Archive for January, 2007
20 items.
I think any movie fan worth their salt is familiar with Movie Law #948: Sean Bean Dies In Every Movie He’s In. I don’t care if the punchline of this strip falls a little flat. I just feel better broadcasting Movie Law #948 to the world so that we may all recognize it an celebrate it.
Of course there is a web site dedicated to all things Sean Bean and it keeps a running tally of the movies in which he bites it and the movies where he lives to see another day. For a career as long and varied as Bean’s, his batting average of deaths-per-film isn’t as high as you might expect. But it seems idiosyncratic that the more high-profile Bean becomes, the more often he dies on screen. I was almost tempted to make a chart.
Almost.
You have to wonder if it’s some kind of movie star reverse psychology. Kind of like how Tom Cruise or Johnny Depp almost pathologically INSIST on having their good looks mangled for their performances, perhaps Bean’s commitment to a perpetual on-screen demise is his way to make the audience invest in his work – make people care about him more? Who is this man who insists on dying in every single movie? Can I join his fan club? Is there a mailing list?"
Incidentally, Sean Bean and The Hitcher were topics discussed between myself Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies and Goron McAlpin from Multiplex in our weekly talkcast The Triple Feature on Monday night. If you missed it, you can download a copy of the broadcast from iTunes and listen to it in your free time. It’s only an hour long. Listen to it while you’re folding laundry.
In addition to The Hitcher, we also talked about Mike Judge’s Idiocracy and the career of Wes Anderson. We also discussed Monday night’s broadcast of The Golden Globes and I totally predicted Babel winning Best Motion Picture – Drama moments before it happened. That’s a feather in my cap. It was particularly funny because right before they read the winner, Joe said Babel was the one film he knew WOULDN’T win. Just goes to show who you should talk to about picking your lottery numbers!
There wasn’t really anything during the broadcast which surprised me except Forest Whitaker winning for The Last King of Scotland. I’m a big Forest Whitaker fan, but I’m not used to him winning anything. Beyond that, several safe choices. Could mean that we’re in for a very boring Oscar telecast this year. We’ll see.
The one thing I thought was kind of shocking reading all the awards show recaps was the subtle level of outrage and shock that Cars won Best Animated Feature. When your competition is Happy Feet and Monster House, what do you expect? I mean Monster House was good. Really good, in fact. But it’s not "Best" anything material. Pixar has shored up so much positive collateral, they can nearly do no wrong. Was Cars the best movie Pixar every produces. Plainly, no. But it’s still a heck of a lot better than Happy Feet.
Was there anything from The Golden Globes this week that surprised you? Any of your favorite movies or performers you feel were robbed? Leave your comments!
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I’m so excited! I just talked Cami into seeing Pan’s Labyrinth this weekend! Originally, she had been resistant to the idea. She doesn’t really care for fantasy movies. But as we’re closing in on our due date (less than a month away!) more and more of our friends who have kids are telling us “Go out now while you still can! Go on dates! Go out to dinner! Because after the baby, IT’S OVER!!!”
So, we’re taking that to heart.
I had to do a bit of bargaining to make this happen. I promised Cami I would see that new Diane-Keaton-gets-laid movie Because I Said So in a couple of weeks. I had to promise not to make any disparaging remarks about the film excluding the idea I had for a comic revolving around the movie I’ve been sitting on for two weeks. Those of you in relationships might recognize this kind of compromise.
The good news is that I got a really good idea for a comic that I can use for tomorrow’s update out of all of this. Gotta keep your eyes peeled for inspiration!
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Sincere thanks to everyone who was patient waiting for this comic. It was supposed to be posted on Friday, but due to the fact that the triple A batteries in my wireless keyboard ran out and I didn’t have any fresh ones in the house, it had to wait.
Pan’s Labyrinth has been on my radar for what feels like months and this is the first time in a long while I can remember being excited about any movie that has opened in late January. Typically this is the studio dumping ground. You hardly ever see anything this inventive.
Of course, if you want to get technical, Pan’s Labyrinth was already released last year (to make it an Oscar contender) and it’s only now being released wide. I don’t care. I’ve been starving for something of substance.
It’s true that Cami originally shot down the notion that we would be going to Pan’s Labyrinth. She wasn’t interested – bottom line. I think she felt she "served her time" when she sat through nine hours of Lord of the Rings. Fantasy isn’t really her bag.
But for whatever reason, I don’t really think of Pan’s Labyrinth as fantasy. Sure, it has fantasy elements. But I’m almost less interested in stories about fauns and faeries than I am about seeing Guilliermo del Toro’s interpretation of them. I mean, Hellboy wasn’t that great of a movie. But I think his attention to detail and design pushed it from a so-so movie into a visually rich and textured one. No small task for comic book fare.
At any rate, in order to put Pan’s Labyrinth on the viewing docket, I had to pledge to Cami that I would see that new movie with Diane Keaton where she’s still desperate to prove she’s sexually viable – Because I Said So. Did anyone think of the implications of what Something’s Gotta Give would wrought? Why do I want to see movies about horny people in their 60’s? Or is that a double standard since I happen to enjoy the Grumpy/Grumpier Old Men movies? Then again… Ann Margret. RWWOR!
Thanks again for your patience waiting for the delayed comic. I appreciate it. See you here (on time) on Monday!
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If you’ve been reading the blogs at all – and if you’re reading this right now, chances are you have been – you’re aware that I made a deal with Cami to see Because I Said So when it comes out in two weeks in exchange for her seeing Pan’s Labyrinth with me this weekend. The more I think about the arrangement, the more I’ve been able to mine humor from it. All I know is that when this movie finally comes to theaters and we go see it, it can’t possibly live up the level of awefullness that I’ve made it out to be. It’ll probably end up being a really good move and I’ll be eating crow. But that’s cool. It’s all entertainment.
Cami and I saw Pan’s Labyrinth on Saturday and I think I’m still processing it. The movie certainly as fanciful as I had hoped. There is a certain level of harsh contrast set against the Spanish civil war. But, in terms of it being an effective fairly tale, I think it accomplishes it’s goals. Frankly, when you compare what Guillermo del Toro has created against many other popular fables, the level of violence is appropriate. I mean, Hansel and Gretel are nearly cooked alive! Pretty scary stuff when you’re five years-old. That said, I don’t think your average five year-old can appreciate some of the political and societal references made in the movie, so it’s very much a fairy tale for adults.
I read a review that complained that the movie spends a little too much time focusing on the villain and finding ways to punish him rather than focusing on the small girl for whom the fantasy realm reveals itself to. I have to agree a little bit. Mostly because there is only so much cruelty that can be shoved in my face before I have to step back and say “Alright! We get it! He’s not a nice guy!”
Of course, I’ve also read reviews that have said the villain is supposed to be a representation of director Guillermo del Toro’s brutal relationship with his father. So, within that context, it makes a little more sense.
Cami enjoyed the movie and recognized it as fine film making, but noted that it doesn’t leave you with much of a warm fuzzy feeling. And, in that sense, the movie oversells itself. The wonderment. It comes in small doses. The rest is fairly tough to digest. Still good work all around.
If you’re interested, we’ll be talking about Pan’s Labyrinth tonight at 9:00 pm CST in the third installment of The Triple Feature talkcast at Talkshoe. By “we,” of course, I refer to myself, Joe Dunn and Gordon McAlpin. We’ll also be talking about the announcement that the MPAA has been hosting open discussions with filmmakers at Sundance this weekend about revising the ratings system. This is a monumental change. There hasn’t been a change in MPAA policy in the organization’s 40 years in existence.
I hope you guys join us this evening. Joe, Gordon and myself have been having a lot of fun putting these shows together.
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I didn’t see the Nicholas Cage remake of The Wicker Man when it was in theaters last fall, but judging by this out-of-context collection of clips from the film, maybe I should have!
I’m not typically one to link to snarky internet videos, but this one was too hilarious to ignore. I laughed my ass off at it. When you see Nicholas Cage in a bear suit knock out a little girl, you’ll understand why.
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Nominees for the 79th Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning and I was pleased to see that I’ve already seen three of the five films nominated for Best Picture. That means I have less ground to cover before the ceremony on February 25.
I suppose what surprised me most is that Leonard DiCaprio was nominated for his performance in Blood Diamond and not The Departed. I was also shocked to see Alan Arkin nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Little Miss Sunshine. But that’s a pleasant surprise. Marky Mark nominated in the same category for his performance in The Departed? Not sure what to make of that.
All I know is if Martin Scorsese doesn’t walk away with Best Director this year, it’ll be a crying shame. But I think Clint Eastwood is going to give him a run for his money.
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I wish I knew where the idea for this joke came from. Trust me, kiddies. The original version was much, MUCH worse.
I used to work in a movie theater back when they switched to talkies and I remember quite vividly the gelatinous glob that was the base for the “butter” topping we put on popcorn. It looked like cud or maybe that viscous white gel at the bottom of a can of Spam. It came wrapped in cellophane in gigantic two-pound bricks. We’d toss it into the machine with the pump on it which was basically a crock pot that warmed it up and melted it down. Then, like an oil slick, we’d slather it over the top of each order of corn.
Knowing what I do about this butter product, you’d think I would avoid it when making my purchase at the concession stand. Sadly, I do not. I’ve often imagined if there might be a more natural alternative. Maybe actual butter? But, more likely, it would turn out to be something worse.
I don’t know how many of you had a chance to call in and listen to The Triple Feature talkcast on Monday night, but if you missed it, I would strongly encourage you to download it. I think Gordon, Joe and I had a very good show on Monday talking about Pan’s Labyrinth and the recent MPAA rules change and I’m really looking forward to next Monday’s show where we’ll talk about the recent Oscar nominations – announced today. Join us next Monday at 9:00 pm CST and be sure to participate!
Regarding the Oscar nominations, I guess I’m still kind of digesting it. I think it’s interesting that Dreamgirls could lead the pack with eight nominations, but not garner one for Best Picture, Best Director or Best Screenplay. I think it’s funny that three of it’s eight nominations are in the Best Original Song category and I think it’s REALLY funny that it’s only acting nods went to best Supporting Actor and Actress (Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson, respectively) rather than to the film’s two leads, Jamie Foxx and Beyonce Knowles. It makes me feel justified in the sense that I wasn’t very excited about helping to feed the egos of two high-profile members of the entertainment community who I believe think a little too highly of themselves to begin with.
I find it odd that Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Blood Diamond and not The Departed, but I’m otherwise pleased by the nominations in that category. Giving Ryan Gosling the nod for Half Nelson really came out of nowhere, but it was a welcome surprise.
I was shocked to see Alan Arkin on the list for his performance in Little Miss Sunshine, but was even more surprised to see Mark Wahlberg beat out Jack Nicholson in the same category. Who would have thought I would have ever uttered “Mark Wahlberg” and “Academy Award nominee” in the same sentence. Shame he’ll never live down being Marky Mark.
In the Best Actress category, I think it’s intesting that Meryl Streep is the only American actress in the running. Just goes to show what Hollywood thinks of women performers. Apparently if there is a British accent involved, that adds legitimacy? Look over the last few years of Best Actress nominees and hardly any are American. I think it’s an odd coincidence. Incidentally, at this point, I think it’s Helen Mirren’s race to lose.
Quick sidebar: Did anyone notice that Borat was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay? Wait a minute? So you mean it WASN’T REAL?! DAMN YOU, SACHA BARON COHEN!
That’s a pretty high level look at things. Typically I also like to comment on the technical categories like Best Special Effects and Best Makeup. But I think I’ll leave things be for the moment.
What was your take on the Oscar nominations. Are you excited about this year’s ceremony? Leave your comments below!
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The two movies Tom is referencing in today’s strip are Catch and Release (starring Jennifer Garner) and Smokin’ Aces (with Ben Affleck). Smokin’ Aces is really more of an ensemble piece, so I’m not sure it actually qualifies as a “Ben Affleck movie.” More like a movie Ben Affleck happens to be in.
Does it surprise you that Catch and Release is the film I’m more excited about seeing? It surprised me. A few years ago, I would have been chomping at the bit for a film like Smokin’ Aces. Large cast full of actors I like, lots of mayhem. Looks like fun. But recently when I look at the commercials or the trailer, all I can think about it how it looks like a Pulp Fiction rip-off a decade warmed over.
Catch and Release, while still wearing the comfortable trappings of a traditional romantic comedy, looks much more interesting to me simply for the inclusion of Timothy Olyphant and Kevin Smith. I’ve been a fan of Olyphant since Doug Liman’s Go and I always found his quiet menace as Sherrif Seth Bullock on Deadwood. He’s not the conventional choice to play a romantic lead and I like that kind of twist in casting.
Of course, Kevin Smith as the wise-acre sidekick adds shading. It’s interesting to see him act in movie that aren’t his. So I’m curious to see how he performs when it’s someone else’s words coming out of his mouth.
Something interesting I learned about the production of Catch and Release is that Jennifer Garner was newly pregnant with Ben Affleck’s child (shudder) and was just starting to show a little. So apparently there are several scenes in the movie where Garner is either standing behind something or wearing baggy clothing to obscure her mid-section. Call it the Steven Segal technique.
I totally didn’t get the impression that Garner was pregnant during filming when looking at commercials, so I guess that’s movie magic at work. But now that I have this information in my back pocket, I’m going to be looking for it during the movie.
I don’t really have much for you today besides that. Real quick, though – does anyone have experience with RSS or, more specifically, Ryan North’s RSSpect application? I’m trying to get Theater Hopper running a little bit smoother on the feeds (in particular the LiveJournal RSS feed) so that the comic will appear with a portion of the blog.
My hope is that people who have friended TH in their LiveJournal accounts will read the comic, see a little bit of the blog and then be inspired to visit the site and read the rest. You know, make it less of a passive experience while still giving them what they want. Plus, I think there is value in people actually being able to SEE the comic in the feed rather than just a link. Who knows? They might end up visiting the site and leaving comments under the blogs! To that end, if you have comments of your own, you’d know I would love for you to share them. What movies are you excited about seeing this weekend? Am I wrong about Smokin’ Aces? Let me know!
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I’m not going to lie to you – this is one of those times where I just had the hardest time putting the comic together. Everything from the set up, to the punchline to sitting down and drawing the characters. I actually had to sit down and draw this one twice because I wasn’t liking how it turned out. I think I must have written the punchline five times. Truthfully, the only panel I’m happy with is the third one. I just like the idea of time looking over the back of his chair earnestly and then WHAMMO!
Cami and I went to see Catch and Release on Friday night and this confrontation actually happened. We were sitting near the back of the theater and there were a group of teenage girls – probably no less than 10 – taking up most of the back row. They chatted INCESSANTLY. I had to say something. So, I flipped around in my chair and very loudly said “Are you guys going to talk through the whole movie or are you going to shut the hell up.” I wish I could have been a little more witty in the moment, but it’s hard to be clever when you’re blood is boiling. I got the end result I wanted. Cami said the girls looked pretty shocked. It was kind of funny, actually. She actually had to touch my arm in an attempt to try and “reel me in.” I got the “Okay, honey. That’s enough.” tap on the shoulder.
Look, a little cross-talk is fine. I can handle that. But I’m not exaggerating when I say they were having full-on conversations for more than 20 minutes. I’m talking like leaning over two or three chairs to talk to someone down the row. Take it outside! My attitude is, if you buy a ticket to see a movie in a theater, you have entered into a social contract that dictates you NOT act like an idiot! I have to wonder what must have been going through the heads of the couple sitting next to these girls. They didn’t appear to be with them. Why didn’t they say something? You have FULL clearance! If someone is being loud in a crowded theater, shame them into behaving! I would expect no less in return!
I know I’m kind of mining the same territory as a previous comic (even using the same character designs for the chatty girls). But I feel like every time this occurs to me in real-life, I need to address it in the comic. I know the people I admonished in the theater will never read this, but I want it to serve as a reminder. Or maybe a warning to someone else. If I’m in your theater, WATCH OUT!
I gotta wrap this up because I’ve stayed up way too late. But before I forget, I want to remind everyone to check out our weekly installment of The Triple Feature talkcast with Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies, Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex and myself at 9:00 pm CST. This week we’ll be talking about the recently announced Oscar nominations. Tune in and participate! We’d love to get your feedback! Quick shout-out to Joe, by the way, for referencing Theater Hopper and my Sean Bean Death Theory in his January 22 comic. Thanks, Joe!
Talk to you soon!
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Sorry about the comic being late. The reason this keeps happening is because I actually put together Wednesday’s comic the week before to meet my deadline for the regional publication Theater Hopper appears in, Juice. I finish the comic late at night, e-mail it to the editor and completely forget to upload it to the server.
That’s it! From now on, I’m putting a Post-It note on my monitor!
At any rate, here’ s the comic with the joke I’ve been sitting on for two weeks. I had to wait until it was timely to unfurl it. I hope it was worth it.
The conversation in this comic pretty much took place word-for-word after Cami saw the advertisements for Because I Said So on TV a while back. No, I can’t remember if we we watching Lifetime: Television for Women at the time or not.
I’m not particularly concerned if this comic comes off as ageist or sexist because I know in my heart of heart’s that’s not the point that I’m making. There is an audience for this movie and I don’t deny it. They’re the same people who vote in local-level elections and have the time to write Letters to the Editor. I’M TALKIN’ ABOUT THE ELDERLY, PEOPLE!
And my wife ain’t one of them.
Oh, sure. They try to make the movie look like it’s skewing younger by tossing in Mandy Moore and a Gilmore Girl (albeit the older “girl”). But don’t be fooled! That’s eye-candy for the gentlemen trapped in the audience. Roped into going by their wives who want to see Diane Keaton complain about hot flashes because “that’s totally what it’s like!”
I was tricked into seeing the last Diane-Keaton-gets-laid cinematic offering because Jack Nicholson was in it. Never again! Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on Hollywood for churing out the exact same crap.
What do you think of that little banner? It was totally an idea I stole from Joe months ago, except I forgot to implement it. Who’s laughing now?
First bit of site news; Everyone needs to go check out You’ll Have That today. I have a guest strip running over there I think you’ll get a kick out of.
I love You’ll Have That. Why it’s not in newspapers is astounding to me. If any of our web comic brothers would make the leap easily, it would be this one. It’s relationship humor centered around a young couple and I see a lot of myself and Cami in it. If you’re not reading You’ll Have That, you should correct the situation as soon as possible.
Joe, Gordon and I wrapped up another successful Triple Feature talkcast Monday night. We talked about last week’s Oscar nominations and made our picks. I think it was one of the best shows we’ve ever done. I think they’re getting better and better and better. Download some of our past episodes and tell me I’m wrong. Tune in next Monday at 9:00 pm CST and witness history in the making.
Truthfully, we could use a little more participation. I mean, you have THE three largest creators of web comics about movies getting together once a week and talking about the movies they love. That’s prime entertainment right there! Get in on the ground floor!
Last bit of site news I have – You might have noticed that I’ve been slapping a few new banners around the site to draw your attention to site features. You’ll see banners in the upper left promoting The Triple Feature, my MySpace page and soon much more like a link to the Theater Hopper LiveJournal RSS feed. Watch that space for information pertaining to the web site. How you can interact with me in different ways, convention attendance and even new merchandise items.
I’ve also taken care to revise the “E-mail this comic to a friend” image between the comic and blog and – more importantly – there’s a new image drawing attention to the mailing list.
I got some feedback from people telling me that they didn’t know we had a mailing list. Well, now you have no excuse! My goal is to get as many of you as possible on the mailing list so I can update you with all the Theater Hopper-related news that I can.
Here’s the deal: One e-mail a week recapping everything that happened with the site. If you check irregularly, you’ll get a handy update all at once. But something else I’ve wanted to do with the mailing list has been outside my grasp.
Until now.
I’ve always wanted to offer discounts to items in the store for people who signed up for the mailing list. Paypal was kind of, um… NOT helpful developing a coupon code system that I could use.
Well, that’s all changed because I am using a new store interface that will let me do that. Over the weekend, I applied the new interface to the store and it’s really slick. It factors your shipping charges based off your zip code and it will even discount items that are shipped together! I love it. It’s taking out a lot of the guess work for me. Even better – you can designate exactly what kind of shipping you want. So if First Class is alright by you, that’s the cheapest option. But if you want to sent it overnight Fed Ex, we’ll do that to! And shipping rate is totally authentic to wherever you’re ordering from. No more “catch-all” shipping rate applied to all orders. It’s totally customizable, just like you’re used to with other online vendors! Because the guesswork has been taken out of the business side of things, I really feel like now I can focus more on being creative and hopefully bring new t-shirt designs to you soon!
So, yeah. The store is WAY better than it used to be. And now, with this coupon code option, I really have the power to start treating my die-hard readers right! So if you haven’t signed up for the mailing list yet, I strongly encourage it. There’s a good chance there might be a discount offer in your future. Maybe to celebrate the birth of a certain Baby B?
Just sayin’!
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
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