Joaquin Phoenix. Benicio Del Toro. Josh Brolin. Reese Witherspoon. Martin Short. Sounds like a cast that could be quite entertaining, doesn’t it? You have Oscar candidates and winners here, established star power. Add director Paul Thomas Anderson of “Boogie Nights” fame and a script based on a novel by popular author Thomas Pynchon. This has “can’t miss Hollywood blockbuster” written all over it, right?

For those who know their AVENGERS lore, you already know that the movie team roster isn't quite the one shown in the team's comic book origin story. Someone's missing. Someone... big.

That someone would be Hank Pym, also known as Giant Man. But Pym had another superhero identity as well. (Let's face it, he's had several, but he can never escape the fact that he smacked his wife around.) Among those identities was Ant-Man, who could not only reduce himself to ant-size, but he could also telepathically communicate with ants; which, to the unimaginative, might make him the equivalent in power to Aquaman.

Monster Underneath
Writer: Shane McKenzie
Artwork: Claudia Balboni

The notion of a monster under the bed is, perhaps, one of the oldest bogeyman tropes in horror -- specifically because it's one of the most prevalent childhood fears.

Young Mindy is an orphan who is convinced that her bed harbors a slathering creature, and the other boys in the orphanage take advantage of her fears to torment her. But when Mindy's paradigm is challenged by her older foster sister, Rose, it puts a twist into the story that changes the dynamics of the relationship between Mindy and her monster.

Shane McKenzie's story has its ups and downs. It's established as a framework, with the adult Mindy having a first date. We immediately know the guy is a boor, so his intentions are quickly telegraphed to the reader.

If you're looking for someone with the longsuffering patience needed to deal with a room full of children, Gordon Ramsay probably isn't going to be on your list. But that unexpected mix is part of what makes MASTERCHEF JUNIOR such a fun watch for viewers.

Representing my home town of Saint Louis, Missouri, is Ayla, an eleven year old whose already got a signature dish in her culinary repertoire: Corn and Pumpkin Soup. "I learned from my mom's cooking school," says Ayla. "It ws the first recipe that I had to learn and master."

But there's a distinct difference between what she does best and what she likes most. "[Pumpkin and Corn Soup] is definitely the think I make the best," says Ayla. "But my favorite thing to cook is Chocolate Souffle."

Welcome to 2015 and what I hope will be a fairly regular series on sports. I’m a baseball fan first and a basketball fan somewhere after curling and badminton, tied with soccer, so that will give you some idea what to expect.

This time of year, with snow blowing outside my window, makes me long for baseball season. Hot stove league discussions keep warm thoughts of summer days with that perfect bouquet of stadium scents helping me to forget about the notorious St. Louis humidity. It’s also the time of year where the Baseball Writers Association of America, the self-appointed arbiters of enshrinement in baseball’s Hall of Fame in bucolic Cooperstown, NY, holds their annual elections. Lately, these votes have left me cold.

Despite how it may often appear, I don't just read superhero comics. Sometimes I read superhero novels. And over the last few years, I've discovered something -- you can actually find superhero novels whose characters have not appeared in comic books!

This contest has ended. The winner is:

Angela C of Chesnee, SC.

The Army of the 12 Monkeys wants you -- to tag your scenes of viral terror with their symbol. But how can you do that if you're not a very good artist?

Syfy has the answer! This 12" x 12" static sticker is just the thing to put your mark on the world -- or on the back glass of your car.

And how can you acquire this symbol of the Army of the 12 Monkeys? That's the genius part! All you have to do is enter your information in the form below, and you'll be recruited into the army entered into this contest. One lucky winner will receive this awesome (and useful) bit of artwork, packaged with some other nifty goodies that we won't describe here (so, you know, surprise and all that, but mostly because the box fits so neatly).

Adapting the 1995 Bruce Willis film, Syfy's 12 MONKEYS sticks to the premise of a time traveler from a few decades into the future coming back to present day (and, perhaps, even years earlier) in an attempt to track down and eradicate the initial source of a plague that would wipe out nearly all of humanity in his time. However, details of the plague's origin are murky, so applying "fixes" risk breaking things even more.

Dr. Cassandra Railly (Amanda Schull, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS) is a rising star in her field -- or was, back in 2013. That was before she was carjacked by a stranger who insists he needs her help finding a man named Leland Frost. He claims he's a time traveler, and the terrified Dr. Railly believes him insane -- until the moment the police arrive and he blinks out of existence.

This understated indie film starts off slow, but develops in short order into a startling and disturbing series of twisted twists.

Sue (Mackenzie Davis, THAT AWKWARD MOMENT) is a girl of books, and she's preparing to head off to college. Her close friend Bobby (Jeremy Allen White, SHAMELESS) is going with her, but that's a secret few people in the town know. They are leaving behind the third person in their troupe, B.J. (Logan Huffman, V), who decides he's going to see the two of them off with a wild night of partying and a bundle of cash he's saved up.

Doug TenNapel introduces a new world to his fans with the first book of the NNEWTS series, ESCAPE FROM THE LIZZARKS. At its most basic level, NNEWTS pits peaceful amphibians against aggressive reptiles. Both sides employ different magics, with the Nnewts relying on their magician and the Lizzarks relying on their Wizzark (and yes, TenNapel knows how that sounds, and even pokes fun at the idea himself within the story).

When the Lizzarks invade Nnewtown, they kill ruthlessly. The only apparent escapee is young Herk, who has been cursed with tiny back legs which prevent him from walking out of the water. His flight leads him to a lost kingdom, a confrontation with an evil deity, and a lost colony of Nnewts, with hints of mystical connections Herk never knew he had.

There have been several disaster movies that rely on "signs and wonders" as a plot device, but few as hokey as ZODIAC: SIGNS OF THE APOCALYPSE.

An archeological dig uncovers an ancient stone machine harboring a stone of unmeasurable energy. The machine is geared to the twelve signs of the zodiac, the orbit of the eight planets -- and the eliptical orbit of the mysterious planet Nebiru. Professor Neil Martin (Joel Gretsch) is brought in to help understand the device, and he brings along his shy teenaged son, Colin (Reilly Dolman). Martin unlocks the device, landing the stone inside in the hands of Kathryn Keen (Emily Holmes) and her government bosses, starting with Agent Woodward (Aaron Douglas). They also end up rescuing Sophie (Andrea Brooks), who was the assistant on the last mission to the dig, who got buried in a cave-in.

Anything can happen in the woods.. but not enough.

Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods is a fantasy film for those who love a humorous musical with witty lyrics and powerful themes that will stick with you after the movie is over. Director Rob Marshall (who also directed the Academy Award winning Chicago)  does a good job bringing a fairytale landscape with larger than life characters to the big screen.  Despite the pacing and disjointed storylines during the second half of the film, the outstanding vocal performances make this a movie I’d like to see again.   This magical story intertwines multiple Grimm fairy tales with a story of The Baker (James Corden) and The Baker’s Wife (Emily Blunt) who are trying to lift a spell cast by The Witch (Meryl Streep).

The Jack Kerowax, composed of musicians from several Dallas-Fort Worth bands, drops its self-titled debut with ten tracks recorded, mixed, and mastered solely on analog equipment.

The group arose out of friendships, collaborations and rehearsals in northeastern Texas. Singer-songwriter Johnny Beauford looked for musicians to play on his new record, but the solo project turned into a full-fledged band.

“Our influences range from classic country to Lou Reed”, says frontman Johnny Beauford. “Lyrically, this record is full of condensed short stories. Most of the stuff I write has some pretty dark undertones, and the music in response, usually seems to have some equally dark overtones. However, there are good times — and despite popular opinion, it is possible to be inspired by joy as easily as depression or anger.”

This contest has ended.

At one point in my life, I got to go behind the scenes of a small market network affiliate for a morning show. It was eye-opening, to say the least.

Watching the pilot episode for BREAKING GREENVILLE brought back those memories. The truTV reality series takes you inside the inner workings of two competing stations in the Mississippi delta region -- ABC affiliate WABG and CBS affiliate WXVT (you can check them out yourself at www.yourdeltanews.com) -- which manages to draw comedy out of the mundane. And, having witnessed those workings firsthand, it has a certain verisimilitude.

NEW YORK, NY – With just days until Christmas, children and adults across the globe are hoping to get all the presents on their wish lists. Once again, one man is deemed with delivering all these present the world over. Will Santa Claus once again get the job done? Is this the year that Santa doesn’t show up? Will Santa’s sleigh breakdown during his journey? Will he deem you naughty and put coal in your stocking? Once again beating everyone down the chimney the most reliable and accurate odds/information source on the web MyTopSportsbooks.com posted odds on all things related to Santa Claus!

MyTopSportsbooks.com spokesman Geoff Johnson stated, “Now that everyone has a camera on their phone the race is on to be the person to video Santa Claus joyfully yelling, “Ho, Ho, Ho!”

Analysts at MyTopSportsbooks.com posted the following odds regarding Santa Claus and Christmas:

If you're someone who likes their numbers in a nice, linear fashion, Doctor Who will give you headaches. The show in enjoying its fifty-first year. The latest season was "Series Eight."  Peter Capaldi plays the thirteenth regeneration of The Doctor, and yet is still referred to as the Twelfth Doctor. At least there's only one Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) -- unless you count that time she entered the center of the TARDIS and had her essence spread across time and space.

From the folks who brought us the thoughtful comedy MOMS' NIGHT OUT and the inspirational GOD'S NOT DEAD comes a dramatic character-driven film, DO YOU BELIEVE?

It's billed as "The World's First Reality Musical." And at first blush, I immediately said, "No it's not." Not if I count GREASE: YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT! (that gave us the spectacular Laura Osnes). And I'm pretty sure AMERICAN IDOL could lay some sort of claim to that title.

But after I gave BRANSON FAMOUS a watch, I get it. And, yes, it truly is the first reality musical.

This follow-up movie to 2010’s much acclaimed THE TRIP reunites Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, this time on a culinary tour of Italy at the request of Director Michael Winterbottom. One might call it a tour-de-farce.