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!

This Awesome Blogging Family!

I’ve seen several posts this week expressing gratitude for online support. I have to agree – the blogging community is awesome! Let me show you…

First, I have a guest post today at The Movie 411. They graced me with the Best Sci-Fi Blog Award and all winners were invited to do a guest post. Dempsey maintains a cool site, so check out my take on Laugh It Up Fuzzball!

Jennie at Garden Full of Lily posted the sweetest review of CassaStar this week! She claims to suck at writing reviews, but her words made my day.

iZombie Lover gave me the You Make Me Scream Award. Thanks, Jeremy!
TS buddy, this one has your name all over it – enjoy!

Finally, a big thanks to those who’ve voted for my trailer at Spunk on a Stick’s Tips! CassaStar’s book trailer is one of seven finalists and prizes include the donation of books to the winner’s choice of library and an Amazon gift card. Voting ends Sunday though! (And special thanks to Jeffrey Beesler for breaking his one week hiatus to plug my trailer.)

For those who’ve not seen my awesome trailer, created by my publisher:



If you think it rocks, go place your vote at Spunk on a Stick’s Tips!

Yes, I am groveling for votes. CassaStar will probably be my only claim to fame, so it deserves some groveling…

The Best of the Best and Calling the Army!

Yes, this is my list of the best things about 2010.

But first, a big call to arms to my blogging buddies! CassaStar’s book trailer made it to round two in the book trailer contest at Spunk on a Stick’s Tips. Voting starts today and runs through Sunday.
Now, I did find out on Monday that I won Best Sci-Fi/Dystopian trailer at Parajunkee - thanks so much everyone!!
However, competition is stiff this time - there’s six other trailers. (And three are by blogging buddies of mine, which is cool.) So, if you really think mine rocks, head on over to Spunk on a Stick’s Tips and vote! Don’t make Captain Ninja Alex grovel. It’s not a pretty sight…

And don’t forget the Top Ten Countdown Music Blogfest on January 24 - sign up HERE

Now for the Best of the Best! And remember, this is just one man’s opinion. As my wife says, I’m not right all the time.

MOVIES
The Best-
Inception
How to Train Your Dragon
Iron Man II
True Grit
Despicable Me

Honorable Mentions-
Tron: Legacy
Tangled
Toy Story 3

Biggest Disappointments-
Clash of the Titans
The Wolfman
Green Zone

Okay, the lists get shorter from here…

BEST ALBUM-
Seventh Wonder - The Great Escape
(Who? A progressive rock band from Sweden! It’s their seventh amazing album! Oh, never mind…)

BEST BOOK-
Fever Dreams by Preston & Child

BEST COMPUTER GAME-
Starcraft II
(Longest wait for a sequel ever…)

BEST SPORTS MOMENT-
The collapse of the Viking’s Metrodome Stadium roof:



Honorable mention goes to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who claimed at the beginning of the season the Cowboys would get to attend the Super Bowl in their own stadium. Sure - if they buy tickets! Need to make the playoffs first, Jerry. Oh how I love to see the Cowboys lose…

BEST PERSONAL MOMENT-
Yeah, October 19 and the release of my first book, CassaStar, was damned cool! Of course, good reviews keep popping up, so that’s cool, too. And then there’s my awesome blogging army of friends. You guys are all cool. No wait, you rock!

Oh yeah - and my iPad!!

What was the best for you in 2010?

And please don’t make me grovel…

Some Awesome Ninja-Style News!!

Some awesome Ninja-News for you today! First, a big thanks to Jamie at Mithril Wisdom - he posted his review of CassaStar and stated “casual sci-fi readers will get an extra kick out of it.” Thanks Jamie – you are one cool dude! Round One Voting for the Book Trailer Contest at Spunk On A Stick’s Tips continues through Tuesday. Hoping CassaStar’s trailer will advance to Round Two!! And my personal triumph - I finished the first rough draft of CassaStar's sequel last night!! Felt so good to write that final scene. Now to edit! And I actually enjoy editing. Now are you ready for some big news? Remember The Movie Dirty Dozen Blogfest? Remember The Top Ten TV Shows Blogfest? Are you ready for the next Captain Ninja Alex blogfest???? TOP TEN COUNTDOWN – MUSIC BLOGFEST! Monday, January 24, 2011  Counting down our top tunes of all time! Music moves us. It inspires us! Now, tell the world YOUR ten favorite songs of all time. The Song, the band – why does it move you? Sign up below – who’s with me?

Book Trailer Contests and the Final Naked Answers...

There are a couple cool book trailer contests online. I just discovered that my trailer’s been nominated for Best Sci-Fi/Distopian over at Parajunkee. There are some cool prizes, so I’m calling upon my awesome army to go HERE to vote for CassaStar’s trailer. (Be sure to check out some of the other categories as well.) Spunk on a Stick’s Tips is also hosting a book trailer contest. Many of you have some cool trailers, so be sure to enter before December 31st.

Now for the final round of naked answers…

From Vicki Rocho - With all that manic writing, are you brushing and flossing like you should be?

I always brush and floss!

From Susan Fields - How many revisions of CassaStar did you go though?

Dozens upon dozens…

From Powered Toast Man - When you were younger did you ever worry about getting an erection when you went to the doctor for a physical?

No, more to the point, I worried about the 65-year-old doctor getting an erection…

From Talli Rolland - What has been the most helpful thing anyone has said to you about the whole publishing process - after you've been published?

Don’t stop promoting.

From Lynda Young - How'd you pick your names for your characters?

The names of the two main characters were from the original manuscript, so I don’t remember their origins. For the others, I spent an hour brainstorming unique but simple names and then matched them to characters.

From Abby Minard - How long did it take you to write CassaStar?

The first draft – almost a year! Revisions took another six months.

From Ali - Byron is a very complex man with a lot of internal history and cause & effect. How did you build him as a character? Did you model him after someone you know (or yourself)? Or did you build him layer by layer through revisions?

Byron is definitely not me! I just took the original character, created his background, and filled in other details until I felt I knew him well. Most of his layers came before I began writing the story.

From Enid - How do you find twists in a story?

I look for the shouts. (Don’t twists and shouts always go together?)

Don't forget to go HERE to vote for CassaStar’s trailer!

Spunk, NaNo, and SUCK

Bet that post title makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Today’s tour stop – Spunk on a Stick’s Tips - with a post entitled “Window into the Soul.”

Thanks again to those who commented at yesterday’s post at Confessions of a Watery Tart. If you didn't, feel free to add your snark to the rather long list.

And I need a little help with this NaNoWri Mo thing. Everyone is talking about NaNo and ‘buddy me’ – but most of you aren’t using your names! So, I’m having trouble finding everyone. If you are participating, please leave your NaNo name in the comments so I can find you. I am listed under AlexJCavanaugh

I still hope to see RED at some point! In the meantime, I leave you with this review, courtesy of NetFlix.

SUCK

A band finds their popularity growing as members turn into vampires.

Rob Stefaniuk wrote, directs, and stars as the lead singer. He even wrote the band’s music, which is actually not bad. Malcolm McDowell is Eddie Van Helsing, and all sorts of musicians make appearances in this film, including Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, and Henry Rollins. Alex Lifeson (from the awesome band RUSH) is a Canadian border officer and Moby is a headbanger who enjoys raw meat thrown at his band during performances. (I guarantee you've never seen this side of Moby. Ever!)

With an 80’s vibe, SUCK is very quirky and original – and a lot of fun!

From the Blender

Because there’s a lot in the mix today.

First some interesting science fiction news.

Patrick Tatlopoulos, the director of the Underworld movies, will be directing a post-apocalyptic sci-fi environmental disaster movie called The Colony.

Leonard Nimoy has officially retired. His last role was a guest spot in the season finale of Fringe.

A sequel to Dreamwork's How to Train Your Dragon is in the works and will be out in 2013.

And at the moment, most reviews are recommending everyone skip Shrek 4. After Fallen’s take on the movie (she got to see a special advanced screening) I think I will follow that advice!

On to other things…

Pay it Forward

Pay it Forward was started by B. Miller Fiction who is hosting an awesome Pay it Forward contest on her blog right now.

Hart at Confessions of a Watery Tart decided to “Pay it Forward” to me – thanks, Hart!

I’m recommending you follow these three people:

Beth, a delightful lady with a wonderful assortment of blog posts and ideas - Beth: A Work in Progress
Karen, an author who throws out some great insights and inspirations - Coming Down the Mountain
Will, a father, musician, and a writer – and a great sense of humor - Fatherhood and Other Common Terrors
These are all really awesome people!


If I Were …

Tagged by Amity at Dreams are my Reality

If I were a month, I’d be December because Christmas and cold weather rock.

If I were a day, I’d be Saturday without a doubt.

If I were a time of the day, I’d be 5pm because it implies food and relaxing time.

If I were a season, I’d be fall.

If I were a planet, I’d be Mars because it’s mysterious. (Sure wouldn’t be Uranus!)

If I were a direction, I’d be lost. (Lost is a direction, isn’t it?)

If I were a drink, I’d be a hot chocolate because I’m always warm.

If I were a tree, I’d be an oak, because I’m stable.

If I were an animal, I’d be a tiger. (At least, that’s what my wife tells me.)

If I were a musical instrument, I’d be a guitar of course!

If I were a fruit, I’d be… okay, I wouldn’t be a fruit!

If I were a food, I’d be a pizza. Oh wait, that’s my favorite food…

If I were a celebrity, I’d be Ryan Reynolds! Okay, maybe not…

If I were a color, I’d be a dark blue.

If I were a book, I’d be… hey, what kind of questions are these? If I were a book, I’d probably be a doorstop somewhere!

If I were a song, I’d be Count of Tuscany by Dream Theater

If I were a movie, I’d be… damn, most likely one of those boring dramas.

If I were a flower, I’d be… A flower? Are you kidding me? Is crabgrass a flower?

If I were a facial expression, I’d be a smirk!

I’m passing this along to Spunk on a Stick, who is also having a really cool contest on her site.

Any questions?

Tech, News, and Other Stuff

Interesting news to kick off your weekend!

Go check out the latest issue from Prinkipria

Today is Summer’s birthday! Go wish her a happy birthday at And This Time Concentrate!

The iPad will soon have competition! Numerous other tablets are in the making, but the next big one will likely be Google’s, which uses Android. It also supports Flash. So far, I’ve not really missed the Flash on my iPad – so many sites are moving away from Flash.
I’m still digging my iPad, too. I think I have thirty apps downloaded now. The keyboard is so easy to use – it’s as wide as the iPad itself. If you have an opportunity, definitely check it out!

Starcraft II finally has a release date!!!!! July 27, 2010. Never thought I’d see that date in my lifetime…

And I am SO close to 100 followers! Okay, I can't give away a cash prize or anything, but... When I hit 100, I will randomly select one of those followers and do a special feature just for them! How's that?


I was tagged by Raquel Byrnes and Shannon at Faith, Hope, and Love

Okay, ladies, I'll play along...

For a "Tag" you answer 5 questions 5 times to share a bit about yourself. So here goes.

Question 1 - Where were you five years ago?
Working for a contract company
Five years younger
Here in the same house
Not yet ready to pursue my author goals
Did I mention five years younger?

Question 2 - Where would you like to be in five years?
An author with three books published
Doing more freelance work
Five years younger (I know, that can’t happen!)
Making a difference
With enough time to watch every movie released. Wait, I pretty much have that now...

Question 3 - What is on your to-do list today?
Play guitar
Fix the stove (That one’s been there a while)
Work on next book
Watch Stargate Universe
Spend time with my wife

Question 4 - What snacks do you enjoy?
Hot Tamales
Nachos
Pizza
Veggies
Okay, I’m a guy – I’d eat about anything

Question 5 - What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
Make sure my family and friends never worked again
Take care of my church
Tour the world
Buy a Bugatti
Build my own personal movie theater – with free popcorn!

The rules are that I get to pass the Tag along to 5 Bloggers I admire....
Fallen Formulates Fiction
Spunk on a Stick
Cassandra Jade
Karen-Coming Down the Mountain
B. Miller


Okay, now back to work...