Alex J. Cavanaugh's Blog, page 25

Arrival and Big Short Movie Reviews, In Flames - Battles, New Releases, and Seven Years of Blogging

Arrival Movie Review
Prepare for your mind to be blown.
Twelve alien vessels appear across the planet and Amy Adams is the linguist recruited to translate.
This is a science fiction drama – and one for your brain.
The story seems straightforward enough. In fact, you might start to wonder where the genius kicks in as the movie reveals plot points while revealing nothing.
The cast is excellent. A few minor characters, but it really focuses on the three leads. It’s probably Adams’ best role, whil...

Doctor Strange, RiffTrax: Live – Carnival of Souls, Timeless Good Clean Fun, and Ninja News

Doctor Strange Review
Another great entry in the Marvel universe!
It’s an origins film and fairly straightforward. But they stick to the source material, which I appreciated.
Yes, the graphics are amazing. It’s stunning how the rooms, buildings, and entire cities fold in on themselves. I believe over three hundred digital graphic artists were credited at the end.
The cast is perfect. Cumberbatch brings humor to the lead even as he remains self-focused and a little cocky – but the character is no...

Insecure Writer’s Support Group! November Movie Preview, CassaSeries Giveaway, Movie Trivia Answers, and Ninja News

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 Joylene Novell Butler,Jen Chandler, Mary Aalgaard, Lisa...

Cling to Faith, RiffTrax: Live, Guardians II Trailer, Movie Trivia, and Ninja News

Unique twist today - Lynda R. Young, author and IWSG Admin, is celebrating the release of her book, Cling to God. Only instead of interviewing her, she is interviewing me…

When and how did you first become a Christian?
I didn’t become a Christian until I was an adult. I always knew something was missing from my life. Then a friend invited me to church and not long after, my life changed forever.

You write awesome scifi. How has being a Christian shaped your stories?

There are things I could n...

RiffTrax on Amazon, The Accountant Review, Devin Townsend Project, Movie Trivia and Answers, and Ninja News

I was to feature a guest today, but it fell through. And that’s all right. I recently told Truedessa that I wanted to scale back. Less promoting and more about what I want to share. I want to share more amazing speculative fiction stuff. More cool movies, more prog rock, more geek happenings and items. And certainly I want to share news of the IWSG and my books and writing. The posts will still be packed, but it will be with geeky goodness!
RiffTrax Now on Amazon Prime!
My wife discovered tha...

Steampunk, Dragons, and Werewolves! Plus Deepwater Horizon Review, Movie Trivia, and Ninja News

Today at the IWSG site we have an amazing special guest – award winning author, K.M. Weiland! She’s offering some great words of wisdom, so please stop by.
We managed to ride out Hurricane Matthew without any damage and only brief loss of power, but our state was hit hard. Several counties (including ours) received fifteen inches of rain on Saturday and there have been many flood-related deaths. With rivers still rising and dams threatening to burst, not to mention so many without power, we'r...

Insecure Writer’s Support Group, CassaDawn, The Dungeon at Annaberg, Luke Cage Review, Question of the Month, and Ninja News – Opportunities and Releases

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 Beverly Stowe McClure, Megan Morgan, Viola Fury, Madelin...

CassaStorm Audio, The Magnificent Seven Review, October Movie Preview, Monday’s Music, The Witch Review, and New Releases

CassaStorm on Audio!
We saved the best for last! Not only is CassaStorm the best of the three books, the narrator did an incredible job bringing so many characters to life. He did a great job with Bassan and Pitan’s voice, and he nailed it with Cherzta, leader of the Vindicarn, giving him the perfect level of nastiness. (And if you want to know what it’s like to listen to this series on audio, Mason Canyon reviewed the first two books last week.) This one amazed me. I still can’t believe I wr...

Writing About Morocco, The Wave Movie Review, Movie News, and Ninja News

Today I welcome Sean McLachlan. His book participated in the Kindle Scout campaign and was selected for publication by Kindle Press! The Last Hotel Room comes out on Tuesday, September 20.

Writing in (and about) Morocco by Sean McLachlan
Hello!
Alex asked me to stop by and chat about my career in the Middle East. I’ve been going to that region for 26 years, first as an archaeologist and later as a writer. One of my regular haunts is Tangier, Morocco.
That’s the scene for my latest novel, The L...

Fifty Years of Star Trek, Underworld Blood Wars Trailer, IWSG Updates, New Releases, and CassFire Audio Book Winners

Fifty Years of Star Trek
On September 8, 1966, the first Star Trek show debuted. And life has never been the same.

Wikipedia had an entire page dedicated to the influence of Star Trek, stating Star Trek is one of the most culturally-influential television shows, and is often regarded as the most influential science fiction TV series in history. Many astronauts claim Trek influenced their career decision and George Lucas has stated that Trek was a big factor in the creation of Star Wars.

While...