Birds of Prey Redux

Finally the DVD set for the 2002 "Birds of Prey" TV series has come out. Here are my reviews of the program reviewed as it aired back then:

Birds of Prey

It's really not as bad as I thought back then. Perhaps it got better with age. It's not the comic book, not by a long shot, but if you go in with an open mind and a blank slate without knowledge of the comic... it's really not bad.

Mamma Mia!

What a fun movie experience!

Mamma Mia! was a wonderful mouthwash after seeing The Dark Knight, reaffirming my love of film letting me know that everything on the big screen isn't complete dog feces.

Fun and wonderful are only two of the adjectives I have for this musical. As a virgin to the stage show I wasn't quite sure what to expect beyond ABBA music. I grew up in the 1970s so I was exposed to quite a bit of it, some I liked and actually owned. Yes, I'm a straight man who admits to liking ABBA. Deal with it.

Sophie, played by up and coming name to watch Amanda Seyfried, is getting married and has invited three men who she suspects could be her father to the wedding. From there, as they say, hilarity ensues, but with an ABBA musical flavor. I must say this was quite surprising with Meryl Streep (as Sophie's mother) and even Pierce Brosnan (one of the potential fathers) among others displaying heretofore unknown singing talents.



Above the rest, Christine Baranski and Julie Walters especially feature here as Streep's best friends and former back-ups in her old singing group, Donna and the Dynamos. Baranski in particular shines in her own number "Does Your Mother Know." The entire cast, many of which are Greek extras, jumps in on the fun of singing throughout the flick. It is however notable that it doesn't seem like any woman on this Greek island wears a bra. This is both for better and worse.



This is a fun movie, a terrific and more than welcome step back into the age of musicals - and highly recommended. And don't forget to stay through the credits for the cast doing a few more songs in full seventies ABBA-ish regalia.

The Annual FundsforWriters Essay Contest

The 7th Annual FundsforWriters Essay Contest, sponsored by IdeaWeaverSoftware.com.

FundsforWriters and its annual sponsor IdeaWeaver, creator of writing and creativity software, announce the 7th Annual FundsforWriters Essay Contest.

THEME: "The Best Advice I Ever Had."

As is the FundsforWriters trademark, applicants enter with or without an entry fee, their choice. Prize monies range from $10 to $200.

LIMIT: 750 words.

DEADLINE: October 31, 2008.

http://www.fundsforwriters.com/annualcontest.htm

Direct any questions to Hope Clark here.

Estelle Getty Passes at 84

BET's Black Panther

The trailer for the new "Black Panther" animated series for BET debuted at the San Diego Comic Con today. Here's a peek.

Animated might be a strong word based on this trailer, but with recent animated projects like "Invincible" and the "Watchmen" Motion Comics on iTunes using much the same techniques, the style may have come into its own.

Stan Lee created the Black Panther back in 1966 in an issue of Fantastic Four and the character is considered one of the genre's first African-American superheroes. In recent years, the Panther's own title, sometimes written by screenwriter and director Reggie Hudlin, has become one of the more controversial comics on the shelves.

Launch for the animated series is set for sometime early in 2009 according to BET.