After almost 10 years, Kid-N-Play are back to parrrrrrty! Okay, they may not be back to to “party”, but they are back in House Party: Tonight’s the Night. The rap duo took off the last sequel, House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute, but are back to mentor a new group of high school rapers. The new movie mixes the house party concept with street/club dancing to take the series in a bit of a new direction. The DVD came out yesterday, July 23rd, and you can win a copy here!

Official Movie Description: A pair of high school rappers have two major goals – make music and get hot girls. The best way to get both is to throw the biggest and best house party ever! The night of the party, one of the boys is grounded by his parents, so it’s up to his best friend to break him out of his house confinement and get the party started.

Ah, good old fashion teenage rapper hyjinks. To enter the contest, all that you have to do is leave a comment with the most inventive way to break out of your house if you were grounded on an important day. That is right, you have to put yourself into the shoes of an immature and emotional high schooler. While you get creative and plan out your “escape route,” mix some beats on the “House Party 5 Sound Board App” and check out images and the trailer for the all new House Party: Tonight’s the Night…

Disclaimer (and other Details)
This contest is only open to US and Canada residents with a valid address. Prizes can not be sent to a PO Box. All comments must be made with a valid email address, so we are able to contact you if you win. Once contacted, you have 48 hours to reply with the requested details. The winner will be chosen randomly from all of the entries. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parents permission. Prizes have been provided by Warner Brothers. A winner will be chosen on July 31st, 2013.

In recent years a lot of older properties have been dusted off and re-purposed on television and in comic books (not even counting the endless supply of remakes), but 12 Monkeys was not a movie I expected to get new life. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the SyFy Channel is turning the brain-melting Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt sci-fi flick into a series.

The 1995 film was directed by Terry Gilliam from a screenplay from David Webb Peoples, who adapted Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? into Blade Runner, and Janet Peoples. The movie show us a grim view of the future were only 1% of the population has survived a mysterious and very lethal virus, which has forced the survivors to live underground. In an attempt to learn more about the virus’ origins, James Cole (Willis), a convict, volunteers to be sent back in time. What follows is a twisty/turny nonlinear mind f$*% that wraps up nicely. I can see how they’d be able to stretch the idea into a series, but I’m not sure it would have the same appeal or affect as the movie. Lost and Twin Peaks with a touch of the Terminator could make a pretty darn cool series.

The new version of 12 Monkeys will start as a TV movie with the potential to become a “straight-to-series” order of 8 to 10 episodes. It is being penned by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett. Both Matalas and Fickett wrote for the time travel/dinosaur family drama Terra Nova. Atlas Entertainment and Universal Cable Productions are behind the project with Jon Cassar (24, Daybreak, Revolution, Terra Nova, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues) attached to direct the 90 minute TV movie/series pilot. No word on when it would make it to our screens.

The San Diego Comic Con has begun and with it we are being flooded with awesome geek news- from both the actual con and the lead up to it. Lets start with one of the biggest comic book movies that is currently in production…

Bishop (Omar Sy- pictured to the left in costume) has been confirmed to appear in X-Men: Days of Future Past! The time traveling mutant has been rumored to be part of the cast, but we did not get confirmation until this past week. With Day of Future Past‘s story involving time travel, he was a good candidate for a role, especially when you consider the other notable time traveling mutant and fan favorite Cable, has had his parents killed off before he could be born (Scott Summers is his father and a clone of Jean Grey is his mother- but the real Jean Grey raised him in the future in someone else’s body… yeah, we don’t have to get into the specifics. Maybe it is a good thing that Bryan Singer choose Bishop instead of Cable). I just hope Bishop’s role is not a cameo.

Lets stay on topic with some more Marvel Comics adaptation news. (SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!) Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD just keeps sounding better and better. First they got Joss Whedon on board to write and direct it. They put together an awesome writing/producing team of  Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon (Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible). Brought Clark Gregg’s Phil Coulson back to life after his tragic Avengers death. Put together a damn good cast with Ming-Na Wen, J. August Richards, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, and Elizabeth Henstridge. And now from the floor of the San Diego Comic Con and the show’s first public screening we have confirmation of the return of Agent Maria Hill (played by the wonderful Cobie Smulders). I am so excited for this show (premieres on September 24th). I just can not wait for the further adventures of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.

The Walking Dead premiered a first look trailer for season 4 and my jaw is still on the floor. The footage might be spoiler-y or it could just be misleading. We’ll have to wait for the show to return on October 13th to really find out. You can watch it here. The trailer gives us a first look at Lawrence Gilliard Jr as a very (and I mean very) different Bob Stookey than the one we met in the comics, along with Tyreese in a scene that looks like it is ripped from the comics but in a different location, Michonne on a horse, Rick and Tyreese ready to trade blows, and a bunch of new faces (both alive and getting eaten). We can’t be sure if this was footage from the first episode back or the first few episodes, but it looks like when The Walking Dead returns, it will waste no time in jumping back into the action and racing forward. For better or worse, there was no sign of the Governor in the trailer… We’ll have to wait and see what he might be planning.

Keep checking back as we try to round of the most exciting news coming out of San Diego and we’ll be giving away another DVD this week. What movie? You’ll have to keep checking back to see!

I’ve always been confused by the popularity of Guillermo del Toro. Fanboys and girls have been nuts over his properties for years; yet, whenever I watch any of his films, I feel like I’ve been letdown. Why is that? Is it because of the hype, most of which he can’t control? Maybe. Is it because of his enthuasim for projects that, quite frankly, I have interest in? Possibly. Or is it because of the visual edge he always seems to bring to his project? Again, that’s a real possibility. However, save for Pan’s Labyrinth, I’ve always walked away from a del Toro film with a feeling of wanting more from this supposed creative genius.

So, when I found out about Pacific Rim and its concept — I was intrigued. Giant Robots vs Giant Monsters — what testosterone fueled man wouldn’t love that? Add to it a stellar cast (Charlie Day, Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Ron Pearlman, etc) and a script from Travis Beacham (who wrote the great “Killing at Carnival Row” script that has yet to be made) and my expectations were heightened. This could be one of the most epic films ever made and I couldn’t wait for the experience. Needless to say, I wish I could have waited because what I saw was a letdown — a major letdown.

A weak story killed this movie. Aside from the epic fight scenes, there was no real story and no real characters. People went through the motions and at no point did I feel anything for any of the major characters except for the Asian lady. And, the only reason I felt anything for her was because the child actress playing her in a “drift” sequence (A flashback sequence, essentially) was so good as a terrified little girl that it was the only part that made me feel for any character, at their core. Raliegh’s (the lead guy) brother’s death at the beginning did not make me feel anything when it should have. There was also a distinct lack of females in this film and was surprised by it. Normally, it’s not a critique that I’d make but there was only one lead female in this ensemble. Although, I liked his performance, Clifton Collins Jr’s character could have easily been made into a female to add an extra shot of much needed estrogen into this picture. Hell, you didn’t have to change any lines for him, and could’ve gotten away with making his character a lesbian. Charlie Day stole the film and was the standout as a Kajiu loving scientist named Newt and he cemented his status as a bonafide movie star with his performance here.

The big selling point, the fights, were surprisingly hidden. What do I mean by this? Well, every major fighting sequence occurred at NIGHT. What? At night? What does that mean? Essentially – you never saw anything during the fights because the Kajiu and Jaegers were masked by the night. Now, I’m assuming this choice was made to cut down on the CGI costs but come on — when you know your final battle is going to be (SPOILER ALERT) AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN (/SPOILER) then you can set your second act fight during the day. Sure, there were glimpses of daytime fights, seen in a flashbacks, but those were only that — glimpses. Nothing longer then a few seconds here and there. The big battles — were all at night. A choice I HATED and did not understand from a purely story perspective.

There was also some very weird character choices made throughout this film along with some very obvious allegories being thrown in for good measure (like the fact that the governments decide to build giant walls to “keep the Kajiu’s out” ala the wall being proposed by the US to stop Mexican’s from hoping the border). I blame this on the writing and well, del Toro’s influence over the project. I have a feel he was behind all of these decision’s and Beacham was just following orders because he’s a good writer (as seen in glimpses in Pacific Rim).

At the end of the day, a weak story, hidden fights (again, why were all the major fights at night?!?), some weird character choices, and the lack of emotional connection to the story and characters caused Pacific Rim, sadly, to be a letdown. I wanted more because I thought there’d be more to love about this.

My recommendation? Wait for this to hit the dollar theaters then watch it. If not, wait for it to show up on Netflix.

[rate 2.5]

Did you know that today was Social Media Giving Day? Well, it is, so what are you waiting for? Open a new window, sing up for Giver,head over to Twitter and Tweet a donation to your favorite charity! Check out this awesome app from our friends at Givver then keep reading below to find out how you can take home a #Give T-Shirt and stickers as a thank you for helping to promote donating through social media!

So, HOW DO YOU TWEET? Fill out the survey and let us know the results in the comments and you have a chance at winning this combo package for a T-Shirt and stickers…

Both are limited edition and are being giving out as a big thank you! If you want an extra entry into the contest, make a Tweet mentioning “Social Media Giving Day” with the hashtags #Give and #MHD. Winners will randomly be chosen next Monday the 22nd. Now that we have the contest details out of the way, how can you make a donation on Social Media Giving Day? Check out this handy step by step graphic…

And the Fine Print
The prize will be sent via FedEx or USPS. No P.O. Boxes will be permitted. This contest is open to residents of the United States. Comments equal one entry into the contest, a comment and a tweet on Twitter is equal to two entries into the contest. Winners chosen by random drawing. You will have 24 hours to respond to the email connected to you comment otherwise another entry will be chosen as winner.