Wed
22
Jun

Going Some Rounds with The LOOP

iPocketLoop

Let me introduce you to a concept called every day carry. Commonly referred to as EDC, it is a term that is familiar to the survivalist communities, and frankly isn’t really deliberately considered by most other people, despite the fact that they practice it on a daily basis. Confused? Let me clear it up.

When you wake up in the morning, you take a shower, brush your teeth, and drink your coffee. You then grab the items that you need to propel yourself head long into your day. For most guys, it’s a simple as your keys, wallet, and phone. For the ladies, I have no idea. A purse similar to Mary Poppins bag that holds a delightful and terrifying assortment of crap.

Wed
22
Jun

Wonder Woman and Don Draper? Keeping Up With The Joneses Trailer Released

Gal Gadot Jon Hamm Keeping Up Joneses trailer

Just to get it out of the way right up front, I saw Zach Galifianakis listed in the credits, and was looking for him -- not realizing I was seeing him. Zach's really gotten into shape -- good on you, Zach Galifianakis!

Now on to the trailer:

Galifianakis and Isla Fisher (NOW YOU SEE ME) play a typical suburban family who become suspicious of their new neighbors when they find them to be "impossibly gorgeous and ultra-sophisticated." The Joneses -- Jon Hamm (MAD MEN) and Gal Gadot (WONDER WOMAN) -- do end up being more than they seem. They're covert agents, and their lives are more adventurous and upscale than James Bond's.

Tue
21
Jun

Archer survives!!! Renewed for three more seasons!!

From Archer's Facebook Feed:

The hit animated comedy series Archer has been renewed for three more seasons, it was announced today by Nick Grad and Eric Schrier, Presidents of Original Programming, FX Networks and FX Productions. Archer will return for an eight-episode season 8 in early 2017, followed by two additional eight-episode seasons. FX Networks has also reached a new overall production deal with Floyd County Productions.

Tue
21
Jun

The Longbox Short-List - Week of June 22, 2016

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!

Comics shipping this week

Mon
20
Jun

Newest MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME Trailer Sparks Curiosity, Imagination

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

I haven't read the series MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN, even though I've been aware of it, and have thumbed through it in bookstores. Now, having seen this trailer for the upcoming film, I want to read it more than ever.

The story is reminescent of UNCANNY X-MEN, back in the not-so-long-ago day when it was comprised of truly unusual mutants. There's a little girl with a monstrous mouth on the back of her head. There's a boy who's invisible. There's Emma (Ella Purnell), a girl who's lighter than air. There's a headmistress, Miss Peregrine (Eva Green), who cares for them all.

And there's Jake (Asa Butterfield), who believes he is completely normal, but who must discover his own peculiarity so that he can take up the hero's mantle and save them all from people like Barron (Samuel L. Jackson).

Mon
20
Jun

Dav Pilkey Unleashes DOGMAN

Dogman Dav Pilkey Scholastic Graphix

When it comes to funnybook humor, Dav Pilkey has gone to the dogs. Literally.

Introducing DOGMAN, the comic within a comic that's become a comic all its own. Half dog, half man, all cop, Dogman is the brainchild of fourth-graders Harold and George, the creators of Captain Underpants (the character, not the book -- the book was created by Dav Pilkey; metafiction is confusing).

Sat
18
Jun

Con-tamination is Con-tagious Fun!

Con-tamination Saint Louis 2016 convention horror sci-fi pop culture

Contamination, Saint Louis’ Horror, Sci Fi, Pop Culture convention returned this year in Fenton and runs Friday thru Sunday,  June 17, 18, 19.

C:\Users\User\Pictures\DVD Pictures\Con5.jpg

I must confess that although this show has been an annual event for several years, this was the first year I had heard of it.

Fri
17
Jun

Set Your DVR's, The CW's Superhero Schedule Announced!

Ever since it was announced that Supergirl would make the move from CBS to The CW, anticipation grew to find out when fans would begin their week long trek of superhero syndication.

Wait no more!

October is famous for a certain day where everyone dresses up in a costume, so it's fitting that it's also the month for superheroes on TV. The CW announced the debut dates and times for each of their comic book based shows and we have them, listed for you, in order of premiere date:

THE FLASH

Fri
17
Jun

DVD Giveaway: Transformers: Robots in Disguise - Mission Discovery

Transformers Robots in Disguise Mission Discovery

Your favorite robots in disguise -- Bumblebee, Strongarm, Sideswipe and Grimlock -- along with their human allies, Denny and Russell, return with five new adventures, continuing their quest to recapture the band of evil Decepticon prisoners that have escaped and hidden on Earth!

This DVD includes five episodes from the Cartoon Network series:

  1. True Colors
  2. Adventures in Bumblebee-Sitting
  3. Even Robots Have Nightmares
  4. Some Body, Any Body
  5. The Trouble with Fixit

Enter to win this set by taking one or more of the options below. (Note that some of the options can be taken daily for yet another chance to enter!) Be sure to read our contest rules and regulations before continuing. This contest will end its run at midnight, June 26, 2016.

Fri
17
Jun

Finding Dory is a Cute, Funny, and Heartfelt Sequel

Finding Dory Disney Pixar

I have a love-hate relationship with Disney sequels. On the one hand, I love getting to spend more time with my favorite characters. On the other hand, I find most Disney sequels to be terrible. The big exceptions for me are the TOY STORY sequels, and the MONSTERS INC sequel, MONSTERS UNIVERSITY, which is amazing and if you haven’t seen it, you totally need to. But if you go down the line of Disney sequels, most are direct to VHS/DVD – and for good reason. Nostalgia Chick sums it up better than me in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5QshzkOzvM

So I was conflicted when I learned they were making a sequel to one of my favorite Pixar movies, FINDING NEMO. My confidence was shattered after they botched another favorite franchise with CARS 2, but I love Dory and friends, so I decided to give FINDING DORY a shot.

Wed
15
Jun

Wonder Woman's 75th Anniversary Comes with a New Logo!

Created by psychologist William Moulton Marston in 1941, Wonder Woman has been a sword-wielding, lasso-slinging icon over the past 75 years and now she has a new logo to commemorate the occasion.

"There's no better time than now," speaking of Wonder Woman's new logo, Diane Nelson, DC Entertainment president, told PEOPLE.com, "The overall conversation that's happening in our culture right now – about having stronger gender equality representation in media and in government and in education and all of it just makes it the perfect time to see a character like Wonder Woman out there."

Wed
15
Jun

10 Cloverfield Lane: Return to Sender

Cloverfield John Goodman Mary Elizabeth Winstead Blu-ray

There is so much to like about 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE that I almost hate to pick on it. Dan Trachtenberg's handling of a film that, for almost its entirety, has only three players, certainly adds that feeling of isolation that is key to the plot. And John Goodman is never better than when he's playing a serious role where he's always simmering on the edge of a blowup.

For those unfamiliar with the film, here's the lowdown: Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has left her fiance and driven away. In a remote area of Louisiana, she has an accident and wakes up in an underground bunker owned by Howard (John Goodman) and also occupied by Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.). Howard tells her he saved her life and that the outside world has suffered an attack. It could be nuclear, it could be chemical -- but when he adds in that it could have been the Martians, you immediately get the sense that all is not right in Howard's head.

Wed
15
Jun

Go on a Date with Robbie Amell While Helping the ASPCA!

If you've ever wanted to attend an LA Premiere of a movie with a celebrity, EuropaCorp has partnered with Omaze to offer you a chance to do just that!

For a $10 entry fee, you will have the opportunity to win a photo shoot with the cats of NINE LIVES and meet Robbie Amell at the LA Premiere! All proceeds from the entry fee will go to the ASPCA and Best Friends Animal Society.

Animal lovers, like yourself, will pounce at the chance to spend time with Robbie Amell (The Flash, The Duff, Max) and donate to a good cause. It's also a purrr-fect opportunity to be one of the first to see the meow-vie, NINE LIVES!

For more information visit Omaze.com

Tue
14
Jun

Ranking the Razzies From Bad to Really Bad

Love Guru

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Dustin Clendenen

When the Golden Raspberry Awards (affectionately called the Razzies for short) were started in 1981 to honor the worst movies of the year, creator John J.B. Wilson probably didn’t expect them to catch on the way they did. But more than three decades later, the organization handing out annual awards for worst actor, worst screenplay, worst director, and of course, worst picture, has become a veritable institution.

Tue
14
Jun

Cerebus now available for Digital Download

A few years back, Comixology started to sell the second volume of Dave Sim's Cerebus (HIGH SOCIETY) for 99 cents an issue, with a new issue coming out each week.  But other than that, there wasn't many legal ways to get a digital version.  But Dave Sim has changed that!  On his website: http://www.cerebusdownloads.com/, you can find the entire 300 issue run of Cerebus available for digitally download.  The first two volumes (1000 PAGES!) are completely free.  

But, that's not the only cool part.  Dave Sim's full press release seemed to give readers the okay to bootleg the series if they didn't want to pay for it!
 

Tue
14
Jun

The Longbox Short-List - Week of June 15, 2016

Welcome back to Critical Blast’s weekly look at what new comics you should check out each week.   Just a warning, I make these picks pretty much a week BEFORE I actually get to read any of these comics, so if something is a stinker, I take no blame on that.  Let's get to it!

Comics shipping this week

Tue
14
Jun

Paul Simon Brings A Joyful Noise To St. Louis

Paul Simon at the Fabulous Fox Theatre, St. Louis, 06/12/16

My top five favorite concerts are all act that have been around for several decades: Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, John Fogerty, Rush, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and now Paul Simon. I will let you draw whatever conclusions you will from that with regards to the staying power—or presumable lack thereof, of many contemporary pop acts. These acts are all Hall of Famers for a multitude of reasons, be it musicianship, songwriting, the ability to connect to a wide audience of diverse demographics, and more. On a hot humid Sunday evening at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Paul Simon demonstrated that fantastic music is absolutely timeless.

Mon
13
Jun

CD Giveaway Contest: Mae Edwards, "Hieroglyphs of Emotion"

Mae Edwards, "Hieroglyphs of Emotion"

Hieroglyphs of Emotion is the second CD in Mae Edwards' multi-media project "Starlette & Saint: A Memoir on Dualism" containing commentaries reflecting her years-long studies into numerous spiritual traditions (Christianity, Buddhism) as well as thought provoking references to folklore, world history, psychology, U.S. travel destinations and popular film.

Soaring vocals, electric violins and sweeping lyrical imagery power the second CD and you have a chance to win it by entering the form below.

This contest has ended.

The winner is LESLIE D. of Hardy, AR.

Mon
13
Jun

Tom and Jerry Go Back to Oz in Animated Musical Delight

Tom and Jerry Back to Oz

TOM AND JERRY: BACK TO OZ is the animated sequel to TOM AND JERRY AND THE WIZARD OF OZ, which finds our classic cat and mouse frenemies joining Dorothy and Toto on her MGM journey.

In BACK TO OZ, Dorothy has just returned to find nobody believes her tale. Even when she has the ruby slippers to prove it, there's justification for why her story of Oz is just a fancy.

But Dorothy doesn't have time to worry about convincing Uncle Henry, Aunt Em, or the farmhands, Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke. She and the Gale family are still cleaning up after the twister when they find themselves on the verge of losing what's left of the family farm, when neighboring Mr. Bibb (Jason Alexander) files a lawsuit claiming that the twister released some of the Gale pigs who then plundered his prize watermelon patch. Knowing the Gales have no financial resources, he's willing to take his payment in land and livestock, giving the family 24 hours to find a way to pay him otherwise.

Mon
13
Jun

Totally Stripped of Hype, This Rolling Stones Set is Awesome!

Rolling Stones Totally Stripped Eagle Rock Music Review Dennis Russo Critical Blast

THE ROLLING STONES: TOTALLY STRIPPED from Eagle Rock Entertainment is available in many different configurations: as A DVD or SD BluRay, on DVD+CD, or on DVD+LP as well as a deluxe edition that contains a 60-page hard book set containing 5 Discs (4bluRay and 1 CD) or (4DVD, 1 CD for slightly less money).

The set I am reviewing here is the DVD/CD set.

TOTALLY STRIPPED may sound familiar to a lot of Stone’s fans, since the album STRIPPED was released in 1995 following the VooDoo Lounge tour. But don’t be thinking this is just a repacking of that release. Nay, nay, I say! TOTALLY STRIPPED itself is a brand new version of the documentary of the same name, which tells the stories of the studio sessions and three live shows that make up this project. (The Deluxe editions contain DVDs of each live show in its entirety!)

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