Alex J. Cavanaugh's Blog, page 20

CassaStar on Sale, RiffTrax, Reviews, Oscar Nominations, February Movie Preview, and Music Review

CassaStar on Sale!
For the next two weeks, my publisher is running promotions for CassaStar and has dropped the price to .99.

To pilot the fleet’s finest ship…

“…calls to mind the youthful focus of Robert Heinlein’s early military sf, as well as the excitement of space opera epitomized by the many Star Wars novels. Fast-paced military action and a youthful protagonist make this a good choice for both young adult and adult fans of space wars.” - Library Journal

You can download it here: Amazon,...

X-Files and Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, #IWSGPit, Upcoming 2018 Films, Joe Satriani’s Latest, and Ninja News

X-Files and Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams Reviews
X-Files
The new season kicked off with a big What The…???? The last season ended with Mulder dying and Scully on a bridge looking up at an alien ship and the new season opens up with (spoiler!!!!) it was all just a dream?
The first episode was a misfire all the way around. Plus the urgency of that episode is forgotten in the following episodes.
My wife and I decided to pretend that first one never happened.
The next two episodes were excellen...

#IWSGPit and The Write Life! Flaming Crimes Story, Tick Tock Cover, Movie Controversy, Threshold Review, and Ninja News

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group made The Write Life’s 100 Best Websites for Writers again this year!
Thanks to all of you for supporting and participating. We wouldn’t exist without you.

The IWSG Twitter Pitch Party is this Thursday!
We have hundreds of agents and publishers invited.
The first event last summer comprised of about 2300 Tweets and was a Trending Topic that day.
Check out the site for genres and hashtags.
Then send out your Twitter book pitch with the hashtag #IWSGPit this T...

RiffTrax London, Disappointing Films of 2017, King Arthur and Pirates V Reviews, and Ninja News

RiffTrax Goes to London!
Those of you in the UK are in for a treat! For the first time ever, RiffTrax: Live is broadcasting live from the Prince Charles Cinema in London on February 15. And you don’t get just one movie – you get two: Plan 9 From Outer Space and Samurai Cop. It’s one night only, so don’t miss it.

If you’re not in the UK but you’re up for some winter fun, check out Jack Frost.
A truck carrying a vicious serial killer crashes into a truck carrying some non-specific chemicals, and...

Insecure Writer’s Support Group and Anthology Contest Winners! Plus Best Movies of 2017, Flaming Crimes Blogfest, and Mummy Movie Review

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

Today’s optional question - What steps have you taken or plan to take to put a schedul...

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review, Psych: The Movie, Alita: Battle Angel Trailer, Christmas Music, Mini-Alex, and Ninja News

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review
Just amazing!
I’m still trying to digest everything I saw. At two and a half hours, they pack in a lot.
All of the action sequences are amazing. There are so many that would be the grand finale in most films.
This movie had a lot of surprises. There were directions they could’ve gone but didn’t, and I appreciated that. There were also some reveals and yet more mysteries layered into the mix.v Everyone is great in their role. (It is bittersweet to see Carri...

Insecure Writer’s Support Group, Movie Review – Coco, WEP and New Releases, and Mini-Alex!

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

My awesome co-hosts today are Julie Flanders, Shannon Lawrence, Fundy Blue, and Heathe...

Justice League Movie Review, Great Geek Gifts, December Movie Preview, and IWSG News!

I’m back! Hope those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving had a good time with family.

Justice League Movie Review
No idea what film the critics saw. The disparity between critical reviews and movie goers is around fifty percent, which is very suspect. My wife thinks Disney paid off the critics so they’d bash this DC film.
I thought it was great!
Justice League really captures the feel of a comic book. Whereas Marvel films feel like big budget productions, this feels like it was ripped from the p...

Remakes Blogfest, Murder on the Orient Express Review, Justice League, and New Releases

Movie Review
Murder on the Orient Express

Based on the novel by Agatha Cristie, Inspector Hercule Poirot must solve a murder on a luxury train.
The cast is outstanding. Kenneth Branagh stars and directs, handling both roles with ease. Also on board are Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penélope Cruz, Daisy Ridley, and many more. Everyone looks like they enjoyed slipping into their roles.
The cinematography is amazing. The train zipping through the snowy mountains – wow. Pl...

Thor: Ragnarok Review, Stranger Things 2 Review, Justice League, SciFi Month, IWSG, and Remakes Blogfest

Movie Review – Thor: Ragnarok
Hela, Goddess of Death and Thor’s sister, returns to Asgard to reclaim the throne and Thor must return in time to stop her.
The story rocks from beginning to end. It’s just a ton of fun.
And this is without a doubt the funniest Marvel movie yet! Yes, probably even funnier than the first Guardians. Every character has his lines and while the moment was hilarious, it was never silly. Korg (voiced by the director himself) was the funniest, especially the way he deliv...