Coming soon...

Everyone has been buzzing about Prometheus, The Hobbit, Batman 3, and Hunger Games this year but there a few that will likely be late bloomers.

Ang Lee's Life of Pi has the potential to be the next "Slumdog Millionaire" or even "Usual Suspects". Small, devoid of over-exposed movie stars, and a feel-good life changing story.

Bully. Never underestimate the Weinstein Brothers, this timely documentary is something that everyone can relate too.

Lincoln. Daniel Day Lewis, Spielberg, he's got my vote.

The Master. After Paul Haggis' explosive article in the New Yorker, imagine the aftershock this film will cause in Hollywood. Visuals are always a thousand times more damaging.

FAR IN THE DISTANCE

Japan's sudden wave. Recent news has hit that Justin Lin (Fast Five) will be spinning the popular Manga The Lone Wolf and Cub into an epic drama-fest. It's only a matter of time before 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami follows suit, or Scorcese's adaptation of Shusaku Endo's historical drama, Chinmoku (Silence). After all, isn't Hunger Games simply an adaptation of Battle Royale by Koushun Takami?

Cowboy Bebop may be gathering dust, but I wonder if they would ever consider the popular and lesser known anime Darker than Black or brilliant, Fullmetal Alchemist anime? Two untapped goldmines, and unlike Akira, an adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist wouldn't piss off fanboys, and yet please executives who want to appeal to a North American market... since the main duo are blond and ... golden eyed. Time will tell...

Fresh and Free

FREE?

Software:

Well oddly enough if you like to draw, Adobe with be releasing free beta version of Adobe Photoshop CS6! Click here to learn more.

Theatre:

Many cities host free, or cheap tickets for Shakespeare in the Park.

NYC: Central Park (arrive early! Best time to get tickets at 8-10 a.m.) hosted by The Public Theatre, Toronto's High Park Theatre is pay what you can, San Francisco has a number of venues featuring Henry V this year.

Galleries:

NYC: Met, Frick... on Sundays usually between 10am-1pm is pay what you can.

Toronto: AGO Wednesdays after 6pm or Doors Open featuring a number of venues for two days.

Washington D.C.: Smithsonian... free.. everything is free!

NEW BOOKS

ebooks: Project Gutenberg

Audiobooks are free with a library card, for a limited amount of time... many are hosting new e-catalogues

A shot of prozac for the masses

George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series on HBO Season 2 deputes on April 1, 2012... Fandom has reached a fever pitch just as many of my friends have decided to drop the book series.

Unfortunately.. so have I. Were the gaps too long? Partially, but to be frank, the series has become too convoluted, with too many characters (many of them who I don't care about), and just plain... dull. Do I care about Arya, Jon, Tyrion, or Jamie? I can't really remember, and by page one hundred, scratching my head, trying to remember book four, I gave up.

To my surprise, I've slowly become tired of sex, violence, gore, and zombies? HBO's True Blood and Game of Thrones, Showtime's Borgias and AMC's Walking Dead... all trying to make each new season more shocking, more violent, more risqué. Even Mad Men, with such overly flawed characters, I've become jaded.

There isn't anyone to root for.

If they get shot, or perhaps... choke on a olive in a martini, do I care? If I knew them in real life, perhaps I would help them off the cliff. Perhaps that's why America has fallen in love with these shows, to run away from the mundane realities of life (or reality television).

A colleague of mine hated War Horse, hated The Artist, hated any film that wasn't rooted in reality, thought they were too optimistic, too saccharine, too romantic, too ridiculous. And that is what we are feeding the general population. Maybe it's a fine line, Hunger Games was a diluted version of Battle Royale, appealing to the masses, Snow White and the Huntsman looks to be injected with a shot of video game madness... and the Hobbit? Well Tolkien doesn't need much editing.

What we all really need? Get outside, leave your phone at home, and get a bit of fresh air.

Wisteria Sisters

It may be getting warmer, with longer days and nice evenings on the beach, but for some of us that don't want to roast in the sun... we will escape indoors. Pilot season has officially begun and America has a huge roster starting production. Some of them look like possible gems, some are disasters waiting to happen.

Let's start with the Americanised version of Sherlock, starring Johnny lee Miller as Sherlock and Lucy Liu as Watson.

Some people love this idea, with a feminine spin injected into a predominately male series... some want Sherlock and Watson to fall in love. Others... such as me... hate this idea.

I'm not British, but this attempt is similar to changing Harry Potter to an American in a magical boarding school, swapping Mulan to a young Brit during World War I, James Bond to an Indian secret agent, or Aladdin to a Celtic fairytale. Yes it can be done, but why bother?

Sometimes, it can work, but in most cases, only if the series isn't widely known. AMC's "The Killing" based on the Danish Series for one, however Prime Suspect starring Maria Bello didn't make the cut. With the huge success of Walking Dead, Mad Men, Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, and True Blood, original novel adaptations will always rule the airwaves.

I think it's only a matter of time that the smash hit "Downton Abbey" is revised for American audiences. This idea is completely unnecessary, considering the wealth of excellent American writers such as Edith Wharton and Henry James. With the female audience beckoning for more period dramas, (how many more Jane Austen versions can one make?) the time is perfect to launch a series based on three or four sisters in old Boston itching to make their mark on society. After all, history loves ambitious, feuding sisters. Think the Bouvier sisters, the Mitford Sisters, the Cushing Sisters, and now... the Middleton Sisters.

The question is, who will do it first?

Now or never

And we wonder why the world is going to the dogs. With the new iPad 3 release, not to mention new phones, toys, cars, and other "wants" rather than needs, it's no surprise that we're all cash poor. Articles have sprung up on how to rid yourself of your iPad 2 and get a bit of your money back.

A relative of mine was lamenting of how old my phone was. Why not get the iPhone 4s? I said I wanted to wait... and her reply? Buy the new one and just sell it when the new one is released... after all, why wait a few months. With idiotic logic like that, it's little wonder where all her paycheques go.

When did it become a sign of weakness to be patient? Anticipation, is not longer sexy, it's all about instant satisfaction and I'm finding... I can't keep up... and I no longer want to.

Ignorance isn't always bliss, but sometimes it can be a blessing.