Fall Flicks: A Walk Among the Tombstones

Following the lucrative Summer movie season, by Labor Day, the party is over.  September, like January, used to be a dumping grounds for fare studios don't believe in.  Now, later in the month marks the beginning of the Fall movie season where mid-budget, star driven vehicles fight for audiences before the big Holiday and Award Season releases in November.  This weekend pits Fox's Young Adult action adventure The Maze Runner VS Warner Brother's star studded funeral comedy This Is Where I Leave You VS Universal's Liam Neeson starring adult drama/murder mystery A Walk Among the Tombstones.  Kevin Smith's horror-comedy Tusk also receives a limited release amongst half a dozen other titles in single digit theater releases.

The trailer for Tombstones showcase the world's most unlikely yet likely senior citizen action star, Liam Neeson, as a former cop working as an unlicensed private investigator involved in a murder case of a kidnapped woman who is killed after the ransom is paid.  After years of supporting roles as the badass mentor in flicks like Star Wars, Kingdom of Heaven and Batman Begins culminated in the surprise hit Taken, Neeson has had a slew of hit, adult skewing thrillers like Unknown, The Grey and Non-Stop.  Tombstones isn't as generic as the first, as esoteric genre as the second or surprisingly enjoyable as the third.  Whereas you might be inclined to think this is another, "Liam Neesons takes on everybody to find someone a la Tooken", Tombstones is actually a very deliberate, old school procedural/whodunit/murder mystery that is at times gripping, intense and creepy.  In the end though the flick is good if not great, solid if not spectacular due to it's low key story and less than fascinating antagonists.

Without getting into spoiler territory, Neeson's Matt Scudder is working to find the missing then murdered wife of Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens) a seemingly sharp and calm businessman who doesn't make an honest living.  Digging deeper into the mystery, Scudder uncovers a series of killings with a common connection.  With the help of young street urchin TJ (Brian "Astro" Bradley) and recovering junkie veteran/Kenny's brother Peter (Boyd Holbrook), Scudder uses his former NYPD street savvy to find the truth.  Sorry it's so vague but there's no major twists or turns at play here, it's a small story with few characters.  Based on the novel by Lawrence Block then adapted and directed by Out of Sight scribe Scott Frank, Tombstones is effective as a mystery thriller and keeps you involved, guessing what's going to happen next, tightening up and cringing at all the appropriate moments.  Shot in New York City, the grand scale and historic yet rundown industrial and residential neighborhoods on display add a layer of production value authenticity as well as overcast, moody sadness.  Neeson looks ruggedly handsome and stoic as ever with a hint of a New York accent spilling out every now and again.  Instead of being able to beat everybody up like his Taken or The Grey character, Neesons uses his wits and knowhow to get out of most would be altercations.  He does get to threaten the villain over the phone though in a great scene made better by the R rating.  As stated earlier, the antagonist of the piece left much to be desired.  They just weren't very interesting and their motivation wasn't exactly genre breaking.  Like each of the other characters besides Neeson, they're just thinly sketched and there for a particular purpose, no more, no less.

The rest of the cast do fine jobs but I honestly didn't recognize a single name during the opening credits.  Apparently Stevens was on Downton Abbey and glowers really well while Holbrook rang a bell because I think he was in the running for Kyle Reese in the new Terminator film.  You ain't no Michael Biehn, bro!  But honestly he probably could have pulled it off with more dimension than Jai Courtney's I'm sure to be hardass thug portrayal.  The Secret Life of Walter Mitty's Olafur Darri Olafsson shows up as a sad yet menacing cemetery grounds keeper integral to the investigation who I recognized just by his voice.  The inclusion of a spunky young sidekick could have veered into cheese territory but Astro and Neesons keep it real talking about literary private detectives, not feeling sorry for themselves and how to use firearms to off oneself.

Hitting theaters on the same weekend as last year's extremely satisfying kidnapping thriller Prisoners, A Walk Among the Tombstones is a nice throwback to a simpler style of film complete with a 1999 setting and Y2K mentions but doesn't hit the emotional marks of for adult slow burners like the Hugh Jackman starrer or say Kurt Russell's cross country kidnapping jaunt Breakdown and doesn't contain the excitement of something like Jack Reacher.

Gotta Drank (& Eat)! Skillet Diner and Elephant & Castle

Having a few days in Seattle this time compared to the 25 hour trip of a few weeks ago, I got to try out a few more local and touristy spots.  A chum from college took us to the Capitol Hill district, a bustling, crowded area that apparently attracts many displaced New Yorkers as it reminds them of home.  Our first stop was a dive bar but it was holding a singles event so we checked out Skillet Diner across the street.  Nice place, clean décor and that pseudo hipster/upscale take on American classics.  The special for the night was Chicken Fried Steak which had sadly sold out by the time we cozied up to the counter.  The Chicken Fried Chicken was quite delicious though and their fries were so crispy and addictive I had to have them taken away. 

After a 13 hour day at the office Friday, it was time for dinner.  The lady scouted out some joints near the hotel so instead of settling for franchise staple Rock Bottom Brewery, we ended up at Elephant & Castle, a large English pub located beneath a downtown hotel.  It was surprisingly empty for a Friday night but our server was great and my Pimm's Cup wasn't bad either, just a little sour.  They had all kinds of Poutine, ya know the Canadian dish that consists of French fries covered in brown gravy and cheese curds?  I just like saying Poutine (Poo-teen) because it reminds me of Jean-Claude Van Damme's pronunciation of bear-wrestling, military charging Russian President Vladimir Putin.  While most American's would say Poot-in, Van Damme calls him Mr. Poo-teen and has been the guest of the sports loving leader at MMA events but sadly lost his number.  While the Poutine was delectable and topped with bacon, I think I'd rather have my fries doused in chili and cheese.  America style.  No offense Canada, if I were to live in another country connected to the United States, it would be you.

(Still) Cinema Swole: Arnold Schwarzenegger

Remember that time I said Arnold was looking surprisingly swole at Cannes in May riding a tank to promote The Expendables 3?  Well the King of Kings has kept up his training regimen because he's looking more and more jacked.  Recent snaps show him traveling the world and hitting the weights at Muscle Beach in Venice, California as well as staving off jet lag in India by getting a pump.  At a car show of some sort, a beefy and vascular Arnie checked out sports cars with son Patrick and Taylor Lautner (?!), I'm guessing they're buddies from Grown Ups 2...With a short haircut and blondish locks, Arnold looked like Dutch 2.0, his character from 1987's Predator.  Although I feel like that character should probably be a bit of a crumpled, shell of his former self in the developing Shane Black driven sequel, after losing his entire unit and brothers in arms (literally and figuratively, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham and Carl Weathers all sport some strong pipes in arguably the most macho film of all time).

While Arnold's recent cinematic conquests Sabotage and EX3 have been met with disappointing and plain embarrassing results, the flicks were enjoyable and the former Governor is still busier than ever.  Whether it's finishing up shooting on the latest Terminator installment, traveling to Sacramento to catch up with Governor Jerry Brown and be on hand for his portrait unveiling, to his Symposium for State and Global Policy holding a Climate Change Summit to visiting Bakersfield to check out a fuel additive that reduces emissions, The Oak, like his trademark T-800 persona, just won't stop.

Fall Flicks: Frank

"Ginger crouton!" "I have a certificate!" "Big, non-threatening grin!"

Magnolia Pictures is one of the most interesting distributors working today, putting out awesome foreign films like samurai action tale 13 Assassins, small scale genre flick Monsters, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren franchise chapter Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, Thomas Jane's adult drama I Melt With You and their latest, the seemingly oddball comedy Frank.  Magnolia usually launches films on Video On Demand before securing a few theatrical playdates in random cities then producing special feature heavy DVDs and Blu-Rays.  Not having seen a trailer for Frank, the only thing I knew of the film was that it starred Michael Fassbender wearing a giant paper mache head.  The official synopsis speaks of a young would-be musician who joins a band led by the eccentric and enigmatic Frank.  What actually follows can't be classified as a good or bad film per se but a weird, funny and sad journey/experience. 

Domhnall Gleeson (About Time) plays Jon, a young man struggling to write music while working a boring office job.  With 14 Twitter followers to his name, Jon comes across Soronprfbs, an indie band managed by Don (Scoot McNairy) that includes members Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Baraque (Francois Civil) and Nana (Carla Azar).  When their keyboard player can no longer continue, Don invites Jon to join them that night at a show where we're introduced to Soronprf's unique if not crowd pleasing sound and their front man; the big, fake head wearing and wetsuit clad Frank.  The show goes south quickly but Soronprfs is about to record an album and Jon is invited to join.  Staying at a remote cabin in Ireland, the band goes through bizarre rituals to try and capture the perfect sound.  We learn that Don met Frank in a mental institute, observe Clara's love for Frank and disdain for Jon while the newest band member documents the band's weird and random activities on YouTube and begins to gain a following.

It's hard to discuss the film without getting more into the story which would be a bit spoiler heavy.  So let's just say that the film takes a look at some real issues that effect the lives of millions without actually commenting on them or offering solutions.  Sometimes you just have to let things be the way they are.  As Jon gets deeper into the band, mesmerized by Frank's strange yet apparent talent and his own dreams of success, a simple yet familiar story of the grass maybe not being so green on the other side comes into play.  What was interesting about Frank was that director Kenny Abrahamson with writers Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan made sure you didn't know which way things were going to go but the end result is more or less satisfying as the journey has taken you from point A to Y back to D etc in short order without cheating the audience.  While the film is about a band and there's lot of cues, there isn't an actual soundtrack at play here waiting for you to buy afterwards.  Listening to the one full length track, "I Love You All" outside the confines of the film loses much of it's effectiveness but the film stayed with me for a couple of days.

"Here it is, my most likeable song, ever."

Captain America Two-sday

Get it?  Cause Captain America: The Winter Soldier hits home video today?  You don't get it...Amazon sent me a note about the release, looks like they patched things up with Disney as the two companies had been fighting about something so Cap wasn't available for pre-order.  I used to be a real stickler for bonus features and it seems like every outlet has some exclusive special feature.  I remember Best Buy including an extra disk of interviews for Inglorious Basterds while Target always has exclusive content as well.  For Cap, Target is offering an additional making of with their 3D/2D Blu-Ray and Digital Copy while Amazon has the standard edition for $5 more.  Looks like I'll be taking a trip to Target during lunch...Remember when Star Trek: Into Darkness had exclusive content spread across Best Buy, Target and iTunes releases?  Yeah, pretty bullshit if you ask me.

Anyways, Winter Soldier ended it's theatrical run with a spectacular $260 million take in the U.S. and over $700 million worldwide.  Marvel announced they would release part III on May 6th, 2016 which put it head to head with DC's Batman VS Superman/Justice League movie primer.  DC finally relented and moved giving Cap the lucrative first weekend of summer to himself.  After Winter Soldier's well executed if not wholly groundbreaking story of a political thriller with comic book heroes, rumors are swirling that the third installment will continue in the same vein with returning directors Joe and Anthony Russo.  The guys at Marvel are the smartest dudes in the room right now so I hope they'll remember how Iron Man II turned out when they just gave audiences more of what they liked in the original, i.e. their worst film to date that.  I always refer to it as Iron Man 1.5 since nothing new in terms of scope, storytelling or tone was really introduced.  At the time Marvel was still chasing DC's unexpected success of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.  While BB was like a ninja movie meets detective story, it's sequel was more or less a serious, character driven take on Heat, the classic 90's Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro flick about professional cops and thieves.  The sequel was bigger, darker, more detailed and dramatic.  Meanwhile, Iron Man II gave us nothing new stylistically and again pitted Shellhead against a variation of himself, this time with sparkly whips and some drones to destroy, yawn...

With SHIELD more or less destroyed in part II, here's hoping that Cap III doesn't get stuck being the vessel for the further adventures of a bunch of random ass characters and TV show.  Sure Nick Fury, Black Widow and The Falcon all fit in quite nicely but you don't see Thor or Iron Man having to share their movies with so many other characters.

Shot on the streets in my home state of Ohio's Cleveland, I got kind of giddy in the theater when I thought Fury's car was actually going to take off like it does in the comics...

Gotta Drank (and Eat)! Bourbon House & The Red Door

After a short day at the Con and some lazing in the hotel, it was time to find dinner.  The lady had done some reconnaissance before hand and come up with several options.  Just up from the convention center and near the beautifully designed outdoor mall was the Bourbon House.  As we walked I observed that for such a religious town, there sure are a lot of bars and brew pubs around here...Located beneath a commercial building rests a cozy dive-ish bar with a pretty decent selection of eats.  The place was very empty for the dinner hour and after being totally ignored by the server, I ordered at the bar.  $4 Jameson?  Why, yes, I will imbibe that.  You could get it as a shot with a pickle juice chaser but I opted for slow drinking with some ginger ale.  On the food front they had items like Chad's Balls (Jalapeno poppers), bacon wrapped tator tots and the Juicy Lucy, two patties formed around cheese of your choice.  Everything was pretty tasty and came out quickly so I'd definitely recommend to anyone in town as 4 dranks, an appetizer and 2 entries only set us back $40 some bucks.

I couldn't locate an ice cream shop nearby so we strolled over to The Red Door, a tiny bar across the street advertising a Comic Con menu that was surprisingly well thought out.  Inside it was a bit dark or intimate I suppose complete with a huge mural of Che Guevara on the wall.  Known for their martinis, many of the CC dranks were vodka based but after sticking to whiskey all day I didn't want to change liquors and went with Jameson again.  The server was very kind but like Bourbon House, The Red Door was near empty at this time of evening.  For some reason I figured Salt Lake was going to be a dry or restricted town with near beer and drink maximums but we never ran into any issues besides not being able to find a happy hour...

Con-Man: Salt Lake City Round Up

Saturday was a short day where we hoped to get Danny Glover's photo, see Simon Helberg and maybe Stephen Amell before doing a last walk of the floor for any unseen swag.  We breezed on in the door with our Gold passes and I headed for Photo Ops where a very small line was formed.  I'm not one for paying to interact with celebrities but I hadn't spent much at the show and I had a significant discount so I figured what the hey, it'll make for a funny Christmas card.  Danny Glover has always been an actor I've enjoyed, especially in the Lethal Weapon series and Predator 2 where his clap in Gary Busey's face actually saved a rude asshole and his rude asshole assistant one day at work when I was ready to beat up an old man and his underling. 

After a few minutes on the floor we realized we'd seen everything the day before so we headed to Simon Helberg from The Big Bang Theory's panel.  An announcer/organizer type came out several times to pump up the crowd with bad jokes and asked us to scoot in to make room for people coming in.  Compared to the light hearted fun of Alan Tudyk and emotional frankness of Manu Bennett from Friday, Helberg's panel was a bit awkward and got pretty old.  Sure I've seen the show he's famous for but I'm not exactly it's biggest fan.  More than one question was in regards to guest stars and all I could think about was the BS fact that they're all supposed Flash fans but John Wesley Shipp from CBS' own The Flash television show never guest starred.  Also, there wasn't an introduction per se, whereas Manu Bennett can have a quick sizzle reel of action pieces, Helberg's clip consisted of him telling jokes without audio.  He seemed like a nice guy but the moderator didn't do much to prep the crowd and talk about Helberg's career, beginnings or how he got involved with the show and just handed the mic(s) to the crowd.  Coupons were handed out for Helberg's autograph and photo op so when people asked for photos on stage they were awkwardly denied.  One question asker said San Diego sucked but I'm sure he's never actually been there to see how clown shoes Salt Lake's show is in comparison but we'll get to that later.

The panel got lame kind of quickly with too many kids asking incoherent questions or people making comments instead of asking anything and then the fawning fans asking for up close and personal time.  They just gave you coupons to meet him, if you want a face to face experience, you gotta pay!  That's how this show works!  Helberg did get to talk about his studies at NYU, thinking the show would be canceled due to the writer's strike, being in awe of Stephen Hawking, the loneliness of shooting his astronaut subplot, working with Joss Whedon for Dr. Horrible, how a movie he directed is based on his bumbling, bad luck ridden attempt to win his girlfriend back and that he can't name favorites among the cast since he would alienate others.  Even though we had primo seats for Stephen Amell, having only seen season 1 I figured the panel would be very season 2 and upcoming 3 heavy so we decided to bounce.  It was off to the arcade for another crack at Captain America and The Avengers.  Armed with about $10 bucks in quarters we triumphed over additional villains like Crossbones, Juggernaut, Ultron and then the Red Skull himself, on a space station!  After 5 stages and about 25 minutes of gameplay, we had defeated the game and the universe can sleep safely once again.

Then it was time for our photo op with Danny Glover.  I honestly thought no one would be queued up but I was wrong.  There were dozens of people already waiting.  I had planned to say something to Mr. Glover but once we got in with him, he was just so kind and happy to be there that all I could do was shake his hand, ask how he was doing and smile like a goof.  A truly enjoyable experience and the photo is now hanging in the den.

Parting thoughts on Salt Lake Comic Con?  It's a fun show but still has to work out a lot of their logistical issues.  Thursday's wait time and disorganization was pretty unacceptable to me although Friday went smoothly.  Saturday got real crowded and it's estimated that 120,000 peeps rolled through in total.  But if their staff can't handle that capacity, maybe they should consider capping ticket sales.  Oh wait, they're for profit so no, that won't happen.  Their info book didn't include an actual schedule of events and there could have been a lot more signage around the floor for special events, panel rooms, etc.  The exhibition floor was decent with lots of variety but we got through it pretty quickly.  Panel wise beyond actor spotlights were mostly fan run and listening to super fans talk about a subject really isn't that interesting or educational compared to someone involved professionally in a comic, movie or book discussing their experience.  How does it compare to San Diego Comic Con?  It doesn't.  At all.  I hope attendees will stop comparing themselves to the show because they're not on the same level.  At all.  They might have crammed nearly as many people into the show but they also gouged them to buy upgraded ticket packages that didn't even get you much.  The entire show is based around selling autographs and photos whereas SDCC is about celebrating the arts with over 1,000 panels to choose from. Nothing was going on outside the show unlike San Diego where half a dozen venues offsite offer more activities, many for free while SLCC had special events with Kevin Sorbo and Hulk Hogan available for a separate ticket price.  So for their own sake, I hope fans and organizers of SLCC work on making their show better, not trying to compete with San Diego because they're not in the same league and mouthing off about something you've never even experienced is just sad.

With Salt Lake City being such a religious town, the show did not occur on Sunday so our flight back to Los Angeles included no less than Bruce Campbell, Jon Heder, Cary Elwes and Lou Ferrigno.  Lou is still a pretty big boy and Bruce has that great, distinctive voice that could read you your rights and be entertaining.  I'd probably come back to Salt Lake Comic Con but only for Thursday or Friday, there's just not enough going on to keep you there for 3 days.  I hear there's a huge outdoor store outside SLC complete with an indoor shooting range and full sized Ferris wheel so that would be cool to check out.  Until then, America needs your help!

View In Peace: New Beverly Cinema

Surfing the various calendars for repertory screenings, special events and the like, I noticed that the New Bev didn't have any programming after September 1st.  That wasn't a surprise, of late, it seems they were always posting their schedule last minute.  The next time I checked, the site stated that the New Bev would have no programs in September and that a full October calendar would be posted soon.  I figured they were doing some renovations, maybe installing some new sound or seats, giving themselves time to plan some exciting programs as there's plenty of friendly competition around in Los Angeles in the form of The American Cinematheque's non-profit support, historic venue to The Cinefamily's robust scheduling of films, festivals, podcasts and special events.  The New Bev has been a constant in my Los Angeles life since the late 2000's.  I've seen some great films here, many for the first time on the big screen.  From Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer to Charles Bronson street fighting in Hard Times to Edgar Wright's programing that included The Warriors with special guests Walter Hill, James Remar, Larry Gordon and Frank Marshall, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Westworld.  Then there was 13 Assassins, the Bill and Ted double feature with Alex Winter, the fantastic double of Drive and Warrior as well as  Michael Biehn in person for The Victim among dozens of others.  The one that got away?  The Terminator and Aliens with Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Ricco Ross, Jeanette Goldstein and Mark Rolston in attendance...

In May, The New Bev became part of my personal and professional history when the first Dammaged Goods live event took place over three nights.  After a few unanswered e-mails, I walked into the theater and met Michael Torgan, the manager/operator/programmer/ticket taker/concessions guy extraordinaire.  After a few minutes of discussing what I wanted to do, Michael agreed to host the screenings versus me having to rent the venue as I had writer/director Sheldon Lettich ready to attend.  Of course, the nights of Double Impact and Bloodsport went off spectacularly and JCVD co-stars in Lionheart Harrison Page and Brian Thompson even swung by with Sheldon to support.  Michael was absolutely terrific in getting everything set up, the prints of both films looked great and he seemed happy with the turnouts even though I felt bad we didn't do nearly as well as the sold out Mean Girls anniversary before us.  I had no idea that it was the beginning of the end of an era.

Over the last 72 hours, rumors, interviews and articles have circulated describing what exactly is happening to the Los Angeles fixture.  After 7 years, it seems that hands off owner Quentin Tarantino wants to get more involved with the theater and turn it into the last bastion for film in the city as well as the world.  You see, movie prints cost a lot of money, like thousands of dollars each.  They're shipped across the country in several heavy containers and you need one for every theater showing your movie.  With the rise of digital filmmaking and projecting, movie houses can now simply download a feature or DCP (Digital Cinema Package) which is the equivalent to a 35mm print that will essentially last forever.

A few years ago, studios began offering theaters a rebate of sorts to upgrade to digital projection to help offset the cost.  Recently, studios have all but abandoned striking film prints except to appease a chosen few like Tarantino, Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan.  The New Bev was outfitted with a digital projector not long ago and is believed to be part of Tarantino's reasons for taking over.  Why?  Because Tarantino is a film nut and collects prints.  The idea for the flick Grindhouse came from Robert Rodriguez wanting audiences to be able to experience a night at Tarantino's house where he would program double and triple bills complete with related trailers, shorts and other oddities.  Now, the director is looking to share his collection with the world and keep 35mm alive.  Tarantino has stated he'll be curating the first several months of programming at the new New Bev when it reopens in October.  Torgan's involvement is still being worked out while current staff are said to be getting promoted.  One of them is kind of a public face for the joint and produced a documentary about the plight of film but their attitude rubs me the wrong way and the Q&A's I've seen them host have not been among the best.  Whatever happens, I hope the New Bev continues to showcase their vast array of fare and that Michael remains involved, takes a well deserved break or moves on to his next great adventure.  Without him and the New Bev, I wouldn't be working on live event number 4 or met Dolph Lundgren, Robert Patrick, Sheldon Lettich and the throngs of awesome, 80's and 90's action movie loving fans out there.

Con-Man: Salt Lake Comic Con Friday

After yesterday's infuriating experience in Salt Lake City for the con, I can happily report that Friday was much, much better.  Sure, our early entry was about 20 minutes late but honestly the floor wasn't that big and never got uncomfortably crowded.  Their exhibition floor reminded me of Long Beach Comic Con's, only bigger.  The Artist Alley was rocking with lots of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, movie/TV and Groot art while exhibitors sold everything from toys to comics to Star Trek molded chocolate.  Strangely, there were a lot of weapons dealers on the floor.  You know, selling samurai swords, knives, throwing stars and the like?  I wanted to buy a pair of brass knuckles but not sure if I'd have enough time to mail them to myself since the TSA probably wouldn't appreciate them on the plane.  There was a spot for the chitlin's dubbed KidCon plus a surprising abundance of food vendors offering pizza, burgers, Cambodian food, sammiches and the like.  A ring showcased local wrestling as well as LARP'ing, Live Action Role Playing.  On the cosplay front, we noticed tons of women dressed as Loki but honestly not many men.  Also popular was women dressed as Mario and I saw more than a few Ash's from Army of Darkness as well as the most random cosplay fad of the last few years, Jack Frost from Dreamworks' Rise of the Guardians.  Swag wise it was a button, sticker and magnet filled day with Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Michael Biehn, Race Bannon, The Rocketeer, Nick Fury and the Ninja Turtles items all joining my household.

I had to refrain from digging through comic boxes and half off graphic novels as we're hopping back on a plane but I am on the hunt for Captain America # 14 from the latest series when he returns from Dimension Z.  One of the first purchases of the day came from Cape and Cowl, a store located in my backyard in Orange County yet the one thing I bought from Seattle's Emerald City Comicon?  A Dutch action figure from Predator from these guys.  They always have a great selection and good prices so I'm happy to hand them some bucks.  The Celebrity signing area was hopping with the likes of James Hong, Ron Perlman, Hulk Hogan and Danny Glover courting fans.  With our $20 off a Photo Op burning a hole in my pocket, I decided we should get a serious family portrait with Lethal Weapon and Predator 2's Mr. Glover.  Unfortunately the Photo Op line was moving at a snail's pace, maybe tomorrow.  Upstairs with a great view of the exhibition floor was a transported arcade complete with Battle Toads, Spy Hunter and the holy grail of multi-player button smashing side scrollers, Captain America and The Avengers!  Like Final Fight, this simple punch'em up was one of my favorites as a kid and we quickly dumped several bucks into the machine.  I forgot how comic related the game was as you can choose between Cap, Iron Man, Hawkeye and The Vision while The Red Skull, The Grim Reaper, Whirlwind, The Mandarin, a Sentinel...I mean Giant Robot are among your adversaries.  Avengers regulars like The Wasp, Wonder Man and Namor the Submariner show up to help you out. I'm tempted to go at it again tomorrow with an Alexander Hamilton or Andrew Jackson and see who else turns up.

Panel wise the floor was kind of confusing and we spent a good 10 minutes wandering around looking for the ball room after Security just shrugged when we asked.  We only hit up two, both spotlights on actors, Alan Tudyk and Manu Bennett.  Even though we arrived nearly 30 minutes early, there was already a decent line and SLCC sells VIP tix, giving badge holders first entry and their line seemed plenty long as well.  Fortunately we got some decent seats and there were two large screens in the room for enhanced viewing.  Tudyk is a con regular and employed a panel style I've never seen, he brought question askers up to the stage to sit with him and then the two would each ask the other one question culminating with Tudyk handing them "some shit" from his bag of goodies.  It was mostly random stuff and swag like tee shirts, a harmonica from the lead singer of Blues Traveler, a CD, a pair of Prada sunglasses he never wore after Bridget Moynahan told him they didn't fit his face, etc.  It was a refreshing change of pace and Tudyk was quite the sport and showman, reciting lines from his work in Frozen, Firefly, Transformers 3 and regaling us with the story of how The Cosby Show and Thundercats' Earle Hyman told him to give up acting and go work for his father.  When Tudyk refused, Hyman then become a mentor to help prepare the then 19 year old. 

The room cleared out and we snagged some solid near front seats for Manu Bennett of Spartacus, The Hobbit and Arrow.  Bennett started things off on a surprisingly educational and cultural note by bringing out members of the Ute tribe, Salt Lake City's original settlers.  Bennett too is a regular on the con routine but came off very sincere and appreciative to be on stage.  Audience members lined up on both sides of the stage and Bennett took their questions, addressing and speaking directly to them which was a nice touch.  However, like Kevin Smith, Bennett is prone to answering a question with a story that prefaces another story so not many queries receive reply.  One just wanted a hug which Bennett graciously granted while discussing how he got involved with The Hobbit: another actor spent a year and a half in the role of Azog but Peter Jackson thought the prosthetic make up wasn't up to snuff and with 3 months before the premiere, made the decision to replace the role with a Motion Capture performance a la Andy Serkis' Gollum and Bennett, who had auditioned earlier, got the call.  Many questions were about Arrow and Bennett's portrayal of Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke and the darkness of the role.  Here, Bennett opened up to the crowd and shared that his mother and brother both died in car accidents at a young age and that his little brother literally died in his arms.  No fluffy, softball stuff for this guy, which is why I like him.  When a young woman shared that her mom died when she was 8, Bennett jumped down off the stage and gave her a big hug, telling her she's on her way as she showed her strength and honest heart by opening up in front of a crowd.  Now off the stage, Bennett took a seat in the front row to answer the next question.  Oh yeah, he's super yoked too and was wearing a skin tight shirt to show it. 

Having been at the show for nearly 9 hours, we decided to scram and find some dinner.  Luckily Squatters Craft Beers down the street was the total opposite of yesterday's disappointing cookie cutter Red Rock Brewery.  With a character rich décor and an excellent turkey burger on the menu, we took off in search of a Chase ATM but the app lied to me and we ended up strolling around a beautiful outdoor mall with several fountains.  Across the street was the Mormon Temple which has some gorgeous, castle looking structures in the middle of downtown.  Again, the centuries old architecture blends seamlessly with the modern design and along with the more noticeable foot traffic, Salt Lake City felt a bit more bustling today.

(Pre) Ask Me a Question: Beyond Fest 2014

Oh shit, the full schedule for Beyond Fest finally dropped this week.  After months of rumors, wish lists, false starts and triumphs, Christian Parkes and his genre movie loving crew will begin their two week assault on Los Angeles filmgoers on Thursday, 9.25 with Horns, the Daniel Radcliffe starring murder mystery.  After last year's premiere/takeover of The American Cinematheque's Egyptian and Aero Theatres that included cult progressive rock band Goblin playing Los Angeles for the first time in their decades spanning career and guests like Richard Donner and Clive Barker, Beyond Fest is going all out to avoid the sophomore slump.  No less than 30 films and shorts are slated to screen and partnerships with Fantastic Fest, Shock Til You Drop, The ElRey Network, Backstory, Bloody Disgusting, Death Waltz Records and Meltdown Comics show that the Fest is not one to be trifled with or missed.

So far titles include first looks at the creepy looking Jake Gylenhall thriller Nightcrawler, V/H/S Viral and the Los Angeles premiere of Hollywood Satanic cult flick Starry Eyes.  On the repertory front, you've got The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Fight Club, Monster Squad and a 4K restoration of Halloween!  Guests so far include the likes of Bourne Legacy writer turned director Dan Gilroy, John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis, DC Comics honcho Jim Lee and many, many more.  See you there!

Con-Man: Salt Lake and the City of Lines

It's going to be an interesting month for me as trips to Seattle, Salt Lake City, Des Moines and Columbus for work and play have me hopping out of state 4 out of 5 weekends.  Today, we were off to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend a new show and see the city.  Unfortunately, today was a bit of a shit show.  Arriving in Salt Lake, the area seems big, open and well kept as the downtown is a harmonious mix of old brick buildings, houses and new age hotels and sky scrapers.  Beneath that up and coming veneer is a surprisingly quiet city with little foot traffic, homeless on every corner and some of the poorest organization skills I've ever seen.  We can start with the cabbie who didn't know where our hotel was and had to look at my phone instead of having his own GPS.  Then there was the generic Red Rock Brewery and restaurant that looked clean and modern enough but their rotisserie chicken was drier than one from Costco and the fries definitely not fresh from the fryer.  On the way in, there was a line outside the convention center and some fellow attendees at our hotel tiredly told us of having to wait in line for over an hour to get their tickets then another hour to get into the exhibition hall.  I'm well aware that SLCC had a huge first year attendance showing complete with fire marshal intervention but their FanX convention a few months later seemed to streamline their efforts for a smoother running show.

That was not the case today.  You see, SLCC is the best and worst of new age conventions.  Having more conventions is great.  But the rise of the dozens of Wizard Worlds and shows like Salt Lake raises major concerns for this con-goer as these shows are not about quality control, they're about bringing in crowds.  Then gouging them with different levels of pricing and paying for the opportunity to interact with their favorite actors and pop culture personalities.  There was a line for General Admission then a separate, shorter line for those who coughed up extra cash for Gold and VIP packages.  After an hour in line, the Gold/VIP crowd stopped dead in it's tracks.  Volunteers and Security had no idea what was happening and were getting increasingly defensive and sensitive.  It's not their fault, they're not in charge, so me being the Doer I am, set off to find some answers.  A Security guard had nothing for me, she suggested I look for a Team Lead, said leader couldn't quell my concerns so she went to find her manager.  Of course, being an asshole won't get you any further up the line so I simply said I knew he was busy but asked what was going on with the line because we weren't going to get into the exhibition floor with how many people were in front of us and I also didn't want the last 90 minutes to go to waste if they closed down the registration lines.  Said Manager was in the process of opening up 2 more lanes as there were only 4-5 people taking care of the Gold/VIP lines.

I don't know how SLCC didn't anticipate the crowd.  The inaugural show drew in 72,000 goers which was a record for a first year show and put them on the map.  A cease and desist letter from San Diego Comic Con only increased their awareness.  Their FanX show brought in over 100,000 attendees so I figured they would be prepared for this year but they totally weren't.  This is where SDCC shines, yes, there's long lines, but once they get moving, they fucking move.  I've never waited this long to get into the exhibition hall or to pick up tickets in San Diego.  There's dozens of employees to check you in compared to the 5 SLCC had on deck.  So if you're gonna talk shit against the big show and compare yourselves to them, try doing as they do to not piss off your core audience.  A guy behind us went into the General Admission line that wrapped around the building twice and ended up getting his tickets before we did in the shorter line that we paid extra to be in.  Their Twitter feed was full of complaints and while they apologized and are looking to make amends, I still can't understand how they didn't expect crowds and lines on the first day.  Whereas SDCC is a non-profit that caps attendance to give X amount of attendees the best show possible, SLCC is a for-profit company that wants as many people in the door as possible yet doesn't staff up to meet demand.  In the end it took over 2 hours to pick up our badges and we didn't even get into the show.  On the plus side, we met some cool people in line, two of whom were huge Optimus Prime fans but total opposites in regards to football to which I made the observation that sports drives people apart while popular culture brings them together.  So once again, F-you, sports!  Plus, the Gold ticket included a plethora of items like Bruce Campbell branded Con Cash, a discount on a photo op which I otherwise wouldn't even contemplate, a T-shirt, etc.

Afterwards, we walked to Wendy's where it was more lines as there must be something in the air here that no one is prepared as there was one cashier frantically and frustratingly trying to take then send orders off.  At one point she exclaimed she was still waiting for 8 sandwiches.  Are there no managers in the great Salt Lake?  Does no one want their day to run smoother?  I understand things run a little slower here than in Los Angeles but I doubt the locals like waiting in line at Wendy's either.  Although my Double, fries, Frosty and chicken nuggets came out in excellent time and of course, were delicious.

Let's hope Friday and early entry pans out or there's going to be fucking madness.

Give Me A (DVD) Sign: Now and Again

It only took 14 years but the quirky action/sci-fi/romance drama series Now and Again just hit DVD courtesy of CBS.  I suppose it was worth the wait as the set is loaded with hours of special features including a 4 part making of/look back called Genesis.

Let's back up, in 1999 I was a senior in high school hanging with my friends, lifting weights, reading comics and talking shit.  Honestly, not much has changed.  But, that was about the last time I actively watched a television show that wasn't a 30 minute sitcom called The Simpsons or Home Improvement.  In 1998, CBS launched a television show based on one of my favorite flicks, the 1960 action western character piece, The Magnificent Seven.  Even better was that one of my favorite actors, Michael Biehn, was playing the lead.  Joined by familiar faces like Ron Perlman (Alien: Resurrection) and Dale Midkiff (Time Trax!), newcomers (to me) Eric Close, Rick Worthy, Andrew Kavovit and Anthony Starke, the show was a handsomely produced mix of action, drama, bromance and western derring-do that I recorded every week on the ol' VCR.  I believe it was on Friday or Saturday nights so sitting in a movie theater one evening I literally sat up in shock as I realized I hadn't set the VCR to record.  Although The Magnificent Seven's pilot premiered in the week's Top 10 with 10 million viewers, the show quickly lost viewers and ended up scoring middle of the road ratings and a few Emmy nominations.  On the bubble, fans campaigned CBS to renew the show and a 2nd season of 13 episodes was produced.  The show failed to gain any momentum and soon co-star Eric Close was onto a new show, Now and Again, which meant The Magnificent Seven would not be riding into season 3. 

Also relegated to the wasteland of Friday nights, Now and Again is the story of insurance salesman Michael Wiseman (John Goodman), a loving dad and good guy who gets drunk one night after testifying against his company and accidentally pushed in front of a subway car.  He awakens to find the smiling yet mysterious Dr. Theodore Morris (Dennis Haysbert) at his bedside and soon realizes he's no longer who he was before.  Michael's brain has been transplanted into the body of a perfectly engineered 26 year old (Eric Close) and the show follows his struggle of being alive yet dead along with the trials and tribulations of his wife/widow Lisa (Margaret Colin), teenage daughter Heather (Heather Matarazzo), best friend Roger (Gerrit Graham) and his slick former boss who won't pay out life insurance Craig (Chad Lowe).  While Michael deals with his new body, working for a shadowy government agency and trying to be involved in his former family's life, he's also in training and fighting baddies like chemical weapons terrorist The Eggman, turncoat operatives, runaway prototypes and killer bees.  Funny, sweet, exciting and a bit odd, the show was a strange hybrid of genres that somehow combined the elements of a love story, a bionic man, his friend/prisoner relationship with his maker, action and showing off super strength in order to be able to afford peanut butter cups. 

Like The Magnificent Seven, Now and Again gained a following of devoted fans and when it wasn't picked up for season 2 following a cliffhanger finale, said fans sent empty egg cartons to CBS and took out an ad in trade publications.  While The Magnificent Seven would hit DVD in 2005, the signs of Now and Again were relegated to repeats on Sci-Fi and maybe YouTube.  Now, I can finally retire my worn out VHS tapes as the complete series on DVD showed up on my door (AFTER the long weekend, thanks Amazon...).  Incidentally, one of my Now and Again tapes was recorded over another great, one season, sci-fi/action show that aired on CBS, The Flash!

Digging right into the special features, the main featurettes cover the origins, production, reception and legacy of the show titled Genesis, New Life, Remembrances and Timelessness.  Directed and edited by Dammaged Goods familiar Roger Lay, Jr. (of He-Man documentary Toy Masters fame), all of the major participants are included except John Goodman.  Additional content includes an on the set vignette as well as a spot focusing on the writing of the show.  Creator Glenn Gordon Caron had discovered Bruce Willis and shepherded hit show Moonlighting before moving into feature films.  CBS head Glenn Moonves asked Caron to write a pilot and if he didn't produce it, CBS would pay him an exorbitant sum of cash.  Inspired by 1958's Damn Yankees where an obsessed baseball fan makes a deal with the devil so his team will do well, Caron moved the Faust-ian tones to modern times in New York City.  A writer who shunned the traditional writers room of TV, Caron recruited a small but strong staff from various backgrounds including a scribe from Star Trek and one from Esquire magazine.  A dialog heavy show, rewriting was common place with actors behind handed a fresh chunk of 5 pages moments before shooting.  Their approach was to create a series that couldn't be identified or labeled while turning clichés on their head. 

Eric Close, a good looking actor who reminds me of Steve McQueen, had been a part of several failed shows before landing Now and Again, beating out a rumored 3,000 applicants.  To play the perfect bionic man, Close embarked on a crash diet of tuna and water then during shooting would go home and train after 16 hour days while subsisting on half a piece of toast with tuna in order to stay lean and yoked.  Dennis Haysbert (NAVY SEALS! So many Michael Biehn connections) was not Caron's first choice but was at the top of CBS' list and plays the government agent/creator with strength, dignity, intelligence and humor.  Shooting in New York City was a novel idea at the time but extremely difficult and expensive as there wasn't the infrastructure or tax benefits of today.  Moving locations proved time consuming and difficult so the production would take over sections of town whenever possible, one being Wall Street, an area bustling by day but empty at night, for street chases and action scenes.

The show's eclectic sensibility was hard for CBS to pinpoint and thus couldn't categorize the show equaling little effort into promoting it.  Being on Friday nights after Candid Camera didn't help but Now and Again premiered in September of 1999 to solid critical notices and reached 11 million viewers at it's peak.  3 Saturn Awards, a TV Guide cover and an Emmy nomination followed.  The show finished 76th out of 196 programs for the year behind CBS' own Diagnosis Murder, Jag, Nash Bridges and Walker, Texas Ranger.  Spirits were high for a renewal shortly after the wrap party,  word came down that the Now and Again would not be returning.  The news was a shock to all involved who really thought they were coming back, especially after the cliffhanger season finale.  Future plans and storylines are not discussed however for better or worse.  These days, I'm a sure a show with this kind of critical support, fandom and overall goodwill could get picked up by another network or an online outlet but those weren't the times we were living in back in 1999...