Frozen

In a related topic to the Animation theme podcast, I did a month ago

The Disney Film – Frozen, has brought on a resurgence of fascination with ice sculptures. 

Here in Canada we have two big events  Icefest, which is held in Toronto, and Ice Magic – Festival in Banff, Alberta.  But, if you ever have a opportunity to visit Hong Kong; for almost a 3 month period beginning in December and ending sometime in February. A jaw-dropping spectacle of ice sculptures is presented at the Harbin International Ice & Snow Sculpture Festival.



Bringing the topic back to the fascination of Frozen. The recent 2 hour Season Finale of the ABC network Once Upon a Time - revealed they are bringing the Character of Elsa to the series, come this Fall.

Designer Homes

A California Base Company called Proto Homes have created an open concept home that allows your home to grow as your needs and lifestyle evolves.  Whether or not you have children, or should your children reach an age that they need there own space.  Or more importantly if you need to have more space in you living room, den, bedroom, or bathroom.  Proto Homes may be the right solution, even if a person who can’t decide the look of the there home either in the interior or exterior, by its wall color, tiling, window panes, or even height of their ceiling. This is just one of a few companies popping up that are giving homeowners a new perspective on quality living.

Of course like all perks, things cost money, Proto Homes are quick to build and maintenance is very practical in its lay out.  To better explain Epic homes a television show did a feature on the company.

The Wall Street Journal recently released an article on more sophisticated home designs, Proto homes was one of the companies that was referenced.  I was  recently asked why the sudden interest to blog about homes. As a home owner I am content with my current status and home arrangement; the novelty of a Proto home that both I and my circle of friends all share is when you have guests arriving for either a party or some social function in your home, accommodating adequate space, and the avoidance personal objects of being ruined or misplaced is an issue. Immediately you can see how much time and energy is save in recalibrating your house for the event; And to restore it all back to suit your needs once the party ends is the novelty of this particular design.

Star Wars Day

May 4, 2014



Is this day the event will be celebrated - literally worldwide.  It was once coined as 'Luke Skywalker Day', but was quickly diminished by hard pressed fans,   In accordance to a insert in Wikipedia,  The Event was first organized in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 2011. At the Toronto Underground Cinema Festivities.  This event included a Cosplay contest, an Original Trilogy Trivia Game Show (with celebrity judges), and the web's best tribute films, mash-ups, parodies, and re-mixes on the big screen.


Why the month of May,  fans will know the movie that started it all - Episode 4: The New Hope
Debuted on May 25th, 1977 and became an unprecedented phenomena, with audiences returning back in theatre to watch it again, and again.   It can also be used as a play on words.... May the force be with you.

Samurai: Vedar inspired concept

Though this event is in its infancy,  2014 is the year it makes its official impact on the global stage.
General reason for this belief; To begin, lets start with the most unrelated, Guy Fawkes Day, (Nov. 5); see my blog last year; Its a massive underground event comprised of about a million people in major cities around the world, who march united at a secret time and location; its an event organized by the people.  Star Wars is juggernaut culturally, spiritually, and almost academically in an event that is celebrated nearly year round at parties, conferences, on multi-media platforms, and annual conventions world wide.

The Star Wars universe just got a boost by a force bigger than George Lucas, when it was purchased by Walt Disney, whose recent umbrella of acquisitions like Marvel comics, and Pixar is Safely securing the franchise;  and the model that is  Star Wars for decades to come.  Lucas' Ranch is still  the hot bed for work on the animations and film projects.

In the years ahead we can expect a brand  new trilogy to be rolled out, and the first is to be directed by J.J Abrahams, who is a die hard Star Wars Fan.  Proof is in his movies of Star Trek,  Gene Roddenberry 's vision is space exploration and the relations and conflicts of new civilizations, as well as keeping the core cast members the focal point in that exploration.  Abrahams blew all that away and made the modern movies more reactive and action oriented with a battle or battles on a Star Wars scale, making Star Trek the testing ground on how to design and implement a movie on the level of Star Wars.

As for now, May 4th be with you.

Television shows in the works

On the horizon this Fall

Matt Ryan as Constantine

NBC has order the pilot thus far; no words on it becoming a full fledge series.

About a show called “Constantine”, to be more specific John Constantine, a Liverpool con-man-turned occult-detective. Based on a comic book series whose character was first introduced back in 1985.  If the name sounds familiar, you might have seen or heard about the big Screen Adaptation Starring Keanu Reeves And Rachel Weisz.

Well production on the pilot is set to begin this spring, and cast in the title role is Matt Ryan, his filmography credits include, The Tudors, Torchwood, & Layer Cake.

This line up has built a foundation of a new dawn of superheroes and what a decade+ will bring .

CW

Coming this fall, and spinning off from the episodes of the sophomore Superhero series Arrow is The Flash.  Starring Grant Gustin in the lead role of Barry Allen, a Police Scientist who gets caught up in a freak accident and has been bestowed incredible speed.    To catch the actual incident of Barry’s transformation you can watch an episode of Arrow titled  ‘Three Ghosts’, (which can be streamed from the CW website) The Incident occurs in the closing chapter of the episode.

The upcoming pilot episode will include an appearance from John Wesley Shipp, the actor who played The Flash in the 1990’s television series.   Cast Regulars are Jesse L.Martin as Det. West, Danielle Panabaker as Caitlin Snow,and Tom Cavanagh as Harison Wells.

On the Fall 2014 Schedule CW Tuesday Nights at 8pm

Fox

Coming on Fox is ‘Gotham’.   This series follows a young James Gordon’s rise from a rookie detective to Police Commissioner. It looks at the growing corruption that will become the Gotham that comic books fans have come to know, and we get to look at the personas of DC’s famous villains’ and discover their origins. Centering around Detective James Gordon, long before he meets what will become the Dark Knight.

Names that have been dropped are Penguin, Two-Face, Riddler, Catwoman, and The Joker?



Det. Harvey Bullock

Det. Harvey Bullock

Fox has unveiled the series will begin with rookie James Gordon played by the O.C’s Benjamin McKenzie. Two weeks into his job as a Detective, engaged to his fiancé Barbara Kean (played by Erin Richards), he is teamed with shrewd police Legend Det. Harvey Bullock (Played by Son’s of Anarchy star – Donal Logue), the two stumble across the city’s highest profile case ever. The murder of billionaires Thomas & Martha Wayne, and we meet the hauntingly intense
             12 year-old son, Bruce..



Det. James Gordon

Selina Kyle

Other cast members are Jada Pinkett Smith as gang boss – Fish Mooney, Zabryna Guevara as police Captain Sarah Essen,  Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle, Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot and Sean Pertwee as Alfred.

On the Fall 2014 Schedule FOX Monday Nights at 8pm

Update 2020: Gotham has concluded its series run, Constantine had joined the CW series Legends of Tomorrow. And Steaming services and networks like the CW are cultivating this era of the superheroes further and more expansive into a more favorable future.

Comic-Con

The start of March has brought Comic-Con to Toronto. A giant weekend convention that tours 14 Major Cities across America annually, and Tours Toronto, Montreal, Niagara Falls, Winnipeg, and Vancouver in that equation to.

 

 Comic-Con over the years has grown into a sweeping phenomena, it was once just a comic book convention, but has grown to include other aspects in the entertainment genre this includes Anime, Videogames, Television & Movies.


The connection is easy to see, the stories, and characters from comic books has cross pollinated into these mediums, and in various categories, like in Sci-Fi, Action, Horror, Comedy, & Romance.

 2014 will continue to see Comic-con oversees in the UK, Mumbai, New Delhi and Bucharest. 



The Biggest News to be released  this year is a 24/7 Comic-Con Channel. featuring content in all of the above genre and categories.

 Wizard World Comic-Con's
 the company that runs the pop culture multimedia conventions, have 16 comic-cons planned for 2014, they have partnered with Cinedigm to produce the new channel.
 Its a year round free-to-consumer, advertising-supported streaming.  Meaning its a channel available on-line.  Now there is also the  premium subscription options. Which is a bummer, it a paid service that provides access to Comic con Events, Panels and talent. So the cool Q&A Sessions and Screenings would not be available to the free consumer.  Cinedigm's have placed there film library on the network, which is said to include 33,000 Films and TV episodes and many digital content from various partners.   PLEASE NOTE: the Channel WILL NOT INCLUDE   Comic-Con San Diego.

In Toronto, we have FanExpo, who sponsored this recent Comic-con.

FanExpo is basically. a Comic-Con that has a heavy hand in celebrity / fan interaction.  With an event in April in Vancouver (April 18-20)  and a convention in August, in Toronto (August 28-31)

The End of Awards Season

From the worst - to the traditional unsung - to the most expected here are the winners to end them all. The Razzies (10 categories)


Top Honors of Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay is Movie 43





Worst Actor - Jaden Smith,
Worst Supporting Actor Will Smith,
and Worst Screen Combo Jaden Smith & Will Smith - After Earth

Worst Actress - Tyler Perry (in Drag) - A Madea’s Christmas,
Worst Supporting Actress Kim Kardashian - Tyler Perry’s Temptation Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel:- The Lone Ranger


 The Spirit Awards known largely as the independent spirt awards, it’s a Vanguard event in its 28th year of existence celebrating the best of independent film making, If you were to look at this years winners an argument can be made to the initial concept. In 1990 keynote speaker Martin Scorsese said in his speech independent film making doesn’t mean making low budget movies without studio backing...”It’s a way for being innovative out of inspiration as well as necessity”. For whatever it is worth take it with a grain of salt, Struggling artists, or lesser known established actors, inspiring visionary film makers, there is a platform - a grand stage - to make your mark, the Spirit awards working alongside Film Independent offers great films, artistic films, and art films a chance to shine against the raging big Hollywood machine. The winners of 2014 Spirit Awards were:


Best Feature - 12 Years of a Slave
Best Directed - Steve McQueen - 12 Years a Slave
Best First Feature- Fruitvale Station: Ryan Coogler
Best Female Lead - Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Best Male Lead - Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club Supporting Actress - Lupita Nyong’o - 12 Years a Slave
Supporting Actor - Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club

Best Screenplay- 12 Years a Slave - John Ridley

Best First Screenplay - Nebraska - Bob Nelson
Best Cinematography - 12 Years a Slave - Sean Bobbitt
Best International Film - Blue is the Warmest Color
Best Documentary - 20 Feet from Stardom
Best Editing - Short Term 12
John Cassavetes Award - This Is Martin Bonner
 Truer Than Fiction Award - Let the Fire Burn
 Robert Altman Award - Mud

Usually the winners of the Independent Spirit awards don’t normally line up so closely to the academy awards winners. There is however, some comfort to be taken that the nominees who attended the Spirit Awards like France Ha, Upstream Color, In a World, Don Jon, All is Lost, and Enough Said, was given there moment of recognition on a venue to be celebrated with Hollywood’s Best and the televised world.




 86th Academy Awards Winners Best Picture & Adapted Screenplay - 12 Years a Slave Best Supporting Actress - Lupita Nyong’o - 12 Years a Slave

Best Director - Alfonso Cuaron - Gravity Original Score, Editing, Cinematography, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects - Gravity
Best Actor - Matthew McConaughey & Best Supporting Actor - Jared Leto - Dallas Buyers Club
Best Makeup & Hairstyling - Dallas Buyers Club
Best Actress - Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine

Best Original Screenplay - Her (Spike Jonze)


Best Original Song & Best Animated Feature Film of the Year - Frozen


Best Animated Short - Mr Hublot
Best Live Short - Helium
 Best Documentary Short - Lady in Number 6
Best Costume Design & Best Production Design - The Great Gatsby
Best Documentary Feature - 20 Feet From Stardom
Best Foreign Language Film - The Great Beauty (Italy)

Nominees and contenders that were completely shut out were Captain Phillips,The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle, Philomena , Nebraska, Despicable Me 2, Hobbitt Desolation of Sound, and August: Osage County. The Oscar Pre-Show Review was about 87% correct on the winners, and those we got wrong, we provided reasons on those who did win  big.

The Razzies - Review Podcast

The Raspberry Awards Review