Posts Tagged ‘Elf’
3 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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Nov12
So as the strip indicates, I finally got around to seeing Elf on Monday night. I really enjoyed it, too. A lot of the funniest bits were used up in the trailers and television commercials, but curiously, I didn’t care. Will Ferrell is such a joy to watch, it never even fazed me.
All those reviews that said Elf was going to be a new holiday classic sound a little ambitious, but they’re not far off the mark. When it comes out on DVD, I know I’m going to buy it. And after I own it, I know I could watch it over and over. Truthfully, I’ll probably go back a see it a second time when it still in theaters. The feeling it gives you is just that good.
Admittedly the conclusion starts to get a little sappy, but they wrap it up nicely with a recap of the characters a few years later. James Cann does the hurried, New York executive thing to a “T”, but I couldn’t help but think how a method actor such as himself probably didn’t have to stretch too far to get annoyed with Ferrell’s antics. Those two look like they would react as oil and water in real life just as easily as they do on film.
But of course, the reason to see Elf is for Ferrell. A lot of his lines would have fallen flat or sounded just plain dumb coming out of another actor’s mouth. But Ferrell brings a child-like innocence and glee to the role. You really start believing that he’s just a hyper-active, sugar-addled 8 year old trapped in the body of a middle aged goof. His enthusiasm is infectious. I particularly admired his character’s unique diet that allows him only to eat sugar products. I wish I was an elf…
Changing gears, I want to take a minute to call attention to our newest sponsor Phancy Pants. I’ve known co-creator Kiel kind of informally for a while. He’s a good guy and he’s got a great comic going for him. The site design is tight, too. Check it out!
I also gotta give props to those who have been donating to The Walk of Fame. Did you know if you donate five dollars or more you can get a cool Matrix-inspired Theater Hopper desktop wallpaper? It’s true. But you don’t have to donate that much if you don’t want to. ANY donation amount will still get your name enshrined on The Walk of Fame. Something to consider!
Friday will mark the 200th honest-to-goodness, drawn and written by me Theater Hopper strip. You might remember we crossed the milestone once before, but that was back when there were guest strips in the archive (you can find those now on the bonus materials page) but they were moved to represent a more honest count. I don’t have anything planned for the occasion, but I’ll probably have more to say about it on Friday. In the meantime, I just wanted to give a brief thanks to you guys for helping me get there. Thanks.
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I’m not anticipating a lot of people coming to the site today, but if it turns out you sought reprieve from your cheek-pinching aunt, thanks for logging on and checking out the site.
I love this time of year because it seems like movies are on in the background all the time. Cami and I were preparing food to take over to our relatives houses today and tomorrow. We enjoyed a double-feature. Miracle on 34th Street (1994 Dylan McDermott remake, not the original) followed promptly by Steve Martin’s and Carl Reiner’s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. I’ll give you two guesses who picked which movie.
Not much else to say except “Enjoy the Holiday!” I know I will. See you back here on Monday!
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