Posts Tagged ‘love’

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IN LOVE WITH THE WORLD

by Tom on February 15, 2010 at 12:00 am
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(24 votes, average: 8.21 out of 10)
Valentine's Day, Love, box office, love sonnets, chocolate, strawberries, hate, humanity

I had a lot of fun drawing Tom's wild mood swings in today's comic. Always fun to do a little cartoon-y over exaggeration.

Cami and I didn't see Valentine's Day over the weekend and our lives were no less the richer for it. But I must admit that I was surprised by it's $52 million haul at the box office.

This goes back to what I was talking about on Friday. I think people were pre-disposed to seeing this movie by virtue of it's branding. They felt compelled to see a movie CALLED Valentine's Day ON Valentine's Day. It's the laziest, easiest response to "Hey, we need something to do for our Valentine's Day together. I know what we should do!"

I'm certain the large cast had something to do with it as well. The producers basically played the odds and gambled that at least ONE of those actors would get you to buy a ticket. It looks like their gamble paid off.

I hope the success of Valentine's Day doesn't spur a bunch of copycat movies that stack the deck with 2 dozen different well-known actors. Having so many big names to feature makes it sound like the story doesn't support them. I mean, you can't really develop that many characters at once and be successful. Even Love, Actually - which has built up a lot of good will over the years - falls down on this point.

My sister-in-law saw Valentine's Day with friends and my wife asked her a lot of questions about it. I think it reflects the "car crash" interest in this movie. People want to watch it because they want to see if they can pull it off. According to my sister-in-law, they don't.

I won't spoil anything for you in case you want to see it, but she referenced two different points in the script where the audience audibly groaned at the contrivance on screen. So, buyer beware.

I will say this... For those of you thinking about going to see this movie for Julia Roberts, my sister-in-law warns that she is on screen for about 6 minutes. But, again, considering there are 19 different actors in this thing and the movie is 125 minutes long... an appearance of about 6 minutes is pretty much on the nose. Do the math. It shakes out right.

I'm curious if anyone here saw Valentine's Day this weekend. If so, what were your thoughts? Feel free to leave your comments below!

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GUEST STRIP – JOSH ANDERSON

by Tom on December 23, 2009 at 7:01 am
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(20 votes, average: 7.45 out of 10)
Guest Strip, Josh Anderson, Game U, love, nerds, Avatar, It's Complicated, relationships

I gotta give it up to Josh Anderson from Game U and his excellent guest strip. When I put out the call for guest strips, Josh was the first to answer. I've been sitting on this strip since October 27 - which is even more amazing when you consider Josh had the presence of mind to reference both Avatar and It's Complicated. I wanted to publish Josh's comic earlier to reward him, but he made it so darn timely! Plus, he found the sweet spot when it comes to the relationship stuff I like to hit on from time to time with Tom and Cami. All around excellent work that needs to be rewarded by everyone visiting Josh's site, Game U. Let Josh know what a great job he did!

Not much of a status update for me to talk about except that we're just trying to get ourselves organized for Christmas and visiting family.

Apparently, Iowa is supposed to be slammed with freezing drizzle, ice covered roads and blowing snow over the holidays. So even though we don't have to travel far, it's making everyone anxious. We'll see what happens.

It would be nice if we could get away for a couple of hours to see a movie. Cami is very interested in seeing It's Complicated and I have to admit - despite the fact that it's another piece of affluent copper kettle fluff from director Nancy Meyers - I'm interested in seeing it, too.

I'm sorry, but you can't bring together a cast like Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin and just disavow it. That's some A-level talent right there. All of them are actors I admire.

I'm also very interested in seeing Sherlock Holmes. Although I imagine it to be the exact opposite of It's Complicated in nearly every way. Guy Ritchie's films are all about unchecked, sweaty machismo. Meyer's films are all about women with authority and fabulous kitchens with unchecked square footage.

I think Ritchie is a director that has never really lived up to his potential. He delivered something unique with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, but he's never been able to match it. I don't expect Sherlock Holmes to reverse that trend for him.

Still, it's got Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law and - from the trailers - they look like they have some really interesting chemistry. So even if the film looks like the sloppy backwash of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, I think we'll still be treated to some good performances.

Last thing I'll leave you with for today - we've been making some AMAZING strides on the fund raising campaign for Theater Hopper: Year Three. There were some big pledges over the last couple of days and want to extend my SINCERE THANKS to those of you who have lent your support.

As of this posting we are 87% funded with a measly $460 left to go! I'm feeling confident that we can raise the few remaining dollars, but I don't want to rest on my laurels. We have only ONE WEEK LEFT to make goal. If we don't, then I won't see ANY of the money and the book will likely never be published.

If you haven't pledged to the fund raising campaign yet, please pledge today. With the holidays approaching, I'm concerned that we'll lose momentum or that people might forget about the campaign. Even if it's only a dollar, it gets us that much closer to goal and will hopefully inspire others to put us over the top!

In the meantime, expect another guest comic here on Friday. If you'd like to leave your thoughts about It's Complicated or Sherlock Holmes below, I'd love to hear them! What movies are you planning to see over the Christmas holiday? Will you cross the gender aisle and see both films? Let's talk about it!

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WHAT?!…HE IS!

by Tom on July 9, 2003 at 12:00 am
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(8 votes, average: 8.25 out of 10)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Sean Connery, love, infatuation, questionable

Even though the man is closing in on three-quarters of a century, there is just something undeniably cool about Sean Connery. How cool is he? I'm willing to plunk down $8 dollars on what my better senses tell me will be the HORRIBLE League of Extraordinary Gentlemen just so I can listen to the man talk for 2 hours. Think people. There is finite amount of time left for us to enjoy this privlege.

Hell, even if the movie sucks, at least it will give me more fodder to use in my Sean Connery impression.

"That was naughty."

The League or LXG or whatever you want to call it isn't going to do very well at the box office this weekend. I imagine it'll take quit a drubbing from the press as well.

Connery's difficulties with director Stephen Norrington (who also directed Blade) have been pretty well documented. So strong was their animosity for each other, Norrington didn't even show up for the films' premiere a week ago in Hollywood.

When someone asked Connery about working with Norrington, he reportedly replied "Why don't you ask me a question about someone I like?" Ouch. This usually isn't the kind of conflict that creates a comfortable viewing experience for an audience.

Another strike against The League is that it's an adaptation of a comic book written by Alan Moore during a summer where each comic book license seems to be doing worse than the last.

Moore is an extremely compitent writer and if you've ever read Watchmen, there's your proof. I'm not worried about a faulty concept. That much I know is gold. Basically, Connery's character (Allan Quartermain, the world's greatest adventurer) has been called on to assemble a team of indivduals with extraordinary powers to stop a lunatic. A vampire, The Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll, Captain Nemo - all of these turn-of-the-century literary characters. Essentially the concept is that this is the first team of super heroes - even before the term has been introduced.

As for the execution, well... we'll have to wait until Friday to find out. My hopes aren't very high. But who knows? It may surprise me. It'll probably be recieved as well as Moore's last adaptation which was From Hell with Johnny Depp from a few years ago. I think it mostly struck a nerve with fans familar with the visual pacing of graphic novels, but it didn't do much business in theaters. I still thought it was good.

To tide you over, click here for an example of the pure brilliance of Sean Connery.

...or not.

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BUT WHAT ABOUT J-LO?

by Tom on February 14, 2003 at 12:00 am
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(11 votes, average: 8.00 out of 10)
Daredevil, Elektra, dress up, costume, Valentine's Day, love, thin ice, Ben Affleck, stabbed

First things first. Yes, today's strip is a Valentine to my lovely wife Cami. I was going to go into a big, detailed explanation about how I decided to do this for her, but I think it stands on it's own two legs.

If that doesn't cut the mustard for you, let's just say that I really like making a public spectacle out of myself. Sometimes it can come out in very bad ways that may embarrass Cami (she knows what I'm talking about). But in other ways, it is a powerful tool I can use to let the whole world know how much I love and appreciate her.

I have a web site. I have an audience. I followed my heart to the ultimate conclusion. I love you, Cami. Happy Valentine's Day.

That being said, my Valentine's Day got off to an excellent start Thursday night while I was preparing today's strip. Checking the site statistics on a whim, I decided to look at my referral logs. Lo should my eyes damn near pop out of my head to discover that I had been linked from the main page of NEWS ASKEW!!!

For those of you not in the loop, News Askew is the web site for all things relating to Kevin Smith. Yes, that Kevin Smith. The writer/director of such favorites as Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy.

It's a great place to go to get the inside scoop on all the projects he's working on as well as have a little fun with the View Askew cannon of films. It's a great community and I've been trolling around the site for years. That, and his new site Movie Poop Shoot are two stops on my daily web rounds. I'm totally bugging out just being recognized because I'm a big fan of Kevin's. Just getting the link is like a brush with greatness!

So to all of the new readers coming in from News Askew, WELCOME! Please feel free to take a look around. You may need to start here to get a handle on the current story line and figure out why Ben Affleck is even hanging around in the first place.

If you like, you can start from the beginning and work yourself up to the present day. Ours is a fairly green operation. We've only 87 strips under our belt since opening in August of 2002. But hopefully Theater Hopper will be a place you check in on from time to time. If you can manage to swing by every Monday, Wednesday and Friday when we post new strips, that would be even better!

For any Ben Affleck fans out there, I hope you know that the last two strips where he is featured have all been in good fun. Of course, having him make a pass at one of my main characters probably doesn't do much to dilute the "Ben's gay!" perception among those who like to slag our resident Daredevil. But what are you going to do with a guy who played a character named Chesty Smith in School Ties? If that isn't a gay porn name straight out of 1976, then I don't know what is! :)

To all of my regular readers, I hope you have enjoyed the week of strips I've put together for you. I had a lot of fun doing them.

This whole week has been a real trip. Even before getting this link from News Askew, I was getting lots of positive feedback which is something I don't get that often. Hell, I hardly get any feedback! So when I get an e-mail from one of you out there is a great validation. To know that you took time out of your day to pass along a compliment is very humbling to me. I want you to know I print off every one of those suckers. So then I can show them to my kids one day and say, "See?! Daddy WAS a success back in his day!"

Of course, they'll be, like really young and won't know the difference. But still...

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone. Here's hoping you have someone warm to share it with.

And because I'm in such a lovey-dovey mood, I've posted a new review written by my friend Nick. It covered How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. A very fitting romantic film for the occasion.

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MAD LOVE

by Tom on October 30, 2002 at 12:00 am
Posted In: Blog
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(1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 10)

Since today has become "Publicly Announce Your Love For Everything" Day, I thought it would be fun to post another picture of my beagle Truman.

Some of you might remember the strip I did a while ago and the blog that featured a picture of him as a pup. Well, here he is. All grown up. A robust 8 months old.

Truman has an ear infection right now, so he's a little cranky. I'm a little cranky too after paying the vet bill. But I would never ask for a handout. That would be tacky.

Some might accuse me to pandering to their cute receptors by publishing an adorable picture of my dog, but I say he's deserved the recognition. He's been very good this week and has stopped chewing on the couch. Truman is a pretty smart dog. Just look how discreetly he covers up his "business" in the picture above.

So, anyway. I love my dog! He's cool!

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GRILS KICK ASS!

by Tom on October 30, 2002 at 12:00 am
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(11 votes, average: 7.27 out of 10)
Jimmy, upsize, supply closet, love, violence

I just want to make it clear that nothing of this nature has actually ever happened to Cami. She's not known for cracking skulls at the concession stand.

However, that's not to say the theater staff wouldn't try to make a pass at her. Cami is hot. I mean, like, totally hot. Part of your brain stem would have to be missing not to make a pass at her.

As I write this, she is sleeping. She cleaned the bathrooms tonight while I dinked around with today's strip. For that, and so much more, she is awesome. She is beautiful. I love her.

Now, collectively... "AWWWWW..."

But it's true.

By the way, did you know that you'll actually get a chance to SEE what she looks like in the Theater Hopper Documentary? This is what we call "building suspense". I know you'll all be very pleased when you have a copy of the film in your hot, little hands. Soon, young Padawan Learner. Soon. Stay tuned here for more.

I was hoping to have my review of Punch-Drunk Love up and ready to look at today, but I was putting up shelves in the basement earlier this evening. I guess it'll just have to wait.

I'll see ya' when I see ya'.

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