movies

Summer Movie Duds

This entry was posted in comics and tagged astrology Chris Pratt Joan Quigley media movies Reagan Richard Dreyfuss Ronald Reagan on by
Read the comic on Patreon.

Apparently this year’s Memorial Day weekend movies were busts compared to last year’s. I’ll definitely check out Furiosa and the latest Apes as soon as they reach my living room cinema, which will probably be before this summer’s even close to being over.

The studios are trying to blame the strikes, but the problems were already there before the picket lines halted production. There are always these boom and bust cycles with movies, but studios used to weather them with diversified releases. Now it’s going on a quarter century of the same genre stuff or some nostalgia revival.

Now that the unofficial start of summer has passed, I had to get a Jaws reference in, and Richard Dreyfuss being a dick at a screening was a good excuse. I know the narrative reasons why Quint had to be eaten, but it was fun drawing Bruce chewing the shit out of Hooper instead.

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.

Nostalgia Movie Marathon

This entry was posted in comics and tagged climate change entertainment media movies on by
Read the comic on Patreon.

It’s summer blockbuster season already, and even I saw Dune Part 2 in a theater; my first time in one since before the pandemic. Most of the trailers were variations on existing properties. More than the usual beating intellectual properties to death, there’s a trend of maudlin revivals that take themselves way too seriously. If it’s not in one already, the next Ghostbusters movie will reveal Slimer (AKA Onionhead) has a tragic backstory that it’s the ghost of a child who died from a famine and that’s why it loves hot dogs so much.

There are lots of good movies still being made, but this is the season for garbage. I like garbage too! But not as much as I love to complain.

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.

Box Office Bombs

This entry was posted in comics and tagged Mark Zuckerberg media Metaverse movies transit on by
Read the comic on Patreon.

I still haven’t returned to going to the movies. Mostly due to never being a fan of crowded theaters even before COVID. But maybe if the numbers are low and the edibles are just right, I’ll get tickets to see Dune Part II.

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on The Nib.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.

Scab Scripts

This entry was posted in comics and tagged artificial intelligence Joe Biden media movies Scabby the Rat strikes television unions WGA on by
Read the comic on Patreon.

The Writers’ Guild of America declared a strike early Tuesday after the executive side of the entertainment business refused to negotiate their modest demands. A lot has changed since the last writers’ strike in 2007, especially how media is consumed and compensated.

Netflix’s red envelopes were the big new thing back then, and now they’re a relic young people think coexisted with BETAMAX. Yet pay, residuals, and benefits are still stuck in that ancient time before we had to manage a dozen or so streaming logins.

All of these studios are making profits, just not enough to satisfy Wall Street’s maw. So they’re screwing writers and nickel-and-diming their subscribers by canceling shows and memory-holing their back catalogs to save a few cents on residuals, all to squeeze out more dividends and stock buybacks.

Joe “Union Guy” Biden broke a rail strike so the economy wouldn’t take a hit. If this writers’ strike goes on long enough to harm the studios’ bottom lines, I’m sure he’ll find a way to intervene.

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on The Nib.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.

Coming Distractions

This entry was posted in comics and tagged CDC Chuck Schumer climate change Covid-19 Joe Biden movies Nancy Pelosi on by
Read the comic on Patreon.

I caught COVID last Friday. I’m vaxed, boosted, and I don’t go unmasked indoors. My best contact tracing puts me getting it at the bodega from an unmasked patron or employee.

I woke up Saturday morning with a painful sore throat, and immediately took a home test that turned positive as soon as the drop hit the strip. It quickly mellowed to a very minor cough over the weekend and early in the week.

I feel fine now and I’m about to take a test to see if I’m clear to leave home office quarantine. I’m not keen on getting reinfected or long-COVID, so watching everyone carry on like the pandemic’s over is insanity-inducing. Especially as boosters wane and variants keep multiplying.

Waiting 45 days to see a new movie is no problem for me.

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on The Nib.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.

Threats All Go to the Movies!

This entry was posted in comics and tagged cinema Covid-19 film movies pandemic on by
Read the comic on Patreon.

I know most movie rollouts were planned well in advance of this latest omicron wave, but there’s something incredibly sinister about all the “only in theaters” ads running while hospitals are struggling and begging people to stop spreading this disease everywhere.

We rented Mike Mills’ “C’mon C’mon” this week just to see something new. It’s good! And besides being safer at home, it was cheaper than two arthouse tickets to see it.

Read the comic on Patreon.
Read the comic on The Nib.
Read the comic on Daily Kos.
Read the comic on GoComics.