New Obsessions, Film Previews, Geek News, Spoilers + More

Ok, I've recently become obsessed with 'Penny Dreadful' or as Katy playfully refers to it as 'Penny Pornful.' The series started out a little slow for me, but has come along quite nicely. It also gave me a new found love for Eva Green and Timothy Dalton. Green has done some incredible work on this series.. I've always known that she was a good actress, but she has really taken it to the next level. Green's character is complicated, multi-faceted, intense, and tormented. Even though the show itself is a little tongue in cheek, the tragedy that some of the characters endure is profound. It has all of the markings of a great show for me: historical fiction, psychological horror, lush set design, and marvelous actors. The show has a soulfulness that most supernatural shows lack. This 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' knockoff is better than I thought it would be, which is always a pleasant surprise. It does 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' better than 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.' All round top marks from me.

My one criticism is as Katy indicated, there's too much emphasis on "random quickies." In fact, I think all Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) does is seduce people. I would love to know more about Dorian Gray besides his sexual conquests. This is one of the big problems I have in general with the pay subscription channels like HBO and Showtime. Whereas other networks with stricter nudity guidelines have to find creative ways to tell a story, networks like HBO, Showtime, and Starz rely on gratuitous nudity to pull their storylines along. Sex sells essentially. Unfortunately, a good story needs more than boobs.

I don't mind a love scene if it compliments (or adds to) the story. My issue is when the writers put a nude scene in just to appeal to the perverts. I'm not making this up. In fact that's what one HBO producer said verbatim. An unnamed producer told director Neil Marshall that he "represented the pervert side of the audience" and he encouraged Marshall to go full frontal just because they could. "Everybody else represents the serious drama side, I represent the perv side..." I have no doubt that someone like is likely whispering into 'Penny Dreadful's ear.

I'm six episodes into the 1st season of 'Orphan Black' and I've come to the realization that everyone was right. This show is wonderful. The writing is superb and Tatiana Maslany is one heck of an actress. At first I was skeptical because the only thing I had seen Maslany in was 'Gingersnaps 2,' but wow, she won me over. 'Orphan Black' is really a one woman show and Maslany blows it out of the water. Clone Club rocks. This is a must see for scifi fans. Season 1 is on Amazon. Season 2 just wrapped up on BBC.

Previews

So a teaser for the 'Hunger Games: The Mockingjay' has surfaced. I like this franchise, but sometimes I don't understand how three books turns into 4 or 5 movies. I could understand the 'Harry Potter' franchise, since those books are actually quite complex. However, I don't think we need four 'Hunger Games' films. The 'Hunger Games' isn't all that complicated. Similarly, 'The Hobbit' could have been one film. Don't get me started on 'Twilight.'

So Dracula is being rebooted...again...in the form of 'Dracula: Untold.' I guess they thought this was a clever title. This time Luke Evans will play the titular character. I'm always wary of movies set in medieval times with trailers set to rock music. It's kind of a like a law of physics or something, that and a January release date. Wow, this paragraph was snarkier than I intended. Thankfully, 'Dracula Untold' has an October release date so things are looking up. I really hope so because I like Luke Evans. He's one of my favorite "eye candy" actors.

News

So evidently Paramount wants you to buy 'Star Trek Into the Darkness' BluRay DVD not once but twice. Let's not and say we did. How about I "not" watch it on Netflix streaming. Once was enough for me. I don't really care about the special features from this movie enough to buy it. In fact, I don't even buy dvds anymore. Unless it's a cult classic I don't feel the need to see movies over and over again. If I want to watch a movie over and over again, I'll buy it streaming on Amazon.

Via Twitter

The lovely Peter Capaldi takes pictures with fans. Can't wait for the new season of 'Doctor Who' to start with Capaldi. The BBC has announced that 'Doctor Who' will return August 23, 2014. Speaking of 'Doctor Who,' Paul McGann (otherwise known as the 8th Doctor Who) thinks there should be a female Doctor! I would love to see one.

Check out HitFix's list of 11 DC female superheroes that deserve their own films. Yeah, no kidding. I'm in 100% agreement! Oh and if you ever want to find a Comic Book Shop click here.

Fun Stuff

Via Lord of the Meme

Check out this list of 34 things you didn't know (or probably care to know) about 'Lord of the Rings.' Admittedly a few of them are interesting. Apparently Nicolas Cage was offered the role of Aragorn, but turned it down...and we thank him for that. Daniel Day-Lewis was also offered the role. I could see Day-Lewis as Aragorn, but Cage--is a definite "NO." Viggo Mortensen was a good choice and a good swordsman in real-life too. The swordplay coordinator said Mortensen is the best swordsman he's ever trained.

io9 just posted a list of low-budget robot films that are NOT 'Transformers.' It's a good list. Sometimes it's easy to forget, but the original 'Terminator' was actually a low-budget film.

The 60's television series 'The Outer Limits' will be adapted into a movie. Does anyone remember the 90s version of 'The Outer Limits' on Showtime and then later on the SyFy Channel? It was a nice filler show.

Spoilers

Via Fansided

So evidently Lady Stoneheart is out on 'Game of Thrones.' Michelle Fairley was recently quoted as saying that Catelyn is dead and will not be returning as Lady Stoneheart for Season 5. If you want to know more about LS then click here. I haven't gotten that far in the books, but I have to say I'm utterly shocked that LS will not be in Season 5 of 'Game of Thrones.' If it were April Fool's Day I would say it was a joke. Lady Sati is very close to rioting, as are many other hardcore fans.

'The Walking Dead' producers/writers routinely troll the fans. So perhaps 'GoTs' folks are following suit. I don't know. It's sad to say, but I hope they are trolling us. If not, my theory is that Lady Stoneheart is out because one of the pervy 'GoTs' producers didn't want to see her naked, because if the producers can't picture you naked then what's the point on 'Boob of Thrones?'

Has anyone been watching 'Last Ship' on TNT? My quota for apocalyptic shows hasn't been met this year. I watched a little bit of it and admittedly it looks incredibly cliched and soapy. I'll give it two more episodes before I ditch it. TNT doesn't seem to do science fiction well. They had a fluke with 'Witchblade' in the early 2000s.

So apparently Eric Nortman (Alexander Skarsgard) is alive and well somewhere on 'True Blood' Season 7, but hasn't appeared yet. I'm trying to make myself finish watching this trashy show. If there's hope of seeing Alexander Skarsgard then I might be able to stomach the rest of the series.

Via Forums Superherohype

Ben Affleck will also be in a standalone 'Batman' film. I may be one of the few who actually thinks that Affleck will do a good job. He knows how the movie business works from both ends, both as an actor and as a director. I'm looking forward to his tenure as Batman. And I have to reiterate that I don't get all the Affleck-hate. For example, look at Henry Cavill as 'Superman.' I'm sorry, but Cavill is no Christopher Reeve. So why are people giving Affleck such a hard time and not Cavill? Next stop for the caped crusaders will be in 'Batman v's Superman: Dawn of Justice.' Oh and let's not forget 'Wonder Woman' will be their 3rd wheel. We'll see how that goes.

I want that
Her Universe is offering some really cool Marvel tees for the ladies. Check out this 'Agents of Shield' tee shirt, with a glow in the dark Hydra inlay. Speaking of which, 'Agents of Shield' was another show I hate watched this year. Admittedly, it improved as time went on.

Does anyone remember the classic transformers from 1984? You know before the franchise was destroyed by Micheal Bay? This little throwback will be exclusively offered at this year's Comic Con for $59.99 or you can buy it on Ebay afterward, which I'm sure will be exorbitantly priced. I'll just wait for Hasbro to start selling them directly.