Posts Tagged ‘Mission: Impossible 3’
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Oct07
Tom is all man, baby. Borderline offensively so!
I was going to do a comic today about the new Ryan Reynolds movie Wating… but the news of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes pregnancy was too good to pass out. Odd, isn’t it that Tom and Cami can only seemingly have discussion about Tom-Kat’s love life in public?
That aside, I know that I’m kind of skirting the line of good taste with today’s comic, but felt the need to shake things up a little bit.
I also want to make it clear that today’s comic is not a swipe against homosexuals. So it’s understood, I do not consider the relationships of consenting adults any of my business.
What today’s comic is really about is nothing more than outrageous reactions based on rumors. The whole "Tom Cruise is gay" thing isn’t anything new. It’s been floating around Hollywood for years. Don’t ask me why.
I can see why maybe Cruise was defensive to the insinuation back in the 80’s when the spectre of AIDS was looming about. After Rock Hudson died, people weren’t very sympathetic to gay people in the public spotlight.
And even though I think we live in (slightly) more enlightened times, I can kind of understand why Cruise would take to suing each and every person or publication that says he’s gay because now that the lie has gotten so big, coming out of the closet now would significantly damage his reputation as an action star. Plus any good will he’s racked up with audiences over the years.
For the record, I don’t even know if he ∗IS∗ gay. Really, it’s not my business. But ever since that awkward "love" scene he did with his then wife Nicole Kidman in 1999’s Eyes Wide Shut and there were rumors Cruise had to hire a coach to learn how to be passionate on screen with his real-life spouse, the din of speculation is getting louder and louder. All the suing he did didn’t help, either.
Fast forward to the middle of the first decade in the 21st century and he’s engaged to an actress 16 years his junior after 4 months of courtship. She now pregnant with his child – something not accomplished with Kidman as the two children from that relationship are adopted – and the delivery date coinciding with the release of Mission Impossible III on May 17, 2006… Well, excuse me if it all looks a little suspicious.
Maybe it’s just a run-of-the-mill string of publicity stunts. Maybe it has nothing to do with Cruise being gay or not gay. Honestly, it doesn’t make any difference to me. I wouldn’t care if Cruise were gay any more than if you were gay or my cousin were gay.
What I ∗don’t∗ like is the idea that being labeled "gay" to Cruise is as defamitory as being called a murderer or a kidnapper. His proclivity to sue represents the notion that there is something inherently wrong with homosexuality which I do not agree with.
Don’t bother arguing me on this point. With all sincerity, you could talk to me until you’re blue in the face about why homosexuality is wrong or why racism or sexism or ageism are acceptable modes of thinking and I would do my best to listen and to understand where you’re coming from. But no amount of conviction on your part would get me to change my mind about the immutable, simple human rights that I believe everyone should be afforded. You have your beliefes, I have mine. We don’t have to be on the same page, but we can at least respect each other’s ability to come to our own conclusions.
This has been an old-school rant brought to you by the letter "R." I hope you enjoyed it. If you have thoughts about the controversy or lack thereof, please take it into the THorum rather than e-mail me. I’m putting some pretty strong views out in public and would prefer the chance to address them publicly should the need arise.
Come back later today for some important news about the future of the Theater Hopper store.
Thanx.
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It’s hard to say if I’ll get in trouble for this joke or not. The last time I made jokes with a homosexual connotation, some of you weren’t very happy about it. Of course, I was contrasting it against Jesus Christ and Superman. So maybe that’s what put it over the top.
I know it seems a little outlandish that I would assume that the producers of 300 were courting the homosexual male demographic. In all truth, I have nothing to support the claim except for small article I came across at Hollywood Elsewhere weeks ago. Actually, the original observation was made by Variety critic Todd McCarthy and I don’t know if it’s really picked up any steam elsewhere. But I felt it was an interesting, if somewhat comical observation that might rankle the comic book faithful. So I thought it was fertile territory for comedy. I may be a comic book geek myself, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to have fun!
In regards to 300, I was originally kind of neutral to the idea. I saw the trailers and thought to myself “Oh, that looks cool. But didn’t Sin City mine this territory a few years ago?” Obviously 300 wouldn’t have been made without the success of Sin City paving the way. So I don’t fault Hollywood for returning to the well and adapting more of Frank Miller’s vision to the big screen. I’m sure for most producers, it looks like a pretty sweet deal. Use Frank’s comics as the storyboards, shoot the whole thing on a green screen in 28 days, toss it over to an effects house and wait a few months for the money to roll in.
Still, for the most part, it looked like director Zack Snyder was reheating Sin City director Robert Rodriguez’s sloppy seconds.
But as time goes by and I absorb more and more of the television commercials, I’m starting to warm up to the idea of 300. The Nine Inch Nails song that plays over the commercials that used to annoy me now invigerates me. Whereas I used to snicker at Gerard Butler’s ridiculous beard, I now think he looks pretty bad ass. I mean, this was the guy who played the Phantom in the big-screen adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera? Okay! Impressive!
Of course, I can’t get too excited about it. Obviously, since we’ve had Henry, that limits our free time for going to the theater. Cami and I have our 7th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks and I’m sure we’ll be able to get out of the house for a few hours then. My parents can watch Henry. But I doubt I can talk her into seeing 300. I’ll have to wait for video.
That said, I feel a little behind the curve when it comes to the hype surrounding 300. The commercials are making some pretty bold claims about how visually arresting it is and how it’s “the best movie in 10 years!” (I swear I saw that one somewhere.) So I put it to you guys – How excited are you for this movie? How long have you been anticipating it? Do you think it will live up to the hype? And – more importantly – do you think that is director Zack Snyder cand maintain faithfulness to Miller’s original graphic novel what will that mean for his interpretation of the long-awaited film version of Watchmen?
Leave your comments below!
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