August Movie Preview! Plus Solomon Kane Review, Bambi Meets Godzilla, Ninja News, and Special Announcement

Here are the upcoming movies for August! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snarky comments by me.

2 – 

Europa Report
An international crew of astronauts undertakes a privately funded mission to search for life on Jupiter's fourth largest moon.
Director: Sebastián Cordero
Stars: Christian Camargo, Embeth Davidtz, Michael Nyqvist, Sharlto Copley
Unique found footage film that’s generating some good buzz. I just might be found footage overdone though…

2 Guns
A DEA agent and a naval intelligence officer find themselves on the run after a botched attempt to infiltrate a drug cartel. While fleeing, they learn the secret of their shaky alliance: Neither knew that the other was an undercover agent.
Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Stars: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, Bill Paxton
Washington and Wahlberg – could be action-packed fun.

9 –

Elysium
A factory worker takes on a mission to hijack his way onto a man-made space habitat.
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Stars: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga
From the director of District 9. Not an original idea (Battle Angel Alita anyone?) but I’m hoping it’s as good as the previews.

Planes
Dusty is a cropdusting plane who dreams of competing in a famous aerial race. The problem? He is hopelessly afraid of heights. With the support of his mentor Skipper and a host of new friends, Dusty sets off to make his dreams come true.
Director: Klay Hall
Stars: Val Kilmer, Teri Hatcher, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Carlos Alazraqui
From Disney not Pixar – can you say Cars with wings?

We’re the Millers
A veteran pot dealer creates a fake family as part of his plan to move a huge shipment of weed into the U.S. from Mexico.
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Jason Sudeikis, Ed Helms
From the creator of Dodgeball, which was actually kind of funny...

Also releasing - Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

16 –

Kick Ass 2
The costumed high-school hero Kick-Ass joins with a group of normal citizens who have been inspired to fight crime in costume. Meanwhile, the Red Mist plots an act of revenge that will affect everyone Kick-Ass knows.
Director: Jeff Wadlow
Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jim Carrey, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
I’ll admit it – guilty pleasure! And the first one really did kick ass

Also releasing – Paranoia, The Butler, and Jobs

23 –

The World’s End
Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival.
Director: Edgar Wright
Stars: Rosamund Pike, Simon Pegg, Martin Freeman, Nick Frost
From the creator of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz – need I say more?


Also releasing – The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Ninja News

Big thanks to my friends who visited C. Lee McKenzie on Monday! Bassan was a challenging character and I hope he shines in the third book.

Need a really good laugh? What if Facebook had existed during WWII? Visit Fran at The Angry Lurker for the hilariaty!

Michael Di Gesu is now offering copyrighting and other services. Congratulations on the business venture, Michael! See his site for details.

Rachel Schieffelbein’s young adult novella, Run For the Roses, was picked up by Swoon Romance for a November release. Congratulations, Rachel!

JW Alden’s science fiction story, Battle Lines, is featured in issue 7 of Plasma Frequency Magazine. Also featured in the issue – Milo James Fowler. Congratulations, guys!

Lynn Kelley announced that on Thursday, August 1, a few of the Emblazon authors (who write for tweens) have scheduled a promo day together and priced some of their eBooks for FREE.

Misha Gericke has put up a list for insane dreamers – sign up, stating what you want to accomplish, and then post your progress the last Friday of the month. See her blog for details.

Bambi Meets Godzilla

This is for my buddy Gary at Klahanie. (Don’t forget the Anti-Blogfest Gary Fest! Short and simple – name three blogfests you’d never participate in. Sign up HERE.)

Enjoy Bambi Meets Godzilla!

Movie Review

Solomon Kane
After waiting years, I finally got to see this film!
A mercenary’s soul is bound for hell as punishment for his deeds, but he seeks redemption by helping an innocent family. Watching it gave me some serious D&D flashbacks. It has that vibe to it and the action was really good.
The acting was also good. James Purefoy was perfect as the lead. It was also nice to see Pete Postlethwaite in one of his last roles.
It’s not an epic film, but they did a lot with a very small budget.
As a Christian, I really dug the message of the film – every soul is redeemable.
Recommended – and after viewing this film, I told my wife that it was much, much better than The Wolverine!

Need a good laugh? (Did you watch Bambi Meets Godzilla?) Ready for some free books or a commitment to a goal? Anyone else see Solomon Kane? And what movies catch your eye for August?

Monday I have a special announcement regarding CassaStorm! Stay tuned…

A Modest Internet Star Visits, Ninja News Overload, Award, and Movie Trivia

Juliana Haygert interviewed me and it's up now!

Modest Internet Star

Today I have a treat for you – a doggie treat! Yes, Penny the Jack Russell dog and Modest Internet Star is visiting today, with a little help from her owner, Gary.

Greetings and lucky you, yes it's me, Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest Internet star. First of all, I wish to thank that very kind human, Alex, for allowing me the opportunity to amaze you with my guest 'pawsting', sorry, posting.

I submit the occasional posting over at my human Gary's site aka "klahanie". By example, my ongoing mission is to help make Gary a better writer. Alas, he's struggling. However, I've managed to teach him a few simple tricks like, roll over, beg and shake a hand.

I was recently interviewed by Gary. One of his questions was, "Do you have any writing suggestions for aspiring authors?" To which I replied, "Write from the heart. Make your writing intimate. Write in such a way that your reader really feels like you're talking directly to them. Make your reader care about the story. Most importantly, grab and hold onto the reader's attention from the very first sentence. Never give up and pursue your dream. Do your best to make your dream a reality.

Yes, I'm flattered to be famous. Although the pesky 'puparazzi' are forever hounding me. And I tried to add some "snark", whatever that is, to this posting. I figure it must be a mixture of snore and bark!

The vital ingredient of my writing is that I demonstrate the unconditional, non-judgemental love that we animals give to humanity. We have lessons to teach. If only mankind would listen.

If you have never visited the site I 'pawblish' on, here it is, Klahanie.

Once again, thank you Alex, my human friend.

Thank YOU, Penny! You are now a Modest Internet Superstar.

Ninja News Overload!

Katherine is holding a giveaway at her blog, Katherine’s Corner– lots of books to win, including a copy of CassaStar!

Tara and Viklit are hosting the I’m Thankful for my Readers Blogfest in November!

Tasha Seegmiller is celebrating her one year blog anniversary with a giveaway!

If you want to know what’s going on in the world of contests and submissions, visit Kimberly’s site, The Art of Infiltration. Every Monday she posts links and the list is impressive!

Black Gate has just published Sean McLachlan’s historical fantasy novella The Quintessence of Absence. And he is on assignment in Iraq for the next three weeks! So congratulations and prayers for safe travels.

My awesome co-hosts for the November 7 posting of the IWSG will be LG Keltner and CM Brown!

The Angry Lurker is holding a two year giveaway of custom dice! And they are very cool…

David Powers King announced that Ink Pageant is celebrating its first birthday with a Kindle Fire giveaway!

Lynn Kelly’s new book, Curse of the Double Digits, is out now! And she’s holding a big giveaway to celebrate. Congratulations, Lynn! Purchase it on Amazon.

Cally Jackson is hosting The Year I Turned 18 Blogfest – visit her site for details!

Nick Wilford at Scattergun Scribbles is celebrating one year of blogging with a three book giveaway!

Cat Lavoie’s new book, Breaking the Rules, is now available – congratulations, Cat!

Award

Patsy Collins gave me the Super Sweet Blogger Award – thank you, Patsy!

1. Cookies or cake? Cookies because you can eat more of them.
2. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate – with peanut butter, of course.
3. What is your favourite sweet treat? Hot Tamales! (Bet you didn’t see that one coming.)
4. When do you crave sweet things most? After popcorn. Must be the salt.
5. If you had a sweet nickname what would it be? Does Stud Muffin sound sweet?

Passing this one on to Livia, because she is indeed a real sweetheart.

Horror Movie Trivia

Name the director! (All well-known directors.)

1 – The Frighteners
2 – Mimic
3 – Bram Stoker’s Dracula
4 – The Serpent and the Rainbow
5 – The Keep


Any questions for Penny the Modest Internet Superstar? See any good giveaways? Good blogfests and new releases? (I know – a lot today! That’s what I get for skipping Wednesday.) Know the movie trivia? And seeing a movie this weekend? I still might see Sinister, but first I’m hitting Argo. 91% on Rotten Tomatoes…

Remember my interview with Juliana Haygert - it's live now!