Geeking Out

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Mace
Posted in geeking out | Leave a comment

The Book of Life

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Elyse

From the very beginning, the cultural heritage of Jorge R. Guitierrez’ animated feature The Book of Life is readily apparent, as a mysterious tour guide tells a group of schoolchildren a story that takes place in Mexico, “the center of the universe.” From then on, the film is a non-stop celebratory ride through the imagery and meaning of Día de los Muertos. The uniquely gorgeous animation style is meant to represent wooden puppets which are acting out the tale of María, Manolo, and Joaquín on a small stage in front of the children, in a seemingly forgotten room of the museum they are visiting. In other words, it is a simple fable, told in a straightforward and heartfelt way. There is a love triangle, a bet between the gods, and plenty of good-natured humor to spare.

Settle in for story time! [via Women Write About Comics]

Settle in for story time! (via Women Write About Comics)

Continue reading →

Posted in film reviews | Tagged | Leave a comment

Geeking Out

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Mace
Posted in geeking out | Leave a comment

Geeking Out

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Tanya
  • The trailer for Marvel’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron is here!
  • Based on this first look, Johnny Depp’s Wolf costume for Into the Woods seems… a bit cheesy. Meryl Streep slays as usual, though.
  • Morena Baccarin joins the cast of Gotham as Dr. Leslie Thompkins, a physician and friend of Thomas and Martha Wayne.
  • Author Rebecca Haines breaks down her issues with the recent viral video from t-shirt company FCKH8.
  • A list of books with gay protagonists that aren’t about their coming out story.
  • Recent celebrities speaking out about GamerGate: actress and media creator Felicia Day; writer and retired football player Chris Kluwe. (Guess which one of them was promptly doxxed.)
  • The Touchable Memories project uses 3D printing technology to help people who are blind to revisit pleasant memories.
  • An online game based on Doctor Who aims to teach young kids about computer science through interactive puzzle solving. (h/t Slashdot)
  • Cartoonist and author Lynda Barry talks about the project she led where adults and children imagined schools of the future.
Posted in geeking out | Leave a comment

Geeking Out

Posted on October 17, 2014 by Mace
  • Congratulations to Ezra Miller, who will play the Flash in the latest Justice League movie!
  • John Cho chats about racism in Hollywood, the possibility of being a romantic lead, and a take on a Batman remake which we would totally get behind.
  • According to FiveThirtyEight, the ratio of female to male superheros in mainstream comics is improving, with more LGBT characters on the way. However, women make up only 30.9% of the DC universe and 30.6% in Marvel. Comics Alliance has all the data, though please note that the findings are about characters, not reader demographics.
  • Marvel’s newest superhero is an Asian-American woman! Cindy Moon, or Silk, was bitten by the same radioactive spider that bit a certain Peter Parker, and has been locked away in a facility for six years training ever since.
  • Feeling crafty for Halloween? This DIY floral skull piece is perfect for the holiday, or all year long.
  • A list of signs to confirm that you’ve accidentally found yourself in an Alexander Dumas novel.
  • The Mary Sue has a fun interview with several members of the cast and crew of Sleepy Hollow. They talk Bechdel test, the importance of their fans, and geeking out over Orphan Black.
  • Some quick reads from our sister site, Persephone Magazine: five Marvel characters who should get their own movies and a round up of some teen werewolf girl stories.
Posted in geeking out | Leave a comment

Forget Chucky, Here’s… Annabelle!

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Lois
annabelle1

This doll is going to kill you. (via Screenrant)

Snap Synopsis: That scary ass doll from The Conjuring got her own movie. Fuck everything.
“Oh, SHIT!” Moments: Everything.
Trigger Warnings: Violence against a pregnant woman.

Like clowns, dolls are a common thing that makes people uncomfortable and creeped out. It’s hard to pinpoint why exactly, seeing that both clowns and dolls supposed to delight and even comfort children (although who thought of that, really?). We all know that this is a filthy lie perpetuated by the agents of evil: just ask the countless millennials who still shudder at the mention of Chucky. Continue reading →

Posted in film reviews, horror | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Geeking Out

Posted on October 10, 2014 by Tanya
  • Paul Feig’s lady-centric Ghostbusters reboot is on and will be written by The Heat collaborator Katie Dippold.
  • For the Star Wars fan that has everything: fuzzy Ewok heels. At last!
  • With the exciting return of Twin Peaks in 2016, do you know what sweater you’re going to wear?
  • Presented without comment: A full minute of Linda Belcher saying “All Riiiiight!“
  • The AV Club has a six-page preview of the upcoming Batgirl relaunch, as Barbara Gordon moves to Gotham’s version of Brooklyn.
  • The web run of Noelle Stevenson amazingly fun comic Nimona may be over, but it’s getting some book love as a May 2015 release from Harper-Collins.
  • After twenty-five years, a cartoon-accurate action figure of the first female Transformer, Arcee, will hit the shelves any day now.
  • Script writers need some help with their Spanglish.
  • 12 Essential Essays for Writers to get motivated and inspired.
  • We love Margarita Kareva’s stylish fashion photos inspired by Russian fairy tales.
  • Steven Yeun is a man who knows the importance of seizing opportunities everywhere. Here he shows us what’s inside his zombie contingency bag.
  • Somewhere on the internet, there’s a 2012 commercial starring Penelope Cruz as Mario. Because why not?
Posted in geeking out | Leave a comment

(Not So) Strange Appetites

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Tanya

In preparation for our panel at GeekGirlCon – (Not So) Strange Appetites: Women and the Horror Fandom – here’s a bit of reading for you. What better way to spend your lunch break than immersing yourself in, say, an analysis of puberty as represented in horror films?

Don’t feel like digging through our archives? We’ve made it easy for you by gathering some of our favorite horror posts in one place:

We’re very excited to welcome Adrienne Fox of Watch Play Read as an addition to our panel. She’s shared three of her favorite horror comic book titles:

We hope you can make it to our panel on Saturday, October 11 at 6pm! GeekGirlCon‘s official hashtag for the convention is #GGC14 and the tag for our panel is #NotSoStrange.

Posted in events, horror | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Geeking Out: GeekGirlCon edition

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Tanya

c278d7a720183f3382b28f8c48931832It’s almost time again for Seattle’s GeekGirlCon. This is our fourth year attending the convention and will mark the third time one or more of our staffers will be participating as panelists. Basically, GeekGirlCon has played a big part in helping us develop Geekquality. With the convention only a week away (October 11th and 12th), it’s time for another round up of what we’re looking forward to at the Con.

This year promises to have more opportunities for gaming, with tabletop free play check out, various RPG and tabletop game makers and groups, and a console room hosted by Ubisoft. The concert this year welcomes The Doubleclicks, Sammus, and Thundering Asteroids! (And before the concert, Hello Earth Productions‘ Outdoor Trek will perform their 2014 show “Mirror, Mirror” in RM303.) And while more than a few hours will be devoted to checking out the game play and wandering through the artist and exhibitor booths full of all sorts of geeky delights – and trying to get our hands on these adorable Social Justice Class pins – GeekGirlCon continues to be a convention where we go to learn and be inspired. Thus, here are programming selections we are marking in our schedules – and wishing we had a TARDIS to make it possible to be in several places at once. (Panels denoted with * include one or more Geekquality staffer as panelists.) Continue reading →

Posted in events | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Bloody Reunion

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Lois

(This is part of Lois’ The Psyche of the Revenge Film review series.)

Without waxing sentimental, let’s acknowledge that teachers have a long term impact on our upbringing and adult character. Sometimes, though, horrible people can hold such positions of authority over tender young psyches. Many of us have had some horrendous nightmare of a teacher who still gets our hackles up when we think about them. We wish that we could have told them off in some spectacularly snarky manner, but mostly we just walk away after graduation and revisit the past as a humorous talking point over drinks with friends. In Dae-wung Lim’s 2006 horror film Bloody Reunion (or To Sir with Love, the original title in all of its intended irony), one student waits for over a decade to exact revenge for a childhood of humiliation at the hands of someone who was supposed to be a benevolent adult. (TW for a bloody film poster, and references to suicide, abuse and violence ahead.) Continue reading →

Posted in film reviews, the psyche of the revenge film | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Geeking Out

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Mace
  • Kerry Washington and Scandal‘s costume designer, Lyn Paolo, helped create a Scandal line for The Limited, which will be available just when Season 4 premieres.
  • Kerry Washington also designed that purple purse she’s been carrying around lately – in partnership with the Allstate Foundation Purple Purse Program, to educate and raise awareness about financial abuse, another form of domestic violence.
  • io9 compiled a lovely tribute to the work of Terry Gilliam.
  • Our Dream Boyfriend Danny Castellano stripped. That is all.
  • Baby groot cupcakes!
  • Alison Bechdel wins a 2014 MacArthur Fellows grant!
  • The Most Feminist Moments in Sci-fi History – an excellent list!
  • Super-cool clothing featuring some awesome ladies of science.
  • We’re not huge sports fans, but this New Yorker article about Serena Williams details some of the difficulties of being a WOC in sports.
Posted in geeking out | Leave a comment

Geeking Out

Posted on September 5, 2014 by Mace
  • Lisa Simone, Nina’s daughter, touches upon some issues with the Nina Simone biopic.
  • Wolf of Wall Street‘s Margot Robbe is rumored to be starring in a live action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. Uh, what?
  • Did you know Disney’s Tiana was based on a real woman? Read more about Leah Chase and her famous pies.
  • Carolyn Cox updates us on the recent events that have contributed to the harmful climate making it harder for many women to work in games journalism.
  • Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is to play Black Adam in the upcoming Shazam movie!
  • Nature is dangerous, nature is beautiful.
  • BFI’s selection of 10 films from gay cinema from East and Southeast Asia.
  • Writer Greg Pak talks about what to expect from Storm, one of the only ongoing superhero comics headlined by a Black woman.
  • Can you wait 100 years to read Margaret Atwood?
  • This week was the 5th anniversary of Malinda Lo’s Ash , a queer retelling of Cinderella! (Check out our 2013 interview with the author!
  • A pioneering program prepares college students with disabilities to be leaders in STEM.
  • 13 year old Emily DiPrimio used crowdfunding to direct her slasher film Carver. Now, a year later, here’s the trailer.
Posted in geeking out | Leave a comment

Geeking Out

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Mace
  • Earlier this week, games and pop culture critic Anita Sarkeesian faced yet another string of disgusting threats, further reinforcing Lewis’ Law. New Statesman’s Ian Steadman weighs in with the detailed piece Tropes vs. Anita Sarkeesian.
  • Of importance is this opinion piece by Brianna Wu, who leads a development studio in the gaming industry. Wu presents several case studies of the myths and realities of harassment of women in the industry.
  • On the more positive side of gaming news, this study on the impact games have on children’s psychosocial development shows that gaming – in moderation – isn’t the evil so many parents fear. (via Geek Therapy)
  • Shonda Rhimes will be appearing in The Mindy Project as herself. And don’t forget: in addition to Shonda, Niecy Nash is also joining the cast.
  • Party Down is coming to Hulu this weekend! Are we having fun yet?
  • Donald Glover will be voicing Miles Morales in Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors. We’d rather he got cast in the live-action film, but this is also great.
  • Karen Gillan’s ALS Ice Bucket Challenge – mostly because of John Cho dancing around in a Red Power Ranger suit.
  • BuzzFeed flips the script on the whole “fake geek girl” thing in this simultaneously funny and disheartening video.
  • This piece on The Toast will likely inspire many weekend marathons of Cagney & Lacey.
  • The Academy plans to honor beloved animator Hayao Miyazaki and performer and activist Harry Belafonte this November.
  • Marie Claire (UK) spotlights several young Native American women dedicated to preserving their culture.
  • My So-Called Life turned 20 this week. Let that sink in. Here are a few good reads inspired by the show.
Posted in geeking out | Leave a comment

Geeking Out

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Mace
Posted in geeking out | Leave a comment

Geeking Out

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Mace
  • This week was a sad one as we said goodbye to two beloved actors: Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall. Tributes to Robin Williams in particular have been popping up all over the internet in the days since his passing.
  • Check out this DIY “Dancing Groot” toy (spoilers for the closing credits of GotG). But where is the Gamora merchandise?
  • Aquaman (played by perfectly cast Jason Momoa) will get his own movie!
  • Disney intends to bring more Star Wars attractions to their theme parks.
  • We can’t stop laughing: a guide to races and characters on Star Trek.
  • The latest Gotham teaser introduces us to Detective James Gordon.
  • Check out this badass lady scientist in the new “Planetary Exploration” Lego set!
  • Celebrate shark week by reading this interview with Dr. Toby S. Daly-Engel, head of an all-female team of shark researchers.
Posted in geeking out | Leave a comment