So I was stood up by the other members of the Sparkbox Show this year and ended up going to the NYIAS this year alone, until I decided to bring Cerberus and his brother at the last minute that is.  Neither of which are very interested in cars, but at least it made the ride  to and from NYC a little more interesting.

I went this past Saturday, which was the second weekend it was open.  I think that it cut down on the crowd considerably.  It was still a madhouse, but this year I was able to take some pictures without screaming kids and fat bald guy’s heads in the frame.  Although I did have my shiny new Canon with me, so maybe when you have a nice big professional looking camera, you get a little more respect when you are taking pictures than the guys with the iPhones?

When I first walked in I noticed that Cadillac had given up it’s prime entrance location to sit in the far back corner of the show, probably because they hadn’t been up to much this year.  They were replaced by Ford, which was very innovative in the fact that they were giving away a lot of swag, from t-shirts to $50 cash vouchers that you could turn in when test driving a Ford in order to get – that’s right – $50 cash.

Toyota kept their prime location at the other entrance and were giving out wonderful reusable bags for you to put all your pamphlets and poster in.  I’m sure in a few days they unfortunately will be in 100 landfills across the country.  Speaking of swag, I was very impressed this year.  Last year it seemed the economy had really inhibited the giveaways at the NYIAS.  This year they went all out, almost every company had booklets and posters with information about their 2010 lineup to give away.  Some even went as far as to give away folding wooden rulers (Jeep), tshirts (Ford), Keychains and stickers and CD’s (Scion).  Thanks guys!

Every year there is some kind of trend.  Last year it was Fuel cells and in dash multimedia units like Ford’s SYNC.  Some of the higher end cars were sporting turn stabilizing traction control similar to the one BMW has had for a while now, where power is distributed to the outside wheels in a turn to help your vehicle turn with more confidence.  Another was the radar and other sensors in the front of the vehicle to autostop for those of you who like to txt message while in traffic.  BUT mostly this year’s was little cars a bit larger than a smart car that emulated the Scion xB.  Nissan has one coming out called the Cube and Mitsubishi has one they are trying to get safety approved for use in North America.  I know GM has a couple ghost “xB’s”  in the closet in waiting as well.  Get ready for the tiny car movement in America soon ladies and gentlemen, it’s going to look like you are walking around london very soon.  Hopefully we wont have to start driving on the other side of the road any time soon.

Every year there are a few crowd favorites and some “displeasers”.  This year’s favorite car showcase was a tossup between Smartcar and BMW.  BMW always brings a crowd of people that want to be Autobann driving someday, but I was a little surprised by Smartcar.  You couldn’t even sit in one unless you wanted to wait your turn for at least 15 minutes.  Thats pretty amazing if you ask me.  One unfortunate trend this year was to make your companies’ showcase look like the Apple Store.  Of course Porsche, Volvo, and Subaru followed this suit, but surprisingly so did VW!  They weren’t the bad boys of the auto show this year.  This year they were upstairs next to their big brother Audi and super clean and straight forward, not a rebellious display anywhere.  The most disappointing showcase this year was a tossup between Chevy and Subaru.  Although if I had to choose the very worst display I would have to go with Subaru.  They have great cars, that all have the same front, and they decided that it was a good idea for some reason to have almost every car on display be white, adding to the sheer boredom.  Even worse, I sat in a lot of cars while I was there and I can honestly say that Subaru was in the top 3 for uncomfortable seats.

So what were my favorite and least favorite cars at the show this year?  The best looking car there had to be a super modified Mercedes roadster of some kind they were showcasing.  It looked like a “Naboo Royal Cruiser” for the road.  Super Awesome.

If you want to know which car I am buying next when I have mine payed off based on the auto show, it’s a tossup between 3 cars: there was and awesome Nissan roadster convertible there, the BMW 1 series was super amazing in styling and features, and last but by no means least, the most impressive car there for me was the Kia Soul.  The Soul comes in many colors and options packages putting it almost on par with a Scion.  The interior layout and seat quality and comfortability was far beyond my expectations.  It even impressed Cerberus (a leggy fellow)  when he sat in the back because he was almost uninhibited for leg room! (although he was also very impressed with the leg room in the BMW 3 series as well.)  Kia also has another promising car they were showing off there called the Forte, but since we couldn’t sit in it or anything, I really cant tell you much except that it looked like where the Ford Fusion should have headed.

I know most of you just want to look at the pictures that I took, so without further ado:  ENJOY THE PICTURE GALLERY!

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Being able to attend this years comic con was an amazing experience. Heck the last one I was at was back in 96 with Andy, and god did that suck. But lets get past the bad and talk about the awesome that was this years.

First and foremost the forums stick out in my mind as one of the coolest things at comic con. From movie previews, to behind the scenes trailers, to robot chicken, to forums disguised as something when they are just a freakin plug for clone wars….. It was all good. No seriously, it was really cool to be able to see behind the scenes and stuff that no one else has been able to see before. The only problem I have with the whole forum thing was the fact that there were so many going on at once this year. According to Andy and others, last year they had most of the forums in the same theatre, making it easy to be able to see your favorite things. But this year there were about 10 rooms hosting forums and they all started about 15 minutes from each other. Making it impossible for people to get to see every one they wanted to. Oh well, this just basically made you plan out your attack better and make you think about which forums were the most important to you.

I was amazed at the sheer amount of vendors! Everything a nerd could want was available at the comic con. Energy drinks, comics, magazines, useless crap to put on your walls, swords, full sized Master Chief outfits, and statues were abundant this year. Everywhere you turned you saw another booth selling stuff you wish you had enough money for. Now did I buy anything there? Not really, I was taking in the experience  more so then anything. But man oh man, if i had a disposable income, I would have come home with so much useless stuff!

The signing areas were OK at best. There were 2 very poorly labeled areas where you could get things signed. One of them was in the back right corner of the floor with about 6 booths. And the other had about 15 lines for various people like Lou Ferrigno and some comic artists. The ones that were setup the best were DC and Marvel. They had huge floor spaces and had enough room to get lines somewhat organized. Sure there were other places doing signings, but they werent labeled very well so it was very easy to pass them up.

My favorite booths were definitly the  video game booths. It was so cool to be able to go and play games that were either in their first development stages or were only a few months away from being released. The two that stick out the most for me were Section 8, and Red Faction Gurrilla. Section 8 looked so amazing graphically and the gameplay looked so sweet. It is definatly the FPS to be on the look for down the line. Red Faction looks like the ultimate multiplayer deathmatch game. It was smooth, fast paced, and the most spectacular looking game of the whole comic con. There were some other booths with games like Ready to Rumble 2 where they were having a contest of who could give the best “LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!”, and they actually had Bruce Buffer as the judge. DC universes booth was ok, nothing spectacular and they didnt have much in the way of a game demo because you could only use a few pre made chars.

But the worst booth of the show game wise had to be GTA Chinatown Wars for the DS. The staff couldnt care less, as they didnt even bother helping people with questions. They had two guys giving out the swag bags of GTA stuff, but they just shoved crap in a bag and kinda tossed it at ya. Every other game booth had people (usually developers) helping people get used to the game and fielding questions. These guys did none of that! Although their floor space looked cool, when you got up close, you realized you should just move on.

Wait whats the point of comic con without FREE STUFF!!! OMG it was amazing. Every single booth had freebies that dealt with their product or games. Lets take a little look at what i got in about 2 hours there. 2 red faction t shirts, 1 xblades tshirt, S.H.I.E.L.D magnet stickers eyepatch and pin, Marvel and DC pins posters and comics, 3 free game trials, and a free autographed 8×10 of one of the actors of Cinemaxes upcoming show Forbidden Science. There is a lot more stuff in my bags, but honestly its too much to list. Oh and for all of you out there interested in getting some of this stuff, listen to episode 21 of the SparkBoxShow for details on how to win a swag bag full of all sorts of goodies from the show.

I could really go on and on for another 2 pages easily, but I know most of you are surfing from work and you hjave actual work to do. The last thing I need is for you to get fired and blame me. So thank you for checking out the article and if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post below or send me an email at James at Sparkboxshow.com

Later all!

This past sunday at the NY Comic Con, I was fortunate enough to be one of 300 people to get a 46 minute and 15 second preview of Pixar’s newest film Up.

As most of us know, Pixar has joined back up with Disney, which in turn meant a full body cavity search for any electronic recording devices….well not really, but it was close.  All phones, cameras and camcorders were collected, tagged and placed in a bin.  I further knew they weren’t screwing around when one of the security guys told me they had six guys posted with infrared scopes.  Knowing Disney they probably had at least one sniper, just incase.

With few introductions, the Pixar guys let us know that we were the lucky first 300 let in to view a large chunk of their new movie Up and they started rolling the film.

Up starts off with a young Carl Fredricksen, donned with aviator cap and goggles, watching a news reel in a theater about an adventurer who travels the world in his zeppelin discovering new places.  You can obviously tell Carl admired the adventurer as much as a young kid idolized Babe Ruth back in the day.

This base feeling of adventure sets the tone for the rest of the movie.  Pixar has honed to a razor point their skills of reaching your emotions, as some of us recall from Wall-E whether we want to admit it or not.  They do a quick job of getting all the sad out in 10 minutes with a silent montage of most of Carl’s life.  With us like putty in their hands and at rock bottom, this is where the upward momentum begins….get it?  Upward?  Oh nevermind.

From the trailer we see the part where a myriad of brilliantly colored balloons are released from Carl’s roof as his colorful home is torn from it’s foundation and starts its ascent up into the sky.  Let me tell you, this part of the movie is going to be a visual overload when seen in 3-D.  What we aren’t privy to from the trailer is that Carl’s home has been surrounded on all sides by developing skyscrapers.  Being the curmudgeon that he is, Carl refuses to sell his patch of memories for any price that the Mister Smith looking developer throws at him.  This is when his years of being a balloon vendor come in handy.

What Carl didn’t count on is Russel, the chubby adventure scout who got stuck on Carl’s porch when he decided to lift off.  The dynamic between these two plays so well.   It conveys whatever you might think being in your 70’s and stuck in a floating house with a 8 year old could be like.

Eventually, they do touch down in South America where Carl decided to uphold a promise to his wife of  settling down next to a waterfall called Paradise Falls.  The only problem is when they land they’re about a few days away from the falls, which are in viewing distance.  The trek  through the jungle is where this movie really starts to shine and Pixar once again comes through with hilarious scenerios and dialog that are sure to keep us beaming for the rest of the film.

The total film is going to run a little over 87 minutes and I for one was exstatic about being able to view close to half of it.  It’s a shame it’s a bit over three months away, but it’s definately going to be worth the wait to see it with its final touches and in 3-D.  This being their 10th film, I don’t think I’ve been dissapointed once with Pixar and this will definately hold true with Up.

We came, we saw, we got tons of free stuff!  The complete sparkboxshow.com podcast crew went to the NY ComicCon ‘09 and boy we had a blast!

This year was the biggest and best yet.  There were plenty of people in costume, lots of free stuff, and we were asked to cover events later this year for various organizations.  I’d say that it went damn well.  Unfortunately we only went Friday and Saturday so we didn’t get to meet one of the guys from Sarcastic Gamer.(sorry about that Frawls)

We have tons of coverage coming up soon.  The special extended ‘09 comiccon podcast episode comes out next week, as well as various articles about the event so keep an eye out.  We are even having a giveaway contest!  For more info on that watch the forums and listen to next week’s podcast.  

I made a gallery full of pics so sit back relax and enjoy!

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Where were you in 99’?

I was at the NYC Comic Con on Saturday February 7th 2009.  As soon as I found out I was going I knew that the whole venue would not be for me.  So I scoped out some of the forums online before I went and wanted to see what they were offering.

It was fate!  There was a panel getting together to talk about Star Wars.  The title of the forum was “Where were you in 99?”  It was basically about the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

So I will ask you, where were you in 99’?  I know where I was!  My father owns a chain of movie theatres in NJ & NY.  He had told me that there would be running a preview of the movie at one of his locations in Sparta NJ.  This was not the midnight show that you normally you would have before these films.  This was the cooler!!!  It was friends, families, and strangers, all who knew someone from somewhere.

Free Pepsi hats where being handed out with the Pepsi and Star Wars logo on it (which I still have) and everyone was hovering in front of the doors just waiting to hear those wonderful words “come on in folks!”  (As my dad normally yells out)

You look around you, and I had a group of friends and co-workers from one of the theatres that I worked at with me.  But, then you look around and the place is mobbed!!!  There are a couple of hundred people there, and they were of all ages.  Some people knew what they were in for, and some people did not.

My father says a little something before the film (as he always does also) and it begins…

Lights go down, sounds comes up, and greatness begins.  To see what people had seen 22 years prior was amazing!  Whether you like the film or not, it is an experience that all, young and old will remember, especially the next generation.  To see those bright yellow letters read, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far away…” sent chills up my spine.

So, that’s where I was in 99’.  But now it’s 10 years later.  A whole new out look on Star Wars is about to begin, The Clone Wars, actually has begun.

It was really cool.  They were also promoting a new movie in theatres called “Fanboys”.

Here is some of the story:

It’s the Halloween party they’ve all been waiting for, to have fun with friends and hang out with fellow Star Wars fans and partners in crime. However, events take a turn when one of their bunch who long ago outgrew his old gang and took on adult responsibilities is suddenly in their midst again. Reconnecting is not easy. But soon, Eric, Windows, Hutch and Zoe realize that Linus will not live long enough to experience what’s been on their minds for ages: The long-awaited theatrical release of Star Wars – Episode I, which is still several months away. Linus once again suggests to his friends what he’s been scheming since fifth grade: Breaking into Skywalker Ranch, this time to steal a print of the movie. Crazy, right? But it might be the only way for Linus to see the movie before he dies. So as insane as it sounds, they take Hutch’s van and embark on a mission to drive across half the country to the Ranch.

I am very much looking forward to seeing it, and it’s in limited theatres now.

So, that concluded my dorkness for the day.  But can you picture it… people dressed up in full Storm Trooper garb, Darth Vader gear, Princess Leia slave wear, & Jedi’s everywhere.  Holding up posters for the film “Fanboys”, is a sight to be seen, that is why I took lots of pictures.

At the end of all this, it makes you proud to be a Star Wars geek!  Whether you are in the theatre, or at a forum in NYC, you will always remember where you were when you heard the sweet sounds of the Imperial March or the Throne Room scene.  Or better yet, this is the only time it public it’s ok to practice heavy breathing like Darth Vader with out looking like a pervert!

May the force be with you!

It’s Award season and here we go with another award show. Read more to see who the winners were this year.

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

WINNER: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (Paramount Pictures)
DOUBT (Miramax)
FROST/NIXON (Universal Pictures)
MILK (Focus Features)
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role

WINNER: SEAN PENN – “MILK”

RICHARD JENKINS / Walter Vale – “THE VISITOR” (Overture Films)
FRANK LANGELLA / Richard Nixon – “FROST/NIXON” (Universal Pictures)
SEAN PENN / Harvey Milk – “MILK” (Focus Features)
BRAD PITT / Benjamin Button – “THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON” (Paramount Pictures)
MICKEY ROURKE / Randy – “THE WRESTLER” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

WINNER: Meryl Streep – “DOUBT”

ANNE HATHAWAY / Kym – “RACHEL GETTING MARRIED” (Sony Pictures Classics)
ANGELINA JOLIE / Christine Collins – “CHANGELING” (Universal Pictures)
MELISSA LEO / Ray Eddy – “FROZEN RIVER” (Sony Pictures Classics)
MERYL STREEP / Sister Aloysius Beauvier – “DOUBT” (Miramax Films)
KATE WINSLET / April Wheeler – “REVOLUTIONARY ROAD” (Paramount Vantage)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

WINNER: Heath Ledger – “THE DARK KNIGHT”

JOSH BROLIN / Dan White – “MILK” (Focus Features)
ROBERT DOWNEY, JR. / Kirk Lazarus – “TROPIC THUNDER” (Paramount Pictures)
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN / Father Brendan Flynn – “DOUBT” (Miramax Films)
HEATH LEDGER / Joker – “THE DARK KNIGHT” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
DEV PATEL / Older Jamal – “SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role

WINNER: Kate Winslet – “THE READER”

AMY ADAMS / Sister James – “DOUBT” (Miramax Films)
PENÉLOPE CRUZ / Maria Elena – “VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA” (The Weinstein Company)
VIOLA DAVIS / Mrs. Miller – “DOUBT” (Miramax Films)
TARAJI P. HENSON / Queenie – “THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON” (Paramount Pictures)
KATE WINSLET / Hanna Schmitz – “THE READER” (The Weinstein Company)
PRIMETIME TELEVISION

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

WINNER: Paul Giamatti – “JOHN ADAMS”

RALPH FIENNES / Bernard Lafferty – “BERNARD AND DORIS” (HBO)
PAUL GIAMATTI / John Adams – “JOHN ADAMS” (HBO)
KEVIN SPACEY / Ron Klain – “RECOUNT” (HBO)
KIEFER SUTHERLAND / Jack Bauer – “24: REDEMPTION” (FOX)
TOM WILKINSON / Benjamin Franklin – “JOHN ADAMS” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries

WINNER: Laura Linney – “JOHN ADAMS”

LAURA DERN / Katherine Harris – “RECOUNT” (HBO)
LAURA LINNEY / Abigail Adams – “JOHN ADAMS” (HBO)
SHIRLEY MacLAINE / Coco Chanel – “COCO CHANEL” (Lifetime)
PHYLICIA RASHAD / Lena Younger – “A RAISIN IN THE SUN” (ABC)
SUSAN SARANDON / Doris Duke – “BERNARD AND DORIS” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

WINNER: Hugh Laurie – “HOUSE”

MICHAEL C. HALL / Dexter Morgan – “DEXTER” (Showtime)
JON HAMM / Don Draper – “MAD MEN” (AMC)
HUGH LAURIE / Gregory House – “HOUSE” (FOX)
WILLIAM SHATNER / Denny Crane – “BOSTON LEGAL” (ABC)
JAMES SPADER / Alan Shore – “BOSTON LEGAL” (ABC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

WINNER: Sally Field – “BROTHERS & SISTERS”

SALLY FIELD / Nora Walker – “BROTHERS & SISTERS” (ABC)
MARISKA HARGITAY / Det. Olivia Benson – “LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT” (NBC)
HOLLY HUNTER / Grace Hanadarko – “SAVING GRACE” (TNT)
ELISABETH MOSS / Peggy Olson – “MAD MEN” (AMC)
KYRA SEDGWICK / Dep. Chief Brenda Johnson – “THE CLOSER” (TNT)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

WINNER: Alec Baldwin – “30 ROCK”

ALEC BALDWIN / Jack Donaghy – “30 ROCK” (NBC)
STEVE CARELL / Michael Scott – “THE OFFICE” (NBC)
DAVID DUCHOVNY / Hank Moody – “CALIFORNICATION” (Showtime)
JEREMY PIVEN / Ari Gold – “ENTOURAGE” (HBO)
TONY SHALHOUB / Adrian Monk – “MONK” (USA)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

WINNER: Tina Fey – “30 ROCK”

CHRISTINA APPLEGATE / Samantha Newly – “SAMANTHA WHO?” (ABC)
AMERICA FERRERA / Betty Suarez – “UGLY BETTY” (ABC)
TINA FEY / Liz Lemon – “30 ROCK” (NBC)
MARY-LOUISE PARKER / Nancy Botwin – “WEEDS” (Showtime)
TRACEY ULLMAN / Various Characters – “TRACEY ULLMAN’S STATE OF THE UNION” (Showtime)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

WINNER: MAD MEN

BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
THE CLOSER (TNT)
DEXTER (Showtime)
HOUSE (Fox)
MAD MEN (AMC)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

WINNER: 30 ROCK

30 ROCK (NBC)
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES (ABC)
ENTOURAGE (HBO)
THE OFFICE (NBC)
WEEDS (Showtime)

All in all it was a pretty good show. Rourke losing to Sean Penn and Meryl Streep beating out Kate Winslet both suprised me. But what did’t suprise me was Slumdog winning Best Cast in a Motion Picture. That damn movie is an award gathering powerhouse. Yet again though, Heath Ledger wins. I am sorry, but I cant see this as a legit win since he died. Call me an ass, but I would feel much better if he was alive and winning. I just feel since he is dead he is getting more recognition then he should.

Well, it’s that time of year again! The time when the so called “film experts” give awards to undeserving cretins in Hollywood for pushing their political banter in movies that no one ever sees. I speak, or course, of the Oscars.

For those who suffered along with me watching last years abomination, know what I’m talking about.

Originally, the Oscars were a celebration of exceptional talent and creativity, and overall, the art of film. But no longer! Hollywood has turned the once proud ceremony into a shockfest presentation of stupid environmental or social ideals …and once in awhile an award is given out. (Of course, that only happens after a pregnant teen lesbian mother (who is drunk AND high AND randomly Muslim) sings a touching song about how hard it was to grow up in her poor African village and in the Bronx at the same time and then, finally, to drive the point home, she is raped on stage to protest the war.)

Then, they hand Brad Pitt an award for Best Butthead of the Year…

Well, anyway, now that I got my rant out, here’s the complete list of nominees this year. I hope they don’t make you gag as much as they made me. In my humble opinion, “Iron Man” deserves a lot more attention then it recieved. And “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Milk” can simply go to heck… and then burn in it.

Complete list of 81st annual Academy Award nominations:

1. Best Picture: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

2. Actor: Richard Jenkins, “The Visitor”; Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”; Sean Penn, “Milk”; Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler.”

3. Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”; Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”; Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Meryl Streep, “Doubt”; Kate Winslet, “The Reader.”

4. Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, “Milk”; Robert Downey Jr., “Tropic Thunder”; Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Doubt”; Heath Ledger, “The Dark Knight”; Michael Shannon, “Revolutionary Road.”

5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, “Doubt”; Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”; Viola Davis, “Doubt”; Taraji P. Henson, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler.”

6. Director: David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”; Gus Van Sant, “Milk”; Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”; Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

7. Foreign Film: “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Germany; “The Class,” France; “Departures,” Japan; “Revanche,” Austria; “Waltz With Bashir,” Israel.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Eric Roth and Robin Swicord, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”; John Patrick Shanley, “Doubt”; Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”; David Hare, “The Reader”; Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

9. Original Screenplay: Courtney Hunt, “Frozen River”; Mike Leigh, “Happy-Go-Lucky”; Martin McDonagh, “In Bruges”; Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”; Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Pete Docter, “WALL-E.”

10. Animated Feature Film: “Bolt”; “Kung Fu Panda”; “WALL-E.”

11. Art Direction: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Duchess,” “Revolutionary Road.”

12. Cinematography: “Changeling,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Reader,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

13. Sound Mixing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”

14. Sound Editing: “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “WALL-E,” “Wanted.”

15. Original Score: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Alexandre Desplat; “Defiance,” James Newton Howard; “Milk,” Danny Elfman; “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman; “WALL-E,” Thomas Newman.

16. Original Song: “Down to Earth” from “WALL-E,” Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman; “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Gulzar; “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” A.R. Rahman and Maya Arulpragasam.

17. Costume: “Australia,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Duchess,” “Milk,” “Revolutionary Road.”

18. Documentary Feature: “The Betrayal (Nerakhoon),” “Encounters at the End of the World,” “The Garden,” “Man on Wire,” “Trouble the Water.”

19. Documentary (short subject): “The Conscience of Nhem En,” “The Final Inch,” “Smile Pinki,” “The Witness — From the Balcony of Room 306.”

20. Film Editing: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Frost/Nixon,” “Milk,” “Slumdog Millionaire.”

21. Makeup: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army.”

22. Animated Short Film: “La Maison en Petits Cubes,” “Lavatory — Lovestory,” “Oktapodi,” “Presto,” “This Way Up.”

23. Live Action Short Film: “Auf der Strecke (On the Line),” “Manon on the Asphalt,” “New Boy,” “The Pig,” “Spielzeugland (Toyland).”

24. Visual Effects: “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “The Dark Knight,” “Iron Man.”

25. Best Crap in 2008: “Hollywood”

One last thought… “Wall-E” was awesome! Kick that stupid “Kung Fu Panda”’s butt, Wall-E!

It’s that time of year again. It’s officially summer, the weather is getting warmer, people are firing up their grills, and every Greek (well, Hellenic if you want to be authentic) Church is throwing their annual festival. Never been? Now is your chance!

Come my friend! Let me be guide for you! No, usually you won’t have to put up with people with heavy accents, and I’m guessing that it won’t be My Big Fat Greek Festival either. I usually help out with my old church’s festival every year as I’m volunteered by my father every time I show up whether I like it or not.

So what should you expect at a Greek festival? Most of the time it breaks down into two categories, food and entertainment. Honestly, what more do you need? I might be biased, but all the food is delicious. Try everything is my advice. Your prepared foods are always home made at these festivals and you’ll find them in the gym/largest area possible. It’s there that you’ll find your pastitso, mousaka, leg of lamb, and tons of other foods. These will be served with a side salad which becomes Greek due to the fact that it’s got feta cheese and some olives on it.

Inside you’ll also find your deserts which most of the time are drenched in syrup. Standard fare includes baklava, variations of baklava and loukoumathes. Me? I always go for the loukoumathes. They’re made fresh, they’re soft, covered in syrup, cinnamon and powdered sugar. Yes, sugar on sugar. You can’t go wrong.

Those are the foods you’ll usually find inside and in all honesty the only thing I go inside for is the deserts. Outside is where it’s at. You’ve got your souvalki (kabobs) and the ever popular Gyro which should look like a meat tornado. If it doesn’t, walk away cause it’ll probably taste bad. And everyone, it’s pronounced geero like hero but with a ‘g’. Word butchering aside this is usually where you want to be.

Outside is where your entertainment also usually is. Depending on the size of said festival you might have some carnival games, but there’s always Greek dancing and music……..always. If you’re up for some immersion, stick around. The dancing is usually the kids that go to Greek classes or maybe even a private dancing class. Oh and the costumes the kids might be wearing? They’re ceremonial costumes that are usually region specific and handed down through the generations in the family. If you’re feeling particularly into it (or you’re just really drunk on ouzo) feel free to hop in, more often than not a random line of people sprouts up and people just tack on like a Greek conga line.

So there ya go, your very own primer on Greek festivals. Consider yourself prepared for all that awaits you! Well……..hopefully. If you’re still unsure, go make a Greek friend and use them as your ethnic sherpa. The festivals are definitely a good time and very worth checking out. Entry fees are minimal if anything at all and the food is very reasonably priced. Check out your local Greek Festival, you won’t be disappointed!

Just a reminder, it’s this weekend in good old New York, NY.  I know I’m going to!  Hope to see you there.  Last years was a blast.  The Jacob Javitz center was absolutely packed with nerds from end to end…

And thats not all, oh no.  Otakus, Comic book collectors, even Cosplayers showed up for this awesome event.  There were people from all over the country, and even from other countries.  You should definitely go if any of this seems like something that would interest you.  Last year Stan Lee, Kevin Smith, and Stephen King were there; this year there is going to be an equally allstar cast!  It’s too late to have your tickets or weekend passes (yeah I got one) mailed to you, but I believe you can still buy them online or at the door.  Check out the details at www.nycomiccon.com.

Here are some pics from last year.  Hope it gets you interested!

 [[Show as slideshow]] ]]> http://sparkboxshow.com/2008/04/come-to-the-nyc-comicon-08.html/feed 2 http://sparkboxshow.com/2008/04/wrestlemania-baby-wooooo.html http://sparkboxshow.com/2008/04/wrestlemania-baby-wooooo.html#comments Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:00:06 +0000 James http://sparkboxshow.com/?p=16 IT’S WRESTLEMANIA TIME BABY!

Good evening everyone. First off I would like to say thank you for joing our forums and I hope you keep comming back and checking out everyones new topics of the week. And if you haven’t already, please head over to I-Tunes and check out our podcast! The first episode should be up any day now!

Now that thats out of the way, on to the main subject of this post. WRESTLEMANIA! This years Wrestlemania was held at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando (over 74,000 in attendance). Not my pick for the best venue (I don’t feel the vibe of the outside events, but whatever), but the show was amazing! (Well besides the bunny match which I will get to later) Lots of tense moments, emotional outbursts, and room shaking cheers and boo’s from yours truly.

So on to the first match of the night. Finaly vs JBL in a Belfast Brawl Match. Which is basically a street fight, but with a different name so it looks like Finlay created it. Honestly I was not that exicted to see this one because it just didn’t get enough build which it should have gotten, and when a match opens a show like this one, you expect it to be the pace setter for the night. Which it wasn’t. Nothing overly special happened except Finlay doing a hard dive out of the ring towards JBL and getting nailed in the head with a garbage can lid in mid air for his trouble. And one thunderous clothesline from JBL to end the match. It wasn’t as much of a domination as I figured it would be, and it also was not anywhere near the back and fourth action I had hoped. Sure JBL won and it made me happy, (I’m a closet JBL fan…. SHHHHHHH) but it lacked something special for the show of shows. (2 Stars)

Second match of the night was the Money In the Bank Ladder Match. In my opinion this should have started the show like it has in the past two years. It always sets the tone for the rest of the night. This was between, Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison, CM Punk, MVP, Mr Kennedy, and Carlito. My pick for the winner was Kennedy. He got screwed out of the case last year because of a mis-diagnosed injury. So I was hoping that it would be made up for him this year. NOPE! Punk ends up winning this one in a very anti-climactic finish when Jericho gets caught up in the ladder. Honestly the best part of this match was when Morrison got his ladder pushed over and he ended up landing with one leg on each side of the rope, giving himself the ULTIMATE sack cruncher. Overall not much to say about this one. It certainly did not live up to the previous two. (2 stars)

Batista vs Umaga was next. In what I like to call….. The slowest match ever! Not that these two are horrible wrestlers. Its the fact that when both are put in a match against eachother, it does not work at all. Umaga is very agile for his size, but Batista is a very stiff worker and doesn’t move very smoothly in the ring. Pretty good back and fourth action for the most part. But the best was the finish which almost didn’t go as planned. Batisa brings Umaga up for a Batista Bomb and uses a bit too much force. So Umaga gains momentum and almost ends up sitting on batista’s face insted of landing flat on his back. Batista was able to correct and go for the pin. Yet again, nothing amazing. (2 stars)

Next was one of my favorites of the night. Chavo vs Kane for the ECW Championship. It lasted all of 15 seconds. Chavo came into the ring, Kane’s music hit, Chavo looked for Kane to come down the ramp, Kane came from the crowd, gave Chavo a very forceful choke-slam, and went for the pin. And we have a new ECW Champion, KANE! The smile on my face was so huge that it almost knocked over my drink and girlfriend. My throat also hurts like hell from screaming because it was amazing to see Kane finally get some recognition again. (4 stars. Dont bother arguing this one with me)

Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair. Career Threatening match. We all knew it would end tonight, but no one knew just how emotional this one was going to be. It started off very simple with a lot of technical moves back and fourth to get the ball rolling. But then it build up to an emotional roller coaster. One minute Flair would have the upper hand and put Shawn in the Figure Four twice during the match, and you almost thought Shawn would tap out. And the next minute Shawn would have Flair down on the mat from sweet chin music. This was amazing. The energy you felt and the rush you got from this was INTENSE. When Shawn went for Sweet Chin Music the first time and as he was about to connect he pulled back, I got this tingle down my spine. And when he had flair down the second time from a superkick and was winding up for his finisher, seeing flair almost in tears urging on shawn to do it, you had no choice but to feel sad because the end of an era was about to happen. As Shawn delivered his finisher, he said, ” I love you man”. And down went flair; like a mighty champion who knew he just couldnt give up, but knew he couldnt win. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING could prepare any fan of Ric Flair for the emotional response that the finish had. This was by far my favorite match of the night. (5 stars)

Now the worst match of the night. Melina, Beth Pheonix vs Maria, Ashley. With Snoop Dog for some reason. Overall crap crap crap. Total bathroom break material. If we are lucky the editors will just delete this one from the dvd release and spare us from this pointless match. Watching Ashley wrestle is about as much fun as watching Big Show take a dump. She delivers each move very stiff and just cant flow from one to the other. Maria at least tries to be entertaining, but since her playboy shoot, her character has changed and she kinda lost her momentum. Melina can move very fluid from move to move if given the means. And Beth is a powerhouse with talent to boot! Slow going and a few clumsey moves killed this match. (1/2 star) Now can we please get the women who can actually wrestle back in the spotlight???? PLEASE???

Orton vs HHH vs Cena. This was a let down match. Not because Orton retained, but because the match itself was not very entertaining. As usual Cena was highlighted with the other two being his stepping stones. I gotta say, in HD you really need to make that STFU look like it actually can keep someone locked up in its grasp. From what we could see, it looked like you could have sneezed and gotten out of it. I give Orton props for his acting, and HHH for putting both men over. But I was no where near the edge of my seat for this one. (2 Stars)

Mayweather vs Big Show = How do we make this match work out so neither man looks bad at the end? Well the answer is simple, lets make it a No DQ. That way Mayweather can beat Big Show with a chair to win. I understand they did this to make both men look good in their respective fields. I was just hoping for a little more. Dont get me wrong, I actually liked the match, and thought it was entertaining (esp when show decided to kick the crap out of the posse that was with mayweather). But his promoter was annoying as hell since he constantly kept screaming, “HEY, He cant do that! He cant do that!” every time show kicked or hit mayweather. Lets hope this is the last crossover match for a while. (3 stars)

And close second to my favorite match. Undertaker vs Edge. The Streak vs the Title. WOW is all I can say about this one. Edge dominated about 3/4 of the match by going totally offensive and giving Taker a run for his money. Plenty of false finishes to keep us on the edge of our seats, and enough build up for an amazing ending. Taker reversing Edge’s attempt at a tombstone was awesome, and the drama of the ref getting destroyed built the “oh crap” factor up like mad. The end came when edge speared Taker for the 3rd time in the match. Edge thought he had Taker, so as he took a breather after the last spear, Taker was able to lock on a submission on Edge’s neck, causing him to tap and Taker to become the new World Heavyweight Champion once again! And the Undefeated Streak to keep on going. (5 stars)

My overall impression of the show. AWESOME. The only problem that happened was when someone plugged the microwave into the wrong outlet and blew the fuse for the ringlights and viewscreens for the people in the nose bleed section. Good part about that, the crowd was spared the pain of watching that horrid divas match. Which was even worse then last year. HMMMMM Maybe WWE will get the hint and not include Ashley in any more high profile matches? Ok ok, but I can dream can’t I?

Feedback? Opinions? OMG YOU SUXORS comments? Feel free to post em here. Just no foul language and keep things respectful. Not everyone wants to read a rant with no meaning behing it at all.