Freeze Frame: Smallville

The set-up: Lex Luthor makes a clone of his deceased brother Julian in a misguided attempt to create the kinship he always longed for. But his plan backfires.

"If you want to play God, remember His greatest gift: Freewill. Let me live my life."

~Julian, as said to Lex in the episode Gemini

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Artist Spotlight: Rachel A. Marks

("Disarmed")

Rachel A. Marks has emerged as one of my favorite upcoming Christian artists. Her work is based in the fantasy genre. She draws pixies, mermaids and other mystic creatures. She has been published in the online Christian speculative fiction 'zines The Sword Review and Dragons, Knights, and Angels.

I especially enjoyed her use of gray and black in the above painting. The hair strands are beautifully placed and the green eyes and mascara are nicely detailed.

In a few years time, as Marks refines her style you just might see a picture like this on the cover of the latest Christian sci-fi hit.

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Christian Author Featured on SciFi.com

Jeffrey Overstreet, author of Auralia's Colors, is featured in a short article on The SciFi Channel's news site: SciFi Wire. He talks about the inspiration behind his debut novel and his plans for the next book in the series.

I've been an avid reader of his blog Looking Closer for about a year now and I read his movie reviews over at Christianity Today. He has interesting and thought-provoking perspectives on films. His commentary on The Golden Compass is a prime example. Sometimes I agree with him, sometimes I don't but that's what makes reviews fun. Overstreet has definitely emerged as one of my favorite Christian film critics.

Things like this give me hope for the Christian sci-fi/fantasy genre. Quality writing by Christian writers can rise to the top and influence our society, one sci-fi lovin' fan at time.

Congrats Jeffrey! And keep up the good work!!!

(Hat tip to SF Signal)

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Katherine, Come Back!

Anyone else want Katherine Heigl to return to Sci-Fi?

I knew she was going to be a big star back when she played Isabel Evans on Roswell. Her portrayal of a teen alien was top-notch.

Now that she's won an Emmy and Knocked Up the box office I hope she doesn't forget her humble sci-fi roots. I remember when Roswell fans across the country united and sent thousands of hot sauce bottles to TV executives pleading with them to keep Roswell on for another season. Those were the good ol' days.

So what movie would be perfect for Ms. Heigl?

That's easy...anything with Will Smith in it. We all know he's bound to save the world again. Whether it's from aliens, robots, zombies or something just as menacing. Mr. "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" can pack the theaters with plenty of sci-fi lovin' fans.

I can imagine Heigl being Smith's snarky partner in some futuristic cop drama. They can't stand each other. She plays it wild and he likes following the rules. (Think of an X-Files Mulder/Scully dynamic). Maybe they're on a distant planet keeping the peace between humans and cyborgs when something goes wrong and they're the only ones who can make it right.

Or something like that.

Here's to hoping that Heigl gets a kick-butt SF role.

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DVDs (Not Diamonds) are girl's best friend

The X-Files Complete Collector's Edition is out on DVD just in time for the Christmas season. And if you're a TV series collector like me then here's something else you can add to your wish list.

It's become somewhat of a tradition in my family for my siblings and I to buy each other new seasons of our favorite shows. Last year my little sister got me Smallville season four and this year I got her Golden Girls season one for her birthday.

Here's to hoping you get your favorite TV show or better yet GIVE it someone special.

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Book Review: Faith Awakened

I wish Faith Awakened was a song. At least that way I could bare getting through it. Bad songs only take up 2-3 minutes of your time. But bad novels, they're not as kind.

I've tried reading this novel more than once but it's always the same thing: it's bland. I've lost count of how many times I've stopped and started, hoping that somehow the next time I opened the book that the story would captivate me. I even skipped around to different sections, reasoning that maybe the first few chapters started off slow. But by the time I got to chapter 21 and there was still no flare, I knew this book wasn't going to light my fire.

And I really wanted to like this book. When I first heard about the concept I was intrigued. But all that excitement faded when I got the business of actually reading it.

Faith Awakened by Grace Bridges tells the story of two young women in a futuristic dystopian Ireland trying to find true meaning and purpose amidst a highly-restrictive government (think China and Afghanistan under Taliban reign times 100). Doesn't that sound interesting??? If only the delivery of the story lived up to its premise.

The story starts with a prologue but I advise skipping over that and chapter 1 and jumping straight into "chapter 2: Introducing Mariah" which is where the story should have began. It's the first time the words on the page have a real pulse and engage you. You get a sense of Mariah's spunky personality through her diary-like rundown of what went wrong in the world. This book could have been stellar if it was as vibrant as this chapter and if we could have seen the events that took place instead of being described what happened. I want that novel!!! I wanted more of Mariah's "toughness" to shine through, to lead us through this futuristic world in disarray.

Even though Faith Awakened didn't put the steam in my cappuccino, some die-hard fans of Christian Sci-Fi might find it appealing. Like LeVar Burton said on Reading Rainbow: "But...you don't have to take my word for it".

I give it 2 unawakened stars out of 5.

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Sue Dent's Trailer

Sue Dent is not your typical Christian author. But that's good. Take a look at a trailer spotlighting the woman behind a new breed of Christian fiction.



For more info visit www.neverceese.com

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Manga

I wrote a post about the Christian manga trend over at Speculative Faith, so head over there and check it out. Leave some comments. Browse around. Whatever. You know the drill.

Oh, and here's a drawing I found by a Christian manga artist:


Back to Innocence by *PsychoAnn on deviantART

I think it's cute.

Well, that's it for now. Keep it sci-fi.

-SolShine7

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Smallville: Lights, Camera, Action

Oh-my-gosh!!! Tonight's episode of Smallville was superb.

Christina Milian was looking totally fab as Rachel, an A-List actress, coming to town for a film shoot. She and Clark had some sparks flying when they "read through her lines". Watch out Lana!

There was some major foreshadowing going on through the storyline of Warrior Angel as to what is going to happen to Clark and his gang. We all know that Lana is going to get killed off at some point, this just served as a little reminder to enjoy the Clana days while we can.

Other coolness involved Clark getting a red cape as a gift from Rachel. The last scene when it blew in the wind as Clark walked back to the barn was pure sweetness. The director gets mad kudos for that.

And the BIGGEST scene of the night was when the Warrior Angel fanfreak threw Lana off the high-rise and Clark plunged off the building to save her. The look in Lana's eyes said it all: "Whoa!"

A guy like Clark can save me anytime.

So what where your thoughts on it all???

Oh--and check out The CW website to enter a contest to be the vlogger of the month.

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Zoe Saldana Goes Sci-Fi

There aren't many things that I like about Star Trek besides Patrick Stewart as Captain Piccard, Seven of Nine and the Borg. Other than that I'm so not a Trekkie. But this makes me happy: Zoe Saldana is cast in the upcoming Star Trek movie as Nyota Uhura. I'll probably end up seeing this movie in theatres just because she's in it. I've followed most of her work since Drumline and I'd really like to see her turn into a major A-List star because Hollywood needs more diversity!

Hat tip to Andrew @ Star Trek Buzz Blog.

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Smallville is back!!!

And so am I.

Get ready for some posts about the new season of Smallville and Heroes plus all things sci-fi. Oh yeah!!!

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Why Spiderman 3 is one of the most "Christian" films I've seen in a while

I saw Spiderman 3 last Saturday and it was AWESOME! It's so great that I want to see it again and here's why...

Action. Redemption. Love. Forgiveness. More action. Romance. Sacrifice. And lots of great power-packed emotional scenes that leave you wanting to shake the hands of the writers and director because you're so glad that this movie series didn't turn out like The Matrix sequels.

I won't give away any spoilers in this post because I think it's pretty annoying when reviewers do that but what I will say is that this movie is oozing with Biblical moral lessons and in a very entertaining way.

Go see the movie and remember: "With great power comes great responsibility."

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Hip-Hop and Science Fiction

I have a new article up on Speculative Faith about what happens when Hip-Hop and science fiction collide. Click here to check it out. And be sure to leave a comment over there to let me know that you think!

(picture from 8 Mile)

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Filmmaker Spotlight: Kealan O'Rourke

Shadows have never looked so cute.

Kealan O'Rourke's Before Sunrise has all the charm of Toy Story, but in under six minutes. Before Sunrise tells the story of an animated shadow who roams in the night looking for an adventure and in turn finds the greatest adventure of all: love.



For more info about O'Rourke visit his IMDB.com page.

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It's Time to Save the World!

Well...that's already been done by Jesus but tonight NBC's Heroes takes a fictitious crack at it. Do you think that they will be able to save New York from Peter's supposed implosion?



(Hat tip to Nab for the letting me know about the cool video player above)

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Artist Spotlight: Selina Fenech

("The Guardian" by Selina Fenech)

This picture radiates emotion. Whenever I look at it something inside me shifts and that's what good art is supposed to do. Move you.

For more of Fenech's work visit her website.

(Hat tip to Rachael A. Marks, another cool artist, who featured this picture on her MySpace page.)

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8 Great Sci-Fi Couples

What's a good Sci-Fi movie and TV show without great love? Here are 8 great Sci-Fi couples that know how to get the sparks going and make you hope for a happy ending:

8. Neo & Trinity from The Matrix

The guy: Neo can dodge bullets and control them with his hands. Plus, Keanu Reeves' signature "whoa..." makes me smile everytime.

The girl: Trinity knows how to rock a leather jumpsuit like no other and she made slow-mo kicks uber cool.

Why they're cute together: Their love story is a little cheesy at times but somehow it just fits.

7. Lincoln Six Echo and Jordan Two Delta from The Island

The guy: Lincoln is determined to do whatever it takes to save Jordan from going to the deadly "island" and it's that grim determination that makes him extremely attractive, that and somehow he's able to make that tight white uniform look cool.

The girl: She's the clone of a beautiful Calvin Klein model who wants to cut her up and use her for spare parts.

Why they're cute together: Even when they're not allowed to touch each other at the center their chemistry is pretty vibrant. When they escape and things really start to heat up.

6. Vincent & Irene from Gattaca

The guy: In a world where are children are genetically engineered to be in perfect health, Victor is doing his best to blend in without getting caught.

The girl: As pretty as Uma Thurman is, she's not one of the perfect ones.

Why they're cute together: These two "normals" make the perfect couple.

5. Lois & Clark from The New Adventures of Superman

The guy: He's superman! And when he's not...he looks a lot like Dean Cain with glasses.

The girl: She's a hard-hitting journalist who's got a thing for men in tights. She gives up Superman for Clark Kent, and in the end, she gets both. See, it pays to go for the "nice" guy.

Why they're so cute together: Their playful banter and Terri Hatcher's amazing hair (before the bogus cut) makes good TV.


4. Liz & Max from Roswell

The guy: He's an alien who happens to be this incrediably hot mysterious guy you've seen around high school and always wanted to get to know better. Plus, he's the kind of guy who would risk his secret identity to save the girl he loves.

The girl: Liz Parker is willing to go to extreme lengths to keep Max and the rest of the gang away from the FBI.

Why they're so cute together: Isn't it every teenage girl's dream to have the guy she likes get a real glimpse into her mind and heart? With Max, Liz gets that and more.

3. Max & Logan from Dark Angel

The guy: He's the wise-cracking underground cyberjournalist who's out to save the world from one scumball at a time.

The girl: Max is the escaped genetically enchanced orphan solider who couldn't care less about saving the world but ends up caring with Logan's help.

We're they're so cute together: We got to watch Jessica Alba and Michael Weatherly fall in love, for real. Alba and Weatherly ended up getting engaged after the series. Too bad it didn't last. But at least we get to watch them fall in love over and over again on DVD.

2. Sarah Conner and Kyle Reese from The Terminator

The guy: He's sent back in time to protect Sarah from the coolest cyborg to ever grace the silver screen.

The girl: Sarah Conner starts off as this ordinary waitress and then is transformed into one of the toughest women in Sci-Fi movie history.

Why they're cute together: Though their love story was brief, it produced the leader of the future world, John Conner. And that's pretty cool.

1. Peter Parker & Mary-Jane from Spiderman

The guy: He's the geeky yet kind boy-next-door who turns into a superhero with "radioactive blood...and does whatever a spider can."

The girl: She's the girl-next-door who needs a nice guy like Peter Parker by her side.

Why they're cute together: What isn't cute about their story? That upside down kiss was pure movie magic.

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Christians and the Video Game Industry

Have you played Marvel Ultimate Alliance yet? I have and it's pretty sweet.

If you're a fan of science fiction and fantasy type video games i.e. Resident Evil, Final Fantasy and Omnimusha then head over to Speculative Faith and read my latest article about Christians and the video game industry.

While you're over there be sure to check out E. Stephen Burnett's article: "The redemption question — miraculous conversions for corrupt characters". It's good stuff.

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NBC's Heroes Update

NBC is going full court press when it comes to promoting their new runaway hit show Heroes. Yesterday, I got the following email from an NBC marketing partner with "Tips for bloggers" in the subject line.

Hello Karen,

Only 19 days til Heroes’ new episodes start airing, and the suspense of all the cliffhangers set up in “Parasites” finally ends. Until then, I wanted to point you and your readers towards the first part of a preview of Episode 19, hosted at NBC’s Heroes MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/heroesofficial

The second part of the clip is on ItsTimeToSaveTheWorld.com, along with a contest your readers can enter to win a trip to LA and a Heroes set tour. Both the first and second clips are scheduled to go live at midnight pacific time tonight.

You’ve probably heard about this already, but the auction for the original artwork in Heroes ends Wednesday at midnight PST. The site is here: www.nbc.com/heroes/auction

And if you or any of your readers missed the first 18 episodes, they’re all available for free on NBC’s site, but only temporarily—after Chapter 19 airs, the site will only have the current week’s episode. Here’s the URL for the episodes: http://www.nbc.com/Video/rewind/full_episodes/heroes.shtml

Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions you’ve got. I look forward to hearing from you.

It’s time to save the world,
************
360i On Behalf of NBC

I'm a big Heroes fan and the possibility of winning a trip is always cool but I could definitely go without these long breaks between new episodes.

At first I thought this email was some kind of spam but then I saw that Angela @ www.scifichick.com and SQT @ Sci-Fi & Fantasy Lovin' Blog got it too. Then I realized how brilliant their marketing plan is. It looks like NBC and 360i know what they're doing. But isn't it kind of scary how far marketing has come along?

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Filmmaker Spotlight: Young H. Lee

Young H. Lee is the kind of filmmaker and Christian who kicks butt, literally. He was born in Taiwan and studied martials arts since he was a little kid. His films are bold like wasabi, spicy enough to make your movie tastebuds go "whoa". Lee is a director/actor and grad student filmmaker living in New York.

He's one of my filmmaking buddies and the video below is his submission for Steven Spielberg's upcoming reality TV show The Lot. So sit back and watch Young H. Lee's thriller Malcontent and post your thoughts in the comment section.



For more info on Young H. Lee visit his website at www.younghlee.com and head over to The Lot to vote for Lee's video.

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Since I Like Garlic...

If you have a few minutes to spare then take this quiz:

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Bat Eagle Your Superpower is Seduction Your Weakness is Garlic Your Weapon is Your Energy Wand Your Mode of Transportation is Catapult

What's your Superhero Name?

(Hat tip to SQT)

...and while you're at it check out my latest post at the Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin' Blog.

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Lana Married Lex!

Nooooooooooooo! This news is just too heart-breaking to write about. Poor Lana. Poor Clark. Poor Smallville. We all know what this means: Beware of Lex's final descent to the dark side...

R.I.P. Clana (a.k.a. Clark and Lana).

While you're crying your eyes out you might as well head over to Kryptonsite and Smallville PH to check out some awesome screencaps.

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Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin' Blog

Check out The Fantasy & Sci-Fi Lovin' Blog to read my latest thoughts on all things Sci-Fi. And if you're an Angelina Jolie fan, you'll have double the fun.

Post your comments over there and browse around.

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TV Review: Blood Ties

I'm smitten and Lifetime is the one to blame. Their new original series Blood Ties premeired last night and Vicki wasn't the only one bite by Henry's charm.

The IMDb's tagline for the show goes like this: "A detective to keep her cool. A vampire to keep her warm. Some women have it all..." And they're right.

Vicki Nelson (Christina Cox) is sitting pretty as an ex-cop turned private investigator who must team up with a handsome "man of the night" vampire and her studly "man of the day" ex-partner in order to solve a crime.

The cast has chemistry (oodles of it) and from all sides. The witty banter hit its marks. The show's pace keeps you engaged and the characters interaction is well-versed in subtleties. The Toronto setting is a perfect backdrop for the story. The special effects aren't over the top and Vicki knows how to rock a black leather jacket. All these ingredients combine together to make a really good pilot episode.

I enjoyed seeing a couple of familar faces, Dylan Neal from the CBS Soap The Bold and Beautiful as the sarcastic ex-partner and Kyle Schmid from The Disney's Channel's The Cheetah Girls as the charming vampire. Both guys have their hotness, but Schmid's portrayal of the playful yet seductive vampire graphic novelist definitely gives him the upperhand in my department.

Blood Ties offers some interesting spins on vampire folkore such as Henry (Schmid) is able to look at himself in the mirror, wears a cross and isn't afraid of garlic. The show touches upon several spiritual aspects, but one that really stood out was when Henry said the demons make the humans think they are in control but in actuality they are being taken advantage of. That's something the Holy Bible warns us about.

All in all, this show offers a solid foundation of possiblities to make it a winning series but I hope that it isn't reduced to a "freak of the week" cycle and it doesn't lost sight of its focus on the characters and get too heavy into introducing the audience to dark side folklore.

Head over to the official website to read the blog of Tanya Huff, whose books the series is based on.



Hat tip to SciFiChick for giving me a heads up about this show.

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Scott Westerfeld Is At It Again!

I'm still on book one of the Uglies trilogy but it looks the trilogy isn't a trilogy afterall, well sort of. The above photo will be on the cover of the next book in the series, Extras. He posted this picture on his blog today so head over there and find out who the new protagonist is and why the thing in her eye is SO cool!

Westerfeld is writing some of the best Young Adult science fiction in the market so this is really exciting for me! First as a reader and second as a science fiction writer.

If you haven't started reading Uglies, then why not start now!

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Yep, that's me...

You Should Be a Science Fiction Writer

Your ideas are very strange, and people often wonder what planet you're from. And while you may have some problems being "normal," you'll have no problems writing sci-fi. Whether it's epic films, important novels, or vivid comics... Your own little universe could leave an important mark on the world!

What Type of Writer Should You Be?

This totally hits the spot because I'm currently working on a young adult science fiction novel.

So what kind of writer are you? Take the quiz and post your results in the comment section.

p.s. I found this from Melody's Reading Corner (who's participating in The Ultimate Blog Party). Join the fun!

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The Call of Aslan Art Show

"Repentence" is my favorite drawing by Rachel A. Marks (a.k.a Pixydust). It conveys so much emotion and is a splendid visual of the battle that we all face between doing what we know to be right and resisting the temptation to do wrong. How many times have you felt like the man in this drawing? I know I'm done some stupid stuff and ended up feeling like a total screw-up. But the beauty of this drawing's message is that there is hope.

If you enjoy "Repentence" as much as I do then check out Rachel's website for more of her artwork and details on how to purchase reprints. Also, head over to The Call of Aslan's 2006 Art Show to view the rest of the art in the gallery.

Hat tip to Mir for highlighting the art show in her blog.

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My Post on Speculative Faith

Please check out my latest writing venture over at Speculative Faith and read my article "The Teen Years" at http://specfaith.ritersbloc.com Oh--and leave lots of comments (on my article and other entries if you can).

That pretty much sums it up. Have a good day!!

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The Jesus Film Goes Anime

First off, I'm not a big fan of anime. Spirited Away is the only anime film that I thoroughly enjoyed. However, I do respect the genre for its creativity and I'll even admit that some manga books are pretty cool. So for all you Jesus-loving anime fans this post is especially for you.

Mission Network News talked with The Jesus Film chief of staff, Greg Gregiore, about their upcoming effort to make an anime Jesus Film in the next two years.

We're taking the audio tracks that we have translated and re-recorded over these past 26 years and putting new visuals to that.

Gregoire goes on to explain how they'll be giving the film a more dramatic feel with the help of a brand-spankin' new film score and special effects to wow people in over 900 languages.

I hope this movie turns out well.

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DVD Review: Aeon Flux

This is one DVD you never, ever want to rent. Saying it's waste of time, space and film doesn't even begin to cut it. If I had to chose between stepping in dog poo or watching this movie again, I'd take the dog poo. Seriously.

The plot was confusing. The action sequences were cheesy. Charlize Theron's performance was flatter than a tortilla. The movie was a complete mess, in the grand scale of "when Sci-Fi movies go bad".

I kept hoping that the movie would get better, that somehow things would magically turn around and it wouldn't completely suck. But that moment never came, so I did what any wise movie watcher would do: I pressed stop and thanked God that I hadn't wasted $10 seeing it in theaters.

For those of you who actually braved through this Sci-Fi bomb, how did the movie end? (Like I really care?!?!)

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Teen Titans vs. Legion of Superheroes

Yep, I still watch Saturday morning cartoons--at least when I don't sleep in. Most of them are too sugary for my tastebuds but a few offer up a blend worthy of an older audience. I can watch Teen Titans and Legion of Superheroes and not be bored out of my mind. Better yet, I throughly enjoy them.
So I was talking with my younger brothers about which team they think is better and that's when the idea for this post was born. One day I hope to create my own very cool and very fun Saturday morning cartoon that will unite brothers and sisters around the world.

So here's my young superhero match-up:

1. Robin vs. Superboy - Even though Superboy would kick Robin's butt handsdown, Robin is cooler, so take that boy of steel.

2. Beast Boy vs. Timber Wolf - Beast Boy is so playful and funny. And his one big tooth is way too cute. Timber Wolf needs to lighten up and a good butt-kicking from Beast Boy just might do the trick.

3. Cyborg vs. Lightning Lad & Bouncing Boy - First off, Bouncing Boy annoys the crap out of me. I wish he would roll away or something. So that leaves Cyborg and Lightening Lad. Sorry Cyborg, you're old and Lightning Lad can fly, game over for you.

4. Raven vs. Brainac 5 & Saturn Girl - Somehow, I think Raven could pull off an upset win. How? I don't know.

5. Starfire vs. Phantom Girl - I like Starfire better, it's my list so I can do whatever I want, try and stop me! Ha!

Winner: Teen Titans! [insert applause] But seriously, Teen Titans has the better story lines, action sequences and a way cooler theme song. Teen Titans, go, Teen Titans!!!

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Ghost Rider got it all wrong

I hope Nicolas Cage suprises me because picturing him as Ghost Rider is laughable. The only thing worst than this is that he was almost cast as Superman. Now that's just scary.

To make things more unbelieveable they have Eva Mendes as his love interest. I guess the Ghost Rider knows magic too.

Here's my picks for actors who would have made a steamier Johnny Blaze:

1. Paul Walker - He's hot, looks way better in a leather jacket and he's got the whole tough guy act down. Plus, him and Eva Menedes sharing an onscreen kiss would have been scorching.

2. Vin Diesel - He's got the voice, the attitude and he's looks like a Harley was made for him. It's too bad this role speeded past him.

3. Jason Statham - He was on fire in The Transporter. He's a shoe in for the reculant hero role and he's deadly cool.

Who knows? Maybe Cage will blow us away in this movie, he is a top-notch actor, but can he successfully pull off the role of a comicbook superhero? Sadly, as far as the trailer goes, it looks like this movie will be going down in flames.

R.I.P. Ghost Rider

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The Pretender

Jarod and Miss Parker reunite again...well, sort of.

The Hallmark Channel is showing re-runs of one of my favorite shows: The Pretender. It's the story of a genius who was kidnapped and exploited by The Centre for less than creditable purposes because he could learn how to be anyone he wanted in a matter of minutes.

I used to gather around the television with my family for our weekly installments of the genius who looked incrediably hot in a black leather jacket. At least for an "old guy"--I would say (I was in high school and late twenties was old for me). The best part of The Pretender was the cat and mouse chase between the snarky yet sharply dressed Miss Parker and Jarod a.k.a "The Pretender". Their tit-for-tat was as captivating as two professional tango dancers going at it.

ALSO, The Pretender movies are being released on a combo DVD this March. The second movie includes the tough as nails Miss Parker and your friendly neighborhood genius Jarod stranded on an island together...so cool. A hat tip goes to Jarod's Safe House and TV Shows on DVD for the news.

This is your chance to fall in love with The Pretender all over again, or to meet your new TV love for the first time.

For more info check out The Pretender Centre

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A lesson from the X-Men

Wolverine: Sometimes we need to heal fast and follow our instincts.

Storm: God gave us dominion over the Earth, we're its keepers so we should use its resources for good and respect its power.

Rogue: Sometimes our touch can hurt people. Even our best attentions can go awry, so use your touch wisely.

Iceman: There are times to be frozen, when it comes to being solid in our faith.

Shadowcat/Kitty: As children of God we're meant to break down barriers and walk through walls to unite people and show them the beauty and truth of Jesus.

Cyclops: We need to watch how we look at people. Sometimes our stares can be deadly.

Jean Grey: Our mind is a powerful thing, we can either master it or let it master us.

Professor X: We're supposed to equip others on how to fight for goodness and justice.

Colossus: Sometimes we need to be as strong as metal so the devil's arrows won't break through our armor.

Archangel: We need to spead our wings and fly.

Beast: There are times when we need be diplomatic and there are times when we need to fight.

The X-Men have it right, it's time take a stand. For Christ.

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Smallville's Justice League

There are big episodes and then there are BIG episodes. Tonight's Smallville is one of the latter. The Justice League makes their grand entrance...Clark Kent, The Green Arrow, Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg are teaming up to save the cheerleader--wait, that's Heroes--well, at least there will be some saving the world involved. Woo hoo!

Bottom line: you gotta watch or TiVo it, then come back yonder and share your reactions about this super-packed episode.

*picture used courtesty of Kryptonsite.com

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What happened to R.L. Stine?

Back in middle school, R.L. Stine books used to be hot property. His Fear Street series were the talk of the classroom. My friends and I would trade books and desperately wait for the newest edition. Then there was the rise of his Goosebumps series and the Saturday morning TV show...and just like that he disappeared off the charts. Well, at least to me because I went to the 8th grade and thrillers just weren't cool anymore. I wonder if Stine has struck a cord with today's Radio Disney tweens? I checked out his site and it says he's bringing Fear Street back...best wishes with that Mr. Stine and thanks for making reading fun.

So what books did you love when you were younger, then totally abandon and remember like ten years later?

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NBC's Heroes the best thing for comics

According to Joe Quesada at Marvel Comics, Heroes was the best thing for comics in 2006. My response: umm...duh.

In an interview with Newsarama.com Quesada said:

Believe it or not, I think the best thing that happened to the industry was the TV show Heroes. While Civil War garnered a tremendous amount of mainstream press, Heroes was a complete and total validation of what it is that all of us in comics know and believe. Sure, you can watch Heroes and say, hey, it’s X-Men, or it’s Rising Stars, or wait a minute, that character is Rogue and he’s Kitty Pride, but none of that matters.

Hear me out for a second.

The reason that what we’re seeing on Heroes, though fantastically entertaining, isn’t unique to us, is because we’ve seen the Heroes model before. The maturing of the superhero concept happened over 15 years ago and it began with books like Watchmen and V for Vendetta.

Why is Heroes such a huge hit? Well, it’s easy. The mainstream audience is experiencing for the first time what we did when we read those great comics only they’re experiencing it for the first time. Much like myself who came back to comics after reading Watchmen and being floored by the possibility of the medium, John and Jane Q. Public are now looking at comics and comic characters in a whole new light, they’re 15 years behind us. But, that’s to be expected, we’re still a small medium and the exposure to the masses was tough for us. Now, I feel that Heroes may change everything if it continues with its great success. Couple this with Spider-Man 3 and you have a tinderbox of acceptance ready to explode!

Apparently Heroes has gone beyond saving the cheerleader and saving the world straight to saving the comic book industry. Good job guys!! You can tune into the next NEW episode of Heroes on January 22.

Hat tip to HeroeSite for the link to this interview.

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Blood and Chocolate

The producers of Underworld are at it again...

Blood and Chocolate is a romantic thriller that includes forbidden love, werewolves, and Oliver Martinez. Ooh la la! If this movie is even close to as good as Underworld was then I'll leave the theater satisfied. Blood and Chocolate is the story of teen wolf who must choose between sticking with the pack and being with the man she loves. This movie is based off a novel of the same name written by Annette Curtis Klause.

Who knows, maybe one day Hollywood will make Never Ceese by Sue Dent into movie...now that would be cool.

Visit Blood and Chocolate's official site.
Watch the trailer.

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James Cameron is back!

He's the man behind Titanic, Terminator and Dark Angel. He's the king of high-concept big budget Sci-Fi movies and he's ready to push the limits with two new movies slated for 2009.

Yahoo News posted this exciting bit of news yesterday:

Cameron is teaming up with 20th Century Fox to direct the sci-fi fantasy Avatar, a $200 million production that, according to the director and the studio, will be filmed in 3-D using an unprecedented combination of computer animation and motion-capture technology...The futuristic tale pits a human army, led by a paralyzed war vet played by Australian actor Sam Worthington, against an alien battalion.

To make matters more complicated, Worthington will have an alien love interest, embodied by Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl beauty Zoe Saldana.

"We're creating an entire world, a complete ecosystem of phantasmagorical plants and creatures, and a native people with a rich culture and language," Cameron said. "The story is both epic and emotional."

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see this world come to life on the big screen. But Cameron's creativity doesn't stop there. The other movie, Battle Angel, as E! Online puts it, is "a gritty sci-fi tale about a 14-year-old amnesiac female cyborg on a quest to discover her identity while battling the forces of evil in Scrap Iron City." Wow, can I buy my ticket like now!

These films seem to have it all: action, adventure and alien love. Oh my!

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Children of Men

This movie looks really good and it opens for wide release on Friday. Here's the plot courtesy of IMDb.com:

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

Children of Men looks like it has all the right ingredients: action, adventure and maybe a little romance between the two lead characters. Check out the website, it's wicked sweet and if the movie is anywhere as cool as the music playing on the page then I'm going to have blast watching this film.

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