Tag Archives: Mark Duplass

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NYCC 2013: Sunday Panel and Screening Highlights

You did it! You survived New York Comic Con until Sunday! By today you’re probably a little achy in the feet, especially if you’ve been NYCCing it up for all four days. Thank goodness for the chairs in panel rooms. Here are the cooler panels and screenings where you can rest your legs.

10:45 – 11:45 – Sunday Conversation with Dan DiDio – 1A06
The Sunday DC panel is a NYCC tradition, and it usually one of the best panels of NYCC. This panel is less about promoting and more about a dialog between Dan and DC’s fans. If you have some constructive criticism for DC, this is the venue to air it.

11:00 – 12:00 – Q&A with Gareth David Lloyd – 1A23
Have a question for Torchwood’s Ianto Jones? I do: will he sing? Because of John Barrowman sings at his Q&A, I want Gareth David Lloyd to sing too.

11:00 – 12:00 – TimesTalks: Adventure Time – Empire Stage 1-E
I feel like having a TimesTalks focused on Adventure Time elevates Adventure Time’s cache and gives it a certain legitimacy. To me, this signifies Adventure Time not just being entertainment, but a genuine touchstone in this period of pop culture.

11:00 – 12:00 – Marvel Plus Member Event – 1A08
Are you a Marvel Plus member? It’s basically Marvel’s comic version of Netflix. It opens up a sizable portion of Marvel’s back catalog to you. I recently signed up for a Plus membership and love it. One of the perks of the plus membership is the ability to attend this specially ticketed panel. I’m very excited to check it out.

11:00 – 11:45 – Mark Duplass Autographing – Booth #2319
I applaud Mark Duplass for being the rare actor at NYCC who is not charging fans for his autograph. Bring your copy of The League, Safety Not Guranteed or Cyrus and let him know how much you love his work.

12:00 1:00 – Marvel: House of Ideas – 1A22
This panel is all about Marvel’s digital platform. If you’re thinking about going digital, this is the panel for you.

12:15 – 1:15 – The League – Main Stage 1D
The League is one of the funniest shows on TV. You should watch it, even it you don’t play fantasy football. Watch if for what these friends put each other through for the sake of a fantasy trophy.

12:15 -1:15 – Star Wars Origami – 1A03
Sunday is kids day at New York Comic Con. If you have your kid with you today, here’s a fun activity you can partake in together.

1:15 – 2:15 – Women of Marvel – 1A06
Some of the top female creators in the industry will be talking about what it’s like to a woman in the comics industry.

1:30 – 2:30 – The Following Special Video Presentation and Q&A – Empire Stage 1E
The entire cast, including Kevin Bacon, will be here. The Following was one of the breakout shows of last season. Come here to see what’s in store for season two.

1:30 – 2:30 – Warner Archive Presents: Almost Forgotten Heroes – 1A10
There was almost a live action, prime time Superfriends show? Why can’t footage of this exist?!?

1:30 – 2:30 – Marvel Minimates: A Toy Line Turns Ten – 1A08
I love Minimates. I can’t believe they’ve now been around 10 years. There will be special Minimate prizes given out at the end of the panel. If you’re a fan of this toy line, be sure to be here.

1:30 – 2:30 Aw Yeah Comic Drawing Competition and Hullabaloo with Art Baltazar and Franco – Family Room 1B02
Here’s another great Kids Day event to bring you child to. Art and Franco, the creators behind Tiny Titans and Aw Yeah Comics are terrific. Your kid will definitely have fun here.

2:45 – 3:45 – The Making of Return of the Jedi – 1A23
Return of the Jedi turned 30 this year! Come here and see photos and hear stories from the film’s production. Wear your Scout Trooper helmet.

4:00 – 5:00 – Superior Spider-Man and Friends – Empire Stage 1E
Superior Spider-Man is one of Marvel’s top selling, best written and best drawn titles month-in and month-out. Rumor has it that big news will be coming out of this panel. Return of Peter Parker, maybe? Or a third Superior Spider-Man title, perhaps? Dress as Superior Spider-Man or The Doctor and make Dan Slott’s day.

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Jeff Who Lives at Home – Review

2/5 – Watch Cyrus instead
On paper, I should love Jeff, Who Lives at Home. It stars two of my favorite comedic actors, Jason Segel and Ed Helms. I really liked the Duplass brothers’ previous movie, Cyrus. But Jeff, Who Lives at Home just did not work for me.
I’m not exactly sure why Jeff, Who Lives at Home didn’t work for me. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mindset that particular night for a story involving kismet and the interconnectedness of things. Or maybe, the movie is just too slow. That’s the danger of making a lazy stoner your main character; you end up devoting a good amount of time to that character being a lazy stoner.
Jason Segal and Ed Helms star in Two Men, One Bathtub
I thought the ending of Jeff, Who Lives at Home was terrific. It not only paid off on things set up earlier in the film, but it was also in my opinion, the best part of the movie. It was both touching and thrilling. However, I don’t think I can recommend sitting through the rest of the movie in order to reach this high point.
Jeff, Who Lives at Home is currently streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime, and is available to purchase on Amazon.

 

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Safety Not Guaranteed (At The Theater 2012 #7)

This is looking like it’s going to be a great summer for big summer movies. It started very strong with The Avengers, Pixar just released a new movie and the upcoming blockbusters The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises both look like they’re going to be awesome. Because of this, it might be easy to overlook a small budget movie like Safety Not Guaranteed when you’re planning your next trip to the movie theater. But overlooking Safety Not Guaranteed would be a mistake, as it is currently my favorite movie of this year.

Starring actors from three of the best shows on TV, Aubrey Plaza (April on Parks and Rec), Jake Johnson (Nick on New Girl) and Mark Duplass (Pete on The League), having a story involving time travel, and with music by Ryan Miller of Guster, this movie could not have been more directed at me without making overt Star Wars references. I’ve been excited to see Safety Not Guaranteed ever since I first heard about it a few months ago. Then I saw the trailer and started counting down the days until the movie opened.

The League is my new favorite show and I can’t stop talking about, much to the chagrin of any of my friends who don’t watch it.

Safety Not Guaranteed is a very funny movie that has a lot of heart. The humor is great and the characters feel like very real people. I liked how fleshed out everyone was. Aubrey Plaza gives a great performance as Darius, the magazine intern who helps Jake Johnson’s Jeff attempt to interview Mark Duplass’s Kenneth. I thought that Darius and Kenneth had great chemistry together. They have a reverse Taming of the Shrew-esque relationship and I spent much of the movie waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I loved the slow-moving car chase.

On a side not, it’s amazing how badly the wrong pair of glasses can make you look. The gaming laptop toting Arnau (played by Karan Soni) is a really handsome guy when Jeff gives him a five minute makeover. I wish somebody had done that for me in 10th grade when I was sporting over sized gold rimmed frames that helped cement me in the geek camp.

If you like Doctor Who, I think you will really like Safety Not Guaranteed. It’s like watching a Doctor Who episode from the point of view of one of The Doctor’s companions. Can this guy really travel in time? Is he just a nut? Darius and Kenneth reminded me a lot of Rose and The Doctor.

Does that make the beat-up yellow Trans-Am the TARDIS?

If you haven’t seen it already, my recommendation is to make Safety Not Guaranteed the next movie you see. You can check out the trailer below.