Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Sale from U.N.C.L.E.

A number of Borders Books stores are "restructuring", dropping backlist material and carrying only new (last year) material and bestsellers.
The stores who are converting to that format are selling all non-bestseller / new release cds and dvds at 50% off, but they're not promoting this fact, except on in-store signage!
While doing errands, I wandered into one such store and, upon seeing the sale signs, immediately headed for the media section, hoping to find TorchWood or Dr Who dvd box sets (They're the only series I haven't been able to find at reasonable discounts) or old radio show cd sets.
I didn't find any of the above, but what I did find was......a sealed Complete Man from U.N.C.L.E. 41-dvd box set, originally $249 from Time-Life Video, released to stores at $199, and on sale for only...$99 (plus tax)!
It now sits on one of my media library shelves next to my James Bond, Flint and Prisoner box sets. ;-)

You might want to check out Borders near you for similar sales...

Friday, March 13, 2009

Fantastic Femmes--Brooke Adams

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!
Not the WWE Diva, this Brooke began as a child actor on tv and rapidly moved into feature films.
While she's done big-budget dramas like Days of Heaven, most of her work has been in genre, particuarly in horror.

Trivia: Brooke turned down a role as one of the original Charlie's Angels!
She's married to Monk's Tony Shalhoub, and made several appearances on Monk as different characters!

Genre appearances include...
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit "PTSD"
Touched by an Angel "An Unexpected Snow"
The Last Hit (Anna)
Stephen King's Sometimes They Come Back (Sally Norman)
The UnBorn (Virginia Marshall)
The Dead Zone [1983] (Sarah Bracknell)
Moonlighting (Terri Knowles)
The Stuff (Commercial Actress)
Nero Wolfe [1979] (Sarah Dacos)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers [1978] (Elizabeth Driscoll)
Shock Waves aka Death Corps (Rose)
Police Woman "Angela"
Song of the Succubus (Olive Deems / Gloria Chambers)
Who is the Black Dahlia? (Diane Fowler)
Edgar Allan Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue (Nurse)

Regrettably, I couldn't find any websites dedicated to her... ;-(
Other actresses to play Sarah Bracknell Bannerman include...
Nicole de Boer in The Dead Zone [2002-07]

Other actresses to play Elizabeth Driscoll include...
Dana Wynter in Invasion of the Body Snatchers [1953]

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Fantastic Femmes--Maggie Q

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!
An American who went to Japan and then to Hong Kong to became a supermodel, Maggie Quigley caught the eyes of HK movie producers who cast her despite the fact that she didn't speak any Chinese at the time! (She's since learned both Cantonese and Mandarin.)
She still models, but films are now her priority.
Most of her film roles are action-oriented, but she's also performed in romances and comedies.
Maggie is a spokesperson for PETA in Asia.
Genre appearances include...
King of Fighters (Vice)
Rouge's Gallery (High Priestess)
Need for Speed: Undercover [VG] (Chase Linh)
Deception (Tina)
Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (Cao Ying)
Balls of Fury (Maggie)
Live Free or Die Hard (Mai)
Mission: Impossible III (Zhen)
Dragon Heat aka Dragon Squad (Yuet)
Around the World in 80 Days [2004] (Female Agent)
Naked Weapon (Charlene Ching)
Rush Hour 2 (Girl in Car)
Manhattan Midnight (Susan & Hope [twin sisters])
Gen-Y Cops (Jane Quigley)
Model from Hell (Anna)

Check out...
the FanSite aMazingly uniQue
The Maggie Q Information Resource, another FanSite
PETA Asia's Maggie Q Page

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Atomic Kommie Comics' Goodies for YOUR Easter Basket!

Back in the 1940s and 50s, comic book companies produced a prodigious number of holiday annuals and one-shots.
For example, a multitude of Christmas-themed comic books flooded America's magazine racks every November and December!
(In fact, a large part of our popular Cool Christmas collection is based on them.)
But, did you know that several publishers also did Easter-oriented books?
And, that noted comics illustrators including Walt Kelly (Pogo) contributed art to them?
Believing that there's always room for more classic comics collectibles, we at Atomic Kommie Comics™ added a new line of goodies to our Happy Holidays section entitled Exciting Easter!
Yes, it's eggs, bunnies, chicks, and other fuzzy animals galore digitally-restored and remastered from Baby Boomer-era classic comics covers on baby bibs, infant creepers / onesies, toddler and kid t-shirts, greeting cards, mugs, and a plethora of kool kollectibles!
They make great Easter basket stuffers! (And they won't rot your kids' teeth like marshmallow chicks or chocolate bunnies!)
So click over and see what's in our basket!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Fantastic Femmes--Rosario Dawson

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!
Rosario Dawson straddles the line between being a fanboy dream goddess and being a fangirl herself with surprising ease. (And, no, I'm not going to make any obvious jokes...)
Why do we say she's a "fangirl"? Besides being a hardcore Trekker and comic book fan, Rosario is also the creator /co-writer of the comic book Occult Crimes TaskForce (the lead character Sophia Ortiz is illustrated in her image).
As for being a "fanboy dream goddess"...if you've seen Sin City, GrindHouse, or even Adventures of Pluto Nash (She and Pam Grier are the ONLY reasons to bother with that turkey!) you wouldn't be wondering about the designation...
Rosario is one of the more civic-minded performers in show-biz, devoting her time and her name to a wide variety of causes including voter registration, gay rights, preventing domestic violence, and conservation. Very cool!
Trivia:
She co-starred with Tracie Thoms twice, in Rent (where she & Tracie were the only lead performers not from the Broadway version) and GrindHouse presents: Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof / GrindHouse "Death Proof".
Rosario performs her own singing in every film her on-screen persona sings in (Rent, Josie & the Pussycats, and Adventures of Pluto Nash) and she's on the soundtrack albums of all of them!

Genre appearances include...
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief (Persephone)
Haunted World of El SuperBeasto (Velvet Von Black)
Wonder Woman [2009] (Artemis)
KillShot (Donna)
Gemini Division [webisodes] (Anna Diaz, producer)
Eagle Eye (Zoe Perez)
Grindhouse Presents: Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof / Grind House "Death Proof" (Abernathy)
Clerks II (Becky)
Devil's Rejects [edited from film, scenes on DVD version] (Nurse Marcia)
Sin City (Gail)
RunDown (Mariana)
Adventures of Pluto Nash (Dina Lake / performer: "It's Alright")
Men in Black II (Laura Vasquez)
Josie & the Pussycats (Valerie Brown / performer on all "Pussycats" songs)

Check out...
Rosario's Official WebSite
Sassy: THE fan source for Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson Shrine
Valerie Brown has also been played by Patrice Holloway (singing) & Barbara Pariot (acting) in Josie & the Pussycats / Josie & the Pussycats in Outer Space

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Fantastic Femmes--Jill Schoelen

One of the best (and cutest) of the teen scream queens of the early direct-to-video days (1985-95), appearing in films starring (or directed by) Wes Craven, Keanu Reeves, Robert Englund, and LOST's Terry O'Quinn!
Sadly, now retired from acting. Her last appearance was in 2004.
Trivia: Dated both Keanu Reeves and Brad Pitt after co-starring with them in films, and was engaged, briefly, to Brad Pitt!
Genre appearances include...
When a Stranger Calls Back (Julia Jenz)
Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera [1993] (Christine Day)
Adventures in Spying (Julie Converse)
Popcorn (Maggie)
Curse II: the Bite (Lisa Snipes)
The Stepfather (Stephanie Maine)
Wes Craven's Chiller (Stacey)
Babes in Toyland [1986] (Mary Contrary)
Check out...
The UNofficial Jill Schoelen Site
The Moviezzz Blog: Whatever Happened to...Jill Schoelen?
 Other actresses to play Christine Daae / Christine Day / Christine DuBois / Christine Charles include...
Emmy Rossum in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera
Asia Argento in Dario Argento's The Phantom of the Opera
Elizabeth Walsh in Phantom of the Opera [1991]
Teri Polo in Phantom of the Opera [1990]
Heather Sears in Phantom of the Opera [1962]
Susanna Foster in Phantom of the Opera [1943]
Mary Philbin in Phantom of the Opera [1925]
Aud Edege Nissen in Phantom of the Opera [1916]
Note: there are several versions of Phantom in which the female lead is not named Christine.
Other actresses to play Mary (Quite) Contrary include...
Annette Funicello in Babes in Toyland [1961]
Marie Wilson in Babes in Toyland [1934]