Posts Tagged ‘Will Smith’
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Today’s joke is kind of hacky, but I don’t care. I’ve been saving up for this one ever since I learned that the original title to Hancock was Tonight, He Comes. I’d like to pretend I’m a little more high-minded than that and wouldn’t stoop to the level of some obvious, crude sexual reference.
But that would be a lie.
I’m sorry folks, but you don’t put words like "Hancock" and "Tonight, He Comes" in the same paragraph together before some juvenile idiot wanders along and makes a comment about it.
I’m happy to be that idiot.
As for Hancock itself, I’m probably not going to see it. Chalk it up to a couple of reasons. Primarily disinterest from when I saw the first trailer. It just looked too cheesy. Subsequent trailers gave me hope, but it’s been getting pounded by critics who say the film completely derails itself in the second act, so my enthusiasm has waned.
I guess to add insult to injury, I’m just not a big fan of Will Smith. At least not the Will Smith on display here. I understand that he starts the film playing someone unlikable, but you know it’s only a matter of time before he turns on that "Big Willie Charm" that’s been so effective for him in other movies. I don’t deny that it’s a big part of his appeal. I’m just not buying what he’s selling. If I want a dose of his particular brand of charisma, I can turn on an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air in syndication any day of the week. If I went to see Hancock, it would be more to see what Jason Bateman is doing than what Smith is peddling.
I didn’t bother to see either I, Robot or I Am Legend in theaters mostly because I’ve had my fill of Smith’s sci-fi pandering since Men in Black and Independence Day. I’m much more interested in Smith when he lays something on the line emotionally as an actor. I know that he has it in him. Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness proves it. But whenever I see Smith in some brainless blockbuster, I tune out. I get the sense that he’s coasting.
I don’t mean to discredit the guy or anything. He’s clearly worked hard to get where he is and he’s simply one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood today. No small feat. I don’t expect the guy to be Sydney Poitier, I’m just more enamored with Smith when he’s being sincere and less so when he’s putting up an “aw, shucks” front.
I suppose you can toss in a little contrariness in there as well. When so many people are so overwhelming supportive of a particular actor, I tend to throw rocks at the throne. It’s just the way I’m wired.
At any case, as of this writing on Thursday evening, I’m walking out the door to catch a late showing of Wall-E with Cami. We’ve been looking forward to it all night. My sister-in-law is hanging out at our house to watch over Henry while we’re away.
In real time – Friday – happy 4th of July to all my American readers and to everyone else… well… have a great weekend!
See you Monday!
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I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing with the punchline of today’s comic or why I decided to throw in a very timely reference to Cool Hand Luke. I think I’m trying to maintain a level of wackiness and randomness that is simply not sustainable. If you want to read a funnier comic about Hancock, check out Joe Loves Crappy Movies. Their comic has references to Kate & Leopold, Themla & Louise AND Mallrats! View it here.
Oh, well. At least The Paper looks kind of good rendered like that.
Hancock was the big box office winner over the 4th of July holiday with a $66 million take. I kind of rolled my eyes when I heard the news. For the reason why, read my anti-Will Smith rant from Friday.
This is completely petty, but I was kind of hoping it would fail. Or, in the very least, not outpace Wall-E by two to one. Wall-E took in $33 million, down almost 50% from it’s opening weekend.
Cami and I finally had an opportunity to see Wall-E on Friday and I am over the moon about it. Without a doubt one of the smartest Pixar movies to date. I don’t even feel like I can review it properly because I’m still kind of processing it.
The film is a visual feast and looks almost photo-realistic in parts. If you go back and compare Wall-E against Toy Story, it makes Pixar’s first attempt look absolutely plastic by comparison. And, yes – I know the movie is about toys made of plastic, but you know what I mean. It looks lifeless. Even roaming around on a dead planet, Wall-E’s environments look more thorough, alive and immersive than anything Pixar has done to date.
I question whether the movies themes about environmental responsibility, personal accountability, the over-reliance of technology and the threats of mass consumerism run amok goes over the head of children. I don’t meant to marginalize Wall-E with the stigma of being “a chlidren’s film” The success of Pixar’s formula has always been scripts that pitch their concepts a little higher than your average animated fare. But with Wall-E, have the overshot the target completely?
Kids are smarter than we give them credit for and understand much more than we recognize, but I still think an adult will find Wall-E more cinematically nutritious than a child would find entertaining. There are LARGE gaps in the story where there is *no* dialogue being exchanged and 20 minutes of nothing happening can feel like an eternity to a kid.
All I know is, Wall-E is a movie that I’m going to have to see twice because I was getting to lost in the universe director Andrew Stanton created, I fear there were details that I missed. Any movie that creates a world as epic as Wall-E and entices you to come back to revisit it deserves a second look. Never mind the fact that Pixar basically got me to become emotionally invested in robots. Inanimate objects! AGAIN! How do they do it?
We neglected to share too many specifics when Gordon and I talked about Wall-E last week on The Triple Feature. We wanted to hold back a little bit until both Joe and I had seen it because we mutually felt that we’d be on the same page with our reactions. With a week and a holiday under out belt and recovered from Wizard World Chicago, I think we’re ready for the deep dive this week.
Be sure to listen to The Triple Feature tonight at 9:00 PM CST at TalkShoe.com as we talk more about Wall-E, Wanted and, of course, Hancock.
See you there!
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Sep17
GUEST STRIP – RYAN ESTRADA
September 17th, 2008 |- Comics »
- Comics »
- Guest Strip
(7 votes, average: 6.71 out of 10)
Do not adjust the internet. Ryan Estrada has taken over. Your regularly scheduled Theater Hopper will resume on Friday.
Hat’s off to Ryan Estrada and his wholesale hijacking of this comic and every other. I always get a kick out of seeing Ryan make his mark in this way and am more than happy to play along. Hey, it gives a night off!
So what have I been doing with my night off? Well, I was watching Speed Racer, which came out on DVD yesterday (expect a full review in the near future). I’m kind of kicking myself that I didn’t see this in the theater because I’m now a big fan of the visual style. But you know how it goes… They bungled the advertising on this thing – couldn’t decide if it was supposed to be a blockbuster or a kid’s movie (for the record, it’s for kids). Plus, The Wachowski’s kind of pissed away their cred after the third Matrix movie.
But, yeah… the movie is a visual feast.
Then again, I’m only half way through it… which was actually going to be my next complaint. For a movie that’s supposed to be all about speed, it’s ponderously slow with it’s pacing. So we’ll see how the second act turns out. I don’t want to give up too much of my review just yet!
Short and sweet today, guys. That’s all I have for you. I’ll see you here on Friday with a brand new comic!
Have a great day!
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I’ve talked about this in the past, but I’m not much of a Will Smith fan. It’s one of those irrational dislikes similar to Ben Affleck or Shia LaBeouf. I kind of stay quite about it and don’t exploit it for the comic because I know I am in the minority on this one.
How could anyone hate Will Smith? Well, “hate” is a strong word, but, generally, he creeps me out. I’m impressed with his story and how he found his way to fame. I think he manages his career very carefully and is smart about his choices. He stays out of trouble and promotes an uplifting example to others. But I simply don’t trust anyone who is that happy all all of the time. Sometimes it seems genuine, other times it seems fake. I’m not talking about his movie roles. Which, to his credit, seem to be taking a darker turn lately. Just watch the guy in interviews sometime and tell me it isn’t exhausting.
It’s probably just sour grapes. If I starred in a string of hits that have earned more than $100 million at the box office over the last 12 years, I probably wouldn’t have much to complain about, either. I should probably just stick to talking about his movies anyway.
I’ll admit that when I saw the trailer for Seven Pounds that I was sucked in by the mystery of the title. The trailer was also very tense and very well put together. But the more I thought about it, the more it started to look like The Pursuit of Happyness II – Get Happy. Maybe that’s deliberate as both movies share the same director in Gabriele Muccino. After reading movie blogs for a while, people started to guess what the title refers to and a few of them fell into place. I lost interest after that. It’s almost as if they knew the mystery behind the title was their biggest bargaining chip.
Reviews for Seven Pounds have been largely negative. Many critics are attacking it for being at once schmaltzy and ghoulish. Some say Smith is pandering for an Oscar (he may have missed his best chance after Ali). Ultimately, this one looks like a no-go.
I’m not exactly happy about that, in case you thought I was celebrating, or something. I saw The Pursuit of Happyness in theaters and liked it. But my radar was beeping on Seven Pounds. Something felt a little off about it and now I think I understand what it is. Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.
That’s all for me today. Thanks for stopping by and I’ll see you again on Monday!
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It’s been almost a decade since the disappointment that was Men In Black 2 (hey, that’s what you get when you cast Johnny Knoxville as comedic relief!) so it seems weird to me now that they’re unfolding Men In Black 3 next year.
More importantly, is it not weird to anyone else that neither Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones have aged that much in the last decade?
Then again, it seems like Tommy Lee Jones has been perpetually 55. At least since The Fugitive in 1993. So he probably made a deal with a warlock, or something.
Check out the new trailer below.
Josh Brolin’s impersonation of Tommy Lee Jones looks to be spot-on. But between this and his performance as President George Bush in Oliver Stone’s W., I wonder if he’s becoming concerned that he’ll be typecast as an impersonator of Texas-bred celebrities.
I certainly would be.
What’s your reaction to Men In Black 3? The mystery element has me intrigued. The time-travel component screams pure “trope” to me. Will Smith seems to be delivering the same smarm act that he’s been peddling since he punched an alien in Independence Day.
I’m kind of wondering if they didn’t introduce the time-travel idea and Josh Brolin into the story as to give Tommy Lee Jones less screen time and prevent the audience from asking questions about his potential dealings with age-defying warlocks.
Just a theory.
Leave your comments below!
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