Ninja News, Movie Reviews & News, and Special Thanks

I’m the guest of honor this week at Nutschell’s site, The Writing Nut. Today’s feature is a review. Wednesday is an interview and Friday a giveaway. So, if you don’t already follow The Writing Nut, hop on over.

Ninja News!

Candy has a new prompt up for her Follow My Lead monthly blogfest. This month you could win a copy of Catherine Stine’s Fireseed One. Check out Candy’s SITE for details!

Professional editor James Anderson has an “Ask the Editor Fridays” segment and last week’s question was “What is the difference between a Proofreader, a Copy Editor, and an Editor?” Visit James’s site for the answer!

Anne R. Allen posted six reasons why you should be grateful for bad reviews.

I’ve mentioned this before, but for those of you on Twitter, there’s a handy site called WhoUnfollowedMe. It’s amazing how many people will follow you just to get a return follow – and then dump you. (What’s sad is how many authors do this to pad their numbers.) If you’ve never checked to see who’s no longer following you, this site is a great way to stay on top of your followers.

The list for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group is much shorter now and features only participants from the last two months. Sorry, but it’s almost impossible for this Ninja to visit every blog each month, although I do try. Might be time to find a co-host…

Special thanks to my fans

A big thanks to all who have purchased my books! Both achieved Best Seller status on Amazon US and UK, which still boggles my mind. CassaStar and CassaFire continue to bounce around in the top 15,000 and higher overall on Amazon US and they are still in the top 100 for science fiction on Amazon UK. I am truly humbled by the sheer amount of people who’ve taken the time to read my books. Big thanks to those of you who’ve read and reviewed or mentioned them on your blogs as well. Whoa. And here I never even wanted to be an author…

Movie Review

Moneyball
Overall, very good – more than just a baseball movie. Really tackles the issues of changing the philosophies of how the game’s been played since its inception. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill give great, understated performances. Special shout out to Kerris Dorsey as Pitt’s daughter. Amazing performance and she plays the guitar better than me!
I recommend Moneyball. It’s funny and interesting to see the inner workings of baseball. Ultimately, it’s about how a small market team changes the very course of baseball to compete with the big boys.

Movie News

Filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld and comic book super-writer Grant Morrison recently announced their crazy Dinosaurs vs. Aliens project. Yes, you read that right. Here’s some more information:



To see the actual teaser trailer, visit Screen Crush


Tons of news today! What grabbed your attention? Have you seen Moneyball? The clip of Dinosaurs vs. Aliens? Did you go see the Amazing Spiderman this weekend?


Don’t forget to visit The Writing Nut. Thanks to my loyal followers who visit my guest spots – you know who you are!

September Movie Preview And Comment Tips

I have the honor of a special joint guest post with Talli and Matthew today! We’re over at Spunk on a Stick’s Tips offering tips on how to get blog comments. So, head on over – but after you’ve checked out the upcoming movies!

A whole lot of average, but then, it IS the September dumping grounds. All descriptions courtesy of the IMDB.

2 –

Shark Night 3D
Director: David R. Ellis
Stars: Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Alyssa Diaz
The Plot: A lake-house retreat on the Louisiana Gulf turns into a nightmare for a group of vacationers when they are subjected to an improbable phenomenon: fresh-water shark attacks.
PG13 – lame! They should’ve just gone for an over-the-top R like Piranha 3D.

Apollo 18
Director: Gonzalo López-Gallego
Producer: Timur Bekmambetov
Stars: ?
The Plot: Decades-old found footage from NASA's Apollo 18 mission, where two American astronauts were sent on a secret expedition, reveals the reason the U.S. has never returned to the moon.
Remember this one? How many release dates is this now? Yeah, I’d skip this one…


9 –

Contagion
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Stars: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law
The Plot: The Center for Disease Control dispatches an international team of doctors to stop an airborne virus from spreading around the world.
I really like Sodebergh’s movies, so hoping this one is also good.


23 –

MoneyBall
Director: Bennett Miller
Stars: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill
The Plot: Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Pitt) works to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.
This one looks intriguing!

Machine Gun Preacher
Director: Marc Forster
Stars: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon
The Plot: After finding God, Sam Childers (Gerard Butler) leaves his outlaw life behind and crusades for hundreds of Sudanese children who've been forced to become soldiers.
Based on a true story, if you can believe that!

Killer Elite
Director: Gary McKendry
Stars: Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro
The Plot: A retired member of Britain's Elite Special Air Service (Jason Statham) is forced into action when his mentor (Robert De Niro) is taken captive. His mission: kill three assassins dispatched by their cunning leader (Clive Owen).
This will either be a great story and a Statham vehicle or just a Statham vehicle…


30 –

Dream House
Director: Jim Sheridan
Stars: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts
The Plot: As Will Atenton (Craig) and his family relocate to a quaint New England town, they soon learn that a mother and her two children were murdered in the same residence. While most everyone thinks the killer is the husband who survived the incident, Will works with a local woman (Watts) to piece together an even more disturbing puzzle.
A good cast. (Kitty, your Daniel Craig stars!)

Tucker & Dale vs Evil (limited)
Director: Eli Craig
Stars: Tyler Labine, Alan Tudyk, Katrina Bowden
The Plot: In the mountains of West Virginia, hillbilly pals Tucker and Dale (Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine) look to drink, fish, and relax at their cabin retreat, until their encounter with a group of college kids turns into a bloody, deadly misunderstanding.
The previews for this one are hilarious! And it has Firefly’s Tudyk – a must see. And it's on HDNet Movies on September 28 - I get to see it early!

Any appeal to you? Or are you holding out for next month?

Now you may visit Spunk on a Stick’s Tips!