Posts Tagged ‘war’
3 items.
Nov26
I know there probably won’t be as many people visiting the site today since it’s the day after a holiday. But if you managed to make it to the site today for a dose of funny, I applaud your for your vigilance.
For those of you who are part of our international audience, it occurred to me that you might not be familiar with what “Black Friday” is. Essentially it’s the start of the Christmas buying season in America. It’s the day where retailers have insane sales on all their merchandise and open their stores at five in the morning to try and get a jump on their competitors. Suburban housewives become deal-seeking warriors who claw and scratch for savings. That’s why the comic is funny for me. Heading out into a shopping center on Black Friday kind of *IS* like preparing for war.
Incidentally there are a bunch of movies already with the title Black Friday. But the only one on the IMDB that I thought was worth mentioning was this one starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi from 1940. It’s pretty much a horror story about bad science gone wrong when Karloff implants part of a dead gangster’s brain into a friend who is dying. The result are Jeckll and Hyde mood swings and the half million dollars the gangster has squirreled away. I haven’t seen this movie, but now I’m thinking maybe I should!
Don’t forget that shirts are back on sale. The new “Professional Movie Goer” shirt and hoodie, the “Truman in a Purse” baby doll and – in what looks to be a classic – the “Spoiler” shirt and hoodie which are being offered for a second time.
I know you also don’t want to forget our weekly community event we call The Friday Five that’s being hosted in The THorum. Participating is easy! Just sign up for a THorum account. We ask you five questions, you answer them! It’s a great way to introduce yourself to the community and learn something about the people that are already there! Check it out!
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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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Today’s comic takes a complicated issue and forces it through a prisim where things are black and white. I suppose those are the limitations of a four panel strip. Concordantly, I know the punchline isn’t exactly “LMAO.”
But sometimes an issue kind of sticks in your brain and you tackle it the best way you know how. Thank goodness there is a blog to accompany things. Otherwise, I fear you might be left adrift.
I was thinking about The Kingdom being released on Friday and how it’s one of only a handful of post 9/11 movies that treats the conflict in the middle east as action movie fodder. More often than not, movies about the war on terror have centered around the politics that got us there like Syriana, the misgivings of war through parabal like Jarhead or the aftermath and heartbreak of war like A Mighty Heart or The Valley of Eljah. That’s fine. I understand where these films are coming from. They’re holding up a mirror to our times. I get it.
That’s why it’s interesting to me that director Peter Berg is approaching this powder keg with guns blazing and as pure action movie entertainment. I can hardly recall any movie that has put the crosshairs so squarely on “the enemy” in the middle east. No movie leaps to mind with a “Give ’em hell!” gung ho spirit in this regard. It’s like when John Wayne made the only pro-Vietnam movie with The Green Berets, or something. Granted, I haven’t seen The Kingdom yet. It’s very possible that the first two acts are a thoughtful dissertation of our presence in the region and what a quagmire it’s become.
But I’ve also read enough advanced reviews to know that there is supposedly a “kick ass” shootout at the end of the movie. One so poetic in it’s violence, that will be the reason people go to see it because that will be the last impression that’s been made on the people leaving the theaters. I can almost promise anything that comes before the third act will blow away like sand over a dune.
I’m not trying to make a political statement. I’m not trying to make a statement about art. But I am asking questions about us – the audience – and our taste for these sorts of things. As far as I know, the war on terror is still happening. Is it right to digest this kind of thing as entertainment when there are men and women dying in another country? I mean, I never really got over the fact that Medal of Honor was such a popular video game because it allowed you to recreate The Battle of Normandy in shocking, realistic detail. That was a historical event. It actually happened. Tens of thousands died. And it’s entertainment?
Maybe I’m not one to talk. After all, I’m running a contest where I’m giving away prizes to help promote The Kingdom. Am I being completely hypocritical? Possibly.
But I’m not here to solve the problem. I’m just posing the question.
Speaking of which…
First of all apologies to anyone who tried to participate in or download last night’s Triple Feature talkcast. Gordon and I ran into some technical difficulties around the 15 minute mark and decided to scrap the show after neither of us could log back in. You wouldn’t have missed much. Joe was M.I.A. because he got to attend an early screening of American Gangster and neither Gordon or I had much to talk about. We were pretty much going to wing it. There weren’t that many people in the chat field, either. I think everyone was off watching the premiere of Heroes, or something.
At any rate, you don’t have to worry about getting one half of the code from the talkcast and the other here today. I’m just going to give you the whole thing right now: “KING’S RANSOM”
So now all you have to do is e-mail me the code along with your name and mailing address and you’ll be enterted for a chance to win a prize package for The Kingdom that includes full-sized poster, hat, t-shirt, mini notepad, and jacket. Winners will be chosen at random. Good luck everyone!
I also have another contest running at the moment. I posted it yesterday along with my 30 Rock: Season One DVD review, but I’m worried a few of you missed it – so I’m posting it again.
I have two copies of Stargate Atlantis: Season Three to give away and I’m going to make you work a little bit to be eligible to win.
All I need you to do is pick your favorite three Theater Hopper strips (use the archive to help you find them) and submit them to your favorite social bookmarking site. It could be StumbleUpon, it could be Reddit, it could be Digg. Whatever works best for you.
If you’re new to social bookmarking, you can use the handy little drop down at the bottom of this post. Be sure you’re on the individual page you want to bookmark before tagging it.
Once you’ve bookmarked your three favorite strips to the social bookmarking site of your choice, send a screen shot or a link to your profile page so I can see your entries to me at theaterhopper@hotmail.com along with your name and mailing address. You have until this Friday to enter. From the entries, two winners will be chosen at random.
Hopefully you guys appreciate that I’m just trying to drum up some interest in the site and it’s really not that much effort for a chance to win something cool. Your efforts help promote the site and ,when that happens, everyone wins!
Get bookmarking and good luck!
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