My awesome co-hosts today are L.G. Keltner, Denise Covey, Sheri Larsen, J.Q. Rose, Chemist Ken, and Michelle Wallace!
Don’t forget – today we announce the winners of the IWSG Anthology Contest!
As far as writing, and this blog, I’m in a transitional phase right now. I’m enjoying writing short stories and I may have an opportunity to write geek-themed articles. And I think that may be the direction I’m headed. I’m proud of my four novels, but they just took so long to write. Shorter pieces and articles I can handle.
I also want to start adjusting my blog as well. Ease back on the variety and focus more on the geek stuff. After all, I do write science fiction and geek stuff, and I want readers coming here to enjoy that stuff. As one blogger stated, before I was a writer, I was a reader and fan of the genre – what sites would I have visited? So I’m going to shift a bit more in that direction.
Don’t worry though – the IWSG is not going anywhere!
The Best of 2015
Here’s a rundown of my favorites from 2015 and why -
5. Better Call Saul – What a risky move, taking a secondary character and making him the star of the show. But the writing coupled with great performances made this one of my faves.
4. Daredevil – Marvel keeps hitting home runs. Great action and compelling characters made this must watch television.
3. Game of Thrones – Wow, the white walkers, the skeleton army, the dragons...this show hits every fantasy geeks button.
2. The Flash – Finally, a superhero show that captures the feel of the classic comic. Flash is making all the right moves in season two.
1. Fargo – Who would have thought that a Coen brothers movie would develop into one of the greatest ten part episodes that I have ever seen? Fargo season two is funny, thrilling, crazy, and every other accolade that you can think of. And let’s not forget the aliens!
5. Muse – Drones – Never was a big fan of the band until this release. It’s on many top ten lists of best and worst albums, so I’m not sure what to make of that. Bottom line: it’s a solid disk from start to finish.
4. Teramaze – Her Halo – Almost wrote this Aussie band off after their last sub-par release. But this is a solid prog rock album with a few exceptional tracks.
3. Soilwork – The Ride Majestic – This is Swedish melodic Death Metal at its finest. This album rocks from start to finish with amazing guitar work and great clean/screaming vocals.
2. Rush – R40 – A triple CD set of the latest Rush tour. These guys are legendary in my book.
1. Symphony X – Underworld – if you are a guitar player or fan of amazing shredding, you have to hear Michael Romeo tear it up on this disk. Wow, wow and WOW!!
5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – The opening score began, the words started scrawling across the screen, and I was a kid again.
4. Ant-Man – Honestly, one of the best times spent in a theater. This movie is funny and fun from start to finish.
3. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation – Love him or hate him, Tom Cruise knows how to make an exciting movie. This one is great.
2. Avengers: Age of Ultron – There was a little negative backlash to this one. I don’t get that at all. It is a great superhero movie.
1. Mad Max: Fury Road – BSC (Bat “crap” Crazy) What an amazing film. I never thought any movie would top the madcap mayhem of The Road Warrior, but George Miller upped the ante and released the best film of the year. (It better get an Oscar nod!)
January Movie Preview
Here are the upcoming theatrical releases for January! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snarky comments by me.
8 –
In the 1820s, a frontiersman named Hugh Glass sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.
Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter, Domhnall Gleeson
Leonardo DiCaprio dies and comes back as a ghoulish skeleton who leads an undead army. (Yeah, I played a lot of D&D as a kid.)
22 –
Four waves of increasingly deadly alien attacks have left most of Earth decimated. Cassie is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother.
Director: J Blakeson
Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Maika Monroe, Liev Schreiber, Nick Robinson
Based on a best-selling book I’ve never heard of...
29 –
The Coast Guard makes a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard in 1952.
Director: Craig Gillespie
Stars: Chris Pine, Holliday Grainger, Eric Bana, Ben Foster
Hollywood shows some love to the Coast Guard. Hopefully this amazing story of bravery gets the treatment it deserves.
Continuing his "legendary adventures of awesomeness", Po must face two hugely epic, but different threats: one supernatural and the other a little closer to his home.
Directors: Alessandro Carloni | Jennifer Yuh
Stars: Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan
Hollywood shows some love to pandas with martial arts skills…
Any of those movies interest you? What’s your writer insecurity today? Are you making adjustments? And what movies-music-shows were your favorite last year…?
