The Mix : What are people talking about today?

The Quotable Nicholas Cage

Season of The Witch follows a 14th century Crusader Behmen (Nicholas Cage) and his brother in arms Felson (Ron Perlman) leave the church crusaders and return to their homeland only to find it devastated by the Black Plague. After the Church finally catches up with them, they demand the two to transport an accused witch to a remote and sacred abbey. The accused witch is believed to be to root of the Plague.  They must struggle to survive and reach the abbey – where they discover there are much darker forces at hand and saving mankind might be harder than originally thought.

In celebration of Season of The Witch, which is out today on Blu-ray & DVD, 20th Century-Fox Home Entertainment compiled some of their favorite “Cage sayings” both from his epic films and from “real life”.

Behmen (Season of The Witch):  “I pity any man whose last face they see is yours Felson.”

Johnny Blaze (Ghost Rider):  “He may have my soul, but he doesn’t have my spirit.”

Ben Sanderson (Leaving Las Vegas): “I came here to drink myself to death.”

Dr. Stanley Goodspeed (The Rock): “I love pressure. I eat it for breakfast.” (more…)

Jeff Bridges Wants to Adapt The Giver

lgiver-297x450-8849174Lois Lowry’s classic young adult novel The Giver is headed for the big screen courtesy of actor Jeff Bridges’ persistence. According to Variety, Bridges has wanted to adapt the 1993 science fiction book about a world that has been rendered average and bland.

Bridges and Nikki Silver have reacquired the rights to the novel and have hired Vadim Perelman (The House of Sand and Fog) to write the screen adaptation and nearly got to direct a version in 2006. No other hires have been announced but Bridges is now at an age where he could make a convincing title character.

The Giver is the keeper of memory, of experiences good and bad, for a society that strives for a moderate approach to all things. When young Jonas is selected as the next Giver, he forges a relationship with the far older man and both recognize that the world they inhabit is far from ideal.

Lowry won the Newbery Medal for the novel which remains a high school staple. It has appeared on many best book lists and has endured as a classic example of a dystopian society. When Bridges’ daughter read the book for school, he became intrigued and imagined it for a vehicle for his father, the great Lloyd Bridges.

Lowry loosely connected Gathering Blue and Messenger into an overall trilogy that remains a popular offering bookstores and libraries.

Reviews from the 86th Floor: Barry Reese looks at Diamondback: It Seemed Like a Good Idea At the Time

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DIAMONDBACK: IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME
Derrick Ferguson
Pulpwork Press
ISBN 978-0-9797-3298-0

Derrick Ferguson is well-known in the pulp community, primarily for his character Dillon. But he’s also the creator of Fortune McCall, Sebastian Red and… Diamondback Vogel. It’s that last character who gets the spotlight here, in a story set in the shared world of Denbrook. No prior knowledge of Denbrook is required, however, as Ferguson capably gives you all the required information.

This is a place full of bad people and evil deeds. Overrun by crime and corruption, Denbrook is thrown for a loop when Diamondback arrives, selling his rapid-fire gunhands and keen skills for the right price. Word has gotten around that Diamonback should already be dead and, indeed, we’re given information from the very first chapter that causes us to doubt if our protagonist is who he says he is. To be honest, it’s this identity crisis that sets the story apart from other “badass” action adventure fests that are so common.

Ferguson’s trademark skills are well represented: well-drawn characters, fun dialogue and the sense that you’re reading a tough-guy novel.

I have to comment on the names the characters sport because I was alternately laughing my ass off and rolling my eyes every time a new one was introduced: the aforementioned Diamondback Vogel, Baby Delroy, Titus Hegemon and (my favorite) Nickleby LaLoosh. I loved this and it helped set the tone considerably.

There’s a sequel promised at the end of this one and given the lingering questions about the main character, it’s a well-deserved one. This is a high-octane thriller. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s a good thing. Will it change your life? No — but it’s not meant to. It’s meant to entertain and make you crack a smile along the way.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Monday Mix-Up: Congratulations, New York!

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New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced passage of the Marriage Equality Act by a margin of 33 to 29, granting same-sex couples the freedom to marry under the law. New York is the sixth and largest state to approve gay marriage, effectively doubling the number of Americans living in states with the freedom to marry.

But don’t worry, you can still look down on stinkin’ mutants…

Hat tip: Miss Amerikka.

Sucker Punch

We have come to love Zack Snyder’s visual style, attention to detail, and ability to adapt comics to the silver screen. But, we don’t really have a sense of what he can do on his, without someone else’s work to rely on for inspiration. That is, until this March when he unveiled Sucker Punch, a personal project that had been gestating in his mind for years and he finally was given the opportunity to make it a reality.

Some reality. The mind-bending storyline is a visually and aural feast but is somewhat soulless and cold, not just from the over-reliance on CGI for background and texture but for the total lack of attention to characterization. Like the computer backgrounds, everything is on the surface, giving the cast little to work with, turning them into two-dimensional players on his digital chessboard. Most of that explains why the film fizzled both critically and commercially. In case you missed it, the movie is coming to DVD on Tuesday from Warner Home Video and packs a lot of meat into what feels like a snack.

The story, what there is of it, spotlights 20-year-old “Babydoll” (Emily Browning), confined to a mental institution in the 1960s by her abusive step-father (Gerard Plunkett). She’s locked away because she refused to submit to his unwanted sexual advances, although he claims she was responsible for the death of her younger sister. He exacts revenge by paying off the corrupt attendant Blue Jones (Oscar Isaac) to have her lobotomized, allowing him to solely inherit Babydoll’s inheritance.

The remainder of the film watches Babydoll plot an escape, while befriending fellow inmates — Amber (Jamie Chung), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), Rocket (Jena Malone), and Rocket’s older sister, Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish) — who are being taught sexually provocative dances by the lead psychiatrist Dr. Gorski (Carla Gugino). Babydoll convinces them to help her plan their escape and she mesmerizes people with her own dances and each time she and the audience segue into an action-packed dream sequence. We never see Babydoll dance but there’s plenty of compelling visuals to occupy us while the girls steal the tools needed to enact the plan. Her dreams are directed by a Wise Man (Scott Glenn impersonating David Carradine). (more…)

BATMAN BRAVE & BOLD – Always A Best Bet

pt067211-2715659Looking for something new to watch this summer – catch up on Cartoon Network‘s BATMAN:BRAVE & BOLD. We’ve got The Caped Crusader himself, Diedrich Bader, to talk about his later take on the darker knight. Plus no less than THREE comics get movie deals this week!

Check out The Point Radio for constant pop culture updates – and please check us out on Facebookright here & toss us a “like”.

T-Mobile Girl Morphs into Powers’ Retro Girl

carly-foulkes-e1309182693356-7051342powers-retro-zgirl-e1309182719940-6572723Apparently the first case taken on by the television adaptation of Powers will be “Who Killed Retro Girl?” now that the title character has been cast. Sexy model Carly Foulkes, best known for the T-Mobile ad campaign of the last two years, has been added to the FX pilot.

Series co-creator Brian Michael Bendis revealed this casting tidbit when appearing on  on Sirius XM’s Geektime radio show over the weekend. The 23-year old Canadian model turned actress will leap from pretty-in-pink pitchman to geek immortality with this move.

She joins a cast already including Jason Patric and Lucy Punch as the Powers Homicide detectives in the drama series based on the long-running series by Bendis and co-creator Michael Avon Oeming.

Who Killed Retro Girl? is the name of the first Powers collection, including the debut storyline from the series when it was published in 2000 from Image Comics. The story remains in print as a hardcover or softcover.

NEW PULP’S LATEST PULPED! IS LIVE!

Mon, 27 June 2011

newpulpseal_copy1-3089412 PULPED! The Official New Pulp Podcast-Episode 2-Chronologies get PULPED!

PULPED! is a Podcast dedicated to the creators and fans of New Pulp! New Pulp, heroic fiction by modern artists written with the sensibility and in the tradition of the Pulp genre! This week, Tommy and Ron take on the hosting duties and visit with Jeff Deischer, Pulp Writer and Chronologist about his latest book! THE WAY THEY WERE contains essays on various and sundry points about Doc Savage, The Avenger, Dracula, Captain Nemo, Gullivar of Mars, and other noted Pulp and literary characters! And if you don’t think this is New Pulp, then listen and learn, children!

Then, New Pulp’s own Diva of Justice, The Pulptress swings in with a review of CROSSOVERS by Win Scott Eckert, Noted Pulp Author and Chronologist! Tune in, listen, and be sure to get PULPED!

PULPED! will post each Monday!

Check out PULPED! and the New Pulp Movement at www.newpulpfiction.com and at the New Pulp forum hosted by Comic Related at http://www.comicrelated.com/forums/ under NEW PULP! Also, like New Pulp on Facebook!

Ron Fortier-www.airship27.com

Tommy Hancock-www.pulpmachine.blogspot.com

Barry Reese-www.barryreese.net

Derrick Ferguson-www.dillon-dlferguson.blogspot.com

Like Barry’s Writer Page, Tommy’s Writer Page, and Airship 27 on Facebook!

MOONSTONE BRINGS A BIT OF HONEY TO ANGELTOWN..AND MORE!

In This Issue
HOT OFF THE PRESS
SUPER SALE Items!
Previously Released
AT PRESS NOW
Moonstone News
Quick Links

.
BATTLE for L.A.
90pg graphic novel
by CJ Henderson &
Mark Sparacio!
teams up pulp heroes
Black Bat, Phantom
Detective, G8, Domino
Lady, &Secret Agent X!
was $9.95, NOW JUST
$6.99!!

Click the pic!

CHICKS in CAPES
new stories of new super heroines…was $14.99,
NOW JUST $9.99
click the pic !

KOLCHAK: Lovecraftian
Horror GN
was $13.99
now for a limited time,
JUST $8.99
Click the pic!

Awaken your sense of ADVENTURE!
SUPER SALE, 40% off on all
Radio Shows Cd’s & all DVD movies!

HOT OFF THE PRESSES!
1. HONEY WEST #4 (mystery)
2. ANGEL TOWN (mystery)
3. HONEY WEST: Anne Francis commemorative
4. BLACK BAT GN (action)

SUPER SALE ITEMS! Limited Time offers!
1. BATTLE FOR LA GN
Pulp team up tale by CJ Henderson & Mark Sparacio-starring Black Bat, G8, Phantom Detective, Domino LAdy, & Secret Agent X!
was $9.95, NOW JUST $6.99!
_________________________________________
2. Chicks in Capes anthology
new superheroines prose collection!
was $14.95, NOW JUST $9.99!
——————————————————-
3. SKULL and BONES GN
Ed Hannigan’s masked-hero/intrigue tale of
destruction!
was $15.95, NOW JUST $4.99!
—————————————————
4. ROTTEN TPB was $15.95, now just $9.99!
_________________________________________
5. KOLCHAK: Lovecraft Horror GN
was $13.95, NOW JUST $8.99!

Previously released:

1. HACK SLASH meets Zombies vs Cheerleaders!
(“humor”
2. ZOMBIES vs CHEERLEADERS #3 (Humor)

AT PRESS NOW:
  1. Spider #2
  2. Capt Action King Size #1
  3. Omega Paradox #0
  4. Green Hornet Casefiles
  5. The Avenger: Justice Inc Files
  6. PHASES of the MOON #1
  7. The SPIDER: Satan’s Murder Machines HC

MOONSTONE NEWS TRANSMISSION
Coming up:
*BIG -hairy -news coming….stay tuned!
*Box 13, Johnny Dollar, and one lone masked surprise- prose anthologies TBA!

Thanks for your kind attention,
Joe, your Man in the Moon