The Day I Went To ComiCon (and ALMOST met Sean Astin!)

So... What is a geekblog without even ONE ComiCon post? Yes, we are but poor, penniless writers—but seriously! 

I had the opportunity to change that the day I went to my city's local con, Rose City ComiCon. A friend of mine had an extra ticket; how could I refuse?

First of all, I was late. Like, as in I missed Wil Wheaton's panel by no more than half an hour. But I was dressed as Captain Malcom Reynolds, so I made it my goal to enjoy myself anyway.

Behold.... Ironman Totoro!

I had parked about half a mile away, but if I was worried about being lost, I started to see streams of cosplayers and knew I was headed the right direction. (I even saw a Kaylee and a Jayne... But on the other side of a four-lane street, so they were too far away to wave or salute or otherwise acknowledge... *sighhhh* )

The guys at this booth actually BUILT working models of Star Wars' most famous mech-droid!
They moved around and bleeped and everything! It was awesome!

We spent about an hour people-watching. For only a small Con, there were a LOT of very legit costumes, though! The funnest part was seeing groups in coordinating costumes, like the Weeping Angel, Clockwork person (from "Girl in the Fireplace") and Cyber(wo)man (she'd made it a dress... But she had the handles!)... There were a lot of Ghostbusters...

GUYS!! IT'S A DELOREAN!! They also had the 60's-era Batmobile
(and later on a TARDIS you could pose in, but I missed that one....)

At least 2 Castiels (complete with little black wings!), a whole family where the dad was Boba Fett, the mom was Leia, and the three little kids were a scout trooper and two Jawas... Another family where the kids dressed as a Dalek, a Headless Monk, and a TARDIS... One VERY realistic Star-Lord... A few muppets (Animal and Beaker, complete with big, furry masks)... Princess Ariel, the Joker, a few Army fatigues I recognized from Stargate... One LEGIT comic-book Black Cat (complete with the white fur on her boots!)... A bunch of Hobbits and one very convincing Thranduil (except it was a girl)... And about half the crew from Spaceballs...

Took this pic because of Star-Lord (at roughly center-frame),
but I can also see: Kick-Ass and Hit Girl,
Chuckie, Carmen San Diego... who else can you see in this photo?

There was also a bunch of NEAT merchandise and whatnot around the main exhibit hall... but alas, not one of my pictures of anything turned out as more than a colored blur...

As luck would have it, the same time as Sasha Roiz (Captain Renard from "Grimm") was signing autographs, Nick Brendon (Xander from "Buffy") was hosting a panel. I followed my friend's advice of "Panels are always better than standing in line for thirty seconds of conversation!" so I completely missed shaking hands with the guy from my favorite TV show to watch a discussion over a show I enjoyed, but didn't even finish. (Nick's voice sounds exactly the same as it did fifteen years ago, by the way)

That would be Nick Brendon (Xander) and Claire Kramer (Glory); SO fun!

After Nick Brendon was Sean Astin. Oh man, was that ever fun! Not only was I able to get seats in the front section for my friend and I, but partway through the panel, Joe Pantoliano (he played one of the Fratelli brothers, the villains on Goonies) came out, and we got the rare treat of listening to two fantastic actors just jawing about memories from the set that didn't necessarily make it onto any BtS features! I feel sorry for everyone waiting to ask questions (one poor kid was standing at the mic for about half an hour waiting to ask his question while Sean and Joe went on and on!)

Reminiscing about the time Spielberg shipped the Goonies
to Hawaii just to prank director Richard Donner!

Because I was having so much fun listening, I never actually got up, myself... But I wanted to! I know just what I would have said:

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Sean, I was really excited to come to Rose City ComiCon, and I will admit that out of your Big Three (Goonies, Rudy, and LOTR) Rudy was the first film I saw, and Goonies was the last. (And actually, Toy Soldiers I saw even more recently than that!)

My question is concerning your brief but spectacular appearance on the tragically short-lived show Alphas, and I wanted to know—after gaining a reputation in all these blockbusters for the "Average Joe" roles, how different was it to be invited onto a relatively small show where your character is actually one with a really neat super-power?

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(*Note: I don't have Twitter, but if anybody wanted to tweet Sean the question and comment with his answer, I would be totally ecstatic! I know the whole thing is probably longer than 140 characters, but the question is the main thing... )

We both had to leave pretty much right after that. My phone was practically dead (and of course I left the cord in the car, hence very few pictures) and I ended up deleting quite a few of the ones I took because apparently I need to improve my point-and-shoot skills with my iPhone (I swear, all you see here were the clearest pictures I had!), I had sore feet all the next day, but it was TOTALLY worth it, and I certainly hope to do it again next year! (Maybe with a whole group of friends!)

My "Captain Mal" Cosplay! (also known as "She-Mal")

Till Next Year...

Film Review: X-Men Days of Future Past

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet seen this film, please go and do so before proceeding.

        I learned two things from this. One, X-Men: The Last Stand would have been awesome if Bryan Singer had directed it and two, JFK was assassinated because he was a mutant. Also Jennifer Lawrence is awesome. But we already knew that. Oh. And Quicksilver is all manner of hot and sure to gain a small (or not so small) fandom following all of his own....just sayin'.

      The casting in this film was done really well, even if young!Professor X reminds me of what I always imagined young!Sirius Black to look like. And while we're on the subject of younger versions of him, I swear that really!young!Xavier is the kid from the Doctor Who A Christmas Carol special! But seriously, the casting is just perfect. From Quicksilver to Trask, everyone just feels perfect in the roles they have been cast in.

         I love Quicksilver and the trick he pulls on the security footage. Very classy. I also appreciate that he notices just how gross the concept of Wolverine's claws really is. The way he broke Magento out was also very interesting. Use of 'Time In A Bottle' during the Quicksilver vs. Pentagon Security fight scene made me laugh SO hard! It really was a priceless touch and the slow-motion used to give us his POV was also very interesting.

              I liked the way they really delved into how awful it actually would be for Professor X with his telepathy, hearing all of the hurting voices in the world screaming at him inside his head. I also laughed a bit whenever Wolverine said about his head being already screwed up. What I really loved, though, was the talk between old and young Xavier. This scene could have been clichéd and cheesy...but it just worked so well! A real testament to the actors and director, I think. Also of the mutant powers were showcased really well in this film, but a special shout-out should go to Magneto and the way he tries to steal the sentinels.

         There was a Star Trek reference in there with Beast's den. The conversation about time streams and the butterfly effect was also interesting and got the Doctor Who wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey fan in me squeeing.

      This film's pacing was just perfect. Right from the beginning it tore out of the starting gate and slammed on forward with an unrelenting pace. Yet it never feels overstuffed or cluttered and it does take time to breath and get the emotional weight of everything across. In my humble opinion, this is the best X-Men film yet. Better than one, better than two, and certainly realms ahead of three! It's better than any of them. I was actually moved to near tears at a couple of points during the experience. The emotions are there, the characters are wonderful, and the story is one of hope. X-Men Days of Future Past is a SOLID 5/5!


What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?