Archive for November 4th, 2005
2 items.
I’m sure if the sky really did start to fall, it wouldn’t be as dramatic or as comical as Disney’s Chicken Little. It would probably be mildly annoying and barely funny at all – kind of like today’s incentive sketch.
I was actually amped at one point to see Chicken Little, but the reviews it’s been getting have been brutal. "Uninspired," "self-referential in substitution of wit" and "Pixar does it better" are some of the more harsh barbs that come to mind.
I guess I shouldn’t be totally surprised. I really haven’t had that much faith in Disney movies since Atlantis: The Lost Empire came out in 2001. It’s been downhill from there. Treasure Planet? Interesting concept, poor execution. Home on the Range? Did anyone even see that? I suppose not if Roseanne Barr is your lead actress.
Chicken Little seemed different. At least from outward apperances. Casting Zach Braff in the title role lends it geek credibility, but I don’t know if I’m going to pay good money and dumb myself down for 90 minutes just for Zach Braff.
On the other end of the pendulm this week is Jarhead. Sam Mendes from American Beauty is behind the lens and it looks pretty good. I’ve read reviews that say the movie is essentially about nothing. And not in that funny Seinfeld way. Nothing in the sense that the soldiers depicted on film fight absolutely no battles. They just sit on their hands waiting for action. A few critics have bristled at this, but Gulf War veterans are calling it the most realistic war movie ever made because that’s what actually happened. All this build up for war and then… nothing. The anticipation of what could happen eating away at you. Always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Politically, I don’t know how closely it’ll mirror our current situation in the MIddle East nor do I know if it has to. But you look at something like this and your mind kind of leaps to that conclusion – "What’s the secret meaning behind all this?"
In any case, Cami and I won’t be seeing either film this weekend. Steve Martin’s Shopgirl (which I dissected in this strip) and which was given a soft release in select markets last week finally comes to Des Moines on Friday. Both Cami and I were big fans of Martin’ s original novella. In fact, I also own his book "The Pleasure of My Company" and his collected essays – "Pure Drivel". Great stuff. I might actually have to read Pure Drivel again. It’s been a while since I looked at it.
I think casing Claire Danes as Mirabell is inspired. She does that world-weary, sad-sack-but-emotionally-mature-and-brilliant thing exceptionally well ever since My So-Called Life. Of course no one could play the detached, yet sophisticated Ray Porter better than Martin himself. I have to give extra points for whoever decided to bring on Jason Schwartzman as Jermey. Not only because I think he’s a very effective comic actor, but because he snagged the role from Jimmy Fallon after he dropped out. That version of the movie I don’t think I would have enjoyed as much.
I have some more thoughts relating to the new stuff I threw in the rotating top banner that I’ll come back and express later today. In the meantime, enjoy your Friday – whereever you are!
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Hey, guys. It’s been a busy week, so let’s jump into it. I wanna give you some fun distractions so we can all go out on a high note.
This Monday I closed down the area of the store that features t-shirts, hoodies and baby-dolls. I’m busy collecting all the orders this very moment and prepping them to send to the printer. Hopefully we’ll have them turned around soon. Thanks to everyone for their support during this last drive.
Turns out merchandise orders aren’t the only thing keeping me busy this week. I’ve added a slew of links to the top banner that I want you guys to check out. Most of them are just for fun. Some of them are Theater Hopper related, some aren’t. But I think they’re all worth your time to investigate.
First, I have leads for you on two great comic notification systems. The first is Comic Junkie. A very handy application that you can download that will let you know when all of your favorite comics are posted. It’s packed with a slew of other features like subscription and rating services. I’ve added a whole page about it under the Resources tab. You should really check it out.
The second notification system is Comic Alert! You sign up for this one through their web site and they use Theater Hopper’s RSS feed to notify you by e-mail when all comics and blogs are updated! Very handy, especially if you forget to check the site every once in a while. Register with their service (it’s free!) and add Theater Hopper to your favorites!
Of course, if you have a LiveJournal account, you can skip that whole rig-a-ma-role and visit the Theater Hopper LiveJournal feed. It automatically posts new comics as soon as they are available. I’ve been pimping this one for a while, but there’s no reason not to give it a little more prominence!
Something else that could use a little more prominence are the Boxcar Comics 2006 Calendars. I’ve contributed artwork to the project and if you place your order now, you’ll enjoy it all through the month of February. Sure I got the shortest month, but I’m not complaining because the proceeds go to a good cause – helping the Boxcar crew reserve a booth at the 2006 San Diego ComiCon. Why, it’s only the largest comic book and small press convention in America, sillies! I think they’re just about done collecting pre-orders and they’re going to send it off to the printer. So make sure you have yours reserved when that happens!
And the last bit of Theater Hopper-related goodness I’ll share with you, the brand new Theater Hopper map brought to you by Frappr! Using GoogleMaps technology, this map can tag your location by zip code and display them together with everyone else. I thought it would be cool to see how far and wide Theater Hopper readership spans, so feel free to add your location to the global party! Don’t worry! It doesn’t ask for any addresses or personal information. Although you can leave your name, a photo and some commentary if you like. I totally stole this from DJ at Yirmumah!, but who cares?! It’s lots of fun! Check it out!
A few other items because I enjoy networking.
My recently established MySpace profile. Both Mitch and Zach wouldn’t shut up about it, so I got one, too. Won’t you be my friend?
My profile at Last.fm. If you’re not familiar with this service, it’s really cool. You download a little plugin for your MP3 player and it reports back what songs you listen to and which artists are your favorite. I love music as much as I love movies, so it’s really cool to build a network of friends and see what they’re listening to. A great opportunity to branch out and listen to new things!
Last but not least, my LiveJournal page. I know everyone and their sister has one of these and I’ve had one for quite a while myself. But I was kind of hungry for a few new readers so I thought I would pimp it out here a little bit. Right now I’m writing a lot about the 10 week fitness program I’ve been doing in an effort to change some bad habits and improve my overall health. I’ve also been writing a lot about the beard I’m growing in conjunction with the program. I’ve been posting pictures and everything. It’s a long story, but it’s pretty entertaining if you want to check it out.
Oh, before I forget! I want everyone to check out Robobo! Rusty, the creator, tipped me off to a fun cameo he did recently. Check it out!
Anyway, that’s it for this week. Beyond hooking you up with all these links, we’ve been busy revising the archive to make it easier for you to search in the future. I say "we" because Dave from Taking the Bi-Pass is really doing all the work. He’s doing an excellent job at that. Visit his web site and tell him you love him!
Hope everyone has a great weekend! Take care!
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