Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Let Me Explain. No, There Is Too Much. Let Me Sum Up!

Lots of stuff for you today!

RJR Daydreamer is hosting Media Mayhem 3 day Blog Hop – Go to his site to participate this weekend.

I finished revisions and sent my manuscript to my publisher! Now comes the waiting...


Mini Movie Reviews-

Black Death
Soldiers journey to a village not infected with the Black Plague. Appropriately bleak look at a dark time in our history. Movie ramps up a good amount of tension and mystery. With Sean Bean!

Black Swan
Bat-shit crazy girl gets lead in Swan Lake. I understood the metaphors, but I’ve seen it before, and while the movie made me feel uneasy, it didn’t make for an enjoyable viewing experience. Did I mention the girl is crazy?

Watched Falling Skies the other night. Like it so far. Although after it was over, my wife and I both commented that it was like The Walking Dead. Except with aliens of course.



Don’t forget, the latest SyFy Craptastic original movie is this Saturday night - “Swamp Shark” with DB Sweeny and Kristy Swanson. Yes, expect a play-by-play in the coming weeks. I am willing to sacrifice a my sanity for my blogger buddies!


My Latest Tunes-

Amon Amarth’s “Surtur Rising”
Quite possibly the best Viking metal you will ever hear!

The new In Flames and Symphony X albums came out Tuesday. I’m so happy!


And Jeremey at IZombieLover made these really awesome zombie pictures for me! Yes, that is Woody Harrelson and Kate Beckinsale. (She’s looked better!)


Seen either of those movies? Watched Falling Skies? I’d ask if you like those bands, but I’m guessing the answer would be no…

86 comments:

Jeff Beesler said...

Congrats on getting the sequel to CassaStar out to your publisher. Still have no name for it?

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Black Death was just okay for me, and it wasn't particularly scary, nor very creepy.

Black Swan is a modern masterpiece! Period. :)

Kate Becksinsale looks hot even as a zombie ;)

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Good luck with the sequel to Cassa star may the force be with you.

Have a good day.
Yvonne.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Jeffrey, I've dubbed it CassaStar II: Electric Boogaloo.

Sorry George, I just did not like Black Swan.

Thanks Yvonne - that made me smile!

Unknown said...

I haven't seen any of the movies but they do seem interesting. Black Swan is one I do want to see.

Gail said...

Congratulations on the book completion!

Jeremy [Retro] said...

kate is looking at you, she looks very hungry... maybe the sequel could be called "staying alive", though electric boogaloo will work too. great news and good luck on the book.

i have decided most movies are just wait to see them on dvd... though swamp shark sounds awesome... where good actors go to die....

:)
jeremy

Heather M. Gardner said...

Congrats and best of luck on the sequel. Crossing toes cause I need my fingers to type.

I did watch Falling Skies. I haven't decided if I like it or not. Too much going on in the Pilot episode to get a feel for it. I like to wait for a few shows to see if it holds my interest.
Yes, we have seen this type of thing before w/ and w/o aliens or deadly viruses.
It all depends on what they do with the characters.

Swamp shark? Really? Damn. I'm gonna end up watching it too.
Hate myself!

Have a great weekend.

Bryan Russell said...

You killed my father. Prepare to die.



Anybody want a peanut?

T. Powell Coltrin said...

That's super great on the sequel. One more step closer to release.

Awesome zombie photos.

Unknown said...

I watched the scariest movie ever last night. The new version of the old movie FAME. Beware of this movie! I was so terrified I would die of boredom, that I couldn't watch the end.
Nina

Old Kitty said...

Bat-shit crazy girl! LOL!!! I can't finish reading your post as I'm laughing so much at your Black Swan review and am keeling over now as my sides are beginning to hurt and my corset's splitting! LOL!!! Bat-shit crazy girl..!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!

Take care
x

Sarah McCabe said...

Ooh, a movie set in the Middle Ages with Sean Bean? Cannot miss!

vic caswell said...

i really, really enjoyed black death.
yay for finishing up your revisions!
and yikes! those are some scary zombies!

mshatch said...

I'm actually watching The Walking Dead right now and loving it. Black Swan is next up on netflix.

Matthew MacNish said...

I haven't seen any of these, except The Walking Dead, but that doesn't really count.

Mary Aalgaard said...

Woody makes a great zombie. I saw Black Swan. My oldest son wanted to watch it. I said, "It's not even appropriate for me!" Poor girl. It is a disturbing movie, for sure.

Huntress said...

I had the TV auto-tuned to watch Falling Skies.

Yeah, it was much like The Walking Dead with a lot of the same old cliches, Dad alone, looking for kids, where's Mom, Dead? Not dead.

Teenagers in deep angst and rebellious. Eh.
I'll watch it again since pilots are usually rough but I had (note 'had') great hopes.
Also on the radar was The Nine Lives of Chloe King. Major disappointment.

And
I hate ta waiting...
...for good shows.

Sarah Ahiers said...

We have Falling Skies saved on our DVR and will probably get to it on thursday. I've had black swan from netflix for like a month, just haven't gotten around to watching it - though we did finally hit up troll hunter and that was FANTASTIC!

Maryannwrites said...

You're right on the bands, Alex. I'm a country girl through and through. We watched Falling Skies and did enjoy it. We also thought it was much like The Walking Dead.

Liza said...

I have hesitated about Black Swan. Now I'm going to hesitate a whole lot longer...

Carol Kilgore said...

Bat-shit crazy or not, I still want to see Swan Lake. Maybe that's what years of dancing ballet does to people :)

Dafeenah said...

Congrats on the manuscript! I haven't seen, heard, or desired to any of those until you wrote "batshit crazy" and now I think I might actually watch that one lol

Luanne G. Smith said...

Black Swan was odd. Not really enjoyable for me either.

Black Death, on the other hand, I want to see partly for research purposes. And, uh, Sean Bean. :)

Carolyn Abiad said...

Black Swan is in the queue, but I'm probably going to feel the same way about it as you do.

Congrats on finishing your second ms!

Suze said...

Your post title made me smile when it came up in my blogroll. :)

Unknown said...

I agree with you on Black Swan. The girl is crazy. I find it fascinting though-her descent into madness. I haven't seen Black Death but hope to soon. Once again a great post! Happy Wednesday :)

Arlee Bird said...

I've heard a lot of bad about Black Swan, but I've got it on my watch list anyway. Hey! I loved Skyline so can't go by everything I hear.
Black Death sounds like something I might like.

Lee
Tossing It Out

Hart Johnson said...

YAY for Sean Bean!!! Black Swan is already in queue for Netflicks, but Black Death looks pretty good, too! i'm not as keen on aliens or Zombies...

Charles Gramlich said...

Falling skies reminded me too of The Walking Dead. I rather liked Black Swan, although it certainly wasn't an original plot.

John Teal said...

Thanks for the mention !

Media Mayhem Blog Hop

Christine Rains said...

I think I'm in the minority with Black Swan. I didn't like it. The story didn't draw me in. It tried too hard. I'll have to check out Falling Skies. I can watch the Syfy movie, too, because, my usual Saturday night show, Doctor Who, is off for a little while.

Sangu Mandanna said...

I quite liked Black Swan though I thought it was weird as hell (not in a good way) and could have been less... well, weird.

TS Hendrik said...

I was just pondering Black Death yesterday as to whether or not it was worth a look. Thanks for the review.

N. R. Williams said...

Well done getting the edits done and the ms off. Haven't seen the movies.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, The Treasures of Carmelidrium

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Clarissa, be prepared - she's crazy!

Thanks, Gail.

Jeremy, the pictures are awesome. And SyFy is where actors go to die.

Heather, I'll keep watching and see what happens. Sorry to suck you into the SyFy Craptastic movie!

Bryan, you got it!

Nina, duly noted!!

Kitty, I debated whether to use that word or not, but it just fit! Glad I could give you a good laugh.

Thanks, Aspiring.

Matthew, some days I see them at work...

Mary, it was disturbing.

Huntress, maybe Terra Nova will be better.

Sarah, glad you enjoyed Troll Hunter. It was a trip.

Maryann, good to know it wasn't just us.

Liza, you have been warned...

Carol, maybe!

Thanks Dafeenah, and let me know if you get the same impression!

LG, at least you're honest.

Thanks Karen, and you'd best avoid it then.

Carolyn, let me know if you do.

Suze, it's just such a great movie with so many great lines.

Thanks Carol!

Lee, that's why they make movies for all types of people, right?

Hart, I think you'd enjoy it, although there's no nakedness...

Christine, it just didn't resonate with us, and that's all right!

Sangu, as in girl could've been a little less bat-shot crazy?

TS, it's not perfect but a good flick!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Congrats on sending the book off to the wilds of the publishing world.
I like Falling Skies though I didn't fall in love with it. I'll give it a few more weeks.

M Pax said...

Yay on revisions sent to the publisher! Can't wait until I get to say that. :D

Yes, I saw Falling Skies. I hate zombies, so haven't seen the zombie show. So far, I like it. Holding back opinion until I see more of it.

Summer Ross said...

I have yet to see any of those movies. Though "black Death" my manly man might like. Thanks for posting!

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I watched some of "Falling Skies"--I walked in while hubby was watching it, and I *did* think it was a zombie movie! (Well, until I saw the spaceship in the sky...)

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

I'm oblivious to the movies and music, but iZombie's work is fantastic.
Congrats on getting through round 1 with your sequel. That's awesome.
xoRobyn

Jules said...

ROFL at your description of Black Swan. Thanks I needed that. I watched part of Fallin Skies but I'm more a Bigfoot girl and it was on the Animal Planet. :)
Jules @ Trying To Get Over The Rainbow

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thanks, Susan. And yeah, the show needs to do something unique really fast.

Mary, you will!

Elizabeth, zombies could come from outer space...

Thanks, Robyn!

Jules, glad I could make you laugh. And did they find bigfoot? Was he hiding at a Dairy Queen or something?

Amy said...

Great Post! Checking out Black Death tonight, it sounds really good! I haven't watched Falling Skies yet, but might check that out tonight too.

Congrats on finishing your revisions and sending out your latest manuscript! :)

Helen Ginger said...

Haven't seen those movies. For Father's Day we did go see Super 8. Really liked it. Luckily, the theater was crowded and we were still in the exit rows when the credits started.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Congrats on finishing your revisions. Now you can start on book 3 ;) muwhahahahaa.

I wasn't overly excited by Falling Skies. It was a bit ordinary. I'll still watch it, though.

Cheeseboy said...

I have absolutely no desire to see Black Swan. And now that no desire has doubled to negative no desire.

Anonymous said...

I had Falling Skies on TV and caught chunks here and there as I did miscellaneous stuff around the house. I liked it. Its about what I expected for made for TV. I'm sure the first episode will be on again and this time I'll tape it on the DVR in case I miss it.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and looking forward to your play by play of Swamp Shark. Sharktopus will be hard to beat, but I'm confident you're up to the challenge!

Copyboy said...

Love the mini reviews but the post headline was even better. Great movie!!!

Chuck said...

I am all in for Swamp Shark...DB Sweeny is always a hit with his recent successes in the canceled shows Jericho and The Event.

Glad to hear the sequel is moving along nicely. Can't wait for it...October release again? Maybe?

It's good to be back home (although I could go again at anytime!)

Pat Tillett said...

While I was watching "Falling Skies" I also thought about how much it reminded me of "The Walking Dead." No problem with it here. In fact, I can't wait for more of The Walking Dead.

Kimberly said...

I haven't seen either movie.

Congrats on finishing your revisions!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Amy, enjoy!

Helen, it's just a great film.

Lynda, no pressure!!!

Cheeseboy, you are a wise man.

Stephen, more pressure! Let's see if I can get through this one. The last SyFy movie I bailed after thirty minutes.

Thanks, Copyboy,

Chuck! Good to hear from you. I doubt it will be this year, if at all...

Pat, I agree!

Thanks, Kimberly.

Will Burke said...

I've been looking to check out some new music, and In Flames keeps coming up. I'll check out SYmphony X too. I reviewed Cassastar on my site -- come check it out! Cheers!

Rusty Carl said...

Congrats on getting the book turned in. I hope you celebrated. Haven't seen any of the movies - and really meant to watch Falling Skies, totally forgot.

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Hi Alex, after virtually tearing my hair out someone came up with the solution, for 2 weeks I have had this problem, so many comments I've made to various followers who don't accept anonymous comments, someone has come up with a solution, I am off to my daughters for a few hours this morning but will be back later, Thanks for your support,
Yvonne.

Unknown said...

Loved Falling Skies and thought exactly like you did, that it was The Walking Dead, but with Aliens. Am hooked, though. Congrats on getting the edits in! Another Captain Alex book is on the way, yay!

PK HREZO said...

Ahhh... craptastic. Now, that is a great word. THanks for the reminder... I've gotta watch it this time. Such a sucker for bad sci-fi!
Black Death is looking pretty good too.
I watched Black Swan with a pounding migraine... how's that for intensity? lol

Talli Roland said...

Yay for finishing revisions! I can't wait until I get through this round and can send it off.

Leovi said...

The best news is the new In Flames, Sounds Of A Fading Playground.

Susan Fields said...

I love Sean Bean! Black Death sounds good. And congrats on finishing your revisions and getting your manuscript to your publisher!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Will, thanks!!! I'll head over now.

Thanks Rusty, and couldn't have done it without the help of my awesome critique partners.

Yvonne, just don't quit!

Thanks, Melissa, and I hope so.

Pk, that probably added a scary new dimension to the film.

Leovi, that's cool - someone likes In Flames!

Thank you Susan.

Christopher Hudson said...

Black death, Viking metal, zombies ... I'm detecting a theme here, Alex. Big contrast to the puppies, cotton candy and teddy bears I featured this week.

Jam Lebrilla said...

Congratulations on your book! And Falling Star seems interesting, so I'll check it out. Zombies and aliens are a weird combination.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on finishing the sequel, Alex!!!
I do want to see Black Swan. And I eagerly await your Swamp Shark review. :)
Kelly Polark

Anonymous said...

I keep waiting to be in the "right mood" for BLACK SWAN. Still haven't seen it yet. Maybe after a particularly bad day, I'll watch.

I love the craptastic Saturday night SyFy movies. Look forward to your commentary.

ali cross said...

Ha! Those zombie pics are perfectly gruesome. ITA on Falling Skies. Thanks for the heads up on Black Death and Swamp Shark!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Christopher, I'm sure I scare people.

JML and Kelly, thanks!

Liz, you know ther will be a play by play!

Laila Knight said...

I haven't seen any of these movies, but those zombie pictures are pretty freaky. I've had dreams where I'm being chased by something like that...yikes.

Jennie Bailey said...

Falling Skies is TOTALLY like Walking Dead but with Aliens! We're tuning in again this week mainly because of the cool character they added at the end. He was the only one trying to figure how to actually kill the aliens. What's the point of just fighting if you don't have the super smart guy who can figure out new ways to maim and kill? Woody Harrelson is going to give me nightmares. That is seriously creepy. I can't stop looking at him.

Anonymous said...

I saw Black Death on the Netflix instant offerings; I'll have to check it out. No cable in the Fowler homestead, but we're looking forward to catching up on Falling Skies after its first season is available on DVD.

JacobTeal said...

Hey, my dad (RJR Daydreamer) directed me to your blog, and I'm your newest follower.

I've set up a brand new blog, Teen Fiction Centre, offering the latest news, reviews and author interviews, if you get a moment, take a look around!

raisingmarshmallows said...

The only one I've seen is Black Swan. I wasn't impressed. What was all the hype about?

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Jennie, yeah I'll keep watching. And turn away from the Woody! Wow, that sounded bad, didn't it?

Milo, you know you won't have long to wait.

Teen, I will!

Raising, I have no idea. I didn't like it.

Ella said...

Black Swan sucked; I appreciated the prep for the role. The commitment to get in top form, but that was it~

Falling Skies sounds worth it! I love the Zombie photos; yes they have seen better days ;D I might go to the 10:10 show of Super 8! It is playing in our local theater; it isn't the most comfy place, but I don't care! I am in need of popcorn and ME( movie entertainment), stat!

Ella said...

Congrats; keep busy while you are waiting, lots of metal music and movies! Bat-shit crazy says it all~lol

The Happy Whisk said...

Great zombie art. Love it.

Tara said...

Inconceivable!

Have no interest in ever watching Black Swan. Ever. Nothing about it seems particularly appealing.

Those are some creepy photos!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Ella, hope you get to see the movie! Glad I could amuse you with the bat-shit crazy girl.

Tara, that's wise decision!

Nancy Thompson said...

I started watching Falling Skies because me like-a Noah Wylie, but I was immediately disappointed because it started after the invasion. So it's deleted from my DVR queue. I just watched Black Swan last weekend & yes, that girl was nuts & I didn't really like the movie, but then I don't typically enjoy Darren Aronofsky flicks. Except for The Fountain. That one was okay. Are you an Aronofsky fan, Alex? He seems to be a love'em or hate'em kinda guy.

Unknown said...

yeah black swan was certainly an interesting movie

Enid Wilson said...

I'm afraid of zombies! But I've just written some in my story. Yikes.

Chemical Fusion

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Nancy, I'm not a fan of his movies. And I'm going to give Falling Skies a couple more episodes.

Mack, that's one way to put it!

Ciara said...

Love the Zombie art. :)

msmariah said...

I was a little disappointed with Fallen Skies. I know the point is to show the aftermath, similar to The Walking Dead, but I would have really liked to have seen how it started, similar to War of the Worlds. I think Fallen Skies missed an opportunity.