Posts Tagged ‘Miami Vice’
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The Punisher comes out today along side Kill Bill Vol. 2. Why Artisan decided to release their revenge movie on the same day as the highest profile revenge movie in history is beyond me. They should have released it on the same day Julia Roberts or Meg Ryan releases some chick flick. I know the thought of seeing something by one of those two actresses would make ME think of revenge. It would have been brilliant counter-programming.
I like the idea of a new Punisher movie – especially in light of the crap-fest that was the Dolph Lundgren version of 1989. The fact that they were able to produce a costume with the Death’s Head skull this time around already makes it 90% better than it’s predecessor.
But at the same time, I find myself questioning a lot of the choices they’ve made for this film.
If you’re not familiar with the story, it’s standard revenge flick material. Frank Castle is a former government killer. One day, mobsters murder his wife and son. With nothing left to live for, Castle takes his government training and uses it to hunt down and kill the criminal element – indiscriminately, where ever it may reside.
Originally, the character was created in the comics as a response to the escalating crime rate of the 1970’s. Fittingly, his base of operations was New York City, which – at the time – didn’t have the best reputation concerning the safety of its boroughs.
As The Punisher mythology grew, his anti-hero stature fit like a glove in the hardcore Big Apple. His all black costume was a perfect reflection of the gritty underbelly of a festering city.
Cut to 2004. A new Punisher movie is being made. Do the producers decide to capitalize on this visual metaphor of a decaying man cutting out the cancer of a decayed city? No. They move him to SUNNY FLORIDA!
Maybe I have a limited understanding of “America’s Wang” (geographicall speaking), but it doesn’t seem like ol’ Frank is going to have the opportunity to stalk rain-soaked alleyways when there’s a Cuban disco right around the corner. I’m sorry, but just the thought of all those art deco buildings, neon and HUMIDITY just turns me off.
THE PUNISHER IS NOT A SUNNY CHARACTER!
And not to give away too much of the plot, but Castle knows from the get-go who killed his family. A powerful businessman named Howard Saint, played by John Travolta, orders the hit. In the comics, Castle’s family was caught in the cross-fire of a gangland shoot out.
You don’t have to be a psychic to see that in the movie version Saint will meet his maker at the hands of The Punisher. But what this does is completely strip our protagonist of a motive. In the comics, the random nature of his family’s death leads Castle on a quest to wipe out the ENTIRE criminal element. But if you finally got even with the man that killed your family, wouldn’t that be enough? If Artisan is hoping to make a franchise out of this, they’re going about it in a lousy way.
Advance reviews are saying that The Punisher doesn’t pull away from some of the more intense scenes of violence. It shouldn’t considering the source material. That, at least, gives me hope. And while I had reservations at first, I think Thomas Jane will make a very good Punisher.
Although my hopes aren’t very high, I’m still counting on seeing The Punisher this weekend. If anything but to wipe clean the memory of that aforementioned Dolph Lundgren version, which still haunts me to this day. However bad this new movie is, it can’t possibly be as bad as THAT version!
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My puzzlement regarding the big-screen adaptation of Miami Vice is sincere. Why, of all people, Michael Mann would choose to direct it is beyond me.
I suppose there was a time when television properties were being remade for theaters. Typically light comedy fair like The Brady Bunch or The Beverly Hillbillies. You saw a swing into action with movies like S.W.A.T. and Serenity – which, admitedly, weren’t bad. Actually, they were both a marked improvement over the source material.
But to remake Miami Vice? Not only have they overshot the mark on translating television properties to movies, but it’s like a time capsule of fetid pop culture ugliness that no one wants to open. Miami Vice is a big, glaring becon of the 80’s only claim to fame – style over substance and egocentrism as a substitute for sexual appeal.
Who is demanding to see this movie? People who used to be cool in the ’80’s and want to revisit their glory days, that’s who. The people in between the marketing crosshairs of this movie are a very thing herd. I sincerely doubt it’s going to connect with modern audiences.
Do you want to TOTALLY superficial reasons not to see this movie? 1). Colin Ferrell’s mullet and porn moustache and 2). Jamie Foxx’s ever-inflating ego – which is now in direct competition with the Great Wall of China for the most easily recognizable man-made structure visible from space.
There. Are we happy now? Can we finally put a nail is 1980’s nostalgia? I think a "gritty" Michael Mann remake of Miami Vice means we have officially jumped the shark.
Abruptly changing gears, I want to draw your attention to a few other fabulous sites on the web to further distract you from your responsibilities and get you in trouble.
My good friend Joe Dunn got married over the weekend and is currently on his honeymoon. So, as a wedding present of sorts, I did a guest strip for him over at Joe Loves Crappy Movies. It went up on Monday and you can check it out here.
I wasn’t exactly prompt about sharing the link when the comic went up because I was embarassed about all the nice things Joe said about me. He cites me as an inspiration, but truthfully, it’s the other way around. I think Joe is a cartooning dynamo and I respect him immenesely. I can’t tell you how many of his comics I have read and said "Damn! I wish I had come up with that!" I’m thankful for talents like Joe to brush shoulders with. It makes me step up my game and makes me want to do better. It’ll be a hoot to hang out with him and the rest of the Digital Pimp Online crew next week at Wizard World Chicago.
Incidentally, you can find me at booth #3134 A at Artist’s Alley so please come and visit. I’ll have books and shirts for sale and I’ll be doing sketches for free. And when you’re done talking to me, you can talk to Joe. Because he has the booth right next to me.
Something else I should mention is my presentation of "Outstanding Comic" for the 2006 Web Comics Choice Awards. I think I mentioned it last week, but I believe there was some kind of problem uploading the ceremony to the servers. They accidentally announced all of the winners and I don’t know if everyone got to see all of the ceremoney comics that people worked on!
At any rate, you can find them here. Mine is kind of close to the top. It was fun to put together and I wanted you to check it out if you hadn’t seen it yet.
Aburptly chaning gears again, something I’ve been a little negligent on lately is telling you guys about all the great sponsors that are currently running ads with Theater Hopper. No, I’m not talking about those big banners on the top and on the side. I’m talking about the itty-bitty 88 x 33 banners directly above this-here blog.
First up is Brinkerhoff. It’s kind of complicated to describe, but it’s basically about a bunny that’s been divorced and what he does with his life after that. Doesn’t sound like a great place to mine comedy from, but creator Gabe Strine makes it happen.
Next is No Offense Taken. I’m struggling to find a description for you, but I like this comic a lot. Kind of random in a way. Maybe that’s why I can find a theme. But I think you should check it out. I’m certainly you’ll find something you like!
Silent Kimbly is a wonderful fantasy-like comic from the mind of Ryan Sias. The jokes are really more visual twists on common phrases, but that’s not the appeal of the comic. Really, it’s to check out Ryan’s beautiful illustrative style, whimsical designs and candy-rich colors. Check this out. It’s adorable and you’ll love it. I promise.
Grumps is a totally unique premise for a comic about a bunch of old farts in a retirement community. Web comics are often about to a youth market, so this is a brilliant play against expectations. The art looks like animation-level quality and the site design is really sharp, too. I’m trying to figure out if there is anything I can steal from creator Chris Jones’s layout.
Lethal Entertainment is an eBay store featuring the very best in horror, sci-fi and fantasy DVDs. If there is something unique that you’re looking for, odds are Leathal Entertainment has it and at a fair price!
Finally, I bring you Alien Loves Predator. Wedged somewhere between the brilliance of Twisted Toyfare Theater and Robot Chicken, creator Bernie Hou took the idea of posing action figures and made a brilliant web comic out of it.
And every day I’m incredibly jealous I didn’t think of it first.
Visit the site and catch up on the adventures of the two most unlikely roommates in all of New York City.
That does it for the sponosors currently running on the site. If you would like to see your site featured, pelase advertise with us. Currently is $10 for 30 days of coverage. That’s a pretty good deal and if you’re an up-and-commer, it’s a good way to get exposure for your site on the cheap!
Beyond that, I want to remind everyone that our sale on all t-shirts is still going on. You can still get yours for $9.99 until July 31. Some of you have already bought your shrits and are waiting for them. Good news, because I just mailed out a ton of them last week.
I also want to remind you about the Theater Hopper book – which I now have back from the printer and will be shipping out soon. I have about 100 pre-orders to take care of, so that’s going to keep me busy. But since it’s just me on the distribution end, I tend to do things in large bundles. So if you haven’t bought a copy yet, now is a good time because I toss your shipment in with the others! Order yours today!
Still here? I applaude your intestinal fortitude, but I have nothing left for you.
Thanks for stopping by!
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So, I got home from work today and checked my e-mails and there were about a dozen pleasantly-worded missives informing me the reason that Michael Mann is directing the big-screen adaptation on Miami Vice is because he was the co-creator and executive producer of the original series. A fact that was crawling around in the back of my head, but willfully ignored in order to get the comic that I wanted.
That said, get out your rubber stamps and slap a big ‘ol "PWNED!" on my forehead because I totally dropped the ball on this one.
Still doesn’t make it right, though. I’ll stick to my guns on that one. Mann has much better stories he could be telling as opposed to giving Hollywood another opportunity to dip into the well of inter-racial crime fighting partners running down a drug deal. *SNORE!*
At any rate, I thought it would be more effective to mention it here in the blog rather than take the time to answer all the e-mails I received. Although perhaps I *should* have answered them all as some kind of penance. 40 lashes with a wet noodle, and all of that.
Who knows. Judging by the response to my shoddy research, there might be an audience for Miami Vice this weekend after all!
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Maybe I would have done myself a favor by abandoning the washed-up Don Johnson after yesterday’s strip. But darn it if I haven’t become affectionate of the little guy. I tend to appreciate the delusional.
Interesting feedback regarding Miami Vice in the last couple of days. Once the din of "Hey, stupid! Michael Mann was the co-creator of the original series!" died down, there was some interesting dialogue in the THorum about what makes the big screen adaptation interesting.
I think when you boil things down to their essence, old farts like me who were alive when Miami Vice was on television really aren’t interested in seeing it up on the silver screen because we regard it as middling fluff. People unfamiliar with the franchise are interested in seeing it based on the artistic merits of the picture. The way it was shot. The gritty undertones.
Now it’s hard to been an advocate for old-fogey-ism (especially at 28). But youngin’s – you gotta understand. The fact that they made a Miami Vice movie is like making… I don’t know. A 90210 movie to you guys. Wholly unnecessary.
Now you’ll excuse me while eat this bran muffin, read my copy of The New Yorker and yell at kids to GET OFF MY FRONT LAWN!
I wanna draw your attention to a new sponsor – Minus. You guys really need to check out this comic. Beautiful in it’s simplicity, I love the water color treatment. Great stuff. I can really describe the plot, but artist Ryan Armand says he’s approaching it as though he were creating a comic strip for an early 20th century newspaper. Show some support for this and spread the word because Ryan sounds a little on the fence about whether or not he’ll pursue this art style. Something as unique as this could do very well out there in the big, bad world of web comics.
Y’know, as opposed to what I do which is pandering crap. Minus is art. If I could turn out stuff like this, I would.
Speaking of art, I will be on Artist’s Alley at Wizard World Chicago next week – Friday, August 4 through the 6th and I can’t wait! I’ll have tons of books for sale at special convention prices! I strongly encourage you to come visit me at table #3414 A. You can’t miss me. I’ll be the guy frantically trying to get people to BUY MY BOOK! I plan on pressing the flesh hard core this year, so I’ll be a big shining beacon of crazy.
I’m serious. I’ve been to this convention twice and it finally dawned on me that it was dumb to sit back and wait for people who knew me to wander up and say "Hi." I love those people, don’t get my wrong! If you’re already a fan, I want you to come by because I’m having a book release party in my hotel room on Saturday night and I want you to be there. I’ve got invitations printed up and everything. I’ll give you one.
But I also want to try and find NEW fans for the comic. And you can’t do that sitting on your rear end. Anyway, one of my goals is to try and get copies of "Theater Hopper: Year One" into the hands of industry folks. So if you know anyone that covers comics as a member of the media or maybe a representative of a small press group, please let me know in advance and so I can get in touch with them before blowing into The Windy City.
Something else I need to mention about the book release party. My good friend Zach Miller of Joe and Monkey will also be joining the fray as his second book is coming out at the same time. Also, we’re sharing a hotel room, so he kind of HAS to go along with it. Anyway, be sure to visit both of us in Artist’s Alley and we’ll be sure to give you an invitation to the party. It’ll be a blast!
Another thing I need to mention. I will have a sign up sheet for our mailing list available at my booth. If you come by to visit me, I want you to sign up for it because I’m giving away $50 in Fandango bucks! And because you guys come here every day, I’m letting you know about it now. So if you’re not signed up for the mailing list, you can do it today and be in the running for that Fandango gift certificate. It’s going to be a random drawing and I’m going to announce the winner here on the site on Monday, August 7. EVERYONE IS ELIGIBLE! If if you’re already signed up, you’re in the running. But since there’s only, like, 100 people on the mailing list, that’s not many of you.
SIgn up for the mailing list today using that handy form to the right of the blog and you might be $50 in Fandango bucks richer!
That’s it for now. Please don’t forget that I’m selling all of my shirts for $9.99 until July 31. Get your order in today before I pack everything up and haul it to Chicago!
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