2/5 – Off pitch. On the same vacation that I watched Shag, I also saw Pitch Perfect for the first time. I was really looking forward to Pitch Perfect. Everyone I knew who had seen it loved it. It stars Anna Kendrick, aka America’s sweetheart Anna Kendrick. How could I go wrong? Well, wrong I went. Pitch Perfect just didn’t click with me. I don’t know if it had been talked up too much, but I didn’t enjoy the movie. There were definitely high spots in the movie, but for the most part the movie just didn’t work for me. I found Anna Kendrick’s character, Beca, to be a sullen, spoiled brat. She was the focal point of the movie, but I just couldn’t get behind her. Some of her lines were just laughable. “You know David Guetta is?”  Beca, my dad’s cousins know who David Guetta is; come on! Jesse, her co-intern, and soon to be love interest was annoying as all get out. When the two of them got together, I think I actually said “Ugh.” The best thing to come out of Pitch Perfect was having Titanium stuck in my head for the rest of the week. That, and that insanely catchy Cups song and super-cute video. I definitely enjoy Cups the video more than Pitch Perfect the movie. Pitch Perfect does have its high points. Pretty much any scene involving Lily made me laugh very loudly. It’s funny, I went into Shag ready to roll my eyes and went into Pitch Perfect ready to love it. But out of the two of them, I think I’d rather watch Shag again. But maybe I just need to give Pitch Perfect a second chance. It wouldn’t be the first movie I disliked the...

I caught Star Trek: Into Darkness on Blu Ray recently. I liked it a lot.  J.J. Abrams has now made two of the best Star Trek movies. Okay, if not best, then definitely rewatchable. If I had to pick three Star Trek movies to watch again, it would be his two and Wrath of Khan. The opening scene of Into Darkness was awesome. I really like J.J. Abrams’s take on the Star Trek crew. He brings a sense of humor to the science fiction that really helps make these movies so enjoyable. His skill at mixing sci-fi and humor is at a Whedon-like level. Probably what I liked most about Star Trek: Into Darkness was the complexity of Benedict Cumberbatch’s character, Commander John Harrison. In the movie, Harrison is a suped-up super-soldier that would put Captain America to shame. He marches through scenes of destruction with the resolve of a Terminator. Thankfully, Harrison is given more depth than that of  a cybernetic killing machine. He’s been used and abused by Starfleet and is seeking revenge against those who wronged him. But he’s not only seeking revenge. He’s trying to carve out a place for himself and his people in the galaxy, away from his abusers. He’s Starfleet’s greatest enemy, and it’s all Starfleet’s fault. There were plenty of Easter Eggs for longtime Star Trek fans in Star Trek: Into Darkness. The most obvious one is the reveal that John Harrison’s real identity is Khan, who was the main villain in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I like that Khan is now a sleek weapon of destruction. Gone is the Elfquest-esque outfit that has definitely not aged well. Cumberbatch is as emotionless as Khan as he is as Sherlock. Watching Khan onscreen, I couldn’t...

It’s finally here, the Thor: The Dark World crossover with Agents of SHIELD! Sadly, there was no sign of Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston or Natalie Portman in this episode. Not even a Cat Dennings or Stellan Skarsgård. We do get an Asgardian though. Unfortunately, it’s not this Agardian: Instead, we get this Asgardian: That’s right, mother-fucking Dr. Janoch Pohaa! Sorry, I mean Dr. Elliot Randolph as played by Peter MacNicol. Sadly, MacNicol is not using his excellent foreign accents skills in this episode. And he doesn’t worship any paintings of Vigo, the Scourge of Carpathia, the Sorrow of Moldavia. But MacNicol is a full-fledged Asgardian in this episode. He’s wearing a suit in that photo and not a bitchin’ set of armor because centuries ago he renounced being an Asgardian Beserker to live a quiet life on Earth. Unfortunately, a Nordic hate-group has discovered his Beserker staff, which he broke into three pieces and hid, and hid well. One of the pieces was inside a tree! Just a fragment of the Beserker staff is enough to give a mortal superpowers (and as Ward found out, dredge up all your worst memories). The staff is like half power ring and half Scarecrow fear toxin. The effect of the Beserker staff on Ward really lets Ward’s asshole side take charge. At the same time, it opens up new layers of the character. We see the childhood trauma that shapes so much of Ward’s present day. Holding the staff is too much for him, but not for Agent May, resident bad-ass of the SHIELD crew, who takes it and doles out a whupping on the bad guys. The “Holy shit!” moment of the episode came after the villains were defeated and the SHIELD team was getting a rare night of...

So the show opens up with a re-shot scene from season 1 set in the past. Sara and Ollie sneaking away on the boat, the Queen’s Gambit, before the island except this scene adds more to Sara’s character. It shows her very flirty with Ollie and deceiving her Dad. I wonder how this scene holds up next to the one that was in the pilot. It seems like it is chock full of inconsistencies. But basically the same thing happens: boat sinks. But the next time we see Sara she is waking up half naked (HELLS YEAH CW) in the ocean looking at a yellow canary floating on driftwood. That seems like a pretty crappy place for a canary. I think that bird doesn’t have long to live. I mean I get it. The Black Seagull would be a worse name for a superhero. Sound more like a plague.  But then the ship named Amazo appears in the distance (remember this is the ship we last left Ollie in flashbacks where he is being tortured with his cellmate the KGBeast). Looks like she is in for a rough time until Doctor Anthony Ivo saves her. He is a scientist and he is using all the people held captive. His objective is to save the human race. Okay then we switch over to Moira’s pre-trial meeting in Iron Heights. Not really sure what those things are called. I haven’t been keeping up with my Law & Order: CSIVU. I haven’t really been paying too much attention to this in my comments because it seems slightly boring. But this scene is pretty amazing and not in a good way. Laurel, who is now working for the D.A.’s office is on the prosecution team on Moira Queen’s...

The holidays are right around the corner. Are you looking for the perfect gift for the geek in your life? Tuesday Night Movies is here to help! Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled Boxed Set This box set comes with all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies leading up to and including The Avengers. You get Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, and The Avengers. What really makes this set cool is that everything is packaged in a SHIELD-branded briefcase that contains a light-up tesseract inside! Captain America: The Winter Solider Ultimate Collection Next year’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier movie is largely based on Ed Brubaker’s run on the Captain America comic, where he introduced Cap’s mysterious new enemy, the Winter Soldier. This collection has stunning art by Steve Epting and Michael Lark, and an amazing story by Brubaker. Doctor Who: Series 1-7 Limited Edition Gift Set BBC has finally released the Chistopher Eccleston and David Tennant years of Doctor Who on Blu Ray. This set includes all of those seasons, plus seasons 5-7 starring Matt Smith as the Doctor. The set also includes an awesome fully functional sonic screwdriver universal remote control. You can use it on your TV, blu ray player, speakers, anything that will work with a universal remote.  This is the closest you’ll get to feeling like a time lord without having a second heart implanted in you. Doctor Who Tardis Beach Towel Sure, it’s cold out now, but summer will be here soon enough. Or maybe the Doctor will show up to pick up you and friends for a weekend getaway to the Caribbean in the middle of January. In either situation, this Tardis towel is a must-own item. Han Solo...

After sitting down with Andrea Romano at NYCC, I had the chance to sit and talk with James Tucker about Justice League: War. As you may know, James is the new Bruce Timm at DC’s animation group. In other words, he’s the new head honcho. When asked if it was a smooth transition taking over for Bruce, James said it was. He elaborated, “He was outside smoking and said, “Hey, do you want to take over the DVDs?” and I went, “Sure.” It was that simple.  It wasn’t like a coronation or anything. I didn’t go into the throne room and he knighted me. It’s very casual at Warner Brothers. ” By the time the official announcement was made, James already had experience in the job. According to James, “When it was announced, I had already been doing the job for two years. We were working on War a year ago. I had been doing the job long before they announced it. He was working on Green Lantern. It was very smooth and not a big deal.” Regarding the future of the DC animated movies, James said that from this point forward, we’ll be seeing a Justice League movie, followed by a Batman movie, followed by a Justice League movie, followed by a Batman movie. Having movies whose stories focus on specific characters set in the framework of the Justice League. James used Wonder Woman as an example. “With the way we’re setting it up, it’s easier for us to do a Wonder Woman featured Justice League movie, meaning the story has something to do with her, but it’s a Justice League movie.” If you’re wondering why, according to Mr. Tucker, it’s because, “Home Video thinks they can sell it better. Rather than doing...

This week’s Arrow was simple but really pushed the story along. A throw away villain, Xavier Reed, The Mayor, is bringing illegal military grade guns and wreaking havoc in the Glades. Oliver  reacts with Sebastian Blood (who is getting creepy this episode) to create a cash for guns benefit in the Glades which is attacked. The benefit also shows Oliver struggle in his new role professionally having to answer to Isabel Rochev for his fiscal actions. It shows Thea what a hero Roy is and lets them interact with Sin. They should create a Junior Arrow club. Meanwhile Diggle meets up with his old colleague Lyla Michaels to flirt and try to get info on tracking down Deadshot. AND back on the island Oliver gets a neighbor on the boat and is getting tortured. This really reminds me of the scenes in The Dark Knight Rises where Bruce is trying to fix his back and get out of the hole. The Bigger story this episode is the Canary. With Felicity’s help Oliver finds the Canary unmasks her and she is revealed to be… SPOILERS… the long thought dead Sara Lance. Man this is trouble for Oliver. Obviously he wants her to reveal herself to her family but she can’t for some reason. Maybe because they’re all drunks. Well at least Laurel is this episode. Quinten has been recovering for some time now. Anyway, the last time the viewers saw Sara, was way back in the first season when she joined Ollie on his boat, the Queen’s Gambit. During their trip, the ship was sabotaged and sank, along with Sara. Her remains were never recovered so her family buried a empty casket, after she was declared legally dead. But get this, Oliver then reveals to John and Felicity that he thought she drowned on the Queen’s Gambit, but met her a year after...

We left Arrow last week with Oliver in his Hood getup surrounded by police officers in Laurel’s apartment. This was a trap set by Laurel, who now is blaming Tommy Merlyn’s death on the Hood. At the last second, the mysterious Black Canary, ahem, I mean Canary, shows up uses some kind of sonic blast and escapes with Ollie. While he puts Roy on the case of tracking down this lady, Quentin Lance finds out that a serial killer from an old case has escaped from Iron Heights as a result of the quake. This serial killer, Barton Mathis, also known as The Dollmaker, kidnaps women and kills them by pouring a flexible polymer into their throats. This fires up Quentin to track him down, but he is warned by the police department to stay back. So, Quentin and the Team Arrow find a way to track this guy down and eventually use Felicity as sexy bait. Alright, let me pause here. Felicity is a very attractive woman who could jump from this show onto any other CW drama if she wanted to. However, she plays the nerd on this show and it just comes across as, “Hey, I wear glasses. I’m a nerd.” Is it how she is written? Maybe. Is it how she looks? Maybe. It is one reason I think we will never see her character jump to the comic book page like Diggle’s. Currently there is a nerdy tech geek helping out Oliver in the Green Arrow books. And she is more believable as an actual nerd than the character played by a person. Ok back to it. As a result of this, Felicity is put in danger, and both Laurel and Quentin end up being kidnapped by the Dollmaker. Arrow saves them...

Justice League: War is the next release in Warner Bros Home Video’s line of direct-to-DVD animated movies featuring DC superheroes. The official release date is February 4, 2014. I expect that Best Buy will once again have an exclusive version of the DVD that comes packaged with a mini-action figure. There has been no word yet as to what that figure will be. My guess is on Cyborg, since his origin story makes up a large portion of Justice League: War. If not him, then Darkseid, the main villain of Justice League: War. At New York Comic Con this year, I had the chance to sit down with casting director Andrea Romano about Justice League: War. Andrea and DC animated projects go back. She’s the woman who originally cast Kevin Conroy as Batman in Batman: The Animated Series. Since then, she’s cast Batman enough times to lose count as to what the actual number is. “I’m looking for someone to tell me how many times I cast Batman. I think it’s somewhere around 17.” said Romano. Justice League: War is the first of DC’s animated movies set in the New 52 universe. For those unfamiliar with the New 52, in 2011, DC rebooted their entire line of comic books, calling the new universe and continuity the New 52, which was the number of titles DC put out that month. Origins and costumes have been modified and modernized. When asked if she approached casting for Justice League: War differently than how she cast prior movies, Andrea said “(It was) pretty much the same process. We all looked for the best possible voices.” I asked Andrea if there was a mandate from on high this time about not repeating voices. Andrea said there was, but that...

Back at New York Comic Con, we took a bunch of photos in the Mattel booth. They have some VERY cool action figures coming out soon that we wanted to share with you! Written by David Henehan. Photos by Graig Kreindler.