This is the kind of comic and play with language is something that I know is pretty much only going to entertain me, but if you enjoyed it, thanks for coming along for the ride.
I did a comic similar to this a few years ago for Saw. Tom and Cami debated whether or not the would see Saw while sitting on a seesaw. It had several levels. I couldn’t find it buried in the archives, though. You’ll just have to trust me when I say how awesome it is.
I don’t really have anything to say about Takers except it looks like the kind of stylish urban crime drama that Tupac Shakur would have starred in back in the day. I guess it did alright at the box office this weekend – $21 million. But, of course, late August into early September is a dead zone when it comes to new movies. Everyone is going back to school, so the studios just kind of shovel out whatever.
In completely unrelated news, I finally got around to seeing Scott Pilgrim vs. The World this weekend. I’m glad I had a chance to see it in the theater because I don’t think it’s going to be hanging around in multiplexes for much longer.
After a dismal 5th place opening in its first week to a drastic drop to 10th in its second week, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World lost more than 42% of it’s business this weekend, plummeting to 14th place.
Theaters have obviously lost confidence in it. My theater, for example, only had three showings on Saturday an 11:00, a 4:00 and the 10:00 that I went to. Please keep in mind that this theater also has 20 screens, so it’s not like it was really fighting for space among the end of summer duds.
The theater we were in seemed to have a lot of people in it, though. Or maybe it only looked that way because the theater was so small.
As for the movie itself. I liked it. In fact, I really liked it! I don’t know if the film justifies the nerd rage expressed online in regards to the film failing to find an audience. Truthfully, I find the incredulous tone of that sentiment off-putting. It’s not going to attract anyone who is on the fence to the film. Vanity Fair, however, made a very smart and impassioned argument for the movie that I thing proponents would be wise to adopt.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has a catchy and unforgettable energy that is makes it addicting to watch. Blissfully, however, it’s comic book sensibilities never bleed over the edge and ruin it.
I’ve seen Scott Pilgrim vs. The World favorably compared to Speed Racer in this respect and I would say Pilgrim is a refinement of that approach. The film breaks the fourth wall constantly, but the script never winks at you. It doesn’t make you feel dumb for investing in it. Speed lines, pixelated graphics and ridiculous super-powered fights are par for the course in the Scott Pilgrim universe. It’s totally normal to all of the characters in the film, so it’s totally normal to us.
Writer/director Edgar Wright has compared Scott Pilgrim to a musical. But instead of glorious production numbers, scenes are punctuated with exaggerated fight sequences.
I think that’s the right way to approach the movie. You can certainly see the movie was paced with these interludes in mind. As Scott squares off against his opponents, the tension builds just enough before a comical, digital “VS.” flashes on the screen and you know the fight is on.
Of course, it’s impossible to talk about Scott Pilgrim without mentioning the music. Beck contributes a few song to Scott’s fictional band – Sex Bom-Omb – that gives them an authentic garage band imperfection that is fun to listen to. But it’s Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich’s score that anchors the film with emotional resonance.
As a matter of fact, I downloaded the Scott Pilgrim score last night (it’s only available as an MP3 download) and was listening to it on repeat as I worked on today’s comic. If you’re a fan of the movie at all, I suggest you pick it up. It’s a good listen.
The more I think about Scott Pilgrim, the more I want to see it again. Wright’s adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s original graphic novels is just different enough to warrant further inspection. What’s pleasing about the film, however, is that these changes don’t negatively impact the final product. That’s a rare feat. Usually films that monkey with the time line and the details of the source material – especially one as well-loved as Scott Pilgrim – don’t go over well. But in this case, I love the books and the movie equally – just in different ways.
I don’t know if Scott Pilgrim will stay in theaters long enough for me to convince Cami to see it with me a second time. I’m very curious to see how someone who has ABSOLUTELY no investment in the material reacts to the movies. I think she would enjoy it, but we might have to wait until the movie comes out on DVD to find out.
Certainly this is a film that I would want to own. Scott Pilgrim’s world is just to visually unique and interesting not to want to revisit again and again.
With that lengthy review (unrelated to the comic with which it appears) out of the way, I wanted to remind you guys about the BIG SALE going on in the store now until September 19.
As you know, Cami and I are packing up the kids and moving to a new house at the end of September. As such, I’m trying to sell off as much merchandise as I can before the big day so I don’t have to pay the movers extra to haul out all my books and t-shirts. That means I’m passing unprecedented savings on to you!
All books and t-shirts are specially priced for a limited time. If you follow Theater Hopper on Twitter or Facebook, you might learn about some special codes that will afford you EXTRA discounts!
I’ll tell you right now that people are really taking advantage of this sale. People are buying items in bulk – two or three shirts at a time. Or two books and one shirt at time. A myriad of combinations. The point is that they’re buying a lot of stuff at once and there might not be much stuff left over if you wait too long. The good news about my new Storenvy store is that it keeps track of inventory. So now you can watch the little inventory bar trickle down to zero.
Even if you already own a bunch of Theater Hopper merchandise (and by the way, thank you), this is a great opportunity to buy something you can give as a gift later. Wouldn’t it be great to have your holiday shopping done early? Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to scramble at the Nth hour to get a birthday present for a friend? Give the gift of Theater Hopper! You won’t be sorry!
That’s all of my schilling for now. But, hey, keep us in mind. This is a great opportunity. You help yourself by saving money and you help me by lightening my load for our move. It’s a win-win!
Just think about it. All I’m saying.
Back on track, did anyone see Takers this weekend? Have we left any stones unturned regarding Scott Pilgrim? If so, leave your comments below!
Or, y’know, we could always talk about Theater Hopper merch, too. I can give you guys some ideas to help promote the sale if that interests you?… 😉
It took me by surprise how many people were taken in by takers.
Bu the talent is terrific! Not one of them token or totemic!
Totally!
All this talk of Takers totally trips my trigger. Reminds me of that tremendous Liam Neeson Movie!
Taken?
Rob Roy.
Actually, I was entertained by the wordplay. First time I’ve been the first one to rate a comic! Have been going through the top comics lately and rating them.
Still not seen Scott Pilgrim yet, but heard nothing bad at all.
Loved the wordplay today!
As for Scott Pilgrim – I am one of those who haven’t read the books (I flipped through them in the store – just not my thing), and the advertising, as we’ve discussed before, was horrendous… except for the foreign adverts. I saw the foreign trailer on The Ultimate Trailer Show, and it convinced me it might be good – and it was! Well, not classic brilliance, I liked Scott Pilgrim. Bonus points for actually letting Toronto play Toronto (props have nothing to do with being a local)
Another great comic, Tom.
Sadly, Scott Pilgrim left the theaters near me before I could see it, so I foresee having to wait for DVD (unless I can con some friends into making a longer trip for it). Read almost all the comics right after it came out and really started to fall for the series, which makes the film’s departure more depressing.
On the bright side, I still have dozens of chances to see “Vampires Suck”. *sarcasm* *headdesk*
I actually did see Takers on Saturday, went down to the morning show. I’ve got a thing for heist movies, so I figured I’d give it a shot. And it’s not terrible, it’s just… not terrible. Ranges from average to mediocre, something that you may watch for a few minutes when it’s on TV in a few years before changing the channel. Nothing missed by missing it.
Also saw Scott Pilgrim for the third time, because I love that movie. You hit things pretty well in your review of it, and I too can’t understand all the hate against it. A good portion of it seems to be anti-hipster feelings, which I don’t really understand since that doesn’t have anything to do with the movie (assuming one actually watched it). It’s a real shame, since the film itself is so happy to be here.
Is there really Scott Pilgrim hate? I can appreciate anti-hipster sentiment. Even anti-Michael Cera leanings. But I don’t think I’ve read any scathing reviews where anyone said they hated the film and wanted 2 hours of their life back.
Audience apathy is more like it.
It could be that I scan the comments section of CHUD too much (what a negative bunch they can be), but I’ve seen many comments about people who seem to outright hate the film, or who are glad that it did so poorly at the box office. This is probably a healthy mix of trolls and people who are mad at websites for promoting the film too much (an answer that makes no sense to me whatsoever), but there they are. And I’m not sure how many of them actually saw it.
I will admit that for reviews from folks who actually watched it, the negative ones have just been regular “I didn’t like/care for it”, no super-hate things on par with Vampires Suck, for instance.
Agreed. I gather anyone who is saying they hate it probably isn’t reacting to the movie itself, but the trappings that surround it – Cera, hipsters, aggressive marketing.
The movie is to unique and interesting to dismiss out of hand. Even if it’s not your bag, you have to give it credit for doing something different competently.
I enjoyed the majority of the film, and spent a good part of it laughing at the humor and enjoying the visual style, but I do have some Scott Pilgrim hate that is directed at the movie itself and none of the trappings.
For a character who never did anything wrong, the way Knives Chau was treated pissed me off. Scott was an ass to just about everyone throughout the movie, and I get that that was the lesson he was supposed to learn at the end, but Knives got the worst of it for no real reason. She’s basically made to suffer because the title character makes a series of mistakes (dating her in the first place, not breaking it off when he should, botching the actual break-up, etc.) that for him are almost entirely consequence-free. If she’d done something wrong at any point, I could understand it as her getting some comeuppance, but she’s not the one doing everything wrong.
It’s my understanding that her arc is better developed in the books, which I might pick up at some point. But the poorly written love story, and Knives’ part of it in particular, is enough to make the movie not worth adding to my collection.
I don’t know what to say to that except “Life’s unfair?”
I mean, why does Knives have to experience ANY comeuppance to justify Scott’s horrible treatment of her? Scott’s an unreliable, irresponsible flake (moreso in the books) and Knives just got caught in the crossfire. It happens in real-life all the time.
You’re right that Knives’ story is a little bit more fleshed out in the books. She actually becomes quite stalker-ish for a while (her jealousy of Ramona erupts into a fight mid-way through the store, not at the end like in the movie). But by the final book, she matures to the point where she realizes Scott was never really a good fit for her in the first place and it feels much more neatly resolved.
Here you go Tom: http://www.theaterhopper.com/2005/10/28/so-many-saws-to-see/
It was for Saw II.
Frankly there isn’t a movie that I want to see in the theater coming out until November. When tickets are $10 each we tend to be picky. There really hasn’t been much that interested me this whole year besides Inception in fact.
Thanks, musicalfingers! That was a great comic, Tom!
Definitely in my top 10 TH strips…
I had no interest in seeing the movie when I first heard of it. Not my generation, not fond of Michael Cera, just not interested. Then I heard Edgar Wright was directing. This interested me. So I was conflicted.
I am glad I overcame my conflict and erred on the side of Edgar Wright. The movie was really engaging and enjoyable. I also felt like it was a movie I would want to watch a second time. It is quick and detailed and just a fun movie all around.
I have not read the comic books. I do not know if I will. I feel the movie conveyed the point that all relationships have the metaphoric baggage of exes and how it can be difficult to fight through that for the person you care about.
Well I would have gone to see Scott Pilgrim already except in this hole that is Latvia (and being part of EU, supposedly) we don’t get to see it in theaters until f@#$%ing NOVEMBER. Great job, whoever is responsible for distribution (/sarcasm). Even the damn R5 DVDs will probably be out by then!
I’ve never read any of the books but I loved the Scott Pilgrim movie. Maybe it’s because it had so many nods to video games and that was my hook but I loved it and it’s a must buy on blu-ray.
The film will find its legs on home video. It’s the kind of movie that you have to watch over and over to catch all the little details and each time you watch it you’ll grow to like it more and more.
I haven’t gotten a chance to see Scott Pilgrim yet. It sounds like it won’t be long before I’ll have to wait for DVD.
As for Takers, I’d never even heard of it until I read this comic just now… Looking it up, it doesn’t really sound like something that would normally catch my attention anyway though. There have been a few exceptions here and there, but most of these high adrenaline action type movies just come across as really bland and lame to me.
I hated Scott Pilgrim and did want the two hours of my life back, but I know I’m alone in this. My boyfriend was laughing his ass off next to me while I had a 😐 look on my face the whole time. I kept thinking “come one, one funny part, one funny part!” but I never so much as cracked a smile. *sigh*
My boyfriend is letting me read the books. I like it better so far. Ramona and Scott have actual CHEMISTRY!
I don’t think I’m anti-hipster, by the way. I’m not even sure what a hipster is.