Comic Books, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for December 30, 2020

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

NOV201828    ASCENDANCE OF A BOOKWORM GN VOL 03 PT 1    $14.99
OCT201245    BAD MOTHER #5 (OF 5) (MR)    $3.99
OCT201056    BAD RECEPTION TP    $16.99
JUN201051    BATMAN THREE JOKERS #1 CGC GRADED    $80.00
OCT201119    BETTY & VERONICA SPECTACULAR TP VOL 03    $10.99
OCT201732    BLUE PERIOD GN VOL 02    $12.99
OCT201828    BREASTS ARE MY FAVORITE THINGS IN WORLD GN VOL 03 (MR)    $13.00
OCT201252    CARDINAL DAGON TP VOL 01 (MR)    $12.99
SEP201009    CARMINE #3 (MR)    $3.99
JUL208672    CARMINE #3 CVR B GALINDO    $3.99
OCT201108    CARSON OF VENUS REALM OF DEAD READER PACK    $10.99
NOV201704    CITY GN VOL 10    $12.95
AUG201166    COARAPTOR ONE SHOT #2 KAIJU OF THE WIND    $4.99
APR201796    DF BATMAN #92 PUNCHLINE VAR TYNION SGN    $29.99
NOV201309    DRAGONERO THREAT TO EMPIRE HC GN    $23.99
OCT201651    ENGINEWARD #6 CVR A EISMA    $3.99
OCT201652    ENGINEWARD #6 CVR B HICKMAN    $3.99
NOV201178    ENTITY (1996) #1/2 NIRA X ROYAL BLUE VAR (MR)    $16.99
OCT201068    FEARLESS DAWN RETURN OF OLD NUMBER SEVEN ONE SHOT    $3.99
OCT201892    GAL GOHAN GN VOL 06 (MR)    $12.99
OCT201767    GENTLE NOBLES VACATION RECOMMENDATION GN VOL 02 (RES)    $12.99
OCT201660    HEIST OR HOW TO STEAL A PLANET TP VOL 01    $19.99
OCT200993    HERMANN ONE SHOT    $4.00
OCT201915    HI SCORE GIRL GN VOL 05    $12.99
OCT201468    HOLLYWOOD TRASH #3 (OF 5)    $3.99
NOV201829    I SHALL SURVIVE USING POTIONS GN VOL 02    $14.99
OCT201669    I WALK WITH MONSTERS #2 CVR A CANTIRINO (MR)    $3.99
OCT201670    I WALK WITH MONSTERS #2 CVR B HICKMAN (MR)    $3.99
OCT201504    INVADER ZIM QUARTERLY HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1 CVR A ALEXOVICH    $5.99
OCT201505    INVADER ZIM QUARTERLY HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1 CVR B WUCINICH    $5.99
OCT201580    JOHN CARPENTERS TALES SCIFI VORTEX 2 #7 (OF 8) (MR)    $3.99
OCT201050    KAIJU SCORE #2    $4.99
NOV201477    KATIE THE CATSITTER HC GN    $20.99
NOV201476    KATIE THE CATSITTER SC GN    $12.99
OCT201897    MACHIMAHO MADE WRONG PERSON MAGICAL GIRL GN VOL 07 (MR)    $12.99
OCT200985    MIRKA ANDOLFOS UNSACRED VOL 2 #2 CVR A  ANDOLFO (MR)    $3.99
OCT200986    MIRKA ANDOLFOS UNSACRED VOL 2 #2 CVR B ZHOU (MR)    $3.99
OCT200987    MIRKA ANDOLFOS UNSACRED VOL 2 #2 CVR C CHATZOUDIS (MR)    $3.99
OCT200988    MIRKA ANDOLFOS UNSACRED VOL 2 #2 CVR D BAGNOLI (MR)    $3.99
SEP209324    PHANTOM STARKILLER #1 2ND PTG    $3.99
OCT201688    ROBYN HOOD 2020 ANNUAL WORLDS APART CVR A VITORINO    $7.99
OCT201689    ROBYN HOOD 2020 ANNUAL WORLDS APART CVR B VIGONTE    $7.99
OCT201690    ROBYN HOOD 2020 ANNUAL WORLDS APART CVR C KHAMUNAKI    $7.99
OCT201836    SACRIFICIAL PRINCESS & KING BEASTS GN VOL 12    $13.00
NOV201701    SAIYUKI ORIGINAL SERIES RESURRECTED HC GN VOL 04    $32.99
OCT201058    SYMPATHY FOR NO DEVILS #3    $3.99
OCT201265    TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #125 ALT PATHS BOO CAT (MR)    $3.99
OCT201823    THAT TIME I REINCARNATED SLIME MONSTER NATION GN VOL 03    $13.00
OCT201061    WAR ON TERROR GODKILLERS TP    $16.99
OCT201657    WASTED SPACE #18 (MR)    $3.99
OCT201907    WHITE ROSE IN BLOOM GN VOL 01 (MR)    $12.99
OCT201463    WOLFWALKERS GN    $14.99
OCT201464    WOLFWALKERS HC GN    $24.99
AUG201353    ZAGOR AMERICAN ODYSSEY GN    $14.99
SEP201423    ZATOPEK GN    $22.99
OCT201109    ZORRO CLASSIC REPRINTS READER PACK    $10.99

MAGAZINES

OCT201299    COMIC SHOP NEWS [90CT BUNDLE] #1742    $PI
OCT201452    HORRORHOUND #86    $6.99

BOOKS

OCT201422    101 DALMATIANS LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK REISSUE    $5.99
NOV201830    ARCHDEMONS DILEMMA HOW LOVE ELF BRIDE LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 09    $14.99
OCT201908    BERSERK OF GLUTTONY LIGHT NOVEL VOL 01    $13.99
JUL201350    CYBERPUNK 2077 COMP OFFICIAL GUIDE HC (RES)    $39.99
JUL201349    CYBERPUNK 2077 COMP OFFICIAL GUIDE SC (RES)    $24.99
NOV201471    DC SUPER HEROES BATMAN BOOK CROOKS PICTUREBACK    $5.99
NOV201472    DC SUPER HEROES BATMAN COPYCAT YR SC    $5.99
NOV201473    DC SUPERMAN MY DAD IS SUPERHERO BOARD BOOK HC    $6.99
NOV201474    DC WONDER WOMAN MY MOM IS SUPERHERO BOARD BOOK HC    $6.99
NOV201362    DISNEY ITS A SMALL WORLD LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK    $5.99
JUN201163    DITKO SHRUGGED UNCOMPROMISING LIFE OF THE ARTIST (RES)    $49.99
NOV201876    DRAW FASHIONABLE MANGA GIRLS SC    $12.99
NOV201352    DRAWING WORDS & WRITING PICTURES SC NEW PTG    $36.99
NOV201831    FULL METAL PANIC COLLECTORS ED LIGHT NOVEL HC VOL 4-6    $29.99
NOV201832    INFINITE DENDROGRAM LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 10    $14.99
NOV201363    LOKI LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK    $5.99
OCT201633    MEDIEVALIST COMICS & AMERICAN CENTURY SC    $30.00
AUG201329    MINDVISCOSITY HC MATT FURIE    $39.99
NOV201833    MY NEXT LIFE AS VILLAINESS ROUTES LEAD DOOM SC NOVEL VOL 05    $14.99
NOV201622    PERSPECTIVE FOR COMIC BOOK ARTISTS SC    $22.99
OCT201912    REINCARNATED AS A SWORD LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 07    $13.99
OCT201581    STAR WARS ARCHIVES 1977 1983 TASCHEN 40TH ANNIV ED    $25.00
NOV201365    STAR WARS GALAXY OF HOPE LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK    $5.99
NOV201215    STAR WARS HIGH REPUBLIC HC NOVEL LIGHT OF JEDI (RES)    $28.99
NOV201366    TOM & JERRY MEET LITTLE QUACK LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK    $5.99
NOV201367    WALT DISNEYS 101 DALMATIANS LITTLE GOLDEN BOARD BOOK    $7.99
NOV201475    WONDER WOMAN SAVES THE TREES STEP INTO READING SC    $5.99

DC Comics New Releases from Lunar/UCS Distributors for December 29, 2020

DC COMICS:

Batman Annual #5 (Cover A Derrick Chew), $4.99
Batman Annual #5 (Cover B InHyuk Lee Card Stock Variant), AR
Batman Detective Comics Volume 4 Cold Vengeance TP, $29.99
Batman The Rise And Fall Of The Batmen Omnibus HC, $150.00
Dark Nights Death Metal The Last 52 War Of The Multiverses #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Dan Mora), $8.99
Dark Nights Death Metal The Last 52 War Of The Multiverses #1 (One Shot)(Cover B Gary Frank), AR
Green Lantern By Geoff Johns Volume 4 TP, $39.99
Jinny Hex Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover A Nick Derington), $4.99
Jinny Hex Special #1 (One Shot)(Cover B Nick Derington Jinny Hex Variant), AR
Justice League Endless Winter #2 (Of 2)(Cover A Mikel Janin), $4.99
Justice League Endless Winter #2 (Of 2)(Cover B Daniel Warren Johnson Card Stock Variant), AR
New Teen Titans Volume 12 TP, $19.99
Tales From The Dark Multiverse Dark Nights Metal #1 (Cover A David Marquez), $5.99
Wonder Woman Volume 3 Loveless TP, $17.99
Young Justice Volume 2 Lost In The Multiverse TP, $17.99

Negromancer Book Review: Roald Dahl's THE WITCHES

THE WITCHES
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE/Puffin Books

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Roald Dahl
ILLUSTRATOR: Quentin Blake
ISBN: 978-1-9848-3716-5; hardcover with color dust jacket; 5.31 in x 7.75 in; (September 3, 2019)
224pp, B&W, $17.99 U.S.

Ages 8-12

The Witches is a 1983 children's dark fantasy novel written by the British author, the late Roald Dahl.  The book was published with almost 100 full-page and spot illustrations by Quentin Blake (who illustrated many of Dahl's works).  This review is based on a hardcover edition of The Witches published in September 2019 by Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

The Witches is narrated by an unnamed young British boy who recounts his and and his grandmother's experiences battling a society of child-hating witches.  Some people are familiar with The Witches through two film adaptations, director Nicholas Roeg's 1990 adaptation, which starred Anjelica Huston, and the recently released 2020 film directed by Robert Zemeckis.

The Witches opens in Norway where we meet the story's narrator, an unnamed seven-year-old English boy whose parents were Norwegian immigrants to England.  After his parents are killed in an accident, the boy goes to live in Norway with his grandmother, whom he calls “Grandmamma.”  He has already previously spent much time with her, and he loves all her stories, especially the ones about horrific witches who seek to either kill human children or to transform them into animals.  It turns out that Grandmamma is a retired witch hunter, and she tells the boy how to spot witches.  They all look like ordinary women, but they are actually disguising their deformities,  For instance, they have bald heads, have claws instead of fingers, and do not have toes, to name a few of their deformities.

The boy eventually returns to England with Grandmamma in tow, and while on holiday at the grand Hotel Magnificent in Bournemouth, England, the boy has his second experience with witches.  While hiding in the hotel ballroom, the boy discovers that a meeting of the “Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children” (RSPCC) is really the annual gathering of all the witches in England.  At that meeting, the boy sees something that almost no human has ever seen – the Grand High Witch, leader of all the world's witches.  And nothing can prepare the boy for the Grand High Witch's diabolical plan to get rid of all the human children in England.

THE LOWDOWN:  My experiences with Roald Dahl revolve around his 1964 children's novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the two film adaptations of it, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).  I read the novel once, sometime after the release of the 2005 film, and I have seen both films a few times.

I remember when Nicholas Roeg's film adaptation of The Witches was originally released, and I planned to see it but never did.  I have been putting off seeing the film ever since, but when I heard about Zemeckis' then-upcoming adaptation of The Witches, I chose the book as one of my Christmas 2019 gifts.  After finally reading it, I wish that I had read The Witches a long time ago.  I feel it could have been a formative reading experience for me when I was young.

That aside, it is a fantastic novel.  I am amazed that Dahl could create such evocative and vivid prose in writing for children.  Well, I guess that's why he is beloved by generations.  From the moment he introduces the unnamed boy, Dahl transports readers into another world, one that is fantastical, but one in which the readers will want to believe.

I also love that Dahl makes both the boy and his grandmother, who is 86 in the book, both plucky and adventurous.  The boy is not afraid of new things, and his child's sense of wonder and nosiness makes him not afraid to try new things and to go new places, as well as to try dangerous things and to go to dangerous places.  The boy is one of those classic characters onto which the readers will graft themselves in order to follow him on an incredible and perilous journey.  The witches of The Witches are unique and scary, but are also a little pathetic and funny, which is enough to make them creepy.

The best thing that I can say about Roald Dahl's The Witches is that when I got to the end of its 200 pages, I could have read another 200 pages.  Also Quentin Blake's illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to the novel.  I feel like the world of The Witches as my mind imagines it should look similar to the way Blake presents it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Of course, fans of Roald Dahl should read and re-read The Witches, and fans of great children's literature will want to fight The Witches.

[This volume includes a 16-page from another Roald Dahl book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.]

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://www.roalddahl.com/
https://twitter.com/roald_dahl
https://www.facebook.com/roalddahl
https://www.youtube.com/c/roalddahl
https://www.penguin.com/publishers/puffin/
https://twitter.com/PuffinBooks


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

Movie Review: "Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay" is Way Better Than "Suicide Squad" Live-Action Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 25 of 2020 (No. 1738) by Leroy Douresseaux

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay – video (2018)

Running time:  86 minutes (1 hour, 26 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong bloody violence throughout, sexual content, brief graphic nudity and some drug material

PRODUCER/DIRECTOR:  Sam Liu

WRITER:  Alan Burnett (based on characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics)

EDITOR:  Christopher D. Lozinsk

COMPOSER:  Robert J. Kral

ANIMATION STUDIO:  DR Movie

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/ACTION/FANTASY

Starring:  (voices) Christian Slater, Vanessa Williams, Billy Brown, Liam McIntyre, Tara Strong, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Gideon Emery, C. Thomas Howell, Jim Pirri, Dania Ramirez, Dave Fennoy, Greg Grunberg, Cissy Jones, Julie Nathanson, and James Urbaniak

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay is a 2018 straight-to-video animated superhero film from Warner Bros. Animation.  A part of the “DC Animated Movie Universe,” this film stars the DC Comics antihero super-team, the Suicide Squad.  Hell to Pay finds the squad on a mission to obtain a powerful mystical object that a lot of other powerful people also want.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay opens three years in the past.  Amanda Waller (Vanessa Williams) has dispatched Task Force X, her “Suicide Squad” of super-villains and disgraced superheroes, to retrieve stolen intelligence.  By the end of the mission, Floyd Lawton a.k.a. “Deadshot” (Christian Slater) proves his absolutely loyalty to Waller.

In the present, after learning that she is diagnosed with a terminal illness, Waller reassembles Task Force X with a new roster:  Harley Quinn (Tara Strong), Captain Boomerang (Liam McIntyre), Killer Frost (Kristin Bauer van Straten), Copperhead (Gideon Emery), and Bronze Tiger (Billy Brown), with Deadshot as their leader.  Their mission is to find a man whose current identity is that of “Steel Maxim” (Greg Grunberg), a male stripper/dancer.  By a chance of … fate, Maxim is in possession of a mystical black card with the words, “Get Out of Hell Free,” emblazoned across it.  The card is indeed a magical item that will allow a person who is damned, upon death, to get out of hell free.

Task Force X, however, is not the only party interested in obtaining Maxim's card.  Professor Eobard “Zoom” Thawne, also known as “Reverse Flash” (C. Thomas Howell), and his two cohorts, Silver Banshee (Julie Nathanson) and Blockbuster (Dave Fennoy), have been chasing the card for some time.  Plus, Scandal Savage (Dania Ramirez) and her brawny girlfriend, Knockout (Cissy Jones), have their own specific reasons for wanting the card.  But there is one who seeks the card who is so cunning and so powerful that it may take all the other seekers' powers to stop him from getting it.

I rented Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay from DVD.com (Netflix) because I thought I would enjoy it and because I really enjoyed the Suicide Squad's previous appearance in an animated film, 2014's direct-to-DVD film, Batman: Assault on Arkham.  Turns out that I really enjoyed Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay.

The story, focusing on the quest for the card, is a mere contrivance, but the action, especially the brutal fights and violent battles, makes this movie a joy to watch.  There are some dry patches in this film, but the superhero-fantasy violence and the impudent, rude, murderous, and entertaining characters make up for the times when the film slows down.

Tara Strong is … strong in her voice performance as Harley Quinn.  Billy Brown is all righteousness and pathos as the thoroughly likable Bronze Tiger, and Christian Slater is surprisingly slow and steady as Deadshot.  Slater is successful in making Deadshot the center of this 15-ring circus of crazy super-powered people looking for that magical card.  I hated that live-action Suicide Squad film from 2016, and I find the Suicide Squad comic books that DC Comics has published over the last decade to be a bore.  But I am down with animated Suicide Squad.  The best thing that I can say about Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay is that after it ended, I really wanted more.

8 of 10
A

Wednesday, November 18, 2020


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved.  Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

29 Recordings Make "Grammy Hall of Fame" 2021 Induction Class

GRAMMY HALL OF FAME® WELCOMES RECORDINGS BY A TRIBE CALLED QUEST, BILLIE HOLIDAY, JOURNEY, LINDA RONSTADT, PATTI SMITH, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, USA FOR AFRICA, VILLAGE PEOPLE, AND MORE AS 2021 INDUCTIONS

29 Recordings Added to Iconic Catalog Residing at the GRAMMY Museum®

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Recording Academy® welcomes the 2021 inductees for the distinguished GRAMMY Hall Of Fame®, continuing its ongoing commitment to preserving and celebrating timeless recordings. This year’s additions recognize a diverse range of both single and album recordings at least 25 years old that exhibit qualitative or historical significance. Recordings are reviewed each year by a special member committee comprised of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the recording arts, with final approval by the Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. With 29 new titles, the Hall, now in its 48th year, currently totals 1,142 recordings.

“Each recording has had a significant impact on our culture, and it is an honor to add them to our distinguished catalog.”

"We are proud to announce this year's diverse roster of GRAMMY Hall Of Fame inductees and to recognize recordings that have shaped our industry and inspires music makers of tomorrow," said Harvey Mason jr., Chair and Interim President/CEO of the Recording Academy. "Each recording has had a significant impact on our culture, and it is an honor to add them to our distinguished catalog."

The 2021 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame inductees range from A Tribe Called Quest’s The Low End Theory to Bruce Springsteen's Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.. The list also features Billie Holiday’s “Solitude,” Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," Linda Ronstadt's Canciones De Mi Padre, Patti Smith’s Horses, USA For Africa's "We Are The World," and Village People's "Y.M.C.A." Other inductees include recordings by Beastie Boys, Leonard Bernstein With The Philharmonia Orchestra Of London, The Cars, Elizabeth Cotton, Joe Cocker, Vernon Dalhart, Dr. John, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Isaac Hayes, Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra, Kansas Joe And Memphis Minnie, Kolisch String Quartet, John Mayall With Eric Clapton, Dolly Parton, Pearl Jam, Kenny Rogers, Édouard-Léon Scott De Martinville, Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble, The Cannonball Adderley Quintet, Irma Thomas, and Betty Wright.

Eligible recipients will receive an official certificate from the Recording Academy. For a full list of 2021 recordings inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame, see below or visit here.

For more information about the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame or the 63rd Annual GRAMMY Awards®, which will be broadcast on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on the CBS Television Network, please visit GRAMMY.com.

2021 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Inductees:

"AU CLAIR DE LA LUNE"
Édouard-Léon Scott De Martinville
Single

BLUES BREAKERS
John Mayall With Eric Clapton
Album

CANCIONES DE MI PADRE
Linda Ronstadt
Album

"CLEAN UP WOMAN"
Betty Wright
Single

"COPENHAGEN"
Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra
Single

"DON'T STOP BELIEVIN'"
Journey
Single

"FREIGHT TRAIN"
Elizabeth Cotten
Single

GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK, N.J.
Bruce Springsteen
Album

HORSES
Patti Smith
Album

HOT BUTTERED SOUL
Isaac Hayes
Album

IN THE RIGHT PLACE
Dr. John
Album

LICENSED TO ILL
Beastie Boys
Album

MAD DOGS & ENGLISHMEN
Joe Cocker
Album

MERCY, MERCY, MERCY! LIVE AT "THE CLUB"
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet
Album

RAVEL: PIANO CONCERTO IN G MAJOR
Leonard Bernstein With The Philharmonia Orchestra Of London
Album

SCHOENBERG: THE FOUR STRING QUARTETS
Kolisch String Quartet
Album

SO
Peter Gabriel
Album

"SOLITUDE"
Billie Holiday
Single

TEN
Pearl Jam
Album

TEXAS FLOOD
Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble
Album

THE CARS
The Cars
Album

"THE GAMBLER"
Kenny Rogers
Single

THE LOW END THEORY
A Tribe Called Quest
Album

"TIME IS ON MY SIDE"
Irma Thomas
Single

TRIO
Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris
Album

"WE ARE THE WORLD"
USA For Africa
Single

"WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS"
Kansas Joe And Memphis Minnie
Single

"WRECK OF THE OLD 97"
Vernon Dalhart
Single

"Y.M.C.A."
Village People
Single

ABOUT THE RECORDING ACADEMY:

The Recording Academy represents the voices of performers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and all music professionals. Dedicated to ensuring the recording arts remain a thriving part of our shared cultural heritage, the Academy honors music's history while investing in its future through the GRAMMY Museum, advocates on behalf of music creators, supports music people in times of need through MusiCares®, and celebrates artistic excellence through the GRAMMY Awards — music's only peer-recognized accolade and highest achievement. As the world's leading society of music professionals, we work year-round to foster a more inspiring world for creators.

For more information about the Academy, please visit www.grammy.com. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @RecordingAcad on Twitter, "like" Recording Academy on Facebook, and join the Recording Academy's social communities on Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

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"Greenland" Starring Gerard Butler Available on PVOD Dec. 18th

 

“Greenland” Comes to the United States – On PVOD

Hit Gerard Butler Film to Be Available Beginning December 18, 2020 for $19.99 Rental

DOUGLAS, Isle of Man & BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eros STX Global Corporation (NYSE:ESGC) (“ErosSTX”), a global entertainment company, announced that STXfilms’ Greenland, the hit action film that has opened #1 in theaters in 24 territories around the world, will be available to US audiences on all premium video on-demand platforms (PVOD) beginning December 18, 2020 for a $19.99 48-hour rental. The announcement was made today by Adam Fogelson, chairman, STXfilms Motion Picture Group.

    “Greenland has been a hit everywhere in the world, so it’s exciting to bring it to American audiences on PVOD.”

Greenland, starring Gerard Butler, has performed better than Butler’s hit Angel Has Fallen franchise in most key territories. The film has already taken in over $45 million in revenue for STX on a $35 million production budget, allowing the film and the studio to be profitable despite challenging market conditions. Greenland continues to roll out theatrically in international markets where the film opened #1 this past weekend in Italy and New Zealand.

Said Fogelson, “Greenland has been a hit everywhere in the world, so it’s exciting to bring it to American audiences on PVOD.”

The film will be available on HBO and to stream on HBO Max in 2021 after its transactional home entertainment run.

Starring Gerard Butler, Morena Baccarin, David Denman, Hope Davis, Roger Dale Floyd, Andrew Bachelor, Merrin Dungey, with Holt McCallany, and Scott Glenn, the film is written by Chris Sparling and directed by Ric Roman Waugh. Producers are Basil Iwanyk, Sèbastian Raybaud, Gerard Butler and Alan Siegel.

In Greenland, a family fights for survival as a planet-killing comet races to Earth. John Garrity (Gerard Butler), his estranged wife Allison (Morena Baccarin), and young son Nathan make a perilous journey to their only hope for sanctuary. Amid terrifying news accounts of cities around the world being leveled by the comet’s fragments, the Garritys experience the best and worst in humanity. As the countdown to global apocalypse approaches zero, their incredible trek culminates in a desperate and last-minute flight to a possible safe haven.

Eros STX Global Corporation:

Eros STX Global Corporation, (“ErosSTX” or “The Company”) (NYSE: ESGC) is a global entertainment company that acquires, co-produces and distributes films, digital content & music across multiple formats such as theatrical, television and OTT digital media streaming to consumers around the world. Eros International Plc changed its name to Eros STX Global Corporation pursuant to the July 2020 merger with STX Entertainment, merging two international media and entertainment groups. The combination of one of the largest Indian OTT players and premier studio with one of Hollywood’s fastest-growing independent media companies has created an entertainment powerhouse with a presence in over 150 countries. ErosSTX delivers star-driven premium feature film and episodic content across a multitude of platforms at the intersection of the world's most dynamic and fastest-growing global markets, including US, India, Middle East, Asia and China. The Company also owns the rapidly growing OTT platform Eros Now which has rights to over 12,000 films across Hindi and regional languages and had 205.8 million registered users and 33.8 million paying subscribers as of June 30th, 2020. For further information, please visit ErosSTX.com.

STXfilms, a division of Eros STX Global Corporation, is a next-generation film studio that produces, acquires, distributes, and markets motion pictures at scale. From blockbusters like Hustlers, Bad Moms, and The Upside to hits like The Gentlemen, Molly’s Game, and The Gift, STXfilms produces star-driven films for a global audience. In just 5 short years, its slate of films has already grossed over $1.8b in global theatrical box office. With a wide range of partners including Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Showtime (which handle the physical and premium television releases of STXfilms content, respectively), the studio is a fast-growing, industry powerhouse.

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Negromancer Book Review: "TWILIGHT" Novel a Delight

TWILIGHT (The Twilight Series Book One)
LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY

AUTHOR: Stephenie Meyer
ISBN: 978-0-316-16017-9; hardcover (October 5, 2005)
544pp, B&W, $22.99 U.S., $28.99 CAN

Twilight is a 2005 young adult novel written by Stephenie Meyer.  A vampire romance, Twilight focuses on a 17-year-old girl who falls in love with a 103-year-old vampire who looks like a 17-year-old boy.  Twilight is the first in the four-book “Twilight series.”  It was also adapted into the hit 2008 film, Twilight, which became the first entry in a five-film franchise.

When Isabella “Bella” Swan moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, a small town in the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington state, she thinks that her life will be miserable until she graduates from high school.  Forks is not unfamiliar to Bella, as she was born there.  After her parents divorced and she followed her mother, Renée, to Phoenix, Bella often returned to Forks to spend summers with her father, Police Chief Charlie Swan.  Now, however, because of her mother’s new marriage, Bella is moving in with her father full time.

Adjusting to her new school is not as much as a problem as Bella thought.  In fact, the very things that made her unpopular in sunny Phoenix, makes her attractive to the high school kids in this remote rural area.  Bella makes, or rather tolerates friends, but then she sees him, Edward Cullen.  This pale-skinned Adonis, so beautiful and graceful that he seems supernatural, captures Bella’s attention and imagination.  She can’t stop thinking about him, but he’s distant, even hostile towards her.  Then, Edward saves Bella’s life in an act of bravery that is as shocking as it is impossible.  What is Edward Cullen, and why does he make Bella feel so madly in love and out of sorts that she can’t seem to live without him?

THE LOWDOWN:  Since its debut in October 2005, Twilight, the young adult (YA), fantasy, romance novel by author Stephenie Meyer, has been a favorite with teen female readers.  Twilight spawned three follow ups (with the four books forming The Twilight Saga) and recently became a hit movie.  I am of the mind that novels that are hugely popular and that also spawn a devoted following or fan base might actually be quite good, although many pop novels are really trash.  Twilight, however, is a damn good read.

The books strength comes from two strong elements:  strong characters (especially the leads) and a deeply seductive romance.  Bella and Edward are strong individual characters, but as a pair, they are magic.

Bella comes across as a modern goth-type girl, more stubborn and individualistic than sullen, but she has a romantic’s heart and a generous spirit.  She doesn’t dislike people so much as she prefers her solitude.  Simply put, Edward is chivalrous.  Loyal and brave, his protective way towards Bella may seem odd in this era of the independent woman.  On the other hand, it is also easy to see why young women would be attracted to the character of Edward, especially in an era in which young men consider loutish, self-centered behavior to be cool.

How does an author bring the girl who loves solitude and the boy who seems to be a gentlemanly hero from a 19th century romance novel together?  This is where the seductive nature of Meyer’s writing comes into play.  Meyer builds so much of the text on dialogue, and all that talk gives the novel such warm colors.  Even in the cold and damp setting of the evergreen forests of Washington, the way Meyer has Bella and Edward talk to each other brings a heat to the story that the reader feels.  In his own way, Edward seduces Bella, and in turn, Bella seduces him in her own way.  Their verbal play is searing, and although their conversations run for pages on end, it’s attractive the way real conversation was in the movies, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.

The majority of the last act becomes a twister of suspense running on the razor’s edge.  Still, the thrills exist in the context of this dangerous, but alluring romance that will have readers flipping pages.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers who enjoy a well-written romantic novels, even a supernatural romance, will like Twilight.

A-
7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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