Archive for July, 2003
30 items.
If you think the gold teeth reference in today’s comic is bollocks, do some research. There are interviews with Johnny Depp everywhere and the rumor that he actually went to a dentist to have gold caps put on his teeth is positively true.
SO true, in fact, producer Jerry Bruckheimer asked him to go back and remove a few of them because he felt they were distracting. That Jerry. Always ruining Johnny’s fun.
If you’re reading any of the interviews that discuss the gold teeth, then no doubt you’re also picking up information on how Johnny Deep put such an indelible mark on the character of Jack Sparrow.
Reasoning that pirates were the rock stars of their day, Depp modeled Sparrow after Rolling Stone ax man (and possible candidate for the undead) Keith Richards. He nails it – down to the misplaced center of gravity and slurred speech. Brilliant.
This is what I love about Johnny Depp. He finds the small nuances in characters, explores them and then flaunts them freely. Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow, for example. It was never included in the script that the character was squeamish. That was Depp’s innovation and it added a neat layer to his idiosyncratic behavior. I swear the man is a revelation.
I saw Pirates of the Caribbean on opening night this Wednesday. I don’t know how much I need to go into it because I’m considering writing up a full review.
I will say that I haven’t seen a movie yet this year that is generating the kind of positive word of mouth that this movie has. Everywhere I go, people ask if I’ve seen it. When I tell them I have, they light up. Everyone wants to talk about it. This is the kind of reaction The Matrix Reloaded and Terminator 3 wish wish they had.
It’s kind of an interesting phenomenon to watch. If any of you have seen Mouse Hunt or The Mexican, I don’t think anyone would have picked director Gore Verbinski as the next big thing. But following up The Ring with Pirates cements it for me. This guy has a great visual style. His art direction is top shelf.
I’m seeing The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen tonight with Cami, my sister-in-law and her friend. I’m a little scared to go. I want it to be good, but I’m not holding my breath. I guess if it’s dead on arrival, I’ll just catch a late show of Pirates to restore my faith in movies. This thing is going to be huge – mark my words.
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Well, it’s moving day in Jaredandpattiland. The movers have completed their duties and we are left whith piles of stuff. Now we just have to figure out where to put everything. That’s the fun part, but I am anxiously awaiting the day when I can relax and start living a “normal” life again.
Last night I was cleaning red paint rollers in the bathtub and red water began creeping up from the basement drain. I was a bit crazed as I ran through K-Mart at 9:55, trying to locate shop towels and a plunger. The old man I asked to assist me in procuring these items tried to show me some sort of super plunger, but I just grabbed the cheap kind, said “thanks”, and rushed to make my purchases. Back at home, the red water had receeded, but moral was at an all time low.
I hope to catch Pirates of the Caribbean this weekend, but I’m not sure it will happen.
P.S. I am a big Johnny Depp fan, so I especially dig this strip!
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Real quick: It looks like Top Web Comics have sorted out whatever problems they were having this week, so if you could pass along some vote love, that would be great.
Johnny Depp says that pirates were the rock stars of their day. I say with all the hair, trinkets and eye-liner, they were something else.
Just kiddin’, y’all. Only having a little fun.
I’m continuing to talk about Pirates of the Caribbean despite the fact I saw it nearly a week ago because the less said about The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the better.
I saw the movie on Friday and (unlike some other people) hated, hated, hated it. At some point I really need to sit down and hammer out a review of both films, actually. But LXG ESPECIALLY.
The movie was wrong on so many levels. The editing was disjointed and distracting. No one had motivation to do anything! I’m sure there is a cohesive effort buried in there somewhere, it just didn’t make it to the screen.
Reportedly Sean Connery had a lot of influence over the editing after his falling out with Steven Norrington. If that’s the case, he botched it. I’m very interested in how they plan to compile the DVD commentary track.
I promise I’ll produce a more in-depth review. From the looks of the new releases this week, I’ll have some time on my hands. Bad Boys II, How to Deal, and Johnny English? Blech.
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Jul16
I’m a sensible guy. In the real world, you wouldn’t catch me dead at Michael Bay’s latest “my-wang-is-too-small-so-I-blow-stuff-up” opus, Bad Boys II.
But if you’ve seen the trailer, then you know Half-Animal/Half-Machine Henry Rollins has a cameo. I know I’ll catch flack for it, but I’m a big fan of ALL things Rollins. I have all his CD’s, most of his books and I have some stuff signed. I’ve seen him do a handful of spoken word shows and am generally captivated by the man, his ingenutity and his ambition.
For a lot of people, Rollins is a polarizing character. Born out of the hardcore D.C. scene of the late 70’s and early 80’s, people still try to pin the “sell-out” tag on him – if only for the symbolic nature of what a label represents in those circles.
The man is tireless. Over 40, he does more in a single month than most artists can muster to produce in a year. I think if you can look past the burly exterior, the tattoos, muscles and veins like ripcord, you’ll find an extremely intelligent indivdual with several valuable opinions about our cultural state of mind.
Skip over the music if you’re so inclinded and check out his spoken word albums. The Boxed Life is a personal favorite. For more information on Rollins, visit 21361.com.
Okay, I know hardly any of that was movie releated. So, pressing on.
Yes. Bad Boys II. I don’t plan on seeing it. Probably never will. I never saw the first one based on my firm observation that Martin Lawrence is a jackass I cannot tolerate. Sad to say, but Will Smith has been creeping into that category in the last couple of years. That’s a shame. I used to really like him. Whatever happened to our Fresh Prince of Bel Air?
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I was checking my site statistic logs this morning and nearly fell out of my chair when I saw I had received over 1,000 hits before 9 AM.
Then I checked the referrals and learned they were all coming from Ctrl+Alt+Del. I did a guest strip for Absath and I guess he put it up.
I kind of wish I would have known this was happening today. I feel like the host of a party and the house is a mess and my hair is still wet because I just got out of the shower and the rump roast is burning in the oven and… JETSON! YOU’RE FIRED!
In any case, I open my doors to the fans of Ctrl+Alt+Del. Please feel free to look around. Start at the begining, if you like. I hope you enjoy your stay.
Just please try to refrain from making out in the coat closet. However, if you like what you see and could extend me a little vote love over at Top Web Comics, I might look the other way!
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I thought it was odd that just as I was doing a comic about Henry Rollins that I should catch a rerun of his performance on Sessions at W 54th on Trio last night. It seems a little too obscure to be coincidence…
I must be tapped into The Force, or something…
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Tom Hanks laughs hysterically at a huge hole in his floor. I feel comforted. Watching the Money Pit was just what I needed. The plumber has left and I am no longer in danger of flooding my basement with raw sewage. A bright orange extension cord runs from the bedroom, across the dining room, and into the kitchen. This powers the refrigerator, which holds tasty morsels of food we cannot eat. The rest of the kitchen is without power. The might of The George Foreman Grill knocked out our breaker like it was a blind superflyweight senior citizen.
The electrician is coming later. In the meantime, we will just eat out. Again.
Our new house is cool, ‘cause – hey, it’s a house! But I think our checkbook has a hole in it.
Anyway, I watched 18 Again. It was fairly entertaining. The kid acting like George Burns reminded me of my friend Tanner Taylor, the Minneapolis piano player. To our readers in the Twin Cities, you should really check him out, he’s great.
I have discovered a new proverbial candy store: Video Warehouse. They have so many movies there that I have not seen. I plan to rent a mother load this weekend. My wife is traveling to the commonwealth of Kentucky, so I get to go on a movie binge. I’ll let you know next week how it works out.
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Yes Tom, as it turns out, there are four states in the union who think they are too cool to be called states. Kentucky is one of them.
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I don’t have a lot to say in today’s blog other than it’s been one hell of a week and I’m glad it’s almost over.
I’m not planning on seeing any of this week’s new releases. Despite my never-ending admiration for all things Rollins, I actually WON’T be seeing Bad Boys II.
I have pretty strong opinion about Michael Bay movies. While you can’t deny they man has a keen visual sense, each one of his films pitches to the lowest common denominator. I won’t support that with my movie-going dollar. I doubt I could even enjoy it on an ironic level.
And besides, like I said, this week has been hell. I could stand for a more quiet, introspective affair. I need to see if Whale Rider is playing at any of the local art houses. I’ve heard good things.
I was surprised at the amount of positive mail I received regarding my Rollins affliction. Apparently there are a lot of other people out there suffering in the same way. It’s good to know I’m not alone. 😉
Real quick: You might notice that the number of posters are dwindling. Slowly, but surely my stock of posters is ebbing away. You really need to put your order in now. Do it before it’s too late – cuz once they’re gone, they’re gone.
As always, if you want to pay by check, cash or money order, fire off an e-mail to theaterhopper@hotmail.com and I’ll tell you where to send your payment by snail mail.
I’ll cap the blog here for now, but maybe Jared will log in with more anecdotes about his new house. I enjoy our small exchanges about the commonwealth status of states on the Eastern seaboard, don’t you?
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