In the salad days, I was somewhat notorious for putting my characters in costumes on a fairly regular basis. I don't do it as often as I used to (which I kind of miss). But with today being All Hallow's Eve, I figured it would only be appropriate for one of my crew to don a mask for the sake of entertainment. Besides, it really seems to be the tradition within the community.
You have no idea how long I've been sitting on the concept for this comic. Pretty much since they announced that Jon Favreau's film adaptation of Iron Man was going in front of camera's this year. I'll be up front and admit that it was basically one big excuse for me to draw The Golden Avenger. It was just a matter of framing it within context. A Halloween comic was going to be my earliest opportunity. I'm a HUGE Iron Man fan. So as his movie draws closer and closer, you can expect to see Tom in his homemade Iron Man armor more and more.
I didn't really make much noise when the announced that Robert Downey, Jr. was going to be the man in the suit a few months ago. Again, context. But I think it's a smart choice. Especially considering Tom Cruise was interested in the project for years. Personally, I'm just glad Favreau is going with someone who can actually act instead of some pretty-boy flash in the pan. They could have just as easily gone with someone like Josh Hartnett.
Everyone cites Downey's personal experience with drugs, alcohol and addiction for being an excellent primer for him to play the Tony Stark as he was once famously depectied as a crumbling alcoholic. I think that's an unfair measure of his ability to play the character. True, he may be a little bit old to carry the playboy industrialist that Stark is supposed to be. But, at the same time, I think his age will be an asset to ground the character who has always being torn between what he thinks is right and what is popular.
The smartest move Favreau has made so far is making himself accessible through the Iron Man fan page on MySpace. He was smart enough to listen to the fans who suggested artist Adi Granov to do design work on the film. He was the last artist to have redesigned the Iron Man armor. He had a six-issue run on a title relaunch with Warren Ellis called "Extremis" that you can now get in hardcover. If you're interested in the character, his perspective as a futurist and a timely update to his origin, I strongly suggest you check it out. The writing is very sharp, but it's Granov's techno-organic digital pencils that bring it all together. It's amazing work.
At any rate, I'll quit geeking out on you and leave you to enjoy the holiday of tricks and treats.
I was telling Cami last night that I wished I had my own version of the Iron Man armor. I've actually discussed making a costume in real-life. I figure it can't be any more time consuming than it is for those guys who make their own Stormtrooper armor with homemade vacuum tables and body casts.
I should look into it...
Archive for October, 2006
There's probably a better joke to be had making fun of either Saw III or Babel. But frankly, I couldn't muster the creative juices because I couldn't bring myself to care about either film.
Saw III comes out this weekend and it's more of the same Rube Goldberg torture devices, excessive gore and puppetry. It's astonishing to me that they've made a new Saw film every year since the first one came out in 2004. At first, the success of Saw indicated that you could have a huge hit filmed for very little money and I was impressed by it's efficiency. But now, Hollywood knows a deal when they see one and it's become part of the machine, so to speak. They can keep churning out Saw films for next to no money and keep raking in huge box office. It's difficult not to be jaded about the whole thing.
Although I am not a fan of horror, Saw should have been right up my alley. I appreciate the complexity of the death traps and can realate more with a killer who views his victims to be as stupid and selfish as the audience does. This, as oppose to the usual slasher flick where the killer is pretty much killing because that's what the script demands. At least here they are miming some kind of psychological profile.
But at the same time, I view horror as one of the most disposable of genres. For every original movie Pyscho, Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th movie (and yes, even Saw), it's only a matter of time before it's dilluted into celluloid mush. Studios can crank out dozens of films at no cost because they can hire no-name actors for victims. You see what happens when they cast famous people. Since we've already identified with them as an audience for their exploits, the never get offed. There's nothing at stake and no thrills. So studios have learned to keep it cheap, keep it low to the ground and keep raking in the big bucks.
It's a little insulting to you as a viewer, if you think about it. Essentially it says, "You're not worth creating something that was more thought out."
Babel, on the other hand, seems to be death by introspection. While the concept of communication, the barriers to achieve it or the complete lack thereof is interesting conceptually, I have no interest in watching Brad Pitt and his stubble sweat it out in Morocco for two hours while Kate Blanchett cashes another check for depicting a woman bleeding out in a hut. It looks ponderously slow and IMPORTANT (!) and boring as all hell.
I'm fine with movies that make you think, but at the risk of sounding ignorant, I'm not a big fan of films set in the Third World. I don't know if it's because of the poverty they represent or just the phyical locations. But something about them just makes me uncomfortable. They never look like a place you would want to visit for 20 minutes let alone 2 hours. That dry, parched sensation. The grime. It's unsettling. That's probably the point, but if you're going to try and teach me about the difference between the haves and have-nots... well, there's no way for me to get out of this statement without sounding like a complete fool.
The more I think about it, I think it's just the desert locations. The barren nothingness. Truthfully, the scenes on Tatooine in the Star Wars movies are some of my least favorite for the same reason. Maybe I'm just turned off by hot temperatures?
At any rate, that's all I have for today. Don't forget that copies of "Theater Hopper: Year Two" arrived early and are in my hot little hands as we speak. Cami and I are doing our best to fill out envelopes and send off all the pre-orders before we go to Wizard World Texas on November 9. So if you'd like a copy for yourself, don't hesitate to order!
Have a great weekend!
THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS OF THE DAY!
by Tom on October 25, 2006 at 12:00 am I'm going to forego my little write-up of Saw III for the moment because I want to share with you a little picture...
I got a call from Josten's late last week telling me that copies of Year Two were finished and so to be delivered. Imagine my surprise when I came home yesterday evening and found about 16 large boxes stacked on my front porch!
It was more surprising than last time considering that I had to drive to the frieght distribution center to pick up all the books when they couldn't navigate their truck down my suburban street last time. I guess this time around there were no such problems!
I'm thrill that the books are in exactly two weeks early. That means Cami and I will be filling out envelops all this week getting set to ship off the books that everyone pre-ordered. Hopefully your pre-order was a little less agonizing the second time. I know it took us a while to turn around the first book.
But that's water under the bridge. "THEATER HOPPER - YEAR TWO" IS IN STOCK!!!
I'm beyond thrilled that these books are in my hands. I kept flipping through it all last night. This is the book where I started keeping high resolution files. You can really tell the difference from those I had to take from the web site. The low res comics are still legible. But the new comics are just astounding.
Remember, in addition to the comics with BRAND NEW commentary on each, there is a foreward by my wife Cami, guest strips from the era as well as over 80 sketches. I've also included a handy index that outlines all the movies I made fun of that year in alphabetical order with the page number next to them so you can find it in the book easily.
If you'd like to buy one, you can do so here. And if you haven't bought "Theater Hopper - Year One" yet, you can bundle both books together for $25 (plus shipping and handling).
Remember that all books will be signed by me! So if that's an incentive for you, I wanted to put that out there.
Thanks again to everyone for their support. I never would have thought it possible that I could produce TWO books this year, but you guys stood behind me and helped make it happen. I am completely humbled. THANK YOU!
Cami and I saw The Prestige on Saturday and it's still messing with my head. Good gravy, I love me some Christopher Nolan. I don't know what is about his directing style, be he shoots sceens like I envision them in my head. I don't know if that makes sense, but sometimes there are just directors that you vibe with. He has a big-budget sensibility, but it looks so effortless. Things aren't overladen with CGI and he doesn't look like he's trying to force something visually. He's the anit-Michael Bay. He shoots films like someone who is confident in their ability. I really dig his work.
Of course, half of the Nolan mystique is the material he chooses and The Prestige is pure gold. I loved the twists and turns. I loved that the showed you how some of the more simple tricks were done. It really sets you up for the larger tricks and leaves you scratching your head.
Like Memento, Nolan does a great job playing with time. Leaping backward and foreward through the narrative, he uses the diary entries of the two leads to tell the story. It takes a deft hand to tell the story almost entirely in flashback without the audience realizing it. The plot has twists and turns, but you never get lost. I don't want to talk too much about the plot, though because it is such a joy to watch the movie unfold at it's own pace.
I've been dying to talk to someone about this movie all weekend. After seeing it Saturday night, I had dreams about it in my sleep. I woke up on Sunday and it was still running through my mind. I keep thinking about it, even now. Very few movies these days keep their grip on me for this long. In fact, next to The Departed, I would say this was one of the most entertaining movies of the year.
The performances were great all around. I gotta give Hugh Jackman credit. Seeing him in movies like this do a good job of reminding me that this guy is way more talented than the X-Men films would lead you to believe.
That said, this isn't Jackman's movie. The Prestige belongs to Christian Bale. His brooding performance anchors the whole film.
It's funny. When Cami and I came home that night, I turned on the TV and Batman Begins was on HBO. It really got me thinking about Bale and the roles he chooses. Between The Prestige, Batman Begins and American Psycho, there is a clever little commentary about the nature of duality. The person you are professionally and the person you are in your free time. It made me wonder if this wasn't some kind of statement Bale was making in regard to the committment to his craft. Remember, this is the guy who dropped 60 pounds at the risk of his own health to play a deteriorating insomniac in The Machinist.
Actors don't typically raise these kind of thoughts in my head. I watch their performances and say either "That was good" or "That was bad." I never think about the larger artisitc statement. At least not with most actors these days. I look at someone like Bale and think to myself "This is an actor that's going to be around for a long time."
At any rate, those are my thoughts about The Prestige. I can't really get into much more without ruining it for you. Maybe those of you who have seen the film can chat me up in The THorum and we can trade theories and ideas.
Oh, okay. I can say this. Even though today's comic is (crudely) about Scarlett Johansson, hers was by far the least necessary performance in the film. You could have replaced her with any other actress and gotten the same result. Frankly, I thought Rebecca Hall's performance as Bale's jilted wife were far more affecting.
Sorry to end on such a down note, but it's really the most I can talk about without ruining things! Would everyone please go see The Prestige so we can have an open and honest conversation about the film?!
Talk to you all later!
I was surfing the other day and hitting up all the usual spots I visit as part of my weekly movie-research web ring and had the thought to give a shout out to some of these sites that help keep me informed.
It's not an easy task because most of these sites don't have a mascot of sorts to pin that kind of recognition on visually. C.H.U.D. doesn't have one. Counting Down doesn't have one. Box Office Mojo doesn't have one. Who is left?
Harry Knowles has always been kind of a mascot for Ain't It Cool News, but there's a problem. I don't like Ain't It Cool News. The best candidate to use as the avatar of these kind of sites had to be JoBlo from JoBlo.com.
If you don't visit JoBlo.com, I strongly encourage it. It's like Ain't It Cool News for people who appreciate competent site design. It's written by regular pepeople with an encyclopedia knowledge of film. You can sense their excitement about the news and behind-the-scenes goodies that they post, but it doesn't really teeter over into complete fanboy frothing that makes you wonder if they're on the studio payroll or not.
Incidentally, they recently launched a new social networking site for movie fans called MyJoBlo.com. It's kind of like MySpace or Friendster, but with the movie fan in mind. You can leave comments on people's profile pages and it has options for quick lists of your favorite movies, actors, fight scenes... whatever. I thought it was pretty cool and worth sharing.
All of these sites are worth sharing. If for anything else but to open a small window into my world and the tools I use to keep me informed and rolling in new material for the comic!
Two quick items:
I just got a call from Josten's Commercial Printing and they notified me that my order of "Theater Hopper: Year Two" was completed early and they're shipping them to me today! That's great news because that means those of you who pre-ordered will be getting your copies early! Lucky you!
I would say the pre-order process has gone a lot smoother this time compared to the first book. Now the problem is coming up with the money to pay the printer!
I haven't updated the Sales Drive tool bar at the top of the page, but we've made some great progress in the last few days. At this point, I would say we're about $600 away from our goal. I'm expecting a few set backs because I have to restock my inventory of Spoiler shirts to take to Wizard World Texas on November 10 -12. And, of course, there is the expense of traveling to Texas - gas prices, hotel room, food, etc.
So if you want to help out at all by purchasing "Theater Hopper: Year One," "Theater Hopper: Year Two" or the bundle that puts both books together for $25.00 (plus shipping and handling), I would be most appreciative. Don't forget that we have shirts on sale for $7.99, baby doll tees for $9.99 and hand-made Truman dolls available for sale, too!
Last, but not least, today is the last day where you can bid on my eBay auction for original custom artwork. Winning bidder gets to decide what I draw. No reproductions will be made! Take this opportunity to bid on something totally unique. Get creative with it! Want me to draw a portrait of your dog? I'll do it! Want me to design a logo for your web site? I'm all yours! As of this writing, bidding was up to $74.00. Those are some great bids, but I know you can do better than that! Remember what this money is going to and start bidding! Time is running out!
That's all for today. Cami and I are seeing The Prestige on Saturday and I can't wait. Now if I can do my best to avoid any advance reviews, perhaps I can keep the mystery in tact!
Take care!
SPECIAL UPDATE! First things first, let me say hello to everyone coming here from JoBlo.com! Looks like good ol' JoBlo took notice of Friday's comic and decided to link to us with an article on his site! Personally, I'm thrilled! I've been a big fan of JoBlo for a long time and it's great to be recognized in this way. JoBlo and his crew are real people, great film fans and so accessible. What a treat!
If you're new to the site, there's a lot of ground to cover. As you can see from the archives, we have over 600 comics to choose from. But the archive has a very handy feature. Just go to the "keyword" field and type in any movie you can think of. In the four-plus years I've been doing this, chances are I've made fun your favorite (or least favorite!) movie.
Of course, I would be thrilled if you started from the begining and witnesed the evolution of the site. The art was pretty rough back in the day, but you can see how far things have come! Or, you can simply type "AFFLECK" into the archive's search engine and be treated to the myriad of comics that cover one of our longest-running and more popular in-jokes. Let's just say that Ben Affleck isn't very popular around these parts.
Here's hoping that all of you who are being introduced to Theater Hopper for the first time will stick around and give us a chance. If you love movies and you love comic strips, then you really can't go wrong here! We update every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and you can take that to the bank!
I know JoBlo linked directly to this comic, but don't forget that there is a brand new comic up Monday morning where I talk about The Prestige. My wife and I saw The Prestige on Saturday and I've been dying to talk about it. Incidentally, if you saw The Prestige this weekend, you can click on that link back there and it will take you to the film's listing in our Movie Review Database. You can sign up for an account and leave your own thoughts on the film!
Until then, have fun exploring and thanks again to JoBlo.com!
ALL NERDS THINK LIKE THIS
by Tom on October 18, 2006 at 12:00 am(10 votes, average: 8.50 out of 10)
Face facts. All nerds think like this. If you see Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman in a movie together, The Nerd Switch flips to the "on" position and you immediately think of Batman and Wolverine. You can't help it. So just flow with it. The funny thing about it is that every nerd on Earth thinks that they're the only one who thinks of this kind of stuff. Guess again.
Remember when being a nerd was the exception to the rule and not the norm? These days it seems like you can't go to a movie theater or flip on the television without some super hero property gracing the screen. We've taken over, folks. Our rich fantasy worlds have edged out your paltry dramas and formulaic comedies.
One question. Now that nerds are the norm, will jocks become the next oppressed group? Scary thought!
I'm really psyched to see The Prestige this weekend. After Memento and Batman Begins , Christopher Nolan gets a free pass in my book. All you have to do is slap his name under the "directed by" credit and I'll be there. I think it's cool that he's kind of establishing the "Christopher Nolan Players" by having Bale and Michael Caine show up again. Apparently there's something about the guy they like working with. I understand that kind of loyalty.
Cami doesn't seem too psyched about seeing The Prestige and she can't explain why. I figured there would be enough mystery and period costumes to keep her interested. Is this movie really skewing that far into the male demographic? I figured great source material and competent actors would be enough to rope her in. Hopefully she'll be pleasantly surprised by it. I mean, it has David Bowie as Nicholas Tesla! How can you go wrong?!
I really shouldn't compain too much. The biggest movie on Cami's radar at the moment is Borat. She keeps asking when it's going to be in theaters. So I can't argue with her on grounds of good taste.
I just want to remind you guys of a few things we have running as part of the Theater Hopper Sales Drive:
- I'm currently running an auction on eBay until Friday for a piece of original custom artwork. Winning bidder gets to tell me what to draw and I'll draw it! Within the bounds of morals and ethics, of course. Check out the auction for all the details.
- Hand-made Truman dolls are for sale in the store. Cami stiched this up for me to take to the Minneapolis Fallcon and we had a few left over, so we're selling them on the site. I was really impressed to see the demand for these dolls after announcing them on Monday. We only have five left! So place your order now!
- T-shirts are still $7.99 and baby doll tess are still $9.99. These shirts have been slowly finding their way out of inventory and a few sizes have completely sold out! There are some odds and ends left, so don't get caught unable to buy the design you want in the size you want because you didn't act fast enough. I'm not kidding, folks. Once these designs are sold out, YOU WILL NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN!
Of course, all of this shameless consumerism is part of the larger initiative to raise money for "Theater Hopper: Year Two" - which you can always pre-order. Or, if you haven't gotten a copy of "Theater Hopper: Year One," you can bundle the two books together for $25. A great deal.
Getting tired of me talking about the money I need to raise? Yeah, me too. So here are a couple of other items to help you pass the time.
- I've been making a concious effort to start adding new movies to the Movie Review Database. Feel free to leave your thoughts about all the latest movies, if you've seen 'em. I'm trying to stay ahead of the curve a little bit and start putting up listings for movies a week before they hit theaters. After having this killer app for about a year, I think I've finally figured out a system that works!
- The fine fellas over at The Gigcast decided I was worth shooting the breeze with. They gave me a call on Monday and we did the ol' interview rap. I had a great time talking to them. You can check out the results on their site. As of this posting, the interview isn't on the site. But they told me it would be Wednesday evening at the latest. So keep checking back!
That about does it for me. Catch you guys on the flip side!
You guys probably remember about a week and a half ago when I made fun of a movie theater in Orange City, Iowa for changing the name of Jackass Number Two to Jackbutt Two on its marquee. It was a news story that appeared on TMZ.com on October 2 and was eventually picked up by more internet news outlets in the days that followed. We all had a good laugh at the expense of Orange City for participating in the kind of obtuse censorship that wasn't really protecting anyone because - when you cut to the heart of the matter - there was really nothing to be offended about.
Well, as always, there is more to the story.
Just as the comic says, it turns out that it wasn't censorship. Just some creative renaming when a high school student who worked at the theater ran out of the letter "S" to use in the marquee. You'll see in the picture on the TMZ.com article, that the theater is also running Little Miss Sunshine, The Illusionist, School for Scoundrels and Open Season. With no more of the letter "S" to draw from, the kid filling out the sign thought it would be funny to use the word "Jackbutt" instead of "Jackass" and an internet rumor was born.
I got a couple of e-mails from people who lived in Orange City, Iowa shortly after my comic ran over in the blogs at Juice - a semi-regional publication for young people in Iowa. They were pretty mad that I didn't bother to do any research to get the facts straight. I can understand their frustration, but it left me feeling a little defensive. After all, mine is a humor and entertainment site as much as it is a venue for my personal opinions. And, despite successful appearances, I don't exactly have the time or the resources to start calling people in Orange City looking for the scoop. As a satirist, I am not beholden to the same level of journalistic integrity some might hope for.
That said, I'm never too big to admit when I'm wrong and such is the case here. Sorry, Orange City! I didn't have all the facts! I hope you can accept this comic as an olive branch and I promise to do a little fact checking the next time I deal on an entire small town!
It's funny, though. There was really no stories online that dug any deeper than what TMZ had originally reported. After getting the first few angry missives from the Orange Citians, I was only able to find small blurbs that talked about the lack of the letter "S" in the marquee and that typically came in the comments section of sites posting the story. I guess, if anything, I hope I can give a wider venue to the people of Orange City to have their side of the story told when people pop open Google and type in "Orange City + Jackbutt."
Switching gears, Wizard World Texas is coming up on us soon and I plan on attending. The big reason I'll be showing down there is to launch "Theater Hopper: Year Two." You guys already know everything there is to know about the book, so I won't bore you with the details.
Today, I'm here to offer you something new. It's an opportunity for you to help support Theater Hopper and our fund-raising drive to help pay for the printing of Year Two while still getting something for yourself.
First, the original custom art auction I have running on eBay!
I stoll this idea from my good buddy Mitch. It seemed to be a winner for him, so I wanted to take a swing at it.
The concept is simple. Instead of drawing something that *I* like and auctioning it off to you guys, now YOU guys get to decide what I'll draw! Of course, highest bidder wins. So maybe you want me to draw you a custom Theater Hopper cast portrait. If you're the winner, I can do that! Maybe you don't want something that's Theater Hopper-related. Maybe you want me to draw you a unicorn rolling dice in the alley with bigfoot. If you're the winner, I can do that, too! You're only limited by your imagination.
The auction is up and running and ends this Friday. Bid early! Bid often!
Here's the second bit of news that I have, TRUMAN DOLLS!
You guys probably remember that we were giving away six of these dolls as part of a contest for those of you who pre-ordered "Theater Hopper: Year Two." Well, we got a lot of e-mails from people saying "I hope I win the doll! Are you going to be selling them in the store anytime soon?"
Well, now we are!
Cami stitched up a bunch of new dolls for me to take to the Minneapolis Fallcon a couple of weeks ago. We decided to use the convention as an opportunity to see how popular these bad boys could be. Turns out they were VERY popular! I manged to sell one to a punker totally cold. No lie! So you're going to want to get your hands on one of these. We only have 8 (eight) left and what we don't sell through the store, we're taking to Wizard World Texas where we're SURE to sell out. If you want one of these guys, get one now! They're going fast!
It's a real thrill to be able to sell these to you guys. I think largely because they are something that Cami made with love and it's really cool to think that something my wife made will be appreciated by a lucky someone out there. Theater Hopper is like our little Mom 'n Pop establishment and we consider ourselves lucky that you guys continue to check things out!
As always, shirts are on sale for $7.99 and baby doll tees are available for $9.99. If you haven't pre-ordered a copy of "Theater Hopper: Year Two," what are you waiting for? There are also a few sponsor advertising spots open - $10 for 30 days - so be sure to take advantage of that.
Remember, all profits go toward helping pay the printing costs of "Year Two." I didn't make as much as I was hoping at the Minneapolis Fallcon and we're still a long ways from our goal! Every little bit helps!
Thanks again for your support!
Hey, guys. By the way, I have a couple of sponsorhip ad spots open below the comic and above the blog if you're interested in getting some inexpensive coverage for your site. $10 for 30 days can't be beat! I'll tell you, the number of impressions you see with these ads are insane. And I give everyone who advertises with me a username and password to log into the ad server and see how their ads are doing. It's really cool! Click here to learn how to take advantage of this deal!
I'm scrambling a little bit because in exactly one month I'll be going to Wizard World Texas. I need to come up with a little more dough to pay for "Theater Hopper: Year Two." I suppose the more financially responsible thing to do would be to wait until I had all of the money before sending the artwork to the printer. But I didn't have that much time. I pretty much had a month and a half to turn the book around. I did it, but the money wasn't there yet. So, if you want to help me out, even the smallest gesture counts. Get a sponsorship link for $10 and it'll make a difference!
Or, of course, you could pre-order a copy of "Theater Hopper: Year Two" and help me out even more! I'm expecting to get the books back from the printer on November 8, so you won't have long to wait! Order the Year One and Year Two bundle for $25 and I'll send you Year One today!
I think next week I'm going to get off my can and post that eBay auction I've been talking about. Cami also stitched up a few more of those hand-made Truman dolls from the Year Two presale for me to take to the Minneapolis Fallcon. I sold a few, but I still have a few left over and I think I'm going to put those up for sale on the site next week as well.
Just giving you the head's up! Thanks!
It feels like a shame to let another Friday the 13th go by and not make reference to the seminar horror franchise. But really, would anyone miss it?
Cami and I saw The Departed on Monday night and were blown away. The performances were excellent and I feel like nearly everyone was firing on all cylinders. It was very interesting to watch Leonard DiCaprio bring this vulnerable and wounded performance to the screen. You really got a sense of his paranoia, like he felt he was being backed into a corner. The more I watched him, the more I forgot that he was actually a cop! Matt Damon did a great job in this respect, too. Upwardly mobile and polished, the audience forgets who he's really working for until he switches out the SIM card in his cell phone and gives Jack Nicholson a call.
Ah, yes. The cell phones. They were a bit of a distraction for me. Near the end of the movie, I wondered how much time I had spent watching people talk on cell phones. I'm getting totally distracted here, but it made me think about how the technology of cell phones has made movies different. I remembered Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle. There was a scene right at the top of the movie, just before they head out on their quest for Sliders. Kal Penn's character stops halfway down the hall, away from the door of their apartment. "Dude, I forgot my cell phone." "You wanna run back and get it?" "No, we've gone too far."
That tiny scene is critical to the rest of the movie. Because without it, you'd be sitting in the theater asking yourself "Why don't they just use their cell phones and get directions?" It's come to the point that you have to write the convienence of the technology out of the plot in order to make the character's journey believable!
It also makes me think of a movie like Phone Booth - which would have been a great thriller 20 or 30 years ago. But with the advent of cell phones, a glass phone booth in the middle of downtown New York becomes a social anachronism. You wonder what it's even doing there when everyone in their grandma seems to be carrying a cell phone. It's distracting.
At any rate, speaking again about The Departed, I can't think of another film that so effictively used cell phones as a means of serving the plot. Their use helps ratchet up the tension. Is someone going to call during a raid that's going to tip someone off to the double-cross in play? When someone calls, who is on the other line? Is it the rat you're trying to smoke out of your organization? The film is very smart about utlizing the technology in a realistic way.
If I can get back on the performances for a second, I've established what a great job I think both DiCaprio and Damon did. But there are tons of great supporting performances in this thing. Martin Sheen finally gets an opportunity to drop that Presidential gravitas he's been carrying since The West Wing and gives a very grounded, fatherly performance wrapped in a bit of pathos. You always get the impression that there's something more going on beneath that cool exterior, but that he is genuinely concerned with DiCaprio's tightrope walk.
Mark Wahlberg was actully very impressive as Dingam. They wrote the character as an insufferable S.O.B., but it really made me like him. Not just the character. I started to respect Wahlberg a little more for the performance.
Big hat's off to Alec Baldwin for playing Ellerby. I thought every scene he was in was hilarious. Great comic relief played with a wise-ass edge. Who would have thought that in his days as a leading man, Alec Baldwin would go on to become this great, self-depricating pinch hitter in this big name movies. The man is the king of the cameo appearance. That scene during the stakeout when he's getting amped up and a few scenes later you see he's sweated through his shirt... I thought that was a brilliant detail. Funny, but real.
I also have to give it up to Ray Winstone as Mr. French. I don't even know who Ray Winstone is, but his performance as the gravel-voiced enforcer made me want to look him up on the Internet Movie Database and find out what else he's been in!
The only performance I can't really put my finger on is Jack Nicholson's. I thought he did a great job and - of course - he could read the phone book and make it entertaining. But I couldn't decide if a "less-is-more" approach would have served him better or worse. You get the sense that his interpretation of Frank Costello is a very hands-on guy. He kills, he exposes himself to dangerous business dealings, he gets his hands dirty. But how much of that is because he's a psychopath who enjoys doing that kind of stuff and how much of it is because he's a ganglord who is getting a little long in the tooth and wants to prove he's still a threat to his underlings? How much of it is bluster and how much of it is self-preservation.
Part of me wanted to think there was a lot more going on with Costello than we were meant to know and Nicholson's performance hints at that. But for every time he uncorked that trademark Nicholson unhinged demenor, it was almost distracting. With every over-extended arch of the eyebrow, I started to think of it as parody.
No one goes to Nicholson looking for nuance. He's not going to completely submerge himself in any role because - as a movie star - sometimes it's more interesting to watch his personality at work rather than the personality of the character he portrays.
I don't have a point, but sometimes I wonder how much of Nicholson's acting expertise is utilized to keep the bigger aspects of his personality in check. Maybe a role like Costello serves it right up the middle and let's Jack be Jack. For his sake and all our sakes.
That's pretty much all I have to say about The Departed. Of course you need to go see it. It's a fantastic film.




