‘Strangers’ from a familiar place

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, November 14th, 2008

Whaddaya know, it’s Friday already! I’m gonna hit up a movie theater for the first time in a while tonight, checking out the British flick “Happy-Go-Lucky” at Fairfax’s Cinema Arts Theatre.

Our favorite art house cinema complex is also exclusively opening the indie dramedy “Familiar Strangers” this weekend. Filmed in the Virginia town of Staunton and the debut movie for Charlottesville-based Cavalier Films, the flick stars Shawn Hatosy, DJ Qualls (aka the skinny kid from “Road Trip”) and Nikki Reed (who’s in the upcoming “Twilight” movie) in a tale about a family who comes together after years apart for Christmas as the children are all grown up – kinda - and the parents are trying to right their clan’s ship. Everybody who attends this weekend will get a free souvenir (hells yeah for free stuff!), producer Marc Lieberman will hang around after the 7:50 p.m. showing Saturday to answer audience questions, and keep an eye out for cast members showing up at other screenings.

Also stopping by the area this weekend? BRUCE CAMPBELL!!!! Yes, the famed B-movie actor extraordinaire and star of the “The Evil Dead” series and such classics as “Bubba Ho-Tep” will be hitting the E Street Cinema downtown on Saturday for his new movie, “My Name is Bruce.” Campbell directs and stars as a goofy, self-important version of himself who is recruited by some residents of an Oregon mining town to rid their place of a Chinese god of war that’s wreaking havoc over the land. The acclaimed thespian will do a Q&A after the 7 and 9:30 p.m. shows and will do a short intro before the midnight screening. Tell him Brian sent ya.

Two of the best movies all year debut on DVD and Blu-ray this Tuesday: the geniusly hilarious “Tropic Thunder” starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black and one of the best actors around, Robert Downey Jr.; and the wonderful Pixar flick “Wall-E,” featuring the coolest (and greenest) robot ever. Those are must-buys, but for my Netflix queue, being a geek and an Anglophile, I’m adding the new “Doctor Who: The Complete Fourth Series,” starring a man who I would LOVE to see play the Riddler in the next Batman flick, David Tennant.

Speaking of, who would you prefer to see as a villain in the next Christopher Nolan Bat-movie? Johnny Depp? Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin? Angelina Jolie as Catwoman? Let me know in the comments section, or cast the whole darn thing and email novapoppin@gmail.com. Sticking with the comic book theme, I forgot a video of the week the other day but have a doozy for you here, the brand-new trailer for “Watchmen”!

Villains ‘R’ Us

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, November 5th, 2008

Happy Day-after-Election-Day! I have no idea what to obsess about now that Barack Obama’s our very cool president-elect — maybe the new James Bond film, “Quantum of Solace”? (That title still makes nary a lick of sense to me.) Whether you’re a Sean Connery guy or you prefer the newbie, Daniel Craig, as 007, you can never discount the British spy’s very colorful rogues gallery. I mean, who doesn’t love Oddjob, the rotund Asian guy who threw his hat at people? Now you can be one, too. The Times of London is hosting all kinds of Bond-laden goodness because of the new flick, but the best is the Be a Bond Baddie site.

It’s so easy, you’ll have it done way before that laser beam reaches the family jewels: Pick a template (male or female, in case of any Bond femme fatales out there), upload a pic, tweak a little bit, accessorize (I highly suggest the eyepatch paired with the safari hat), choose a tagline reeking of malevolence and — voila! — you’re only a couple mwah-hah-hahs from being a full-fledged villain bent on global domination.

Make sure it’s good, though — you gotta have somebody pretty nasty to compete with the likes of Jaws, Dr. No, Blofield or Auric Goldfinger there on the right.

Maybe you see yourself as more of a sci-fi fantasy character? Take this quiz to see which one you have the most in common with. For some reason, they think I’m like Galadriel from “The Lord of the Rings.” Um, yes, because I am soooo in tune with my inner Cate Blanchett.

This is a great post about the questions one woman asked her boyfriend about Star Wars, and his very informative and humorous answers. Haven’t we all had this conversation at least once in our lives, my fellow geeks? (By the way, I think I have to have this shirt.)

Got any great web links? Or a favorite Bond movie? Toss ‘em in the comments section or email novapoppin@gmail.com. Here is your video of the week:

A Muppet show and a horror show

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

Election Day’s coming, Halloween is only a few days away but it’s not too early to start thinking about Christmas gifts. (It’s less than two months away, folks!) Kids of all ages love the Muppets, and this year FAO Schwartz is giving you the chance to make your own! The store’s Muppet Whatnot Workshop allows you to pick your Muppet’s body color, eyes, hairstyle, nose and outfit, individualized for your specific tastes. Of course, that’s if you’re getting one for yourself – you can also give a gift package for that special someone to make their own as well. And if you happen to be up in New York City after Nov. 13, you can stop by the Manhattan store on Fifth Avenue for the in-person treatment.

Now is the time to scare yourself silly, and in today’s fast-paced world, you gotta get the scares in quick! Hosted by Powerman 5000′s Spider One (otherwise known as Rob Zombie’s little bro), FEARnet’s 66.6 Second Film Festival gives you both classic and classically bad horror flicks condensed into snack-sized, one-minute minisodes. (It’s like the cinematic equivalent of those little Snickers you’re gonna give the kiddies Friday night so they don’t egg your house.) With some of them – “The Evil Dead II,” “The Howling,” “Hostel” - you’ll want to catch the full versions of them since they’re awesome, but a minute of “Leprechaun in the Hood” is probably all the time you need to spend, really.

For those who like to listen to their music via computer, or maybe just want to play their new favorite song for a friend, there is blueTunes. It’s kind of like an iTunes that follows you wherever you log in: Sign up for an account, upload your music and you can access it from any computer with a web browser. It can save space on your computer, your tuneage will still be there if your PC crashes, plus it’s good if you can’t use an iPod at work. Just access it and rock out whilst doing a TPS report. The first 100 songs uploaded are free, and it’s one measly cent after that per song uploaded. (Thanks to Warren for the tip.)

Finally, we have something that’s from the cool, these-people-have-too-much-time-on-their-hands department. Two guys from the University of Kentucky chemistry department came up with The Periodic Table of Comic Books. Find your favorite element from that other periodic table, and this database of sorts has a series of pages and covers from classic comics and newer ones that mention your element of choice. Obviously, oxygen’s one of the more popular elements in comics over the years, but hafnium? Not so much. You’ll have to dig up a 1997 issue of “Thunderbolts” for that one. (Unfortunately, the site doesn’t look it’s been updated for a while but it’s still hella entertaining and you can learn some chemistry!)

I’m always looking for cool sites, so send any you’ve got to novapoppin@gmail.com. Here’s your video o’ the week:

Sealed with a Kiss

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

What’s up! Today, we’re talking the Demon, the Starchild, the Catman and the Spaceman – and no, these aren’t the dudes in your office you’ve bestowed with funky nicknames. Instead, we’re looking at those makeup-clad musicians of Kiss, imitations of whom you will see lots of come Halloween night. February marks the 35th anniversary of the release of their self-titled album, and while the band has put out a number of greatest-hits collections – possibly almost as many as they’ve had farewell tours – a four-disc anthology out today could be the best yet.

“Ikons” offers 56 hits and album tracks, with each disc featuring a different original member of the band and his individual contributions (including a solo song or two). The two CDs in homage to bassist Gene Simmons and frontman Paul Stanley highlight the set, especially for the occasional member of the Kiss Army: The first offers classics such as “God of Thunder,” “Rock and Roll All Nite” and the underrated “Plaster Caster,” and the Stanley disc presents the standards “Detroit Rock City,” ”Love Gun” and “Strutter.” (True Stanley fans will also want to get the new “One Live Kiss” DVD out today as well.) The other two discs are sort of a mixed bag, and are good for the true hardcore Kiss fan or someone wanting to explore the iconic band a bit further than the usual songs. Ace Frehley is quite the guitar hero for a certain fan base, and his CD includes five solo tracks and some obscure Kiss numbers. The fourth disc, the one with drummer Peter Criss’ stamp on it, stars “Beth,” “Black Diamond” and “Hard Luck Woman” yet that’s about it.

Because the season of carving pumpkins, maybe you want your favorite Kiss guy as a Halloween decoration? Here are stencil PDFs for Simmons, Frehley, Criss and Stanley, so you can have a whole band of rockin’ pumpkins! If you’re in need of Kiss stuff, though, the band is always there for you commercially if’n you feel the need to stimulate the economy, whether it be with Kiss footballs, Kiss puzzle cubes, Kiss flying disks or Kiss rubber duckies. The band is all about you rockin’ your vote, too, with T-shirts featuring a Kiss-flavored Barack Obama and John McCain.

Got a favorite classic rock band a la Kiss? Tell me in the comments or by email at novapoppin@gmail.com.

Sleepy in Seattle

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

Hola! I’m off to Seattle in about six hours and will be sleeping the whole time on the plane. (Again, that’s how I roll. Or doze, as the case may be. Thankfully, there might be a Starbucks around when I arrive in town.) That means — oh no! — a certain deficiency in posts the next couple of days. No worries, I will be back next week. But in the meantime, here are a few things to keep you busy in the meantime.

Go see: Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe each try to outchew more scenery than the other in the new Ridley Scott thriller, “Body of Lies.”

Rent: “Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer,” a Z-grade horror movie that’s full of campy fun, freaky monsters and Robert Englund.

Read: Alan Moore’s “V For Vendetta. It’s on the reading list for my trip. You should read it, too. Book club next week, perhaps?

Listen to: Tesla’s “Forever More.” Yes, they are still around. I’m not making this up. Of the hair-band ilk, these dudes were probably the most technically proficient around. Give it a spin. Also, those who like the female pop-punk sonics of Paramore — or are a sucker for a spunky singer — will adore Hey Monday’s new record, “Hold on Tight.”

Buy: The Dismember-Me Plush Zombie from ThinkGeek. I got an email alert this morning that this little dude was available, and was hooked once I saw that he actually has a little plush brain snack to go with all the removable plush body parts. It’s a perfect Halloween gift for your favorite gal or ghoul.

Have a good one and I’ll type at ya next week!!