Posts Tagged ‘conspiracy’
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Feb25
So it turns out Tom was the architect of Cami and Charlie’s predicament the whole time, eh? Sure puts another spin on his aloof attitude from back in January, doesn’t it?
Quick question: What do you think the old, crusty white guy has against Lifetime Original Movies? Do you suppose he worries their overwhelming quality will lure people to their basic cable subscriptions and away from his $8 admission prices and stale popcorn? I bet I could tell another epic storyline based just around that!
Joking aside, that’s it folks. That’s the end of this story arc. Two months in the telling. 25 strips in the can – from #375 to #400. I know the telling was slow going at times. I received my share of e-mails telling me that people weren’t enjoying the comic like they used to. Well, it’s over now. And thanks to the Oscars on Sunday, I’m going back to more topical and timely gag-a-day strips. The critics get way they want and I get the sense of accomplishment from trying something I never did before – Telling the longest story I’ve ever told and introducing a new character to boot. Everybody wins.
I guess I don’t know what else to say. Pardon me if I feel a little defensive. I know this arc wasn’t as entertaining or as emotionally invested as when Jimmy lost his job back in September. But I don’t regret it. If anything, it has crystallized my purpose now that I know what kind of strips I’m more adept to writing and what kind of strips you guys are more fond of reading.
Actually, I’m kind of looking forward to it. I can go back to developing wit brevity while putting pathos on the backburner. If you guys wanted a soap opera, that’s why TiVo was invented.
Anyway, thanks to everyone for sticking it out and letting me try something new. Thanks for being honest and thanks for being fair. As potentially alienating as this arc could have been, I never received a more strongly worded e-mail beyond “It’s just not my cup of tea.”
You guys are awesome. Keep up the good work.
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Dec28
I know I said last week that I was taking this week off. But, truthfully, with SO many good movies in theater right now, I couldn’t resist tossing this one into the mix.
Uh, yeah. Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem. Great movie.
Okay, it’s no Bridge Over the River Kwai, but it was a film I had been eager to see despite me deep-seeded loathing of the first Aliens Vs. Predator. Don’t ask me why. I’m a glutton for punishment.
I went and saw the film Wednesday night after everyone went to bed at my house. Cami had no interest in seeing it for obvious reasons, so it made it easy for me to get out of the house for a while. Believe me, after the holidays, I needed the time alone.
As far as my reactions to the movie are concerned, let me give it a left-handed compliment:
“It’s better than the first one.”
I had high hopes for AVP:R and a lot of that had to do with the ultra-violent red band trailer released in August. Watching that, I thought for sure that the movie was going to correct the mistakes of its misbegotten PG-13 predecessor. Well, it does that and then some. And then it rapes what’s left. Right before it pees on it.
This movie doesn’t know where the line is and that’s either a good thing or a bad thing depending on where your moral compass is pointing. NO ONE gets off light in this film. An 8 year-old gets tagged with a face hugger in the first five minutes. Once the aliens start multiplying, people are dying left and right. Stoners you meet in a pawn shop get their heads blown off by a Predator five minutes after you meet them. The alien queen stumbles into a hospital maternity ward and impregnates already pregnant women with eggs. Drooling over a nursery over crying babies, you know there is some twisted thinking at work here.
I’m not going to bother getting into the plot. There isn’t one. The human characters in the film are cardboard cutouts. The ex-con, the troubled teen, the military chick, the well-meaning sheriff. So what? They all become cannon fodder.
The movie is dark – not just in terms of content but in it’s lighting as well. don’t mind if you’re going to turn out the lights to make things scary, but at least sit the camera down for more than five seconds so I can focus on what I’m supposed to be looking at. In the film’s third act, it’s starts raining like cats and dogs (of course) and by that point, it’s nearly impossible to see anything.
AVP:R is a film that seems almost designed around cutting a good trailer. There are a ton of little moments that make the film interesting, but nothing that ties everything together. At this point, the franchise would be better served by taking the action off Earth and maybe setting it in the future again.
The other thing the franchise needs is a throw down between its monsters that lasts more than 5 minutes. In the middle of AVP:R, there’s a sequence in a storm drain that shows promise as the Predator is surrounded and fights off a small gang of aliens. But it’s over before it even starts. It leave you thinking, “The last battle must be a real knockout!” and then it comes and it’s basically a slap fest.
Think about great kung-fu movies where two guys would fight for 20 minutes. We need something like that. If your movie uses the word “VERSUS” in it’s title, we demand it.
Complaints aside, am I glad I went? Sure. My curiosity would have gotten the better of me at some point anyway. This is the kind of nerd stuff I *have* to see. But if you’re not a fan of the characters, you’re not going to find anything redemptive about the film at all.
That’s all for now. I hope everyone had a good holiday and I’ll see you back here on Monday!
Have a great weekend!
[ 1 Comment ]
Wanna know the best way to start your week? MONSTER SQUAD REFERENCES!
You’re welcome.
Speaking of monsters, I saw Monsters vs. Aliens this weekend and, unfortunately, was NOT bowled over. I’m not exactly sure what went wrong other than it fell into that same trap of pop culture references and soullessness that other Dreamworks animated movies seem to fall into.
Maybe I went in with my expectations too high after the success of Kung-Fu Panda last year. But Monsters vs. Aliens is just more of the same.
There are a few laughs to be had. Great line delivery from Stephen Colbert as The President and Will Arnett as The Missing Link. But, unbelievably, it’s Seth Rogen who steals the show as the indestructible blob, B.O.B.
Much like B.O.B., Rogen has crafted an indestructible slacker/stoner/moron persona that brings the biggest laughs in this film. He’s pretty much the only character having a good time while the rest of the world is falling down around him and his cluelessness and confusion makes him instantly endearing.
The rest of the movie is a cheap girl-power parable wrapped up in a few action pieces that have been strung together. Pretty much the best thing it had going for it was the 3D. But even that was a little annoying when they were pulling cheap moves like a guy hitting a paddle-ball toward the screen.
Really, Dreamworks? Why not shoot a scene at a kids birthday party so someone can blow a party noisemaker that uncurls into in our faces.
Should you see Monsters vs. Aliens. If you’re a fan of animation, 3D movies and cheesy sci-fi from the 50’s and 60’s, I’d say “yes.” If you’re a fan of laughing or have laundry to fold, I’d say “no.” I don’t really regret going. But it could have been executed much better.
Switching topics, I wanted to let everyone know that I will be at the Emerald City Comicon in Seattle this Saturday and Sunday, April 4 – 5. I’m going to have a table on Artist Alley and you can find me at H-05.
I’m a little nervous about going because this will be the first convention I’ve flown out of state to attend. Typically I only go to conventions I can drive to so I can save on cost. But I found a cheap flight to Seattle and Emerald City was too good to pass up (they have an excellent reputation and are very welcoming to web comics).
Part of my nervousness stems from not knowing anyone at the convention. Sure, there will be a lot of web comics people there like Scott Kurtz, Jeph Jacques and the guys from Penny Arcade. But these guys operate WAY out of my league and they aren’t people I’ve really had an opportunity to interact with socially before.
When I go to Wizard World Chicago ever year, I get to hang out with Gordon McAlpin, Joe Dunn and the rest of the Digital Pimp crew. We set up shop next to each other and goof off for 8 hours while we try to sell our wares. In Seattle, I’ll kind of be own my own.
Well, that’s not entirely true. To take the sting out of travel expenses, I’m splitting a room with Indigo Kelleigh from The Adventures of Ellie Connelly. So at least there is someone I can hang out with after being on the show floor all day. Or, if he has better places to be, I could always go see Fast and Furious the weekend.
Oh! I should probably mention that I was invited to speak on a panel at the convention! Yeah – it’s the Business of Webcomics panel at 1:00 PM, Sunday, April 5 in panel room 3AB.
I’ll be in a room, talkin’ web comics with Robert Khoo from Penny Arcade, Danielle Corsetto from Girls With Slingshots and Jeph Jacques from Questionable Content, doing my best not to sound like an idiot. It’s an amazing opportunity and I want to say thanks to the show organizers for including me! If you’re coming to the show that day, check it out!
Is anyone reading this planning on going to the convention this weekend? If so, can you talk about it a little bit in the comments section? I just want to get a general sense of what to expect. I’m sure everything will be fine, it’s just the unknown that’s eating at me a little bit.
If nothing else, it’ll be a real treat to meet fans from the West coast. This will be my first trip to your neck in the woods and I’m eager to meet you!
Thanks again for reading and I’ll talk to you soon
[ 17 Comments ]
For those of you who are concerned that the last panel of today comic is a little graphic or bleak, would it comfort you to know that David Seville was with The Chipmunks at the moment of impact?
Vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics to see what I’m talking about. There’s an incentive image related to this week’s comic waiting for you if you do.
And speaking of Top Web Comics… can I tell you guys how awesome you are? Since I threw the link back up on the home page last week, you guys have responded PHENOMENALLY. Theater Hopper was ranked somewhere like 4,000th on the list of comics in their database. But after one round of voting, we’re positioned now at 138. That’s not easy to do in one week’s time – especially when Theater Hopper only updates once a week!
So I wanted to say thanks to everyone who visited the site more than once last week and placed their vote. I want to encourage everyone to do the same. I know it’s hard to remember to visit when there’s no new content to greet you, but if you could swing by once a day and click on that link, it helps me out a lot.
Let’s see if we can break into the Top 100 this week!
As for this week’s comic… yeah, I’m sorry. Sort of. No I’m not.
LOOK… I don’t like The Chipmunks. I didn’t even like them when they were popular in the 80’s. As a 30-something man child, you’d think that would give them an automatic pass. It doesn’t.
That said, I really, really, REALLY don’t like the current CG version of The Chipmunks. I’m still upset that Alvin prominently ate fecal matter in the trailer for the first film!
I mean, I understand the movie are for kids and poop jokes are supposed to be funny. But let’s try to elevate the bar a little, please?
Still, you gotta admit that it’s at least a little bit impressive that the franchise has been around this long. Who would have guessed that a novelty song that was recorded in 1958 would spawn all these television shows and movies over a half-century later. Not me.
But then, as H. L. Mencken said, Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.” To that end, the third Chipmunk movie “Chipwrecked” seemed like the perfect opportunity to end it all.
Do you agree? Disagree? Did today’s comic go too far? Did it not go far enough? Leave your comments below! And – as always – thanks for reading! I’ll see you here next week!
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