One of the most enjoyable aspects of the annual Archon convention isn't the costumes you see or the panels you attend or the goodies you buy. It's the people you meet.

While volunteering as a panelist and roaming the hallways like a homeless web reporter, I made the acquaintance of David J. Pedersen, author of the fantasy novels Angst and Buried in Angst. Admittedly, it may or may not have been the posters (and personal appearances) of his model, Cristi, which initially attracted me to his table, but the means, in this case, justified the ends. Or something like that. What I'm really trying to say is that I grew my circle of friendly acquaintances in the community, and learned about a new series of fantasy novels which take a unique approach to the tried-and-tired sword and sorcery formula.

I love a good time travel flick, and Doug Liman's "Edge of Tomorrow" qualifies. The unique twist this Tom Cruise vehicle has going for it is the method used for for time traveling, and the restrictions put in place upon it. Specifically, Cruise's character can only ever go back in time to a specific moment -- and to get there, he has to die.

After the credits rolled on 2005's Revenge of the Sith, many fans of the original trilogy were left unsatisfied. The newer trilogy seemed to focus on updated special effects and intense choreographed fight scenes.

The overall story, however, seemed to sputter like the Falcon's hyperdrive.

Enter the ultimate in ironic acquisitions: Disney, a real Empire seeking to expand it's reach, purchased Lucasfilm and the rights to everything Star Wars.

Moving quickly they began to develop the next motion picture installment with Episode VIII. To ensure they remained in touch with the original audience, veteran actors such as: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher were all brought in to pass the torch to a new generation of heroes.

Arthur Penn’s 1967 film “Bonnie & Clyde” is considered to be a masterpiece of American cinema. While not the most historically accurate biography Hollywood ever made, it is a crazy thrill ride, and it had Gene Hackman and Gene Wilder in it. That’s pretty tough to beat in my book. It was at times very funny and very violent, but I can’t recall being emotionally invested in it. When Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow meet their young demise, I wasn’t shocked or moved. It really couldn’t play out any other way.

"Backbone cracking music." That's how the New Orleans natives in Flow Tribe describe their sound. It's a groove-based gumbo, a mixture of classic Louisiana traditions (funk, jazz, electric blues) and modern-day influences (rock, hip-hop). It's music that moves. Music that hits you in the heart and the feet. Music that sounds as celebratory as the Big Easy itself.

More than anything, though, it's music that gets you dancing.

This contest has ended.

The winner is HEATHER B. of Auburn, ME.

Americans have it tough. Which cell phone company gives us the biggest bang for our buck? How secure are our pictures on our i-Phones and Android devices? Which lousy choice will we get to pick from for our next President? Who do I pick up to replace these criminals who keep getting suspended by the NFL for my fantasy league? Do I want Taco Bell or am I thinking Arby’s? Why in the world is Thor a woman in the comics when he’s a man in the movies? Why won’t my cell phone stay charged for the whole day? 

"Living in New York City is like tug of war. I'm constantly going back and forth deciding if I like it here," says indie-folk songwriter Ben Rabb, whose first EP, Until It's Gone, was written after an influential move to NYC. "These songs are about me trying to make sense of my experiences here. New York is a place with a lot of people, a lot of noise, a lot of ups and downs… which makes it a great muse."

This contest has ended.

The winner is NANNETTE R. of Brockport, NY.

I have fantastic memories from seeing From Dusk Till Dawn in the theater back in 1996.  Goodness, it's so hard to believe that was nearly twenty years ago! Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino had only made a few films up to that point. More so, George Clooney was really just the dude from "ER" and a host of failed series. Now, Tarantino's films are always Oscar worthy, Clooney has been Best Actor, and Robert Rodriguez owns the El Rey Network. They are a power trio in modern Hollywood, but back then they were just making a horror flick.

The idea of remaking a well loved horror film as a television series that essentially follows the map of the original, well that takes balls! To be honest, it all pays off quite well. Considering the film was packed with stars or soon-to-be stars, the series pulls off recasting so well, that you mostly don't even miss the original players.

Joel Gilbert's latest documentary, THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE UTOPIA, is a two-hour coast-to-coast tour of America in decline. Using THE WIZARD OF OZ as a springboard, Gilbert draws comparisons from the Wizard -- a charlatan -- to President Barack Obama. Not being as complicated of a connect-the-dots as his previous work, DREAMS FROM MY REAL FATHER, UTOPIA is easier to follow, and more inventive in its employment of effects and its cogent use of parallel analogy.

Liam Neeson returns to the big screen one final time as Brian Mills -- the family man with a "certain set of skills." But this time, his efforts to protect his family fail -- and his wife is murdered.

Wanted by the police, the FBI, and the CIA, Mills must disappear, while simultaneously protecting the only person left in his life: his daughter.

Olivier Megaton's trailer for TAKEN 3 has just the right amount of explosions, car crashes, gunfire, and cool fighting moves to draw in the action movie audience. The music is well timed to the action, with just the right build to a crescendo, setting up the perfect silent moment for one of Neeson's coldly delivered tough guy phrases.

If you're a fan of the TAKEN series, you'll definitely want a seat for this 20th Century Fox offering as the story comes to its conclusion. But be warned that it's going to be a bit of a wait -- TAKEN 3 gets teased today, but it isn't in theaters until January 9, 2015!

Minnesota singer/songwriter Brett Larson offers a nice collection of old-fashioned country music on his third album. His songwriting has been featured on the Blood Washed Band's latest, a group composed of some of the Twin Cities’ top alt-country musicians, including several who contribute their talents to Brett's solo effort.

This contest has ended.

The winner is DENISE A. of Flushing, NY.

This contest has ended. The selected winner is Elisa D. of Cleveland, Ohio.

Has it really been that long since we watched Fred Savage and Danica McKellar grow up on the television screen? It seems like it was only yesterday -- which is the same emotion we got from the the adult Kevin Arnold's perspective as we were weekly walked through moments from his formative years.

For six seasons, The Wonder Years captured the angst of growing up in suburban middle-class America in the late '60s, as seen through the life and times of Kevin Arnold (Savage). Audiences eagerly followed his evolution as a typical teenager who remembered every moment of his transition from childhood with excruciating detail and remarkable hindsight.

Derek Fawcett presents his solo debut, but fans of his previous band, Down the Line, should find plenty to love here. “Where it departs is that I've put down the djembe in favor of the piano, my songs go in some new stylistic directions, and there are more moments of musical chaos and disorder."

“The songs on this album tell compelling, unique stories that are likely to resonate with just about anyone. My hope is that all who listen to this album will hear something that speaks to them, to the extent that it brings them joy, solace, solidarity...and hopefully, even encourages them to sing along for awhile."

This contest has ended.

The winner is MARILYN W. of Miramar Beach, FL.

Remember that old 1980s television show, The Equalizer? If you’re much younger than me you may not. It was a solid show but skewed much older demographically than my age at that time. The show featured that other Michael Caine, Edward Woodward. He was old, and he wasn’t taking any crap from anybody, that’s pretty much all I remember. Fast forward 30-odd years to the present and director Antoine Fuqua has recreated the concept with his “Training Day partner Denzel Washington playing an old guy who isn’t taking any crap from anybody. That’s pretty much the gist of it. What you’re wondering is: “Is it any good?”

Less than halfway through this season of CBS and Endemol's Big Brother, I found myself asking myself, "Self, why are you still watching this show? This year isn't nearly as good as what we've had in the past."

But why did I think that? This season was replete with likeable characters (Donny), and it had its cute little romances (Nicole and Hayden). It had its built-in villain (Zach), and it even had the player we loved to hate and hated to love (Frankie). There were confrontations, there were blow-ups and dust-ups and OMG moments.

To top things off, this year I even began watching the Big Brother After Dark -- since I no longer had to subscribe to Showtime for it and could watch it for free on TVGN (soon to be renamed Pop).

It just goes to show, you can't always trust the critics. I hadn't watched any of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. because I'd heard from some corners -- comic-fan corners, mind you! -- that the show was not just underwhelming, it was actually bad.

Now that I've got the entire first season to review, I think that the critics were wrong -- mostly. And, yes, I get the inherent irony of my saying that -- I'm completely up on the Epimenides paradox. So with the second season debuting tonight, you've got a few hours to go pick this up and cram like mad to get up to speed.

The spies are back in business... in Hollywood, that is. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has a strong television following, Scorpion is kicking off, "The Equalizer" is debuting in theaters, and the original series starring Edward Woodward is also getting a full-series release. And that's just scratching the surface.

"Kingsman: The Secret Service" is a blending of James Bond with "Men in Black." Colin Firth is Harry Hart, a seasoned spy and man of action. Taron Egerton is Eggsy, a young delinquent in whom Harry sees untapped potential. And Samuel L. Jackson gets to play the bad guy, Valentine (not the one in "The Mortal Instruments" but a different one), a little bit more unbalanced than his "Mr. Glass" portrayal in "Unbreakable."

When Hugh Murphy's first collection, T-Rex Trying, hit the shelves, I shared it around the office as we all found several of the situations of the "I've got a great big head and little bitty arms" plagued dinosaur to alternate between thought-provoking and hysterical.

T-Rex Trying and Trying is the natural evolution (see what I did there?) of the series, putting our beloved and beleaguered tyrannosaur through even more mundane pitfalls, even as his own life expands to include She-Rex and, inevitably, Wee-Rex. Yes, T-Rex is now the patriarch of a prehistoric family, and they all fall prey to the same... shortcomings.

This contest has completed. The randomly selected winner is: MIKE G. of FORT PIERCE, FL.

I was introduced to Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments series about the same time I was reading Holly Black's Ironside. When I saw the Easter egg crossovers in each book (subtle as they were), I twigged to the fact that these two ladies knew each other, and expected them to someday work together on something.

That day has come.

The Iron Trial is the first book of a new fantasy, The Magisterium, a five-book series aimed at middle-grade -- and which will no doubt be read by their fans of all ages.

Critical Blast is happy to blast a copy of this your way if you're the selected entry in this book giveaway. Simply enter your information in the form below -- no mystical trials required -- and wait to see if you are the lucky random pick.

"I was reasonably accomplished in my other work, but for years, despite my love for music, I never thought I was good enough to write, sing or play it. I kept it inside for years,” says Liz Kennedy, a fourth generation Southern Californian. "I became someone who told people I was writing music but I would never share it. Which began to feel slightly weird. When I finally met my producer, Joel Jaffe, his encouragement allowed me to step inside the studio and record my songs so I wouldn't have to hold them in any longer. And that felt very freeing. Very good. And I improved over time, which led to more and more writing. Meeting and playing with incredibly talented musicians lead me even further along the path."