Movie Night 72: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)
Director: Kevin Smith
Cast: Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Jason Lee, Shannon Elizabeth, Ben Affleck, Will Ferrell, Chris Rock, and a whole bunch of others
Plot: Jay and Silent Bob are back to their "last" big adventure. After the events of Chasing Amy (although Dogma takes place between then and now), Jay and Silent Bob were enjoying their regular paychecks from the likeness rights that they acquired for their characters Bluntman and Chronic. However, after a restraining order keeps them away from the Quick Stop, they discover on the internet that a movie is being made about them - and ultimately, that people are badmouthing them on internet chat boards. Jay and Silent Bob begin their trek across the country to stop the movie from being made so that people on the internet will stop making fun of them...hilarity ensues.

Suffice it to say, a while slew of celebrity guests abound and Kevin Smith's usual brand of comedy entertains. If you haven't seen all of the other Kevin Smith "Jersey" movies, then you may not get all of the jokes - but you'll get enough of them to enjoy the flick, and laugh your ass off!

December 31: Hawaii Luau New Year's Party at my place!

Sorry for the delay in the announcement, but I've been busy with the holiday and playing catch up on all of the things that I've missed because of working long / late hours.

Starting in 2008, I'm going to be having a special monthly movie night to help shake things up a bit, called "The Best / Worst of" Movie nights. Categories will be selected for the month, and everyone will pre-select from the titles within that category so that we can vote in advance and watch clips before the final flick. More details on this will be given out later.

Movie Night 72 will be a regular movie night, and then there will be the New Years Party on December 31! It'll be Hawaii luau themed, and I need people to bring a few things:

- Food (chips, dip, brownies, whatever)
- Pop
- BYOB (bring your own liquor, because I'll only be supplying champaign for the midnight toast)
- Costumes (flower shirts, grass skirts, funny straw hats, sun glasses, etc)
- Music (Jimmy Buffet, Beach Boys, whatever)
- Games (I only have Scene It, Scrabble, and Cloisters)

It is also MANDATORY for people to RSVP if you want to stay the night. Although this apartment is larger than my previous one, I still only have so much space for people. Bring your own pillows and blankets. Even if you only think you're going to need to stay the night, please let me know and bring your pillow and blankets. Space is filling up fast, as I'll be capping it around 10 people (and 8 people are already RSVPed as of this post).

Let me know if you think you're going to make it, too, so I can have enough midnight beverages for the group. Dress up, and let's bring in the new year with tons of drunken debotchery and fun!

This page won't go live until Monday (December 31), but I won't have time to post about it then, because I'm throwing a Hawaii luau to finish off 2007 and move on into 2008 (the last year Bush will be in office).

So check out the page when it goes live on Monday, and every Monday when it updates.

I wanted to do a comic to honor the writer's strike that's been going on for a month and some change now. If you're not aware of what's going on in Hollywood right now, the writer's guild is demanding compensation for "new media" distribution for all of their projects. With many new technologies offering TV shows and movies (UMD, iPods, online streaming, etc), writers are not being given a fare share of the cut.

Hollywood feels differently, and so the writers guild members have all gone on strike to force their hand. Of course, SCABs and back-up writers will be called in, but don't use this as an opportunity to try to break into Hollywood as a writer - because even though you may get some work now, when the writers come back (and they will), SCABs and back-up writers will have no place among them.

I'm holding out for a resolution to pass by or before February. With new shows that should start in late January (Lost, Battlestar Galactica, 24, etc), I would hate for it to escalate and continue on beyond then...and we're all going to be stuck with reality TV shows and crappy reruns until Hollywood gives in.

Because I'm no fan of reality TV shows.

How do you guys and gals all feel about the writer's strike, and when do you think it may be resolved?

Also, I should note that the last panel is a joke, that the artwork is mine, and that Laura has no desire to do any regular web comics (despite my begging and pleading). ;P

Sorry for the delay, but I've been so swamped at work lately that I haven't had enough time to review the last flick we watched at movie night. Now I'm on a week-long break, and have some time to play catch up.

Movie Night #71: Castle in the Sky (1986)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Plot: Sheeta is a little girl with a mysterious pendant that holds the secrets to Laputa, the Castle in the Sky. Pazu is a little boy who works in the mining town, and finds Sheeta floating down from the sky. Now, the two of them are in a race against pirates and secret government agents to find the mythical lost city, and unlock the secrets of the crystal.

Like all of Miyazaki's flicks, this movie is truely magical and full of imagination and excitement. The characters are very well fleshed out, and the animation is top notch - even though it's over 30 years old! Fun for all ages, and a great movie all around.

Movie Night 70: TMNT (2007)
Director: Kevin Munroe
Plot: After the events of the first three live action movies, the Turtles have fallen on hard times. Splinter has sent Leonardo off to South America to learn to become a better leader, which has left the Trutles looking for alternatives in their spare time. Donny opperates a phone-tech serivce where he helps callers who have computer problems, Mikey works as a costume clown for little kids (who dresses up as a turtle), and Raph has taken on an alternate persona as the Nightwatcher and fights crime.

April O'Neil (now a collector of rare artifacts for people who can afford her rates) goes down to South America to find Leo and tries to bring him back, and her speech does convince him to return. Upon coming back to New York, however, Leo is met with mixed feelings from his brothers - especially Raph. Splinter forbids the Turtles from fighting, but allows them to go into the city for training. However, they encounter the foot clan fighting a giant monster on top of a building, and rush in to join the fray.

The monster is too strong for the turtles, but is defeated by 4 stone warriors. The trutles try to investigate where these monsters have come from, all the while attempting to deal with their sibling rivalry and inability to work as a team. However, with the foot clan back on the streets, the main concern of the trutles is - who's running the gang now that Shredder is out of the picture?

This flick was a ton of fun to watch, even if events play out a little differently than I would have liked them to. Also, Leo and Raph are really the only characters who get a lot of screen time (which has a great fight scene between them, which doesn't end the way it should have). It's a sweet movie, and tons of fun for all ages, despite whatever flaws I enjoy pointing out in it.