Posts Tagged ‘annoyed’
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Sep29
The events in today’s strip are 100% true. Cami and I did go to see Lost in Translation on Friday night and the picture was out of frame for nearly 3/4ths of the movie.
Why didn’t I go into the lobby and try to find an employee to fix it? The answer to that question, dear reader, will be revealed on Wednesday. In fact, the rest of the week will be devoted to this grand annoyance.
Maybe it’s a little cheap to take a real life event and stretch it across a full week of content – but frankly, I find this kind of lackluster presentation disgusting. Since I have a forum unto which I can air my grievances, I plan on doing just that.
I apologize if all the strips aren’t “piss-your-pants” funny. But perhaps you can appreciate them on a observational level.
It just that indie theaters are supposed to be the last refuge from this kind of laziness. Art houses are supposed to cater to the kind of people who actually CARE about movies – about content, presentation and quality! Now we’re getting the shaft in our last safe haven? Where else can we turn?
What I managed to watch of Lost in Translation, I immediately liked. I knew half way through that I would probably see the film again (if it ever comes to another theater) and would instantly own it on DVD once it becomes available.
Bill Murray’s performance was heartbreaking. I won’t give away any particular scenes, but in several of them, he does such great emoting with his eyes and his expressions, you know exactly how his character is feeling. If people cried foul when the Academy didn’t nominate him from Rushmore, they’ll riot in the streets if he doesn’t get a nod from Translation.
The movie does a great job of interpreting the experience of travel in a different country – how it can be both exhilarating and terrifying.
Tokyo was a city I’ve wanted to go to all my life. While I was watching the movie, I didn’t want to go there anymore. Through the characters eyes, it’s a very scary place. Very busy. Very loud.
But as things progressed, I grew comfortable in the surroundings just like the characters. Now I want to go there more than ever.
I’m going to cut the blog short for now because there are still things I want to talk about for Wednesday and Friday. Plus, I’m working on a great poster for FallCon in Minnesota this Saturday and Sunday. Did I mention I was going to that? I am.
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I was reading this short profile on Mike Binder, writer and director of Reign Over Me on EW.com this morning and I wanted to gouge my eyes out.
In the introductory paragraph, the article’s author Neil Drumming misidentifies Don Cheadle’s character as Alex Johnson (it’s Alan) and says Adam Sandler’s character loses his wife and two children in the 9/11 attack (he had three children). Do these writers even see the movies they’re profiling? Do they have editors? Hell, a quick search over at IMDB would have at least gotten the name of Cheadle’s character right! I thumbed around the site for a little while to see if I could send an e-mail to Drumming to point out his mistakes. I don’t know if that’s anal, obnoxious or both.
I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t complain. After all, I can barely spell. But on the other hand, I don’t have the resources of the mighty Time Warner empire behind me, either.
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Sorry that Monday’s comic was so late. I was basically wiped out after driving home from the Chicago Comic-Con on Sunday evening and didn’t have time to put anything together. I would have drawn and posted the comic sometime Monday afternoon except Monday’s are the days that we keep Henry home from day care and I watch him. So a Tuesday comic it is.
My first thought with this blog was to embed the video from the infamous parody PSA from the first season of the animated G.I. Joe cartoon show. But the language is a little salty and this is a family site. So I’ll leave it up to you to look it up on YouTube instead.
If you’ve been on the internet at all in the last 5 years, you probably know exactly what Tom is referencing in today’s comic. If not, just look up “Porkchop Sandwiches” and it will become clear real quick.
If you’re still hankering for some video giggles, check out The Ballad of G.I. Joe from Funny or Die. It features cameos from Zach Galifianakis, Alexis Bledel, Billy Crudup, Julianne Moore, Tony Hale, Alan Tudyk, Vinnie Jones, Henry Rollins and non-other than Sgt. Slaughter himself!
Back to the comic, it guest stars Joe Dunn from Joe Loves Crappy Movies. Our tables were next to each other on Artist Alley and we made plans to see G.I. Joe with the rest of the Digital Pimp Online crew, Zach Miller from Joe and Monkey and Jennie Breeden from The Devil’s Panties. Our good friend Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex couldn’t go that evening because he had won tickets to see the Arctic Monkeys in concert. I guess it was a sold-out show. So, good for him.
Anyway, before seeing the movie that night, I told Joe in real-life exactly what I said to him in the comic. His response was one of moderate disdain and amplified for comedic effect for this comic. I always like to portray Joe as more exasperated and annoyed with me than he is in real life. But, as they say, all humor is rooted in truth. I’m sure there were several times this weekend where he would have given anything just to shut. me. up.
I thought the movie we went to was fine. I thought it was better than Transformers 2, which is kind of faint praise. But I was able to keep up with the action and despite the wooden acting and transparent CGI work, was able to enjoy myself.
I guess you could say the trailer for the movie had lowered my expectations to the point where anything would have been acceptable. Does that make G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra a good movie? Of course not. It’s horrible. But the action moves along at a steady clip and there are a few fun, over-the-top moments.
The things I was most surprised by were the number of deaths and the amount of civilian property damage going on in this thing. The destruction the Joe’s leave in their wake is catastrophic. I can’t imagine ANY “covert” agency staying under the radar for that long when cars are being jack-knifed 50 feet in the air everywhere they go.
As for the convention, it was a good time. Always a treat to see and talk to old friends. Of course everyone who stopped by the booth was exceptionally friendly and usually the first thing people would ask was “How’s the hand.” It was nice to know that people were concerned for my well being. I appreciate it.
If you’re a new reader coming to the site for the first time, welcome! Not sure where to tell you to start. But I hope the site finds its way into your bookmarks and that you come back to visit us every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I promise to update on time from here on out.
Not much else to talk about at the moment. But be sure to come back on Wednesday for more comic goodness! See you then!
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So I know that today’s comic isn’t fall-down funny, but it adds a nice little bit of progression to the plot and adds a dash of relationship conflict between Tom and Cami. I always jump at the opportunity to develop their relationship further, even if it’s only by a tiny increment.
So I guess now we’re in the thick of a “crossover” between Theater Hopper and Instant Classic. Although I don’t know if you can really call it a crossover, since we’re not sharing a storyline. I’m not sure what you would call it other than one artist gently making fun of the other in tandem with each other.
It’s funny, because I didn’t really intend for this to happen. I had only wanted to return fire from the comic Brian Carroll originally posted on his site on Sunday.
But then Brian posted a second comic and now a THIRD comic and I couldn’t let it slide.
Of course, it doesn’t help that you guys are egging me on from the sidelines. Your blood lust knows no bounds! Certainly, we are no better than the Romans…
I kid, I kid. This is all in good fun and a good way to beat back the January to February doldrums – when there are no new movies in theaters worth talking about. I mean, c’mon. Would you rather I do this, or do a comic about When In Rome? I know what I’d rather be doing…
Brian says that his next comic will be his last featuring his loutish parody version of Tom. I’m not sure if my version of Brian will extend beyond this Friday’s comic or not. I have a few ideas on how I can exaggerate my parody further, but we’ll have to wait and see. I wouldn’t want the gimmick to wear out its welcome. And besides, it looks a little mean when one guy is making fun of the other and the other guy is, like, “Yeah, I’m doing something else now?…”
That’s all for the blogging today. Thanks for swinging by the site. If you have any thoughts / reactions to our little feud, please post your comments below!
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Well, here’s part three in the quasi-crossover I’m having with Brian Carroll and his strip, Instant Classic. Brian wrapped up his arc yesterday placing his version of Tom at the transformative genesis of one of his lead characters in her past. Pretty cool. Kind of hard to live up to. Sincere thanks to Brian for including me.
I like the version of Brian that I’ve created for my story arc, but I have a nagging feeling like I could have pushed it further or been a little more incendiary. It’s hard for me, though, because it goes against my nature to be outwardly mean when it comes to my contemporaries – even if they invite the onslaught as Brian has. Brian has been a great sport and has actively encouraged me to go for the jugular. I’m just saying it’s difficult to slip into that headspace. It’s actually one of the reasons I don’t draw more guest strips. I have a pathological fear of misrepresenting what someone else has invested their lives into creating.
I know that I have no problem being mean about certain actors, directors or movie franchises featuring 30 foot tall transforming robots. So there is a little bit of hypocrisy at work here. But it’s a lot easier to make fun of something you don’t respect as opposed to something you do.
At this point in the storyline, I kind of feel like I would be telling the same joke over and over again by demonstrating the ways in which TH-Brian is annoying to Tom. I would kind of like to see their confrontation spill over into violence for the catharsis alone. But right now, things are pretty one-sided. If I decide these two should come to blows, the focus shouldn’t exclusively be about how Tom finds him irritating. That’s assault. But if there has always been something about Tom that TH-Brian has hated as well… then we might have something.
Sorry. I feel like I’m working this out in front of you guys and not leaving very much mystery to the proceedings. I guess I don’t know what else to write about. Things might pick up a little next week, though. I have a joke for From Paris With Love that I’ve been dying to use for two weeks.
Not much more for me to talk about. I hope you guys have enjoyed the comics this week – and the peek inside my head, apparently. See you here on Monday!
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