Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.
John Wayne: The Life and Legend
Face the Music: A Life Exposed
A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, From Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man
The Art of DreamWorks Animation
Turning Point: 1997-2008 (hardcover)
Nothin' to Lose: The Making of KISS (1972-1975)
The Art of the Wind Rises
Starting Point: 1979-1996 (paperback)
There Goes Gravity: A Life in Rock and Roll by Lisa Robinson
Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters: Defending the Earth with Ultraman, Godzilla, and Friends in the Golden Age of Japanese Science Fiction Film
The Master of Suspense: The Life and Legacy of Alfred Hitchcock
Art of Princess Mononoke (The Art of Princess Mononoke)
Steven Spielberg and Duel: The Making of a Film Career
My Lunches with Orson: Conversations Between Henry Jaglom and Orson Welles
The Archaeology of Hollywood: Traces of the Golden Age
Alien the Archive: The Ultimate Guide to the Classic Movies
Hitchcock and Adaptation: On the Page and Screen
Bruce Lee: The Celebrated Life of the Golden Dragon (Bruce Lee Library)
Brick Fairy Tales: Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Hansel and Gretel, and More
Game of Thrones: A Pop-Up Guide to Westeros
Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine
The Beatles
The Art and Flair of Mary Blair (Updated Edition): An Appreciation (Disney Editions Deluxe)
Genius, Animated: The Cartoon Art of Alex Toth
Happy Clouds, Happy Trees: The Bob Ross Phenomenon
Welcome to Mars: Politics, Pop Culture, and Weird Science in 1950s America
The Origins of Comics: From William Hogarth to Winsor McCay
Wide Awake in Slumberland: Fantasy, Mass Culture, and Modernism in the Art of Winsor McCay (Great Comics Artists)
The Moose That Roared: The Story of Jay Ward, Bill Scott, a Flying Squirrel, and a Talking Moose
Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey
Carl Barks' Donald Duck: Your Average American
Veronica Mars: An Original Mystery by Rob Thomas: The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line (Vintage)
Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star
God Save The Kinks: A Biography
Frank Thorne's Red Sonja Art Edition HC
Andy Warhol: The Complete Copmmissioned Posters, 1964-1987
New Monty Python music video: The Silly Walks Song
The old gang is getting back together for a series of shows in London. They have a new video, too:
Pop stuff: The Muppets Most Wanted, Enemy reviews
What I've been watching, reading, seeing, etc.
Muppets Most Wanted
There was a real sweetness, along with all the expected silliness, in 2011's "The Muppets." After Kermit and crew's long absence from the movie screens, it was nice to have them back. Jason Segal, in the lead, non-muppet part was a stand-in for all fans who grew up loving "Sesame Street" and "The Muppet Show," and -- on behalf of the rest of us -- rounded up the old gang for a new adventure.
"The Muppets Most Wanted" ditches all that nostalgia and sentimentality and goes straight for the laughs. It's an entertaining film, with lots of fun star cameos and absurd scenarios that keep it moving at a good clip. Like the best Muppets ventures, it plays on two levels: Amusing adults with jokes that will slip right past the kids, but keeping the kids engaged with the action and broader, more slapstick humor.
Trailers for the film played in theaters and on TV for months and months before its release, so you know the plot (and, unfortunately, many of its jokes) already: Kermit has an evil look-alike who swaps places with him. It's evil Kermit, who speaks in an evil-sounding accent of indeterminate origin, who garners the most laughs in the film, upstaging his human co-stars, including Ricky Gervais and Tina Fey.
It's interesting to note two different actors voice the lead parts: Steve Whitmire as Kermit and Matt Vogel as Constantine. I'm always amazed at how much emotion and humor the muppeteers can coax from the faces of these characters, particular Kermit, which is basically a very simple puppet with immovable half ping-pong balls for eyes.
As far as the humans go, Ty Burrell is quite funny as a Clouseauian Interpol inspector. I won't spoil the numerous, and funny, star cameos.
The songs, as in the previous Muppets film, are by Bret McKenzie of Flying Conchords fame, and they're a riot, with lyrical inventiveness and humor that's several notches above the typical kid-focused musical.
Enemy
Another evil double movie! But this one, starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the dual/duel roles is quite different from any you've likely seen before.
Surreal and perplexing, you'll spend some serious time thinking about it after you leave the theater. There are no easy answers, for Gyllenhall's characters in the film, or for the audience.
These two men are suddenly faced with the realization that he has an exact duplicate he didn't know about. The revelation troubles them and forces them to think about their own lives and choices.
It's not an action film, or necessarily a good vs. evil conflict. It's more a head trip, open to multiple interpretations. Well worth seeing for its uniqueness, effective direction and performances.
Muppets Most Wanted
There was a real sweetness, along with all the expected silliness, in 2011's "The Muppets." After Kermit and crew's long absence from the movie screens, it was nice to have them back. Jason Segal, in the lead, non-muppet part was a stand-in for all fans who grew up loving "Sesame Street" and "The Muppet Show," and -- on behalf of the rest of us -- rounded up the old gang for a new adventure.
"The Muppets Most Wanted" ditches all that nostalgia and sentimentality and goes straight for the laughs. It's an entertaining film, with lots of fun star cameos and absurd scenarios that keep it moving at a good clip. Like the best Muppets ventures, it plays on two levels: Amusing adults with jokes that will slip right past the kids, but keeping the kids engaged with the action and broader, more slapstick humor.
Trailers for the film played in theaters and on TV for months and months before its release, so you know the plot (and, unfortunately, many of its jokes) already: Kermit has an evil look-alike who swaps places with him. It's evil Kermit, who speaks in an evil-sounding accent of indeterminate origin, who garners the most laughs in the film, upstaging his human co-stars, including Ricky Gervais and Tina Fey.
It's interesting to note two different actors voice the lead parts: Steve Whitmire as Kermit and Matt Vogel as Constantine. I'm always amazed at how much emotion and humor the muppeteers can coax from the faces of these characters, particular Kermit, which is basically a very simple puppet with immovable half ping-pong balls for eyes.
As far as the humans go, Ty Burrell is quite funny as a Clouseauian Interpol inspector. I won't spoil the numerous, and funny, star cameos.
The songs, as in the previous Muppets film, are by Bret McKenzie of Flying Conchords fame, and they're a riot, with lyrical inventiveness and humor that's several notches above the typical kid-focused musical.
Enemy
Another evil double movie! But this one, starring Jake Gyllenhaal in the dual/duel roles is quite different from any you've likely seen before.
Surreal and perplexing, you'll spend some serious time thinking about it after you leave the theater. There are no easy answers, for Gyllenhall's characters in the film, or for the audience.
These two men are suddenly faced with the realization that he has an exact duplicate he didn't know about. The revelation troubles them and forces them to think about their own lives and choices.
It's not an action film, or necessarily a good vs. evil conflict. It's more a head trip, open to multiple interpretations. Well worth seeing for its uniqueness, effective direction and performances.
Guardians of the Galaxy character pics!
Here are some character photos from Marvel's upcoming "Guardians of the Galaxy" film starring Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Racoon, Dave Batista as Drax and Vin Diesel as Groot. The film is set for release this August.
New comics April 2, 2014: Batman '66; Rocky and Bullwinkle Classics; Art of Captain America; Winter Soldier; Spider-Man Firsts!
Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.
Batman '66 Vol. 1
Rocky & Bullwinkle Classics, Vol. 1: Star Billing
Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier: The Art of the Movie Slipcase
Spider-Man Firsts
Batman '66 Vol. 1
Rocky & Bullwinkle Classics, Vol. 1: Star Billing
Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier: The Art of the Movie Slipcase
Spider-Man Firsts
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