Posts Tagged ‘Liam Neeson’
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Jun17
A PERFECTIONIST WITH ACCESS TO THE NECRONOMICON
June 17th, 2005 |
(7 votes, average: 8.71 out of 10)
When people go to see Batman Begins this weekend, there will be rave reviews of how the undead Laurence Olivier knocked it out of the park with his cameo appearance. Mark my words.
Quick note: Be sure to place your bids on the auction I’m having for an original piece of artwork over on eBay. There are only 2 days left, so be sure you don’t miss out on the action. I was really pleased with how this piece turned out and hopefully it will make one of you very happy to own it.
Now, onto the comic!
Is it relatively clear that the angry director in today’s strip is Christopher Nolan? I’m always a little paranoid when it comes to my celebrity caricatures. Especially when it comes to celebrities people aren’t very familiar with. EVEN MORE ESPECIALLY when it’s a director with only 3 films under his belt.
That’s why I’ve included this handy picture for reference. That, kids… is Christopher Nolan, director of Batman Begins. See? We learn something new every day!
It’s insane the level of talent Nolan has attracted to his relaunch of the Batman franchise. Who cares if Morgan Freeman admitted to taking the role strictly for the money? This film has Oscar winners and nominees littered all over the place like used bubble gum.
I suppose Nolan’s pedigree directing and writing the extremely intelligent Memento and his confident handling of the remake of Insomnia would inspire some confidence. But wouldn’t David S. Goyer’s name on the script raise a few eyebrows of suspicion? Let’s face it – Blade: Trinity was not Bridge of the River Kwai.
Of course Goyer brought us good films like Dark City, but I would say that was more a success for director Alex Proyas, whose amazing visuals sold that film to me lock, stock and barrel. Meanwhile, Goyer’s credits are more bad than good. After all, this was the man who penned the Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV movie starring… wait for it… David Hasselhoff. So Goyer has some sins to answer for.
Still, from the sound of things, his Batman Begins script is very strong. All the feedback I’ve been hearing since it opened to $15 million on Wednesday has been positive. MORE than positive, actually. “Enthusiastic” would be more like it.
This has been pure torture for me, though. Because I am trying to stay away from spoilers. I accidentally read a preview that gave away the ending shot between Gary Oldman’s Detective Gordon and Christian Bale’s Batman – naturally setting the stage for the sequel. But even with that nugget of information, I’m far more interested in the unfolding of the mythology – just to see if they get it right.
The reason I haven’t seen the movie yet is because Cami is pursuing her MBA and started her summer semester this week. She’s taking a condensed course that will rocket her through her workload in something like 7 classes. The bad news is, she’s been out of the house most of this week. An evening class on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 5PM until 10PM, plus an ALL DAY class from 8AM to 5PM tomorrow, then back to the evening class routine next week and she’ll be done.
In the meantime, she’s too exhausted to go out and see movies. Understandably so! So I am left patiently waiting from her to come down from her education O.D.
She’s told me to go ahead and see the movie without her. And even though I will probably see Batman Begins multiple times, I don’t roll like that. I’ll wait. For me this isn’t a movie that it would be nice for her to see. I think it’s a movie she SHOULD see. If it’s as good as everyone says it is, maybe it’ll open the door a little wider for her to understand my adolescent admiration of these characters.
And a little understanding between husband and wife never hurts, right? ;D
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I think when we first saw images of Liam Neeson as Zeus from the set of the movie, very few of us were impressed…
…but I think we can agree that Neeson’s delivery of “RELEASE THE KRAKEN” is a classic.
That said, the REAL joke in today’s comic is the Craklin Oat Bran in the third panel. Man, what a great cereal. So much fiber. I’m pooping myself just thinking about it!
I didn’t get a chance to see Clash of the Titans like I thought I would this weekend and that doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. I was looking forward to a bit of dumb cinema until I realized that lining up for that kind of abuse was, well, also dumb.
That didn’t seem to stop most people, though. Clash of the Titans made over $60 million at the box office this weekend.
Usually when a film makes that much in it’s first weekend, people start talking about filming a sequel. But I was momentarily emboldened when I thought to myself “Mythology doesn’t have a sequel does it?”
Not so fast. Director Louis Leterrier recently said that he envisioned a TRILOGY of films and Clash of the Titans writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi confirmed it. So be on the lookout for that one, I suppose.
I don’t have much more to say about the film, but I’m curious if anyone here saw it. If so, what did you think? Did anyone see it in 3D? Reportedly, the 3D effects are horrendous. I’d like to know if it’s as bad as the critics say it is. Leave your comments below.
In the meantime, I’m getting ready for C2E2 next week in Chicago. I’ve been working on a new booth banner and some exclusive merchandise. If you follow Theater Hopper on Facebook, I’ll be posting some images soon. Including a series of 1″ badges I’ll be selling as well as artwork from an exclusive print I hope to sell at the show as well.
That’s all for me. Thanks for swinging by and have a great day!
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This is the kind of comic and play with language is something that I know is pretty much only going to entertain me, but if you enjoyed it, thanks for coming along for the ride.
I did a comic similar to this a few years ago for Saw. Tom and Cami debated whether or not the would see Saw while sitting on a seesaw. It had several levels. I couldn’t find it buried in the archives, though. You’ll just have to trust me when I say how awesome it is.
I don’t really have anything to say about Takers except it looks like the kind of stylish urban crime drama that Tupac Shakur would have starred in back in the day. I guess it did alright at the box office this weekend – $21 million. But, of course, late August into early September is a dead zone when it comes to new movies. Everyone is going back to school, so the studios just kind of shovel out whatever.
In completely unrelated news, I finally got around to seeing Scott Pilgrim vs. The World this weekend. I’m glad I had a chance to see it in the theater because I don’t think it’s going to be hanging around in multiplexes for much longer.
After a dismal 5th place opening in its first week to a drastic drop to 10th in its second week, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World lost more than 42% of it’s business this weekend, plummeting to 14th place.
Theaters have obviously lost confidence in it. My theater, for example, only had three showings on Saturday an 11:00, a 4:00 and the 10:00 that I went to. Please keep in mind that this theater also has 20 screens, so it’s not like it was really fighting for space among the end of summer duds.
The theater we were in seemed to have a lot of people in it, though. Or maybe it only looked that way because the theater was so small.
As for the movie itself. I liked it. In fact, I really liked it! I don’t know if the film justifies the nerd rage expressed online in regards to the film failing to find an audience. Truthfully, I find the incredulous tone of that sentiment off-putting. It’s not going to attract anyone who is on the fence to the film. Vanity Fair, however, made a very smart and impassioned argument for the movie that I thing proponents would be wise to adopt.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has a catchy and unforgettable energy that is makes it addicting to watch. Blissfully, however, it’s comic book sensibilities never bleed over the edge and ruin it.
I’ve seen Scott Pilgrim vs. The World favorably compared to Speed Racer in this respect and I would say Pilgrim is a refinement of that approach. The film breaks the fourth wall constantly, but the script never winks at you. It doesn’t make you feel dumb for investing in it. Speed lines, pixelated graphics and ridiculous super-powered fights are par for the course in the Scott Pilgrim universe. It’s totally normal to all of the characters in the film, so it’s totally normal to us.
Writer/director Edgar Wright has compared Scott Pilgrim to a musical. But instead of glorious production numbers, scenes are punctuated with exaggerated fight sequences.
I think that’s the right way to approach the movie. You can certainly see the movie was paced with these interludes in mind. As Scott squares off against his opponents, the tension builds just enough before a comical, digital “VS.” flashes on the screen and you know the fight is on.
Of course, it’s impossible to talk about Scott Pilgrim without mentioning the music. Beck contributes a few song to Scott’s fictional band – Sex Bom-Omb – that gives them an authentic garage band imperfection that is fun to listen to. But it’s Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich’s score that anchors the film with emotional resonance.
As a matter of fact, I downloaded the Scott Pilgrim score last night (it’s only available as an MP3 download) and was listening to it on repeat as I worked on today’s comic. If you’re a fan of the movie at all, I suggest you pick it up. It’s a good listen.
The more I think about Scott Pilgrim, the more I want to see it again. Wright’s adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s original graphic novels is just different enough to warrant further inspection. What’s pleasing about the film, however, is that these changes don’t negatively impact the final product. That’s a rare feat. Usually films that monkey with the time line and the details of the source material – especially one as well-loved as Scott Pilgrim – don’t go over well. But in this case, I love the books and the movie equally – just in different ways.
I don’t know if Scott Pilgrim will stay in theaters long enough for me to convince Cami to see it with me a second time. I’m very curious to see how someone who has ABSOLUTELY no investment in the material reacts to the movies. I think she would enjoy it, but we might have to wait until the movie comes out on DVD to find out.
Certainly this is a film that I would want to own. Scott Pilgrim’s world is just to visually unique and interesting not to want to revisit again and again.
With that lengthy review (unrelated to the comic with which it appears) out of the way, I wanted to remind you guys about the BIG SALE going on in the store now until September 19.
As you know, Cami and I are packing up the kids and moving to a new house at the end of September. As such, I’m trying to sell off as much merchandise as I can before the big day so I don’t have to pay the movers extra to haul out all my books and t-shirts. That means I’m passing unprecedented savings on to you!
All books and t-shirts are specially priced for a limited time. If you follow Theater Hopper on Twitter or Facebook, you might learn about some special codes that will afford you EXTRA discounts!
I’ll tell you right now that people are really taking advantage of this sale. People are buying items in bulk – two or three shirts at a time. Or two books and one shirt at time. A myriad of combinations. The point is that they’re buying a lot of stuff at once and there might not be much stuff left over if you wait too long. The good news about my new Storenvy store is that it keeps track of inventory. So now you can watch the little inventory bar trickle down to zero.
Even if you already own a bunch of Theater Hopper merchandise (and by the way, thank you), this is a great opportunity to buy something you can give as a gift later. Wouldn’t it be great to have your holiday shopping done early? Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to scramble at the Nth hour to get a birthday present for a friend? Give the gift of Theater Hopper! You won’t be sorry!
That’s all of my schilling for now. But, hey, keep us in mind. This is a great opportunity. You help yourself by saving money and you help me by lightening my load for our move. It’s a win-win!
Just think about it. All I’m saying.
Back on track, did anyone see Takers this weekend? Have we left any stones unturned regarding Scott Pilgrim? If so, leave your comments below!
Or, y’know, we could always talk about Theater Hopper merch, too. I can give you guys some ideas to help promote the sale if that interests you?… 😉
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Despite how much I enjoyed the Euro-stomp romp that was Taken with Liam Neeson, I was fully prepared to pass on Unknown precisely because it looked like a lazy retread and a paycheck job for Neeson.
But a couple of articles have recently warmed my heart to the idea of possibly seeing Unknown this weekend and I’d like to share them with you now…
Read this article by Jeffery Wells over at Hollywood Elsewhere. He’s taken Neeson to task repeatedly over the last few years for taking paycheck roles. Let’s face it – from a credibility standpoint, Taken, The A-Team and Clash of the Titans are MILES away from Schindler’s List and Rob Roy. So a little of that criticism is warranted.
But he’s actually kind of complimentary to Unknown. “I haven’t time to review it now,” says Wells. “But it’s not bad in a ‘somewhat better than meh’ sort of way. It’s nowhere near the level of the Bourne films, but it’s actually a touch more plausible than Taken, for what that’s worth.”
I know that sounds like faint praise. But coming from a curmudgeon like Wells – a critic who absolutely hated Taken and what it represented in Neeson’s career, that faint praise is saying something.
He then goes on to talk about the obsolescence of car chases as an action movie cliche. But that’s neither here nor there.
Another factor that might get me to see Unknown this weekend… sympathy.
In an interview with Esquire magazine, Neeson opened up about the death of his wife Natasha Richardson, who died in a skiing accident in March of 2009. Specifically he talks about burying the pain with work.
“”I think I survived by running away some. Running away to work,” said Neeson. He started filming Clash of the Titans just one month after his wife’s accident.
“‘Listen, I know how old I am and that I’m just a shoulder injury from losing roles like the one in Taken. So I stay with the training, I stay with the work. It’s easy enough to plan jobs, to plan a lot of work. That’s effective. But that’s the weird thing about grief. You can’t prepare for it. You think you’re gonna cry and get it over with. You make those plans, but they never work.’
‘It hits you in the middle of the night — well, it hits me in the middle of the night. I’m out walking. I’m feeling quite content. And it’s like suddenly, boom. It’s like you’ve just done that in your chest.’ Here Neeson reaches out and twists both hands in opposite directions, like he’s corkscrewing two ends of a soda can, reaches toward me so it’s clear: This is in his chest.”
Say what you will, but an emotional appeal like that hits me right between the eyes. It goes a long way toward justifying a lot of Neeson’s career choice of late.
So what about you? Any plans to see Unknown this weekend? Leave your comments below.
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I’m more of what you call an “indoor kid,” so I’m not a very big fan of man-vs-nature movies. Into the Wild, The Edge, Alive, The River Wild, 127 Hours – they make me anxious and bore me at the same time.
But the innate charm of Liam Neeson attracts me like a moth to a flame. So I was willing to give the trailer for The Grey a try.
First things first. I have a theory about Liam Neeson that he’s basically become a fult-tilt workaholic after the death of his wife Natasha Richardson in 2009. That’s why you’ve seen Neeson is so many paycheck movies over the last few years.
I certainly don’t mean to make light of Richardson’s death or what I am certain is Neeson’s very real pain. If I were in his situation, I’d probably do the same thing. All I’m saying is that scenes of Neeson tenderly holding hands with a wife he’s afraid he’ll never see again kind of drives this theory home.
I don’t know. Pet observation.
Secondly, I don’t know what I can say about this movie – not being a fan of the genre. Although I give it points for making a hungry pack of wolves the antagonist and not just the elements themselves.
I would say that I was completely won over, however, with the last scene of Neeson strapping single-serving whiskey bottles to his knuckles and breaking them over rocks to create jagged edges to fight the wolves one on one.
…just like a real Irishman would fight!
GO GET ‘EM, LIAM!
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