 The demise of 'Trick-or-Treat'
posted by Dante on 11.3.2003 - 8:30 am
Am I the only one who remembers kids going door to door, telling jokes, getting candy? Maybe it's moving to California, maybe it's living in an apartment, but there are no kids. Do they just put on their costumes and then knock on grandma's door? I miss the knock-knock jokes and the plastic masks. The kids dressed as: Cinderella, Superman, or the Hulk. The really little kids dressed up as pumpkins or turtles (regular, neither teenage, mutant, nor ninja).
In Iowa, we had the concept of "Beggar's Night". The cities would sometimes shift the night the kids would go out trick-or-treating in order to aim for better weather or to catch a night when TV was in reruns or for weather concerns. Whatever. If you are moving to California from the midwest (especially to the San Francisco area), don't ever ask anyone, "when is beggar's night?" The best you can hope for is a questioning look. Out here its always Halloween night. How the hell was I supposed to know?
But my real question: why do people still buy all that halloween candy? No kids are coming to your doors anymore. Admit it. You are just buying that crap to eat it yourself. That second bag isn't for the kids-cuz they aren't coming. You're going to eat both bags yourself. Admit it! The kids in your neighborhood don't even like Snicker bars .. they prefer Milky Way or Kit Kat. You need to get on some kind of 12 step program. I'm ashamed of you.
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 favorites so far
posted by Christopher on 11.3.2003 - 8:43 am
this is definitely my favorite strip to date. i don't think i'd change anything about it.
regardless of what dante may think of the state of the holiday, this was one of my favorite halloweens. my girlfriend and i went over to a friend's house and helped him distribute candy and scare kids at this haunted house he built. he and his wife claim that it sucked compared to two years ago (last year they were too busy having a kid... delivering, not initiating the creation of, you dirty monkey). well, now we know them, so next year's is going to rule.
And I just can't wait until next Halloween
'Cause I've got some new ideas that will really make them scream
And, by God, I'm really gonna give it all my might!
...Uh oh, I hope there's still time to set things right
sandy Claws, hmm
-jack
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Matrix Revolutions
posted by Dante on 11.5.2003 - 9:48 am
I have been weathering the criticisms of reviewers for days now. People who, based solely on their notoriety, were able to see the new Matrix movie days before I would be able. People who didn't even like Reloaded, but were going anyway. I still think this is a foolish plan on the part of movie studios. Have pre-screenings for the fans. Let a couple of photogenic people dedicated to the franchise see it first. Allowing all these famous tightwads into the theaters days in advance just poisons the wine for everyone else. Or is that your plan? Work the zealots into a frenzy now that they can unite against a common foe? Clever.
I was one of those who couldn't wait. I was in line for the 6am show. I'm not going to say I was one of the crazy ones who was lined up hours in advance. No, I enjoy the sweet bliss of slumber, especially the morning hours. Fandango had my hook-up.
I thought it was some kind of bizarre joke that Fandango was pulling on me. Like I would roll up to the theater; the doors would be locked, lights dim, just a janitor pushing a sweeper full of stale popcorn. But no. The theater was packed. Not the crowd I was expecting, no one in costume, no crazies. Mostly high school kids who were coming in before they had to go for Physics class.
I'm not going to make any commentary on the actual film itself. What I will say is that your feelings about Revolutions will be the same as your feelings about Reloaded. There aren't any huge surprises, or any deviations from the Matrix equation.
I found it intensely pleasurable though--despite my intense desire that the movie's end would have come five minutes sooner.
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