Can't Stop the Serenity - June 23!

Attention Browncoats in the DFW area! Be sure to pick up your "Can't Stop the Serenity" tickets soon! Your chance to enjoy "Serenity" on the big screen and support a charity all at the same time!

Catching up... March Dallas Comic Con

I have absolutely no excuse for not posting in such a long time. So, as I sit here at a Starbucks in the Austin Radisson hotel, I realize that I have internet connectivity and time to kill. So, let's catch up...

Back in March (I know, it's been too long...) I attended the Dallas Comic Con fan day, and there were several special guests that were of interest. I originally went to meet Morena Baccarin (Inara, from Firefly), but I ended up getting to meet some other actors. (It turns out I'm much more of a geek than I'd originally realized!)

Morena Baccarin - She was nice, but very rushed. Not nearly as cozy an experience as Ron Glass, but then again there were about 100 folks behind me in line, so I understand.



Clare Kramer - (Glory from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") At that time, I hadn't yet seen Clare's character in "Buffy", but I decided to meet her and snap a picture b/c I knew I'd end up loving the character. And sure enough, now that I know who Glory is, I cannot believe I actually met her. She's such a funny/interesting/great character in the show. Anyway, she was incredibly nice!



Ernie Hudson - (Winston from "Ghostbusters") I couldn't resist getting my picture taken with a Ghostbuster! He was so incredibly nice, too. And it was cool seeing the various Ghostbuster fans walking around in full costume.



Walter Koenig - (Chekov from "Star Trek") Nice man. Made me realize just how long ago the Star Trek show and movies came out. He seemed very tired when I met him, but then the ST fans that were in the "line" were kind of ... fanatics... so I'd be tired too.



Peter Mayhew - (Chewbacca from "Star Wars") Nice man. It was the end of the day, and he was nice enough to smile for a quick picture as things were closing up.



Good times!

Very cool "No Cellphones" advert

Across the Universe

I'd heard about this a while back when Bono signed on to play a small role, but I'd forgotten about it. Today I stumbled across the trailer for the upcoming musical "Across The Universe". I'm intrigued. I love the Beatles. (I have to. It's genetic. Had my Mom had the chance, she would have traveled great distances and slept outside of arenas to see them. Sound familiar?)

A love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock 'n roll, the film moves from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. The star-crossed lovers, Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with "Dr. Robert" (Bono) and "Mr. Kite" (Eddie Izzard) as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy – against all odds – to find their own way back to each other.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix poster

Just found this on The Movie Blog - the first poster for the upcoming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Man, Ralph Fiennes makes one creepy He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

Rocky Balboa

I'd heard the rumors. I thought they couldn't possibly be true. How old is Stallone anyway? 60? (Actually, yes. Yes, he is.) It's official, though. The movie Rocky Balboa has a trailer and a poster. And a blog. (Whoa.)

I'll just admit it right off -- I'll probably see this. Either rent it on DVD or see it at the movies with my Dad. The trailer looks promising. The whole issue in the movie is that Rocky is too old to fight, so it's not like they're going to pretend that he's not 60. We'll see.

So ... I'm wondering if they're going to premiere the movie in Second Life? Hmm....

No sequel to Serenity? Wrong, I say!!!

Fans like myself have kept up the faith that "the greatest show ever cancelled" will some day have a sequel for its movie spinoff. Sure Firefly only lasted (almost) one season (thanks to the dimbulbs at Fox), but the DVD boxed set was a huge success! Sure the movie didn't make as much money as we all would have liked, but the DVD release stayed at #1 for many, many, many more weeks than ever expected!

Recently, Joss posted a comment on the site whedonesque.com that caused an uproar amongst fans like myself. Some are saying that his comments completely squashed any hope of a Serenity 2. My response to all you naysayers: Nay!

Look closely...

Whedonesque Post: Additionally, a person called "Black Knight" bumps into him as he leaves Forbidden Planet. Apparently he's working on a sequel for something. Except not.

Joss's comment: Hi boys and odd, smooth, compellingly bumpy non-boys. [*snip*] I did run into someone at Forbidden Planet, and he said something about that I ought to make more things, possibly art things, and I agreed. [*snip*] There's no sequel, no secret project regarding Serenity or somesuch and I'm not even sure how anyone thought there was talk there. I've seen Nathan and Tim (and Summer and Alan) recently because they're my friends because I'm so, yeah, awesome. So let's put that to bed and smother it with a pillow.

Kat's Analysis: If you look closely at Joss's words, you'll see that he says there's, not there will never be. He confirms that there's no current project ... but he does *not* confirm that there never will be a project. Get my drift? Plus, he's responding to the site's post that he's working on something, making it sound like it just might be Serenity 2.

So, to all the Browncoats out there, keep up the faith. Joss has not yet smacked us down completely.

Life is Beautiful

Last night, they showed one of my favorite movies of all time -- "Life is Beautiful". I highly recommend this movie, if you haven't already seen it. Truly a beautiful story.

"Guido -- a charming but bumbling waiter who's gifted with a colorful imagination and an irresistible sense of humor -- has won the heart of the woman he loves and created a beautiful life for his young family. But then, that life is threatened by World War II ... and Guido must rely on those very same strengths to save his beloved wife and son from an unthinkable fate!" - Amazon.com

Watch the trailer...

Little Miss Sunshine

That God it's the weekend!  After an incredibly long weekend, Roy and I decided to go out for dinner and a movie last night.  Dinner was great, and the movie was *WONDERFUL*!

"The Hoover family treks from Albuquerque to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, California, to fulfill the deepest wish of 7-year-old Olive, an ordinary little girl with big dreams. Along the way the family must deal with crushed dreams, heartbreaks, and a broken-down VW bus, leading up to the surreal Little Miss Sunshine competition itself. On their travels through this bizarre landscape, the Hoovers learn to trust and support each other along the path of life, no matter what the challenge." (Lycos Movies)

Wonderful cast of characters.  The VW van.  The routine.  You'll love it!

Click here to watch the trailer.

Oh, and the music in the movie was really good ... and yet familiar.  I realized a bit into the movie that the author also had music in the movie Everything is Elluminated (which is also *very* good).  The musician is Devotchka, and you can listen to his music on his myspace site and on his website.

A few Scanner Darkly tidbits

Greetings all! I figure you've had about a week to enjoy my last post about my beautiful li'l cousin, so it's about time for me to post. :)

The good folks at The Opine have posted a link where you can view the first 24 minutes of A Scanner Darkly. So, if you're thinking of watching the movie, but you're not too sure, hopefully this'll help you make up your mind.


Click here to view the first 24 minutes.
Interestingly, the movie also has its own myspace site -- http://www.myspace.com/substanced. And so, Mr. Bob Arctor is officially one of my friends on my myspace site.

And last but not least, NPR's "Fresh Air" has recently had a couple of Scanner-related interviews. Last week, the show featured a 2003 interview with talented Robert Downey Jr., who was very, very good in Scanner. Terry Gross also recently interviewed Richard Linklater, director of A Scanner Darkly. Enjoy!

A Scanner Darkly

Roy and I had a free pass to see A Scanner Darkly at the Magnolia last night, and I really, really liked it! Keanu Reeves was good (Ted!), Winona Ryder was really good, Woody Harrelson was really good, and Robert Downey Jr. was *great*! And I *loved* the spastic addict.











Click here to see the entire collection of images.

Blur Animations

It is amazing some of the stuff you can find on the internet. Completely free, and very high quality! I was taking a brain break this evening after completing a paper for class, and I stumbled across a site called Blur Studio. One section of the site has four animated shorts they've created, and each of them is really good.

Click on the image below to see the animated short.

Call Center Movie

It has been way too long since my last post. I apologize already! Moving on...

I have this great Firefox extension called StumbleUpon, and Roy and I can easily waste an entire evening stumbling across random internet sites. Very fun. Recently, I stumbled onto the Call Center Movie, which is an incredibly funny short about an over-worked Indian man who single-handedly attempts to handle five different call centers. Tech support, airline reservations, emotional support lines -- you name it, he does it.

Watch and enjoy!

Watch This Movie: MAD HOT BALLROOM

I cannot say enough about this movie -- this is definitely one of my favorite movies of all time. The movie is a documentary about these fifth graders in New York City who learn ballroom dancing and work toward the city-wide competition. The movie is WONDERFUL. I just cannot say enough. Makes me smile just thinking about it.

The official movie website has the trailer and several clips from the movie. You will love this movie. You will fall in love with each and every one of those kids! You will smile so much, your cheeks will hurt! I promise you!

Love it! Love it! Love it!

Movie Recommendation: Crash

The movie depicts several characters and brings them together through car accidents, shootings, and carjackings. Most of the characters depicted in the film are racially prejudiced in some way, and become involved in conflicts which force them to examine their own prejudices. Through these characters' interactions, the film attempts to show that racism is common in modern America.
-- Wikipedia

This is really a great movie, folks. It's already out on DVD. Go rent it -- it's just one of those movies that really moves you. If you're still not convinced, click here to view the trailer.

Go! Buy Serenity! NOW!

As probably all of you know (and why wouldn't you?) -- Serenity comes out *today*! Yes, the BDM (Big D*** Movie, as we Browncoats call it) is currently the #1 DVD top seller at Amazon.com. Mmm-hmm. Yep.

So, get your boots on out there and buy yourself a copy ... or three. Nothin' in the 'verse can stop ya!

"I'm a leaf on the wind -- watch me soar!"

Ok, guys. If you haven't watched Serenity yet, you must go see it! It's a great movie, and you'll be thanking me afterwards! If you're still not convinced, Joss Whedon recently posted a link to a site that has the first nine minutes of the show. Go ... see for yourself! It's great!!

Watch the first nine minutes of Serenity!
http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/3929_Serenity/web/index.html

Yet another Serenity update...

Yes folks, I have yet another Firefly convert. Mmmhmm. Corina is the latest addition to the list of DFW area Firefly fans.

And to add to this momentous occasion, the second trailer for Serenity has been released. Go ... watch ... enjoy!

Late Fireworks Update

Greetings all!

I know I'm a few days late in posting, but -hey- at least I'm posting. :) Anyway, the 4th was nice. Roy and I headed out to good ol' San Angelo (a mere 5hr trip) and visited w/ family.

Highlights:
- Watched Green Day videos with my way-cool sis
- Having the waiters sing Happy Bday to my parents at the restaurant
- Watched fireworks at the river with Roy
- Spent time with my folks
- Coffee and breakfasts w/ Mama
- That wonderful Outback steak dinner

Oh, and I can't remember when I watched this, but if you haven't already seen it, "The Motorcycle Diaries" is a very good movie. Loved it!