Posts Tagged ‘Jamie Foxx’
4 items.
Oct27
So did Tom ever manage to duplicate Ray Charles’ impeccable mastery of the 88 keys? Check out the latest buzzComix incentive sketch to find out.
It kind of snuck up on us, but the Ray Charles biography Ray will be in theaters this Friday. I find it odd that a potential Oscar contender is being released Halloween weekend. I mean, make some room for the schlock that’ll be out of theaters in a week (Seed of Chucky, I’m looking in your direction), then come in afterwords and sweep up at the box office.
Maybe this is Universal’s idea of counter programming. It’s not any more ludicrous than opening Surviving Christmas in October, I guess.
Reviews for Ray have been off the charts in terms of positive feedback. People are jumping up and down over Jamie Foxx’s performance. From what I’ve seen of trailers and commercials, his impersonation seems pretty accurate. I guess he did all the piano playing in the movie by himself. That’s pretty impressive.
I don’t know what I find so interesting about Foxx, but something about him tells me that producers and directors have barely scratched the surface of what he’s capable of.
He’s had a good year so far. He was great in Collateral. And anyone who has seen his performance as Drew ‘Bundini’ Brown in Ali knows he can bring emotional weight to even the most bombastic character. Unfortunately, for every Any Given Sunday, there’s a movie like Bait or Booty Call waiting in the wings.
He’s supposed to have a role in Sam Mendes’ Jarhead next year, which I’m already looking forward to. I think that will be a good collaboration.
At any rate, back to Ray. Looks good! Cami and I are ready to go see it this weekend.
I have an interest in seeing Saw, mostly because of the grisly “do or die” scenarios the film seems to be rife with. Normally I don’t go for brutal horror, but I think I’ll like the psychological aspects of this one. Cami has no interest. I may have to wait until it comes out on video.
Beyond that, no scary movies in the Brazelton household this Halloween. We’ll pass out candy like good neighbors on Beggar’s Night this Saturday, but I’m not going to chase any kids around the year with a machete. I guess IFC is going to be having a Halloween marathon of Italian horror classics hosted by Tom Savini. It’s almost too pretentious to pass up!
Second round of pre-orders on the Spoiler t-shirt are coming to a close this Saturday. If you want to put your money down, I’ll guarantee you a shirt with the second batch!
That’s about it for now. Less than a week until Election Day. Can’t wait until this circus pulls up stakes and goes into hibernation for another four years.
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I always get nervous whenever a comic requires me to do some kind of caricature for multiple reasons. I always have trouble blending my style with something that makes the person in question recognizable. Also, I’m not very good at it. I’ve bought a few books to try and teach my technique. I’m sure if I spent a whole month doing nothing but caricatures, I would improve. It’s just difficult to determine what your need will be based off of the jokes you come up with.
Okay, that’s no excuse. I mean, after five years, I should at least have a Ben Affleck caricature in the bag by now!
The Kingdom comes out this weekend and the trailers have led me to believe it’s a by-the-numbers potboiler about the conflict in the Middle East. Even if it wasn’t attempting to be topical by referencing The War on Terror, I would have categorized it as rote based solely on that shot of the SUV furiously backing out of a secluded alley when fired upon by an terrorist with a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher. That whole sequence looks like it came straight out of Patriot Games to me.
However, there are a few twists to the formula that have captured my attention. First, actor/director Peter Berg is behind the lens. I know his list of directing credits isn’t setting the world on fire, but I’ve always liked the guy and I view him as a straight shooter that isn’t interested in being pigeon holed by Hollywood.
Another interesting twist is the addition to Jason Bateman to the cast. Bateman is one of those actors who is going to do great no matter where you stick him. He has a very natural style and will be a nice yang to Jamie Foxx’s hammy, over-the-top yin. As good as he is, he’s not the first actor you think of in a movie like this. Jamie Foxx, sure. Chris Cooper, of course. Jennifer Garner, you’re stretching it a bit, but okay. Jason Bateman? Wha?
My good friend Joe Dunn had a chance to see the movie at a sneak preview last week and he said Bateman was perfectly cast and adds a lot of comic relief. As for the movie itself, he said the last half hour is riveting and totally worth the price of admission. At lot of action that really makes you feel like you’re in the thick of it.
I’m curious about The Kingdom, but I’m going to wait and read a couple more reviews to see what the concensus is. Still, it’s got to be better than seeing The Rock in The Game Plan this weekend.
Speaking of The Kingdom, I’m running a contest this week for a few giveaway items in advance of it’s opening in theaters this weekend.
Be sure to listen to The Triple Feature talkcast tonight at 9:00 PM CST for your chance to win a prize package that includes a full-sized poster, hat, t-shirt, mini notepad, and jacket!
One half of a code will be given during the broadcast and the second half will be given right here at Theater Hopper on Wednesday. You’ll need both clues to be eligible for the contest! Of the correct entries, one winner will be chosen at random! So be sure to listen in!
As a matter of fact, I have a bunch of free DVDs that I’m giving away this week. So you guys should be sure to check back every day for your chance to win.
Tomorrow I will have a DVD review for the recent release of 30 Rock: Season One up on the site. 30 Rock was probably my favorite new show last season and I was thrilled to see they won the Emmy for Best Comedy Series last week. Check back to read my review as well as information for more free DVD goodies!
See you then!
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I normally wince at doing comics about “industry news” because I think most people won’t have the background information needed to get the joke. Thus, I feel compelled to establish the situation with some kind of long-winded exposition. Hence, the super-wide first panel with Jared giving us the lowdown.
Truthfully, I’m completely tapped in terms of commentary for upcoming movies like Saw V and Pride and Glory.
Incidentally, this is the article Jared is talking about regarding Paramount’s decision to push back The Soloist from November to March.
I guess I kind of misrepresented things in the comic because Paramount didn’t bump The Soloist from November explicitly to support a Best Supporting Actor campaign for Robert Downey Jr.’s performance in Tropic Thunder. That was more of a by-product of the situation. Paramount was pressured by its parent company to cut 4th quarter costs and The Soloist was easiest to move. So, really, it’s all about money – as it often is.
I’m thinking it’s somewhat misguided on Paramount’s part to finance a campaign for RDJ’s role in Tropic Thunder. Not just because comedies typically do not fare well during awards season, but also because of the controversy of putting an A-list actor in black face for nearly 2 hours.
Look, the film ruffled a few feathers, but they managed to pull it off. No one walked away from it sustaining any permanent damage to their careers. Just let the thing flourish on DVD and let sleeping dogs lie. The less said about this, the better. Quit trying to take advantage of RDJ’s resurgence in 2008. Yes, it’s a crime that the man hasn’t been nominated for anything since Chaplin, but Tropic Thunder is not the film to break that streak. All things in due time.
Switching gears, I wanted to talk about Monday’s strip and the wave of e-mails I received about having a mid-life crisis at 30. It was surprising how many people wrote in to express the same misgivings about getting old. One reader sent me a couple of links detailing The Quarter-Life Crisis and the astrologers theory of Saturn’s Return.
I guess I was familiar with the idea of a quarter-life crisis from a lyric in John Mayer song. Of course, there’s also that album from No Doubt called Return of Saturn, so I guess I’m kind of of familiar with that as well. I just never made the connection between these ideas and my own station in life.
Weird how I know about these things through my exposure to pop music.
Anyway, it was nice to get e-mails from people answering the question “Is it possible to have a mid-life crisis at 30?” and agreeing with it. A lot of you have been there or could sympathize with the feeling and that was reassuring. So… thanks!
I don’t know why I felt the need to share that beyond how I find it interesting what topics will generate a response from you guys. Makes me feel good you’re reading the blogs!
That does it for me today. Have a great Wednesday!
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I always feel like I’m taking a risk by relying on a visual gag for the punchline of a comic. You never know how it’s going to play. But I was so much more interested in coming up with a list of fake names for Valentine’s Day, I decided to throw caution to the wind.
Incidentally, do you know how long it takes to make a high-res recreation of an IMDB page? Longer than it takes to draw, ink, color and shade two panels of this comic – I’ll tell you that much!
Obviously I’m having a little fun by suggesting Sgt. Slaughter is in Valentine’s Day. But as ridiculous as the cast list is for this thing, he might has well be.
Cami only gave you a sample of who shows up in this movie. Check out the names attached to this thing:
Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts, and Taylor Swift.
Those are 19 big names. A handful of these actors are Oscar winners! That’s ri-donk-ulous! What kind of dirt does director Garry Marshall have on these people to group them together in an American knock-off of Love, Actually? It’s scary how much clout that guy has. Must be carry-over from his days as a writer on Laverne & Shirley.
I was actually kind of open to the idea of seeing Valentine’s Day until I heard Garry Marshall was directing it. As a director, his work is all about schmaltz and playing it safe. Look at his directing credits over the last 10 years – The Other Sister, Runaway Bride, The Princess Diaries, Raising Helen, The Princess Diaries 2 and Georgia Rule. I look at these films and the women in the audience who he targets and cynically assume that he must think all women are stupid.
Critical reaction to Valentine’s Day has been overwhelmingly negative with a 16% rotten rating at Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing. If it is at all a success at the box office, it will be based on its star power and simplistic branding. “A movie called Valentine’s Day being released on Valentine’s Day weekend? I simply must go!” This is why I scold Rob Zombie for not getting his Halloween remakes released closer to Halloween. People will go because they feel like they’re supposed to go.
I don’t know the details of the film, but I think I know the premise. If it’s about Valentine’s Day, certainly it’s about finding love or that special someone on the titular day and the frustrations that come along with that.
Does anyone truly believe that Jennifer Garner or Bradley Cooper would have trouble finding a date on Valentine’s Day? I mean, MAYBE Topher Grace. But c’mon!
Cami and I haven’t talked much about the film, but I can kind of sense that she’s not interested in seeing it. Instead, for Valentine’s Day, we’re going to leave the kids with my folks and have a nice dinner. That’s going to be about it. That’s just fine with me!
What are your Valentine’s Day plans? Do you plan on seeing Valentine’s Day the movie? If so, is there a particular actor that drew you in? Do you feel the large cast of actors will be helpful or a hindrance to the movie? Leave your comments below!
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