Archive for February, 2011
22 items.
Two things I realized as I was finishing today’s comic:
- My version of Elton John looks a lot like a fat David Letterman.
- I realized too late that I should have done a comic about Valentine’s Day.
I can fix that second issue, though. I have a Valentine’s Day themed comic in mind for tomorrow. Nothing fancy. I should be able to knock it out pretty quick. So maybe you want to swing by the site tomorrow and check it out? Mark your calendars.
I don’t remember when I first saw the trailer for Gnomeo & Juliet, but I remember my reaction to it when I did. The premise – which looked horribly derivative – combined with the entry-level animation and cheap fart jokes convinced me this was some kind of direct-to-DVD movie. I was shocked to learn it was getting a theatrical release. Credit Elton John’s name being attached to the production, I guess. I can see no other reason why this was green-lit.
Apparently the rights to the screenplay were originally picked up by Disney before production was shut down by John Lasseter after becoming the head of Disney animation. Thank goodness. This movie looks as bad as Home on the Range – and the Disney gatekeepers should have done a better job of seeing through the premise.
Truthfully, this movie looks so placid, I can’t imagine who the audience is for. Maybe it’s just for kids. That’s okay. Not every animated movie has to be pitched at adults, too. But to me it looks like an animated movie made for your Great Aunt who owns too many cats and who thought Kung Fu Panda was “too ethnic.”
I means, garden gnomes! SERIOUSLY?!
I don’t know if there’s much more vitriol that I can conjure up for Gnomeo and Juliet. But I thought it would be fun to position the movie as the most bizarre vanity project of all time and poke fun at it.
Tomorrow, I’ll bring the love with a brand new comic. You bring the chocolates.
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, EVERYONE!
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As promised yesterday, here is a BRAND NEW comic celebrating Valentine’s Day. Yeah, so what if I’m a day late. It doesn’t mean I love you any less…
Actually, this is a bit of a milestone because I can’t remember the last time I did two comics in one week – let alone back to back. I think this is the first time I’ve produced two comics in one week since I made the announcement of going to a once-a-week schedule last summer.
So, fingers crossed… hopefully it will be the start of a new trend?
I really don’t have anything to say about Justin Bieber: Never Say Never except that I’m glad that it wasn’t number one at the box office this weekend. It did come close, however. It was a million bucks short following Adam Sandler’s Just Go With It. So, y’know. Look out.
You might be surprised to learn that I really don’t have that much animosity toward Justin Bieber. Quite truthfully, I spend very little to any time thinking about him. But from what I’ve seen, he appears to be a competent performer who has a sense of humor about himself not unlike, say, Justin Timberlake.
People used to really, really, REALLY hate Justin Timberlake, too. But that turned out okay, I guess?
Incidentally, I didn’t mention that I saw Just Go With It on Friday night. That might be worth revisiting in a review later on. Keep an eye on the Bonus Materials blog for something like that in the future.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed today’s comic and had a fantastic Valentine’s Day. If not? Well, there’s always President’s Day!
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I know I’m a little bit behind the curve on this, but let’s talk about it anyway.
On Monday, Sony released a brand new, official promo image of Andrew Garfield in costume as Spider-Man in director Mark Webb’s reboot of the franchise.
The film’s official title was also announced – The Amazing Spider-Man.
There have been plenty of photos of Garfield in costume from outdoor sequences the crew has been shooting around Los Angeles. I will state for the record that I haven’t been impressed by those shots. But I reserved judgment until we saw something official from Sony.
Now that we have something concrete, I can say… ehhh… I don’t hate it.
Sony originally released a photo of Garfield sans-mask looking pummeled and forlorn a few months ago. Aside from the aesthetic changes they made to the costume, that shot didn’t mean much to me. Without the mask, the jury was still out.
Now that I’ve seen the mask, I’d say they did a pretty good job. It still has the Oakley lenses similar to the costume in Sam Raimi’s version, but the webs on the mask are thinner and horizontal across the forehead and scalp. To my eye, it looks more like the old Steve Ditko version of the costume (comic book nerds will know what I’m talking about) and I think that’s a good thing.
Even though I think there’s too much blue in the costume – and unnecessarily textured – the colors are bright and poppy. That, in combination with the decision to title the film The Amazing Spider-Man leads me to believe that the film will have a lighter, bouncier feel than the angst-ridden Raimi films.
Don’t get me wrong. Peter Parker’s life sucks. That’s what makes the character relatable. But when he puts on the mask, he’s free – almost jubilant. That’s something that Raimi’s films never fully captured. I have my fingers crossed that Webb’s Spider-Man will be much wittier and quicker on the take.
This reboot will live and die by the tone it establishes. If it’s not different enough from the originals, the 5 year span between the last movie and this relaunch will make the film feel perfunctory. Here’s hoping they pull it off.
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Despite how much I enjoyed the Euro-stomp romp that was Taken with Liam Neeson, I was fully prepared to pass on Unknown precisely because it looked like a lazy retread and a paycheck job for Neeson.
But a couple of articles have recently warmed my heart to the idea of possibly seeing Unknown this weekend and I’d like to share them with you now…
Read this article by Jeffery Wells over at Hollywood Elsewhere. He’s taken Neeson to task repeatedly over the last few years for taking paycheck roles. Let’s face it – from a credibility standpoint, Taken, The A-Team and Clash of the Titans are MILES away from Schindler’s List and Rob Roy. So a little of that criticism is warranted.
But he’s actually kind of complimentary to Unknown. “I haven’t time to review it now,” says Wells. “But it’s not bad in a ‘somewhat better than meh’ sort of way. It’s nowhere near the level of the Bourne films, but it’s actually a touch more plausible than Taken, for what that’s worth.”
I know that sounds like faint praise. But coming from a curmudgeon like Wells – a critic who absolutely hated Taken and what it represented in Neeson’s career, that faint praise is saying something.
He then goes on to talk about the obsolescence of car chases as an action movie cliche. But that’s neither here nor there.
Another factor that might get me to see Unknown this weekend… sympathy.
In an interview with Esquire magazine, Neeson opened up about the death of his wife Natasha Richardson, who died in a skiing accident in March of 2009. Specifically he talks about burying the pain with work.
“”I think I survived by running away some. Running away to work,” said Neeson. He started filming Clash of the Titans just one month after his wife’s accident.
“‘Listen, I know how old I am and that I’m just a shoulder injury from losing roles like the one in Taken. So I stay with the training, I stay with the work. It’s easy enough to plan jobs, to plan a lot of work. That’s effective. But that’s the weird thing about grief. You can’t prepare for it. You think you’re gonna cry and get it over with. You make those plans, but they never work.’
‘It hits you in the middle of the night — well, it hits me in the middle of the night. I’m out walking. I’m feeling quite content. And it’s like suddenly, boom. It’s like you’ve just done that in your chest.’ Here Neeson reaches out and twists both hands in opposite directions, like he’s corkscrewing two ends of a soda can, reaches toward me so it’s clear: This is in his chest.”
Say what you will, but an emotional appeal like that hits me right between the eyes. It goes a long way toward justifying a lot of Neeson’s career choice of late.
So what about you? Any plans to see Unknown this weekend? Leave your comments below.
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As part of a promotional effort for X-Men: First Class, 20th Century Fox is making available the cast and filmmakers of the movie to answer questions submitted by fans on Facebook and Twitter.
The campaign officially kicks off on Tuesday, March 1 and fans can direct questions on Twitter to @XMenMovies or post them on the film’s Facebook wall at Facebook.com/XMenMovies
Done right, this could be an excellent opportunity to show a little transparency and resolve any skepticism among fans about the franchise’s odd, continuity adverse direction. Done wrong, this could be another shallow, micro-managed and insincere publicity game that ignores the concerns long-time fans have about the silver screen versions of their favorite characters.
If you were to pose a question to the cast and filmmakers of X-Men: First Class, what would it be?
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Sorry for the lateness of this week’s comic. Originally the comic was delayed because I was clubbed upside the head by a killer cold that I picked up from Pearl. I guess being around a sick baby for 5 days will catch up with you eventually.
Pearl’s been a challenge for us lately because she keeps getting ear infections. Last week, she was waylaid by double ear infections and some kind of bronchial issue that resulted in her being prescribed a nebulizer. On top of that, we’re pretty sure she was cutting a few molars.
So she couldn’t hear, had trouble breathing and wasn’t eating. It was a blast. Add into the mix Henry’s fourth birthday and a trip to the germ farm known as Chuck E. Cheese and it all caught up with me.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my kids. Sometimes it’s just hard to keep up, y’know?
We are particularly motivated to get Pearl well because this Friday she is having tubes put in to deal with her chronic ear infections. So the gauntlet has been thrown down in front of me to be a helpful, engaged parent while simultaneously staying out of my daughter’s face out of fear we’ll get her sick before the operation. Stressful.
Anyway, I hope today’s double comic makes up for all the drama in my life. It actually would have gone up late last night, but the Theater Hopper server kept returning 500 errors. Such is life.
The path to this comic was kind of an interesting one that started on Twitter. Thinking about I Am Number Four, I came up with a comic rather quickly. Specifically, I intended to make some kind of poop joke or allude to how childish making a “number two” reference would be – similar to what Cami does in the second panel here. “Number Four,” “number two…” It writes itself.
Anyway, I alluded to my punchline on Twitter and people pretty much predicted right away what I was planning on doing. What unfolded was a unique bit of crowdsourcing that transformed today’s comic into the monster you see today.
Originally, my webcomic buddy Brandon J. Carr chimed in with the Riker reference from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He quickly followed that up with a Johnny Number Five reference from Short Circuit.
A little latter, Phil Hofer – otherwise known as Comicpress genius Frumph – tossed out the idea to include 9 from the movie 9. The rest, as they say, is history.
I’ll give myself a little credit, though. The “Disassemble?” punchline – that was all me.
Yeah, so what if other people practically wrote 90% of the comic?! THAT PUNCHLINE IS MINE, BABY!
Anyway, credit where credit is due. Thanks to Brandon and Phil for the assist. It was a lot of fun going back and forth with them last Friday on Twitter. I don’t work in a big fancy studio with a bunch of creative types that allows me to brainstorm genius ideas. Twitter is the next best thing.
As for I Am Number Four… well, I guess you can discern from the comic that I really have nothing important to say about it. Sometimes it’s just more fun to go out on a tangent. But if YOU saw the movie this weekend, please feel free to leave your comments below!
Thanks again for your patience and understanding regarding the tardiness of the comic. Be sure to check the Bonus Materials blog during the week for more movie-related updates!
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This is kind of old news, but I’m playing catch up this week, so bear with me.
On Monday, rumors started flying that Kevin Costner had been cast in Zack Snyder’s reboot of Superman. It didn’t take very long before Latino Review reported that he would be playing Jonathan “Pa” Kent – Superman’s adoptive father.
I think this is a mistake. When I think of Costner, I don’t think of him as a father figure. Nor do I ascribe a nurturing moral center to his list of character attributes.
I think Costner would have been better utilized playing Clark Kent’s brassy Daily Planet Editor Perry White. It’s a bit part, sure. Probably not worth Costner’s time. But it’s a better fit.
Costner is one of those actors that everyone WANTS to like, but he’s got a bit of an a-hole streak in him. I put him in the same category that I put Hugh Grant in – an actor who tried to win people over with charm and good looks but who is ultimately more effective playing self-centered rouges.
I can easily see Costner wearing a vest, chewing on a pipe and barking orders at a grown up Clark Kent than I can see him wearing bib overalls, chewing on a wheat stalk and giving the teenage Superman advice about doin’ what’s right.
Costner has a slow, considerate nature in his performances that I think might have blinded Snyder to the opportunity right under his nose and made him think he was better for Pa Kent. But in my view, Perry White would have been the more interesting father figure for Costner to pursue.
What are your thoughts? Leave your comments below!
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The red band trailer for Cameron Diaz’s Bad Teacher came out recently and it’s so completely ridiculous, I had to share it with you.
The gist of it is basically that Cameron Diaz swears a lot. Awkwardly. Is anyone convinced by this “bad-girl” persona she’s slapped on? This performance seems specifically designed to counter-act Diaz’s bubbly Every Girl reputation. Instead it comes off as contrived.
Justin Timberlake is acting so unbelievable goofy, it’s like he wandered out of a Saturday Night Live sketch.
In fact, I can’t decide if this movie is supposed to be straight up satire or if we’re supposed to take any of the characters seriously?
Jason Segel appears to be approaching his role with some sincerity and, as Forgetting Sarah Marshall proved, he’s endlessly endearing as the underdog.
But from this trailer, it looks like casting Diaz was a mistake. Whatever they’re selling, I’m not buying. To me it looks like some vain attempt to make Diaz relevant again by shocking us into paying attention. She’s like Madonna, or something.
What do you guys think of Bad Teacher? Is it a Bad Santa knock off or something worse? It Diaz at all believable in this role? Leave your comments below!
UPDATE: If anyone needs proof that Cameron Diaz is desperate to reinvent herself as a bad girl, check out this headline from The Huffington Post – Cameron Diaz On ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’: ‘I Love Porn!’
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As I posted yesterday on the Theater Hopper Facebook page, I kind of keep forgetting that the Oscars are this Sunday. I don’t know why I’m not more excited about them. I guess because the field of nominations this year feels so… safe.
In my head, it’s between The King’s Speech and The Social Network to walk away with the big prizes Sunday night. It all depends on whether or not Academy voters buy the hype behind The Social Network being the “first important film of this generation.” Considering the voters tend to skew older and that they value more traditional forms of entertainment, my money is on The King’s Speech winning them over.
At any rate, here’s my 2011 Oscar ballot – complete with who I think WILL will and who I think SHOULD win.
What do you think? Am I way off base with my predictions? Who do you think will walk away with Top Honors from this year’s Academy awards? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
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