Posts Tagged ‘reaction’
5 items.
So the Oscar’s were last night and there were no real surprises. Part of me thinks that’s unfortunate, but I also feel a sense of relief that things were played a little safe. Maybe it’ll return some dignity to the awards. Give them a little more meaning.
I have more thoughts on the specific awards, but drawing and coloring the crowd scenes in today’s comic kind of took it out of me. I’ll be back later with more.
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Episode III is definitely the best of the prequels, both visually and story-wise. I was very entertained. That being said, here it what bothered me:
5) R2-D2’s Acrobatics – Most awesome, but it left we wondering why didn’t he use any of those skills in IV, V, or VI. This one is forgiveable though, because of the height of the X-Wings compared to the ships in III and the fact that R2 has always done enough to save himself and others. Why show off if it isn’t needed? Though Yoda and Obi Wan’s age progression explains the reason they are less acrobatic, this one is less obvious.
4) Dialogue – I am lying a little here, because the dialogue didn’t bother me that much. Some of the catch phrases stood out a little too much maybe, with the actors practically winking at the camera during the lines “I have a bad feeling about this!” but again, forgivable. The dialogue was fairly in league with the rest of the series.
3) Acting – Improved from Episode II. Still not great in many aspects, with the exceptions Tom mentioned above.
2) and 1) Blown Secrets – Okay, now for what really bothered me and the reason I am posting today. The last fifteen minutes of the movie blew at least two secrets from the original trilogy. Episode III seems to assume that everyone has seen IV, V, and VI. Of course, today, most people have. But future generations watching the films in numerical order are going to think that IV, V, and VI are lame because Episode III: Blew the secret that #2) Vader is the Father of Luke and #1) Luke and Leia are twin siblings. I think this would have been best left shrouded in mystery – We could have heard a baby crying and fans would know without having two of the bigger plot revelations screwed up.
Plus, couldn’t at least one of the Jedi sense the twins? Maybe that is getting too personal?
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It’s been interesting to read some of the e-mails and reactions to today’s comic. I must say, I don’t think there’s anything I’ve ever done that’s generated as much response as the "Not Gay" seat.
I’m not complaining, mind you. The fact that people are talking about it and e-mailing me shows that you care!
A lot of people have written in to tell me that I am only exposing one side of the story. "There is another reason men aren’t sitting next to each other!" they say. Over the course of the day, these arguments have formed into what I like to call "The Double Armrest Theory."
Some people say that if they go to a movie with their buddies and the theater is packed, they have no problem pulling up a chair next to them. But if there is room to spread out, why not take advantage of it? You get two armrests and you’re not squished together.
I can understand this line of logic. I certainly wouldn’t begrudge anyone their personal space. But, like everything in life, it’s all about context. Through m y particular filter – and based partially off the experience I shared earlier – if one was to go to the effort of going to a movie with a friend and then sitting away from that person during said activity… Well, it just seems kind of rude to me. Sort of like going to lunch with somone, but sitting at another table. In the "Not Gay" movie theater example, I think the fact that it’s only one chair that separates people who clearly arrived together only further emphasises the situation. If you REALLY valued your personal space, you’d sit two or three rows back. Or, more resourcefully, not arrived with anyone at all.
Some of the feedback I’ve gotten has been somewhat defensive. I should probably mention that all of it has come from guys. Look, fellas. I didn’t mean to put any of you on the spot. I certainly didn’t mean to suggest that because you appreciate a little elbow room that you might be a homophobe. So if it makes you feel any better, look at my explaination as a critique on manners and not on the paranoia of sexual orientation. Tossing in the whole "Not Gay" moniker was just a clever spin on what seems to be an otherwise everyday occurance in movie theaters around the globe. Maybe if you framed it within the context of Dave Barry’s essay about the Every Other Urinal Rule will the concept come into clearer focus.
Whatever your opinion, it’s clear that I’ve touched a nerve with today’s comic and of that I’m proud. If I can find universal themes within the context of the movie-going experience for you guys to enjoy, then I feel I’ve really done my job. Thanks for your letters and keep sending them in!
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I was reading this article over at Reality Blurred that reports that Survivor creator and executive producer Mark Burnett will produce a live broadcast of this year’s 16th annual MTV Movie Awards this June.
I’m not exactly sure why I find this significant other than when I was 13 and MTV was still relevant to me, I used to think the MTV Movie Awards was some of the most subversive stuff going on. At the time, there wasn’t the proliferation of superfluous awards shows like there are today (perhaps MTV is to blame for this) but what they were doing at the time with this broadcast was a wonderful way to undercut the seriousness of ceremonies like the Oscars, which were anything but fun to watch.
I loved how MTV spiced things up by doing sketches about the Best Film nominees during the program. The Brady Bunch re-enacting the famous interrogation scene from Basic Instinct and Will Ferrell giving Justin Timberlake and Sean William Scott a run for their money as The Architect from The Matrix Reloaded (“Ergo! Vis a Vis! Concordently!“)were stand-out classics.
But somewhere along the line, the MTV Movie Awards lost their way. They started pre-taping the awards ceremony and by the next day, all the “winners” were online – totally removing any need for me to see it. I never really cared who won the awards. I just liked the spontaneous vibe of it all. The celebrities didn’t care because it was MTV, so they could kind of do what they wanted. Sort of like The Golden Globes, who have since adopted an “anything goes” mantra by allowing alcohol at the tables in the hall to get celebrities good and liquored up before they take the podium.
At any rate, I was pleased to hear Burnett was returning to the live format. I may actually have to watch it this year. But I will have to be discreet. I don’t want to tip off the Cool Police who will no doubt kick my door down and drag me out onto the sidewalk for a beat down using their Blackberry’s. I’m too old to be watching MTV officially.
What’s your favorite MTV Movie Awards moment (if you have one?)
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Have I entered into a phase where only visual gags will serve as the punchline? Perhaps after coming off such a long storyline, I’ve lost interest in having my characters actually speak for a while.
Even though today’s comic is a continuation of Monday’s comic, I really have nothing more to say about Watchmen.
The response to my review generated a lot of feedback in the comments area. People left some very interesting opinions. Some of you agreed with me, some of you didn’t. Some of you even exposed me to some new ideas and pointed out the hypocrisy of a few of my statements.
All things said, it was exactly the kind of debate I wanted to have about the movie and everyone was well behaved. So, thank you.
But, yeah. I’m all Watchmen’d out. We expressed our exhaustion a little bit during The Triple Feature on Monday.
After answering a reader question, I don’t think any of us were all that excited to start talking about the movie because we had spent the better part of the day hovering around the internet, explaining and defending our positions. It didn’t even help that we were largely aligned in our impressions of the film. I think we all felt beat about the head from it.
Still, I think we produced a very good show from our conversation. You should download it and give it a listen if you have time.
Something else you might be interested in… I’ve started to use Ustream to capture the comic-making process and recorded a session last night. You can download it here.
The set up is simple enough. My webcam captures the work I do on screen while a little picture-in-picture at the bottom right hand corner shows my ugly mug while I do my best to narrate what I’m doing.
The interface includes a chat field so people watching in real time can leave comments. I respond to some of what they’re saying there as well.
You can watch me work on the comic live every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evening. I don’t really have a set schedule for when I sit down and start working, but it’s typically after 10:00 PM CST. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll likely see a notice to let you know when I’m broadcasting. Otherwise, if you miss it, you can watch the recording later from my Ustream account page, where everything will be archived.
If you’ve ever been interested to learn how I put the comic together, these recordings might provide you with some insight. And if you want to ask me questions about my process as I’m producing the comic, you now have that opportunity as well!
Just thought you might like to know.
No other news today so I’ll leave you with that. The weekend is almost here! Hang in there and I’ll talk to you soon!
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