Archive for June, 2004
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Vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix and come face-to-face with all your phys ed fears come to fruition – COACH TOM!
So the new Ben Stiller/Vince Vaughn comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story comes out this Friday. Despite the catatonic state I depict for myself in today’s strip, I’m actually quite looking forward to this movie.
Frankly, I’m surprised no one came up with the idea for a dodgeball movie before now. The unsuspecting school yard activity is social Darwinism in its purest form. It’s like Lord of the Flies with monkey bars. There is sure to be a lot of comedy to mine from that.
Is it wrong to admit that I’m more interested in the supporting cast of this movie than the leads? Well, maybe not ALL of the leads. I really like Vince Vaughn. He’s found himself a tidy niche as the scheming wise-ass. He was great in both Old School and Starsky & Hutch. That mellow exterior… he steals almost every scene he’s in – and that’s no small feat when you’re set up toe-to-toe with Will Ferrell.
It’s Ben Stiller I could care less about at this point. He slaps on a stupid wig and glues on a silly mustache and we’re supposed to laugh? Personally, I refuse to roll over on this. At this point, Stiller has become like an annoying uncle trying to make you giggle by making stupid faces and talking with a goofy voice. Only problem is you’re no longer 3 years-old, but now your 11 years-old and he doesn’t seem to notice.
I’m more interested in the bit players they’ve assembled for this picture. Rip Torn, Stephen Root, Justin Long, Jason Bateman, Hank Azaria, William Shatner, David Hasselhoff… heck, even Stiller’s wife Christine Taylor can throw a subtle laugh better than her husband.
That’s all I can think of for the moment, but I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts on Dodgeball this Friday. I have another tale of pre-pubescent anxiety to unveil in comic strip form! Stay tuned!
Do you have a dodgeball story to share or maybe reflections on the upcoming movie? Share your thoughts in the THorum!
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Jun18
I decided that I was tired of depicting myself as a dodgeball weenie, so I decided to take today’s buzzComix incentive sketch and draw myself as Tha Dodgeball Mastah! Click here to be (possibly) impressed!
I know today’s comic isn’t necessarily movie-related. Its makes the most tenuous association with Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (which I mentioned on Wednesday). I have nothing new to say about it, so just regard today’s comic as the conclusion of Wednesday’s comic.
If you’re a member of the THorum, you’d know that I’ve taken the day off to spend with my sweetie Cami. Speaking of things you only used to do when you were a kid, we’re going to the zoo this morning. Who knows what awaits us? Neither of us have been there in the last 15 years.
But we’re not ignoring our multiplexes on our day off, either! We plan of catching a matinee of the aforementioned Dodgeball, then catching the late show of the new Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks joint The Terminal.
Advance chatter for The Terminal hasn’t been overwhelmingly positive. At least not for the caliber of talent associated with it. Most reviews I’ve read have praised the first 45 minutes before noting it wallows in typical Spielberg sentimentality for the remainder of the picture. Interesting that no one seems to mention the near impenetrable Eastern block accent Hanks chooses to employ. Maybe it’s not as difficult to decipher through the course of a 2 hour movie as compared to the brief trailer that had our heads scratching.
We have some friends who want to go see Saved! on Saturday night. I have a passing interest in this, but it didn’t occur to me to rush out in see it. Reviews have been strong. And if it sucks, at least I’ll get to see Macaulay Culkin in a wheelchair.
I’m sorry, but I still haven’t forgiven him for Getting Even With Dad!
Okay, that’s really cruel. Seriously, though. Advanced chatter looks good. Plus, it has Patrick Fugit in it and I thought he was awesome in Almost Famous.
That’s about it for me today. Hope you enjoyed the comic. One last thing before I go…
It’s becoming known that I’m a bit of a word freak. That is, I like to play Scrabble. Well, our intrepid THorum crew found a place where we can play the interactive crossword puzzle for free. We’ve been known to strike up a few games at random from time to time. We’re usually in the room “Consonant Creek”. Look us up sometime.
Take care, have a safe weekend and I’ll see in this spot Monday!
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We have a new sponsor at Theater Hopper. Be sure to check out Magic Video Clips. It’s a pretty cool idea, actually. Spend a little cash and get access to an online video that demonstrates cool magic tricks. There are previews of the tricks so you know what you’re getting and the cost is dirt cheap.
I’m seriously thinking about putting down some coin to figure out that Paint Brush Colour Change trick!
By the way, if you have a web site you’d like to advertise, you can find more information on how to do so here!
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I couldn’t really think of a fun parody image to reward you with for voting for Theater Hopper at buzzComix, so here’s a doodle of Tom spinning a plate! Why not, right?
A quick order of business to start the week: If you’re looking for affordable, reliable hosting for your web site, please visit our newest sponsor Revolution Hosting. These guys do a great job, provide several hosting options and won’t charge you an arm and a leg for their services! Tell ’em Tommy sentcha!
Cami and I had a very productive movie-watching weekend. I took Friday off and we spent the late morning at the zoo and then swung over to the theater for a matinee of The Terminal.
Maybe there is something wrong with the two of us, but we HATED this movie!
If you’re not familiar with the concept of the film, Tom Hanks plays an immigrant coming to the United States. But while he is in the air, a military coup occurs in his country and the government is overthrown. With the new government in place, Hank’s old country does not exist and the United States does not recognize the new one. This renders his passport invalid. He can’t return to his homeland and he can’t step onto American soil. He ends up in limbo, living inside the airport’s terminal waiting for the black tape to be cleared up.
The first 45 minutes of the movie are interesting as Hanks character attempts to overcome the situation. There is the inevitable language barrier, and some clever situation involving the food vouchers he loses and how he generates money so that he can eat.
But the film quickly loses steam once Hanks is given Catherine Zeta-Jones’ character to pine after. Zeta-Jones is TOTALLY miscast as a flight attendant who is woefully dependent on her relationships with men – ANY man. Think about every Catherine Zeta-Jones character ever put to screen. Bossy, confident, pushy. She doesn’t do “conflicted” very convincingly.
There are several points in the movie that ring emotionally false. For example, the scene detailed in today’s comic. In an attempt to win her over, Hanks takes Zeta-Jones’ character “out” for a romantic dinner. But since he can’t leave the terminal, they dine out on the terrace overlooking the tarmac. Various terminal employees lend a hand by posing as waiters. Suddenly, Kumar Pallana’s character – Gupta the janitor – steps in and starts spinning plates and juggling hoops… FOR NO REASON!
Another subplot involves one of the said terminal worker’s longing to gain the attention of an INS agent that Hank’s character sees on a daily basis. In exchange for food, he recruits Hanks to learn more information about her until he can build up the nerve to talk to her. The end of the subplot comes about when Hanks delivers an engagement ring on behalf of the airport employee and tells the INS agent he waits for him in the food court. She arrives, ring on finger and they get married! Neither of these characters have exchanged ONE LINE of dialogue in the entire movie!
This movie was setting off my B.S. detector more than I care to recall. Hanks – although portraying an lovable, almost infallible character, loses points for his Eastern Bloc “accent” which sounds more like guttural mumblings the more he learns English than anything authentic.
Cinematography Janusz Kaminski also drops the ball by creating a very murky color palette in some scenes while totally bleaching out others.
Ultimately, Hanks’ reasons for coming to the United States don’t seem to warrant the amount of patience he displays as he whittles away his time in the terminal. And there are several other scenes that felt lifted straight out of a sitcom. For example, the solemn line of police officers preventing Hanks from leaving, but then – AT THE LAST MINUTE – having a change of heart!
Have you ever watched some softball romantic comedy where all the misunderstanding that erupt during the course of the film could be cleared away if only one character would come forward with ONE PIECE of information? That’s what The Terminal feels like. We’re never given any reason why Stanley Tucci’s bureaucratic Frank Dixon just doesn’t push Hanks out the door when he becomes infuriated by his constant presence beyond some rigid obligation to “The Rules”. There is no genuine conflict here. Just a highly improbable situation that failed to connect with me despite several tries.
Hmm… I’m noticing that this little bloggy-blog is getting a little long in the tooth and I still haven’t gotten to the other two movies I saw this weekend – Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story and Saved!
Tell you what. I’ll come back to this space later and give you my thoughts on these films then. Sound good? Come back here for more overblown insights!
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Again at a loss for a good incentive sketch idea, I decided to depict myself as another well-known muckraker, Geraldo Rivera! Click here to see the image (and dig that crazy reference to UHF as well!)
I found myself at a crossroads with today’s comic. Even though a lot of people are talking about it, Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 could be perceived as damaged goods for a web site that traffics in making people laugh with funny pictures. Without even seeing it, we’ve been made aware that the film is unapologetically ANTI George W. Bush and this is something that can dramatically split an audience.
But on the other hand, NOT tackling a film that has generated so much advance buzz would just be sloppy content management on my part. Why should I deny what’s current in the culture because of a little controversy? Ultimately, I think I reached a fairly inventive solution in regard to discussing the film without directly mentioning it’s politics or its bias.
Even if I had to break every law regarding The 4th Wall to do it! 😉
Now before anyone gets their knickers in a twist and thinks that maybe what I’m saying in the third panel are my personal politics… well, I’m here to tell you that’s not the point of this comic strip.
Things will become more clear after Friday (this is a two-part strip) that what I am choosing to lampoon is not the movie, the conservatives, the liberals or the independents. Instead what I’m gunning for is the response to works like Moore’s and what it says about America as a whole.
I’m sure you’ve read reports about conservative groups sending e-mails to the C.E.O.s of large movie chains petitioning them to ban Fahrenheit 9/11 from their theaters. Whatever your politics are, I find it decidedly UN-American to censor another artist’s work – no matter HOW strongly you disagree with it.
Sure, picket the theaters. Hand out pamphlets denouncing Michael Moore as a one-man liberal propaganda machine. There’s nothing against free speech or the freedom to assemble going on there.
But outright censorship – trying to prevent art from reaching the masses, denying them the right to choose FOR THEMSELVES if this is material they wish to expose themselves to – is just plain wrong. As an artist myself, I take particular notice when stories like these break because who is to say I won’t be next if you happen to disagree with something I say?
In any case, I plan on watching Moore’s film when it comes out this Friday. And like all of Moore’s work, I intend to take it with a grain of salt. When I get home, I plan on taking the information I’ve gathered and researching it myself to get a balanced perspective on the issues.
And IF ANYTHING ELSE, that is the beauty of Moore’s chest-thumping. He gets people THINKING. And in an election year where 50% of the populace chooses not to express their given right to have their voice heard, a little extra thought tossed into the political arena is never a bad thing.
:: steps off soapbox ::
If you have comments about today’s comic, please leave them in the THorum (Rational discourse ONLY, please!) and expect a follow-up comic on Friday.
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I know emotions have been running high for some of you, so to diffuse some of the controversy, I decided to offer a very humorous incentive sketch. I won’t spoil the surprise, so vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix and have a cheap laugh on me.
So here it is. Part 2 of my little reaction piece to Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. I have to admit there wasn’t as much backlash to Wednesday’s comic as I thought there would be. I don’t know what that says about you the audience or me the creator, but there you have it.
Really the comics of the last two days don’t have anything to do with Moore’s movie. They weren’t a collaboration of his political or a statement against President Bush.
My issue is censorship. Whether it be artists censoring themselves in fear of reprisal or suffering the judgement of others in a society that professes free speech as its highest virtue.
Wednesday’s comic saw me stepping into my own imaginary universe as some kind of overlord, informing the audience that we wouldn’t touch the controversy with a 10 foot pole. The joke was that I was censoring myself.
Of course, this gets thrown out the window when I call President Bush a doodie head.
Today’s comic is about the reaction to commentary such as that. My free speech is countered by another’s free speech and my characters get caught in the crossfire. Attempting to express their frustration, I alter what Cami was going to say in panel three. Censorship again.
At the end of the day, it serves no purpose to try and prevent what one person wants to express. Whether it’s Moore, myself, or a fictional character. No one has ever adopted the concept of free speech and democracy by having it forced down their throats. No one will adopt another persons idea of what is appropriate and what is not if they aren’t already looking for that answer.
I understand that you guys primarily come to the site for a cheap laugh before going about your day and you probably don’t need my opinions cluttering things up. But every once in a while, I want to make you laugh AND make you think. If I can do that, then I know I’m not some hack out here trying to perform some slight of hand to make you think I have talent. It’s no different than my commentary about the MPAA a while ago. And for those of you who don’t think it’s my place to mix politics and art, where were your criticism when I was taking Jack Valenti down a few pegs?
Ultimately, there is a nexus where art, politics, commerce and opinion intersect. And every so often my work drifts into the middle of it. If you like it, great. If not, well… content decisions around here is like Iowa weather. You don’t like it? Wait 10 minutes. It’ll get better.
Stay tuned to the comic next week for a whole new story arc profiling the biggest summer blockbuster of the year – the upcoming Spider Man 2! I’m looking forward to it! I hope you are, too!
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…and SPEAKING of Spider-Man!
You might have noticed that there is a new ad to the right of the comic today letting you know that you can now BID for original Theater Hopper artwork on eBay!
To celebrate the release of Spider Man 2 in theaters, I have decided to draw the Theater Hopper cast as characters from the movie! Tom as Spider Man, Cami as Mary Jane Watson and Jared as “Mister Busyhands” himself, Dr. Octopus!
Bidding starts at .01 cent – one thin copper penny! The auction will last until next Friday, July 1st!
I’m selling the art partly to raise some more money for Wizard World Chicago. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here, but I’ve reserved a hotel room and a booth. I’m sharing the booth with Mitch Clem from Nothing Nice to Say and Barrett’s Lament, Zach Miller from No Pants Tuesday and the omnipresent Neil G from Dayfree Press, Robot Stories, The End Chronicles and Limited Space. The convention runs from August 13th to the 15th – Come out and meet us!
Anyway, I’m raising money for that, but I’m also trying to improve our seller rating over at eBay. We’re trying to auction off some other stuff lying around the house and people aren’t buying yet because we don’t have a high seller rating.
If you’re interested in Betty Boop stuff, Cami is selling off a lot of her collection, so check that out. I’ll probably put up some of my junk there in the next couple of days.
/end whoring
Anyway, thanks!
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Jun28
HE CAN’T STICK TO WALLS, BUT HE CAN IMPROVISE!
June 28th, 2004 |
(10 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10)
Care to guess what today’s incentive sketch is about? Tom as Spider Man, of course! You’d have to be a blind man not to see THAT one coming! Click here to see it anyway…
Today’s comic is not a singularity in the Theater Hopper universe. Tom has put on a Spider Man mask before. I only had to wait 18 months to dust off the old chestnut and put the joke back into rotation!
Clearly this week will be all about Spider Man 2, and if you can’t go along for the ride, well, what’s wrong with you?
Advance reviews for Sam Raimi’s sequel have been overwhelmingly positive. This is a good thing. It would appear that the franchise is going to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump.
I’m trying to keep my expectations reasonably low so that when I go into the theater on Wednesday I can see the movie with fresh eyes. But it’s been hard avoiding all this hype! I’ll just say that I would rather go into the movie expecting nothing than expecting it to be twice as good as the first (which is what I’m hearing). My fingernails? Bitten down to the cuticle in anticipation for this one.
Say – real quick – if you’re in the market for some Spider Man AND Theater Hopper goodness, you should check out the current ORIGINAL art auction I have going on over at eBay. Swing over to the listing now and place your bid. This is a ONE OF A KIND piece of art that will see NO printed reproduction. If you win the auction, you own it free and clear.
Plus, I’m throwing in stickers to the one who walks away with it. EVERYONE loves stickers!
At any rate, the auction ends this Friday, so get bidding!
Cami and I actually sat down this afternoon to watch the original Spider Man on DVD. Cami was kind of dragging her feet at the idea of watching the sequel, but gamely suggested that we re-watch the original after admitting she had SLEPT THROUGH it when we saw it in the theater!
Hold on. Hold on. Before you start slinging tomatoes, keep in mind this was around the time that we first brought Truman into our lives as a tiny, tiny puppy. We were just getting around to leaving the house again, but Truman wasn’t giving us much sleep at the time. We’d often wake up with him two or three times a night. Nodding off in a dark movie theater isn’t totally out of the question.
Regardless, we sat down together and watched the DVD, filling in any holes that Cami may have missed in her intermittent slumber. When it was all said and done, she said she enjoyed the movie and was looking forward to Spider Man 2. This was a VAST improvement from our previous status.
When I watch Raimi’s original, it’s easy to see why it was such a record-breaker at the box office. It stayed true to the characters (well, except for the organic web-shooters… GRR!) but still had a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek humor (“Up, up and away, web!”)
When you stop to think that most iconic motion pictures have one or two scenes that really stick with you, Spider Man had several. Peter Parker awakening to find his body transformed. The wrestling match with “Bonesaw” McGraw. The upside-down kiss. All of them are seared into my memory.
Can’t wait to see what SM2 has in store…
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Considering all the controversy of last weeks’ Fahrenheit 9/11 strips, I thought I would share the information that Michael Moore’s movie broke box office records for a documentary’s opening weekend.
Fahrenheit 9/11 took in $21.9 million this weekend making it the number one movie in the country.
Now for my two cents:
Cami and I saw the movie this weekend in Ames, which is about an hour away from Des Moines. It’s also home to Iowa State University, so you know there was a lot of liberal college students in attendance.
We would have seen the movie in town, but the only theater that was showing the movie was the same one we had all the trouble with when we went to see Lost In Translation. Sorry, but it’s one of many establishments I won’t grace with my business anymore. CompUSA, I’m looking your way, too!
Anyhow, from a pure movie-making perspective, I think Moore told a very engrossing tale about the Bush administration. Funny, shocking, sad… ultimately you left the theater with plenty of food for thought. This is never a bad thing.
A lot of the facts that Moore severed up I already knew. But he packages them in a way that serves the most impact. Watching the movie defiantly leaves and impression.
There were parts of the movie that were a little overwrought and you can tell where Moore’s ego gets in the way. Blind-siding Senators and asking them to sign up their kids for service in the armed forces is a little shady. So was his parading of a mother who’s son died in the conflict.
Don’t get me wrong. I am sorry for her loss and thank her family for their sacrifice, but it felt emotionally cloying and a little more than manipulated.
Is everything Moore says in the movie 100% truth? No. He’s defiantly pushing his own agenda. But if anything, it’s prompted me to ask more questions and do more of my own research – which is also a good thing.
I think if anyone is walking into this movie expecting the unfiltered truth to be spoon-fed to them, then they’re walking into the theater with the wrong idea. Because it’s no better than to accept what Moore says at face value any more than what the current administration tries to get you to believe.
Bottom line: Regardless of your politics, everyone should see this movie. It’s too important and too timely to ignore.
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To keep in spirit with the release of Spider Man 2 today, check out our incentive sketch of Jared as Dr. Octopus when you vote for Theater Hopper at buzzComix!
By the by, time is running out for you to leave your bid on the Spider Man themed original Theater Hopper artwork I’m auctioning off on eBay. The sale ends in less than 2 days! Place your bid!
Are you seeing the biggest movie of the summer today? If not, you’re a loser. Sorry, but that’s the verdict from The Court of Public opinion. I don’t make this stuff up!
Spider Man 2 has been getting a lot of rave reviews and I think the entire geek community exhaled a collective sigh of relief! With the first Spider Man movie being such a great success, there was a lot of pressure for Sam Raimi and his crew to try and top it. From the sound of it, they’ve succeeded. Better action sequences, more emotional depth and a stronger sense of who Peter Parker is and what his motivations are!
I Fandango’d myself a couple of tickets yesterday afternoon. Cami and I are seeing the 9:45 showing tonight. I’ll have to give you my thoughts later.
Not sure what’s up with today’s comic. I know it’s a little disjointed. But just the thought of Tom wandering around town in his Spider Man mask, hallucinating, seeing villain everywhere and slugging innocent civilians just made me laugh. If it doesn’t trip you trigger, don’t worry. I have two more Spidey-themed comics on the back burner that are a little more slap-sticky and I think you’ll get a kick out of them.
You don’t get a clear view, but you might notice that Cami has taken a slight shift in her character design. I’ve switched her blouse to a v-neck and shortened her skirt. I assure you this isn’t a clever ploy to “sex things up” around her. Last I checked, web comics weren’t susceptible to “Sweeps Week”.
No, Cami and I had a frank discussion about the look of her character. She complained that she would never wear the square-neck blouse I had her in before. Neither would she wear such a lengthy skirt. These changes were made by her bequest.
Still not changing the hairstyle though. 😉
In site news, you may have noticed there WAS no site yesterday morning. That’s because we exceeded our 65GB bandwidth allotment and got shut down. I upgraded to the next size hosting package over at Fuitadnet.com, but I’m thinking it might be time to pull up stakes and find a more comfortable living space.
Not that there is anything wrong with Fuitadnet, it’s just that the difference between their Gold package and their Platinum package is pretty substantial and, honestly, I just need something in-between for the moment. I’m exploring some options. I’ll let you know what I uncover.
Incidentally, the lose of bandwidth made me realize that Theater Hopper is reaching an important cross roads between what I can afford and what I can continue to provide for free. Don’t read me wrong. I think it’s great that more people are finding the site. And by adding new content every other day, the strain on bandwidth was something I saw coming. It’s just made me realize that I need to find a better way to deliver that content to you guys. More organized and better suited for cross-browser compatibility. One of the ancillary benefits of a redesign of this nature is more economical expenditure of bandwidth.
We’re actually discussing this issue in the THorum. Sign up and leave your two cents if you are so inclined. If not, drop me an e-mail. I’d love to hear your thoughts and solutions!
That’s about it from my camp for the moment. I haven’t said it in a while, so I wanted to thank everyone for stopping by every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. In about a month, Theater Hopper will have it’s two year anniversary – so be forewarned. As that date approaches, I am more likely to get sappy and reminisce!
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