Monday, November 25, 2013

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor: The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot

The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary weekend is over, and I have a lot of things to say about An Adventure in Time and Space and “The Day of the Doctor.” However, until I get all of my thoughts together into one (or more) posts, please enjoy “The Day of the Doctor: The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot.”

What a treat for all Doctor Who fans!

(Thanks to Ruth from Booktalk & More for posting this video.)



Friday, November 22, 2013

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

I'll Never See Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway

Okay, I'm not saying I'll never see the musical on Broadway because I don't want to, because I would see pretty much anything on Broadway if I could. I'm saying I'll never see it because, after three years, the most expensive Broadway musical ever is closing.

Even though Spider-Man has grossed around $203 million dollars, the $75 million dollar musical is closing at a loss of $60 million. Ouch, that hurts!

However, this is not the end of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Producers are moving the show to Las Vegas, where this aerial-heavy type of show does very well. They're hoping to see any kind of return on their investment in Sin City.

Side note: Another big musical may be taking Spidey's place in the Foxwood Theater. Producers of the Australian musical, King Kong, may be moving their 20-foot tall title character into the theatre. Let's hope the producers don't lose $60 million dollars on this $30 million dollar musical.

Friday, November 15, 2013

An Adventure in Time and Space: Trailer

More Doctor Who celebration goodness!



I haven't seen many classic Doctor Who episodes, but I'm excited to see how it all began.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Doctor Who: The Night of the Doctor

Can I just say how great it is to see this Doctor again!

Now I'm even more ready for "The Day of the Doctor."




Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Maleficent: The Poster

Even if the movie is a bomb, at least they have a cool poster.

I Just Decided that I Really Like Jennifer Lawrence

I'm sure that when they attend movie premieres most movie stars just want to get down the red carpet, get their pictures taken and get into the movie theater to see their film. Yes, they'll give their autographs to fans and maybe let the fan take a picture with them, but that's about it.

It's nice to hear about a movie star who takes the time to notice the fans and see that one might need a little extra attention.

I smiled (and maybe teared up a bit) when I saw this video.

Way to go, Jennifer!

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor Trailer

Can. Not. Wait!

November 23rd can't get here soon enough.




The Sound of Music: More News and a Trailer

So, I think that one of the main thing that viewers of NBC's live stage version of The Sound of Music will complain about is that it isn’t like the movie. I just read the list of songs for the soundtrack, which will be released around December 3rd, and it looks like they will be using the script for the original Broadway version, and not the movie. I’m excited that they’re actually doing the stage version.

Some of the differences from the stage version and the movie are:
  • “My Favorite Things” will be sung by the Mother Abbess (Audra McDonald) to Maria before she goes to the Von Trapp’s, instead of Maria singing it to the children during the thunder storm
  • That means Maria will sing “The Lonely Goatherd” to the children when they are afraid of the thunder storm, not while presenting a puppet show to their father and Baroness Schraeder
  • Maria won’t sing “I Have Confidence,” which was written for the movie
  • They will be doing two songs that were not in the movie: "How Can Love Survive," and my favorite song from the musical, “No Way to Stop It.” I'm excited to hear Laura Benanti and Christian Borle sing both of these songs.
The Von Trapp children have been cast. The majority of the kids have theatre backgrounds, and since they didn't cast any "big names," I'm sure they can act and sing or they wouldn't have been cast. Actually, I'm pretty happy with their casting so far, I just hope Carrie can act and Stephen Moyer can sing. *wink* The young actors are: Ariane Rinehart (Liesl), Michael Nigro (Fredrich), Ella Watts-Gorman (Louisa), Joe West (Kurt), Sophia Caruso (Brigitta), Grace Rundhaug (Marta), and Peyton Ella (Gretl).

I am getting more and more excited about the production, and I hope that it gets good reviews and ratings and that NBC and other networks will produce more musical productions like this one.

EW has just posted a trailer for the musical. Since the show will be broadcast live, the trailer shows rehearsal footage. Fun!

Friday, November 8, 2013

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: FZZT

Okay, I’m finally going to post a review of an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., because even though the show has started out slow, it’s finally starting to build up momentum. I’ve been hoping that it would get better, and it has.

I liked episodes 5 & 6, but I loved this week’s episode, “FZZT.” I have been waiting for an episode that had more of Fitz and Simmons, and this episode gave it to me – and now I love the pair. I was happy that the focus wasn't on Skye and Ward again. I like their characters, but when you have an ensemble show, you need to give the other members of the ensemble a chance to shine, so the audience cares about them.

I loved that the episode started with a scene that is so normal and then brought in the “paranormal.” A bunch of boy scouts are out camping, it’s night time, and the leader is telling them scary stories around the campfire. And then scary actually start to happen, including metal objects levitating. And then their leader ends up dead, suspended in the air. This is a death that Rick Castle would go absolutely bonkers for. *wink*

I loved the scene with Skye, Fitz, and Simmons imitating Ward. These are the kinds of scenes among characters where we learn who they are and if we like them or not. I like them.

Another great (and emotional) scene was when Coulson realizes that Diaz is going to die and he talks to him about “the other side” to try to help him deal with the fact. I just can’t imagine what it would be like to know you only had minutes to live. Scary.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show where a character has to find a vaccine (or “anti-serum”) for an virus that they've been infected with (in this case, an alien virus) in a certain amount of time or they’ll die. Just watching Simmons trying to figure out how to save herself and the rest of the crew who will die also if she doesn’t find a cure, and Fitz watching helplessly made me emotional. And then when Fitz goes into the room where she has been quarantined to help her I just like him even more. It was so well written and acted. I love these two!

This episode was just chock-full of emotional scenes. When Simmons tells Coulson to tell her father first about her death because her mother would probably be able to take the news better if it came from him, I thought, how much more can I take?

Simmons’ rescue was great. I wish that Fitz would have been the one to rescue her, but it really wouldn’t have been true to his character to be able to jump out of a plane and know what to do, so it made sense that Ward did it, but it was a great save. And I loved Coulson reprimanding Simmons after they picked her and Ward out of the water. It was like a father scolding his child because he loved her.

I really hope that the series continues with great episodes and that we get to know the characters better, and it isn’t just about the “missions.” I love character-driven stories.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

The Drowsy Chaperone: The Movie

Another Broadway musical has been greenlighted (greenlit?) for the big screen. I didn't even know that The Drowsy Chaperone was even being thought about to adapt for the screen, but I am so excited about it. I was in the musical three years ago (I played Mrs. Tottendale), and I love the show.

Me as Mrs. Tottendale 
(I actually found this picture on Google - cool, eh?)

I read that Geoffrey Rush will be playing Man in Chair, and that Hugh Jackman is reading the script and may play Aldolfo. I would love to see him in a real comedic role. The musical is so theatrical, so I'm interested in seeing how they adapt it for film.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Drop Dead Diva: Renewed for a 6th Season

Yes, Drop Dead Diva is coming back for season 6!

I am so glad, especially after seeing how the season 5 ended on Sunday. If that had been the series finale I would have been more than miffed.