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David O. Selznick’s marvelous romantic fantasy ode to Jennifer Jones was almost wholly unappreciated back in 1948. It’s one of those peculiar pictures that either melts one’s heart or doesn’t. Backed by a music score adapted from Debussy, just one breathy “Oh Eben . . . “ will turn average romantics into mush.

Portrait of Jennie

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1948 / B&W w/ Color Insert / 1:37 flat Academy / 86 min. / Street Date October 24, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten, Ethel Barrymore, Lillian Gish, Cecil Kellaway, David Wayne, Albert Sharpe.

Cinematography: Joseph H. August

Production Designers: J. MacMillan Johnson, Joseph B. Platt

Original Music: Dimitri Tiomkin, also adapting themes from Claude Debussy; Bernard Herrmann

Written by Leonardo Bercovici, Peter Berneis, Paul Osborn, from the novella by Robert Nathan

Produced by David O. Selznick

Directed by William Dieterle

Once upon a time David O. Selznick’s Portrait of Jennie was an...

Some of the greatest soap drama comes from tragic heroes.

These characters have been so damaged by painful life experiences that they feel worthless and get in their own way, sometimes with tragic consequences.

That kind of drama is what drew me to Jj and to Nicole, two characters who have since been completely rewritten to lose both their zest for life and their heartbreaking self-esteem problems.

It also made Jack and Jennifer's relationship interesting back in the day, because the conflict primarily came from Jack's overwhelming sense of guilt and fear.

And it could make Eric an interesting character now, if only Days of Our Lives would put an original spin on it and not just try to copy what Jack and Jennifer had.

Eric certainly has reason to feel guilty. He has to live with the fact that he got drunk and killed his best friend in a car accident about 18 months ago,...

Salem weddings used to be lavish affairs.

After months or years of serious problems that were conquered by true love, a couple would throw together a romantic wedding in a ridiculously short period of time.

Weddings were the ultimate romantic fantasy and viewers were excited about them even though they knew that there was no happily ever after because the characters would have new problems to deal with and obstacles to overcome, maybe even at the wedding itself.

Times have changed and budgets become smaller, but instead of the fairy tale wedding, Days of Our Lives offered a blink-and-you-miss-it wedding for Steve and Kayla in which they seemed more like guests in someone else's story.

Steve and Kayla's wedding was mostly a backdrop for the story of Hope's return from Eric's cabin.

Before the wedding even started, Shane, Steve and Rafe were celebrating Hope's freedom.

Shane: Oh boy, I tell you,...

For over 30 years, Stefano Dimera tormented Bradys and Hortons, played opera music between implementing diabolical plots, and obsessed over his "Queen of the Night" Marlena Evans.

He was suave, sophisticated, and evil, and fans adored him.

That's why there was so much excitement over the fact that actor Joe Mascolo had taped one last set of scenes prior to his death.

And it's why so many viewers feel like the show stabbed them in the back with the Friday reveal that Stefano hadn't escaped or even been locked up and that two more fan favorites could be added to the list of corrupt cops helping to cover up Hope's involvement in Stefano's murder.

This Prague storyline has been a waste of air time from the very beginning. For the past few weeks, we've had dubious Stefano sightings, top cops arguing about whether or not to stop for ice cream, and...

Nicole Walker has been one of my favorite characters since she tried being a church secretary for Eric.

The Nicole I knew then was smart, confident, and willing to be devious for a good cause.

She loved Eric but wasn't afraid to stand up to him when he left her in limbo because the church wouldn't sanction their marriage.

She kept Jj's secret about the night Theresa overdosed but expressed her concerns to Daniel.

She ignored Daniel's attempt to protect her and helped fight off a drug dealer he'd decided to confront, then blackmailed the dealer into leaving town.

That Nicole is long gone, and instead we have this weak woman who loves Deimos for no apparent reason and is willing to beg both him and Brady for permission to visit Chloe in the hospital.

Nicole's character has been on a downward trajectory for a couple of years. After she...

The Christmas episodes used to be the best part of Days of Our Lives.

Every year, friends and family would gather at the Horton house to celebrate being together, hang ornaments with their name on them on the tree, and wish viewers a Merry Christmas.

Christmas was supposed to be a time for joy, love and miracles, and was often a break from the heartbreaking drama the Hortons, Bradys and other core characters suffered throughout the year.

But not this year. Salem's Christmas was minimal and depressing, with the annual ornament hanging taking up a little screen time as possible and almost nobody having any Christmas spirit.

At the beginning of the week, Jj seemed to be one of the few people who was genuinely excited about Christmas. He got a tree for his mom and groveled on the phone in order to get Gabi an ornament with her name on it.

Ray Harryhausen eases up for his second color Dynamation feature, restricting the stop-motion and instead utilizing traveling mattes to make a more juvenile adventure movie for smaller kiddies. The big draw is the beautiful music score by fantasy favorite Bernard Herrmann.

The 3 Worlds of Gulliver

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1960 / Color / 1:66 & 1:78 widescreen / 99 min. / Street Date December 13, 2016 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95

Starring Kerwin Matthews, Jo Morrow, June Thorburn, Sherry Alberoni, Lee Patterson, Gregoire Aslan, Basil Sydney, Peter Bull, Charles Lloyd Pack, Martin Benson, Alec Mango, Doris Lloyd, Joan Hickson, Noel Purcell.

Cinematography Wilkie Cooper

Original Music Bernard Herrmann

Creator of Special Visual Effects Ray Harryhausen

Written by Arthur Ross, Jack Sher based on the book by Jonathan Swift

Produced by Charles H. Schneer

Directed by Jack Sher

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

In The 3 Worlds of Gulliver Ray Harryhausen, Charles H. Schneer and Dynamation go tame — unlike...

Does anyone else remember when Lawrence Alamain raped Jennifer?

Jennifer was deeply ashamed, couldn't touch Jack without having flashbacks, and ended up calling him a rapist because she couldn't tell him the truth. It drove a wedge between them.

Some 30 years later,  while trying to have sex with Gabi, Jennifer's son is having flashbacks of somebody on top of him while he looks terrified and it is freaking him out so much he can't touch her. 

It's the exact same story, except for Jj is being vilified for it and his girlfriend -- along with most of the town -- doesn't want to hear about it because they all assume he cheated.

From the beginning, it was pretty obvious that whatever happened to Jj, it wasn't him voluntarily having sex with a stranger. He was too drunk to remember what happened when he awakened the next morning without any clothes on.

Jj has long been shoved into the background for no reason at all.

He is a legacy character -- the son of a supercouple and the great-grandson of Tom  Horton. Yet he is often written as if he is not even part of the family. His connection to his father's brother is never acknowledged and his character rewritten to fit into a career path that doesn't fit him.

This week on Days of Our Lives, he finally got a story, but it's a horrible one.

Jj's story is, basically, that he was so upset over Abigail's "death" that he drank until he blacked out. When he awakened, he was naked and there was a note from someone thanking him for an amazing time. Therefore, he and everyone around him has concluded that he cheated on Gabi.

There are so many problems with this that it's hard to know where to begin.

Take it from a dad who popped more than the recommended daily allowance of mini Butterfingers during tonight’s Halloween festivities: You absolutely can get too much of a good thing.

Alicia Keys proved that point on the final night of The Voice‘s Season 11 Knockout Rounds — by pitting two of her very best singers in a duel to the death, with not a single “Steal” from a rival coach left in play.

RelatedThe Voice Introduces Real-Time Voting for Top 12 During Live Playoff Show

One might argue — Ok, Ok, I might argue — that Alicia made the right decision by choosing...

Jj can never get a break.

When he was with Paige, half the town harassed him for his past, nobody paid attention to his signs of mental distress, and he ended up getting drunk and having a sexual encounter with Eve where his consent was dubious.

After Paige's death, he was able to move on with Gabi, who seems far more interested in Chad.

And now, this week Orpheus shot him at point blank range and left him for dead in the Square.

I've long wanted Jj to have a story, but did it really have to be this?

Jj as a cop didn't really ever make sense. He was an emotionally troubled teenager who was passionate about music and felt guilty about being a risk taker who didn't fit in to the Horton family mold.

Following in Jack's footsteps as an investigative reporter or Uncle Steve's as a private...

Chad Bernstein was in the third grade when he discovered the power of music. He attended a performance by the school's fifth-grade wind ensemble and was physically moved. "All the hairs on my body stood up," Bernstein, now 32, tells People exclusively in this week's issue, on newsstands Friday. "[The music] was filling me up on the inside. I was moved to the point I was having a physical reaction to it." In 2008, while living in Miami, Bernstein turned his passion for music into an arts education and mentoring program called Guitars Over Guns. He believed young people could use music to make their lives better,...

A lot happened this week on Days of Our Lives, and for once not all of it revolved around the Hernandez family.

Not that there wasn't plenty of that, too.

Dario's idea of a date was taking Nicole to the shooting range and later interrupting her meal with Parker, Adriana reiterated her concerns about Hope yet again, and Eduardo received another threat after encouraging Steve to try to win back Kayla.

Meanwhile, life went on for the rest of Salem.

The Hernandezes are a new-ish family in town. Rafe and Gabi have both been there for years and Dario is back after a long absence, while the parents are completely new characters. Having a vibrant, interesting Hispanic family could add diversity to the canvas.

However, this family seems to have gotten bogged down by two things: dull or non-existent storylines and too much Rafe/Hope propping.

On Monday, Adriana must...

The word of the week in Salem is escape.

On this week's Days of Our Lives,  Abigail made an all-too-easy escape from Shady Hills Mental Hospital while Andre managed to get out of jail. Meanwhile, Hope and Aiden went out of town, while Deimos tried to convince Chloe to run away and travel the world with him.

The Chad/Abigail story has been nothing short of devastating. Who expects to start married life with the new bride going insane and the new groom having to fight with his mother-in-law about the best course of treatment?

This storyline would have been even stronger had Abigail been receiving competent medical care. As usual, Dr. Robinson had no empathy and seemed overly eager to sedate Abigail. She even threatened to do it when Abby showed absolutely zero signs of agitation, just because she said she wanted to go home!

I'd much rather see...

Warner Bros.

‘Tis the season to rally together with your teammates, nail a last-minute headshot and return home in a blaze of gore-soaked glory. Christmas may come but once a year, but the following games managed to use all the tinsel-dossed trimmings of the festive period to make their levels truly timeless.

Hardly any of these games released to tie in with the colder months, and it wasn’t all kiddy-friendly fare either. Instead, Hitman: Blood Money encouraged you to batter a handful of gangsters dressed as Kris Kringle himself, whilst Batman’s third Arkham outing had you snapping the limbs of all sorts of themed goons.

Whether it’s a full game of Christmas cheer or a one-off utilisation of everything we love about the world’s biggest celebration of consumerism, video games might have some of the best uses of yuletide cheer across any medium.

14. You Better Watch Out…...

Scream Queens, Season 1, Episode 11, “Black Friday”

Written by Ian Brennan

Directed by Barbara Brown

Airs Tuesdays at 9pm (Et) on Fox

A table setting episode that actually works as a full episode without being boring, “Black Friday” sets up all of the last pieces of the puzzle before everything is locked into place and solved for good in next week’s two-hour season finale. Nobody dies, despite the Kappa’s best efforts to off Dean Munsch, but many of the remaining players are left with their backs up against the wall as the Red Devil prepares to finish off everyone still bleeding. Grace is without a house of sisters to protect her and a boyfriend who now admits he is a murderer, Chanel is without the assurances that every plan she comes up with will succeed, Pete is a lone wolf probably being targeted by his murder partner, and Dean...

Sacred Bones Records has unveiled the music video for John Carpenter's "Night", a track from his Lost Themes record that's now available. Also featured in our latest round-up is Detroit Zombie Apocalypse III, this weekend's zombie-themed fundraiser for The Walking Hope cancer charity, as well as details on Diamond Select Toys' interactive appearances at Chicago's C2E2 later this month.

John Carpenter Music Video: It followed Laurie Strode as she was hunted by Michael Myers, rode with Christine as the flaming 1958 Plymouth Fury mercilessly pursued Buddy Repperton down a dark stretch of asphalt, and accompanied Jack Burton and his pals on their rescue mission in Lo Pan's lair. John Carpenter’s music could be listed as a cast member in his films, as they are like another character, superbly complimenting the dialogue and actions of the main players.

The nine tracks on Carpenter's upcoming Lost Themes record, however, don't come from iconic films,...

I guess I can accept that some warm-fuzzies are an acceptable way to compensate for yet another drama-free episode of "The Amazing Race." I wouldn't want to trade emotion and sentiment for tension and excitement very often, but at least Friday's (March 6) "Amazing Race" Leg got something out of what is normally a situation that leaves me frustrated, so... Let's skip to the recap after the break so I can get to spoiling... So Friday's "Amazing Race" episode was a Non-Elimination Leg and it always had the feel of a Non-Elimination Leg, because the process of escaping from Nagano in Japan to Phuket, Thailand proved absurdly difficult and "The Amazing Race" usually doesn't like to send teams home as a result of travel circumstances that are totally unavoidable. And this was a situation in where there were at least four flights departing Japan at wildly different times and even with an attempted equalizer in Phuket,...

Seven minutes before police were called to his Clayton, Missouri, home to investigate the sound of a single gunshot, Tom Schweich called a friendly editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and calmly offered the paper an exclusive interview for later that day. "Gimme a call and let me know if you can have someone here at 2:30," Schweich, 54, a leading contender in Missouri's 2016 gubernatorial race, told editorial page editor Tony Messenger in that Thursday-morning voicemail message. By the time Messenger listened to the recording, Schweich was dead - "Everything at this point suggests suicide," says Clayton Police Chief Kevin Murphy...

Seven minutes before police were called to his Clayton, Missouri, home to investigate the sound of a single gunshot, Tom Schweich called a friendly editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and calmly offered the paper an exclusive interview for later that day. "Gimme a call and let me know if you can have someone here at 2:30," Schweich, 54, a leading contender in Missouri's 2016 gubernatorial race, told editorial page editor Tony Messenger in that Thursday-morning voicemail message. By the time Messenger listened to the recording, Schweich was dead - "Everything at this point suggests suicide," says Clayton Police Chief Kevin Murphy...

Hey there creeps! Apparently the ol’ Crypt o’ Xiii is The place to be! Ghouls are knockin’ the lid off the coffin just to get in and commence to jawin’ with the cool ghoul, yours cruelly! All right, all right, calm down… the first two fiends in line… git yer arses in here! Why look who’s here; it’s die-rector Chris Sparling and viscous vocalist Chad Kowal! Greetings o’ ghoulish ones! Chris, you’re the first contestant on Daniel Xiii’s Die-a-log of the Damned!

Famous Monsters. So, yer new flick The Atticus Institute [Which I will be reviewin' shortly - Xiii] has just been released on the ol’ home vid-gee-oh. Tell us what’s up with what’s goin’ down with the idea behind Atticus.

Chris Sparling. I wanted to make a possession movie that was more of a scientific approach to dealing with that problem rather than a religious approach. I was pretty fascinated with the idea that scientists,...

Gotham, Season 1, Episode 8: ‘The Mask’

Written by Paul Edwards

Directed by John Stephens

Airs Mondays at 8pm Et on Fox

The season enters a new arc on Gotham as the fallout of last week’s episode, “Penguin’s Umbrella”, begins to take effect. Gordon tried to take down Falcone and failed, but managed to set an example of what a good cop is capable of and also shed a light on how inactive the Gotham City Police Department is, as none of his colleagues came to aid Gordon against Victor Zsasz. This brings out some interesting development between Gordon and Captain Sarah Essen, who regrets not braving the storm with him. The example that he has set has also affected Bullock, who’s now on Team Gordon, which is a highlight of the episode, in particular when Bullock gives a rallying speech to the Gcpd.

The threat of Falcone...

Update, 9:23 Am: Millennium has officially confirmed the Madame Bovary acquisition that I scooped was happening over the weekend. The deal was finalized ahead of its Toronto screening set for tomorrow. The full release is below our original exclusive.

Previous Exclusive, Saturday Pm: Millennium Entertainment is getting close to a seven-figure deal to acquire U.S. rights to Madame Bovary, the Sophie Barthes-directed film that stars Mia Wasikowska, Paul Giamatti, and Ezra Miller.

The film is set in period France, and focuses on two years in the life of the beautiful wife of a small-town doctor. She engages in extra-marital affairs in an attempt to advance her social status. I’m hearing that companies like A24 and Sony Pictures Classics are still in the mix, but it looks like this one will close tonight. It premieres Wednesday in the Special Presentations section, but buyers caught it yesterday at a...

Nobody could have filled the shoes of "The Walking Dead's" Tyreese any better than actor Chad Coleman, which is why we're a little nervous about this new sneak peek of the Season 5 premiere that AMC just released. We want Chad to stick around a bit! Check it out...

"The Walking Dead" Season 5 kicks off Sunday, October 12th, at 9Pm on AMC, followed once again by "Talking Dead."

Related Story: Visit our "The Walking Dead" Archive

For more info be sure to hit up the official "The Walking Dead" page on AMC.com.

To stay up-to-the-minute on all things walker related, follow @WalkingDead_AMC on Twitter and visit "The Walking Dead" on Facebook.

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As his new film - The Anomaly - arrives, we chat to Noel Clarke about his plans, the movie, and Jason Statham....

Interview

For his third directorial outing - following Adulthood and 4.3.2.1 - Noel Clarke is tackling sci-fi. As such, The Anomaly arrives in UK cinemas this weekend, and he took some time out to tell us about the film, about his future projects, and - of course - his favourite Statham movie...

There's a distinct lack of logos at the start of The Anomaly. If you compare this to the last film you directed, 4.3.2.1, that had a huge procession of companies involved. This has Universal, your company and The Tea Shop & Film Company. Is that indicative that this was a slightly easier project to pull together? That the currency you've built up over your past few projects makes it a slightly easier sell?

It's not necessarily easier. It's just indicative of,...

Natchez, Mississippi. If you greet biopics with a certain amount of trepidation, "Get On Up" director Tate Taylor is right there with you. "I’ve never been a big fan of biopics," the well-dressed helmer of "The Help" tells a pair of visiting reporters, pausing between shots in mid-December, more than eight months before the scheduled August 1, 2014 release date. "The last one I really loved was 'Coal Miner’s Daughter.' I loved that," Taylor continues. "Coal Miner's Daughter," which won an Oscar for Sissy Spacek, opened in 1980. "For me I think what makes them successful is I approached this as, 'This is a movie about an amazing man. And, oh yeah, he’s James Brown.' That’s how I approached this, is who he was and what made him the man he was," Taylor explains. "And what I honed in on, what I thought was special is you...

We’re finally back for the latest installment in our favorite profile series. Ioncinema.com’s Ioncinephile of the Month feature focuses on an emerging filmmaker from the world of cinema and more often than not, we feature a personality from the American indie film. We switched things up for January, inviting actress Trieste Kelly Dunn (who we saw for the first time in Paul Greengrass’s United 93, first heard of her in the pages of Filmmaker Magazine, and first discovered in Aaron Katz’s Cold Weather) to discuss her early rapport with cinema, her motivations for getting into acting and finally, a set of questions on the SXSW preemed Loves Her Gun (opens this Friday [01.10] for a one week run. As usual, we ask the profiled person to include their personal top ten. So here’s our profile on Trieste and make sure to check out her current...

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes details on The Book, which brings together some of the biggest names in Italian horror, a trailer for Dead of the Nite, new releases from Cavity Colors, and much more:

First Details on The Book: “The Book sees the ultimate collaborative Italian horror film unfold before your very eyes. A one off project of unprecedented scale, The Book brings together, for the very first time, the writers, directors, actors, composers and artists behind the finest Italian genre cinema of the past sixty years. This includes the creative forces behind the Giallo movement, Spaghetti Westerns, Eurocrime and more. Each director will be given the opportunity to showcase their own personal vision of Rome, spread across a dozen episodes. Each segment in this feature film will contain a unique blend of macabre thriller,...

Hilary Mantel, Jonathan Franzen, Mohsin Hamid, Ruth Rendell, Tom Stoppard, Malcolm Gladwell, Eleanor Catton and many more recommend the books that impressed them this year

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw (Fourth Estate) is a brilliant, sprawling, layered and unsentimental portrayal of contemporary China. It made me think and laugh. I also love Dave Eggers' The Circle (Hamish Hamilton), which is a sharp-eyed and funny satire about the obsession with "sharing" our lives through technology. It's convincing and a little creepy.

William Boyd

By strange coincidence two of the most intriguing art books I read this year had the word "Breakfast" in their titles. They were Breakfast with Lucian by Geordie Greig (Jonathan Cape) and Breakfast at Sotheby's by Philip Hook (Particular). Greig's fascinating, intimate biography of Lucian Freud was a revelation. Every question I had about Freud – from the aesthetic to the intrusively gossipy – was...

DirecTV’s first original series, Rogue, has found itself with an extended life, which comes as no surprise to me. The crime drama has been renewed for a second season, a foregone conclusion in my mind. I just can’t imagine DirecTV cancelling its first original series, even if it performed less than acceptably. No, I’m pretty certain Rogue was going to find itself with a second season no matter what. But that inevitability shouldn’t dampen this news. A renewal is always good news, no matter the circumstances that surrounds it. Nobody is losing their jobs and there’s chance to fix any problems the first season might have had.

According to Deadline, Rogue’s second season will consist of another 10 episodes, with production beginning this summer for a 2014 premiere. The series revolves around Grace Travis (Thandie Newton), a morally and emotionally conflicted undercover detective. She’s working...

War is never pretty, especially if it involves an alien invasion.

After a far-off solar system is destroyed, several remaining extraterrestrial races, collectively known as Votans, venture to Earth seeking a fresh start. Unsympathetic to their plight, the planet's nations turn them away, sparking a devastating battle that leaves the globe and environment drastically changed forever. Thirty-four years later, the two sides have called a ceasefire and are trying to coexist in this hostile new frontier. That's the premise behind the ambitious sci-fi drama "Defiance" (premiering April 15 on Showcase and SyFy).

The series finds anti-hero Joshua Nolan (Grant Bowler, "Ugly Betty"), a reluctant lawkeeper, attempting to keep the peace in the small town of Defiance, where cultures clash and internal, as well as external, conflicts jeopardize their existence. To make matters worse, a tremendous amount of technology has been lost. There's still functioning electricity, but no satellites, internet or air travel.

Stephen King drives a new featurette for Under the Dome, the CBS series arriving this June.  Head inside for the new one-minute preview which contains the first footage for the adaptation which will be told over 13-episodes.

Chad Vogel, Rachelle Lefevre, Dean Norris, Jolene Purdy, Nicholas Strong, Britt Robertson, Aisha Hinds, Alex Koch, Natalie Martinez and Colin Ford star.  Here is CBS' description of the video:  This summer nobody can get in. Nobody can get out. The town of Chester's Mill is trapped. Stephen King takes us behind the scenes for a first look of 'Under the Dome'. The television event begins this June.

Read more...

We got a text-heavy promo last night and now Stephen King drives this new featurette for Under the Dome , the CBS series arriving this June. Check out the one-minute preview which contains the first footage for the adaptation which will be told over 13-episodes. Chad Vogel, Rachel Lefevre, Dean Norris, Jolene Purdy, Nicholas Strong, Britt Robertson, Aisha Hinds, Alex Koch, Natalie Martinez and Colin Ford star. Here is CBS' description of the video: This summer nobody can get in. Nobody can get out. The town of Chester's Mill is trapped. Stephen King takes us behind the scenes for a first look of 'Under the Dome'. The television event begins this June.

This week's episode of "The Carrie Diaries," titled "Hush, Hush," was a turning point for the series. There were romance shake-ups, major secrets revealed, and perhaps the biggest nods to "Sex and the City" Carrie that we've seen thus far. If you haven't watched yet, look away!

First of all, Sebastian broke up with Donna and came clean about his feelings for Carrie. Though his attempt at a big NYC grand gesture was thwarted by some parental awkwardness, the two ended up sharing a sweet moment back home in Connecticut anyway. Meanwhile, Maggie and Walt split after Donna revealed that Maggie had been cheating on him! In a surprising twist, though, Donna told Walt that she'd been crushing on him for a while and after they shared a make-out session at the lock-in, they became an official couple. (That'll end well.)

Oh, and that parental awkwardness? When Tom and Carrie...

Submit your vote for Reviewer of the Year!

Every year, the Classic Horror Film Board recognizes the best in the horror/sci-fi/fantasy realm with the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards. Fans of the genre can vote for their favorites in over thirty categories, and this year, Cinelinx would like to ask you to vote for one of our own, staff writer Victor Medina, as Reviewer of the Year (Category 29)! We've even included the ballot below so you can vote!

Votes must be submitted by copying and pasting the ballot into your personal email, making your choices, including your name, and sending it in. Votes for Reviewer of the Year are write-in only, so you must be sure to include Vic's name yourself under Category 29 when you vote. Pre-filled ballots are not allowed, so we can't do it for you! Remember, you must write in "Victor Medina, Cinelinx.com" yourself.

Steve Niles, Matt Pizzolo, and Brett Gurewitz are getting into the comic book publishing game with the new comic book company, Black Mask Studios.

They want the label to be indicative of their punk roots, and put the onus on the creators.

Pizzolo: “Comics has a troubled history with its treatment of creators…our goal is to bring the supportive ethic of record labels like Epitaph, Dischord, and Revelation to comics.” Niles: “Brett, Matt, and I all came up in the Diy punk scene…And we’re bringing that kind of attitude to this… the constructive part about supporting voices who are talking about real things but in a bold and exciting way. We’re not afraid to bring in activism and politics and counterculture. What publisher today could be bringing out the next V For Vendetta? Nobody.“

The trio’s new venture start with a bang, with four new series in May,...

How do you end half a season of murder, love and monsters? The "Beauty and the Beast" winter finale does it with plot twists and romance in its final episode before the new year, "Bridesmaid Up!"

As the title implies, the central event in this final episode will be a wedding. Cat (Kristin Kreuk) and her sister Heather (Nicole Gale Anderson) are busy bridesmaids for their father's wedding. In Cat's case, her hectic time is made even worse by a) a murder case and b) not having a boyfriend she can tell anyone about.

Because everyone knows that you can't be single at a wedding... And it's not like Cat can share Vincent (Jay Ryan) with the world.

The wedding isn't the only thing that happens during "Bridesmaid Up!" Unfortunately, to tell you about the multiple twists that come before the episode ends would be spoiling far too much. Instead,...

It’s that time again… okay, it’s a little past that normal time, thanks to the Mix March Madness wrapup, but here are the preview materials for DC Comics releases for July 2012.

What’s on tap this month? More of the Before Watchmen books, with the debut of Ozymandias from Len Wein and Jae Lee, the conclusion of the Court of Owls storyline and crossover in all the Bat-books, and the debut of the done-in-one book, National Comics, featuring the New 52 Debut (coming right at you) of Eternity.

And in the white elephant of desire category, there’s the $300 statue showing the climactic scene from The Dark Knight Returns.

Once more, into the breach? Banzai!

As always, spoilers may lurk beyond this point.

Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #1

Written by Len Wein

Art and cover by Jae Lee

Backup story art by John Higgins

1:25 Variant cover by Phil Jimenez...

And here we are again, with all the new product coming from DC.

We have a tip of the hat to the original Justice League of America #8, the first endings from the New 52, and… oh heck, let’s just dive in, shall we?

As usual, spoilers lurk below.

Justice League #8

Written by Geoff Johns

Art by Carlos D’Anda

Backup story art by Gary Frank

Cover by Jim Lee and Scott Williams

1:25 Variant cover by Mike Choi

1:200 B&W Variant cover by Jim Lee

On sale April 18 • 40 pg, Fc, $3.99 Us • Rated T

Combo pack edition: $4.99 Us

Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.

In the five years that the Justice League has been a team, Green Arrow has never once been a member. And he intends to rectify that right here, right now! One member against his candidacy: Aquaman!

Don't get your 2012 calendar by waiting until mid-January to buy a crappy one at half price. Get a cool calendar that comes with a CD of classic and rare old-school acoustic blues and hokum songs from (mostly) the 1920s and '30s. In other words, get volume 9 of the Classic Blues Artwork from the 1920's calendar (and pardon that incorrect apostrophe and inaccurate title).

Almost a decade ago, a cache of Paramount material -- blues 78s, ad art for promoting them, etc. -- was discovered, and Blues Images has been putting out these great calendars since 2004.

The CDs alone are worth the $19.95 to any serious blues fan; long-lost tracks are "re-debuted" on Blues Images CDs, and this year's has some especially interesting surprises.

The first 12 tracks correspond to the art for the 12 months:

1. "Mama Don’t Allow No Easy Riders Here" by Tampa Red and Georgia Tom (version 1)/Tampa Red...

We hold in our hands the covers for DC Comics this March. As a child of four can plainly see, these comics have been hermetically sealed in a Cgc 9.8 slab, and they’ve been kept in a #2 mayonnaise jar under a giant pile of Christmas tinsel since noon today.

What do we have worth noting? The first fill-in artist on Justice League, although Gene Ha is certainly no slouch in that department. We also have new writers on Firestorm and Green Arrow, new backups in Justice League and Action Comics, and the DC 52 hits lucky number 7.

Shall we see who is the fariest of them all? Oh indeedy, let’s do!

As usual, spoilers may lurk beyond this point.

Justice League #7

Written by Geoff Johns

Art by Gene Ha and Gary Frank

Cover by Jim Lee and Scott Williams

1:25 Variant cover by Gary Frank

1:200 B&W Variant cover...

We hold in our hands the covers for DC Comics this February. As a child of four can plainly see, these comics have been hermetically sealed in a Cgc 9.9 slab, and they’ve been kept in a #2 mayonnaise jar under a giant stack of returned copies of Holy Terror since noon today.

What do we have worth noting? The new look of Darkseid, and we’re far enough into the new 52 books that it’s time for Batman to start crossing over in all of them. Plus Mara Jade, the red-haired assassin who fell in love with her blond-haired man she was sent to kill– oh, I’m sorry, that’s from Star Wars. This is Mera in a jade outfit. Our mistake.

Shall we? Surely!

As usual, spoilers may lurk beyond this point.

Justice League #6

Written by Geoff Johns

Art and cover by Jim Lee and Scott Williams

1:...

Because you demanded it, true beli– no wait, that’s the other guys.

But we’re here with the solicitations for DC Comics for Novemeber, coming soon to a Previews catalog near you. The New 52 keep rolling along, and we have the Sergio Aragones version of Batman immortalized in a statue.

So let’s take a look!

Details? Yes, we have details…

Justice League #5

Written by Geoff Johns

Art and cover by Jim Lee and Scott Williams

1:25 Variant cover by Eric Basaldua

1:200 B&W Variant cover by Jim Lee

On sale January 18 • 40 pg, Fc, $3.99 Us • Rated T

Combo pack edition: $4.99 Us

Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.

Now, with the teenaged powerhouse Cyborg at their side, this group of individual heroes must somehow put their differences aside to face the terror of Darkseid!

This issue is also offered...

Once again, a look into the future, with some very interesting looks at the past, including the reprinting of a comic that was never released in America in the first place, the infamous Elseworlds 80 Page Giant that was pulped because of concerns about Superman’s babysitter.

And of course, a whole lot of #3 issues, which is traditionally the issue where Spider-Man guest stars.

Shall we? Surely!

As usual, spoilers may lurk beyond this point.

Justice League #3

Written by Geoff Johns

Art and cover by Jim Lee and Scott Williams

1:25 Variant cover by Greg Capullo

1:200 B&W Variant cover by Jim Lee

On sale November 16 • 40 pg, Fc, $3.99 Us • Rated T

Combo pack edition: $4.99 Us

Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.

The superstar team of writer Geoff Johns and artist Jim Lee continue to make history as they unleash the amazing Amazon,...

When I first read about Better This World, I thought it was actually a narrative film. It tells the story of two teenage boys who are arrested for domestic terrorism after their plot to firebomb the 2008 Republican National Convention is thwarted. Surely, this must be fictional. But it's a documentary, and it's all unbelievably true. As the story unfolds, we see watch two disillusioned Texas teenagers get ground to pieces by the Homeland Security machine. It's infuriating and horrifying and devastating, and that's pretty much all you can ask from a documentary. I left shaking with the same indignant rage that infused me after seeing Inside Job and The Tillman Story. I realize the FBI and Homeland Security, at the basest level and politics aside, is honestly trying to stop another bombing from happening. But in those efforts, they are committing heinous crimes themselves. Using the manipulations of the legal...

This week is the lightest in recent memory with only four (barely) notable horror releases. Synapse Films' 100th release, Robert Young’s classic Vampire Circus, will be gracing our screens and so will Dear Mr. Gacy, the adaptation of The Last Victim, the memoirs of Jason Moss, who corresponded with serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Read on to see what the other two are.

Vampire Circus (1972)

Directed by Robert Young

Starring David Prowse, Robert Tayman, Anthony Higgins, Thorley Walters

A little girl is brutally slain by a vampire in a tiny 19th century Austrian village. Seeking revenge, the townspeople invade the foreboding castle of Count Mitterhaus and kill him for the crime. As the Count falls, he curses the villagers and vows that their children will all die so that he may someday return to life. 15 years later, as the village is ravaged by the plague, a traveling circus...

Imagine becoming pen pals with

one of the most notorious serial killers

of the 20th Century…

William Forsythe Stars As

John Wayne Gacy In

Dear Mr. Gacy

From Anchor Bay Entertainment

On Blu-ray™ and DVD December 14th

Thirty-two years ago, one of the most grisly chapters in the history of American crime came to an end with the arrest of infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy. But the story didn’t end with Gacy’s conviction and eventual execution. Anchor Bay Entertainment presents Dear Mr. Gacy, premiering on Blu-ray™ and DVD December 14th, based on the shocking true story and best-selling book “The Last Victim” by Jason Moss, with Jeffrey Kottler, M.D. Starring William Forsythe (Rob Zombie’s Halloween, 88 Minutes, The Devil’s Rejects) as John Wayne Gacy, with Jesse Moss (The Uninvited, Final Destination 3, “Stephen King’s The Dead Zone”), and Emma Lahana (Girlfriend Experience), Dear Mr. Gacy...

"Let's get our zombie on," IGN's Eric Moro welcomes the crowd Friday morning (July 23) at Comic-Con.

AMC's "The Walking Dead," which will launch practically worldwide in October, packs the house to overflowing.

Anticipation has been high -- not just because of the huge zombie fan base -- but also because the photos released so far look cinematic and worthy of AMC's high standards for quality programming.

The crowd is treated to a look at the series. Any fan of the comic books will see it's almost exactly like the comic book, characters, images and all. We see Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) as he's shot and then wakes up into a world full of zombies. It's actually a thing of beauty from start to finish, and the zombies -- finally we see them in motion -- don't disappoint. The Walker Brothers' "Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" is a pitch perfect choice for the first-look.

It begins on an empty street. The camera pans slowly across a gothic-tinged suburbia as whispered voices are heard off screen. Are we eavesdropping on an intimate moment? No, the conversation comes from a television set playing an old (deliberately) cheesy horror film.

In its opening moments, Fright Night produces a dual effect of voyeurism and postmodern horror that manages to be creepy and amusing at the same time. The camera continues its slow crawl and lifts with the cool grace of a vampire up to a window that introduces the hero Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) engaging in a bit of heavy petting with his girlfriend, Amy.

It is a striking opening sequence and brilliant in its execution. Immediately trouble begins as Charley notices two men carrying a coffin into a basement next door. This fleeting glance opens up a nightmarish world for this nosey teen and his friends, one...

Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon make a decent fist of South African accents in Invictus. But they are the latest in a long line of actors trying too hard

As someone who was born and brought up in South Africa, I was particularly interested to discover how Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon managed with the notoriously difficult South African accent in Clint Eastwood's Invictus. Actually, there are many South African accents, so a distinction has to be made between Nelson Mandela (Freeman), an English-speaking Xhosa, and François Pienaar (Damon), an English-speaking Afrikaner. The two Americans had a fairly good shot at it, despite sometimes betraying their origins, and Freeman slipping occasionally into Dalek mode. For most audiences, however, who don't have an ear especially attuned to the nuances of South African accents, Freeman and Damon will sound authentic enough.

This follows worthy but inconsistent efforts by Denzel Washington and...