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TuacaCon 2011

Good morning, P.G. Holyfield here. TuacaCon is a virtual convention that I started last year. Tuaca became one of the “liquors of choice” at the conventions I attend (most notably Balticon and Dragon*Con), and became the ‘unofficial’ mascot of the convention (The company that makes this wonderful liquer is not associated with the convention or with SpecFicMedia.com in any way, other than we like the stuff!).

So what is TuacaCon? Last year in November, we had a 9 hour live “show” online, with author readings, interviews, live music, and live and recorded comedic skits from several podcasters across the U.S. We used UStream.tv for the broadcast, and had a lot of fun with the event (even though I might have imbibed a little too much and fell asleep at the wheel near the end of the night).

This year I plan on doing things right (or at least a little better), with more contributors, the addition of panels on pertinent speculative fiction topics, and more interaction with our audience (well, some of our audience, not the ones that post “Show my your boobs!” in the chat… oh yeah, that was me.).

If you are a writer, musician, or comedian that has the ability to do webcam work (or prerecorded video, in certain cases), please comment here or send me an email at pgholyfield at specficmedia.com. TuacaCon 2011 will be Saturday, November 12th, starting time and duration of the event yet to be determined at this time. I will start organizing this ‘convention’ in earnest starting October 1st.

TuacaCon 2011 – Virtual Convention… Real Debauchery.

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Movies News

Movie News – Ridley Scott to reinvent Blade Runner… sigh

Blade Runner has always been in my top five list of all-time movies. And now Sir Ridley Scott is looking to reinvent the possible “franchise” with a new Blade Runner, possibly slated for 2014. Read the story here. Part of me weeps in abject horror, but the rest of me is still interested.

 

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Movie Trailers Movies Trailers

Movie Trailer – The Amazing Spider-Man

With a release date of July 3, 2012 for its Spider-Man reboot, Sony has released the first trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man.

A lifelong lover of Spider-Man, although admittedly not someone with great knowledge of the lore, I was crushed at Tobey Maguire’s portrayal of Peter Parker. He was flat and uninteresting, even while extraordinary things were happening to him. In my opinion, it’s hard to think of anyone that would have done a worse job. The only good things I can say about his three movies as Spider-Man is that I discovered James Franco and that I clearly recall how my heart ached from Thomas Haden Church’s portrayal of Sandman.

With this trailer, we see a new and seemingly darker vision of the webslinger and I have to say that I like what I see. And, no, I’m not talking about Emo Peter Parker like we saw in Spider-Man 3. While not familiar with actor Andrew Garfield (the new Spider-Man), there is something compelling bout his portrayal and I look forward to seeing more.

The only downside for me was that I was unable to watch the footage of Spider-Man’s aerial acrobatics because it made me immediately nauseous and dizzy. As someone prone to such issues, I had to look away from the screen until my teen told me it was safe to watch again. Based on that, I won’t opt for 3D showings, and others with vertigo conditions should be prepared as well.

The cast includes some well-respected actors, including Sally Field, Martin Sheen, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans. I’m sure Stan Lee will pop up at some point, although I didn’t see him in this trailer.

As a bonus, we actually get a peek at Peter’s parents, and I sincerely look forward to seeing that play out onscreen.

 

 

 

 

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Gaming Trailers Videogame Trailers

Game Trailer – Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Videogame Release Date: November 1, 2011
Platform: PlayStation 3
Rating: Targeting a Rating of Teen or Above
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Naughty Dog Software

From IGN.com
Fortune hunter Nathan Drake is catapulted headlong into an adventure that takes him on a daring trek into the heart of the Arabian Desert in a search for the fabled “Atlantis of the Sands. This journey pits him and his mentor Victor Sullivan against the occult treachery of a shadowy clandestine organization and its ruthless leader. When the terrible secrets of this lost city are unearthed, Drake’s quest descends into a desperate bid for survival that strains the limits of his endurance and forces him to confront his deepest fears.

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Movies News

Movie News – Knights of Badassdom

Knights of Badassdom, an independent comedy-fantasy, from director Joe Lynch, will be unveiled at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

After being dumped by his sexy girlfriend Beth, Joe (Kwanten) reluctantly decides to join Eric (Zahn) and his LARPing (Live Action Role Players) friends in the woods rather than stay behind and feel sorry for his newly single status. There he meets hot, ass-kicking, intimidating LARPer Gwen (Glau) and finds himself plunged into a surreal adventure wilder than he ever imagined when a make-believe wizard casts an all-too-real spell from an ancient book. That spell releases an actual demon with a taste for human blood — and souls — that starts systematically decimating the players in this suddenly deadly “game.” Will our guys become the heroes they have been pretending to be before time runs out?

 

How am I only hearing about this now? I don’t care, but I’m excited for it.

The official website for Knights of Badassdom can be found here.

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Gaming Trailers Videogame Trailers

Game Trailer – Lord of the Rings – War in the North

Videogame Release Date: August 24, 2011
Platform: PlayStation 3, XBox 360, Windows Vista / XP
Rating: Rating Pending (Based on the trailer, I would expect T or M)
Publisher: Warner Brothers
Developer: Snowblind

From Amazon:

  • Together, players and their friends will experience an epic, story-based adventure through vast Middle-earth to experience storylines and characters going beyond what has been seen in the feature films and previous games.
  • The Lord of the Rings: War in the North is the first The Lord of the Rings game to embrace realistic combat as Tolkien depicted it, authentically derived from The Lord of the Rings lore and delivering on action RPG principles.
  • Social play is redefined through groundbreaking online, interdependent co-op gameplay which enables three different gamers to play as a complementary group where individual skills enhance the success of each individual and the team as a whole.
  • Players choose from three playable races: Human, Elf or Dwarf. Extensive customization allows for meaningful and rewarding RPG gameplay including established loot and reward systems.
  • Special missions consist of defensive positioning and group raids for up to 3 players, built especially for co-op challenges and not tied to the story.
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Book Reviews Books News Reviews

Spoiler-Free Review of A Dance with Dragons (Tor.com)

Jo Walton over at Tor.com has posted a spoiler-free review of A Dance with Dragons.

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Gaming Videogame Trailers

Game Trailer – Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Wii
Release: Holiday 2011

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Legend of Zelda series of games, a new trailer was released at 2011’s E3 for the greatly anticipated (by me) release of the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The game has “full motion controls enabled by Wii MotionPlusâ„¢ technology.”

Another trailer is viewable at the Nintendo Site.

 

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Gaming Videogame Trailers

Game Trailer – Star Wars: The Old Republic

Release Date: No official date, but speculation about closed beta has led to predictions of a Fall 2011 release.
Platform: PC
Rating: Pending

The long awaited MMORPG from Bioware and Lucas Arts, Star Wars: The Old Republic, had a cinematic intro trailer unveiled at E3. The setting is thousands of years before the appearance of Darth Vader, when the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire divides the galaxy. Similar to City of Heroes/City of Villains, you can choose to be Jedi or Sith.

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Gaming Videogame Trailers

Game Trailer – Alice: Madness Returns

From EA and Spicy Horse, Alice: Madness Returns updates their story of Alice in Wonderland with a twisted and mentally ill Alice, 11 years after the original game, American McGee’s Alice.

Based solely on this trailer the images are dark and disturbing, and this game is definitely not for kids seeking out Disney fun and images. It’s also far more gruesome than Tim Burton’s movie, with blood, gore and violence aplenty. That said, for the appropriate player, the graphics are fantastic and true to the American McGee image of Alice in Wonderland.

Release date: June 14, 2011
Platform: Playstation3, XBox 360 and PC
Rated: Mature