Archive for September, 2003
26 items.
Cami wanted me to make it clear to you that in no way, shape or form does she advocate the viewing of any film featuring Haley Joel Osmet in his current state. That state, of course, being a freaky adolescent.
Cami actually had the same reaction I did when we first saw the trailer for Secondhand Lions. Recoiling in our seats, a twisted sneer across our faces we both said “Ugh!”
Watching a child star work his or her way through puberty is always a really uncomfortable metamorphose to witness. I think the transformation is particularly cruel for young male actors because for so long they have been marketed as cute and are now trying to grow beyond it literally and figuratively.
I thought Haley Joel Osment had figured out a really smart way around it by doing a bunch of voice over work in animated fare like The Jungle Book 2 and video games like Kingdom Hearts. He must have felt comfortable enough to return to the screen in Secondhand Lions seeing as it’s his first live-action film since A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.
My reaction? Put him back in the oven! He’s not done yet!
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Cami and I were actually excited to see Cold Creek Manor this weekend, but if its 5th place showing at the box office was any indication, the rest of the nation figured out its horrible secret just like we did.
The previews for this movie made it look like a classic haunted house story – which I’m always up for. Poltergeist, for example, is one of my favorite movies.
Instead, after reading several reviews, the plot was revealed to be some kind of country bumpkin vs. city slicker stalker fantasy in the vein of Cape Fear.
I’ll buy Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone as the beleaguered gothamites. But casting Stephen Dorff as the backwoods tormentor is laughable. That guy is L.A. to the bone. I guess they cast Juliette Lewis as his white trash girlfriend – but hasn’t she covered this territory before in movies like Natural Born Killers and, well Cape Fear?
I don’t know if there would have been as big a backlash if the producers of the film simply fessed up and cut the trailer that represented the movie they made. But I guess Hollywood thinks they can still pull the wool over our eyes.
What the hell happened to Mike Figgis? Back when he directed Leaving Las Vegas, people were holding him up as the next best thing. That was a great movie, and he comes back with this crap?
Dennis Quaid will survive. He still has momentum from The Rookie and an excellent turn in Far From Heaven.
Sharon Stone? Four years after The Muse and Gloria, she still can’t pick a lead role to save her life. Here’s hoping her supporting performance in the forthcoming Catwoman will treat us to the icy sex queen we come to know and love.
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I don’t know if today’s strip is too violent or too abrupt and I don’t even know where Tom would get his hands on a battle-axe, but the whole idea seemed like a riot to me. Plus, I love to write strips where I get to freak out.
So it’s true the latest, greatest trailer for The Matrix Revolutions has hit the airwaves. I saw it on TV last night.
I have to admit, when I first saw it on screen, I thought it was an ad for the release of The Matrix Reloaded on DVD. Isn’t that supposed to be coming out soon? October 14, as I recall.
I don’t know if it bodes particularly well if hard-core fans (like myself) are confusing Revolutions with Reloaded. Maybe it’s because they’re releasing them so close together. Maybe they just needed to send a different message instead of blasting us with more video-game like imagery.
Part of me thinks that the release of this trailer is pretty convenient. Especially when you consider that New Line has been advertising the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King trailer in front of Secondhand Lions this weekend. Dear Lord. It’s like the trailers are as big of an event as the actual movie!
Of course, if you don’t have time this weekend to wait for the Matrix Revolutions trailer to magically appear on your TV, I’ve provided this handy-dandy link for you to see it now.
Be sure to stop back later. I have some site-related news to share with everyone.
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I must admit, when I saw the trailer for The Matrix Revolutions, I got goosebumps. My inner geek dialed up to eleven. (That is one more than ten.) Though I was disappointed in the last installment of the series, the Wachowski Brothers will not be disappointed when I pay my $7.75 to experience the revolution.
Patti and I rented The Wash, due to her fixation with Pauly Shore. I knew his appearance would be brief, so I warned her before we started the flick. Indeed, his performance was limited to a short cameo. This film did not stretch any barriers. If you are a fan of the genre, (goofball chronic smokin’ booty pimp comedy-mystery rapper films)you may enjoy it, otherwise your time is probably better spent watching Friday.
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As most of you are aware, next week I will be attending the Minnesota FallCon in the lovely city of St. Paul (soon I’ll be placing a banner to this effect so you’ll NEVER FORGET!)
But it dawned on me that probably 90% of the people at this con aren’t going to know who I am. I’d better pack some materials to introduce people to Theater Hopper.
What I plan on doing is just printing out a few strips and placing them in a binder for people to flip through when they stop by. Here’s where I need your help:
Help me pick which strips to include!
I think I have a pretty good idea what is funny and what isn’t, but often I get messages from people telling me “That strip was hilarious!” or “That strip was lame” and find myself diametrically opposed. So I’ve decided to remove myself from the process of selection.
If you can e-mail me your favorite strips or storylines, that would be great. If you’re interested in leaving feedback in the forum, there’s a thread already in place for that. Thanks!
POSTERS
Phase Two of my convention plan: Merchandising.
At the convention, I plan on selling two posters. The cast shot that I am currently selling at the site, and a BRAND NEW poster that visitors to the con will take first crack at.
It’s entirely possible that I could sell out of the first poster because there are only 30 left. So if it ever occurred to you to buy one of our first edition posters, now is the time to do it before they’re all gone. If I sell out at the convention, you’ll be S.O.L. because they will never again be reproduced.
If you’d like to order a poster, click here for more information.
This is one half of the news I wanted to give you. Check back a little later for some info about some possible downtime Theater Hopper could experience.
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Sep29
The events in today’s strip are 100% true. Cami and I did go to see Lost in Translation on Friday night and the picture was out of frame for nearly 3/4ths of the movie.
Why didn’t I go into the lobby and try to find an employee to fix it? The answer to that question, dear reader, will be revealed on Wednesday. In fact, the rest of the week will be devoted to this grand annoyance.
Maybe it’s a little cheap to take a real life event and stretch it across a full week of content – but frankly, I find this kind of lackluster presentation disgusting. Since I have a forum unto which I can air my grievances, I plan on doing just that.
I apologize if all the strips aren’t “piss-your-pants” funny. But perhaps you can appreciate them on a observational level.
It just that indie theaters are supposed to be the last refuge from this kind of laziness. Art houses are supposed to cater to the kind of people who actually CARE about movies – about content, presentation and quality! Now we’re getting the shaft in our last safe haven? Where else can we turn?
What I managed to watch of Lost in Translation, I immediately liked. I knew half way through that I would probably see the film again (if it ever comes to another theater) and would instantly own it on DVD once it becomes available.
Bill Murray’s performance was heartbreaking. I won’t give away any particular scenes, but in several of them, he does such great emoting with his eyes and his expressions, you know exactly how his character is feeling. If people cried foul when the Academy didn’t nominate him from Rushmore, they’ll riot in the streets if he doesn’t get a nod from Translation.
The movie does a great job of interpreting the experience of travel in a different country – how it can be both exhilarating and terrifying.
Tokyo was a city I’ve wanted to go to all my life. While I was watching the movie, I didn’t want to go there anymore. Through the characters eyes, it’s a very scary place. Very busy. Very loud.
But as things progressed, I grew comfortable in the surroundings just like the characters. Now I want to go there more than ever.
I’m going to cut the blog short for now because there are still things I want to talk about for Wednesday and Friday. Plus, I’m working on a great poster for FallCon in Minnesota this Saturday and Sunday. Did I mention I was going to that? I am.
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