If nothing else, Jimmy is very responsive to matters concerning customer service. To figure out exactly what I’m talking about vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics.
I didn’t realize it until I had finished inking and scanned today’s comic into the computer, but I think I may have inadvertently stole the set up for this joke from a recent Joe Loves Crappy Movies. Sorry about that, Joe. Totally unintentional, I swear. I guess there are just a lot of movies leaving people stunned walking out of the theater!
I suppose one could accuse me of plagiarizing myself in this comic as well. Anyone who is following my Twitter account already read the punchline Friday night after I posted my 140 character or less review of Crank: High Voltage on Twitter as soon as the credits started to roll. But what can I say? I thought it was a good off-the-cuff zinger that could be used in the comic.
I saw Crank: High Voltage at a late showing on Friday night and there’s really no other reaction but slack-jawed silence.
The movie is 1 hour and 25 minutes of pure kinetic “eff you.” I didn’t have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder before watching this movie, but now I fear I might. Now I know how an 8 year-old on a Ritalin fit must see the world.
Crank: High Voltage is an unusual film in the respect that the filmmakers are basically daring you to hate it. And if you do hate, they make it perfectly clear they don’t care what you think.
You know how critics complain that action movies are like giant video games? Crank: High Voltage takes that literally, and there are several references to the digital pastime littered throughout the film. Everywhere from the 8-bit opening credit sequence to Dwight Yokum’s girlfriend Chocolate playing Atari on the couch to the topographical map of Los Angeles tracing the hero’s journey from location to location. There’s even a giant boss battle at an electrical sub-station!
The film is none to subtle about letting you know that Jason Statham’s Chev Chelios is basically a character inside a giant video game running around Los Angels, creating all kinds of mayhem with barely any interference from the authorities. Watching Crank: High Voltage, you realize how pointless a film adaptation of Grand Theft Auto would be. This movie beat them to the punch.
There’s not a lot to celebrate in the film. It’s a highly cynical, hateful affair. But at the same time, it’s cathartic fun. Much like a video game, I can easily see someone watching this film, working out their aggression and then going about their day a little less wound up.
Regarding the performances, Statham does a good job kicking ass and chewing bubble gum. Oh, but look! He’s all out of bubble gum! I like Statham’s willingness to go along with something that is completely ridiculous. Outtakes during the credits reveal his good nature. Whereas other action stars might look at the role of Chev Chelios and roll their eyes, Statham seems to be licking his chops to get at the character. His sincerity is communicated clearly and it makes the intensity of the character easier to stomach.
Beyond that, I kept trying to figure out what Amy Smart was doing in this picture (beyond the fact that she appeared in the original) and Bai Ling basically played to type as a hysterical, gibbering psycho bitch who wears too much eyeliner.
I’m trying to think of more critical angles to examine the film from. But, in truth, the whole episode feels like a fever dream. It’s very difficult to remember details because the film zips from location to location, scene to scene so fast, nothing really sticks with you except the feeling of momentum.
In that respect, I suppose the film is successful in communicating the sensation of a man running out of time. Chelios and his artificial heart placed under strenuous use keeps things moving at a brisk pace. But beyond that? Um… a stripper chest shot in the chest and her implants ooze out all over her body as she screams? Yeah, that sticks out to me.
I think most of you already know whether or not Crank: High Voltage is the movie for you. There’s very little about this film that aims for acceptance from the popular majority. It is what it is and either your along for the ride or not. Hang on, if you dare.
For more discussion around Crank: High Voltage, be sure to tune in to The Triple Feature tonight at 9PM CST at Talkshoe.com. I know for a fact that all three of us saw the film and certainly with a movie as provocative as this one, we should have a lot to say about it.
If you have any questions you would like us to answer during the show, please feel free to send them to us at group@thetriplefeature.com. We’ll be happy to answer them on-air!
See you then!
For the record, this isn’t the first time Jimmy has changed the name of a movie on the marquee. Being a reformed troublemaker, Jimmy’s moral pendulum has swung a little too far to the other side. In these scenarios, I feel like I am having him channel Ken the NBC page from 30 Rock. Too wholesome for his own good.
If you were to ask me where I came up with the idea whose head is literally composed of feces… I couldn’t tell you. A Pringle fever dream? The by-product of accidentally huffing cleaning fluids while scrubbing the toilet? Hard to say.
Why does he have a eye patch and a scar? Why, because he’s “not-so-nice.” Therefore, layering the impact of the joke by strengthening his offense to Jimmy’s name change.
This joke works on many levels, you see.
Did I mention it’s very late? SUBJECT CHANGE!
Inglourious Basterds comes out this weekend and I find most every Quentin Tarantino – bad or good – a reason to celebrate. I realize that Death Proof was only a few years ago, but at the pace this guy works, it’s amazing we see any product from him at all.
My passion for film really began around the time that Pulp Fiction was making waves, so despite his idiosyncrasies, I still admire him as a filmmaker. Kevin Smith falls into this category as well.
I’m starting to become worried, however, that Tarantino is become a slave to genre and it wasn’t until Grindhouse that this racked into focus for me.
He has his caper movie, his blaxploitation movie, his kung-fu movie, his car chase movie and now his “trapped behind enemy lines” World War II movie. I’m concerned that his interests are focused less on creating memorable characters and whip-smart dialogue. But rather watching obscure genre films and regurgitating them in front of unsuspecting audiences.
I have no doubt that the man loves movies. He’s practically a walking encyclopedia of movie knowledge. But I wonder how long before all of that knowledge starts to bleed together and creativity has been choked from his creations?
I guess we’ll find out this weekend when I catch a matinee of Inglourious Basterds on my own. Cami has no interest in this one. She claims the violence is a turn off and I see where she’s coming from.
But, like I said, I feel like I’ve grown up with Tarantino. So it’s nice to check in with him once in a while to see what he’s up to…
I think the reason Inception went over so well this weekend (to the tune of $61 million) is because it works on multiple levels. And if you’ve seen the movie, no – that is not a pun.
Inception has both visceral and intellectual thrills. I think you can figure out that comic-Tom is probably responding to the former rather than the latter. But for real-life Tom, I found myself thoroughly engrossed by all of the film’s many facets.
Inception is the rare Hollywood blockbuster that rewards you for having an attention span longer than 5 minutes. There’s a lot going on in this movie – some high-concept stuff. But it never treats the audience like idiots and leaves a pretty clear trail of breadcrumbs for you to follow as it establishes the rules at play in its universe.
At it’s core, Inception is a heist movie and I love how they gave each of the players a specific role – The Point Man, The Chemist, The Architect, etc. Everyone is sharply dressed in elegant suits and form-fitting vests as they trot around the globe on personal jets for high-profile and dangerous clients.
Incidentally, Christopher Nolan has expressed an interest in directing a James Bond movie. After watching Inception, I say LET HIM!
A few things that crossed my mind while watching Inception:
- The weightless fight sequence in the hotel hallway succinctly and authoritatively spit in the eye of Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski and everything they accomplished with The Matrix.
- The physical prowess Joseph Gordon-Levitt displays in that sequence puts his Donald O’Connor homage from hosting Saturday Night Live last year in a completely different context. If I could find a clip right now, I’d be sharing it.
- Between Inception and Shutter Island, Leonard DiCaprio (or “Leo-Dio,” as I like to call him) has delivered two fascinating portraits of broken family men wrestling with their subconscious. Maybe it was the suits, but for some reason, I kept thinking of Jimmy Stewart’s performance in Vertigo while watching DiCaprio in Inception. I think when The Academy puts together his inevitable lifetime achievement reel, people are going to look back to this time as the height of his power.
- Lastly, I don’t want to say too much about the ending. But I have to share it was probably one of the best audience reactions I’ve heard in theater in a long time.
So, what about you guys? Did you see Inception over the weekend? What did you think? Leave your comments below and let’s see if we can untangle the Christmas lights this movie left behind in our brains, shall we?
The red band trailer for Cameron Diaz’s Bad Teacher came out recently and it’s so completely ridiculous, I had to share it with you.
The gist of it is basically that Cameron Diaz swears a lot. Awkwardly. Is anyone convinced by this “bad-girl” persona she’s slapped on? This performance seems specifically designed to counter-act Diaz’s bubbly Every Girl reputation. Instead it comes off as contrived.
Justin Timberlake is acting so unbelievable goofy, it’s like he wandered out of a Saturday Night Live sketch.
In fact, I can’t decide if this movie is supposed to be straight up satire or if we’re supposed to take any of the characters seriously?
Jason Segel appears to be approaching his role with some sincerity and, as Forgetting Sarah Marshall proved, he’s endlessly endearing as the underdog.
But from this trailer, it looks like casting Diaz was a mistake. Whatever they’re selling, I’m not buying. To me it looks like some vain attempt to make Diaz relevant again by shocking us into paying attention. She’s like Madonna, or something.
What do you guys think of Bad Teacher? Is it a Bad Santa knock off or something worse? It Diaz at all believable in this role? Leave your comments below!
UPDATE: If anyone needs proof that Cameron Diaz is desperate to reinvent herself as a bad girl, check out this headline from The Huffington Post – Cameron Diaz On ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’: ‘I Love Porn!’
Related Posts ¬
May 27, 2011 | CAN’T STOP. WON’T STOP. |
Dec 21, 2011 | TRAILER – THE HOBBIT |
Feb 10, 2012 | TRAILER – GOON |
Feb 9, 2011 | SUPER 8 SUPER BOWL TRAILER |
I had a lot of fun drawing the expression Tom made in the fourth panel of today’s comic, so I decided to see if I could push it father in today’s Top Web Comics incentive sketch. I believe this is what’s called in the comedy world as “pulling a face.” Check it out!
Sorry for the delay posting today’s comic. There was a bit of a kerfuffle involving the site’s server host. Apparently there was a potential security compromise and our host was forcing password resets on an incremental basis. I didn’t find out about it until after I tried to upload today’s comic! But things are back to normal now.
Considering Theater Hopper’s slow descent into oblivion this August, I had the idea that I should recognize certain mile makers along the way. That’s why Cecil showed up into today’s comic.
I never really took advantage of Cecil. I basically created him to give Jimmy someone to bounce things off of when Tom or Jared weren’t around. He didn’t say much, he appeared in maybe one or two strips and he will be missed barely – if at all.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, CECIL.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the larger narrative of this story and realized that I really haven’t planned things out very far.
I mean, I have dozens of ideas for strips and I have a general sense of how things are going to go. But I haven’t sat down to actually plot things out.
That’s kind of a concern. Because, in the past – whenever I wrote a longer storyline – I would use this thumbnail approach and things worked out fine. If things went on a little too long, I’d could end the story with very little impunity before moving on to the next thing.
But now that there is A DEADLINE looming on the horizon, I need to be a little more economical about how things unfold.
There are 28 weeks until August 6. That means only 28 more Theater Hopper comics on the present once-a-week schedule before I wrap things up for good. My concern at this point is that I might take more than 28 comics to finish telling the story I want to tell.
That’s good news for you, I hope. I have no problem producing extra comics if it helps me tie things up in a nice little bow. I just need to make sure I time this out right. I’m going to start to have planning in advance, outlining plot points and sticking to them.
Y’see… this is why I announced the comic ending so early. It gives you pleanty of time to iron out pesky little wrinkles like this!
DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE STORE
Several of you took my words to heart last week when I blogged about getting rid of my Theater Hopper inventory. Many thanks to those of you who placed orders. I’ll be shipping them this week!
I want to keep the store top of mind for everyone, though. I’m sincere about selling this stuff off.
Food for thought: If you buy any two Theater Hopper books, you get the third for free. That’s a savings of $15, folks.
Did I mention it includes the Artist Editions? Get a sketch thrown in, while you’re at it! I’d be happy to draw whatever you like.
Be sure to spread the good word around. I could really use your help!
That’s it for today. Thanks for your patience and I’ll see you next week! Or maybe sooner!
I didn’t go crazy with this week’s Top Web Comics incentive sketch. Just a simple profile shot of Charlie, since she seems to be on Jimmy’s mind. If you vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics, you’ll get to see the whole thing! Check it out!
My apologies for the lateness of this week’s comic. I knew when I was putting it together that I wanted it to be double-sized to take advantage of the pacing. I just didn’t estimate how long that would actually take.
For your reference, I’ve included a couple of links to some of the issues this comic brought up. Yes, Jimmy was a former womanizer. He also once had a relationship with Charlie and they almost got married! It might be easier if you check out that story line from the beginning if you haven’t read it before. It’s one of the arcs that I’m probably most proud of. Kind of funny that it’s pretty much the 3 year anniversary of that story and how it’s finally coming full-circle.
I mentioned last week that since this is the last hurrah, it was my ambition to tie up some of the loose ends with several of the characters. Jimmy – witnessing Tom’s potential evolution into a family man – is deciding maybe it’s time to stop torturing himself and pick up with Charlie where they left off. We’ll get to see that play out before it’s all over.
That’s all I’ve got for right now. I just want to remind everyone to check out the Theater Hopper store and help me unload some of my inventory. I’ve got a pretty aggressive sale going on right now. Buy any two books, get the third one free. Buy any two shirts, you’ll also get the third one free.
There have been several people to take me up on the offer so far – including people who have ordered the Artist Edition’s of the books. If you’d like me to personalize your book with a sketch, it’s a great opportunity to get something unique. By the time August rolls around, I don’t know if I’ll be doing sketches in books anymore. Get yours now!
Thanks again for your support and your patience. I’ll see you soon!
If you love your cell phone, you’ll probably love the latest Top Web Comics incentive sketch. Click on that little graphic to the left to see it!
Every week it feels like I’m apologizing for the strip being late and such is the case this week. I posted teasers on Facebook and Twitter telling people that today’s comic would be double-sized – much like last week’s comic. As you can see, that didn’t happen.
But I want you to know that I actually put in the work this week. I drew and inked 8 panels. In the end, I felt maybe that that comic was better served split in two rather than one giant strip.
That’s good news for you, though. Because it gives me a leg up on the next comic. What say you? Should I try to turn around the second half of this strip and post it tomorrow or Friday? Or maybe I should hold off and post it on Monday?
The more I think about it, I might actually have an opportunity to build a buffer here. So I might hold off. You’ll like the second half of this strip – it actually has a punchline! But for now, I’m just going to let the emotion breath a little bit.
These final strips are all about letting you guys know that the characters are going to be “okay.” I’ve left Charlie and Jimmy’s relationship on the back burner since March of 2009. That’s a long time to leave these two in limbo. I always intended to come back to them. I guess there’s no time like the present. The next few comics will be focusing on their relationship.
I feel oddly handicapped because I’m not writing blogs as lengthy as I used to. This tends to happen during storylines. But I’m still talking about movie stuff! If you check out the Bonus Materials blog, I recently posted the trailer and some stills from the upcoming Avengers movie. I’ll probably be posting the trailer from the reboot of The Amazing Spider-Man soon.
I know you guys have probably seen this stuff floating around the internet on a dozen different sites by now. But if you feel like talking about it with me… then, hey… I’m here for your buddy.
Thanks again for your patience. I hope you’re enjoying these last few comics!
In nearly every appearance he’s made, Victor has been depicted as a scowling monolith – a permanent frown on his face.
For this story arc, I thought it was important to see him smile – if for no other reason than for being recognized as another human being. I decided to make Victor smiling my Top Web Comics incentive sketch as well. If you’d like to see it, click on the graphic to the left and vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics.
Something I was concerned about writing this strip is that people would think I was depicting Tom as the hero for being accepting of Victor. The somewhat purposeful stride in the last panel might lead people to that conclusion, but that’s not my intent.
Victor just took a REALLY BIG RISK by kissing Tom on the mouth. Knowing that Victor is a prideful person who maybe just overplayed his hand, Tom’s trying to be delicate about the situation.
I don’t want to examine it too much because the point was that there’s now an unspoken understanding between these two – and life goes on.
In fact, I think that’s a good place to stop for now. The comic is shifting it’s focus to Jimmy and Charlie next week. But don’t worry. This isn’t the last we’ll see of Victor.
Have a great week, everyone!
I was getting kind of tired of drawing profiles of characters for the Top Web Comics incentive image, so I did something a little different today. Jimmy’s trials at the movie theater kind of reminded me of Atlas, so I went that direction with the incentive sketch. Vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics if you want to see it.
I realized while plotting this week’s comic that it didn’t contain a joke. It sent me into a miniature panic. I’m not exactly known for writing drama and – to me – writing a comic without a joke feels… unfinished.
Ultimately I determined that cramming in the joke for the sake of one really didn’t benefit things. So maybe today’s comic isn’t funny, but it moves the ball up the field.
Incidentally, is everyone able to follow along with the changes in scenery? I’ve been doing a lot of jumping around from location to location – sometimes flipping back and forth between different sets of characters. I know you guys are smart and are probably following along just fine. I’m just self-conscious about it.
Like I said, I don’t write drama. Most of my comics are fairly self-contained. I really haven’t had to think of my story telling in terms of “What’s happening over here while these characters over here are talking about something else?” It’s kind of weird.
Something interesting that’s been happening in the last few weeks is that people have complimented me for allowing the characters to “grow up” a little bit. I can say with all honestly that it has not been intentional. But, with what I know about where I want the characters to end up when I end the comic in August, I would have to admit the transition has been almost subliminal.
Since announcing the comic’s end, I’ve made clear my intentions to let readers know that the characters will be “okay.” Perhaps some of this maturation is the unintended byproduct of that?
Sometimes I feel like it’s best to get out of my own way and kind of let the characters write themselves. I know that sounds pretentious. But in this case, I feel like its an honest assessment of how things are playing out.
On that note…
I NEED YOUR HELP
I’ve been presented the opportunity to attend and exhibit at Emerald City Comiccon in Seattle this March 31 – April 1 and I would really, really, REALLY like to go.
However, this was not a convention I had originally planned on attending. That there is now an opportunity is a complete fluke. As such, I don’t really have the money to secure a plane ticket, a hotel room, cab fare and the rest.
This isn’t really your problem. If I don’t have the money, I shouldn’t go, right? Buuuuuuut… if you have it in your heart to make a purchase from the Theater Hopper store or perhaps donate to my “Farewell Tour,” it would be really, really, REALLY helpful right now. That’s all I’m saying.
If you can help, great. If you can’t help, well, that’s how the cookie crumbles. Even if I don’t end up going to ECCC this year, I will be going to C2E2 in Chicago two weeks later. So, there’s that!
That’s all I have for right now. Thanks for checking out the comic and I’ll see you next week!
I didn’t put together an incentive sketch for Top Web Comics today because I kind of ran out of time. Also, beyond generating sketches that I might or might not sell at a future date, I don’t know if it’s doing any real good in terms of A.) Generating votes or B.) Generating traffic.
I don’t know what it is about me that I insist on tinkering with how the comic is promoted when the finish line is only a few months away. I guess I can’t leave well enough alone.
That said, if you still want to vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics, you can do that.
I had the idea for today’s comic kind of before I decided if it was a good idea or not. I had this romantic idea in mind – that Jimmy would be willing to work at the movie theater because it made it easier to remember Charlie being there – but couldn’t decide if I was hitting the same beat as last week’s comic.
Either way, I think I’m going to have to squeeze in some jokes into next week’s comic. If nothing else, I certainly need to get Charlie’s side of the equation in there.
Part of me feels like I’m running out the clock a little bit in anticipation of May. Because I think by the time The Avengers hits, I might be in the mood for a reprieve from the dramatic stuff. I think you know what that means.
CONVENTION SCHEDULE
I wanted to take a quick moment and share my convention schedule for the next couple of months. It’s pretty aggressive and no one is more surprised than me by how active I’m going to be in the next few weeks.
- Emerald City Comic Con – Seattle, WA – March 30 through April 1
- I’ll be hanging out at booth #307 with Gordon McAlpin from Multiplex and Angela Melick from Wasted Talent.
- C2E2 – Chicago, IL – April 13, 14, 15
- I don’t know what table I’ll be at other than in the webcomics section of Artist Alley. Come find me!
- MCBA Springcon – Minneapolis, MN – May 19 & 20
- This is a smaller show, so I should be pretty easy to find. But they’ve got great selection. If you live in the Minneapolis area, come out and see me!
It’s weird. A month ago, I wasn’t planning on going to any of these shows. Then I did an interview with Kurt Sasso over at TGT Media and we talked about C2E2. I went to the show its inaugural year and said I wasn’t interested in going back due to the expense. Kurt ended up giving me a few tips and talked me into going. I even managed to find a cheap hotel downtown, too!
Shortly after that, Gordon sent me an e-mail about ECCC. One of the people he and Angela were sharing a booth with had to back out and he asked me if I was interested in filling the spot.
I went to ECCC in 2009 and it was one of the most exhilarating/stressful trips of my life. I had never flown to a convention before. I had no idea how to get my merchandise there. I was kind of on the outs with a few people in the webcomic community at the time. I had no idea how it was going to go over.
That said, it was a profoundly positive experience. ECCC is so well run and the people of Seattle are so welcoming toward webcomics, I look back on it fondly. I ended up socializing with other webcomic creators I had never met before and got to speak on a panel with Jeph Jacques, Danielle Corsetto and Robert Khoo. It was crazy validating and I’ve been struggling to go back every year. I’ve always kicked myself for not going in the years since.
So here’s Gordon with this opportunity and I’m struggling to find a way to make it work. I’m cashing in hotel rewards points, I’m looking at Priceline for cheap flights ever 15 miuntes, I’m hemming, I’m hawing. Finally I decided to pull the trigger and leave it all on the table – damn the expense. If I’m ending Theater Hopper this year, I’m going out with a bang.
And then there’s the Minneapolis Springcon. This was the first comic book convention I ever went to back in 2004. It seemed fitting that I hadn’t been there since 2007. It seemed appropriate that I should try to go back.
So here we are. Three conventions in two months. Cami isn’t exactly thrilled about it, but she understands. So if you’re going to be at any one of those three shows, help me make it worth my while, yeah? After all, there’s no telling the next time we’ll get to see each other again…
That’s it for now. Have a great week, everyone!