Posts Tagged ‘compromise’
5 items.
Nov07
Today’s comic is about 90% true to real life. I did spend a fair amount of time trying to convince Cami to see The Matrix Revolutions, but she wasn’t impressed with the last one and the bad reviews were keeping her away from the new one.
I actually threatened not to see Love, Actually as punishment for her not wanted to see a movie *I* was really excited about. You see, that’s how our system works. She goes to movies I want to see be she doesn’t and in exchange, I got to movies she wants to go to but I don’t. We take turns torturing each other.
Of course, when I made the threat, Cami had to mentally pull up a list of movies BESIDES Revolutions she knew I was excited to see. When she tried to barter a matinee of Elf for one Love, Actually, I told her it wouldn’t wash. She’s been just as excited for this movie as I have.
I don’t know what it is about Will Ferrell that we find so appealing. For me I think it’s his level of commitment. Whether it a skit on Saturday Night Live or a bit part in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, he’s totally there for all of it. Every scene. Every line. And he’s not afraid to make himself look like the fool. It’s that kind of selflessness in comedy that I respect.
Every review I’ve read on Elf so far has been positive. It makes me wonder that if Revolutions had opened today instead of Wednesday if Elf wouldn’t nudge it out at the box office…
Interpret that how you like. I’m probably not going to give my opinion one way or the other on Revolutions. It seems like people on both sides of the fence have too much invested in it for me to go too far into detail regarding my reactions to it.
While the last two movies were not executed at the level of precision that I would have hoped for, I still think The Matrix universe is one of the most richly detailed in all cinema. It’s still a great concept and will most likely live within the lexicon of our culture for the next few generations. Regardless of where it goes from here, anyone with even a passing interest in science fiction owes it to themselves to be familiar with all 3 movies.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
Before I wrap things up, I wanted to thank everyone who voted for Theater Hopper at buzzComix this week. You guys really showed ’em what’s what. We cracked the Top 10 and found a cozy little spot around number 8. This, of course, blows my mind. Thank you so much for your support and keep up the great work!
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Since we’re giving a nod to Garfield today, I thought it would be fun to illustrate what it might look like if a bipedal, walking cat existed in the real word for today’s incentive sketch. Click away to uncover the result.
I’m taking the piss out of Bill Murray a little for collecting a fat paycheck for his voice over work on the forthcoming Garfield movie that comes out Friday. I guess I just find it interesting when critically hailed performers take their momentum and throw the emergency break by following up with a commercial picture.
Halle Berry did it with Die Another Day and the “so-much-negative-buzz-it’s-radioactive” Catwoman after being the first black woman to win the Best Actress Oscar. Bill is doing it with Garfield post Lost in Translation. I can only assume these decision are made while in some kind of drunken stupor.
Ironically, Murray will probably be the only performer to emerge from the bloodbath that will be Garfield at the box office because he is the only “name” actor that doesn’t appear on screen.
To put it another way, say a little prayer for Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
To make a Garfield movie this late in the game is ludicrous to me. They should have made this flick 10 years ago when everyone was lugging around those suction cup Garfield dolls in the back of their Toyota Camary’s.
Why the delay? And I swear if anyone tells me it was so they could wait for the technology to catch up with their vision I will murder Jim Davis with mind-bullets.
You can tell no thought went into this movie. Why on Earth would you choose to animate Garfield with computer generate effects, but cast his canine foil Odie with a live action dog? This movie has already broken the rules established for its universe and already I’m angry about it.
Nevertheless, Cami insists we’ll be seeing the film this Friday when it opens. Every time one of those awkwardly paced commercials comes on TV, she blurts out “We’re TOTALLY seeing that!”
I think she’s just saying that to poke fun at me a little. She’s already been on the receiving end of this rant a couple of times…
Quick bit of site news: If you could be so kind to check out our newest sponsor Please Rewind, I would be forever grateful. This is a splendidly written and drawn web comic about a couple of guys who own a video store, so you know already it’s going to be up your alley. Man, if I had a dollar for every time I ran into a character like Hank Burns I’d be a rich man…
That’s it for now. Sign up for the THorum if you haven’t already. We’ve been seeing a lot of activity in there lately. Get in on the ground floor!
Have a great Wednesday!
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I’m so excited! I just talked Cami into seeing Pan’s Labyrinth this weekend! Originally, she had been resistant to the idea. She doesn’t really care for fantasy movies. But as we’re closing in on our due date (less than a month away!) more and more of our friends who have kids are telling us “Go out now while you still can! Go on dates! Go out to dinner! Because after the baby, IT’S OVER!!!”
So, we’re taking that to heart.
I had to do a bit of bargaining to make this happen. I promised Cami I would see that new Diane-Keaton-gets-laid movie Because I Said So in a couple of weeks. I had to promise not to make any disparaging remarks about the film excluding the idea I had for a comic revolving around the movie I’ve been sitting on for two weeks. Those of you in relationships might recognize this kind of compromise.
The good news is that I got a really good idea for a comic that I can use for tomorrow’s update out of all of this. Gotta keep your eyes peeled for inspiration!
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If you’ve been reading the blogs at all – and if you’re reading this right now, chances are you have been – you’re aware that I made a deal with Cami to see Because I Said So when it comes out in two weeks in exchange for her seeing Pan’s Labyrinth with me this weekend. The more I think about the arrangement, the more I’ve been able to mine humor from it. All I know is that when this movie finally comes to theaters and we go see it, it can’t possibly live up the level of awefullness that I’ve made it out to be. It’ll probably end up being a really good move and I’ll be eating crow. But that’s cool. It’s all entertainment.
Cami and I saw Pan’s Labyrinth on Saturday and I think I’m still processing it. The movie certainly as fanciful as I had hoped. There is a certain level of harsh contrast set against the Spanish civil war. But, in terms of it being an effective fairly tale, I think it accomplishes it’s goals. Frankly, when you compare what Guillermo del Toro has created against many other popular fables, the level of violence is appropriate. I mean, Hansel and Gretel are nearly cooked alive! Pretty scary stuff when you’re five years-old. That said, I don’t think your average five year-old can appreciate some of the political and societal references made in the movie, so it’s very much a fairy tale for adults.
I read a review that complained that the movie spends a little too much time focusing on the villain and finding ways to punish him rather than focusing on the small girl for whom the fantasy realm reveals itself to. I have to agree a little bit. Mostly because there is only so much cruelty that can be shoved in my face before I have to step back and say “Alright! We get it! He’s not a nice guy!”
Of course, I’ve also read reviews that have said the villain is supposed to be a representation of director Guillermo del Toro’s brutal relationship with his father. So, within that context, it makes a little more sense.
Cami enjoyed the movie and recognized it as fine film making, but noted that it doesn’t leave you with much of a warm fuzzy feeling. And, in that sense, the movie oversells itself. The wonderment. It comes in small doses. The rest is fairly tough to digest. Still good work all around.
If you’re interested, we’ll be talking about Pan’s Labyrinth tonight at 9:00 pm CST in the third installment of The Triple Feature talkcast at Talkshoe. By “we,” of course, I refer to myself, Joe Dunn and Gordon McAlpin. We’ll also be talking about the announcement that the MPAA has been hosting open discussions with filmmakers at Sundance this weekend about revising the ratings system. This is a monumental change. There hasn’t been a change in MPAA policy in the organization’s 40 years in existence.
I hope you guys join us this evening. Joe, Gordon and myself have been having a lot of fun putting these shows together.
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I know that making fun of a Lindsay Lohan movie is kind of like shooting fish in a barrel that have been coked up and spray tanning for years (allegedly!), but the premise of I Know Who Killed Me was too delicious to pass up. I know a lot of guys who still think Lohan is hot because they’re into girls who barely know how to hold their liquor and I know women who want to string Lohan up by her Louis Vuitton handbag for setting the women’s movement back 20 years. I mean, flashing your lady parts for publicity? That’s just sad.
Lohan plays a girl that’s been kidnapped, tortured and left for dead. When she wakes up, she insists that she’s not the person that people were looking for (they just look alike!) and the original girl is still in danger.
You can try to read the plot synopsis over at IMDB and see if it makes sense to you. I read it three times before giving up. Basically it’s a role meant to show off Lohan’s acting chops as she tackles the same character from different emotional perspectives. But does anyone really care at this point?
By now, Lindsay Lohan is known more for the company she keeps and her constant run-ins with the law. Her most famous role isn’t on screen. Her most famous role is being a drunk socialite with crazy parents. Anyone who is a fan of hers seems to be an apologist of some kind – always citing her incredible acting talent. Often you hear her name mentioned in the same breath as Drew Barrymoore – another actress who showed promise early on, but was derailed by the Hollywood party scene before getting her act together.
My question is, why does everyone things she’s such a great actress? I mean, recent movies like Georgia Rule and Herbie Fully Loaded maybe aren’t films that one can fairly gauge her talent with because, by the time those movies were made, she was already a fixture in tabloids. So what about the movies pre-fame? Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and the much lauded Mean Girls – plus a handful of Disney movies like The Parent Trap and Life Size.
A few of these movies I’ve seen and a few of them I haven’t. Mean Girls, for example – Lohan was never really the star. It was Tina Fey’s whip-smart screenplay that takes that credit. There seemed to be an inkling of talent in The Parent Trap, but she was, like, eight years-old at the time, so who can judge?
My point is that there is nothing in Lohan’s body of work that suggests to me that she’s the next Jodie Foster and I think deep down she probably knows that. So why not live it up when you have the money? What frustrates me is that she keeps being offered these second chances because she somehow fooled America into thinking she’s either A.) interesting or B.) talented – of which she is neither. I mean, to land a role in Robert Altman’s last movie? How does that happen?
It’s all part of the great American cycle of fame. We love to build you up and we love to tear you down. And if you can make a comeback, we love you all the more.
Until we tear you down again.
Maybe Lohan is interesting to some because she’s at once both nakedly ambitious as she is equally self-destructive. Sometimes she’s just naked! But there’s only so many times you can catch me with the “No, I really CAN act!” maneuver before you lose all credibility by hanging out with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. The fact of the matter is, if she wanted to be taken seriously at all, she wouldn’t be showing up in trendy Hollywood night clubs. You can complain all you like about the paparazzi and how they won’t leave you alone. But there’s a simple solution – stay home.
/end rant
Hey, guys – Don’t forget to check out tonight’s broadcast of The Triple Feature over at Talkshoe. We go live at 9:00 PM CST. Not sure what we’re talking about this week, but odds are good that it isn’t I Know Who Killed Me. Personally, I won’t mind exploring I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. I took a swipe at it in the blog I posted on Saturday (sorry for the delay on Friday’s comic, BTW) and there was some interesting feedback in the comments section. It seems like some people were willing to give the movie a pass, but others were concerned about the film’s dangerous attitudes about homosexuality – even if it was being played for laughs. I might trying bouncing that off Joe and Gordon to see what they think. But odds are good we’ll probably spend most of the hour talking about The Simpsons Movie.
So tune in!
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