CliqueClack

CliqueClack giveaway: The Last Stand screening in D.C. [updated]

**All passes for this screening have been claimed.**

Have you been itching to see Arnold Schwarzenegger back on the big screen in a leading role? Now’s your chance as CliqueClack, in association with Lionsgate and Allied Integrated Marketing, invite you to an advance screening of the new action flick The Last Stand starring Schwarzenegger, Rodrigo Santoro, Forest Whitaker, Peter Stormare, Johnny Knoxville, Luis Guzmán and Harry Dean Stanton. What’s the film about?

After leaving his LAPD narcotics post following a bungled operation that left him wracked with remorse and regret, Sheriff Ray Owens (Schwarzenegger) moved out of Los Angeles and settled into a life fighting what little crime takes place in sleepy border town Sommerton Junction. But that peaceful existence is shattered when Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), the most notorious, wanted drug kingpin in the western hemisphere, makes a deadly yet spectacular escape from an FBI prisoner convoy. With the help of a fierce band of lawless mercenaries led by the icy Burrell (Stormare), Cortez begins racing towards the US-Mexico border at 250 mph in a specially-outfitted Corvette ZR1 with a hostage in tow. Cortez’ path: straight through Summerton Junction, where the whole of the U.S. law enforcement, including Agent John Bannister (Whitaker) will have their final opportunity to intercept him before the violent fugitive slips across the border forever. At first reluctant to become involved, and then counted out because of the perceived ineptitude of his small town force, Owens ultimately rallies his team and takes the matter into his own hands, setting the stage for a classic showdown.

**All passes for this screening have been claimed.**

3D hits it big in this week’s home video releases

After getting out of the gate slowly on New Year’s Day, this week’s movies hitting home video are a bit more high profile including two Blu-ray 3D releases, Frankenweenie and Dredd. If you’re looking for a good thriller, you may want to consider The House at the End of the Street … but only because it stars Jennifer Lawrence. There is also a movie about Seal Team Six hitting home video, conveniently tied in to the general release of Zero Dark Thirty on January 11th. Classic movie fans will enjoy this week’s releases that include Driving Miss Daisy, Grand Hotel, Mrs. Miniver, Cape Fear, and the movie that ushered in the era of modern cinema, The Jazz Singer. There are plenty more titles — some obscure, some better known — coming to home video on January 8th, so have a look at our shopper’s guide to see what else will be hitting shelves this week. To get more information or to make a purchase, just click on the appropriate link.

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My favorite flicks of 2012

I love this time of year. Unlike CliqueClack bossman Keith McDuffee, I LOVE lists, and when the end of the year rolls around, you can find them everywhere. Lists of the best things that happened this year? Check. Best TV episodes? Check. Best tweets from people you don’t really care about in the grand scheme of things? … I guess check.

But there is one particular kind of list that gets posted this time of year that I absolutely hate with a fiery passion: Best Movie Lists. It’s actually something that’s tied to my general dislike for the greater whole of film criticism – basically that it is way too snobby for most movie goers. Seriously … I’d bet if you plopped down most of the Top 10 2012 Movie Lists in front of your parents, they wouldn’t recognize half the titles. Hell, on most of the lists, I’ve not even seen half of the titles.

So, like my fellow Clacker Chuck, instead of compiling a list of what I think is “best,” my annual list always features the flicks that I enjoyed the most. Sometimes there’s some overlap but, generally, my list is more about the “fun” of going to the theatre. Here they are in no particular order: Continue reading 'My favorite flicks of 2012' »

Without Reese, Person of Interest rocks it like a tight dress

I can’t believe I spent a good five minutes talking to Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman and they didn’t give away the returning mid-season plot. Damn. They’re good. Fort Knox good. They might tangibly answer your questions, but they don’t give away the vault. Even Carter would have difficulty interrogating them. However, this week, Person of Interest returned to quality business as usual. The writing strength particularly occurred through the producers’ ability to maintain a tightly knit show without Reese. The kickassery continued through each individual character’s growth and the multiple hidden academic Easter eggs. Overall, Person of Interest and “2 PI R” rocked it. Was there any doubt?

Most shows typically weaken in the absence of their lead actor (or his/her sidekick), but Person of Interest didn’t. In fact, it strengthened. When Alex O’Loughlin took his Hawaii Five-0 leave of absence, the show took a hit. While Scott Caan and the supporting cast stepped up, I still felt McGarrett’s absence keenly. But, this week, jailing Reese didn’t slow down the plot. It improved it. In fact, if they dropped Jim Caviezel tomorrow, I’d still continue watching the show.

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Young Justice returns with the best of the season (so far)

2012 was not the best year for my viewing experience. Besides Community being put on hiatus, the entire DC Nation block (Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series and the animated shorts) were taken off Cartoon Network’s schedule only 12 hours before air, only to have the Cartoon Network Twitter account happily announce later that day the block was coming back in 2013. I wrote about the situation back when it happened in October, but it is disappointing that we were never given a reason for the hiatus.

Still, this Saturday marks the return of DC Nation and needless to say, I’m very happy about it. The thing is, the episodes premiering this weekend also happen to be the ones that were still sold on iTunes for about 24 hours after the hiatus started, so I’ve already seen Young Justice‘s “Before the Dawn” many times over in the last few months. So without giving away spoilers, here’s why you should watch if you’re at all a fan of the show. Continue reading 'Young Justice returns with the best of the season (so far)' »

Movies in 2012 were all about nerds, sadness, and hope

What a year it’s been! There have been a few movies I’ve seen this year, so I feel pretty confident making large, subjective claims about society as a whole based on them. Or you know, be vaguely amusing instead. Before I get to the “Big Awards” (like most adorable or most precocious), here is a little spreading of the love (and spite).

Movie Most Devoid of Purpose, Meaning, Value, or even a Point: This Means War
Setting aside the not insignificant moral issues with this stupid movie, let’s admit that even Captain Kirk, Bane, and Chelsea Handler can screw up a movie and have a terrible ending. Bad romantic comedy + Bad spy movie = Bad movie.

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Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman discuss Person of Interest’s mid-season return

I keep saying this, and I’ll keep saying this. I love talking to executive producers who are smart, knowledgeable and clearly mapped out every single inch of their show. Person of Interest‘s Jonathan Nolan and Greg Plageman are two such producers. If I enjoyed talking to Jonah Nolan in October at New York Comic Con, I doubly loved talking to him and his co-executive producer Greg Plageman over the phone. Both were practically mirror images of each other. They spoke softly, trying to avoid giving spoilers away, while at the same time providing tangible, content-worthy answers. I love when a producer doesn’t softball.

What I love most is they aren’t big on small talk. For the most part, when you do conference calls, even though you have an average of 5 minutes to ask your 1-3 questions, there’s always the covert need to do the same amount of small talk that you might do on a longer interview. Each writer/blogger, including myself, couldn’t stop asking/saying “how are you,” “how’s the weather treating you?”, and “thanks for joining us,” but Jonah Nolan and Greg Plageman aren’t big small talkers and they aren’t people who waste words.

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Haven’s adorable cast describes the close of its third season

I love, love, love, love, love the Haven cast. They clearly love each other and that comes across in every single conference call and interview I (and other CliqueClack members) have done with them. There are some actors that are so awesome that you don’t even need to interview them. Just put them in a room with each other and press record. The Haven cast are a walking, talking carnival act with Eric Balfour at the helm as the unofficial spokesperson. Adam Copeland might be new to the squad and not as outlandish as the rest of the cast, but he still speaks his mind. With only two episodes left in its third season, this call covered what their characters might want for the holidays and well wishes for the Connecticut families.

At this point, Eric Balfour’s a fledgling Bruce Campbell. However, he uses his brazen charm (in place of Bruce’s brazen personality) to win over his audience. Like Bruce, Eric’s background caters to the sci fi audience. Like Bruce, Eric basically says what he thinks. Like Bruce, Eric loves playing with his audience. He couldn’t stop charming the female (and male) writers on the phone. I think we all collectively swooned every time he spoke. Hell, an entire twitter legion swoons everytime he posts to his feed. In answer to one question he kept delaying the answer with prevarications such as “I’m just saying” …  and “I think” and eventually ending with blatantly random responses like “I enjoy chitty chitty bang bang.” He only hesitated once regarding another interviewer’s question and asked if they wanted the real answer.

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Spy continues to awesomely impress

Over the summer, I discovered the hideously amazing Spy, the British Chuck, on Hulu TV. Because the UK shows I watched on Hulu (Kingdom, Party Animals, Green Wing, Campus) no longer aired, I assumed the same for Spy. Luckily, that isn’t the case. I did a 1970s joy dance when the new episodes appeared on Hulu in Fall 2012. With Community not yet aired (and all but gone), Animal Practice cancelled, and 30 Rock on its way out, Spy gives me the dose of gentle absurd humor I need. If you haven’t caught it, Spy is basically an office comedy surrounding Britain’s internal intelligence. Think of it as The Office meets Chuck. Spy covers big box electronics store worker, Tim, who accidentally receives a job with MI5 after walking into the wrong interview.

Season one primarily followed Tim’s dual awkwardness at home and work. Tim’s familial life surrounded his ongoing custody battle with his social-climbing ex-wife, Judith, over his brilliant prep school-attending son, Marcus. In his work life, he slowly yet painfully adjusted to the spy world with his uber-cool boss, the Examiner; his uber-cool, love interest, Caitlin; and her uber-cool, CIA-exchange boyfriend, Portis.

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Goodbye 2012 celebrities, hello 2013 hopes and dreams

Before we say hello to the New Year, we must first say goodbye to the old, including its celebrities and major events. As I sit before my fully lit Christmas tree while watching Carson Daly ring in the New Year and missing Dick Clark, I have to admit 2012 was a pretty good year for me. Job-wise and CliqueClack-wise. Job-wise everything fell into place this year as I felt more like myself. CliqueClack-wise was awesome, too. While I miss the old CliqueClack format, I got to interview actors like Bradley Cooper and Taraji P. Henson, sit next to Michael Ealy, watch previews of cool shows, and was complimented on my voice by a Voltron Force executive producer. It’s been an awesome year. While I hope 2013 doesn’t descend into the dark spiral I suspect, I’m going to hope it’s ten times better for myself, my family, my friends, my colleagues (at work and CliqueClack), and my nation.

But, before I talk about 2013 hopes, I want to pay tribute to those who left us in 2012, remembered in past CliqueClack posts:

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