Posts Tagged ‘Angelina Jolie’
6 items.
Maybe I’m being a little cruel to Angelina Joile with today’s strip, but frankly, anyone who would make not one – but TWO Tomb Raider movies, deserves what she gets.
Oh, and are the two Penny Arcade references shameless attempts to get Tycho and Gabe to pay attention to me? Yes. Oh yes.
I think there is a lot of promise with Joile. She’s probably one of the few Supporting Actress Oscar Winners that hasn’t been completely crippled by her win. Usually, you don’t hear from those people ever again. Mira Sorvino, anyone?
But truthfully, I remain unimpressed by what is/was the three ring circus surrounding Joile’s life. The whole Billy Bob Thorton fling that didn’t wash. The estrangement from her father, actor Jon Voight. The facination with knives or kinky sex. Even her work for the United Nations or her adoption of an orphaned Cambodian boy aren’t capturing my imagination.
Funny. For as much as I profess to be annoyed by Jolie, I sure seem to know a lot about her… Meh.
I held firm to my promise and did NOT see Bad Boys II this weekend – something I am rather proud of.
Instead, Cami and were feeling in a documentary type mood and rented Jerry Seinfield’s Comedian and The Real Cancun.
The Real Cancun was everything you would expect: Totally facesless college students getting drunk and making out for two hours. Occassional boobie shot. Thanks guys.
I don’t know if any of you have seen it, but the movie was a huge turn off to me. Those twins from New Mexico? Did anyone else think they looked like lizards? Maybe it’s just me.
Comedian, on the other hand, was much BETTER than I expected it. I enjoyed how it didn’t always show Seinfield’s best side. It was also interesting how it mirrored Seinfield’s story (starting over from being the biggest thing in comedy) against the up-and-comer (TRYING to be the next biggest thing in comedy).
I don’t own a lot of documentaries, but I was impressed by Comedian’s cool style. I liked it a lot.
That out of the way, I want to announce that I will be out of town starting this Thursday and won’t be back until next Monday. I’m heading out to Las Vegas.
How this will affect the strip, I don’t know. Part of me thinks I can work ahead and have Friday’s strip post while I’m out of town (I can just post Monday’s comic late).
But on the other hand, I’m thinking that this is a vacation and that I deserve a vacation from ALL responsabilities. Maybe guest strips are in order?
Tell you what. If I get two REALLY good guest strips (from people who haven’t submitted before), we’ll see what happens.
Consider the idea tossed out into the universe. E-mail me if you’re interested.
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Did Angelina Jolie end up getting that ChapStick she requested? I bet if you vote for Theater Hopper at Webcomics List, you’ll find out!
I’m writing today’s blog a lot earlier than usual. Tonight, I’m penning my missives at 7:00 o’clock in the evening rather than 1:00 in the morning. The reason for this is because in about an hour I will be seeing Ted Leo and The Pharmacists. (Yes, you should envy me.) So if today’s blog is still littered with the same grammatical and spelling errors you’ve come to know and love, then you will know that instead of hiding behind the excuse of exhaustion that I am terrible writer instead.
Not to continue too far down the path of non-related movie topics, but tonight will be the first time I’ve seen Ted Leo perform in 10 years. The first time I saw him was when he was in the band Chisel and opened for Fugazi in 1995.
This is not important to any of you, but it’s a thrill for me and I haven’t been able to stop talking about it. Cami’s ready for me to get out of the house and get the concert over with.
Anyway, movies!
I didn’t see Mr. and Mrs. Smith this weekend, but despite some scathing reviews, it seemed to do quite well – raking in $51 million dollars. Not bad. Usually the controversy of an (alleged) on-set romance keeps people away. Well, the people who aren’t interesting at gawking at the pair to see for themselves if the duo generates the kind of heat the tabloids accuse them of. I predict a big drop-off in the second week.
I have to admit that I’m curious to see what catches fire on screen. And despite stern warning to the contrary, Doug Liman’s films have always been enjoyable romps in my book. I’m eager to see what he conjures up here.
Ironically, I could care less about Jolie – although I admire the niche she’s carved out for herself in Hollywood. If you’re looking for dangerous femme fatales with a screw loose, I think Angelina is the first to call. She summons an intensity that most other actresses tuck away.
I’m particularly interested in seeing what Brad Pitt does in the movie. I don’t know why, but I’ve found him more and more interesting as time goes on. Like most men my age, I thought his turn in Fight Club was astonishing, but I don’t think it was until he made Ocean’s Eleven that I really started to enjoy watching him as a performer.
I think everything before that was Brad trying to be taken as a “serious actor.” Which is commendable, but he simply isn’t another working stiff. After Ocean’s Eleven, you can kind of tell that he decided to let the chips fall where they may and make his living “playing Brad Pitt.” Pretty much every role there on out could have been filled by anyone else, but Brad is in it because they need a movie star. Someone whose best character is themselves.
At least he’s being more honest with his audience
At any rate, I’m off to see Ted Leo, but I have a couple of things to mention.
First, advertisements. I know it’s a slow time of year, but really think about advertising with Theater Hopper. We can still pull in some good traffic for you.
Second, shirts. I have them in my possession, I’m just waiting for the online warehouse I buy my envelopes from to make their delivery. That should be sometime this week, so that means I should be mailing things out today or Tuesday. More detailed information about that here.
Third, if anyone knows how to make phpBB Fetch All work, drop me a line. I’m trying to bring aspects of the THorum out onto the front page of the site.
Fourth, my Audioscrobbler profile. If you have an account, add me to your friends list. We’ve formed a group for people who belong to the THorum. You should consider joining it!
Fifth, Bye, bye!
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Jun03
GUEST STRIP – JOSH ANDERSON
June 3rd, 2006 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(10 votes, average: 5.10 out of 10)
And the guest strips just keep on coming!
What can I say, I figured if I’m out of commisssion, then it’s just good manners to give you as many great guest strips as I can.
Give thanks to Josh Anderson for his contribution. I loved the Indiana Jones reference in the second panel as – in real life – I tend to invoke that quote whenever there is an obstacle that impedes me from doing whatever it is I wanted to do.
Mowing the lawn, for example. "Dandelions. Why’d it have to be dandelions."
I don’t know.
Be sure to check out Josh’s web site L.A.P. Dance Productions. In addition to comics, they have some great digital shorts, reviews and all-out rants. Lots of quality content to be found there.
I have one more guest strip for you tomorrow and then it’s back to work on Monday. Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Cami and I were threatening to see The Break-Up on Friday night, but the negative reviews kept us away. We’ll see what the word of mouth is. I dunno, is it just me or is Jennifer Aniston incapible of playing anything above Rachel 2.0? She needs to do something like The Good Girl again and quick. If we see this movie at all, it’ll be for Vince Vaughn.
Chances are we’ll catch a matinee of X-Men 3 on Sunday. We actually saw it in France on May 26 – one whole day before you! Booyah! Downside was that (even though were had our fingers crossed for English with French subtitles) it was completely in French. We did a pretty good job following along, though. Big, dumb action movies like that… you’re only job is watching things explode. But like I said, we’ll catch the matinee in English to pick up on the more subtle points.
See you tomorrow!
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In the fine animation tradition, Wall-E is a children’s movie featuring a protagonist on screen who refuses to wear pants throughout the film’s running time.
Oh, Donald Duck. What have you wrought?
I’m pretty pumped by the cinematic choices this weekend. Although, admittedly, I’m more excited about Wall-E than I am Wanted. I’m a huge animation nerd and all of Wall-E’s previews have been hitting the right mix of emotion, humor and wonder. There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s going to be excellent and well worth seeing multiple times on the big screen.
That said, I still think Wanted looks very good. In fact, I’m kind of surprised that I’m anticipating it. I didn’t read the original graphic novel written by Mark Millar (who is, incidentally, one of my favorite comic book writers). I guess the movie has very little in common with the comics, so maybe that’s a good thing. And, despite my grand disinterest in the heartthrob status of James MacAvoy (The Last King of Scotland excluded) and Morgan Freeman in what appears to be his fourteenth consecutive “wise man leading the guileless white boy” role) the effects and the action sequences I’ve seen so far look promising.
Oh, yeah. And you see Angelina Jolie’s backside for, like, two seconds.
Probably from the waste up.
The few advanced reviews I’ve read suggest that the plot device of an unassuming nobody who becomes a secretly-powered somebody should be enough to tweak The Wachowski’s and their set up for The Matrix – especially during a cubicle-exiting freak out on behalf of MacAvoy’s character. The main idea of the film being “do you accept complacency or do you reach for something greater?”
I’ve also read that Russian director Timur Bekmambetov comes from the more-is-more Michael Bay school of film and that Wanted is positively dripping in burly, chest-thumping Russian machismo. That can either be a good or a bad thing depending on your proclivities. But the point is that the movie does not let up.
As I mentioned last Friday, I will be at Wizard World Chicago this weekend – At Artist Alley table #4308! – and with the friends I attend the convention with, part of our tradition every year is to go out and see a movie together. We have two great films to choose from, but I kind of hope we see Wanted just so I don’t get in trouble with Cami back home. She’s as big of a Pixar nerd as I am and I know she’d be disappointed if we couldn’t see the movie together.
Wanted, on the other hand. She will never want to see. So we’ll have to see how that one shakes out.
In the meantime, be sure to listen To The Triple Feature podcast tonight at 9:00 PM CST over at TalkShoe.com. We’ll be talking about Get Smart and the savage beating The Love Guru took at the box office this weekend. How bad was it? People are already predicting the end of Mike Myers career. Ouch! Wasn’t this guy supposedly invincible 6 year ago?
Call in live and share your two cents! See you then!
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You might recognize a special guest in today’s comic as none other than Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex. Gordon and I saw Wanted last Saturday while we were both attending Wizard World Chicago. We missed out on hanging with the fabulous Joe Dunn and the rest of the Digital Pimp crew because they decided to go into downtown Chicago for dinner that night. The joke was on them, though. Because they couldn’t find a theater showing Wanted! Sorry, guys!
Gordon and I saw Wanted at the palatial Muvico 18 in Rosemont – a theater suggested to us by one of our listeners during The Triple Feature broadcast a few weeks ago. This listener swore up and down about how great the theater was and expressed shock that we had never heard of it before. We were befuddled as to what he could be talking about. For years we’ve been going to this dirtball theater one town over. It was unimpressive, but it met our needs.
Pulling into Rosemont on Thursday, however, my questions were answered. From the interstate I could see the Muvico 18. You couldn’t miss it! The thing was huge like the Roman coliseum. I literally shouted an expletive as I took the exit toward the hotel and convention center, I was so shocked. To have a movie theater of this grandeur within walking distance? Priceless!
As for the movie we went to see – Wanted – it was a visceral thrill. I walked out of that movie so nerved up, I felt like punching a cop and sodomizing a grizzly bear. Seriously. There hasn’t been a movie to push my repressed white guy angst button like this since Fight Club.
A lot of critics have been making note of Wanted’s knuckle-dragging brutality. But for me, that’s a selling point. I’m so sick of action movies pulling back, failing to take risks or show us anything that isn’t a digital bath of computer generated effects.
While there are more than enough dumb CG moments in Wanted, the film also delivers real grit courtesy of director Timur Bekmambetov. Some people call Bekmambetov the Russian Michael Bay and you can see where they draw the comparison with their "eat the action" lensing. But Bekmambetov is doing stuff in Wanted that Bay wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole – for fear of offending his sponsors. Wanted is a huge calling card for Bekmambetov. You’ll see his name more often. Trust me.
As for the plot of the film, I liked it – even though it’s tale of a corporate nobody transforming into a super-powered, gun-slinging bad-ass pretty much steals from The Matrix wholesale. The big difference is tone. Whereas The Matrix insisted you could change your life if you were brave enough to fly, Wanted tells you to shut up, quit crying and get on with it already.
Despite being a big comic book fan, I never read the original graphic novel on which the movie was based. I’ve been told it takes some real liberties with the plot. Apparently, in the book, it’s a secret organization of super-villains, not righteous assassins at the center of the tale. Like I said, having not read it, I can’t express any outrage over the changes. But I would say that they certainly created something unique for the movie. Especially with The Loom of Fate – a concept that says that fate wants certain people dead and these assassins are only expressing fate’s will.
That said, after seeing the film, I would love to read the original books. They sound great.
Regarding the performances, I have a new found respect for James MacAvoy – and actor who I’ve always recognized for his talent, but one I had come to resent for his pretty boy status. After Atonement, he was on deck to become the next Colin Firth, or something. You know, the charming Brit your girlfriend won’t shut up about.
I think MacAvoy tries a little too hard with his American accent and his first act narration is distracting, but his transformation from an anxiety-ridden weenie into a gun totting bad-ass is completely believable and mesmerizing to watch.
Angelina Jolie is interesting to look at, but her character doesn’t have a lot to do, it seems. Still, I prefer Jolie kicking ass and taking names here like she does in Mr. and Mrs. Smith any day over the earnest, quasi-political Jolie of A Mighty Heart.
Morgan Freeman turns in his two millionth turn as a wise old man shepherding a confused white guy, but he’s still a gravitational force and you’ll be hooting and hollering at his delivery of a certain line in particular. I wouldn’t dare spoil it here.
All things said and done, I had a blast with Wanted and the movie stayed with me for a long time. I question if it’s kinetic spirit will hold up over repeat viewings or not – especially now that I know all of its tricks. But I’m looking forward to finding out when it comes out on DVD in the future.
That’s it for me. Be sure to check back on Friday. There will be a new comic here despite the 4th of July holiday.
See you then!
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Originally I was going to do a comic about San Diego Comic-Con. But at this point, I think if I read one more tweet, blog post or status update about Panel “X” or Celebrity Sighting “Y” I’m going to scream.
Good job, internet. You’ve covered San Diego Comic-Con so thoroughly I have no interest in talking about it with anyone else.
Salt hit theaters this weekend and raked in $36 million at the box office. Certainly a very respectable opening. But the big story is that Inception only slid 31% in its second week, earning $43 million in ticket sales. For a cerebral thriller like Inception to have that kind of staying power in its second week is a testament to how good the film is and how strong word of mouth was.
The reviews for Salt have been 50/50. Critical reaction to Knight and Day was practically the same.
This kind of surprised me because I don’t know anyone who saw Knight and Day. Meanwhile, I have several friends that went to see Salt and raved about it. I’d had heard it favorably compared to The Bourne Supremacy and films of that ilk This left me with the assumption that Cruise picked the wrong horse.
I suppose the only way to be sure is to wait around a couple of weeks and see if anyone is still talking about Salt. Although, if it couldn’t unseat Inception in its second week, I find the prospects of that unlikely.
Then again, with Dinner for Schmucks, Charlie St. Cloud and Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore as Salt’s only competition this weekend, maybe it’s got a chance!
What do you guys think? Did you see Salt this weekend? Was it any good? How many of you went back for a second helping of Inception? Leave your comments below!
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