It’s the most wonderful time of the year for comic book and fantasy/horror/sci-fi movie geeks! The San Diego Comic-Con once again saw devotees of all fandoms converge upon the West coast convention with cameras, comics, and costumes in-tow. For four days, July 22-26, SDCC boasts stars and exclusive unveilings of movies and posters for upcoming films that fans are on pins and needles waiting to sneek a peek at.

Among some of the luminaries in attendence, signing autographs and speaking at fan Q&A panels about their upcoming projects included Johnny Depp, Seth Rogen, Megan Fox, and Robert Downey, Jr.

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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince worked their magic on the box office this past weekend, pulling in $77.8 million in just weekend numbers — surpassing even this summer’s big bucks opening weekend winner, Star Trek. Even more impressive, Half-Blood Prince has earned a grand total of $158 million to date thanks to a splashy mid-week opening on July 15th, 2009.

So, is the film worth all of the galleons surely to be stowed in a Gringott’s vault? You bet your ash wood wand it is! Half-Blood Prince is two and a half hours’ worth of wizardry of both the storytelling and special-effects variety. Midnight showings were sold out, even with the film being screened on no less than eight separate screens. Many of the patrons came dressed in accurate — and not so accurate costumes, however, it was all in good fun.

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It’s not time for Christmas in July yet (although stores do start earlier and earler with stocking decorations and trees every year), however Disney is gearing up for a 3D animated version of Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. Stepping up to the plate for yet another animated Christmas story is Robert Zemeckis, who also had a hand in The Polar Express as both director and screenwriter. Zemeckis is again reprising those roles, building off of Dickens’ tale of Ebeneezer Scrooge, a wealthy, yet hard-hearted man visited by the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come who urge him to change his ways.

Much like Polar Express, this upcoming holiday movie boasts an A-list cast of voices. The versatile Jim Carrey as Ebeneezer Scrooge, as well as the three Christmas ghosts. Gary Oldman provides the voice of family man and Scrooge’s long-suffering clerk, Bob Cratchet. Other noteworthy names featured in the cast include Robin Wright Penn, Bob Hoskins, and Colin Firth. Disney’s A Christmas Carol is scheduled for a November 6th, 2009 release date.

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Folks both magical and muggle alike are excited for July 15th, 2009 when the sixth (and most pivotal installment to date) of the Harry Potter saga arrives in theatres. Already, tickets have been sold out in advance for midnight showings of the eagerly awaited film on its release date. Anticipate a horde of costumed movie-goers to line the building in a queue during the witching hour of the 15th!

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince showcases J.K. Rowling’s “Potterverse” translated from her novels to the big screen during rather dark times. With Lord Voldemort risen again and gathered his Death Eaters, not to mention the increasingly dark turn of the Ministry of Magic, the students of Hogwarts School of Wizarding find themselves placed in increasingly dangerous situations. Harry Potter, himself, has been affected thanks to the death of his beloved godfather and protector, Sirius Black, at the hands of Black’s own cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. Factor in that Harry’s kindly mentor, Hogwart’s headmaster, Albus Dumbledore has shown up with a peculiarly blackened and withered hand and isn’t quite his normally cheery self, and these are dark times indeed for Harry and his friends.

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Although Michael Jackson has passed on to that great concert hall in the sky, fortunately, another multi-talented musician/singer/performer is still with us in Prince. With 2009 marking the 25th anniversary of “Purple Rain”, His Royal Purpleness is still going strong decades after the release of his iconic film and its blockbuster tie-in soundtrack. Just a few short months ago, Prince released a three-disc set of new material showcasing his multitude of musical skills and keen ear for producing various styles from R&B to rock to his classic “Minneapolis Sound” with equal prowess. Oh… And the man can still dance!

What made Purple Rain so unique and successful in its day was the use of MTV-style cinematography, utilizing rapid-fire jump cuts and close-ups along with musical numbers interspersed throughout in a club setting. It was a realistic musical where songs were part of the story as Prince’s character, the petulant Kid battled it out with the slick Morris Day for supremacy on the Minneapolis club music scene along with their respective bands. As opposed to classic musicals like Hello Dolly and Singin’ in the Rain, characters didn’t spontaneously burst into song. Instead, the music was relegated to realistic performance sequences. Also, the film deviated from the traditionally lighthearted feel of the musical genre, exploring such subjects as domestic abuse, greed, corruption, and other vices. The film’s soundtrack included such hits as “When Doves Cry,” “Let’s Go Crazy” and the epic, 7 minute ballad “Purple Rain.”

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Sascha Baron Cohen is back with another totally offensive character aimed at reinforcing stereotypes and simultaneously using them to make people uncomfortable and confront their own insecurities and prejudices. The comic genius from Britain who gave the world Ali G, the rap music afficionado of indeterminable ethnicity with a penchant for insulting comments towards his guests and Kazakhastani documentarian with a Pamela Anderson fetish, Borat is now offering fans a new character who promises to offend audiences with his offbeat sense of humor.

Cohen’s latest character is Bruno, a flamboyantly gay Austrian fashion editor with bleached blonde hair and an arsenal of fabulously fashion-forward and daring outfits at his disposal. (Although some of his outfits are rather outrageous, so far, of what has been shown on the official Bruno trailer, none of them can compare to Borat’s lime green mankini…. Well, maybe the faux nude bodysuit comes close.)

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Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk! Guess who’s back on the big screen, decades after the last member of the orignal comedy legends passed away? The Farrelly Brothers, the demented, madcap minds behind the comedy classic, Dumb and Dumber are reviving the Three Stooges for contemporary audiences for the big screen. It’s a risky venture considering how beloved the original — and inimitable — Three Stooges were to generations.

Comprised of two brothers (Moe and Curly Howard) and their longtime friend, Larry Fine, the Three Stooges were a vaudeville comedy team that used physical, slapstick humor in their act. Each Stooge had their designated role: Black-haired Moe with his distinctive, thick bangs was the ringleader and aggressor of the group, often bullying and picking on Curly and Larry. Larry, the level-headed (and frizzy haired) Stooge, still went along with Moe’s plans in spite of the fact that he knew better. (Larry just didn’t want to get bonked on the head. Can you blame him?) Perhaps the “Super Stooge,” was Curly, the big stooge with the crewcut and the mind of a happy-go-lucky and easily excitable child.

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Although it won’t hit theatres until March of 2010, photos of Tim Burton’s re-imagining of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland, are circulating. The film’s look is certainly what you would expect from Burton with a brightly colored, yet gothic-tinged aura about all of his films, including Sweeney Todd and The Corpse Bride.

The film will combine a mixture of live-action actors along with stop-motion animation (like Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas) and digital CGI. Even more ambitiously, this format will later be transposed to 3D — which, judging by the stills and production art, will probably make for a very trippy experience on the other side of the looking glass. Check out the art below and stills to get a sneak peak at what you can expect from this freaky fairy tale made just a tad more twisted:

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Television commercials are going to great lengths to create identifiable characters to help sell their products, making viewers/consumers feel comfortable with their product pitchers. For the first time since the ’80s where you had such recognizable commercial characters like Mr. Whipple (the “Don’t Squeeze the Charmin” guy), Madge the Palmolive lady, Budweiser non-spokesdog Spuds Mackenzie, and Dunkin’ Donuts “Time to Make the Donuts” guy, television commercials have some very familiar faces.

Currently, several commercial characters are just as widely recognized as actors on the television shows that they advertise with. Insurance companies lead the pack with the most well-known characters, including the ever-so-polite Geico Gecko, the misunderstood Cavemen, and of course, Flo the Progressive Insurance Peddler, with her never-ending optimism!

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The revamped version of Star Trek is still the summer’s hottest movie, however, Trekkies and new converts will be excited to know that even more intergalactic goodness has crept into an appropriately intellectual setting. You’ve seen Star Trek: The Series and several Star Trek movies… Get ready for Star Trek: The Exhibit.

This traveling exhibit is scheduled to hit 40 cities in 5 years. This summer, it’s docked itself for the summer in Philadelphia’s famous Franklin Institute Museum showcasing not just costumes, artifacts, and props from the original show and films, but also the science behind Star Trek. The science aspect of the exhibit compares and contrasts how close we are with technological advancements as seen in the 22nd and 23rd century on the franchise.

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