Oh So Geeky

Just in time for the Oscars, AMC Theaters holds a back-to-back marathon of the movies nominated for Best Picture. Given the option, movie buffs can see the nominees in a 24-hour marathon or over two weekends. This is a special event my sister and I have loved participating for the past seven years! We typically attend both weekends, but having previously seen three of the four nominees -  Manchester by the Sea, Fences , Hell or High Water, La La Land - we opted to attend this past weekend's event which included  Moonlight, Lion, Arrival , Hidden Figures, and Hacksaw Ridge . These are my quick thoughts on what I saw with perhaps fuller reviews to come in the future. Check out my faves at the bottom and feel free to share yours in the comments below!

The Oscars are right around the corner.  Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester by the Sea,  and  Moonlight are the latest cycle of films to be nominated for Best Picture. Only one nominee will go home with gold, but they've all generated inspiration for movie goers and artists. In celebration of coveting the big prize, here's another collection of artwork from around the web by very talented artists. Hope you enjoy!

Photo Credit: The Walking Dead / Gene Page Rick's campaign trail to The Hilltop Colony and the Kingdom was a total bust to gain allies against Negan. The leader and his faithful followers have inadvertently encountered the back-up they need: a massive new group of survivors armed with countless weapons on protected grounds. Will Grimes have a chance to propose their ideas or face the consequences for trespassing? This recap includes spoilers for the latest episode - you've been warned! Hope you enjoy!

Award show season is one of my favorite times of the year. Ever since I was a little girl, I've dragged my family into the living room to celebrate one of Hollywood's biggest events of the calendar: the Academy Awards. It's the one night where I rave about my favorite celebrities, gab about the fashion, and get inspired with the humbling Thank Yous. With one acceptance speech, I'm reminded that all the greatest stars of the silver screen are still are people who had a dream and their hard work paid off. In celebration of film, here are some of my favorite acceptance speeches - What are your favorite acceptance speeches? Feel free to share below! > Cuba Gooding Jr for Best Supporting Actor in Jerry Maguire Not only one of my favorite movies of all time but one of my favorite performances too. A partner to Tom Cruise's Jerry Maguire, Gooding kills it at his only client; eccentric, family-oriented, bursting with frustration Rod Tidwell. A deserved awa...

Photo Credit: The Walking Dead / Gene Page The midseason finale in December  ended on a rare high note for season seven. Rick finally moved on from his fear and need to provide for Negan, and decided to heed Maggie's words: let's go to war. After a cathartic reunion at the Hilltop Colony, the Sherriff is back in town. One question remained if he could get other groups under Negan's thumb on his side to rise up.  This post contains spoilers - you've been warned! The triumphant march into Gregory’s quarters in the midseason finale didn't last long - maybe a good ten minutes. Rick and the group (Michonne, Carl, Jesus, Sasha, Tara, Maggie, Daryl) tried to reason with him that they should band together and fight Negan. Their drive might be in the right place, but not their reasoning. Gregory is a mouse, not a cat, who's scared of his own shadow, has people working under him to keep his life cozy and safe, and they completely failed the satellite outpost mission...

Similar to studios releasing horror movies into theaters at New Years or Christmas movies in July, romantic comedies haven't been relegated to February releases in several years. But it still has remained a strange mood to adjust to when Cupid's month rolls around and there isn't a bundle of swoon-worthy films to enjoy a girls' weekend or single's dalliance at the theaters. In fact, looking at the next year ahead in 2017, only a handful of romantic-centered movies are coming out in theaters or on a streaming service like Netflix. And the lack of popularity of this once inescapable genre makes me ask: where did all the rom-coms go? While pondering about recent releases at home and in theaters, I reasoned that my inability to find more options was because my own personal tastes for this genre are limited. Generally, I like to be swept off of my feet, but prefer rom-coms where the characters aren't around to fill a 'swooning' quota, the script offers dy...

Photo Credit: Arrival / Paramount Pictures Aliens invading Earth forces humanity to take drastic action. Suspicion and premature counter-attacks are sparked by world leaders and civilians trying to protect themselves. What do we do to quell panic? get answers? defend our turf? Director Denis Villeneuve tackles the complexity of humanity in  Arrival. Based on Ted Chiang's short story Story of Your Life , linguist Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) are recruited into a special military operation to communicate with the creatures which initially harbor ill intentions. Together, the duo work with other countries to prevent war. The science fiction genre has had a rough go recently. Audiences can mostly count on a franchise like Star Wars to transport them to another galaxy, while others have failed to live up to the hype like Independence Day: Resurgence . Ones that aren’t quite so loud like Interstellar, which invites big ideas about ...

Photo Credit: Rome Adventure / Warner Bros. New England librarian Prudence Bell (Suzanne Pleshette) resigns from her school after she's criticized for recommending a racy book Lovers Must Learn as part of the curriculum. Yearning for independence and navigating the art of love, a cruise to Italy introduces more courtships than she expected - Albert Stillwell, a nerdy student of Etruscan history, older perfect Roman lover Roberto Orlandi (personally my favorite), and a perfect hunky All-American Don Porter (Troy Donahue). As a melodramatic journey of 1960s morals about love, sex, and chivalry, Rome Adventure is a picturesque romantic drama. Trailing the ingenue through her experiences, the movie travels at a leisurely pace. Using Europe as a captivating backdrop, Bell weaves in and out of the nooks of crannies of not only the country but desire, attraction, and friendship. Beyond the geographical and human eye-candy of the male co-stars, Suzanne Pleshette is absolutely cha...

One of my favorite things to do on magical trips to Wizarding World of Harry Potter Orlando is to collect chocolate frog cards - the snacks Harry and his friends enjoy on their trips to Hogwarts and Honeydukes. Recently, I attended A Celebration of Harry Potter , where Universal Studios revealed new merchandise for their theme parks. One of the items I couldn't wait to get was the Gilderoy Lockhart chocolate frog card!

For the past few years, Universal Studios has held A Celebration of Harry Potter event at their theme parks in Florida. For an entire weekend, wizards and witches celebrate the  Harry Potter  books and movies at Universal Orlando and Islands of Adventure through demonstrations, Q&A’s and exhibits. I’ve been very lucky over the past few years to attend, and this year was no exception. Though I was only able to attend one day and aimed to pack in as much as possible, the event is held over three days. If I could’ve apparated to both parks I would’ve, but chose to stay at Universal Orlando to visit two of their expos and a cast Q&A. The day started off early with getting line for the first expo. Inside, Scholastic, Warner Bros Studio Tour, the Harry Potter Exhibition, and MinaLima had individual exhibits.