing Call of Duty. Pulmonary Embolism. Or how about the 13-year-old kid who jumped off a building after writing a suicide note from the POV of his WoW character? The media loves these kinds of stories. You see, video games are currently going through something that [...]

I live in the great state of Ohio where I once saw our four seasons described as almost winter, winter, still winter, and road construction. It just so happened this last weekend that a hellish torrent of freezing rain fell upon my part of the U.S. For those unfamiliar with freezing rain, it’s when rain falls from the sky and [...]

So, apparently my last deathmatch was a little slipshod. I just went in there like a European colonist and divided comics up into two groups without regard to the delicate differences found across genres. I never looked closely enough to see if there were any warring factions that found themselves sharing territory. (Please see paragraph 3 on the last article, [...]

Beware: There are Spoilers! Season Two, Episode Two started off with a woman protecting her man. Well, sort of. Heggemann (Terry Kinney), stands ready to put a bullet into the injured werewolf, Josh (Sam Huntington), as he lies helpless, mid-transformation. When out of nowhere, another werewolf attacks and kills him. As soon as Josh notices the horrendous stretch marks on [...]

Newt Gingrich took a late lead and achieved a solid victory in the South Carolina primary.  Mitt Romney was left in second place 13 points behind Gingrich and only 10% ahead of Rick Santorum.  If you are confused, I completely understand.  It is an odd place to be for the perceived front runner.  Gingrich’s campaign started late, lost its entire senior staff [...]

We finish out the Generation One timeline with a  series titled Beast Wars. A TV show that has a group of animals fighting each other, one would think that they were watching Jerry Springer or Maury or National Geographic. The only difference is that these animals transform! The Maximals, led by Optimus Primal, chase the Predacons, led by Megatron through [...]

Roman Polanski’s Carnage, based on the play “Le Dieu du carnage” by Yasmina Reza, explores the conflict between the social expectation of “adult behavior” and the psychological desire to deviate from those expectations. Judging by its title, one can reasonably guess which side of the conflict prevails. The premise of Carnage is a simple one: Two sets of parents meet to [...]

Got some early tax money coming in? Build up your collections! DVD/Blu-ray New Releases for January 24th, 2012 Real Steel. [DVD/Blu-ray] (Editor’s Choice – tie) Starring Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, and Kevin Durand. Trailer 50/50. [DVD/Blu-ray] (Editor’s Choice – tie) Starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Seth Rogen. Trailer Paranormal Activity 3. [DVD/Blu-ray] Starring Katie Featherston. Trailer Whistleblower. [DVD/Blu-ray] Starring Rachel Weisz and David Strathairn. Trailer Godzilla – Criterion [...]

This week, I’m going to finish up my look at the new continuity of DC.  But before all that, here are my weekly numbers: Batman – 5/5 (and one of the most interesting reads in awhile) Green Lantern Corps- 5/5 Nightwing – 4/5 Red Hood and the Outlaws 4/5 Wonder Woman 4/5 Now, let’s get back to the continuity stuff. We’ll [...]