Why everyone else is leaving town

A proud nerd's guide to Comicpalooza: Zombie love, Twilight hate, Star Trekbabes & Edward James Olmos rule

Comicpalooza brings out the nerd in the best of us.
Love zombies? You're going to love Houston's comic book convention.
Into "Twilight?" You might not get such a welcome reception.
Star Trek babes will be there.

Comicpalooza’s fourth year has been dubbed the “Year of the Zombie” and for good reason. It already started off with a Zombie Pub Crawl last weekend and is continuing this Friday through Sunday with costume contests, panels about the undead and survival guides.

The George R. Brown Convention Center doors open at 11 a.m. Friday for registration and the convention runs full speed all the way through Sunday evening. We have dwindled down the list of 250 hours of sessions into the truly “must-not miss” events:

Friday

Is 1 p.m. too early to start off with a special gaming announcement? Steve Jackson of Steve Jackson Games will be announcing something big that no gamer will want to miss!

Choose to talk to some of the artists and writers of X-Men in an eye-opening session at 2 p.m. or take a break and watch live music from various bands performing live.

At 3 p.m. you can keep with the zombie theme and attend authors James Collins and Jason Kristopher’s Zombie Apocalypse panel.

Celebrity sightings kick up at 4 p.m. when you can meet the faces behind some of your favorite animated voices at the Whose Voice is That panel. More interested in zombie survival? The Zombie 101: How Not to Be Zombie Bait is in the same slot.

Another announcement drops at 4 p.m. This time it is from Samantha Inoue-Harte, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra and author Tad Williams.

Perhaps the most fun event on Friday starts at 4:30 p.m. in the arena. Wear your house colors because the first Quidditch match of the weekend puts Sam Houston State University against Texas Tech!

Ease into the evening by showcasing your comic knowledge at the 8 p.m, at the first annual Comicpalooza Trivia contest.

Twist your mind at 9:30 p.m. by watching performers drill things into their skulls and other odd tricks at the Braggart Family SideCircus Performance. They’ll be performing a few more times during the weekend in case you miss out.

Time to party at 10 p.m, at the Dead Night Party. Slap on your zombie makeup and get your fake blood oozing as you watch the cast of San Jacinto College sing songs from Evil Dead: The Musical. Costume contest, live music and other special surprises.

Saturday

Get your questions ready by 11 a.m. because Chewbacca, Yoda, and Boba Fett will be on deck to give you some answers. Hear what they think about Luke and Leia’s “innocent” sibling relationship.

11 a.m. also brings the second Quidditch match of the weekend! SHSU will be pitted against Texas A&M.

Saturday at noon is the perfect time for the one and only Edward James Olmos to make an exclusive Comicpalooza announcement about a new project he has been working on. Follow him around until 2 p.m. when you can catch him for an autograph.

Big shot writer Fred Van Lente will talk at 1 p.m. about his graphic novel turned soon-to-be-hit movie, Cowboys & Aliens. Get a glimpse into what everyone is waiting to see this summer.

Time to root for the home team! A roller derby match also starts at 1 p.m. where Houston’s HaRD Knocks squad faces off against the Nuclear Knockouts.

The doctor is in at 2 p.m.. Sean Maher from Firefly will conduct a Q&A session. This panel is sure to be packed with Browncoats.

Hate Twilight? We have a session for you! Real Vampires Don’t Sparkle at 3 p.m. will be sure to cause a mini riot within the convention center. Keep some garlic on hand for this one.

A Star Trek Q&A with the beautiful Marina Sirtis phases in at 5 p.m. Maybe ask her about her future voice work for the new Young Justice animated series.

Magical things will happen at 6 p.m. with a show by World Magician Ben Jackson. You can opt to skip the theatrics to snag some eye candy because Sam Trammell will be doing a True Blood Q&A session at the same time.

Now is the perfect time to break for dinner because the day ends with a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight.

Sunday

One of the biggest sessions happening on Sunday starts at 11a.m. The Battlestar Galactica Q&A panel will have Edward James Olmos fielding your inquiries. Be sure to ask follow-up questions about that Saturday annoouncement.

Comicpalooza really outdoes itself with special guest Bob Layton at 1 p.m. Hear what the man who revitalized Iron Man and X-Men has to say about the state of Marvel comics.

Another big name enters the convention at 1 p.m. Devon Murray of Harry Potter fame will be sitting down to talk to fans. With the final movie on the horizon, this is an opportunity to ask about what happens behind-the-scenes and attempt to drag out any spoilers.

Go straight from Harry Potter to Green Lantern with the film’s Deke Anderson and Nick Jones. Ask questions about the soon-to-be hit film and see if they will hint about a possible sequel.

Don’t put your brooms away just yet. The final Quidditch match of the weekend features Texas Tech against A&M at 2 p.m.

If you are an artist, character designer, inker, or digital painter, Sunday at 5 p.m. brings an opportunity to show the big wigs your skills. A special portfolio review with Don Kramer, Andy Kuhn and Phil Hester puts amateurs in the spotlight.

These sessions are a small fraction of what all is going on during Houston's nerdiest event. Be sure to check out the full program schedule to find out when your favorite authors will be doing signings, what booth your favorite artists have reserved and where to stalk the stars.

Get zombified because Comicpalooza is here!

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Movie Review

Over-the-top acting and incoherent plot drag down Her Private Hell

Photo courtesy of Neon

Sophie Thatcher in Her Private Hell.

Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn is not someone who plays nice with the general film world. His 2011 film Drive introduced him to American audiences in a big way, but that pulsating thriller was followed up with artier films like Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon that eschewed coherent plots in favor of moody, atmospheric pieces.

Winding Refn, who hasn’t made a feature film in 10 years, has gone fully down the rabbit hole with Her Private Hell. Taking place in a liminal space that kind of resembles Earth but also feels like someone’s dreams/nightmares, the film focuses on Elle (Sophie Thatcher), an actor currently starring in a sci-fi film. Staying at a hotel with newcomer Hunter (Kristine Froseth), the two bond over their shared passion and the legend of Elle’s father, Johnny Thunders (Dougray Scott), who’s now married to Elle’s friend Dominique (Havana Rose Liu).

After spending a good amount of (mostly incomprehensible) time with that group, Refn introduces Private K (Charles Melton), who seems to be living in post-World War II Japan. He is looking for his daughter, who might have been taken by a mysterious figure known as “Leatherman,” and he will stop at nothing to find her, fighting whoever stands in his way.

It becomes clear almost right away that Winding Refn has no desire to engage in traditional storytelling in this film. The main characters wander through neon-drenched streets and buildings, which are often surrounded by a mist that is referred to on multiple occasions but never explained. Everyone speaks as if in a constant state of wonderment, and there are many moments where it’s unclear if events are actually happening, part of a movie-within-a-movie, or something else entirely.

Unlike his previous films, Winding Refn has taken the characters in this film completely out of the real world, with every scene taking place in a sparsely decorated room or street that is obviously a movie set. While there are moments where this decision really works, especially the striking first shot of a human-like figure mixed in with a cityscape and clouds, most of the time it only adds to the stilted nature of the film as a whole.

In fact, the entire movie has the feel of an avant-garde theater exercise. Every actor seems to be trying to outdo the others with awkward performances and out-sized reactions. Two very specific characters make appearances in both sides of the story for seemingly no reason other than to inject their weirdness into both spaces. The shocking violence that crops up on occasion would have more of an impact if it was related to anything intelligible.

Thatcher (Companion) and Liu (Tuner) are among the young stars who have had breakout moments in recent years, but neither of them is served well by this hot mess of a movie. They, along with Melton, still demonstrate the talent they possess, but the oddity of the film weighs them down. Scott makes an impression for all the wrong reasons, while Froseth is called upon to play a character who might as well not be there at all.

If there’s any kind of message that Winding Refn was trying to convey with Her Private Hell, it’s lost among the flashing lights, overload of pink, and jewel-like structures. Filmmakers who try to make art for art’s sake have a place in the world, but this film too often feels like people are making things up as they go, with no real goal in mind.

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Her Private Hell opens in theaters on July 24.

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