Goths, geeks, and weirdos of the world rejoice: the theatrical re-release with a twist of Disney’s classic “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is nigh. The twist? You can now enjoy what was already a creepily realistic bit of masterful claymation in proper 3D. A new way to be drawn into the freakish world of Halloweentown or the saccharine splendor of Chistmastown.

On October 19th Jack the Pumpkin King, Sally, Santa Claus & the rest of the diverse, engaging characters will come to life in a whole new way for a mere three-week engagement, ending November 3rd .

I’ll admit it: I’m a huge fan of the film, though I don’t fall into any of the stereotypical “Nightmare” fan categories. But with undeniably catchy and infectious music and beautiful artistry to the strangely mesmerizing claymation creatures, “Nightmare” quickly became a staple in my movie collection. In fact, I watch it every Christmas. The idea that it doubles as a Halloween film? Even better.

And it’s that Halloween appeal that Disney’s capitalizing on with the timing of the 3D release. The tag line “so real, it’s scary” prepares us for what I fully suspect will be a borderline disturbing cinema experience. As much as the scenery and monstrous cast of characters are engaging, they’re also slightly unnerving. There really is an element of every child’s nightmares in Halloweentown, and when that crosses over to the purity of Christmas, it can catch you off-guard.

No doubt that’s the effect Disney is hoping will draw crowds to participating cinemas while the film goes head-to-head with other Halloween standards such as the inevitable fourth installment in the now-classic “Saw” series. For my part I’ll be there alongside teens in trench coats and Robert Smith hairdos, baffled kids whose parents are reveling in nostalgia, and maybe…just maybe…a whole new generation of “Nightmare” fans who will, a decade and a half since the film’s initial release, keep the movie relevant and exciting for decades to come.

The first “Elizabeth” film with Cate Blanchett in the title role is one of my favorite films for its flamboyant recreation of a fascinating period in Western history, and innovative retelling of the amazing Elizabeth I tale.

But that’s just it: it’s innovative, not authentic. History buffs have criticized “Elizabeth” for the many, many liberties it takes with the story of the fierce monarch. If you approach “Elizabeth” with the understanding that it’s a good story but not a good history, you can enjoy the film for the dramatic spectacle it is. With the sequel, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” already in cinemas, it’s well worth brushing up on the first film before diving your popcorn with the second.

If you’re not familiar with the real Elizabeth story, the first half can be condensed into the following:

• Elizabeth’s Catholic sister Queen Mary struggles with Protestants who arise in the wake of their father’s religious reforms.
• Mary hates Protestant Elizabeth. Elizabeth goes to prison.
• Mary dies. Elizabeth becomes queen.
• As queen, Elizabeth is expected to marry for political gain yet remains single and a virgin, hence “The Virgin Queen”.
• One of her closest friends is Robert Dudley. They stay such with a few hiccups, but are never really romantically linked: he’s married several times, all with Elizabeth’s knowledge.
• Another suitor is the Duke of Anjou of France. She’s briefly engaged to him and likes him enough to write love poetry.
• Elizabeth faces attempts to overthrow her and puts to death members of her government.
• Where the film ends, in real life Elizabeth fights to pull together and protect a torn England from her many enemies within and without.

Now, compare those bullet points with the plot of “Elizabeth”:

• The relationship between Mary and Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s imprisonment and politics are shown well.
• There is obvious romance between Dudley and Elizabeth—seen in physical intimacy in the opening scenes. Predictably a sex scene is included later on.
• The Duke of Anjou appears, portrayed as utterly offensive, bumbling, cross-dressing, and incestuous. Needless to say marriage negotiations with him go nowhere.
• As in real life, she puts to death her worst enemies, but somehow Dudley gets embroiled in the plot. This follows a spat when Elizabeth discovers he’s been married behind her back. He’s cast out of court forever.
• To address some of England’s strife Elizabeth reinvents herself as a virgin to emulate the Virgin Mary, a source of religious unrest.

It’s a fantastic tale whether you look at it from a historical point of view or a cinema point of view, but clearly it needs to be taken with a heaping dose of salt. The largest historical inaccuracies stem from the relationship between Elizabeth and Robert Dudley; that’s the Hollywood influence. Audiences love a steamy romance, particularly with an actor like Joseph Fiennes stripping off to do his romantic hero duties. “Elizabeth” was released the same year when “Shakespeare in Love” hit a similar winning formula.

From there, where can the story go? “The Golden Age” shuffles history a bit and brings yet more romance, this time with Walter Raleigh. But it carries the same promise of great storytelling, wonderful acting, and amazing visuals. Just be prepared to do your homework if you want a true account of Elizabeth’s history.

The things “The Sopranos” can do for a classic 80s tune. There was a time—not so long ago—when I could only admit to loving Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” as a guilty pleasure. In fact, it might have even been a dirty little secret. Journey’s a massively popular band in music history, but let’s face it: it’s not exactly “hip” to rock along with Steve Perry in the 2000s.

But all that’s changed since the finale of the beloved HBO series. With the very last moments we’ll ever see of the Soprano story set to “Don’t Stop Believing”, the song has hit a chord with a whole new audience. I know younger people who saw the show and couldn’t place the song. I know older viewers who hadn’t heard of Journey, either. But everybody came away from that episode humming the melody and singing those three words: “don’t stop believing”.

For Journey fans, keeping the faith has paid off. Suddenly the song’s skyrocketed up search engine ranks as people clamor for the lyrics and a download. Could it be the start of a Journey renaissance? Considering much of Journey’s music is in the same dramatic style, it’s possible people who’ve come to them by way of the song will be converted to the Journey faithful.

And those of us who’ve carried our “Don’t Stop Believing” adoration all this time can finally sing along without shame. Unless we’re horrible singers, in which case we should rock out in air guitar alone.

I’m sorry, I’m going to have to go against the grain on the highly-anticipated TV comedy “Chuck” and admit: I just don’t get it. I don’t understand the plot and I don’t understand why anyone would want to watch it. What’s the deal?

Sure, it’s quirky. I give the writers credit for creating a premise that’s not exactly run-of-the-mill (despite on-the-surface similarities to “Jake 2.0”). And the acting is good enough, certainly by current NBC standards. But how long can we be expected to suspend our disbelief? Will the plot hold its ground for the months—and years, if it remains popular—to come?

A computer geek downloads the entire bulk of the nation’s top secrets into his brain via e-mail. How exactly he accomplishes this I’m never quite sure. A confusing cast of physically-fit characters is therefore forced to involve themselves with a guy they’d otherwise not give a second glance, except perhaps for the standard bumbling sidekick.

I feel as though my own head is swimming with a confused jumble of unimaginable and unintelligible concepts, a la geek-with-government-secrets-in-brain. I don’t know who’s really the bad guy and who’s a genuine pal. I have no idea what’s the deal with the implausibly hot girlfriend. I think of “The 40 Year Old Virgin” whenever they’re inside the electronics store—and that’s the only laugh the show ever spares me.

“Chuck” has only been on the airwaves a month and already I have to rely on Wikipedia to tell me what this show’s actually about. You may think that makes me an idiot, but I say to each his own. If you’re a “Chuck” savant, good on ya. Maybe you can upload your understanding directly to my brain, too.

There will be upcoming training for both local (Florida) bloggers and national international.

The local training will be at our offices in Jacksonville Beach, and for the rest of you, we will do a web training.

We’ll let you know the dates by Friday, October 19.

In the interim, here are some of the blogs you will be helping to grow. Anything you can do now to link to these sites would be appreciated:

www.hollywoodsquared.com
www.monetizationweekly.com
www.newstrain.com
www.2008presidentialpoll.com
www.topblogcontent.com
www.onemillionsafe.com