We have been furiously thrifting, crafting, sewing, shopping and packing up our cosplays in preparation for the biggest geek event in the Southeast! We will be blogging, interviewing and Instagram-ing our way through DCon this year, so be on the lookout for the inside scoop all weekend long - and special recaps next week! |
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****See this week's major new movies, books and games after the jump!****
This week we 'mourn' the passing of the third season of The Legend of Korra, which had a pretty spectacular 2-part finale on Friday. And, before we get started, let me just let everyone know there will be a Season 4 of Korra.
The characters had a lot of growing up to do - mastering their emotions, relationships, families and bending - but Book 3: Change is the culmination of all that growth. Now a fully-realized Avatar, Korra and friends leave Republic City and return to familiar places, like Ba Sing Se, in search of newly emerged airbenders - and meet familiar old friends, like FIRE LORD ZUKO! Also, we learn a lot about Toph's daughters and see the glorious metal-bending city she founded - before she disappeared (is Toph still alive out there somewhere?!) Most importantly, this season brings us the biggest bad guys since Fire Lord Ozai, himself. The Red Lotus super villians, Za'heer (new airbending anarchist zealot mastermind), P'Li (the third-eye blasting combustion master), Ming-Hua (the waterbender who makes up for being armless with nasty water whips and tentacles) and Ghazan (the lava bender). This fearsome foursome of adult master benders are fanatics who were imprisoned by the White Lotus for trying to kill Korra when she was a baby. Freshly escaped years later, and their plan to end the Avatar line is as strong as ever.
by Jen How do I love thee, Simon Pegg? Let me count the ways!
Recent news has them teaming back up with Edgar Wright for a new trilogy. YEAH! Thirdly, there is Twitter. I don’t follow many people on Twitter (125 characters is just not my thing), but Simon Pegg makes it worth my while. How often do you see celebs post things like, “Imagine if you got to Hogwarts but then the sorting hat said you were divergent!”? If you follow just one person on Twitter, let that person be Simon Pegg. Trust me.
****See this week's major new movies, books and games after the jump!****
Here are a few of our favorite geeky celebs doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. But remember folks, you don't need to dunk yourself in icy water to donate to a good cause....
To the younger audiences, Maggie Smith is most recognized as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies. The no-nonsense Professor is one of the most beloved characters of the series. Who else shed a tear of joy when she jumped in and faced Snape, one-on-one, and sent that whippersnapper flying through the window? No doubt, Maggie Smith’s most famous characters are strong women, and so is the actress herself. Did you know that during the filming of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, she was undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer? At the time, she questioned whether she would be able to go back to the theater, and expressed how difficult making further movies would be for her. Don’t mess with the Countess. Her zingers are so devilish that someone has devoted a Facebook page to them. “It’s true, I don’t tolerate fools. But then, they don’t tolerate me, so I am spiky. Maybe that’s why I’m quite good at playing spiky elderly ladies.” We heart Maggie Smith!
Sources: IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001749/ The Telegraph, Oct 5 2009: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/harry-potter/6260564/Dame-Maggie-Smith-reveals-Harry-Potter-breast-cancer-treatment-struggle.html By Jen When my sister lived in Europe in the 1980s, no one believed her when she said Robin Williams got his start playing a goofy alien on a television sitcom. Apparently the show that introduced so many of us to Williams’ comedic genius didn’t get much airplay on the Continent - but from 1978 to 1982, it brightened the television screens of countless American homes and lives.
As I grew and matured, I learned to appreciate the many facets of Williams’ talent – he wasn’t just funny, though the 1978 HBO special Off the Wall will always be one of my all-time favorite stand-up performances. Dead Poets Society, which came out in 1989, was enthralling to me because its teen star (Robert Sean Leonard) was the doppelganger of the love of my teenage life - but even my pheromone-fogged brain could recognize that the true centerpiece of the film was Williams’ performance as John Keating. And that was just one of many stunning dramatic performances - too many to list here - though I would want to be sure that Awakenings, Good Will Hunting, What Dreams May Come, and Good Morning Vietnam, were included the list - not to mention darker flicks like One Hour Photo and Insomnia.
A light was extinguished this week, one that touched countless lives in countless different ways. There has been talk in my social circle of having a Robin Williams movie marathon this weekend in remembrance of this man, who was one of a kind - but honestly, we’d need more than a weekend to even begin to do justice to his body of work. For me, getting to know and appreciate Robin Williams has taken the better part of my lifetime, and I will never forget him - and never stop letting his work move me to laughter, or tears, or both.
by Lauren Did the Star Wars prequels make you loose your faith in humanity? Do you now say the name of George Lucas like Jerry Seinfeld says "Newman," or Kirk says "Khan" - when you used to say it with reverence? Are you looking for a reason to be excited by Star Wars again? Well, have I got a cure for you! Netflix has all of the seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars for your streaming pleasure - including the final season that was made but never aired by the Cartoon Network when rival Disney bought the rights. This show is a balm for your force-weary souls. Taking place between the second and third prequels, the story brings you closer to the inner workings of the Jedi, the Senate and the clone troopers. It gives you the emotional and dramatic arc in the story that makes the fall of the Jedi, the Rise of the emperor and the turning of Anakin to the dark side actually meaningful, equally sad and inspiring, and most importantly purposeful. In the films 'things happen' then we should 'care it all goes wrong.' This animated series is WHY you should care. Love these characters and hate these characters as you did in the original trilogy - maybe even a little more. A storm trooper isn't a mindless drone just for blaster fodder. Rex, Cody, Fives, Heavy, Hardcase, 99 - they are all real characters you care about and root for. What happens to them and the other troopers is the tragedy you see in the eyes of Old Ben Kenobi when he talks of the Clone Wars in A New Hope. Its not in the movies - it is this show. Seriously, watch it you guys. If you've seen it, watch it again. It holds up to repeat views. We don't know what the future holds for the new Disney animated series, Star Wars Rebels or the new movies, but I know for sure that the true fans have a gift for their long-time loyalty in this series. Oh, and Ahsoka Tano kicks ass. And Ventress is everything. And you don't want to punch Anakin in the face. And Han shot first... oops, wrong 'episode'...
****See this week's major new movies, books and games after the jump!****
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