AMERICAN HORROR STORY and SHERLOCK Score Emmy Nominations

Tied with AMC's Mad Men to lead the 2012 Emmy Awards nominations announced this morning, FX's American Horror Story earned a total of 17, including acting nominations for Connie Britton, Jessica Lange, Denis O'Hare and Frances Conroy.

Other recognized geek-favorite shows include HBO's Game of Thrones, AMC's The Walking Dead and a surprising 13 nominations for BBC series Sherlock, which aired in the United States as part of PBS' Masterpiece series.  FOX's Fringe, however, was criminally overlooked once again, as was HBO's True Blood, with both shows failing to earn even a single nomination. 

You can read the full list of nominations here, but this is the breakdown for the shows listed above...

AMERICAN HORROR STORY (17 Nominations)

Outstanding Miniseries or Movie
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie -- Connie Britton as Vivien Harmon
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie -- Frances Conroy as Moira
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie -- Jessica Lange as Constance Langdon
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie - Denis O'Hare as Larry Harvey
Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie -- "Open House (Part 7)"
Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie -- "Part 1"
Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special -- "Halloween, Part 1"
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or Movie -- "Birth"
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or Movie
Outstanding Main Title Design
Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or Movie (Non-Prosthetic)
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special -- "Piggy, Piggy"
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or Movie -- "Piggy, Piggy"
Outstanding Stunt Coordination

SHERLOCK (13 Nominations) -- All for "A Scandal in Belgravia"

Outstanding Miniseries or Movie
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie -- Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie -- Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special -- Paul McGuigan
Outstanding Writing for a MIniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special -- Steven Moffat
Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie
Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a SpecialOutstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie
Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or Movie
Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
(Original Dramatic Score) -- David Arnold and Michael Price
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or Movie

GAME OF THRONES (12 Nominations)

Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series -- Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
Outstanding Art Direction for a Single Camera Series -- "Garden of Bones"
Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
Outstanding Costumes for a Series -- "The Prince of Winterfell"
Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series -- "The Old Gods and the New"
Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media – Enhancement to a Television Program or Series
Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) -- "The Old Gods and the New"
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special -- "Valar Morghulis"
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series -- "Blackwater"
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) -- "Blackwater"
Outstanding Special Visual Effects -- "Valar Morghulis"

THE WALKING DEAD (3 Nominations)

Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special -- "What Lies Ahead"
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series -- "Beside the Dying Fire"
Outstanding Special Visual Effects -- "Beside the Dying Fire"

The 64th Primetime Emmys is scheduled to air on Sunday, September 23rd on ABC at 7 p.m. EST.

The Hub Creates BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES RISES Promo

There's another storm coming to Gotham City...but this one started way back in 1992.

To promote their upcoming 10-episode marathon of the classic Batman: The Animated Series beginning Friday, July 20th at 4 p.m. EST, cable network The Hub created a special TV promo called "Batman: The Animated Series Rises."  The promo features footage from Batman: The Animated Series edited to mimic this trailer for the upcoming Batman film The Dark Knight Rises, directed by Christopher Nolan.

And as an added bonus, they appear to use new audio of Dark Knight Rises trailer dialogue voiced by the original Batman: The Animated Series actors, including Kevin Conroy (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Adrienne Barbeau (Catwoman/Selina Kyle) and Henry Silva (Bane).  Very nice.

You can check out the Hub promo below.  Anyone else want to see an animated recreated trailer for The Dark Knight featuring Mark Hamill as Heath Ledger's Joker?

Next Wave of Marvel Films Announced at Comic-Con 2012

Not wanting to be marginalized by yesterday's Man of Steel trailer debut, Marvel Studios offered up some news of their own at their panel in Hall H at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con.

Marvel officially confirmed rumors that their Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man properties would be adapted into movies and that Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim director Edgar Wright would be handling Ant-Man.  They also announced the full titles for the sequels to 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor, which will be called Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Thor: The Dark World.

So with these announcements, the upcoming Marvel Studios film schedule leading up to The Avengers 2 looks like this:

May 3, 2013

November 8, 2013

April 4, 2014

August 1, 2014

Sometime in 2014

Sometime in 2015

(Not an official logo)

Hulk not get sequel.  Hulk sad.

MAN OF STEEL Trailer Debuts at Comic-Con 2012

Hall H at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con felt rather superb this afternoon with the debut of the first teaser trailer for the 2013 Superman film Man of Steel.

Director Zack Snyder and Superman/Clark Kent actor Henry Cavill were on hand to premiere the trailer, which was confirmed to be attached to next week's release of The Dark Knight Rises in theaters.  The following are descriptions of the trailer taken from the site io9:

The first part of the trailer consisted of scenes of Clark Kent's childhood, intercut with the grown-up Kent walking around a snowy landscape like Alaska or someplace. The childhood glimpses included blades of grass with the Kent farmhouse in the distance, and then a rusty toy wagon on its side, a toy butterfly, and a swingset. Then a little kid wearing a red towel as a cape and running in a field with laundry hanging. There are lots of shots of laundry.

A voiceover says: "What if a child dreamed of being something other than what society intended? What if a child aspired to be something great?" We see the older bearded Clark, looking alienated, as he works at a fishery in the middle of nowhere, struggling with his identity.

And then there is a glimpse of a sequence when Clark is a little kid, and a schoolbus crashes into a river, falling in slow-mo. And then water is flooding inside the bus, and the kids are drowning. And Clark somehow swims up to the emergency door and saves the kids using his superpowers. A woman says in a voiceover, "My son was in the bus. He saw what Clark did."

Kevin Costner, playing Pa Kent, says "People are afraid of what they don't understand." He takes young Clark into the Kent barn with a flashlight. There is a weird dark shape in there, full of tubes and ridges — and like we said, it looks squidlike, or whale-like. "It's not from this world, Clark, and neither are you," says Pa Kent. He hands Clark a small object, like a signet ring, with the "S" shield on it.

And something squid-like lifts up into the air, a small item, levitating.

We see the older bearded Clark saying, "All these questions, like where do I come from." He looks positively grief-stricken and miserable.

Then we hear Pa Kent again: "It was left to you to decide what kind of man you want to be, Clark. Whatever that man is, good or bad, he's going to change the world."

And during this, Clark is going into a space in the middle of the tundra — and maybe it's the Fortress? He's wearing The Suit and looking pensive. He closes his eyes for a moment. And then he opens them — and rockets skywards, leaving a little Jetstream behind him. He soars over the clouds like a bullet, and it looks frankly incredible. The flying in this movie looks like nothing we've seen in a superhero movie.

And then there is some weird action with cars and trucks being lifted upwards as if by an anti-gravity ray.

We see a grief-stricken Jor-El (Russell Crowe), exposing the S-Shield on his chest, as if revealing a secret.

And then Clark is in a series of horrible situations — he's being buried in rocks and shouting "NO!" He's on fire and apparently stark naked. He's thrown through the air and through the wall of a building, landing next to a bank vault (as in the photo we've seen.) He's handcuffed, wearing the Superman costume, and being led away by guards. And there's just a glimpse of General Zod, the movie's villain, scowling.

Oh, and Clark is holding a baby protectively, in the middle of a nightmare battle. And we also see Clark kissing Lois, and an explosion on the side of a building, as Metropolis gets trashed. There are also shots of CG blue flames going everywhere.

And Clark says, in a voiceover: "My father believed, if the world found out who I really was, they would reject me out of fear. He was convinced the world wasn't ready. What do you think?" And we see Clark walking into the Daily Planet office, past the famous globe and logo, and putting on the glasses.

There are soldiers raising machine guns to Superman — and Superman walks towards them, fearlessly. Smash to the "S" shield.

Snyder also confirmed that the legendary John Williams Superman themes will not be incorporated into Hans Zimmer's score for the film.  "We had to act as if no film has been made. When we approached it, we had to say 'this is a Superman for the first time.'  And you can’t say, 'Oh, now let’s steal a little music.' So yes, it’s awesome music but Hans (Zimmer) is going to do something awesome."

Cavill remarked on approaching the film cleanly.  "I just wanted to bring as much of the modern Superman into the world.  You guys know everything about him.  You’re there through thick and thin.  This is for everyone else out there, to bring him to the modern world that everyone can associate with."

On the subject of a Justice League film, Snyder said, "Let’s say this: We know that Superman is the jewel in the DC crown.  We wanted to get this house in order.  And then...Who knows what’s possible?"

Man of Steel is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on June 14, 2013.

Neil Gaiman Returns to THE SANDMAN in 2013

Seventeen years after the DC Comics/Vertigo classic series The Sandman ended with its 75th issue, critically acclaimed co-creator and writer Neil Gaiman will return for a new Sandman mini-series to be published in 2013.

Gaiman made the surprise announcement by video at the DC Comics' Vertigo panel at this year’s San Diego Comic Con. Karen Berger, Vertigo Executive Editor, then announced that acclaimed Batwoman artist J.H. Williams III will draw the series.

One of the few graphic novels ever to be on the New York Times Best Seller list and The Sandman #19, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", won the World Fantasy Award in 1991 for Best Short Fiction. Also, The Sandman and its spin-offs have won 26 Eisner Awards, including three for Best Continuing Series, one for Best Short Story, four for Best Writer (Neil Gaiman), seven for Best Lettering (Todd Klein), and two for Best Penciller/Inker (one each for Charles Vess and P. Craig Russell).  The Sandman: The Dream Hunters was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Related Book in 2000. Both Endless Nights and The Dream Hunters won the Bram Stoker Award for Best Illustrated Narrative in 2004 and 2000, respectively.

"When I finished writing The Sandman," said Gaiman, "there was one tale still untold. The story of what had happened to Morpheus to allow him to be so easily captured in The Sandman #1, and why he was returned from far away, exhausted beyond imagining, and dressed for war.  It was a story that we discussed telling for Sandman's 20th anniversary...but the time got away from us.  And now, with Sandman's 25th anniversary year coming up, I'm delighted, and nervous, that that story is finally going to be told."

"There's nothing like a Neil Gaiman story," Berger remarked, "and there's nothing like having Neil back home on The Sandman, his dark, soulful, literary epic that transformed comics and continues to captivate countless new readers year after year.  Working with him again, and with J.H. Williams, the extraordinary and groundbreaking artist, is truly the stuff dreams are made of."

DC Entertainment Co-Publishers Jim Lee and Dan DiDio added, "As accomplished as Neil Gaiman is in other media—whether it be novels, film and even music—he still has an incredible passion and love for comics.  It’s exciting to have him back.  J.H. Williams will be the perfect complement to Neil’s writing.  He has a history of creating art that pushes the boundaries of the medium."

More details concerning the new mini-series will be announced at a later date.  If you'd like to see the video of Gaiman's announcement, you can view it below thanks to Comic Book Resources...

DAMN Good Movies -- THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

Yes, I'm back with another of my movie takes, this time on the film The Amazing Spider-Man, based on the classic Marvel Comics superhero.  As always, if you haven't seen the movie yet and you don't want it spoiled for you, then please step back from your computer or whatever electronic device you're reading this on and stop reading now. If, however, you're wise enough to know that movie reviews with spoilers are always more interesting than the ones without them...well...let's go web-swinging...

Once upon a time, The Amazing Spider-Man was going to be a little movie called Spider-Man 4.  After the poorly-received Spider-Man 3, Spider-Fans were understandably concerned about the future of the film franchise and even more so after learning of director Sam Raimi's plans for the fourth film as of 2009.  Instead of having actor Dylan Baker finally develop his character Dr. Curt Connors into The Lizard, or featuring more visually impressive villains like Electro or Mysterio, John Malkovich was set to portray The Vulture.  Oh, and Anne Hathaway was going to be Felicia Hardy, but not as her alter-ego Black Cat.  No instead, Felicia would become a female Vulture named...wait for it...The Vulturess.

Even the suits at Sony Pictures realized what a trainwreck this would be and instead opted to part ways with Raimi and the original film cast to go the reboot route.  (Poor Anne Hathaway, having to settle for that trivial Catwoman role in The Dark Knight Rises as a consolation prize...)  They brought in the aptly-named Marc Webb as Raimi's replacement, using a story by Steve Vanderbilt with some tweaking on the script by Spider-Man 2 and 3 screenwriter Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves.

Essentially, The Amazing Spider-Man tries to be to the first Spider-Man film what Batman Begins is to the 1989 Batman film starring Michael Keaton, a fresh retelling of the legend using a completely different creative team and stylistic approach.  And for the most part, Webb succeeds with the relaunch, although nowhere near as effectively as Christopher Nolan did.  There's a distinct effort to be different here, from the unfortunate Spidey costume tweaking to color schemes, orchestral score and overall film tone.  So if nothing else, you can't accuse Webb of trying to be a Raimi clone.

One of the major influences for this film appears to be Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley's stellar run of Ultimate Spider-Man, which reimagined the Spider-Man saga for the 21st century and a more modern audience.  Bendis and Bagley gave us a scruffier Peter Parker with messy hair and updated fashion sense than the sweatervests and ties favored by original Spider-Man artist Steve Ditko.

Thankfully, all the important bits remain mostly intact in Webb's film.  Peter is still bit by an altered spider, Uncle Ben is still killed by a criminal that Peter doesn't stop when he could have, but the little details are just a bit different.  One significant film series mprovement though, is the return of the web-shooter devices that Peter, once again a scientific prodigy, invents himself.  Also, The Amazing Spider-Man wisely adds the mystery of Peter's missing parents, Richard and Mary Parker, to this new film mythos, bringing in a fresh story playground to explore and presumably develop in sequels.  If the closing credits bonus scene of Curt Connors talking with a mysterious figure is any indication, a trilogy is definitely in play here.

So what about the performances from the cast and the characters they portrayed? Well, as you might expect, I have a few thoughts...

SPIDER-MAN/PETER PARKER:  This entire film (and probable sequels) rides entirely on Andrew Garfield's skinny shoulders and he definitely steps up.  Garfield has Peter's neurotic but charming nature down cold, making a welcome change from Tobey Maguire's mumbling approach.  His Peter is understandably bitter over his missing parents, troubled without being annoying, but also quick with the quips and comebacks as Spider-Man.  This is the Peter some of us wanted to see in Raimi's movies. 

GWEN STACY:  A welcome upgrade from Bryce Dallas Howard, Emma Stone seems like she would be a more natural Mary Jane Watson but turns in a solid performance as Gwen.  She and Garfield have great chemistry together on screen, making you forget all about Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst.  It also helps that this version of Gwen is Peter's intellectual peer, making her feel less of a girl hostage simply waiting for her neck to be snapped after being thrown off a bridge.

THE LIZARD/DR. CURT CONNORS:  Rhys Ifans shows his range from being just Luna Lovegood's father Xenophilius in the Harry Potter films.  His Curt Connors is just as tormented over losing his arm as his original comic depiction, but the emotional attachments of his wife and son are abandoned here for some reason.  As a result, he's far less sympathetic than he is in the comics and I'm still trying to work out what he hoped to accomplish with his sudden "Hey, I think I'll turn all of New York into lizard creatures" masterplan.

CAPTAIN GEORGE STACY:  In an interesting switch from James Cromwell in Spider-Man 3 to Denis Leary, Captain Stacy has a bit more edge to him.  There's a fun scene at the Stacy dinner table with George and Peter debating the ethics of vigilante justice.  However, after finally helping Spider-Man after hunting him, Stacy comes off like a Commissioner Gordon ripoff.  And then he ultimately does what Stacys do best.

BEN PARKER:  With Cliff Robertson sadly no longer with us, the role of Uncle Ben is handed off to none other than Martin frickin' Sheen.  He sets Peter off with the important lesson of power and responsibility nicely, showing how close the two characters are before the tragic incident that claims Ben's life.  So glad he agreed to do this role.

MAY PARKER:  You can't deny Sally Field's talent as an actress, but after Rosemary Harris' performances as Aunt May, it's really hard to accept this particular casting change.  Field does just fine, but her surprisingly underwritten role doesn't exactly help sell her take on the character.

OBLIGATORY STAN LEE CAMEO:  Smilin' Stan appears in the Midtown High library as a librarian grooving to his headphones and oblivious to the chaos and destruction from the Spidey/Lizard battle going on right behind him.  Very fun.

So after trading away Mary Jane Watson for Gwen Stacy, J. Jonah Jameson for Gwen's NYPD captain father and the Green Goblin for The Lizard, things may feel a little off.  It's only been ten years since we covered the ground of Spider-Man's origin, after all, so it seems a little too soon for this kind of continuity reboot.  However, if you can set those memories of the first three Spider-Man films aside and appreciate The Amazing Spider-Man on its own merits, you should enjoy this flick quite a bit.

And for those who might be wondering, here's the updated and revised list of my Top 20 Comic Book Films:

1. Superman (1978)

2. The Dark Knight (2008)

3. The Avengers (2012)

4. Watchmen (2009)
5. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
6. Spider-Man (2002)
7. Batman Begins (2005)
8. Iron Man (2008)

9. X-Men: First Class (2011)
10. X2: X-Men United (2003)

11. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

12. X-Men (2000)

13. Thor (2011)

14. Batman (1989)
15. Superman II (1981)

16. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

17. Green Lantern (2011)

18. Iron Man 2 (2010)

19. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
20. Hellboy (2004)

Your friendly neighborhood movie reviewer,

Charles

Home from a DAMN Good Vacation

Hi, remember me?  You know, that Charles guy who used to post about comics, movies, TV shows and whatnot before dropping off the face of the Earth three weeks ago?

Well, my wife Lori and I are finally home from an exhausting but incredible tour of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.  Visiting Ireland has been top on my bucket list of things to do before I die since I was sixteen years old and after saving up our tax refunds for the past three years, Lori and I finally decided to do the trip properly.

We bookended our vacation in London, with stops in Cardiff, Dublin, Edinburgh and numerous other smaller cities and villages in between.  Most of our vacation was spent in an intense two-week Globus bus tour with getting up at 5 or 6 in the morning and getting to bed around 11 p.m. or later, essentially rounding the entire area of the United Kingdom and Ireland.

We hit as many famous landmarks and locations as we could, including Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, The London Eye, Hyde Park, The Ring of Kerry, Blarney Castle, Edinburgh Castle, the Globe Theatre, the home of William Shakespeare, and even the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street (even though 221B doesn't technically exist).

And yes, there were many pubs to be found with much beer to be consumed with fish and chips (No mushy peas, thanks).  This one, the Conan Doyle in Edinburgh, Scotland, was obviously my favorite.

Oh, and as you might expect, I was always on the lookout for Doctor Who filming landmarks.  Here's the view from Westminster Bridge in London, where I kept waiting for the Daleks to start ambling across at any moment.

Imagine my disappointment that the London Eye wasn't activating any Autons or that the Cybermen weren't marching down the steps at St. Paul's Cathedral.  Ah, well...Maybe next time I visit.

So normal blogging here at DAMN Good Coffee...and HOT will hopefully resume tomorrow with my long-winded review of The Amazing Spider-Man that I saw earlier this afternoon.  I'm sorry for not being able to post at least a few things here and there during my trip, but time and decent wi-fi access were extremely hard to come by with our rather punishing schedule.  And hey, it was supposed to be a vacation after all, right?  If you'd like to check out some more pictures, I should have them up soon at my Facebook page here.

In the immortal words of Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, here we go again...