Posts Tagged ‘cyborg’
3 items.
For those of you not familiar with the reference Tom makes in the second panel and the menacing, destructive figure in the third and fourth panels, that’s a Benbot – a cybernetic duplicate of actor and hair gel host Ben Affleck.
The Benbots were introduced in this arc from 2006. A second, brief encountered was established about five months later. Since then? Not a peep.
I guess the timing felt right to bring them out of storage to explore Terminator Salvation coming out this weekend.
So, yeah. Despite there not being much of a punchline for today’s comic, you can expect a continuation of the story line this week. More Benbot action in your browser. LOOK OUT!
Speaking of Terminator Salvation, if your a fan of the franchise, you’re going to want to check out the drawing I did for today’s incentive image over at Top Web Comics. It’s a T-800 and I’m really proud of the way it turned out.
I have ambitions to sell these sketches at some point. I don’t know if it will be through the site or at conventions. Regardless, if and when I make these drawings available, I’m pretty my version of the T-800 will be one of the first to be sold. To see it, vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics.
As for Jared’s assertion about the Terminator franchise, I’m sure there are those who will disagree with him. Personally, I love the Terminator films – even the jokey third movie. But you can’t help but overlook the fact that a lot of painstaking effort went into sending the increasingly complicated machines back in time to kill John Conner.
Obviously it wouldn’t make a very interesting film if the T-800 had been sent back in time with sniper skills. No conflict. But if your contention that Skynet is a ruthlessly organized computer system that prides itself on brutal efficiency… well, having Arnold leave a trail of destruction around Los Angeles is kind of makes it look like Skynet doesn’t have it’s ducks in a row. When you consider how advanced the T-1000 and the T-X are in the sequels, they should have had even LESS difficulty doing the job.
I’m just sayin…
I have more to say about Terminator Salvation, but I want to save those thoughts for later in the week.
In the meantime, I wanted to talk to you about Angels & Demons, which Cami and I were able to see together this weekend.
I can’t tell you the last time we went to the movies together. I go by myself from time to time, seeing stuff she has no interest in seeing at late hours – usually so I have something to talk about for the site or The Triple Feature. So it’s nice when we can go to a movie together and it’s something she wants to see.
Both Cami and I liked the movie insomuch as we were still thinking about it and talking about it the next day. It’s a little bit more straight forward than The DaVinci Code. It doesn’t emphasize history as much and I think the plot is bolstered by the fact that the bulk of the story is told within a four hour time span. Also, Tom Hanks’s hairstyle is CONSIDERABLY less distracting.
But despite the fact that the movie has urgency, I felt it dragged out a little long. The idea is that there is a bomb planted somewhere in The Vatican, threatening to kill thousands in St. Peter’s Square as they await the confirmation of a new Pope. Watching the movie, I kind of wanted them to hurry it up and get to the inevitable scene where they uncover the bomb (with 5 minutes left to spare!) and try to dispose of it. The stuff leading up to it was… interesting. But excessive.
To put this in perspective, there are a few scenes shot inside the Vatican archives. After the movie was over, Cami confided, “I wish they would have spent more time in there! I would have loved to have seen more of their old documents!”
The film also has an annoying habit of over-explaining itself. As Vatican security are being shown a live feed of the bomb from a wireless camera (tech savvy, no?), they realize that it is being illuminated by an independent light source. In an effort to uncover it’s location, they cut power to individual grids all over Vatican City.
Every time the power goes out – usually just as something important or tension-filled is about to happen – one of the characters has to remind us that individual power grids are being shut down to find the bomb. It happens at least three times in the movie and by the third time you’re sitting there thinking “Yeah! We get it!”
I won’t talk too much more about the film because I think, despite its flaws, it’s entertaining and worth your time. Although Hanks sometimes appears to be an incidental contributor to his own movie, the performances in the film are very good. Particularly Ewan McGreggor who plays a priest of passionate faith, but who is also keenly aware of religion’s competition for influence in the modern world.
Ultimately, I think what I took from the film was more personal. Having been to Rome and visited the Pantheon and Vatican City, it was interesting to me to look at the locations and say “I’ve been there!” I experienced a bit of cognitive dissonance, however, because I had a hard time believing that the Vatican would give that level of access to the filmmakers in some locations.
I mean, the catacombs in St. Peter’s Tomb and the Vatican Archives are obviously sets. But I couldn’t reconcile if they were able to shoot interiors in The Basilica of Saint Peter or how they were able to recreate it if they weren’t. My eye told me one thing, but my mind told me another. It’s a good illusion, but one I never fully accepted.
That’s all I have on Angels & Demons. I was a little surprised that it came in first this weekend at the box office. I was expecting Star Trek to edge them out. I began to revise my thinking when I noticed packed the theater was at our showing. Did you see the movie this weekend? What did you think? What about Terminator Salvation? Are you getting excited for it? Leave your comments below!
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Wait. This Benbot came from the future? What do you suppose his warning was all about? I guess we’ll never know… Or will we? Come back Friday to find out!
In the meantime, you only have this incentive sketch of another T-800 skull to tide you over. To see it, vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics.
For those of you who find it out of character for Tom to point a shotgun point-blank to the face of a Benbot when it’s usually Jared who does the dismantling, remember that Tom’s paranoia against and hair-trigger for robotic interlopers was established long ago. I also think it’s funny that Tom has defenses established for the zombie apocalypse and felt forced to improvise with a cyborg in his home.
When did this comic become so weird?
I tried something different with the coloring in the second panel. I guess I was a little worried about the violence being too graphic, so I tried to stylize it a little bit. I think it turned out okay.
I guess I don’t have very much left to say for today, so I’ll point you to this article about Terminator Salvation from Entertainment Weekly. I was particularly taken by this part about Christian Bale receiving the pitch for the movie from the much-loathed director, McG:
Bale recalls, ”I had this guy sitting there saying, ‘Christian, didn’t somebody ever take a leap of faith on you to do something radically different than you’ve ever done before? Give me that opportunity.’ So I’m thinking, ‘Oh, f—!”’ Bale’s advisers were against it too. Not just because Terminator Salvation was a sequel to a sequel to a sequel, but also because of McG himself, a man with little more to his credit than The O.C., a couple of Charlie’s Angels movies, and a ridiculous name. ”I had people telling me, ‘Don’t do it, Christian. Don’t go with that guy.’ In a strange way, I like the fact that he keeps that name because it does him no friggin’ favors,” says Bale. ”But people hear it and they go, ‘F— him!’ People were telling me, ‘Christian, you’re too good for Terminator.’ And I’m thinking, I’m too good? I’m not a snob. I really f—ing enjoy watching a good action movie. Who do you think I am?!”
I think Bale is a pretty smart guy who knows that he has to mix it up a little bit and take a paycheck role like John Conner so he can attract the attention of more out-there material like The Machinist or The Prestige. But I think between the Batman and Terminator franchises, he’s getting dangerously close to painting himself into a corner.
I also found it interesting that he has this rebelliousness in him that tells him to work with a ridiculous director because everyone else thinks the guy is a joke. Just like there is some truth in stereotypes, there is plenty of evidence to support the idea that McG doesn’t have the emotional maturity to direct more than music videos.
Later in the article, McG talks about his credibility problem and how others perceive him…
The artist formerly, and formally, known as Joseph McGinty Nichol knows what you think of him. He’s spent the past decade battling the perception that just because of his name, he’s some shallow jackass. Or, as he puts it, ”a lightweight with some hip-hop nickname and a gold chain around my neck, who drives a Lamborghini.” It drives McG nuts that with nearly $570 million under his belt at the global box office, he still has to explain himself. ”If you can’t get past my name after 12 years in this industry, you’re not invited,” he says in his L.A. production office two weeks before the film’s release. ”If you don’t have the hustle to figure out that McG’s short for ‘McGinty,’ which is my mother’s maiden name, and that she’s the least funky person ever, I’m kind of done. My name won’t define my movies. My movies will define my name.” He pauses to let this sink in. ”Look, I know I have a body of work that would not suggest that I am a credible storyteller. I need to prove myself on this film. Before you can be Johnny Depp, you have to do your time on 21 Jump Street.”
First of all, anyone who uses the word “hustle” in that context, I can’t take seriously.
Secondly, “$570 million under his belt at the global box office” and “12 years in the industry” don’t make you legitimate. Box office is rarely an indicator of quality. It is an indication of effective marketing and some gullibility on behalf of the movie-going audience. So don’t point to a stack of money and say “See! I’m talented!” If you want to talk talent, look at James Cameron who brought the concept of The Terminator to life, created something original and groundbreaking. McG is only playing with someone else’s toys.
I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because I’m a fan of the franchise. But if the movie turns out to be good, it’s not because McG is at the helm. The Terminator concept is too strong, too powerful in our collective imagination. It sustains itself. The only way for McG to go is down and he’ll do that if he screws with the formula too much and audiences don’t accept it.
There looks to be some interesting tweaks to the Terminator mythology in this film. If people really end up liking the motorcycle Terminators, then I guess I’ll have to eat crow. But until McG comes up with a concept as strong as the Terminator on his own, he’s still a scrub.
What are your thoughts about Bale, and McG? Do you think Bale is taking a risk with this film. What about Bale’s on-set explicative-filled rant from earlier in the year? Do you think it will affect Terminator Salvation’s box office take or has it been long enough that people have forgotten? Does McG deserve respect? Do you think he should take the credit if Terminator Salvation’s is a hit? Leave your comments below!
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Dec14
GUEST STRIP – BRANDON J. CARR
December 14th, 2009 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(16 votes, average: 7.56 out of 10)
When I started this who guest strip bru-ha-ha, Brandon J. Carr (formerly of The Kenmore and Weird Adventures of Unemployment) told me that inspiration had struck and he had an idea for a three-comic arc that parodied Avatar. He asked if that was okay. How could I say no? I have a diapers to change! A baby to burp! I haven’t slept in…! -SNNNNRRRZZKKKK! – Huh? What?! I’m awake!!
Yeah, man. Three comics. Sounds great.
So, anyway, buckle up, guys. Brandon is bringing the funny three times this week and it’s going to be infused with Avatar-goodness. Big thanks to Brandon for majorly stepping up to the plate. I don’t know about you, but I’m really excited to see what he comes up with!
I’ll probably talk more about Avatar later in the week. But for right now… HOLY LEGS!
Despite having a baby a little more than a week and a half ago, Cami and I actually were able to see a movie on Saturday. My in-laws watched Pearl for the afternoon as we took Henry see The Princess and The Frog.
We’ve been on quite the roll lately since we took Henry to his first movie – The Polar Express – about a month ago. At this point, we might end up seeing Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel!
I’m just kidding. That will NEVER happen. We’re trying to cultivate a child with taste, people!
We probably started talking up The Princess and The Frog to Henry about two months ago. Cami had it in her mind that this should be Henry’s first movie because A.) It’s Disney and B.) It was their return to hand-drawn animation for the first time since… man, I can’t remember their last hand-drawn movie? Was it Home on the Range?
Anyway, it was hard to argue with her.
Our only problem is that we thought the movie was coming out much sooner than it actually was. When we realized it was coming out the weekend after the date we scheduled for Cami’s C-section, we improvised and went with The Polar Express, instead.
Things worked out fine on that front. Henry enjoyed The Polar Express a great deal and we felt like super parents. But as the release date for The Princess and The Frog drew closer, Henry would see commercials for it on TV and say “We’re going to go see that!”
How could we NOT take him now?
Long story short, Pearl arrived a week early, Cami was feeling better and we had willing baby sitters. So we decided to take Henry to the movie.
Of course, 30 minutes before we were about to load up the car and take him to the theater, Henry asked his grandma “Is it going to be dark in the theater?” To which she naturally replied, “Yes” and, at this point, Henry decided he didn’t want to see the movie anymore. After weeks of anticipation and him talking about the movie, we basically had to cajole him into seeing the film before we tossed him in his car seat and say “YOU’RE GOING!”
Things were fine once we got to the theater. Even though he got a little bit antsy near the end of the movie, he actually does a pretty good job sitting still and paying attention for a certain length of time. The fact that the theater was dark didn’t even enter his mind once we were seated.
As for the movie itself, the whole family loved it. Cami loved the songs penned by Randy Newman and gave high praise to Tiana – Disney’s first African American Princess. “She has the best singing voice of any of the princesses,” she said. “And she’s the best-looking!”
Well, okay. It’s a cartoon, dear. But I see what you’re saying.
Henry and I both loved Ray the lightning bug. Based off the trailers, I thought Ray looked like a crude stereotype of a redneck, or something. But the character is much, much more.
I also really enjoyed the villain, Dr. Facilier – who I thought had the most style and the best musical number in the movie. I’m sorry – but Disney villains are infinitely more interesting to me than the protagonists.
I don’t know if anyone here is on the fence about The Princess and The Frog or not, but I strongly encourage you to check it out. After years of making cookie-cutter animated films that felt like they were designed to sell toys first and tell a story second, Disney is in grand form with this one. To me, the whole film just felt right. It didn’t hit one sour note.
Maybe I’m in a haze just because I’m glad to see Disney do what it does best with the hand-drawn stuff. Maybe I’m overlooking something. But if I am, I kind of don’t care. Bottom line, they could have hit us with another Atlantis: The Lost Empire or Treasure Planet. But, instead, they did the right thing and gave us a movie with both heart and soul.
Did anyone else see The Princess and The Frog this weekend? If so, what did you think? Who was your favorite character? What was your favorite song? Are any of you thinking about passing on this film? If so, why?
Leave your comments below!
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