Posts Tagged ‘Hancock’
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Today’s joke is kind of hacky, but I don’t care. I’ve been saving up for this one ever since I learned that the original title to Hancock was Tonight, He Comes. I’d like to pretend I’m a little more high-minded than that and wouldn’t stoop to the level of some obvious, crude sexual reference.
But that would be a lie.
I’m sorry folks, but you don’t put words like "Hancock" and "Tonight, He Comes" in the same paragraph together before some juvenile idiot wanders along and makes a comment about it.
I’m happy to be that idiot.
As for Hancock itself, I’m probably not going to see it. Chalk it up to a couple of reasons. Primarily disinterest from when I saw the first trailer. It just looked too cheesy. Subsequent trailers gave me hope, but it’s been getting pounded by critics who say the film completely derails itself in the second act, so my enthusiasm has waned.
I guess to add insult to injury, I’m just not a big fan of Will Smith. At least not the Will Smith on display here. I understand that he starts the film playing someone unlikable, but you know it’s only a matter of time before he turns on that "Big Willie Charm" that’s been so effective for him in other movies. I don’t deny that it’s a big part of his appeal. I’m just not buying what he’s selling. If I want a dose of his particular brand of charisma, I can turn on an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air in syndication any day of the week. If I went to see Hancock, it would be more to see what Jason Bateman is doing than what Smith is peddling.
I didn’t bother to see either I, Robot or I Am Legend in theaters mostly because I’ve had my fill of Smith’s sci-fi pandering since Men in Black and Independence Day. I’m much more interested in Smith when he lays something on the line emotionally as an actor. I know that he has it in him. Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness proves it. But whenever I see Smith in some brainless blockbuster, I tune out. I get the sense that he’s coasting.
I don’t mean to discredit the guy or anything. He’s clearly worked hard to get where he is and he’s simply one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood today. No small feat. I don’t expect the guy to be Sydney Poitier, I’m just more enamored with Smith when he’s being sincere and less so when he’s putting up an “aw, shucks” front.
I suppose you can toss in a little contrariness in there as well. When so many people are so overwhelming supportive of a particular actor, I tend to throw rocks at the throne. It’s just the way I’m wired.
At any case, as of this writing on Thursday evening, I’m walking out the door to catch a late showing of Wall-E with Cami. We’ve been looking forward to it all night. My sister-in-law is hanging out at our house to watch over Henry while we’re away.
In real time – Friday – happy 4th of July to all my American readers and to everyone else… well… have a great weekend!
See you Monday!
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I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing with the punchline of today’s comic or why I decided to throw in a very timely reference to Cool Hand Luke. I think I’m trying to maintain a level of wackiness and randomness that is simply not sustainable. If you want to read a funnier comic about Hancock, check out Joe Loves Crappy Movies. Their comic has references to Kate & Leopold, Themla & Louise AND Mallrats! View it here.
Oh, well. At least The Paper looks kind of good rendered like that.
Hancock was the big box office winner over the 4th of July holiday with a $66 million take. I kind of rolled my eyes when I heard the news. For the reason why, read my anti-Will Smith rant from Friday.
This is completely petty, but I was kind of hoping it would fail. Or, in the very least, not outpace Wall-E by two to one. Wall-E took in $33 million, down almost 50% from it’s opening weekend.
Cami and I finally had an opportunity to see Wall-E on Friday and I am over the moon about it. Without a doubt one of the smartest Pixar movies to date. I don’t even feel like I can review it properly because I’m still kind of processing it.
The film is a visual feast and looks almost photo-realistic in parts. If you go back and compare Wall-E against Toy Story, it makes Pixar’s first attempt look absolutely plastic by comparison. And, yes – I know the movie is about toys made of plastic, but you know what I mean. It looks lifeless. Even roaming around on a dead planet, Wall-E’s environments look more thorough, alive and immersive than anything Pixar has done to date.
I question whether the movies themes about environmental responsibility, personal accountability, the over-reliance of technology and the threats of mass consumerism run amok goes over the head of children. I don’t meant to marginalize Wall-E with the stigma of being “a chlidren’s film” The success of Pixar’s formula has always been scripts that pitch their concepts a little higher than your average animated fare. But with Wall-E, have the overshot the target completely?
Kids are smarter than we give them credit for and understand much more than we recognize, but I still think an adult will find Wall-E more cinematically nutritious than a child would find entertaining. There are LARGE gaps in the story where there is *no* dialogue being exchanged and 20 minutes of nothing happening can feel like an eternity to a kid.
All I know is, Wall-E is a movie that I’m going to have to see twice because I was getting to lost in the universe director Andrew Stanton created, I fear there were details that I missed. Any movie that creates a world as epic as Wall-E and entices you to come back to revisit it deserves a second look. Never mind the fact that Pixar basically got me to become emotionally invested in robots. Inanimate objects! AGAIN! How do they do it?
We neglected to share too many specifics when Gordon and I talked about Wall-E last week on The Triple Feature. We wanted to hold back a little bit until both Joe and I had seen it because we mutually felt that we’d be on the same page with our reactions. With a week and a holiday under out belt and recovered from Wizard World Chicago, I think we’re ready for the deep dive this week.
Be sure to listen to The Triple Feature tonight at 9:00 PM CST at TalkShoe.com as we talk more about Wall-E, Wanted and, of course, Hancock.
See you there!
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