Posts Tagged ‘ass’

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NO PATIENCE FOR DICHOTOMY

by Tom on May 29, 2009 at 12:00 am
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars
(39 votes, average: 8.13 out of 10)
Up, Pixar, Drag Me To Hell, Sam Raimi, horror, counter programming, parking lot, boot, ass, heaven, hell, content, geography, patience
Vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics

Continuing my exploration of all things Up, today's sketch is of Russell, of the Wilderness Adventurers. My version of Russ seems a little more awkward than what's presented in the movie (if that's possible). Consider this a version of Russell that's maybe a few years older than his on-screen counterpart. I tried to stay loose with the sketch, but didn't quite get the proportions right. To see the sketch, vote for Theater Hopper at Top Web Comics.

Incidentally, Theater Hopper has been slipping down the list a little bit over at Top Web Comics and I'm wondering if it has any relation to the kind of sketches I'm doing.

In the past, I would draw sketches that were a continuation of the joke in the comic. Lately, I've been drawing more stand-alone pieces. Renderings of characters from movies. Is this a factor in your voting? Let me know in the comments below and be mindful of Monday, June 1 when the Top Web Comics counter resets. If we can get in the Top 10 early on, there's a greater likelihood we can stay there! I'm going to need everyone's help, so I'm putting the idea in your heads now.

As you know, both Up and Drag Me To Hell come out today. During Monday's recording of The Triple Feature, Joe pointed out that the family-friendly film in competition with director Sam Raimi's return to horror was great counter programming.

I felt like I was onto something when I commented that not only were the two movies at the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of their content, but also in terms of the geography they explored. Up floating among the clouds and Drag Me To Hell lurking in the depths of the Underworld.

I shared my observation to Cami and she said it was "quite profound." She may have been humoring me, but it was enough for me to try and figure out a way I could work it into the comic.

As for the answer to Tom's quandary in today's comic, I don't think it would surprise anyone that I'm more interested in seeing Up. Cami and I are seeing it tonight. But my interest has been piqued by the strong reviews Drag Me To Hell has been getting. I guess Joe from Joe Loves Crappy Movies saw an early screening of it and was over the moon about it. Critical response has been strong, too. 95% positive at Rotten Tomatoes. I guess Raimi still has the old horror touch!

I'm not a big fan of horror, but I respect Raimi a great deal. It goes without saying how awesome the Evil Dead trilogy is. But those films have a low-tech charm. I don't know if I could stomach full-blown Raimi sitting in the middle of a booming surround-sound theater.

One thing Raimi is particularly adept at are "loud noises" scares - frightening reveals you can see a mile away, but punctuated by piercing musical shrieks. I HATE those kinds of scares. I do better with movies that employ this tactic when I'm at home and can control the volume.

I'm very curious to know what Raimi has up his sleeve, but I think this one is going to have to be a rental for me. I'm too much of a weenie otherwise.

What about you guys? Are you feeling up to the challenge of seeing Drag Me To Hell in a gigantic booming theater without peeing your pants? Or are you like me and going to chillax with Pixar and Up for two hours instead?

Leave your comments below!

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HER ASS SHOULD GET A CO-STAR CREDIT

by Tom on June 30, 2003 at 12:00 am
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(7 votes, average: 7.29 out of 10)
HER ASS SHOULD GET A CO-STAR CREDIT

The title of today's strip pretty much sums up my reaction to Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. We saw the film this weekend and I could have sworn any semblance of a plot was overwritten by the copious number of Cameron Diaz ass shots. When that parody came out at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards earlier in June, they weren't kidding about the number of butt shots in this movie!

I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy watching the movie. It moves along at a zippy pace and you can tell they had a lot of fun making it.

But exiting the theater, I asked myself "What the hell did I just get through watching?" and immediately dumped it from my memory. Only upon revisiting it for today's blog have I concluded what an awful waste of time it was.

To that end, does it please me that the sequel did less business in its opening weekend than the original? Yes. Yes it does.

There are a lot of big movies coming out this week for the holiday. Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde as well as Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Cami is seeing Legally Blonde 2 on Wednesday when it opens with some friends. I'll be out rocking my ass off at the Deftones concert.

I'm a little bummed because I really enjoyed the first one. It totally caught us by surprise when we watched the original while on vacation in Kansas City. I remember it clearly, too. We walked in just killing time (we were in town for a Janet Jackson concert) and were floored by how funny it was. It's my hope the sequel can capture some of that same magic, but I have a feeling it'll just be a retread. I'll have to wait for Cami's verdict to find out.

One movie I KNOW Cami won't want to see is T3 and I'm not too sure I want to see it, either. I think I'm going more for the love of the franchise and less because I think it will be any good. There were too many cheesy lines in the trailer ("Desire is irrelevant! I... AM... A MACHINE!") to make it look any good.

Still, I have hope that director Jonathan Mostow will do something interesting. Both his films Breakdown and U-571 really did a good job in the suspense department. You can say he's inexperienced if you want, but the man knows how to establish mood. It should be interesting to see how he handles a big-budget picture.

In the meantime, I'm counting down the minutes to the 4th of July. We're having a bunch of friends over for drinks and a BBQ. It's a big deal for Cami and I because we don't do this very often. We lucked out this time. It looks like a lot of our friends will be able to make it. Don't you just love it when a holiday falls on a Friday?

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IT’S ALL ABOUT COMPROMISE

by Tom on November 27, 2002 at 12:00 am
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(15 votes, average: 8.60 out of 10)
Solaris, George Clooney, naked, ass, Swordfish, Halle Berry, topless

The big crossover between Theater Hopper and Movie Punks is still going strong. If you haven't checked out Part 2 at Carrington's site, well, you won't have to because I've already saved it to our bonus materials page.

But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be standing in line first thing Thursday morning at Movie Punks to check out Part 4.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. For Part 4 to make any sense, you'll have to read Part 3, my strip, which has also posted today in the bonus section. Don't forget to check it out!

Today's strip calls to the fore a basic subtext of movie-going motivation in our household. Sure, Solaris will probably be a fun movie to see. George Clooney and director Steven Soderberg have done so many movies together, by this point they're sharing the same brain. I have no question to its quality.

But at the same time, Cami has a major crush on Clooney and won't object in the least to the reported ass shots he has committed to celluloid.

I like George Clooney. I like him a lot better now than I did in his old ER days. I think Clooney has used a lot of the power behind his celebrity to do some good within the industry. And I really respect him for not taking flack from that right-wing pinhead Bill O'Riely after then whole 9/11 benefit thing.

Clooney is also keenly aware of his appeal versus studio interests. In a recent interview, he commented on the leak about his derriere making a cameo appearance in Solaris. He cited the film's distributor Fox as the source of the leak. He basically made comments along the lines of how Fox doesn't know how to properly market and film for adults, so to generate interests, they let it slip that there was going to be some Clooney tush-action going on.

From a purely marketing perspective, you can't blame Fox for the move. Look how people are talking about it. The news HAS generated buzz. But kudos to Clooney for calling them on their "marketing of least resistance". It would have been more refreshing to watch a good film pitched at more refined levels.

I don't know if Cami and I will get a chance to see Solaris this week, what with all the holiday shenanigans (we still haven't caught Die Another Day), but I plan on making time. Even when Soderberg is off his game, he's still 90% better than anyone else out there right now.

Last thing I'll mention: Rick Brose of The 2econd Opinion was kind enough to review our site. It's fair and balanced and well worth your time to read. If not for his take on our work, but for the very thorough collection of reviews he has assembled on other topics far-flung as video games, movies, music and DVD's. It's a real treat. Check it out!

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