We are big fans of the trend by directors and showrunners to report their casting news on Twitter, and American Horror Story: Coven‘s showrunner Ryan Murphy is definitely a proponent. He recently took to the Twitterverse to make a particularly wonderful double casting announcement:

Two legends are joining the cast of American Horror Story: Coven — Oscar nominee Angela Bassett and Tony winner Patti LuPone!

— Ryan Murphy (@MrRPMurphy) May 12, 2013

 

TVLine has followed up that announcement with the news that Emma Roberts is close to sealing the deal on her inclusion in the growing cast as well, and that she will be taking on the role of Madison, a self-involved party girl.

No further word on the roles or their duration or, for that matter, what’s in store for us with the new iteration of American Horror Story, but we’re planning on Coven being just as freaky as the first and second seasons. Here’s hoping.

American Horror Story: Coven, starring Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, Angela Bassett, Patti Lupone, Evan Peters, Gabourey Sidibe, Taissa Farmiga, and (most likely) Emma Roberts, is expected to premiere this fall on FX.

5-22 tv lead.png Finale time is upon us, and not every show is finishing strong.

Genre: Animation | Family | Fantasy

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Writer: Hayao Miyazaki

MPAA Rating: G

Run Time: 86 minutes

Summary:

Disney proudly celebrates the 25th anniversary of “My Neighbor Totoro,” the acclaimed Studio Ghibli film about the magic of friendship and sisterhood from Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki (Best Animated Feature, 2002, ”Spirited Away”) – with the film’s Blu-ray debut on May 21, 2013.

Arriving for the first time on Disney Blu-ray with a spectacular new HD digital transfer, perfect picture and sound, the highly-anticipated release of “My Neighbor Totoro” features the fantastic voice talents of Timothy Daly, Lea Salonga and real-life sisters Dakota Fanning and Elle Fanning.

Lauded as “one of the most beloved of all family films” by critic Roger Ebert, “My Neighbor Totoro” is the heartwarming story of sisters Satsuki (voiced by Dakota Fanning) and Mei (voiced by Elle Fanning). Much to their delight, when Satsuki and her four-year-old sister Mei move into a new home in the countryside, they discover that their new neighbor is a mysterious forest spirit called Totoro—who can be seen only through the eyes of children. Totoro introduces them to extraordinary characters—including a catbus—and takes them on an incredible journey.

Once again a classic children’s movie crosses my path for the first time and I am still finding myself astonished that I hadn’t heard of it. This is another great animation from director Hayao Miyazaki who also directed Howl’s Moving Castle (which we reviewed here) and Spirited Away (which I actually saw when it came out, I don’t live under a rock ALL the time).

My preschoolers loved this movie and have watched it 3 times in less than 24 hours. The youngest (just turned 4) latched on to it the quickest, watching it unblinkingly twice consecutively, and her older brother had much the same reaction when he finally decided to give it a chance today.

That being said, the adult (me) who watched, took all three viewings to really absorb it. It’s important to note that it was made in the late ’80s when entertainment could be done with less flash and momentum than that of today, and I have to say that I wasn’t really expecting the dramatic slowdown after the wild ride watching Howl’s Moving Castle.

It is also one of those movies (though it can be said for older kid-themed television shows as well) where as a parent I found some of the storyline so absurd it seemed drug induced. After having found myself multi-tasking during the first viewing, I looked up and asked my daughter if that was, in fact, a 12 legged cat bus with a Cheshire cat plastered smile trotting across the screen.

You see this movie is about two sisters (who are voiced by real live sisters in the 2005 Disney re-release, Dakota and Elle Fanning) who go on adventures with the mythical creatures that live in the wooded areas around their new home in the country. Here’s a clip of the youngest sister Mei (Elle Fanning) when she first stumbles upon Totoro.

Here are the specs on the Blu-Ray and DVD Combo Pack. There are several features that are only available on the Blu-Ray and not on the DVD so take special note of that.

BLU-RAY AND DVD ELEMENTS
“My Neighbor Totoro” Blu-Ray contains the following special features:
Behind the Microphone
The “Totoro” Experience
Creating the Characters
Creating My Neighbor Totoro
Original Japanese Trailer
Original Japanese Storyboards
Producer’s Perspective: Creating Ghibli
The Locations of “Totoro”
Scoring Miyazaki

“My Neighbor Totoro” DVD contains the following special features:
Feature Film Only

Technical Information – BLU-RAY
Language: English 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 2.0 Dolby Digital, Japanese 2.0 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, English SDH and French subtitles
Region: All Regions
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 1.85:1

Technical Information – DVD
Language: English 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 2.0 Dolby Digital, Japanese 2.0 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: English, English SDH and French subtitles
Region: All Regions
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 1.85:1

While it took me a long time to get the hang of the rhythm of the story line of My Neighbor Totoro, I cannot discount the fact that my kids loved it. At no time is it annoying (like some musical television shows I can think of) and would probably be a great segue to get children thinking about adventures they can go on themselves when they’re discovering the great outdoors.

I give My Neighbor Totoro Blu-Ray Combo Pack Four Out of Five Stars.

 
 
My Neighbor Totoro Two Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo is available as of May 21st! Here’s the link:


See larger image My Neighbor Totoro (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) (Blu-ray) Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Tim Daly, Pat Carroll, Lea Salonga
Rating: G (General Audience)
List Price: $39.99 USD New From: $27.93 In Stock Used from: $33.24 In Stock Release date May 21, 2013.

enders-game.jpg The latest poster for Ender's Game has sci-fi written all over it. Aerial graphics? Check. Space age suits? Check. Harrison Ford's death stare? Double check.

walking-dead-lauren-cohan-andrew-lincoln.jpg It’s the nature of the business: All good TV shows must come to an end. Well, unless that show is The Walking Dead, apparently.

We’ve been waiting for this one for a while, and though it doesn’t start its regular run until July 7, just as they promised us back in March Disney XD will be airing a one hour preview of its new animated series Marvel’s Avengers Assemble this Sunday morning at 11/10c. Here’s the new trailer:

Trailer: Marvel’s Avengers Assemble

You can click here to join a live blog Thursday (tomorrow) at 3:00 p.m. ET – key talent and some big name guests from Marvel’s Avengers Assemble will discuss the series’ upcoming one-hour preview event, and click here to download the first episode for free on iTunes through Saturday.

Here’s the series synopsis we first shared with you in March:

“Marvel’s Avengers Assemble” reunites the most popular super hero team — Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow, along with newcomer Falcon, marking the first time in animation history this distinct team of heroes will join forces. Led by Iron Man, the heroes train and live together in their new headquarters in Avengers Tower. The planet’s most dangerous villains don’t stand a chance when the Avengers assemble – whether they are stopping Dr. Doom from conquering Asgard, Attuma driving the Atlantean Army into New York City or Dracula unleashing vampire hordes, the Avengers must work together to succeed.

Adrian Pasdar (Nathan Petrelli in Heroes) as Iron Man, Fred Tatasciore as the Hulk, Roger Craig Smith as Captain America,Travis Willingham as Thor, and Troy Baker as Hawkeye are all reprising their guest roles from Ultimate Spider-Man, while Laura Bailey (ironically, Harley Quinn in Lego Batman: The Movie – DC Superheroes Unite) as Black Widow andBumper Robinson (Black Lightning in Batman: The Brave and the Bold) as Falcon are premiering their roles.

Marvel’s Avengers Assemble airs its one hour preview on Sunday morning, May 26 at 11/10c, and then officially premieres on Sunday morning, July 7 at 11/10c on DisneyXD.

inner03.jpg Some nifty new Wolverine artwork shows off one mysterious new character and those iconic claws.

Your short film could become the official international trailer for the next book in The Enemy series

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akira2.jpg Akira is one of the most important mangas of all time. The Simpsons is a mainstay of American animation. So what happens when you combine them?

It seems to be a trend with movies, most recently I’ve noticed it with Star Trek Into Darkness, but movies have started to move their dates up to Wednesday instead of the traditional Friday to capitalize on their opening weekend. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is the latest to take advantage of the trend.

According to book author, Cassandra Clare on her Tumblr, the release date has been moved up to August 21, and she’s thrilled about it.

I’m really excited because it means the fans will get to see the movie earlier! It also reflects a lot of confidence in the film on the part of the studio to move it to a Wednesday release date so I’m really excited about that, too.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones starring Lily Collins, Lena Headey, Jamie Campbell Bower, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Kevin Durand, Aidan Turner, Jemima West, Godfrey Gao, CCH Pounder and Jared Harris is slated to hit theaters August 21, 2013.

5-22SandYoda.jpg What good is a beach if you can't bring your geekery with you?

Amazing Spiderman 2 in Chinatown. Andrew Garfield took a break to play basketball with local kids Well, this is just awesome.

Amazing Spiderman 2 in Chinatown. Andrew Garfield took a break to play basketball with local kids Well, this is just awesome.

TV REVIEW Going Deeper Underground

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arrowwallpaper.jpg Aside from the hood himself, the first season of The CW’s Arrow was pretty light on DC heroes. But, that might be changing in year two.

Check out this behind the scenes featurette for Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim where he and a few of the cast members get together to talk about the “drifting” involved when two people join minds to control their giant robot fighting machines.

This behind the scenes featurette includes commentary from Charlie Hunnam (Raleigh Becket), director, writer and Producer Guillermo Del Toro, Max Martini (Herc Hansen), and Rinko Kikuchi (Mako Mori).

Featurette: Pacific Rim – The Drift

So cool.

Pacific Rim directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Ron Perlman, Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Clifton Collins Jr., Max Martini, Rinko Kikuchi and Diego Klattenhoff is slated to hit theaters on July 12th, 2013.

worldsend.jpg They've fought zombies and small town psychopaths, but that's peanuts compared to this.

davvvvid.jpg Sadly, not every lucky Who fan gets to run away with their own version of The Doctor. So, why not just make your own?

GADGET REVIEW Type 40 tech

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With introduction from Edgar Wright

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