Archive for November, 2009
26 items.
Something I was remiss to point out earlier in the week is that my good friend Joe Dunn has posted a brand new comic over at Joe Loves Crappy Movies!
I feel particularly embarrassed for not mentioning it on the homepage because 1.) Joe is a friend and 2.) because, for a while, I was probably getting 2 to 3 e-mails a week asking me if Joe was ever going to update his comic again.
This isn’t exactly a new thing for me. For a while I was getting e-mails asking me when Zach Miller was going to bring back Joe and Monkey. Before that, people were sending me e-mails asking me when Mitch Clem was going to bring back Nothing Nice to Say.
It puts me in a weird position because I certainly don’t want to speak on the behalf of any of these guys or accidentally share too much information about whatever is happening in their personal lives that may preclude them from creating new comics.
However, at the same time, I’m a fan and I understand the need for a fan to stay connected to their favorite artists. So you end up sharing what you think is appropriate and maybe it gives that person a little extra hope that the comic will come back sooner than later.
People started talking about this a little bit over in the Digital Pimp Forums. I talked about the e-mails I was getting and Joe said he never saw a single e-mail asking him about Joe Loves Crappy Movies. Many of his readers came back saying that they didn’t want to pester or annoy Joe for not producing the comic. They didn’t want to make him feel guilty or come off too demanding. So in that context, it makes sense that a fan would say “I don’t want to upset Joe, let’s see what Tom knows.”
I dunno. I found it interesting.
Anyway, I’m obscuring what’s important about this blog post which is that Joe Loves Crappy Movies is back! Check it out!
And if you’ve never read it before, Joe has almost 500 excellent comics in his archive. SO GET TO WORK!
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Before today’s blog, I wanted to quickly remind everyone about the fund raising campaign for Theater Hopper: Year Three over at Kickstarter.
There wasn’t a whole lot of traction on pledges last week and that may have been due in part to the fact that I wasn’t promoting the campaign as hard as I could. We had a really great week two weeks prior and maybe it left me feeling a little too comfortable.
So instead of burying a blog post about the campaign below the main blog, I wanted to take the proactive approach and remind you of it right away.
Please visit the campaign page at Kickstarter and if you have any money to pledge, please consider doing so today. I know here in America it’s going to be a short week because of the Thanksgiving holiday. So if you’re thinking about pledging, sooner is probably better than later.
Right now we’re 35% funded with 38 days to go. Let’s see if we can get that a little closer to 50% before all the turkey and tryptophan settles in and makes us sluggish!
Now, onto the blog!
Today’s comic is sad, but also a little bit true. I mean, who wouldn’t want awesome abs – especially it impressed your wife?
The only piece of fiction in this comic is that Cami knows/cares anything about Taylor Lautner. Even if she did, what are you going to do? I can’t compete with the metabolism of a 17 year-old. Hell, I don’t think I could compete with Taylor Lautner even IF I was 17 years-old.
As it has been widely reported, New Moon broke all kinds of box office records this weekend, taking in over $140 million and coming in third behind The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 3 for the biggest 3-day weekend opening ever.
There was some outrage in the blogosphere early Saturday when it was reported New Moon shattered The Dark Knight’s opening night tally with $72.7 million, besting The Caped Crusader’s $67.2 million – and it did it on 342 fewer theaters than The Dark Knight.
Some of the outraged comments I read online were particularly hilarious. And although part of me kind of wants to be outraged along with them, to do completely ignores two factors:
1.) The increasing escalation of box office reporting and one-upsmanship. If it wasn’t New Moon that overtook The Dark Knight’s record, it would have been some other movie. If not by popularity, but by sheer inflation alone.
2.) New Moon found success by virtue of an audience that was made up nearly 80% by women. When you consider Sandra Bullock’s The Blind Side drew a respectable $34.5 million (the best opening of Bullock’s career, by the way) with an audience made up of nearly 60% women, it is (as Entertainment Weekly put it) “of the most lopsidedly female-driven weekends in Hollywood history.” Any way you slice it, that’s impressive. So, good on ya, ladies!
At this point it would be very easy to delve into the debate that popularity does not equal quality. But at this point I’ve taken a very live and let live attitude about things.
Do I understand the Twilight phenomenon? Do I want to see New Moon? Do I even want to see The Blind Side. The answer to all of those questions is “No.” It’s not my world. I don’t understand it.
I don’t mean to put that out there as an excuse for perpetual willful ignorance. If, for example, Cami wanted to see either movie – if it was important to her – I would go. My point is, these films are not important to me. Just as Transformers 2 wasn’t important to her.
Now perhaps as a “critic,” it’s my job to go out and watch these films so I can tell you guys what I thought and if you should go see them or not. But Theater Hopper has never been about film criticism in a traditional sense. My opinions are not based in any kind of formal education and neither are they driven by a motivation to fit within a social or artistic context.
Simply, they are what they are. I present them to you as a friend might present his or hers to you. No one is holding me to some kind of invisible journalistic standard that demands objectivity and fairness. So if I make the decision that I’m not going to see a movie for whatever reason, I believe I have that latitude- so long as I can at least attempt to explain what lead me to that conclusion.
Besides, considering New Moon’s 29% rotten rating at Rotten Tomatoes, I think it’s safe to say that the film is essentially critic-proof. What kind of influence could I hope to express?
I’m sure we’ll be talking about New Moon’s success and more on The Triple Feature tonight at 9:00 PM CST on TalkShoe. Be sure to join us live if you want to participate in the conversation.
In the meantime, you can always leave your comments here. What were your thoughts about New Moon? Did it live up to your expectations or did it leave something to be desired?
And speaking of desire, what about Taylor Lautner’s abs? Amirite, ladies? Leave your comments below!
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In 2001, the proposition of Monsters, Inc. must have been a scary one for Disney / Pixar.
Coming fresh off the success of Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life and the original Toy Story (all directed by Pixar King John Lasseter)Pixar put an unproven director in the driver’s seat for Monsters, Inc. – Pete Docter.
Of course, time would prove that Docter’s madcap vision of a world inhabited by monsters who collect the screams of human children to power their communities proved to be a smash hit. But it’s interesting to learn about the behind-the-scenes hand wringing that occurred at Pixar before the release of the film.
One of the bonus features of the movie is a film makers round table with Docter, co-director Lee Unkrich, producer Darla Anderson, and script supervisor Bob Peterson (who also lent his voice to the surly clerical worker Roz in the movie). In their round table, they discuss not only their uncertainty over the somewhat complex idea of a world powered by screams, but also the real-life intrusions that threatened the success of the film.
For example, I had completely forgotten how Monsters, Inc. had come out one short month after the terrible events of 9/11. An even that lead Pixar to wonder if they should push the film back. Ultimately, according to the feedback they received, the film became a refuge for families looking to steer themselves away from the unending and horrible coverage of that day. The insight that the round table provides certainly adds a layer of enjoyment to hard-core fans of the film.
Eight years after its theatrical release Monsters, Inc. holds up incredibly well and the Blu-ray transfer gives the film a candy-coated shot in the arm. Colors are richer, details are more pronounced. Even the hair on Sully’s arms looks more refined. A more perfect version of the film I can’t imagine unless you were sitting in Pixar’s offices, watching it over the shoulder of one of the animators.
In terms of extras, the Blu-ray doesn’t bring much that’s new to the table. A short documentary about a Monsters, Inc. ride at Disneyland Toyko made me want to hop a flight to Japan immediately and an interactive game featuring over 100 doors intimidates more than it inspires gameplay.
Additional features include those already packaged on the Collector’s Edition that was released in 2002. The animated shorts “Mike’s New Car” and “For the Birds”, storyboards, a database of monsters featured in the film, and multiple gag reels.
However, the Blu-ray package gives you a bevy of formats including a digital copy of the film as well as a DVD copy of the film, which are nice bonuses.
As a Pixar fan, I have no problem replacing all of my DVD copies with Blu-ray editions of the film. I believe they are the most authentic reproductions of the movies possible and a visual treat. However, it would have been nice to see a few more extras with the film and I probably wouldn’t have minded waiting another 2 years for a 10th anniversary edition if it meant getting additional content.
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Some quick words about the Kickstarter fund raising campaign for Theater Hopper: Year Three before launching into the blog…
The project received a couple more pledges since Monday and I wanted to say thanks. We’re now up to 37% funded, but I need to keep pushing forward. I keep looking for that magical “tipping point” that sends pledges into overdrive, but it hasn’t happened yet. Hopefully, I will have some time over the holidays to draw that Monsters, Inc. drawing I was talking about earlier that I was planning to give away in a random drawing once we reach $1,500 in pledges. I was also planning on recording myself as I create the drawing and posting that on the updates page, so look for that in the future.
In the meantime, I know there are several of you that are in a situation where you can’t pledge to the project – either because of financial reasons or because (for some weird reason) Kickstarter doesn’t allow international credit cards. But there is still a way you can help!
If you currently own a copy of Theater Hopper: Year One or Theater Hopper: Year Two, please go to the project’s comments page and leave feedback about those books. It’s hard for me to ask you to do this without sounding completely narcissistic, but the previous books are probably the best evidence I have to help me justify a third book. I’m hoping that personal testimonies regarding the content and quality of the first two books will help to convince potential pledge candidates that this is a worthwhile project to lend their support to.
Additionally, you can also use the social media links under the video on the project homepage to help spread the word – Email, Facebook, Delicious, MySpace, Twitter and Digg. They’re all there for you to help you tell your online social networks about this project.
Okay, that went on a little longer than I thought. So let’s get to the blog, shall we?
When I first saw the posters for Ninja Assassin earlier this fall, I didn’t pay much attention. It looked a little generic to me.
But I started to turn around on that idea when I saw the trailer and watched some of the commercials that cropped up. My favorite commercial is this one. Before they launch into the action, the voice over guy darkly informs us that “WARNING: Only one ninja was harmed during the making of this film. The rest of them… were killed!”
Guess what, buddy? You just earned my $8.00.
Incidentally, I should warn you that the commercial is pretty graphic and bloody. They say it’s a red-band commercial, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. I couldn’t find the “clean” version that used the warning message, but I swear I’ve seen it on television in the last couple of weeks.
In my rational mind, I know that Ninja Assassin is going to be pure, bombastic cheese. But I think it’s going to be a nice cathartic release after the Thanksgiving holiday. To put it another way, I don’t think sitting through a thematically dense film like Precious is the antidote to a day spent overeating with your family. Ninja Assassin seems like an appropriate “switch off your brain and relax” kind of movie.
Plus, like Shoot ‘Em Up a couple of years ago, I’m totally on board with the title. You know exactly what you’re going to get with this movie. You will see ninjas. You will see assassinations. Case closed.
Okay, fine. Does it help you to know that it was produced by The Wachowski Brothers and directed by the guy that did V For Vendetta? Because it is. To that end, I think you can expect a certain level of polish to the visuals, even if the standard revenge plot and dialogue leave something to be desired.
So there you have it. That’s what I’m doing with my weekend. I’m going to watch acrobatic Asians pretend to slice each other up like so much turkey. For the Americans in the audience, what’s your plan post-holiday? Is anyone going to brave the Black Friday sales or have you guys been making your purchases online this year? What about Ninja Assassin? Any interest or does it look like schlock to you?
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!
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I had a big post in mind when I put this comic together last night. But some kind of blog date kerfuffle late at night prevented me from posting it until this afternoon. So what I had planned on writing yesterday evening has completely evaporated by this afternoon!
I hope you like the comic. It’s pretty straightforward. I admit to being stuck coming up with the punchline. Actually, I came up with the “Lawyer Attorney” observation first. I probably should have flipped things around to make that the punchline. But I turned out pretty well. What can you expect post-Thanksgiving when your brain has been choked by tryptophan?
Not much more to talk about tonight, except that I hope to see Ninja Assassin some time this evening. I’ve been hearing great things from friends who have already seen it. I’m still a little skittish about going to the theaters on Black Friday, but hopefully the mall crowds have exhausted themselves and gone home by the time I show up. I plan on going to the late, late show.
Still trying to fanagle an opportunity to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox with Cami tomorrow. The film broke wide across the country on Wednesday, but we haven’t nailed down a babysitter yet. I’ve felt considerably out of the loop on that one since it was available in limited release two weeks prior. It feels like no one is talking about it anymore – and I hate it when that happens.
Last thing I’ll mention – and I think you know where it’s going – please pledge to the Kickstarter fund raising campaign for Theater Hopper: Year Three. We have 33 days left in the campaign and 63% left to go. I’m worried that after the baby arrives on the 10th, I won’t have time to really chase it down. That, compounded by the holidays getting in the way, I’m really worried that I won’t be able to raise the money I need to do this!
So, if you have even a dollar left in your pocket after cashing in on department store sales, please consider pledging. I appreciate your support.
Thanks and have a great weekend!
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Hey, everyone. Hope you had a great holiday weekend. If you’re outside America, I hope you had a great regular weekend!
Before we get started with the blog, I just wanted to post an update about the Kickstarter fund raising campaign for Theater Hopper: Year Three. There are 31 days left to go in the campaign and we are 38% funded. I am starting to feel the pinch. I had hoped we’d be at least 50% funded by now, but I realize that the Thanksgiving holiday probably served as a distraction for some of you.
Quick question: How many of you fought the crowds on Black Friday? It sucked, didn’t it. Doesn’t it kind of make you wonder why you’re running around like a chicken with your head cut off, trying to score a deal on a cheap… whatever to give someone for the holidays?
If you’ve ever found yourself in an existential funk during the holidays, stick it to commercialism and stick it to “The Man” by pledging your support to an independent artist. Even if it’s only a dollar. It’s good karma.
In the meantime, if you don’t have a dollar to spare but maybe own a copy of Theater Hopper: Year One or Theater Hopper: Year Two, please leave your comments and insights on the Kickstarter campaign comments page. A few of you have done this already and I thank you for that.
It is my feeling that if we can get a few more people talking about the existing books, it might convince the people who are on the fence to help support the next one. So get in there and leave a few comments!
Tonight I hope to finally getting around to drawing the Monsters, Inc. original giveaway artwork that I talked about back on November 13. I think I figured out how I’m going to draw it and also how I’m going to stage a fun little video update showing you how the artwork was put together.
Thanks and now onto the blog!
Today’s comic is based on something that happened to me when I went to see Ninja Assassin on Saturday night. I went to the late showing, which is typical for me when it’s a movie Cami has no interest in seeing. I check out the movie, she goes to bed. It’s a win-win.
Anyway, I went into a mostly empty theater about 10 minutes before the movie started, found a seat in the middle of the auditorium in the middle row (where I always sit) and was feeling very pleased with myself since it didn’t look like I would have to suffer any buffoonish behavior from the people sitting around me.
No sooner had I settled in, than two teenagers plopped down behind me. One of them put their feet up on the chair next to me. For the entire movie, I’m looking at his shoes out of the corner of my eye.
Certainly people are free to sit where ever they want. But at the time, I found it odd. A nearly empty theater and you sit directly behind someone? It defies logic to me. I mean, I know stadium seating kind of eliminates the back of someone’s head behind a viewing obstruction, but still. I mean… it’s kind of like a bathroom full of empty urinals and some stranger occupying the urinal directly next to you.
Guys, you know what I’m talking about!
No sooner had I begun to bristle at the proximity of this duo and their footwear, then another couple of guys appeared and took the seats directly in front of me!
Again, a nearly empty theater. Your pick of the litter and you plop down directly in front of me? Maybe my “bubble” of personal space extends a few feet farther than the average person, but it just felt weird. Like I was being surrounded, or something.
Ultimately, no one ended up taking the seats on either side of me. But I think I’ve been spoiled by my nocturnal and solitary movie-watching habits. I can’t remember the last time I went to a movie that was so packed, I was asked to move down the aisle or cozy up next to someone else. Despite wanting the “community” experience of watching a movie in a large theater with several people, I’m really not very interested in engaging with them on any level. I will take off my coat and put it in the empty seat next to me. I would prefer to have the row to myself. I am a terrible, terrible person.
As for the movie itself, I liked Ninja Assassin a lot. It was pretty much everything I expected it to be – everything I hoped it would be.
The movie is first-rate cheese. Threadbare plot and hardly any dialogue. Korean pop sensation Rain does a great job in the lead role of Raizo. Looking at him perform amazing feats of athletic prowess, it never occurred to me that this guy is the Asian equivalent of Justin Timberlake.
Imagine instead of hosting Saturday Night Live, Justin Timberlake starred in an action movie where he slaughtered hundreds of people. Actually, now that I think about it, I’d kind of like to see that movie!
Most of my complaints with Ninja Assassin are stylistic ones. I’m willing to forgive the clunky dialogue and complete lack of chemistry between… well, ANYONE in the movie. But the way the movie depicts ninja’s as wall-crawling blurs that silently float into open windows is laughably stupid.
Director James McTeigue made a few smart choices regarding the interplay between light and shadows and how ninjas use the darkness to their advantage. But then he pushes things too far by making the ninjas almost supernatural in their ability to move quickly and manifest directly behind their opponents. A ninja should be unpredictable and and dangerous, but not become a ghoul or a vampire.
Actually, there’s a scene where a SWAT team enters a warehouse and McTeigue pulls the camera up above their head to reveal a swarm of ninjas slithering about the rafters. It reminded me more of one of the Alien movies where the horrible creatures were about to get the drop on the unsuspecting Colonial Marines
In some scenes, Ninja Assassin plays almost like a horror movie and an effective one at that. Because you really have no idea where the attack is going to come from. But when it happens, it will be brutal and it will be bloody. McTeigue does a good job of ratcheting up the fear and tension in these scenes.
But let’s talk about the blood for a second. Because there’s a lot of it and this movie and it’s WAY over the top. It’s not the gore that bothered me. It was the authenticity of it.
For whatever reason, McTeigue uses a lot of CGI blood in this movie and it looks ridiculous. I realize that maybe he was aiming for some kind of cartoonish ultra-violence like Sin City or Kill Bill, but it comes off looking like amateur hour. Maybe he was trying to make the red more visible in what is otherwise a very darkly lit film. But again, it just looks wrong.
You can’t tell me that CGI blood looks better or costs less than some expertly placed squibs and a couple gallons of red dye and Kayo syrup.
But again, these are complaints against stylistic choices and are really only a minor distraction from the main event. The film is fast-paced and breath-taking. You pretty much get to see ninjas do everything you want to see them do in a movie and the film is very satisfying, visceral entertainment because of it. A great “switch your brain off” flick to combat holiday stress. If you’re looking to have a little fun, I highly recommend it.
I was going to talk a little bit about the other movie I saw this weekend – The Fantastic Mr. Fox – but I went on a little too long with my review of Ninja Assassin. I’m sure I’ll get to it later this week, but if you want a preview of what I’ll be talking about, be sure to tune in to The Triple Feature tonight at 9:00 PM at TalkShoe.com where I’m sure we’ll be talking about The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Ninja Assassin and more!
If you saw either of these two films this weekend, I’d love to hear what you thought about them! So leave your comments below. Otherwise, I’ll talk to you soon.
Have a great day!
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