Here’s the 2013 Academy Award Nominations! Let the Whining Commence!

So the nominations for the 85th Academy Awards were released and admittedly, the one thing that I figured they could not mess up, they massively screw up. I’ll get to that in a second but let’s start off with who got the most nominations. Lincoln led the way with 12 nominations, with Life of Pi coming up with 11 nominations itself. Silver Linings Playbook managed to get nominations in all the acting categories, ending with 8 nominations. Argo also got 7 nominations but it should have been 8. Again I digress so before I drop into what I thought were true crimes, let’s go over which movies I thought deserved major props.

silver linings 2I am glad that Joaquin Phoenix did make the nominee list for best actor, despite his rant on hating the Oscar campaigning process and the idea of acting awards. Yeah it’s a political process that is kind of stupid and narcissistic but that should have no effect on how great he was in The Master. I still think he’ll lose to Daniel Day-Lewis in the end but, I mean seriously, who else can stop Lincoln‘s momentum after scoring 12 nominations? As for Best Actress, I’m happy that Jennifer Lawrence got her Oscar nomination because I thought she did a great job in Silver Linings Playbook on a role that could have gone south with any other actress. Ditto with Bradley Cooper getting his first nomination for his portrayal of the bi-polar protagonist. He’s come a pretty long way since we saw him The Wedding Crashers. Also, seeing 9 year old Quvenzhané Wallis and 85 year old Emmanuelle Riva nominated is pretty cool to see, considering it creates a record for the largest age gap in nominees in Oscar history. Supporting Actor made me happy with Alan Arkin and Robert De Niro being nominated for Argo and Silver Linings Playbook respectively. De Niro did a terrific job especially with his understated role as the father struggling to help and connect with his son.

argo 4Now to the major issues I have with the list. Number one? Why in the living crap is Ben Affleck not nominated for Best Director? This is the most mind-baffling thing in the world to see considering I thought that Argo was one of the best movies of the year. It did score 7 nominations but I felt it was massively due to the deft handling behind the camera by the actor/director. This honestly kept me in shock for a few minutes before I started writing this article. I can understand why Tom Hooper was not nominated for Les Miserables because people were either loving or hating his direction but Ben Affleck made Argo work and flow beautifully. Another surprise was that Kathryn Bigelow was not nominated for Best Director as well and that Zero Dark Thirty only scored 5 nominations. With that, I think we can predict that Lincoln will have a good chance to dominate the Oscars next month at this rate.

_SHX0069.NEFAlso why the heck did Perks of a Being a Wallflower and Looper not get nominated for Adapted and Best Original Screenplay respectively? Looper was one of the most creative stories I’ve seen in a movie and it’s a crime that Rian Johnson did not  get recognition from the Academy for this one. Stephen Chbosky, in adapting and directing his own novel, should have also got recognition for the great writing and translating to the screen. It kept the spirit of the novel and yet made it entertaining and movie ready so he deserved props for that. Also, why not nominate Skyfall or The Dark Knight Rises for Best Picture? In terms of The Dark Knight Rises, that movie gets better with every viewing and while not as strong as The Dark Knight, it should’ve gotten some sort of nomination, maybe getting Christopher Nolan on the board for Best Director. Again, that’s asking a bit much considering my earlier rant on the snubbed nominees. About Skyfall, I thought it was brilliant and deserved the recognition of being one of the smartest Bond, if not action, movies in a long while. Speaking of, why not even throw in Javier Bardem at least for his Bond villain portrayal? His stuff was great and he owned the screen. Maybe even Samuel L. Jackson or Leonardo DiCaprio for Django Unchained but that Supporting Actor list is pretty solid so I can’t argue that too much. How about Ann Dowd in Compliance? I know it was an uphill battle but man, it would have been cool to see her make the list.

I could go on and on but I’m going to provide the list, thanks EW.com for getting it organized by the way, so you can argue with me on social media about it because…man, I’m a little annoyed with some of the movies and actors not getting their due. I guess we’ll find out on February 24th who the big winners will be. Although if Paperman doesn’t win Best Animated Short, I’m going to riot.

Best Picture
Amour
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, Argo
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Master
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director
Michael Haneke, Amour
Ang Lee, Life of Pi
David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Original Screenplay
Amour, Michael Hanake
Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino
Flight, John Gatins
Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty, Mark Boal

Best Adapted Screenplay
Argo, Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild, Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin,
Life of Pi, David Magee
Lincoln, Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell

Best Animated Feature:
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Wreck-It Ralph

Best Cinematography
Anna Karenina, Seamus McGarvey
Django Unchained, Robert Richardson
Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda
Lincoln, Janusz Kaminski
Skyfall, Roger Deakins

Best Costume Design
Anna Karenina, Jacqueline Durran
Les Misérables, Paco Delgado
Lincoln, Joanna Johnston
Mirror Mirror, Eiko Ishioka
Snow White and the Huntsman, Colleen Atwood

Best Documentary Feature
5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
The Invisible War
Searching for Sugar Man

Best Documentary Short
Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays at Racine
Open Heart
Redemption

Best Film Editing
Argo, William Goldenberg
Life of Pi, Tim Squyres
Lincoln, Michael Kahn
Silver Linings Playbook, Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
Zero Dark Thirty, Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg

Best Foreign Language Film
Amour, Austria
Kon-Tiki, Norway
No, Chile
A Royal Affair, Denmark
War Witch, Canada

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Hitchcock, Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
Les Misérables, Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell

Best Original Score
Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli
Argo, Alexandre Desplat
Life of Pi, Mychael Danna
Lincoln, John Williams
Skyfall, Thomas Newman

Best Original Song
“Before My Time” from Chasing Ice, music and lyric by J. Ralph
“Everybody Needs A Best Friend” from Ted, music by Walter Murphy; lyric by Seth MacFarlane
“Pi’s Lullaby” from Life of Pi, music by Mychael Danna; lyric by Bombay Jayashri
“Skyfall” from Skyfall, music and lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
“Suddenly” from Les Misérables, music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil

Best Production Design
Anna Karenina, Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright
Les Misérables, Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson
Life of Pi, Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
Lincoln, Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Best Animated Short
Adam and Dog
Fresh Guacamole
Head over Heels
Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”
Paperman

Best Live Action Short
Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death of a Shadow 
Henry

Best Sound Editing
Argo, Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn
Django Unchained, Wylie Stateman
Life of Pi, Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
Skyfall, Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
Zero Dark Thirty, Paul N.J. Ottosson

Best Sound Mixing
Argo, John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia
Les Misérables, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes
Life of Pi, Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin
Lincoln, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins
Skyfall, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson

Best Visual Effects
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White
Life of Pi, Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott
The Avengers, Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
Prometheus, Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
Snow White and the Huntsman, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson

Comic Rack: Guillermo del Toro’s DC Movie, Marvel’s New Teasers & More!

Welcome to Comic Rack! My pick of the top five comic news stories in no particular order…

 Guillermo del Toro IS Working On A DC Movie

After a bunch of flip floppy wish wash from PR executives that we’ve previously touched on, lots of rumors and hearsay, it’s finally been confirmed that Guillermo del Toro is actually working on a DC Comics film. Or plans to anyway, I wouldn’t hold my breath for it to come out. Not that I wouldn’t love it, because his idea of a dark supernaturally themed DC movie with Constantine (Pronounced Constan- TYNE), sounds totally awesome and something right up his alley.

[box_light]“The movement for this happened before [The Avengers],” del Toro adds about DC building its own cinematic universe. “They were already galvanized to launch ‘Justice League’ and they were galvanized to make their universe cohesive… They are really, really, with ‘Superman’, very, very confident with what they have. They are now feeling they have two pillars. Batman and Superman… There’s a foundation that now they can build on.”[/box_light]

I’ve long been a fan of Guillermo’s, and think he’s one of the most creative and crafty directors out there that knows how to tell supernatural stories in a way that’s neither cheap nor boring. If Man of Steel is a big hit and the Justice League movie does in fact get made, you better believe I’ll be counting down the days until this project comes to fruition.

Find out more here.

Jeff Lemire Is Doubling Down On DC Projects

Comic Rack 1:9:13- Lemire-Projects

I’m such a huge fan of Jeff Lemire that simple, quick news like this can get my imagination running in a thousand different ways. The news is basically that he’s hinted at bringing some old school DC characters back into the modern fray. Which ones you ask? Well, they would consist of Kamandi: The Last Boy On Earth, Jemm: Son Of Saturn, Red Tornado, and even The Spectre. Right now it’s all conjecture based on some images he tweeted, so It could all be for naught. I’m sure there’s always the possibility he was being a comics nerd and sharing some cool pictures with his fans, in the same way I share pictures of my cats with my fans. All zero of them. Regardless of my pathetic nature, if Lemire does end up doing something with these projects, you’ll definitely be informed right here the moment it does.

Find out more here.

Marvel Teaser Season Is Back, And One Features Brian Wood!

Comic Rack- 1:9:13- Brian Wood-XX-Marvel-Now!

In yet another teaser released by Marvel to make us all speculate endlessly until we don’t, we’ve got the vague hint at some new book that will be possibly related to X-women. The teaser released shows a picture of two X’s, with a DNA double hellix behind them, along with Brian Wood and Olivier Coipel’s names. It’s a bit obvious it’s referring to women in some way, what with the XX chromosome being referenced, but the question is who exactly? We all know Brian Wood is pretty familiar with writing women so it’s a question of who he’ll be writing about, rather than if. A solid speculation could be that the DNA helix hints at the genetic code that leads to mutants, and along with the X being such a famously mutant related letter at Marvel it’s a safe bet to make that it’s gonna be an X-Men related title. Some say it could even be called X-Women? I personally think that’s a corny title, but I’m positive it’ll be an interesting book nonetheless.

Along with that came another teaser announcing Phil Noto’s arrival as artist of the new Thunderbolts series. It’s titled Explosive and the image is certainly that:comic-rack-marvel-teasers-explosive

As always there are more teasers from Marvel, some of which are utterly baffling, like this “Birth” one:

Comic-Rack-1:9:13-marvel-Birth-teaser

And this trio of obvious ones for Hulk, Deadpool, and Spider-Man, respectively:

Comic Rack-1:9:13-Hulk Teaser Comic Rack 1:9:13-Deadpool-Teaser Comic Rack- 1:9:13- Spiderman-teaser

Find out more here, here, here, here and here.

Dan Slott Keeps Pumping Out The Spider-Man Craziness By Bringing In Spider-Man 2099

Comic Rack-1:9:13-Spiderman-2099

Listen, I haven’t read a Spider-Man book in years. I think the last time I did was when they switched Amazing to 3 times a week. I decided that was way more BS than I could handle at any given time, along with all of the One More Day nonsense that was going on. It pretty much put me off of Spider-Man forever, which hasn’t been remedied by the terrible movies and it’s subsequent reboots and forced sequels. He’s by far always been my least favorite character, and seeing all the wacky stuff Dan Slott has been doing to Spider-Man has done little to raise my interest in that book. Sometimes something is done when it’s done for you, and that’s that. That being said, I do find it interesting he’s bringing back Miguel O’Hara into the current continuity. That’s right, Spider-Man 2099 is going to be integrated into The Superior Spider-Man somehow. I remember reading issues of Spider-Man 2099 in the late nineties and being really stoked when I found his action figure because I thought it was rare. Regardless, the amount of novel things Dan Slott seems to be trying with Spider-Man these days, without getting into spoiler territory, is pretty interesting. It almost makes me wish somebody as gutsy and ballsy as him would try something like that with Batman or Superman, but he’s already gotten death threats and whatnot for stinkin’ Spider-Man, so I wouldn’t blame him for avoiding any other superhero properties for a while.

Find out more here.

Titan Comics Launches A Creator-Owned Based Imprint!

Comic Rack- 1:9:13- Titan Comics

I’m a pretty huge fan of creator owned comics. They’re by far what I read the most of nowadays, and to me are always the more personally rewarding stories. I love me a good superhero book, don’t get me wrong, but there’s nothing like a perfectly made mini-series that takes chances with its story and uses the medium of comics itself to tell a more effective story than any of the Big Two could. While I’m not very familiar with Titan, I always applaud another indie publisher throwing their hat into the ring and I’m especially fond of the plan to focus on creator owned content. It’d be pretty great if we got another big creative owned hit from them the way Image did with The Walking Dead or Invincible. It’s unlikely, but not impossible.

Find out more here.

That’s all for this week’s edition! We’ll see you next time at the Comic Rack!

11 New and Returning TV Shows to Watch in 2013…

There was a time when a show premiered in January or February it usually meant it was crap. I think it is safe to say that this is no longer that case, and to prove my point, a list of the top new and returning shows that are premiering (or have premiered in the last week or so) in the coming weeks.

In order of premiere date, the top eleven shows that you should be on the look out for this winter. Why eleven? Well I had come up with ten and then realized I’d forgotten one and by that time I was too attached to the ten original so eleven it is!

1. Portlandia

First off, a show that came back on Friday, January 6th on IFC. The brain child of SNL’s Fred Armisen and musician/actress Carrie Brownstein, Portlandia is a show you should be watching, if for no other reason than to understand why people keep talking about “put a bird on it!” and thinking it’s hysterical. Now in its third season, you can catch up on the first two seasons on Netflix which I would highly recommend. Even though the show is comprised of shorts, it does have a story arc. You won’t be completely lost if you start with season 3 but you’d at least understand why the new Geico commercial with the pig at the restaurant is so humorous. Portlandia has always been a fan of guest stars and season 3 looks to be no different. Patton Oswalt, Jeff Goldblum and Penny Marshall plus so much more!

Portlandia– Fridays at 10 eastern on IFC, check it out and feel free to thank me.

2. Downton Abbey

7.9 million Americans can’t be wrong. That is how many people tuned into the season 3 premiere of PBS’s Downton Abbey on Sunday, January 6th. A product of the Britain’s itv, Downton Abbey follows the lives of the inhabitants of a great English manor in the 1900’s. At it’s base it’s nothing more than a soap opera but the great characters and beautiful settings have worked their way into our hearts and DVR’s alike. While I really enjoy the dichotomy of the upstairs vs. downstairs, it is the individual characters that I love. Watching Dame Maggie Smith as the matriarch of the family is like watching a master class on acting; the woman can do no wrong, none! Add in Shirley MacClaine as the other mother-in-law and the personality clashes practically write themselves.

One has to wonder, given the success of shows like Downton Abbey and Sherlock, how many times Ed Begley, Jr.’s character from A Mighty Wind has been quoted by those in the PBS offices.

You can find Downton Abbey on Sunday nights at 9 eastern on PBS. Word of warning, if you are looking to record it on your DVR, it will more than likely listed as Masterpiece Theatre.

3. Cougar Town

I’m sure everyone just let out a groan, but hear me out, especially if you never watched Cougar Town beyond the first few episodes. When it premiered, this show had one of the worst premises ever; a newly divorced woman in her 40’s who is out to date younger men, therefore making her a “cougar”. Not totally sure why they thought that would ever take off, and surprisingly it didn’t. The writers saw this and changed the premise almost completely. The show’s creators even flirted with the idea of changing the name of the show, but in the end kept it. Now instead of the dating escapades of Courtney Cox, it’s a show about friends and family and friends who are family. I like my sitcoms to have an emotional element and have a story that grows with the characters. Cougar Town does that, now.

After airing on ABC for three seasons, this season will be on TBS. What effect it will have on the writing (given that standards and practices are more lenient on cable than network TV) remains to be seen, but I know I will be tuning in to find out. If I’ve convinced you, or your interest is the slightest bit piqued, you can catch Cougar Town premiering on January 8th at 10 eastern on TBS.

4. 1600 Penn

Another sitcom and one that I’m not convinced will be good but I think still needs to be given a chance is NBC’s new show, 1600 Penn. NBC needs this show to win. Their comedy schedule is taking some big hits with The Office and 30 Rock signing off this year and Community and Up All Night on shaky ground (Up All Night completely changing formats from single cam to multi-cam with live audience is almost unheard of), they need something to fill those slots. Animal Practice shockingly enough, crashed and burned and while Matthew Perry’s Go On has had a bit of success, it can’t carry the entire schedule. The only thing NBC has going for it right now is Parks and Recreation and it doesn’t have the ratings to stand alone either, which is a crime but that’s another thought for another day.

Enter Bill Pullman and Jenna Elfman as the President and First Lady of the United States. The sitcom focuses on them and their somewhat dysfunctional family including their son, Josh Gad. These are not small names which makes it all the more surprising that they’d sign on for something that doesn’t look all that promising. However I did just recommend a show that started off in the toilet and redeemed itself further down the road so perhaps I’ll be singing a different tune after a few episodes, here’s hoping.

1600 Penn premieres on January 10th at 9:30 eastern on NBC.

5. Girls

I have to wonder if Lena Dunham occasionally pinches herself to make sure it’s all real. I know I would be. The first season of Girls, which she created and stars in, was met with critical and commercial success. On a network that is known more for its dramas, Girls has made a name for itself and has Dunham mainly to thank for it. That and the fact there hasn’t been a “group of girls” type of show that is actually good since the departure of Sex and the City in 2004. I happen to love this show and can’t wait to see what those crazy kids get themselves into in season 2. If I had to guess, it would be a lot of alcohol and a lot of sex.

Girls starts back up on January 13th at 9pm on HBO.

6. Ripper Street

Another British import, Ripper Street takes place in the East End of London shortly after the murder spree of Jack the Ripper. One can only imagine how crazy that area would have been given the fact that Jack the Ripper and his crimes were known worldwide. The amount of people there to just be what we today call “disaster tourists” must have been overwhelming. I do like how in the promo, there is a guy giving a tour! So it’s up to the “H Division” who investigated the Ripper crimes, are tasked with keeping that area of London under control. Ripper Street follows their story, with Matthew MacFadyen (MI-5/Spooks) as the famous Edmund Reid. I think we can all agree that the BBC usually does a very good job with their projects and this looks to be no different.

Ripper Street finds its way to BBC America on January 19th at 9 eastern.

7. The Following

As I mentioned a few weeks back, Kevin Bacon is returning to TV with a show called The Following. It’s already making news, but not in ways I imagine they’d wanted, but rather because of the level of violence in the show. Given that I just watched an episode of Criminal Minds in which an insane man was making marionettes out of live people, I daresay the violence won’t be a lasting issue. The Following has an interesting premise- a serial killer who escapes and the police then discovering that he has become a cult favorite with the psychopaths of the world- and I’ll admit this is one that I’m looking forward to most this mid-season. I’m a big fan of James Purefoy and of course Kevin Bacon is, well he’s Kevin Bacon.

You can get caught up in the mystery starting on January 21st at 9 eastern on Fox.

8. The Americans

Neon is back in style so why not Communist Russia? I’m guessing that is what the creators of The Americans thought and at first blush, it appears as if they might be on to something. Keri Russel and Matthew Rhys (Brothers and Sisters) play married KGB agents here in America in the 1980’s. I think it will be very interesting to see how this plays out. There are some who are dismissing it as just a Homeland knockoff but I daresay they aren’t really the same concept at all. Growing up in the Cold War the idea that anyone could be a Russian spy really was a thing. How many stories have come out over the years of “ordinary” people being outed as spies and their friends and neighbors having no idea? Even though I hadn’t heard much of this show before seeking it out, I’m intrigued and will certainly be checking it out.

The Americans premieres on January 30th at 10 eastern on FX.

9. Community

I will not be surprised if someday in the future, Community finds its way into a textbook in a chapter titled “what not to do when trying to produce a successful television show” and it will have nothing to do with the quality of the writing or the performances of the actors. If it wasn’t so aggravating as a fan, it would be almost comical to watch NBC yank Community around like a neglected rag doll. They’ve never put much marketing into it, and have repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with time changes and taking it off the schedule only to put it back on but then change the air date… it’s a mess. Add in the drama with Dan Harmon and Chevy Chase both leaving the show and lord have mercy where do they go from here?

In my perfect world, everyone with a television would tune into Community when it airs so the ratings are astronomically high and NBC will be forced to renew Community for another season even though they are making it pretty clear with their actions that they don’t want to. That would be a perfect world. Alas that won’t happen so I’m just going to enjoy Community for however long it has left.

You can find Community on October 19th February 7th at 8 eastern on NBC.

10. Touch

Kiefer Sutherland running! Kiefer Sutherland out of breath! Kiefer Sutherland’s child is in danger! No, this is not 24, but rather Touch. I’ll admit that I did not watch Touch when it aired. Just happened to come across it one day on Netflix and gave it a shot. I am thankful for this bit of kismet because it really is a good show. From Tim Kring, creator of Crossing Jordan and Heroes, Touch is about a kid who doesn’t speak or interact with anyone but is obsessed with numbers, numbers that his father (Sutherland) and social worker discover actually mean something. Every week he gives them a new set of numbers which lead them to a new clue in an even more expansive mystery involving Danny Glover and Maria Bello. If you missed the first season, find it on demand or on Netflix, it’s a good one. It of course requires a massive suspension of disbelief but if you don’t dwell on details too much, the story is quite fantastic.

This is another show that was scheduled to premiere in the fall but got bumped to the mid-season so we’ll just have to wait and see what that means for the future.

For now, you can see Touch with a two-hour premiere on February 8th at 8 eastern on Fox.

11. Zero Hour

I am a closest lover of conspiracy theories. Most of the time I think they are bubkus but it doesn’t make me love them any less. I especially like conspiracy theories wrapped up in treasure hunting scenarios. National Treasure, The Librarian, Uncharted (the games)? Big fan of them all. So it comes as no surprise that I was really excited when I read the description of Zero Hour. A woman goes missing, her husband who by the way has a magazine called “Skeptics” finds a clock she bought that has some kind of treasure map inside and that leads him on a wild goose chase with people talking in whispers and riddles? Yes please.

Anthony Edwards returns to television for the first time since Dr. Green died on ER and in my opinion, he couldn’t have chosen a cooler looking show. Here’s hoping it lives up to my own hype.

Zero Hour premieres on February 14th at 8 eastern on ABC.

Of course being the somewhat indecisive person I am- a few Honorable Mentions:

Justified – Tuesdays at 8 eastern on FX
Archer – Season 4 premieres January 17th at 10 easter on FX
All the Showtime showsShameless, Masters of Sex, and Ray Donovan

It’s always a good thing when the hiatus is over so let’s celebrate- Happy New Year everyone!

“Transformers 4” Adds to Marky Mark’s Funky Bunch Cast

It looks like Marky Mark has his sidekick to join him and his new funky bunch, also known as the Transformers. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Jack Reynor has been cast as the new lead alongside Mark Wahlberg in Transformers 4, directed by Michael “There’s No Such Thing as a Stationary Camera Shot” Bay. Reynor is fairly new to United States shores as his only major Hollywood release is the new Vince Vaughn comedy Delivery Man, which is due out later this year.

Jack Reynor

The Transformers franchise is undergoing a casting overhaul as none of the principles from the previous movies are returning as this is a new chapter in the saga. They are still looking to cast the daughter of Mark Wahlberg, and have already undergone screen tests in order to find the Megan Fox/Rosie Huntington-Whiteley replacement. Supposedly Reynor will play the boyfriend in this story, as it will take place four years after the “Chicago War” that played out in the third movie, Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Michael Bay has said that he wants to make a different trilogy that continues the story, only with different characters and perspectives. For this franchise to pick an unknown makes sense as opposed to an established star where they might have to pay him backend on top of the initial paydays. I say good for this kid as he steps foot on to American soil and finds himself ready to take on Michael Bay and the popularity that will surely be put upon him. Shia LeBeouf was always a great choice and is a great actor, so hopefully this kid will bring the same type of charisma that he did in the first trilogy. Either that or he’ll be doomed to bar fights, pissing of Spielberg, and trolling for Lars Von Trier porn movie opportunities. Regardless, looks like he’s in for the Michael Bay right so buckle up.

Via THR

Evil Dead: Remake Red Band Trailer #2 is Awesome.

“The remake’s gonna kick ass – you have my word.” – Bruce Campbell

April 12th and the release of the latest Evil Dead could not come soon enough. You see, once upon a time, there were two friends named Sam and Bruce that grew up in two small Michigan towns named Birmingham and Royal Oak.  On a shoe string budget, these two were capable of developing and producing one of the greatest horror franchises of all time.  Quite simply put, they had an audience that craved blood, and they delivered. And it’s not just Michiganders that have a strong affection for the franchise, but horror enthusiasts across the world.

Continue reading Evil Dead: Remake Red Band Trailer #2 is Awesome.