Things, happenings, events, random comic book and movie related rantings and stuff going on in and around the astonishing infinite multiverse earths of geek-in-chief of the Mayfair Theatre, Zomkeys writer, and occasional director and producer of projects for Batturtle Productions
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Monday, December 30, 2013
I don't want to make the watching of an episode of British sci-fi teevee sound too over-important, but I went into watching The Time of the Doctor feeling a bit like approaching a wake. I knew from previous Doctor Who experience that I would likely love the episode, and it would most definitely end in tears.
The modern Doctor Who is maybe my favourite teevee series of all time. The last two actors who have left the role behind broke my geeky little heart in doing so. I don't know why British actors can't just be happy with the gig at hand and stick with a series for a decade or so. I do understand the concept that an actor wants to try new things once their carer gets to a slightly safer spot and they have a few dollars in the bank. It also must be nice to leave 'em wanting more instead of driving a character into the ground and becoming supremely type-cast. And, of course there's the point that if the brilliant David Tennant hadn't left we wouldn't have gotten the follow-up brilliance of Matt Smith, and if Matt Smith hadn't left we wouldn't have the impending brilliance of Peter Capaldi.
Well played Mr. Smith, your time as the Doctor will not be forgotten,and you will be missed. Looking forward to seeing you back for the 60th anniversary of the series in 10 years.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Even in this day and age, I find that many a person still think comic books are all Spider-man, Batman and Archie. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I like Spider-man, Batman and Archie. Comic books are more then their spandex, vigilante and teen hi-jinks roots though. Comic books are as diverse as anything you'd find in any form of media intake. On television, you can find programs ranging from Sesame Street to Breaking Bad, and theatres like the Mayfair you might be able to catch a family friendly cartoon, an Oscar hopeful, and a grindhouse classic all on the same day. Sometimes I listen to Gershwin, sometimes I listen to Weezer, sometimes I listen to the Wu-Tang Clan.
Comics are equally diverse in their offerings for your reading pleasure. My latest indie comic recommendation is the 2010 french book from Julie Maroh, Blue Is The Warmest Color. It's a beautifully illustrated tale of true love in black and white and blue that should at the the same time inspire you and leave you heartbroken. It's gotten a lot of press due to the rated NC-17 extra sexy movie adaptation winning the Palme D'or at Cannes this year (and we have it at the Mayfair soon).
Blue Is The Warmest Color knocked me out, I look forward to reading more from the creator. It will be added to my go to list of examples for excellence in comic books.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
250 loyal Mayfair patrons watching three hours of cartoons sure do go through a lot of cereal. All expectations were blown out of the water, way more people showed up then anticipated, and we went through a whopping 46 boxes of cereal (had initially purchased 20). Luckily, there was a nearby store where we could make runs for more supplies as boxes emptied out.
Everyone had a great time and there were many a request for a follow-up cartoon event. I'm thinking March Break might be a logical time to try this out again. We will buy more cereal this time.
Friday, December 27, 2013
The only thing better then the glory days of Saturday morning cartoon watching of the 1960's - 1990's is the thought of watching said cartoons up on the big screen amongst a crowd of cartoon loving geeks. Now, encourage patrons to wear pajama's, supply endless amounts of cereal, toss in some old commercials, and have the program be at least three hours long. Mash that all together and you get the Saturday Morning All-You-Can-Eat-Cereal Cartoon Party, which will invade the Mayfair starting tomorrow morning at 10:00am! You can't possibly have plans that are going to be any more fun then this event.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
I'm spending my Boxing Day afternoon working the Mayfair box-office, where I hope a whole bunch of people show up to take in the glory that is Space Jam. I think that for folks younger then I who are fans, Space Jam is their Monster Squad or The Goonies. The glow of excitement and anticipation that I've seen in movie geeks eyes at the mention that we're screening the Bugs Bunny / Michael Jordan sci-fi mash-up has been quite the overwhelming joy to witness. There has been major excitement on the social media, now let's keep fingers crossed that that translates into real world dollars. This weird 1990's imaginative merchandising machine holds a special place in my heart, if only because it sounds like a movie plot much too bizarre to be true. And, of course, Bill Murray is in it.
Space Jam screens today at today and tomorrow at 3:15pm, and Saturday January 28th at 3:45pm
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
After a breakfast of Oreo pancakes (original AND gingerbread style in the mix), I got a lot of great gifts from Santa and others this year. I received geek treasure the likes of a TARDIS ice bucket, a sonic screwdriver toothbrush, and a whole bunch of blu-ray's and comics. Maybe the most awesome, and strangely specific, is the R2D2 soy sauce bottle. Don't put vinegar or salad dressing in that thing! It is ONLY for soy sauce! If you put anything but soy sauce in that lil' plastic droid, you will ruin Christmas no matter what time of year you are using it.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
It's the 25th anniversary of the greatest action movie ever made, the greatest Christmas movie ever made, the greatest Bruce Willis movie ever made: Die Hard! We celebrate Bruce Willis and his every-man festive battling of bad guys tonight at the Mayfair with our Die Hard Double Bill extravaganza.
With no hipster irony or kitsch factor praise, Die Hard is genuinely my favourite Christmas movie. I can watch that annually the way a more traditional cinema aficionado might take in It's a Wonderful Life or Miracle on 34th Street. It's the action movie that all other action movies that came after wish that they could be, and Bruce Willis brings to life the most iconic and copies action hero of the modern film era.
Die Hard 2 ain't half bad either. I would say that it's the best action sequel ever made. It's also set at Christmas-time again too, which makes it the best holiday season double-bill of all time. (Geek Trivia - The movie is not in fact called Die Hard 2: Die Harder. The Die Harder tag was used on posters and in print ad's, but doesn't appear on screen in the actual movie as a subtitle).
Die Hard at 7:00pm and Die Hard 2 at 9:30pm on Monday December 23rd at the Mayfair! Yippee-ki-yay Merry Christmas!
Friday, December 20, 2013
The fourth printing of the excellent Sex Criminals #1 from Image is maybe the greatest cover in the history of the medium.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
I'm very excited to be booked to drop by Strange Adventures on behalf of Mirror Comics to try and get some Zomkeys comics into the hands of Halifax readers. Strange Adventures is a legendarily awesome comic store, which many of my comic book making friends can't praise enough. I'll be there Sunday January 19th from noon-4pm, do come out and say hi if you are in the East Coast hood.
PS - this awesome Strange Adventures tribute drawing comes from caanantheartboy on Deviant Art.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
A bit of comic book spoiler kinda stuff follows!
Justice League #25 continues to tell the tale of the latest crisis to befall the super-hero's and residents of DC Comics New 52 Universe. A team of evil alternate universe versions of the Justice League have invaded the planet quite successfully and are on the verge of world domination.
In this issue writer Geoff Johns and artist Doug Mahnke tell the very different mirror secret origins of what happened around the deaths and the aftermath of Bruce Wayne's parents. The beginnings of Owl Man (evil Batman) are revealed, and we then leap into his present day exploits.
One simple three panel page in the midst of the story made my geeky heart skip a beat. My comic geek radar was clearly at 110% Jedi like levels as I knew exactly what was about to happen, even though the panel was a the mere close-up of a hand of a guy in a pin-striped suit fidgeting with an elastic. In the second panel the mystery man plays with the elastic, and in the third it snaps and someone off panel calls him "Eel". I may have actually gasped or cheered at that point. If not out loud, I definitely did in my mind.
As we all know of course, Eel O'Brian is the small time hood who had a bad mishap with some hazardous goo and he went on to become the heroic jester Plastic Man. Plastic Man is finally in being put into the New 52! Now, this causes a giant continuity error conundrum, since way back in Justice League International we saw that Plas was passed over for membership. So, that means that the character was just created now, even though he was around a few years back. I don't care. I'll give you a pass on this one DC. I'll gladly pretend that that first appearance never happened as long as I get some new Plastic Man stories.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
The annual beloved Yuletide tradition of a cozy fireplace big screen image greeting Mayfair patrons as thy enter the theatre has returned just in time for the Holidays. This year, with the help of some festive colourful lights, even the Alien has gotten into the Christmas celebration game (that's him up in the balcony on the right).
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Hollywood seems to be in an age of simplicity in regards to movie titles. Maybe they did a focus group and came to the conclusion that people in the 18 - 35 year old demographic don't like syllables or something. The seventh big-screen Muppets film was simply called The Muppets, and the second Wolverine solo theatrical effort went with The Wolverine. The Fast and The Furious franchise went with Fast and Furious, Fast Five and Furious Six for the last three installments in the now seemingly immortal series. Animated fare seems to be sticking with unimaginative sequel branding of just slapping a number after the original title: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Despicable Me 2, How to Train Your Dragon 2.
The Beetlejuice 2 production rumors have seemingly almost become a fact. The script is being worked on, Michael Keaton has confirmed involvement, and supposedly Tim Burton is in negotiations with Warner Bros to return to direct. Michael Keaton is one of my favourite actors, and I would be very happy to see him return to portray the host with the most for another turn.
Here's my idea for what the movie should be called, inspired by the aforementioned simple titling trend. Although the original film was called Beetlejuice, the spelling of the characters name was actually Betelgeuse. Instead of just slapping a 2 on the end or inserting a 'The' at the beginning, go with calling it Betelgeuse. It keeps the name brand, it's weird enough to garner some attention, and it keeps things down to three syllables. We all know that to summon the bio-exorcist you only have to say his name three times. So, if part two goes well and the powers that be want to do a third, that one can be called Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.
You are welcome Warner Bros big shots.
Friday, December 13, 2013
This weekend at the Mayfair we continue our festive holiday programming with a pair of matinee screenings celebrating the 10th anniversary of the modern Christmas classic Elf.
If watching Elf does not fill you with pure happiness, you really should re-examine your life and maybe go talk to a psychiatrist about why you hate goodness and joy. If you do not like Elf, I will assume that you also have green fur and haven't learned your Christmas lesson yet.
Braving the Hoth like temperatures will be worth it as we present Elf on Saturday December 14th and Sunday the 15th at 1:00pm on both days. Remember not to eat any pre-chewed gum that you might find on the way to the theatre. And look out for taxi-cabs, they don't stop.
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