Katie Cook gets us ready for the warm spring and hot summer ahead with how to draw a cactus, the international symbol of hot, dry weather (and if it isn't, it should be!).
As April winds down, we have 4 more Comic-Con International 2017 special guests to announce!
Comic-Con International 2017 Hotel Reservations open Wednesday, April 26, at 9:00 AM Pacific Time! Get ready now by reviewing our complete hotel list for 2017!
Annnnnd......we’re back!
After a little hiatus, Arrow has returned. I have to admit, though, this episode left me feeling a little like Homer after he joins the Movementarians and they show him the brainwashing video.
Acclaimed comic book writer and novelist Warren Ellis has recently returned to DC to work on the characters that made him a household name among comic book fans.
By: Angela Russo (@Amaruki99)
Jane begins what she hopes will be a passionate relationship with Rogelio’s co-star Fabian, and introduces her finished book to readers for the first time. Meanwhile, Rafael and Elvis secretly investigate Rose as she lives in disguise with Luisa; this causes friction in their hidden relationship. After pressure from the police, Petra persuades Anezka to return to Miami.
One of the best things about the series is its ability to constantly poke fun at itself. Returning after a three-week hiatus, Jane is back to its classic telenovela parody hilarity complete with shocking twists, ridiculous soap-opera hijinks, and moving personal moments. I laughed, gasped, and sighed all in the span of an hour. There certainly was a lot packed into the storyline, but unlike the episodes that followed Michael’s passing, they felt extremely cohesive and compelling. Amidst notes of lingering grief and personal conflict, the running romance novel sexy waterfall gag recurred at just the right time to lift the mood.
Watching the relationship between Jane and Fabian unfold was thoroughly enjoyable, but I’m not getting invested in it. While Jane had an awkward ice-breaker with Dennis in Chapter Fifty-Nine, this relationship feels like the experimental phase of dating that Jane will go through as she enters the scene as a widowed single mother rediscovering herself. On that note, Jane brings up a question that has been hovering in the minds of viewers everywhere: will she wait till marriage again? In her current mindset, it appears that she’s ready to try a fling, but considering her past feelings about sex and her loving experience with Michael, I wonder how she will really feel when the opportunity arises in more than just a hypothetical context.
Speaking of Michael, the evolution of grief is still being handled quite masterfully. Rogelio’s apparent feud and reluctance to get close to his new co-star is a mask to cover his grief at seeing Jane move on from Michael; it’s truly a touching admission. Although Jane is in a place where she feels comfortable and ready to date, this ease of life in itself causes her distress. She is further upset by the idea of leveraging the inspiration story of her romance novel as marketing fuel for the book. Her scenes with Alba were very powerful, from being encouraged to value love over lust, to the genuine comfort and wisdom that her grandmother brings from her own experiences. As Alba says, her grief is long term but it has also evolved. In being honest about her real life with Michael, Jane honors him more than if she kept it swept under the rug out of the public eye.
One of my favorite moments this week was Jane’s interview at the book fair. Her willingness to be so open about the experiences that serve as the basis of her book is certainly the best way to market. I believe that people remember and enjoy how they feel when reading a book more than anything else. A personal connection to the author can only strengthen that for a reader. Jane’s commentary on writing strikes a personal chord. To write well requires vulnerability and a willingness to share your ideas and talents to the scrutiny of the world. In an interesting way, Jane’s hesitance to be vulnerable in her writing plays a parallel to her desire to maintain a superficial relationship with Fabian. Jane may be ready to date, but is she ready to be vulnerable in a relationship again?
Recent episodes have woefully neglected Rafael’s character, keeping him stuck moping around repeating tired-out patterns of pining for Petra that just make you want to yell “Next!” Fans have been on the edge of their seats waiting to find out the truth of what Rafael has been up to all this time…and the answer is finally here, dropped into the narrative like a casually thrown bomb! In a sudden and unexpected twist, he is hot on Rose’s trail! This revelation has me burning to know more about his life in the past three years, something notably absent from the array of flashbacks we’ve been given for the majority of the cast. How and when did he find out that Rose is alive? Where did he meet his investigator Elvis? Here’s hoping that these details will be given greater attention now that his secret agenda is revealed to viewers.
Over the past few months I’ve been asking one thing over and over again: where is Anezka? As the wife of the now-deceased Scott, her disappearance is understandably suspicious. Unfortunately, the irritating nature of this particular character doesn’t exactly have me jumping for joy at her return. Anezka is quickly becoming the new Magda – the character you just wish they’d write out and be done with. That point aside, I do have some questions about the twin sisters. Last time they were together Anezka and Scott were blackmailing Petra…but was that the last time Petra saw them? What about the three-year time jump? When did Petra start paying her sister to stay away? Was it before or after Scott’s death? Anezka is threatening to reveal Petra’s secrets if she doesn’t bail her out of jail, but it begs the question: what secrets? A lot can happen in three years. I may not be thrilled to see Anezka back, but I’m genuinely excited to see what happens next.
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It is decided that in order to survive... every person at the camp should have guns. As it is, they don't have enough to go around and the only place to get more guns is the city, but it means certain death to go into the city. Is Rick crazy enough to risk his life for the good of the camp? |
By: Jaclyn Cascio (@jaclynator)
Prison Break: Resurrection brought its A-game with this week’s episode, “The Prisoner’s Dilemma.” It was easily the most exciting episode of the revival season so far and bodes well for the remainder of the season. Read on for a review of this week’s installment of Prison Break! (No big spoilers here. Scout’s honor!)
Last week’s episode was full of answered questions leading to more unanswered questions. It felt like groundwork was still being laid down for the development of the season’s plot. (A dangerous gamble when the season is so short.) Character development seemed lacking, and certain subplots did almost nothing to add to the story. *cough* Lincoln and Sheba. *cough* Now, throw all of that out the window, because “The Prisoner’s Dilemma” is a totally different beast – in the best possible way!
After teasing the imminent threat of the rebel/terrorist organization ISIL moving into the city and toward the prison, everything finally came to a head. Utter chaos ensued in all corners of the city. Rebels were in the streets. Prison guards were abandoning their posts. And behind the bars, prisoners were making moves. It was ridiculously exciting to watch as characters made decisions inside and outside the prison that would lead to some dramatic events! As a result, “The Prisoner’s Dilemma” was an action-packed episode full of movement and change. Honestly, it recaptured the days of Prison Break long past in all the right ways, and it was utterly refreshing!
Somehow, amidst the chaos, it was actually easier to get to know the characters trying to escape alongside Michael (Wentworth Miller) in the prison. They each had their moment that made them not only more active participants in the story (where they had often previously felt like bystanders), but also made them more distinguishable from each other. It felt like the excitement brought out their personalities in a way that had been lacking before. This made it easier to feel connected to the characters, rather than apathetic. Personally, I thought Whip (Augustus Prew) finally proved his worth to me as a viewer and helped me understand how his fate had become entwined with Michael’s. And let’s just say that Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) finally had something truly useful to offer, and it was great!
Meanwhile, back in America, at Sara’s (Sarah Wayne Callies) behest, T-Bag (Robert Knepper) was fearlessly pursuing any leads on the mysterious Poseidon. That search led T-Bag to Kellerman (Paul Adelstein), and their interactions were a treat to watch! Honestly, any interaction with T-Bag feels a little bit like a cat and mouse situation, which is entertaining, to say the least. The conversation between them allowed for more exposition about the rogue CIA operative called Poseidon in dramatic fashion. Most importantly, T-Bag’s efforts paid off in a big way. If you were waiting for a “WHA?!” moment, “The Prisoner’s Dilemma” delivers it.
I don’t want to give away too much, because “The Prisoner’s Dilemma” was loads of fun to watch. If you haven’t been watching the show this season, catch up as soon as you can, because in my opinion, this week’s episode made it worth it. My notes and criticisms were few because I was engrossed in what was happening. Prison Break: Resurrection became exactly what you hoped it would be in “The Prisoner’s Dilemma.”
By: Justin Jasso (@jjasso007)
Anyone remember the days when sending a message to a family member or friend took a couple of months as it had to be delivered by a guy riding on a horse-drawn cart? Yeah, neither do I, but we’ve all read about it in school. Times have certainly changed. Today, just about anything we want is at our fingertips. Want to order food to be delivered to you where you stand? You can do that. Want to live stream the birth of your child? You can do that. But with all of this access to seemingly anything and everything, so goes the privacies we once had, or thought we had. What happens when technology, and specifically, social media, becomes bigger and bigger until it fully encompasses our entire lives? Director James Ponsoldt tackles this question in his latest film, The Circle.
Mae Holland (Emma Watson) is presented an opportunity of a lifetime by her friend Annie (Karen Gillan): an interview at Internet tech company The Circle. After a weird interview, she’s hired on as a guppy, answering calls and improving her social appearance around The Circle campus. She’s soon approached by Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks) to embark on a new project from The Circle: to have a daily, 24/7 live broadcast through social media of her life. As Mae’s popularity around the campus, and around the world, grows, so do the projects put forth by The Circle, where cameras are in every city and every corner, able to know what is happening at any time, everywhere. Ty Lafitte (John Boyega) is leery about this new direction of The Circle, as he was a lead designer for the original plans, and soon Mae is seeing the potential dangers of this technology as the effects are being seen not only in her personal life and her family, but all across the world.
Ponsoldt took the book, written by Dave Eggers, and brought it to the big screen, and as well he should have. With our almost dependence on social media today, this was all too relevant of a story not to make into a film. When you think about how deeply social media is engrained in our lives today, from the need to Snap all of our moments, making sure all of our meals are on Instagram, and all of our thoughts and experiences posted on Facebook, along with condensed commentary on Twitter, we probably spend a good portion of our day fully engaged with social media apps. We’re able to get up to the second news on social media, review anything and everything, and even have individual live feeds of whatever people want to stream. Ponsoldt makes sure to magnify that with the source material and shows the potential dangers and pitfalls that we can expect going forward. All the while, the public seems undeterred by what is happening around them, as what was once seen as shocking now has become “everyday” and something to be expected and hits too close to home with our current world we live in.
Emma Watson takes on the role of the recent college graduate from a small town who receives an opportunity of a lifetime and is thrown into a world where she’s a small fish living in a great big ocean. This newness and unfamiliarity is completely relatable if anyone has ever gone away to school or moved out and lived on their own away from that with which they are familiar. And as she begins to adapt, so do her behaviors and actions, as we see a person becoming a product of their environment. Watson finds the levels within the character, and the uncertainty and uneasiness that come along with the situations she is in. It doesn’t always seem 100% authentic, as I feel she’s forcing emotion and reaction at times, instead of letting it come through naturally, but it is what we have. Tom Hanks is put into a role that he could easily play in his sleep, not stretching his thespian skills in the slightest. John Boyega is also almost an afterthought, with a few scenes dispersed throughout the film, adding another dimension and potential complication to Mae’s life. This film really comes down to Watson delivering and, for the most part, she does just that.
The Circle is an interesting look at technology and the growth of social media, showing both potential benefits and downfalls. While the film has an edginess and youthfulness to it that makes this potential ticking time bomb appear light, something just feels like it is missing. Also, the ending is leaves you with a Stewie Griffin “huh?!” head-cocked-to-the-side moment as the actions that have all led to this instance have no bearing on the outcome. It makes me want to read the book to understand what exactly led to this complete 180 degree change from where we’ve been led. The Circle is a decent film overall, with an interesting story and huge potential, but which doesn’t quite live up to the lofty expectations.
