"Margin Call" - A SArmy Fan's Review

For an indie film, "Margin Call", the Before The Door-produced and J.C. Chandor-directed Wall Street thriller with an impressive ensemble cast, has been getting a lot of attention since it opened at theatres on just 56 screens in some key USA cities this week!

The movie was also available On Demand, thereby, increasing its reach to even more interested viewers across the country.

Several publications and websites have given the movie a big thumbs-up, with as many movie-goers and fans acknowledging that it is a rather involving and relevant film of the times.

My favourite movie ratings website, Rotten Tomatoes, has awarded it a commendable 87% rating.

Review of "Mr Murder Is Dead" - A Beautiful Homage to the Classical Comics

"Mr Murder Is Dead", the retro-noir fashioned detective graphic novel, has been receiving rave reviews since its launch at this year's SDCC.

And I just had to get one of our very own SArmy moderator and member, Claudia to give a review of the book written and drawn in a style that is not so common these days.

Here's Claudia's review:

"Mr Murder Is Dead", by Archaia Entertainment and Before the Door Pictures, is a graphic novel that should not be missed. As the first comic written and created by Victor Quinaz, "Mr Murder Is Dead" follows Detective Gould Kane, a.k.a. The Spook, in his retirement after the death of his arch nemesis, Mr. Murder. The story flashes back and forth between present day action and the events of the past in the 1930s and 1950s during The Spook’s heyday.

Suspended Geek-gasm - Zachary Quinto at NerdHQ

Blame it on the fact that the earth is round and I am 15 hours ahead of San Diego. And that I have to log in "normal working hours" the entire week.

I also have to admit that I do not possess any time-freezing or time-travel powers. (Sorry to disappoint some of you.)

I just simply couldn't stay up for the live webcast of the Archaia - "Lucid"/ "Mr Murder Is Dead" panel held at the NerdHQ. I do consider an attempt to re-generate my brain cells a very important process. Plus, I am getting old.

So, I do not have the details of what have been said or actually transpired at the panel. I will leave that job to my Twitter buddy @eserei27, and she will send me her report of the panel when she is able to.

If anyone else wants to send me a quick fan report with pics and/ or vids, do feel free to email me!

Nothing More Than More Spotlight!

Neo Geisha

While Natalie Wells is currently away in Japan for her wondrous 3-week holiday, the blog interview continues with part 2!

I can't wait for Natalie to return home with more stories and Nippon-esque photos, taken in her inimitable style. And I'm sure she'd be SHOPPING... lots! hehehe

In this second instalment, Natalie tells us about SArmy, Zachary Quinto, more about Japan and other fun stuff! Are you ready? Here goes!

Focus: Nothing More

The talented Natalie Wells

I am excited to introduce to you someone from the British Isles who is not only stunningly beautiful, but who also chooses to flex her artistic biceps to photograph hauntingly unique images. I find that some of her particularly interesting photos are hard to forget.

I consider myself fortunate to connect with 29-year-old Natalie Wells on Twitter many months ago. Natalie is also a moderator of the Sylar's Army forum and it so happened that we (not too) strangely bonded over a very bloody incident involving her pet greyhound!

Despite my rather deceptively "sunny" demeanor, I possess a dark gothic heart. And we found ourselves indulging in those macabre topics which we were not afraid to discuss about!

For a day job, Natalie is the manager of Ticket Alternative UK - a company that supply tickets and wristbands for events. She confesses that in her free time, she puts her Advanced Art and Design certification to good use as a professional photographer. Oh, and not forgetting, her other side job as super-villain. *g*

Natalie admits that "Heroes" is her favourite TV show.  "I don’t really watch much TV I’m afraid, my love for Heroes took everyone by surprise!", she says. Her favourite musical acts include an eclectic mix of The Prodigy, Reso, Fever Ray, Bjork, Joe Hisashi, Rob Zombie, Bat For Lashes, Camille Sant Saens, The Upbeats, Kate Bush... to name just a few!

Other than photography, Natalie enjoys Japanese culture, swimming and shopping. She stresses that "Shopping is a hobby when you do it properly!"

With a new fresh look and drive on re-launching her photographic work via a website, I've decided to grill Natalie with the "tough" questions ;)

The ZQ/ Heroes Connection

The Heroes fans meetup at SDCC 2010!

To all those who love sneering at us pop-culture/ comic fans having a fabulous geek-fest at Comic Con, just go talk to the hand.

Comic Con was indeed very very cool. But when you start to reflect upon that whirlwind weekend, you would realize that it wasn't so much about Comic Con itself that made the weekend memorable, it was the friendship forged and strengthened (before and after) that made it so Extra Special.

It is no different from so-called "non-geeky" folks who gather their butts down on a huge couch, drinking beer and watching sports game after game on TV (I can tell of peeps who plan and take a week-long off just to watch the English Premiere League) or those who line up their custom-made cars/ bikes on a weekend and ... well, talk about gears and wheels.

The common thing from all this human pack-like behaviour is the camaraderie built through shared experiences. For the convention goers, it consisted of those groaningly "where the frak is my coffee?" early-morning camp-outs, agonizingly boring long waits in line to see/ hear panels/ celebs, stumbling upon an awesome find at the exhibit hall, sharing the thrill of connecting/ meeting a celeb or just hanging out with your fellow geek friends. You don't need to *explain* things to your geek friends.

SArmy Charity Auction For Pakistan!

Here's another chance for all you SArmy/ ZArmy folks and Zachary Quinto fans to exercise your biceps!

This time for a charitable cause to help the victims of the recent floods in Pakistan.

All proceeds will go to GlobalGiving - Pakistan Flood Disaster Relief through eBay Giving Works.

A Spattering of Updates

This week has been chockful of "Margin Call" updates. Much to the delight of us fans!

For those who are still unaware, "Margin Call" is an indie movie about eight people during a tumultuous 24-hour period just prior to the 2008 Wall Street financial meltdown. It is Before the Door's first film production!

Zachary Quinto, who also stars in the movie, has been giving us pretty constant updates on Twitter and Facebook. And when I say pretty, I *do* mean pretty :D

Just look at the pic above. Zach's own self-portrait pic on the "Margin Call" set  in a suit with a night reflection of the Empire State Building. Srsly! Those pretty biceps in a suit! It is pretty as pretty does!

Another Side of our Charity Mage

Here’s the second instalment of our special SArmy/ZArmy Charity Mage interview!

There has gotta be a fun side of Mabes that many of us yet to really know. So a few of us bravely posed Mabes the really TOUGH questions …

And here are her very interesting answers!

Our Very Own Charity Mage

Er… I mean.. Mabes ;)

Or you might know her as @Mabetini on Twitter - one of the lovely mods of a sanctioned Zachary Quinto fan group called SArmy or Sylar’s Army (soon to be ZArmy?).

Here’s some of the basic deets on our 23 year-old Mabes. Having just graduated from the University of Maine with a major in Mass Communications and a Minor in English, she is now working as a secretary at the Provost Office of the same University.

Mabes loves working out (for nice toned female biceps! woohoo!), writing, photography and doing creative stuff on Photoshop (I shan’t ask if she’s the culprit of any of the Mylar slash pics out there ;) )

Other than “Heroes”, Mabes enjoys watching the Food Network and reality shows like “True Life” and “Deadliest Catch”.

Casual--Transition--Formal

Like those nifty transition programs for your vids and pics, our fave bb Zachary Quinto makes going from casual to formal seem so effortless.

Oh, there are many detractors concerning Zach's fashion sense but I am mostly amused or in awe of how he consistently manages to pull some combis off with such panache and confidence. Actually, his style closely resembles some Japanese/ Korean men street style... where they tend to be more adventurous, with a hint of the adrogynous.

The Orange Empire and SArmy/ ZArmy Alliance!

A very powerful alliance between the Orange Empire and SArmy/ ZArmy has been brewing for the past many weeks.

If you are not familiar with the Orange Empire, I’m very pleased to offer you a peek into this glowingly magickal place of all things orangey and pumpkiney.

A very special kind of biceps resides in The Orange Empire. The kind that can transform a blank slate into a beautiful piece of artwork. These biceps belong to the effervescent leader of the Empire, Alex Wer… also known as The Pumpkin Geek!!

Helping Hands So Powerful

... that the fandom responds!

A flurry of activity arose the last couple of days to support various charity drives in bringing much-needed financial support and aid to troubled post-earthquake Haiti.

In typical Heroic fashion that is so expected of them, the cast and crew of "Heroes" lovingly and ardently put their voices out there (in their websites, tweets, Facebook pages, etc) to support their "family member" Jimmy Jean-Louis - who is Haitian - and to publicize the ways in which we can assist Haiti.

Jimmy is very active with charity projects in Haiti, so it was sad when we heard that his fragile homeland has now been destroyed by this disastrous event. In fact, for the first few days, he was still looking for his parents. Fortunately, he has now since heard from them.  (Refer to theODI.com for the CNN news article.)

Scruffy Vulcan+Grandpa Sweaters = Sexy

The above equation summed up what transpired last week in the world of Zach. I am quite sure it is very mathematically sound ;) and I do not think Spock would even consider it illogical.

It was also logical that the interwebs were hyped up last week. They have been actively monitoring the frequency of the long-awaited Star Trek (2009) movie DVD/ Blu-ray release, and have been going all aurally and linguistically Vulcan (or Romulan, if the case may be) with the various leaked previews and screencaps. The Aussies seemed to have gotten theirs the earliest. Since I'm living closer to the Land of Down Under, I had ordered my Ltd Edition DVD from an Aus online shop and got mine a week early too.

I'd give an Arm and...

.. well, it's a puny, lean arm compared to Zach's (but kinda well-toned, I have to say)... still, I'd give an arm and a leg just to see our favourite bb give one of his radiant smiles at photoshoots and events again.

That blank or deer-caught-in-the-headlights look seems to have become di rigeur at shoots during formal events and in some fan pics lately. :(

Why that distant stare? Poor guy...

Has all that frenzied shooting at "Heroes" tired you out? Judging from @wendilynnmakeup's and @JamesProps tweets, I know there have been quite a few long night shoots lately.

Are those annoying bullying paps getting you down?

Are you craving to do something creatively new other than just "Heroes"?

Maybe all these events and promos are getting to be a yawnful of socializing 'the-same-the-same'... I would also think that the crazed fangirling/boying out there can get a bit much too.

As much as I lament about the lack of bare biceps (*sob*) lately, I mourn more for Zach's disappearing smile. I know that there are many of us who would love to see his special smile beam more frequently again. You know, the smile that used to come so easily and lights up an entire room. Heck, the universe even.. < - lens flare! - >... anyway, I've digressed...

Yes, the Zach Smile has been quite rare in recent times... sigh..

Talking about giving an arm and a leg.. if you can't afford that, you can still give something to the SArmy's donation drive! All proceeds will go to the Epilepsy Foundation. Donate USD10 or more to the SArmy and you'll be entered to win a prize pack. Do your bit for charity and click here NOW!

And don't forget to watch this week's episode of "Heroes" entitled "Hysterical Blindness"... *just* to catch dirty Sylar. It'll be very good for your brain ;)

Armed for Charity

Don't be fooled, people.

Those dangerous biceps - even though nicely covered and suited up - are well-armed to do serious charity work.

Zach was all his usual business-like GQMF-ness at last weekend's Acts of Love, an Evening of Theatre and Music benefitting Autism Speaks. (More pics available at Accidental Sexiness' blog!)

And for those who are still not in the know, Zach is also our fearless leader for the formidable Sylar's Army. We are fieeerrrrce and we will over-rule the world with our charitable spirit! ;)

Sylar's Army or SArmy, raises money for charity that Zach supports. At the moment, it is the Epilepsy Foundation. There are lots of cool SArmy merchandise one can purchase from the website in support of charity.

We will also soon be welcoming a new honorary member to SArmy - Ray Park! Equally biceps-tually-pleasing Ray, who plays Edgar in "Heroes", was recruited this last weekend by @eserei27 at the Mid-Ohio con. Before the Mid-Ohio con, some of us - including @Sheindie and moi - had tweeted to Ray and invited him to join SArmy.

And that is not all...........there is also an eBay auction for a Zach autograph photo which ends REAL SOON! Check it out and bid for it, if you can afford it!

So it's no excuse, flex those biceps muscles of yours, and you can do some mean charity work too! :D