Zombiewood, a book distributed by Ulysses Press, is a very rare book that combines two very different passions of mine that somehow strangely go perfect together in a very Reese’s-Pieces-chocolate-and-peanut-butter-cup sort of way way. My love of zombies and my love of very bad celebrity gossip rags such like Entertainment Weekly.
The book itself is very stylistic close to an special issue of Entertainment Weekly post-Zombie Apocalypse; and I probably wouldn’t have stopped reading Entertainment Weekly if it was more like this.
Basically the book is a what-if the zombie apocalypse did happen and our celebrities were infected, but we still continued to stubbornly obsess over, fawn over and worship them like we did before the undead uprising; and I have to admit is pretty damn funny. While I see this as a perfect fit for horror genre fans I think because of the celebrity parody angle it definitely works as a great gag book for your celebrity obsessed coworker for Halloween as well.
I was really surprised at just how many celebrities are featured in this book, its almost veritable whose who of the undead Lady Gaga, check! Julia Roberts check! Megan Fox, check! That was kind of the first thing I did since the book is set up that it can be read in a very non-linear way; you can easily pick it up and put it down and pick it up again.
I read all the celebrities I was interested in and as I went back to the book and I read the ones I wasn’t so much and was pleasantly surprised out how they made me actually read something new about Lindsay Lohan and actually enjoyed it.
A few weeks ago, Geekadelphia gave away tickets to Dorian’s Parlor, a monthly steampunk event held at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Philly. I had been wanting to go for months, but this past October was the first time I actually got a chance to attend. I am now kicking myself for each Dorian’s Parlor that I missed.
Dorian’s Parlor is basically a once-a-month Victorian/steampunk nightclub, with a dash of fandom convention thrown in. The main ballroom has a full stage for the various bands that perform, along with a killer lighting and sound set up from production company Circuit Six. There are snacks, a bar, and tables set up inside, with real candlelight to set the mood.
According to the Wagner Free Institute, Springer is “on the forefront of climate change research.” During his lecture, he’ll “discuss the necessary background information for public understanding of the causes of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations as well as the consequences of climate change. He will focus on the impact on forest ecosystems because of their valuable role in the global carbon cycle.”
The lecture kicks off at 5:30pm, next Thursday, November 4th. There will be a Q&A with Springer after the talk. For more info, visit the Wagner’s official website.
Even though, tickets for Tron Night in IMAX 3D this Thursday October 28th are now gone and simply a fond memory, I have been told by Master Control himself that there will be plenty of room in the stand-by lines for people who haven’t registered for tickets. That’s right, you can catch the 20 minute free sneak preview of Tron: Legacy nonetheless.
Want to take advantage of these open seats? Simply show up. There should be 2 lines at the event of your choosing, one for those that have tickets and pre-registered and those that don’t.
With all events like this people often book and overbook seats and simply do not bother to come. I remember being in the Avatar preview that was only 3 quarters full just because people didn’t bother to show. So get there early to check out what looks to be one of the biggest films of the winter season. See ya there!
Somehow, while capturing everything I loved about the original, this film seems more familiar to me as a child of the 80′s than its Swedish counterpart ever was. This version somehow does what almost every remake sets out to do but never quite achieves, while remaining completely faithful to the audience who found it first. It takes a foreign film and domesticizes it to take away that barrier that one might feel when watching a foreign film, thus making it much easier for the audience to bond and embrace with the characters on screen.
Did I just type that?
Let Me In, in case you didn’t know was not only was based on a Swedish film called Let the Right One In, but a novel written in 2004 as well. The title of the film was shortened because producers felt like Let the Right One In was “too long” a title for American audiences. The story for all three goes something like this; a young very troubled boy meets a strange little girl one night, who just moved in with her “father” to his housing complex. He begins to form a relationship with the girl, and unbeknownst to him she is a vampire, and people around the complex begin to mysteriously disappear.
While the story is very vampire-mythos-lite, it does make up for this by being very thorough and at times clever on what a 12-year-old vampire would have to do to survive. We don’t touch on her age in the film, but in the book she is described as “centuries” old, so she has had quite some time to craft her M.O. As her relationship with the young boy progresses, we learn more and more what it takes to not only win her heart, but keep her alive as well and whether or not her new friend is willing to make that step for his potential steady girlfriend. Simply put this is a vampire love story that really puts Twilight to shame with how it puts a fresh spin on these very tired character archetypes.
It takes a lot of guts to release a title on the same day as a hyped up, inevitable blockbuster like Fallout: New Vegas. Especially when that title is a brand new, shiny IP. However, when that title has the ability to stand up against a well established series during the holiday gaming rush… then I suppose this kind of launch is understandable.
And Sega’s third person sci-fi shooter, Vanquish, definitely holds its own. Dreamed up by Shinji Mikami, the mind behind the Resident Evil series, Vanquish hit stores last Tuesday, October 19th. And while I haven’t beaten the game just yet, I felt the need to write a little something about a s0-far-outstanding new IP, that I’d hate for you to overlook during the holiday season.
With games like Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Fable III,Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, and of course, the recently released Fallout: New Vegas… well, that could easily happen. So I’m going to rant and giveaway my copy, to do my part to ensure that it doesn’t.
I’ve made my way through the first two acts, and two things stood out to me the most. The story and the gameplay. The first, the story… is absolutely terrible. Campy dialogue, ridiculous characters, and cliche sci-fi gibberish make for something entirely forgettable. The brief synopsis of the plot?
“Set in the near future… Russia and the United States are vying for ownership of the world’s fast-depleting energy resources and the US has constructed a space station in order to harness energy from the sun. Russian forces capture this space station and divert its harvested solar energy into a blast wave that destroys San Francisco, aiming to force the US into a total and unconditional surrender. In response, the US tasks its armed forces with recapturing the space station before the Russians can annihilate their next target – New York.”
Ah, Russia vs. the US. You play Sam, a government agent with a ridiculously awesome suit of armor and a love of snippy one liners and cigarettes. For some reason, there are enormous robots to battle in the space station, ships crash through as you make your way through epic battles, which of course, means incredible explosions and wild cut scenes… in a space station. In space. You know, where stuff can decompress and explode.
Whatever. Sure, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. But the gameplay… my God. With a press of a button, you can send Sam sliding across the floor, at super speeds, blasting from his array of weapons, each of which fold out of his armor in intricate, awesome animation. The bosses and robots that inhabit the station are enormous, with large pulsating circles (surprise surprise) for you to blast away at.
But this ain’t no Lost Planet, and thankfully, no Lost Planet 2 (ugh!). These monstrous robotic creations take a WHILE to cut down. On normal, it took me an embarrassing amount of time to defeat the very first boss. The first one. This game will kick your ass… but you’ll love it for that.
Sometimes a story doesn’t matter in the wake of excellent gameplay. The blah story behind Red Faction: Guerrilla taught me that much. Not every space age adventure can be Mass Effect, kids. Vanquish teaches you to just shut up and enjoy the ride.
That being said, I want to share this awesome ride with you, dear readers. Just leave a comment, and I’ll select one of you at random to receive a free copy of Vanquish for the Xbox 360. Contest ends November 2nd, which I hope gives me enough time to beat the game. What? Don’t judge me. This game is awesome. You’ll have your turn.
Let me tell you something. Jon Kostesich is a great guy.
Last year, he raised over $1200 for the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, and as a result of his commitment to helping furry critters around Philadelphia, and donations from other animal-loving folks, “PAWS was able to open the first and only low-cost spay/neuter and vaccination clinic in Philadelphia. These days, PAWS is able to take in three times as many dogs and over 50 additional cats at any given time.”
Basically, last year’s Mutt Strut saved a lot of animals. And this year, they’re looking to repeat this success. And you can help.
This Saturday, October 30th, is the 4th Annual PAWS Mutt Strut. Folks are invited to come down and stroll “the 1.5 mile scenic route in FDR Park to raise funds and awareness for PAWS.” Registration and check-in starts at 10am, and the walk kicks off at 11am.
Registration is $25 per person, with funds going towards helping PAWS and their mission. All participants get a PAWS tote bag and a dog bandanna.
The annual bash hits Tattooed Mom this Friday, October 29th. You can expect all the usual festivities. A costume contest, drink specials, and as always, cheap delicious eats thanks to the kind folks at T-Moms. Come hungry, geeks. Those pierogis are delicious and irresistible.
The party starts at 8pm, and costumes will be judged at 9:30pm.
Bookmark it. Add it to your calendar. Whatever you have to do. Be there.
Indyhalloween 4.0 @ Tattooed Mom
October 29th, 2010, 8pm
530 South St, Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 238-9880
I’m super stoked about the Philadelphia Premiere of Jennifer Haley’s drama, Neighborhood 3: The Requisition of Doom, for a few reasons. One, it involves video games of the horror variety. Two, it takes place in the suburbs, a strange land that I find terrifying. And three, it’s about Zombies. ZOMBIES. I’m going to let that soak in for a moment. It doesn’t get any geekier than this, folks.
The plot? Two parents discover their offspring’s addiction to a new online game. The goal of of the game is to smash through an army of zombies (AWESOME) to try and escape the neighborhood. Neighborhood 3 is said to resemble a classic episode of the Twilight Zone — it blurs the lines between the real world and the virtual world.
The show is going on at the Azuka Theatre, which the Philadelphia Weekly called a “major player on the Philadelphia alternative theatre scene”. Needless to say, I’m super excited.
The show began previews October 14th, opened on October 20th and will continue through October 31st. Tickets’ll run you between $10-$25 dollars and are available by calling (215)-733-0255 or by ordering them on the website.
Philadelphia’s first all ages arts and letters magazine, Apirary, launched back in September… and us geeks were pretty damn proud of what those lit nerds put together.
However, Apiary is just a small part of a larger group. Some of the folks behind Apiary are part of the Light of Unity Association, an incredibly diverse group of passionate performers who throw some rather lovely art events throughout the Philadelphia region. And guess what? They’re releasing a collection of their work, entitled E Pluribus Unum: An Anthology of Diverse Voices, this Saturday.
The anthology features a number of diverse local voices, each well versed in the art of poetry, essay writing, and short narrative. Authors include Aziza Kinteh, Bonnie MacAllister, Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore, Jeffrey Ethan Lee, Michelle Tooker, Stephanie Durann, Quincy Scott Jones, Mel Brake, and the supremely talented Tamara Oakman, just to name a few. For the full list, scope out the flyer I’ve got pasted after the jump.
The launch event for the collection will feature over 23 presenters, ranging from theatrical performances to local musicians. Read up about it on the Moonstone Arts Center’s event page, here. All takes place this Saturday, October 30th. Go support ‘em!
When one mentions Halloween two things immediately spring to mind: slutty costumes and scary movies. The Saw series has been an audience favorite for many years, considered by some to be the thinking man’s horror film. The movies have been noted for breaking boundaries and finding new, twisted, and unspeakably grotesque ways for Jigsaw to teach his victims a lesson.
I was lucky enough to interview the beautiful Rebecca Marshall who will be appearing in the upcoming Saw 3D film (opening October 29th) to see what she had to say about the film, her career, and why Canada is awesome.
1. Do you feel your character is an accurate portrayal of a stereotypical horror movie girl, or is she different? If so, how?
She is definitely different. I can’t say too much and give away my character, but I can tell you she is very head strong and has a way of cutting corners to get to the top.
2. The Saw series has covered almost every plot device and scenario imaginable. What can you give away without spoiling the movie?
Ah! Not much. I will say this though… the traps are like nothing you have ever seen before. This final installment is the ultimate Saw. This is what fans have been waiting to see, and even with high expectations they won’t be disappointed!
3. How are you similar or different to your character? Was there anyone in particular you tried to emulate for this role?
I am nothing like my character and that’s a good thing. It’s not that she is a bad person, but she isn’t a very nice person either. She doesn’t care about others.
Black Swanmay very well be one of the best horror films of 2010, when it it finally hits screens December 3rd. You’re probably saying to yourself, “isn’t this the film with Natalie Portman as ballerina in Swan Lake?” Yes it is, but it’s directed by Darren Aronofsky, who you might recall from such films as Pi and Requiem For a Dream. With a track record like that, you know you’re in for much more than girl-trouble and tutus. It was great getting to see this at the Philadelphia Film Festival over a month before the theatrical release, with a sold out opening night show and a line that literally stretched blocks. I wasn’t the only one hoping to check this film out.
While the film does start slow, it does an excellent job introducing us to the world of the ballerina in a way that makes it not only accessible, but engaging. I was fascinated with the rituals of the ballerina, which we are shown through Nina, Natalie Portman’s character; an obsessive compulsive, self-mutilating ballerina striving for perfection and the lead in the companies newest production ofSwan Lake. We are also introduced to Nina’s mother who spends her days living vicariously through her daughter in an extremely creepy way , still treating the adult as if she was still a teenager, tucking her in and even dressing her.
Everything is fine in Nina’s small happy fluffy little world, that is until she is granted the part of the Swan Queen, the lead role in the production. See, Nina is completely capable of playing the White Swan portion of the role with her sweet sixteen, perfectionist frigid persona… but the issue will be her portrayal of the White Swan’s evil twin, the full of lust, seductive Black Swan. This is her challenge masterfully set before her by Thomas Leroy played by Vincent Cassel whose performance literally stole the show every time he was on screen.
