Hartford Comic Con Happens this Weekend

 

Hartford_Logo04The XL Center will be the destination for cosplay, comic books, and geeks galore when Hartford Comic Con kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday.

If you are  a fan of the television show, Spartacus, then you shouldn’t miss this show since Katrina Law (Arrow), Liam McIntyre, Anna Hutchison (The Cabin in the Woods), Ellen Hollman, and Stephen Dunlevy will be on-hand signing autographs.

Other celebrities include Kyla Kenedy (The Walking Dead), Michael Massee (The Amazing Spider-man), Brando Eaton (CSI, Dexter) and Larry Thomas, the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld, will also be in attendance. You can find out about the celebrities here.

There will also be artists and vendors at the convention as well. Find out about the artists here and the vendors here.

The event schedule is here.

There are also a number of panels throughout the weekend. You can find the schedule here.

Harford Comic Con is organized by Epic Conventions, which is a privately owned company in Boca Raton, Florida. According to the convention’s website, Epic Conventions is dedicated to following the mold of the traditional comic con – while providing the perfect mix and experience of current pop culture events

The hours of the convention are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Prices are $25 for a day-pass or $45 for a weekend one.

Movie Review: ‘Rubber’

 

By Stacey Longo

Rubber

Terror unfolds as Rubber (2010) rolls across the land. This movie about a killer tire (yes, you read that right) is silly, nonsensical, slow at points and a little ridiculous, but definitely worth 85 minutes of your life.

Robert, a Goodyear tire abandoned in the desert, discovers he has telepathic powers, which he uses to destroy all who cross his path. (Kudos to the director of this movie, Quentin Dupieux, for actually pulling off showing a tire discovering his psychic abilities, which was no easy feat.) The tire soon runs across a beautiful woman with a sexy accent, and becomes obsessed with her. As the tire’s adventure unfolds, the audience gets a play-by-play of the action by a group of bystanders who are also watching the tire’s antics. Of note in this cast is Wings Hauser, as a wheelchair-bound veteran who stoically sticks through the tire’s trail of terror to the bitter end.

Rubber drags at times, particularly as the tire slowly (oh-so-slowly) discovers he can move on his own and blow up people’s heads telepathically. Stick with it, though, for the movie is aware of its own preposterous premise, and is full of remarks about how silly the whole idea of a killer tire really is. Lieutenant Chad, portrayed by Stephen Spinella (Milk, 2008) sets the movie’s pointless plot up at the very beginning: “In Oliver Stone’s JFK, why is the President suddenly assassinated by some stranger? No reason.” Indeed, there seems to be no reason for the tire’s aimless murder spree, but since the viewer is made aware of this from the start, what follows is a funny little film that can be enjoyed without having to think too hard.

There are other, funnier B-horror flicks out there with better plots, but this one has a cult following for a reason. Absurd, outrageous, and sometimes silly, Rubber will ensure that you never look at a blown-out tire on the side of the road quite in the same way again.

Fans have a Chance to be in ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’

 

J.J. Abrams Announces “Force for Change” Campaign to Benefit

UNICEF’s Innovation Labs and Programs

Beginning Today, Visit Omaze.com/StarWars to Enter for a Chance to Win

Today in a special video message from the set of Star Wars: Episode VII, director J.J. Abrams announced the creation of Star Wars: Force for Change, a brand new Star Wars initiative from Disney and Lucasfilm in collaboration with Bad Robot dedicated to finding creative solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems. The first Star Wars: Force for Change campaign will raise funds and awareness for the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) Innovation Labs and its innovative programs that are benefitting the world’s most vulnerable children.

Disney has committed US $1 million to support the launch of Star Wars: Force for Change. Fans can now contribute directly at Omaze.com/StarWars for a chance to appear in Star Wars: Episode VII. For each $10 contribution made through the Omaze fundraising platform, eligible participants will be automatically entered for a chance to win this once-in-a-lifetime experience. The campaign runs from 12:01am PST on May 21stth until 11:59pm PST July 18th.

The Star Wars: Force for Change Grand Prize includes:

  • Airfare and accommodations to London for one winner and a guest
  • Behind-the-scenes access on the closed set of Star Wars: Episode VII as VIP guests of J.J. Abrams
  • Winner will have the opportunity to meet members of the cast
  • Winner and their guest will then be transformed by makeup and costume teams into a Star Wars character and filmed for a scene in Star Wars: Episode VII

“The Star Wars fans are some of the most passionate and committed folks around the globe,” says director J.J. Abrams. “We’re thrilled to offer a chance to come behind the scenes as our VIP guests and be in Star Wars: Episode VII. We’re even more excited that by participating in this campaign, Star Wars fans will be helping children around the world through our collaboration with UNICEF Innovation Labs and projects.”

Star Wars continues to inspire generations of dreamers and doers to use their creativity to accomplish great things. Star Wars and Lucasfilm were built on the belief that in uniting creativity with innovation, you can make the impossible possible.

“The Star Wars films were made through George Lucas’s adventurous combination of technology and creativity,” says Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm. “We wanted to honor and carry on that positive spirit as we start production on Episode VII and use Star Wars to make a difference in the world. Star Wars: Force for Change will help us do that, letting us give back to the fans who keep Star Wars alive, and raising much-needed funds for programs like UNICEF’s Innovation Labs.”

By pledging support for Star Wars: Force for Change, fans are helping UNICEF create a brighter tomorrow for kids and families around the world. Through its global network of Innovation Labs, UNICEF helps create sustainable solutions to major issues facing children in the areas of nutrition, water, health, and education. The Star Wars: Force for Change campaign will help fund innovative, life-changing projects in communities around the globe.

“UNICEF works in over 190 countries and territories  to help the world’s most vulnerable children and young people identify solutions and create change,” says Christopher Fabian, UNICEF Senior Advisor on Innovation and co-Lead of the Innovation Unit. “We work together with the greatest technologists and designers of our time to create open-source solutions that help millions of people. The support from Star Wars: Force for Change will help to bind these innovators together on a mission to solve the world’s most pressing problems, and create a better future.”

Visit StarWars.com/ForceForChange to learn more about this new charitable initiative and the work of UNICEF’s Innovation Labs and programs, and be sure to enter through contribution or free entry for your chance to win at Omaze.com/StarWars.

May the Force be with you!

About UNICEF

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.  For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org.  Follow us on Twitter@unicef and FacebookUNICEF.

Book Review: ‘Accidents of Marriage,’ the newest offering from Randy Susan Meyers

 

By Stacey Harris

ACCIDENTS-OF-MARRIAGE-COVER-feb-27-2014

Randy Susan Meyers’ latest riveting offering, Accidents of Marriage, takes the reader through the strained workings of an unhappy marriage to the shattered remains after this marriage implodes. Ben and Maddy are struggling to raise three children and keep their relationship balanced, while the dark cloud of Ben’s temper always looms overhead. It’s Ben’s hotheadedness that results in a terrible accident which lands Maddy in the hospital with a traumatic brain injury.

Seamlessly told from the perspectives of Ben, Maddy, and Emma, their 14-year-old daughter, Meyers takes us through the cycle of Maddy’s transformation from victim to survivor, and the impact her accident has on the family dynamic. Blame is thrown like paint across a landscape, and nobody escapes the feelings of guilt, shame, and hopelessness that accompany it. The reader will find Maddy both likeable and oblivious (after all, she works with abused women, yet can’t seem to recognize the signs in her own marriage). Emma comes across as a true teenager, at times entitled and shallow, but as her role within the family changes after her mother’s accident, alarmingly burdened with the responsibility of keeping things running smoothly. She’s an empathetic character with a teenage attitude: the reader feels pity for her, but sometimes, her selfishness is aggravating. Kudos to Meyers for capturing the essence of the average American teenage girl.

Most surprising is Ben, who begins in this novel as a truly unlikeable and selfish man. His struggle throughout the book to do right by his family and better himself improves his character immensely, to the point where the reader almost feels sorry for him. Almost. Let us not forget he is the one who put Maddy in the hospital to begin with, and while the reader can draw a conclusion as to whether Maddy should forgive him, it is ultimately Maddy’s decision, after all.

Accidents of Marriage is an intriguing read that will leave the reader questioning what they themselves might do in such a complex and intense situation. This novel’s captivating narrative of family transformation makes Ben, Maddy, and Emma impossible to forget.

The book will be released on September 2. You can preorder through Amazon by clicking here.

Pictures from the Jaycees Fourth Annual Spring Fair

The bookstore, Books & Boos was involved with the Jaycees Fourth Annual Spring Fair on Sunday, May 18. Normally, this event is held on a Saturday, but the organizers decided to move it to the rain date this year since the weather wasn’t looking too good for May 17. Click here for the previous article about this event. Click here for pictures from the 2012 Spring Fair when I, Jason Harris of Jason Harris Promotions, organized a vendor spot for the New England Horror Writers organization (NEHW).

Click here to see pictures on the Books & Boos’ website from this event.

Author Dale T. Phillips also posted pictures from the event on his website. You can find them here.

Meet Three Authors at the Foxboro Jaycees Fourth Annual Spring Fair this Sunday

 

There will be three authors at the Books & Boos’ tables during the Foxboro Jaycees Fourth Annual Spring Fair happening this Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Foxboro, MA.

The three authors people can meet are Stacey Longo, Dale T. Phillips, and Vlad Vaslyn. Fair attendees will be able to purchase these author’s books and get them signed as well. Longo will have her short story collection, Secret Things, Phillips will have his horror thriller, Shadow of the Wendigo, and Vaslyn will have his science fiction thrill, The Button.

Along with the authors, there will be crafters, artists, and vendors at the Spring Fair.

The fair was originally scheduled for Saturday, but the prospect of rainy weather caused the organizers to hold the fair on its rain date. The fair is being held on the Foxboro Common in Foxboro, MA.

Live Q and A with the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

 

GOTG_Payoff_1-Sht_v4b_LgThe cast of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will be conducting a live Q & A on Monday, May 19 at 10 a.m. (PT) on Facebook. Cast members involved in this event are Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/ Star-Lord), Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer), Karen Gillan (Nebula) and director James Gunn (Super, Slither).

Along with the Q&A happening on May 19, the world premiere f the movie’s trailer will also take place. Click here for the Facebook link to the Q&A and trailer.

STORY SYNOPSIS:

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

Godzilla is Back on the Big Screen and Bigger than Ever

 

By Jason Harrisgodzilla-attacks-golden-gate

During the opening credits of Godzilla, the audience learns that the government never “tested” atomic bombs, as was widely believed. The sole reason why atomic bombs were detonated during that time period was to try and destroy the King of the Monsters. After the opening credits, the audience learns that it’s 1999 and there is a dig going on in the Philippines where something big is discovered. Is it Godzilla? Well, there is a huge skeleton plus something is dormant. There is also something that was awakened and got away.

The movie then goes from the Philippines to Japan where we are introduced to the Brody family: Joe (Bryan Cranston), Sandra (Juliette Binoche), and Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). It’s Joe’s birthday, but he’s so busy with his job that he’s up earlier than normal, which causes Ford not to be able to hang his dad’s birthday banner that he has made. Joe is working at a nuclear power plant that is being affected by tremors. And the audience already knows, these are not naturally occurring tremors.

Taylor-Johnson, the secondary star of the movie after Godzilla, wasn’t recognizable with his shaved head. I didn’t realize I had seen him in such movies as Kick-Ass, Savages, and one of the after-credit scenes in Captain America 2: Winter Soldier, portraying Quicksilver.

Director Gareth Edwards has brought audiences the Godzilla movie that audiences have been waiting for since the disappointment of the 1998 version. He keeps the movie interesting and has us anticipating the appearance of Godzilla. He teases the audience with bits and pieces of him throughout the movie, until finally revealing Godzilla in his full glory near the end when he is battling the MUTO, giant insect parasites.

At the end this movie, audiences will be satisfied, exhilarated, and looking forward to his next appearance. Hopefully, Edwards will be helming it.

This movie gets five out of five stars.

Pictures from the Rock Comic Expo

 

By Jason Harris

 

The first Rock Comic Expo happened yesterday at the Rockingham Park in Salem, New Hampshire. The Expo was created by J. Moulton. It ran from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It was a day of people in cosplay and talking with authors and artists.2014-05-09 23.53.05

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Author Rob Watts with the Iron Patriot.

Author Rob Watts with the Iron Patriot.

Emily and Jeremy Drouin of Eplis Comic.

Emily and Jeremy Drouin of Eplis Comic.

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Author Dale T. Phillips

Author Dale T. Phillips holding his book, Crooked Paths.

Author Rob Watts holding his latest book, Left-Hand Path.

Author Rob Watts holding his latest book, Left-Hand Path.

Crystalia Amaquelin of Marvel's The Inhumans.

Crystalia Amaquelin of Marvel’s The Inhumans.

Authors Rob Watts and Dale T. Phillips

Authors Rob Watts and Dale T. Phillips

Author Stacey Longo talking with a expo attendee.

Author Stacey Longo talking with an expo attendee.

Authors Vlad Vaslyn and Dale T. Phillips behind the New England Horror Writers table.

Authors Vlad Vaslyn and Dale T. Phillips behind the New England Horror Writers table.

Moulton plans to make the comic expo a two-day event next year. He is also involved with Vermont Comic Con, which debuts in October.

Three ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ Premieres

 

 

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TOM CRUISE AND EMILY BLUNT CHASE TOMORROW RIGHT TO THE EDGE: THREE PREMIERES / THREE COUNTRIES / ONE DAY

Stars race against time to meet fans in London, Paris and New York on an unprecedented Red Carpet Repeat tour

On May 28, the stars of Edge of Tomorrow will take part in a groundbreaking worldwide event when, for the first time ever, three fan premieres will be held in three different countries in just one day, “resetting” the red carpet as Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt race the clock to make each event before time runs out.

In Edge of Tomorrow, Cruise’s character relives the events of one day over and over in an epic battle to save the world.  The story begins as he arrives in London, making that city the perfect place to kick off this global event.  All times are local:

·        7:00 a.m. inaugural premiere kicks off on the carpet in London, with a 9:00 a.m. screening.

The film takes both characters to France, where they face off against an insurmountable army of alien invaders.

·        2:00 p.m. red carpet in Paris, screening at 4:00 p.m.

The final premiere will take the stars back to the U.S.

·        10:00 p.m. red carpet in New York City, with the final screening—on the edge of tomorrow—at 11:59 p.m.

Between cities, Cruise, Blunt and the film’s director, Doug Liman, will interact with fans via social media as they jet from country to country.  A contingent of select press will travel to each premiere, covering the events as they unfold.

There will be live stream components for each of the three events.  Those fans on the ground can network via social media using #EOTLive.

Oscar nominee Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt star in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ sci-fi thriller Edge of Tomorrow, under the direction of Doug Liman.

The epic action of Edge of Tomorrow unfolds in a near future in which an alien race has hit the Earth in an unrelenting assault, unbeatable by any military unit in the world.

Major William Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission.  Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop—forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again…and again.

But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt).  And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.

The international cast also includes Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Noah Taylor, Kick Gurry, Dragomir Mrsic, Charlotte Riley, Jonas Armstrong, Franz Drameh, Masayoshi Haneda and Tony Way.

Liman directed Edge of Tomorrow from a screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie and Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth, based on the novel entitled All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.  Erwin Stoff produced, along with Tom Lassally, Jeffrey Silver, Gregory Jacobs and Jason Hoffs.  The executive producers are Doug Liman, David Bartis, Joby Harold, Hidemi Fukuhara and Bruce Berman, with Tim Lewis and Kim Winther serving as co-producers.

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Village Roadshow Pictures, a 3 Arts Production, in association with Viz Productions, a Doug Liman Film, Edge of Tomorrow.  Opening domestically on June 6, the film will be distributed in 2D and 3D in select theatres and IMAX by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, and in select territories by Village Roadshow.

This movie has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and brief suggestive material.

edgeoftomorrowmovie.com