Archive for July, 2007
18 items.
Sorry for the delay on Friday’s comic. I posted earlier about the business trip I was on in Columbus Tuesday through Thursday. My flight came in late Thursday night and I didn’t have an opportunity to draw anything during the day because I was, y’know, working. And instead of doing the comic in the evening, I opted to spend it with Henry and Cami instead. Can you fault me? Anyway, better late than never.
When Cami and I started to see trailers for I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry in theaters a few months ago, Cami said she was interested. Mostly because her default setting is to give any Adam Sandler movie the benefit of the doubt. I’ve talked about it on the site before, but Cami is a die-hard Adam Sandler fan – which makes no sense if you know her at all. She’s normally a very intelligent and reasonable woman.
Personally, I kind of outgrew Sandler’s antics after I graduated college. Or I guess I became less forgiving of his faults. That’s not a slam against the Sandman or anyone who enjoys his brand of comedy. He’s clearly a very sweet person, charming and affible. I’m actually quite fond of his policy never to give print interviews after once being burned by Entertainment Weekly. But as far as the movies go… they’re just not very good. Mr. Deeds? Awful. Click? Tried too hard to be It’s A Wonderful Life and couldn’t pick a direction.
The Sandler movies that I’ve liked are those where he takes his man-boy persona and redirects it into more emotionally unstable territory. I loved Punch Drunk Love despite it’s obtuseness. I thought Reign Over Me was one of the more interesting movies of the first half of the year. Even Spanglish put a neat twist on things – even if I couldn’t stant Tea Leoni’s character.
Kevin James from The King of Queens is also in Chuck and Larry and I like him a lot, too. He seems really easy going and a lot of fun. As a matter of fact, there are A LOT of actors I like in this movie. Dan Aykroyd, Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi… So what’s the problem? Sorry, but the premise is just too hack sitcom-y. Kevin James’s character loses his wife in an accident. So in order to secure pension benefits for their future if something should happen to him on the job, he enters a “domestic partnership” with Sandler, his co-worker and best friend, to defraud the city. Wackiness ensues – mostly at the expense of the notion that the thought of two dudes rolling around together is funny. Are their movies by gay filmmakers that play heterosexuality for laughs? Like, a lesbian and a gay guy have to play it straight (no pun) in order to pull the wool over someone’s eyes?
Then again, maybe I shouldn’t be so critical. After all, I’ve used Victor there in the last panel several times as a comedic foil, constantly reusing his attraction to Tom as a punchline. But I guess I feel like I’m somewhat exempt from that kind of self-analysis because the joke isn’t really on Victor – it’s on Tom because he’s so clueless about it. Everyone else seems to know Victor has a thing for Tom, but Tom thinks Victor just wants to beat him up and throw him out of the theater.
Maybe I should shut up now.
I guess the big question that crops up in my mind about Chuck and Larry is that James’s character doesn’t have any female friends he can go to that will help him out with the pension problem? It’s more realistic. People marry for convienience all the time. Whether it’s to get a green card, tax benefits or whatever. Truthfully, you probably could have made a more emotionally resonant movie with that set up. What if James and his female friend end up falling for each other. Or, what if, at the end of it, James’s character discovers that he’s really gay after all! That would be a twist.
I realize that there’s no point complaining about it. The movie has been made. It just seems kind of cheap to take what feels like a discarded Three’s Company episode and stretch it out into a two-hour movie.
But maybe that’s just me.
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I know that making fun of a Lindsay Lohan movie is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel that have been coked up and spray tanning for years (allegedly!), but the premise of I Know Who Killed Me was too delicious to pass up. I know a lot of guys who still think Lohan is hot because they’re into girls who barely know how to hold their liquor and I know women who want to string Lohan up by her Louis Vuitton handbag for setting the women’s movement back 20 years. I mean, flashing your lady parts for publicity? That’s just sad.
Lohan plays a girl that’s been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead. When she wakes up, she insists that she’s not the person that people were looking for (they just look alike!) and the original girl is still in danger.
You can try to read the plot synopsis over at IMDB and see if it makes sense to you. I read it three times before giving up. Basically it’s a role meant to show off Lohan’s acting chops as she tackles the same character from different emotional perspectives. But does anyone really care at this point?
By now, Lindsay Lohan is known more for the company she keeps and her constant run-ins with the law. Her most famous role isn’t on screen. Her most famous role is being a drunk socialite with crazy parents. Anyone who is a fan of hers seems to be an apologist of some kind – always citing her incredible acting talent. Often you hear her name mentioned in the same breath as Drew Barrymoore – another actress who showed promise early on, but was derailed by the Hollywood party scene before getting her act together.
My question is, why does everyone things she’s such a great actress? I mean, recent movies like Georgia Rule and Herbie Fully Loaded maybe aren’t films that one can fairly gauge her talent with because, by the time those movies were made, she was already a fixture in tabloids. So what about the movies pre-fame? Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and the much lauded Mean Girls – plus a handful of Disney movies like The Parent Trap and Life Size.
A few of these movies I’ve seen and a few of them I haven’t. Mean Girls, for example – Lohan was never really the star. It was Tina Fey’s whip-smart screenplay that takes that credit. There seemed to be an inkling of talent in The Parent Trap, but she was, like, eight years-old at the time, so who can judge?
My point is that there is nothing in Lohan’s body of work that suggests to me that she’s the next Jodie Foster and I think deep down she probably knows that. So why not live it up when you have the money? What frustrates me is that she keeps being offered these second chances because she somehow fooled America into thinking she’s either A.) interesting or B.) talented – of which she is neither. I mean, to land a role in Robert Altman’s last movie? How does that happen?
It’s all part of the great American cycle of fame. We love to build you up and we love to tear you down. And if you can make a comeback, we love you all the more.
Until we tear you down again.
Maybe Lohan is interesting to some because she’s at once both nakedly ambitious as she is equally self-destructive. Sometimes she’s just naked! But there’s only so many times you can catch me with the “No, I really CAN act!” maneuver before you lose all credibility by hanging out with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. The fact of the matter is, if she wanted to be taken seriously at all, she wouldn’t be showing up in trendy Hollywood night clubs. You can complain all you like about the paparazzi and how they won’t leave you alone. But there’s a simple solution – stay home.
/end rant
Hey, guys – Don’t forget to check out tonight’s broadcast of The Triple Feature over at Talkshoe. We go live at 9:00 PM CST. Not sure what we’re talking about this week, but odds are good that it isn’t I Know Who Killed Me. Personally, I won’t mind exploring I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. I took a swipe at it in the blog I posted on Saturday (sorry for the delay on Friday’s comic, BTW) and there was some interesting feedback in the comments section. It seems like some people were willing to give the movie a pass, but others were concerned about the film’s dangerous attitudes about homosexuality – even if it was being played for laughs. I might trying bouncing that off Joe and Gordon to see what they think. But odds are good we’ll probably spend most of the hour talking about The Simpsons Movie.
So tune in!
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One more thing before I forget.
I’m getting read to go to Wizard World Chicago in a couple of weeks and I need everyone’s help.
I’m putting together a small booklet with my best comics to give away to people who come to visit me on Artist’s Alley and I’m using the Top 10 of the Top 50 Comics as my sampling.
So if you guys have a little free time to go through the archive and rank your favorite strips (don’t be afraid to use that search bar to find them!), I would appreciate it. I want to give new readers the most accurate representation possible of what Theater Hopper is all about! Who better to let them know than the fans!
Thanks for your feedback. It’s always interesting to check in on the Top 50 from time to time to see what you guys are enjoying!
Later!
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Jul25
By now it’s old news that the marketing geniuses at 20th Century Fox reconfigured a handful of high-traffic 7-11 convienience stores into Kwik-E-Marts to promote the upcoming Simpsons Movie. That doesn’t make it any less of an accomplishment.
As you know, I’m pretty sensitive to how I’m marketed to, but I felt this effort was very genuine and in keeping with the tone of The Simpsons. Frankly, it’s a bit of a no-brainer. I wonder why someone didn’t think of it sooner. But, you know… they kind of have all their eggs in a basket with this movie. So if you’re going to call attention to it, better pull out all the stops.
The fact of the matter is that Fox is keeping such a tight lid over The Simpsons Movie, there wouldn’t be anything else to talk about if we weren’t talking about their marketing efforts. No one knows for sure what it’s about and any potential spoilers are being kept under wraps.
Things have gotten to the point where fans are making THEIR OWN MERCHANDISE based only on what’s hinted at in the trailers. Spider-Pig, anyone? Now you can buy a t-shirt inspired by it!
Speaking of t-shirts, I thought you guys might get a kick out of this picture:
I’m getting ready for Wizard World Chicago August 9 – 12 and trying to take care as much as I can as early as I can so I’m not rushing out of the house having forgotten anything. I started folding up all of my shirts so they would take up less space in my Tupperwares and I thought this little layout was kind of interesting. (You can see the Spoiler I shirts stuffed into a Tupperware in the background)
I guess I never really mentioned that the Movie Law #948 shirts had been delivered to me. Everyone that pre-ordered one should have theirs in-hand by now. If you want to order one for yourself (or any other design, for that matter) feel free. I don’t know how much stock I’ll have left after Chicago. Hopefully none. So it would be a good idea to pick a shirt up now before they’re gone.
I’m really interested in burning off the inventory of shirts that I have. As you can see from the picture, they take up a lot of space. What I’ve captured there isn’t even all of my inventory. I still have a bunch of baby-doll t-shirts left over from back in the day that haven’t sold. There aren’t links for them on the site right now. I’m thinking of giving them away as freebies for people who buy maybe $25 or more. Most of the people who buy my stuff are guys, so I don’t know if that will be an incentive or not. But maybe they can pick up a weird shirt for their little sister or girlfriend or something.
I’m also going to have a stack of DVDs that I’m giving away to people who buy more than $75 worth of stuff – which is a tall order. But I have a few movies that have been given to me by promotion houses that I’m ready to unload and I figured Wizard World Chicago would be the place to do it.
What I’m really hoping for is to whittle down my inventory on the two books. I debuted Theater Hopper: Year One at Wizard World Chicago last summer and it sold really well. Well enough that it prompted me to fast-track Theater Hopper: Year Two for Wizard World Texas a few months later. What I want to have happen is to sell enough books that I can start production on Theater Hopper: Year Three and have it ready by Christmas. Having Henry kind of put the breaks on the whole book thing for a while. So if I can self-finance with the sales of the books I have, that’s really going to go a long way toward helping me with my goal.
In addition to all of this, I’ll be giving away buttons and sampler booklets that include the most popular strips based on YOUR votes from the Top 50 Comics page. So if you haven’t voted on your favorite strip, use the search function in the archive and let me know what you think is my best work! I appreciate the feedback!
So if you’re in the Chicago area around August 9 to 12, look me up. I’ll be on Artist’s Alley with my good friends Joe Dunn and Zach Miller. I look forward to this event all year. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
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Real quick….
BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!
Man, not even 24 hours after I made my anti-Lohan rant, the dummy gets herself arrested for driving under the influence and for possession of cocaine ONE BLOCK AWAY FROM THE SANTA MONICA POLICE STATION! Her movie, I Know Who Killed Me, comes out in theaters on Friday. Brilliant promotion strategy, Lindsay!
Obviously Ms. Lohan has substance abuse problems and I don’t mean to make light of that. She clearly needs help and needs to get the hell out of Hollywood for a while. But think for a moment if this was anyone else. Some crazy crackhead you read about in your local paper. If you saw a headline that said “Local nut job high on angel dust involved in car chase” you’d WANT the cops to take them off the street. You’d want the judge to throw the book at them.
Not to go on another rant, but Lohan’s stint in rehab stemming from her Memorial Day arrest (for which she showed up in court for and paid $30,000 in bond toward five days ago) wasn’t enough to keep her from partying. So it’s time to employ new tactics. If they’re willing to throw Paris Hilton in jail for (admittedly) much, much less, then there should be no favoritism shown to Lohan.
At this point, you have to think that her career is pretty much over in mainstream Hollywood movies. She’s too much of a liability. I’m sure there will be a comeback down the road. She’ll clean herself up, do a couple of indie movies and then pull a Robert Downey Jr. If she’s smart, she might actually earn her credibility back.
Too bad her parents are totally nuts. I’m sure she could use some sensible advice from someone with influence over her. Someone that ISN’T her dealer.
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Being a fan of The Simpsons for nearly two decades, there was probably no movie this summer I looked forward to with as much breathless abandon as The Simpsons Movie. Would the film live up to the hype? Would it meet my expectations? Or would it be smashed to bits on the jagged rocks of my childhood memories?
Being a Simpsons fan of this magnitude, I questioned whether even doing a review was appropriate. Obviously, I would be biased. But I hedged my bets. I figured there were enough like-minded people in the world that would benefit from not having their dreams shattered if the movie was poor and who would be equally as enthralled if the film turned out to be everything they hoped for. Hence, the words you’re reading now.
For those of you who firmly believe that The Simpsons should have ended over a decade ago when it was still “good” or jumped ship to other animated fare such as Family Guy (an argument I won’t get into), set aside your petty squabbles for the time being. Because, bias or no, The Simpsons Movie is the most fun I’ve had at the movies this year hands down.
What The Simpsons Movie does expertly well is the same thing that the television show does very well – rapid fire jokes and visual gags mixed in brilliantly with social and political satire. For example, in the movie’s opening sequence, The Simpsons are in the audience of an Itchy and Scratchy movie. Rolling his eyes at what he sees on screen, Homer bemoans the stupidity of watching something in a movie they can see at home for free. The audience is in on the joke from the get go and the writers push that gimmick successfully throughout the movie.
One scene has the trademark rolling Fox News scroll advertising fake Fox television programs. “That’s right. We advertise in our own movies now. What are you going to do about it?” it boasts. Shortly after a heartbreaking scene, the screen goes black and reads “To Be Continued.” The writers never treat the audience like morons. They don’t waste time with useless exposition. The launch right into the plot and don’t look back.
It would have been very easy for the filmmakers to cull from the eighteen year history of the show and cherry pick enough references to itself to fill it’s ninety minute running time. Aside from a non-direct, sly visual cue at the end of the film that rewards long time fans of the series, there is nothing cannibalistic about the film in its characterization or motivation.
Instead of taking the easy way out, the writers give us a very topical parable about environmentalism.They don’t take it too seriously. Lisa’s town hall lecture on the subject is called “An Irritating Truth.” However, in typical Simpsons fashion, grand adventure awaits. Angry, torch-bearing mobs, a daring escape to Alaska and arachnid swine. The action sequences in the film take advantage of the entire screen. And, while implausibility runs wild, there isn’t a moment where you aren’t entertained.
It adds nothing from a critical standpoint to attempt to delve in to the films other plot points. Bart’s new appreciation for his Bible-beating neighbor Ned Flanders or Homer’s hallucinatory odyssey toward self-actualization and realigning his priorities towards family, friends and community. As everyone knows, in The Simpsons universe, there isn’t any catastrophe that can’t be neatly wrapped up by episode’s end – just in time for next week’s zany mishaps and adventures. The same holds true here.
My only other gripe with the movie is it’s blend of traditional 2D and 3D animation. While the 3D backgrounds give us breath and scope never before seen in The Simpsons universe, it’s flat color pallet and lack of texture makes some scenes look very amateurish. The film loses some of the hand-drawn warmth of the television show and sometimes looks worse for it.
These issues aside, there has been no other film that I have laughed at longer or more consecutively than The Simpsons Movie and it has probably been the most pleasant movie-going experience I’ve had in ages.
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Apologies to those of you who came to the site on Friday to no blog. Forty lashes with a wet noodle for me.
Pretty much I was going to talk about how excited I was for The Simpsons Movie. When I didn’t get around to it Friday night and we ended up seeing The Simpsons Movie Saturday night, it felt redundant to retroactively talk about how I was anticipating it. So I held off for the full review that was posted above. I hope you enjoyed it.
Be sure to stop by the site tomorrow for a DVD review of 300. I was lucky enough to be sent an advanced copy and I have some thoughts for you on the day of it’s release. I know it’s outside the normal posting schedule, but think of it as an apology for bailing out on you guys Friday.
Oh – and there will still be comics this week. You can expect new strips on Wednesday adn Friday as usual.
By the way – did anyone notice that I snuck three comics into the mix last week? I was hoping to keep the streak alive this week. But two movie reviews and two comics is a fair trade, I think.
Last note: Be sure to check out The Triple Feature talkcast tonight over at TalkShoe at 9:00 PM CST. Gordon, Joe and I will be talking about The Simpsons Movie, I’m sure. Well, Joe might not be in attendance because he’s supposed to be flying back from the San Diego Comic Con (lucky bastard). But I’m hoping he has an opportunity to call in and give us the scoop on all the big movies coming out in 2008. If not, I’m sure Gordon and I will have lots to talk about. Superbad, The Ten and The Bourne Ultimatum all come out this Friday. So there’s a lot on our horizon!
Call in to talk to us live! See you then!
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Jul31
In early spring, a movie was unleashed upon the American public that unexpectedly spawned a dozen quotable catchphrases and launched a thousand internet parodies. It went on to make over $210 million at the box office, shocking industry analysts with it’s shocking violence, beautifully choreographed fight sequences and wide audience appeal.
That movie was 300 and I was on the sidelines for the whole thing.
Just as the hype surrounding the film was beginning to build, we brought our first child Henry into the world. It didn’t really fit within my priorities at the time to saunter off and wallow in a swords and sandals splatter fest while Cami was home changing diapers.
But I was able to get my hands on an advance copy of the film – out on DVD today – and this is my review.
By now you’re probably familiar with the battle of Thermopylae between 300 Spartans and the invading Persian army. The film bases it’s story around these events, but never pretends for a minute that its historically accurate. Instead, it draws an immediate line between itself and Frank Miller’s graphic novel of the same name.
Several key frames from the graphic novel are recreated in loving, gory detail here. I used to think that a previous Frank Miller creation – Sin City – was the most faithful comic book to movie translation. It’s evident that directory Zach Snyder has studied the approach to Sin City and refined it in 300.
The action on screen is constantly engaging and Snyder makes sure to slow things down just enough for you to feel each slice of the blade as it drags across human flesh. Knives bury themselves deep in eye sockets and heads are lopped from torsos with regularity – they float in the air like a bride’s bouquet.
Despite the film’s love affair with gore and it’s unwillingness to shy away from any of it, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat detached from the proceedings. I don’t know if the film has possibly lost some of it’s impact being wedged onto the small screen, but what transpires feels very much like a video game. Blood splatters everywhere and seems to almost evaporate. I was surprised when slain Persians simply didn’t blink a few times in rapid succession before disappearing from the battlefield to make way for more Spartan slaughter. But it’s probably not best to worry about it too long.There is more carnage to be had!
For me, the success of the film rests squarely on the broad shoulders of it’s star Gerard Butler as King Leonidas. Much more than a pointy beard, some eyeliner and rippling pectorals, Butler attacks his dialogue with the corners of his mouth pulled down to the base of his neck in vein-popping earnestness. He carries himself confidently and projects strength at all times. Watching him, you’re convinced that this is a man that could rally soldiers to battle and prepare them for death and glory as if there were no greater reward. He’s a treat to watch because he takes all of it as seriously as a heart attack. In less literal hands, Leonidas could have come off as pompous or unreasonable.
Beyond Butler’s scene chewing, the narrative is delivered largely in voice over. The third person account lends a sort of historical reverence to the proceedings, but at the same time feels pat and lazy storytelling. Some political maneuvering is thrown into the background of the plot, but it does little to anchor itself to the action at the battle of Thermopylae. Ultimately, it’s the visuals that sell the movie. Shot almost entirely against a blue screen in Montreal in 60 days, one marvels at how it was all assembled to recreate the epic battle.
Not much is explained in terms of extras available on the full screen version of the DVD that I was provided with. Just a simple director’s commentary and that’s all. The widescreen edition doesn’t fare much better for extras, but the two-disc special edition contains more than 90 minutes of addition footage that delves into the “How’d they do that?” for a richer at home experience.
FX junkies looking for an unapologetic action film will find much to love in 300. Anyone looking for greater depth will probably have more luck watching The History Channel.
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