Something I noticed after I had produced this comic... I draw my characters throwing their hands up in the air an awful lot. Someone should start a meme.

Onto more serious news.

I was talking about Machete on the Theater Hopper Facebook page (more specifically, that star Danny Trejo was 66 years-old - What the WHAT?!) and someone shared with me a link to a group that was planning on protesting Machete for being "anti-white." This group's claim is the the film was released to "green light" violence against white Americans.

I won't share the link with you here. I'm not particularly interested in validating this specific group with your time or attention. But, needless to say, I found the whole thing pretty disgusting. Not just for the misguided protest effort they were trying to organize but for the truly horrible, racist comments posted along with it. The less said about it, the better.

I haven't see Machete and I'm not exactly running out the door to do so. I figure any feature-length movie sprung from a joke trailer released with Grindhouse three years ago is probably going to be a little light on plot and characterization. And, well, it's a Robert Rodriguez movie. So, same goes.

But reading about this hate campaign disguised as a protest makes me want to see Machete for no other reason than to turn their crank.

From everything I've read the movie is violent and cheesy and everything you'd come to expect from a Rodriguez movie. I'm aware that they tried to make the film somewhat topical by tying it to the immigration debate going on in Arizona at the moment and that perhaps their execution was sloppy. Considering Machete's somewhat incomplete origin, that sounds like a reasonable criticism to me. I don't think anyone is seeing this movie for political moralizing. They just wanna see Danny Trejo slap a Gatling gun onto a motorcycle and launch that bad boy 50 feet in the air.

But protesting Machete's for being anti-white? I just don't see it. In fact, I don't even see a point in pretending like it's a reasonable complaint and formulating an argument against it.

If these paranoid loons see a bunch of white guys getting carved up by a six foot tall Mexican and think it's anti-white, they need to put themselves in the shoes of every black person who has watched the token black actor be the first to die in EVERY SINGLE HORROR MOVIE of the last 30 years. I can't imagine that's been very encouraging to them.

I have to stop while I'm ahead. Having an argument about this is a losing proposition. You can never reason with people who see issues like this where there is none. It's like yelling at a wall.

So, for brevity's sake, can we all agree that the assertion that Machete is "anti-white" is a ridiculous notion and move on with our lives? Thanks.

Even if you want to debate it with me in the comments, I'll tell you right now that I'm going to make an executive decision to delete those comments. Because I don't care how well-reasoned you think you're being, protesting Machete for being "anti-white" is just a fancy way of dressing up your racism and marching it down the street.

I try to be accommodating to different points of view, but sometimes you just have to cut your losses and move on.

I have to apologize for the comic being a day late. Unfortunately the reason is because Cami and I spent the majority of the Labor Day weekend packing up our house in preparation for the move to our NEW house in less than 3 weeks. Henry and Pearl stayed with my in-laws and we worked all weekend. We got a lot done, but by Sunday night we were exhausted. We went to pick up the kids on Monday so we could at least have ONE day this week where we - y'know - get to SEE them. And, well, that's why the comic was late.

I have most of my office packed up, but I'm getting kind of freaked out about boxing up my merchandise to move to the new house. The shirts aren't that much of a hassle to move. But the books are very heavy and you can only box so many of them together before you risk throwing your back out trying to pick them up. That means a lot of boxes and a lot of trips up and down stairs.

That's where you guys come in.

As you may or may not know, I'm running a sale in my store on ALL my merchandise now through September 19. Right now all of my books are being sold for $11.00. All of my shirts are being sold for $7.00 or less. These are great deals. After the 19th, books go back to $15.00 and shirts go back to $10.00. If you were ever thinking about buying something from me, now is the time to do it.

Incidentally, if you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you'll see references to discount codes up to 30% to help drive incentive a little more. With these codes, you can order from the store and essentially get shipping for FREE.

I'm very serious about selling as much of my merchandise as possible before the movie. I'm practically selling it to you at-cost. I can't go any lower. So help me out. Get something for yourself. Get something for a friend or a loved on that you can give them for their birthday or the holidays. Let's get this stuff out my office before I have to move it!

I'm trying not to be overbearing about it, but I'm getting a little more panicked as our move date approaches. Some of you have written me and expressed regret than you can't take part and I totally understand that. But even if aren't able to make a purchase, you can still help by telling others about the sale.

Share links to the store or to Theater Hopper on Facebook or Twitter. Mention us in the comments section of blogs you read or forums you visit. Submit the comic to social networking sites like Digg, StumbleUpon or the /r/comics section of reddit.

Tell them about our Spoiler shirt and ask people if they can guess all the movies being spoiled. Tell them about our books and how you get commentary with each strip plus tons of bonus features - over 200 pages of content in full color in every book for $11.00! It's a steal!

It sounds cheesy, but every little bit helps. If you're out there raising awareness, that's one more person who wasn't aware of Theater Hopper previously. That's a good deed and karma points in my book!

I'm sorry to do the full-court press on you with this blog post. But since I'm only updating once a week, I have to hit with as much impact as I can before I run up against the September 19 deadline!

So again, if you're thinking about buying anything from the Theater Hopper store, please do so today! And if you can't make a purchase for whatever reason (totally understandable), please help by spreading the word about the site and sale among your friends and the communities you visit.

One more time, here's the link to our store:

http://theaterhopper.storenvy.com/

THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS ORDERED SO FAR AND THANKS TO EVERYONE READING THIS FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

If you saw Machete or The American this weekend and feel like chatting it up in the comments below, please feel free. I know I gave The American a free pass without much discussion in the blog and I've heard wildly different reactions to the film. Some people I know were really into it and others thought it was a depressing waste of time. Did you see it? Where do you stand? Let us know!

This is the kind of comic and play with language is something that I know is pretty much only going to entertain me, but if you enjoyed it, thanks for coming along for the ride.

I did a comic similar to this a few years ago for Saw. Tom and Cami debated whether or not the would see Saw while sitting on a seesaw. It had several levels. I couldn't find it buried in the archives, though. You'll just have to trust me when I say how awesome it is.

I don't really have anything to say about Takers except it looks like the kind of stylish urban crime drama that Tupac Shakur would have starred in back in the day. I guess it did alright at the box office this weekend - $21 million. But, of course, late August into early September is a dead zone when it comes to new movies. Everyone is going back to school, so the studios just kind of shovel out whatever.

In completely unrelated news, I finally got around to seeing Scott Pilgrim vs. The World this weekend. I'm glad I had a chance to see it in the theater because I don't think it's going to be hanging around in multiplexes for much longer.

After a dismal 5th place opening in its first week to a drastic drop to 10th in its second week, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World lost more than 42% of it's business this weekend, plummeting to 14th place.

Theaters have obviously lost confidence in it. My theater, for example, only had three showings on Saturday an 11:00, a 4:00 and the 10:00 that I went to. Please keep in mind that this theater also has 20 screens, so it's not like it was really fighting for space among the end of summer duds.

The theater we were in seemed to have a lot of people in it, though. Or maybe it only looked that way because the theater was so small.

As for the movie itself. I liked it. In fact, I really liked it! I don't know if the film justifies the nerd rage expressed online in regards to the film failing to find an audience. Truthfully, I find the incredulous tone of that sentiment off-putting. It's not going to attract anyone who is on the fence to the film. Vanity Fair, however, made a very smart and impassioned argument for the movie that I thing proponents would be wise to adopt.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has a catchy and unforgettable energy that is makes it addicting to watch. Blissfully, however, it's comic book sensibilities never bleed over the edge and ruin it.

I've seen Scott Pilgrim vs. The World favorably compared to Speed Racer in this respect and I would say Pilgrim is a refinement of that approach. The film breaks the fourth wall constantly, but the script never winks at you. It doesn't make you feel dumb for investing in it. Speed lines, pixelated graphics and ridiculous super-powered fights are par for the course in the Scott Pilgrim universe. It's totally normal to all of the characters in the film, so it's totally normal to us.

Writer/director Edgar Wright has compared Scott Pilgrim to a musical. But instead of glorious production numbers, scenes are punctuated with exaggerated fight sequences.

I think that's the right way to approach the movie. You can certainly see the movie was paced with these interludes in mind. As Scott squares off against his opponents, the tension builds just enough before a comical, digital "VS." flashes on the screen and you know the fight is on.

Of course, it's impossible to talk about Scott Pilgrim without mentioning the music. Beck contributes a few song to Scott's fictional band - Sex Bom-Omb - that gives them an authentic garage band imperfection that is fun to listen to. But it's Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich's score that anchors the film with emotional resonance.

As a matter of fact, I downloaded the Scott Pilgrim score last night (it's only available as an MP3 download) and was listening to it on repeat as I worked on today's comic. If you're a fan of the movie at all, I suggest you pick it up. It's a good listen.

The more I think about Scott Pilgrim, the more I want to see it again. Wright's adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's original graphic novels is just different enough to warrant further inspection. What's pleasing about the film, however, is that these changes don't negatively impact the final product. That's a rare feat. Usually films that monkey with the time line and the details of the source material - especially one as well-loved as Scott Pilgrim - don't go over well. But in this case, I love the books and the movie equally - just in different ways.

I don't know if Scott Pilgrim will stay in theaters long enough for me to convince Cami to see it with me a second time. I'm very curious to see how someone who has ABSOLUTELY no investment in the material reacts to the movies. I think she would enjoy it, but we might have to wait until the movie comes out on DVD to find out.

Certainly this is a film that I would want to own. Scott Pilgrim's world is just to visually unique and interesting not to want to revisit again and again.

With that lengthy review (unrelated to the comic with which it appears) out of the way, I wanted to remind you guys about the BIG SALE going on in the store now until September 19.

As you know, Cami and I are packing up the kids and moving to a new house at the end of September. As such, I'm trying to sell off as much merchandise as I can before the big day so I don't have to pay the movers extra to haul out all my books and t-shirts. That means I'm passing unprecedented savings on to you!

All books and t-shirts are specially priced for a limited time. If you follow Theater Hopper on Twitter or Facebook, you might learn about some special codes that will afford you EXTRA discounts!

I'll tell you right now that people are really taking advantage of this sale. People are buying items in bulk - two or three shirts at a time. Or two books and one shirt at time. A myriad of combinations. The point is that they're buying a lot of stuff at once and there might not be much stuff left over if you wait too long. The good news about my new Storenvy store is that it keeps track of inventory. So now you can watch the little inventory bar trickle down to zero.

Even if you already own a bunch of Theater Hopper merchandise (and by the way, thank you), this is a great opportunity to buy something you can give as a gift later. Wouldn't it be great to have your holiday shopping done early? Wouldn't it be nice not to have to scramble at the Nth hour to get a birthday present for a friend? Give the gift of Theater Hopper! You won't be sorry!

That's all of my schilling for now. But, hey, keep us in mind. This is a great opportunity. You help yourself by saving money and you help me by lightening my load for our move. It's a win-win!

Just think about it. All I'm saying.

Back on track, did anyone see Takers this weekend? Have we left any stones unturned regarding Scott Pilgrim? If so, leave your comments below!

Or, y'know, we could always talk about Theater Hopper merch, too. I can give you guys some ideas to help promote the sale if that interests you?...

I'm a little bit amazed that The Expendables managed to hold on to its number one slot at the box office the weekend. I figured people would get their little nostalgic kick and it would fade into the background. But it held strong with another $16.5 million in ticket sales.

Although, admittedly, the newest offerings at the theater were pretty weak sauce. Vampires Suck? Seriously? Who is this movie for? Twilight fans are gonna reject it on principle alone. People who probably hate Twilight are probably smart enough to recognize a crappy parody movie when they see one.

What's been REALLY surprising is watching Scott Pilgrim vs. The World tumble from 5th to 10th place. It lost over 50% of it's business in one week. That stings. Whatever happened to the strong word of mouth on this thing that was going to give it a bounce in its second week? I gotta admit I'm feeling a little sorry for Bryan Lee O'Malley at this point.

Then again, he had a major motion picture adapted from his work and that will never, EVER happen for me. So I'm sure he's doing just fine.

Quick bit of site news and life news that I want to share with you guys...

Since I redesigned the site earlier this year, one area of the site that's been lacking has been the store. To say that it's impacted sales is an understatement. However, I was content to overlook it because I was busy packaging and trying to find time to complete sketches for people who had pre-ordered Theater Hopper: Year Three. I wasn't really in the position to take on new orders.

But in the next month, I'll be going through a major life change that has forced my hand in regard to getting rid of some merchandise.

At the end of September, Cami and I are packing up Truman and the kids and moving to a new house.

It's not a drastic move. We're still staying in central Iowa. We're pretty much trading one suburb for the other. Actually, we're moving back to our hometown to be closer to both my parents and Cami's parents, who still live there.

One of the big reasons Cami and I never moved away from Iowa is because knew when we had kids, we wanted them to have a strong relationship with their grandparents. Now that Henry is 3 and Pearl is almost a year, it didn't make sense to live a half hour away anymore. So we decided to move closer!

ANYWAY... as you know, moving can be a chore and I'm sitting on a bunch of merchandise I'm not really interested in moving to the new house if I don't have to - ESPECIALLY the books.

That's why I've launched a new Storenvy store and have DRASTICALLY cut prices on ALL of my inventory!

SUPER SECRET SHOPPER TIP: People who follow me on Twitter and Facebook will be entitled to EXTRA savings!

Right now all books are $11.00 and all shirts are $7.00. There are also a few clearance items that I have priced to move. There's limited inventory on those clearance items. So if you want them, you'll need to move fast!

This sale will be taking place from now until Sunday, September 19. But if you want to be sure you get your pick of the litter, be sure to order early! Also, the likelihood of you receiving your orders in a timely manner will GREATLY improve in the weeks before moving to a new house slowly drives me insane.

Don't miss a great opportunity to to buy Theater Hopper merchandise! Even if you own everything we've ever produced, this is a great opportunity to buy something for a loved one on their birthday or even for the holidays!

Please help spread the word and thanks again for your support!

This isn't the first time I've aped another artist's style in service of a joke/homage/parody/pleasedon'tdsueme. Although I think it's kind of interesting that the artist's I'm mirroring do their work primarily in black and white.

Don't let anyone fool you. Doing art in straight up black and white is hard. You can't fudge and cover things up with colors or shading. Everything has to be up front. That's why I give my friends like Zach Miller and Mitch Clem major props. The detail they throw in their work is amazing. I don't have that kind of patience.

Of course, it's not like I threw in a bunch of detail on the black and white stuff for today's comic. But I hope you enjoy it. I had a lot of fun making it. Big ups to Brian Lee O'Malley for letting me boost his style and driving it around the block a few times. It handles great.

In fact, if I can level with you for a minute, today's comic was probably the most fun I had drawing in probably weeks. Maybe months. Ever since I made the decision to update Theater Hopper once a week, I've kind of been in mourning and producing the comic wasn't as much fun as it used to be.

Don't misunderstand me. It was absolutely the right decision to make. I've been under a lot of stress the past few months (years) and I kind of needed the break. But at the same time, Sunday night rolls around and I'm like "Oh, yeah. Comic." Sometimes it's hard to get the creative wheels turning when you don't have the momentum of a thrice-weekly schedule propelling you.

Regardless, I had a blast coming up with the comic and illustrating today's comic. Time seemed to fly by as I was putting it together and I was having a lot of fun while doing it. I actually feel like it kind of sparked something for me and hopefully it will keep me going in the future.

Lapses in self-confidence are nothing new to creative types. There have been several times over the last 8 years that I wasn't "feelin' it" in terms of producing the comic. Sometimes you wonder if you're kidding yourself and if it isn't best to hang it up entirely.

But then, every once in a while, you get that feeling that reminds you "Yeah. This is why I have to do this." And it all feels new again.

I think that's the trick to any long-term creative endeavor. Perseverance. If you don't have the determination to see things through, you're never going to know where that next high is coming from. I think that's why, despite dropping the update schedule to once a week, it's going to be hard for me to ever give up Theater Hopper completely. If I do, I'm always going to wonder "But what would have happened if I stuck it out just a little while longer?"

Artistic philosophy aside, let's talk about Scott Pilgrim vs. The World for a minute, shall we?

It didn't do so hot at the box office. 5th place behind The Other Guys and Inception with $10.5 million in box office receipts. It actually did WORSE than the $11.3 million opening weekend of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

Let's put it this way: Between the paltry opening of Scott Pilgrim and the $6.8 million opening weekend of Youth in Revolt, I'd be worried about finding work in the future if I were Michael Cera.

I'm not exactly pleased that Scott Pilgrim vs. The World showed so poorly this weekend. But I think it's failure to connect with audiences reflects two things:

1. I was right about the trailers doing a poor job of giving the people not already familiar with the books a reason to check out the movie (which is ironic because, if you haven't read the books, today's comic isn't going to make sense to you, either).
2. Similar to the failure that resulted in the $13.8 million opening of Snakes on a Plane, The Internet has very little clout when it comes to making underdog movies that they are excited about actually profitable.

I went to a bachelor party on Saturday and fought the crowds at the Iowa State Fair on Sunday. So I didn't get a chance to see Scott Pilgrim this weekend. With that in mind, I don't want to talk too much about the movie because sooner or later I'm going to sound like I'm talking straight outta my ass, Ace Ventura-style.

Poor box office or not, I still want to see the movie. I'm still excited about the movie and, ultimately, I'm willing to bet that the film is more than going to make up for any shortcomings in its theatrical run with a strong performance on Blu-ray and DVD.

I had a little more that I wanted to talk about with you guys, but I kind of got sidetracked with my musings about the artistic process and whatnot. Conversations about The Expendables, Eat Pray Love and more might have to wait until later.

I have some big news regarding my personal life that you might already be aware of if you're following me on Twitter or Facebook. But I'll spare you the details until it affects things here at Theater Hopper. I have an announcement related to a new Theater Hopper storefront coming soon that I think you guys might find interesting. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, let's talk a little bit about Scott Pilgrim in the comments, shall we? I know a few of you saw it before opening weekend, but what did the rest of you think? Why did it show so poorly at the box office? Will the movie fail to connect with anyone who didn't own an NES? Leave your opinions below and thanks for reading Theater Hopper!

Sincere apologies for the comic being late this week. As I explained on the Theater Hopper Facebook page, last week was... not the best. I pretty much spent the entirty of last week preparing for a presentation in my Leadership and Human Capital Development course as part of my Masters in Communication Leadership. I was in class all of Friday night and most of Saturday.

Then, on Sunday, we were out of the house nearly all day showing it to prospective buyers. One couple was traveling from Dallas, Texas to look at our house and was supposed to be there at 5:00 PM. We got a call at 5:30 saying that they were still on the runway in Dallas.

But they loved the photos of our house online and really, really wanted to see our home that evening before they interviewed for some hospital positions the next day. We had been hanging out at my in-laws and said we would wait. So we waited. And waited. By the time 7:30 rolled around we said, "You know what? We have two small children. It's way past their bedtime and we have work tomorrow. You'll have to come look another time."

By the time we got home and got both kids to bed it was past 9:00 PM and I was wiped out. There was no way I was going to get a comic done that evening. So I ended up working on Monday's comic last night instead. I appreciate your patience and understanding.

So let's talk about this comic, huh?

I've been giving Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World static since June when the first trailer came out. A bunch of my contemporaries were wetting their pants and I couldn't understand what all the hub-bub was about. My opinion at the time (and to this day) is that the trailers don't do a good job of communicating why the uninitiated should even care.

Then I read the books.

It was a long time coming. People have been telling me for (what seemed like years) that I should be reading the Scott Pilgrim books. But I'm generally very bad about taking advice from others when it comes to movies, TV, music or books.

That's not to say I'm not receptive to suggestion. I just don't assign a lot of priority to it.

For example, I had friends telling me for years that I should watch Arrested Development, that it's humor was right up my alley. But I could never get into it when it was on TV. I felt like I couldn't understand the long-form narrative and all of the inside jokes. It wasn't until I bought all three seasons on DVD that I came to the light.

People told me for years to listen to Death Cab For Cutie, that I would really enjoy the songs and melodies and that it was right up my alley. It wasn't until after I heard "Transatlantacism" in the series finale of Six Feet Under that I dove into the band's catalog and really started to enjoy their music. Now I own all of their albums.

Anyway, the same was true with Scott Pilgrim. People told me for years to buy the books, that I would enjoy the video game references and irreverent, innocent and kinetic art style of Brian Lee O'Malley. I put it off and put it off until I noticed that Amazon was selling the first 5 books for $9.00 a piece and I decided to jump in with both feet.

While I found the first book to be a little laborious, I eventually fell in love with the Scott Pilgrim universe as I eagerly anticipated the release of the 6th book in advance of the movie. The wait was almost unbearable. I had to know how the story ended! I was completely hooked.

Rewatching the trailer, I now understand what everyone was so excited about. I think director Edgar Wright has done an expert job of capturing all of the little comic book flourishes that make the books feel so alive without delivering the film into caricature. I'm hoping that the fight sequences are significant enough to move Michael Cera out of his "adorable dork" phase and into something more substantial. If nothing else, the soundtrack should be pretty good, right?

One thing that bugs me about the movie, though, is that Ramona Flowers doesn't really look like someone who is worth fighting seven evil exes over. In fact, she looks kind of dirty. Maybe it's because I'm not really attracted to girls with day-glo hairstyles, but do you have any idea what Mary Elizabeth Winstead - the actress who plays Flowers - looks like?

She looks like this:

Look at that picture and then look at this picture of Winstead as Ramona Flowers:

SHE LOOKS LIKE A DAMN MUPPET!

Seriously, folks. That stupid wig is like putting a Rollie Fingers mustache on the Mona Lisa. You took an attractive girl and screwed her up. YOU MANIACS! YOU SCREWED IT UP! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL TO HELL!

*ahem*

...but I'm sure I'll get over it.

Anyway, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World hits theaters this Friday. Be sure to check back later this week for some exciting news related to the movie. I don't want to jinx it, but there may be a contest in the near future that you might want to participate in.

Since I'm only updating once a week now, it would benefit you to follow me on Twitter or Facebook. That's probably where I'll announce the big news just before driving everyone back here for the details. So stay tuned!

What about you guys? Excited at all for Scott Pilgrim. I've talked to the die-hards, I've talked to a few converts and I've talked to some hold-outs. If you're still on the outs with Scott Pilgrim and his crew, what gives? No interest in reading the books? Think the movie looks too much like a cartoon? Leave your comments below!

I know I'm kind of getting ahead of myself by talking about movie that don't come out for another week and a half, but since I'm down to one comic a week now, I kind of have to make it count.

August 13 is looking pretty good in theaters. Between The Expendables, Eat Pray Love and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, there really is something for everyone.

Truthfully, it wasn't until I noticed the contrast between the hyper-masculine Expendables and the hyper-feminine Eat Pray Love that I stopped to consider where Scott Pilgrim might fit on that scale.

Maybe it's a little mean to suggest Scott Pilgrim fans don't have balls, but it's all in good fun. I'll have more to say about Scott Pilgrim when it actually comes out next week. Anyone who might be upset by today's comic will get their revenge at that time.

Incidentally, there is one movie I'd like to see this weekend and it's The Other Guys. Chalk it up to my pathological weakness for all things Will Ferrell. Mark Wahlberg, however, is comedy kryptonite. A more humorless and self-important actor you are less likely to find. So I don't know exactly how he's going to keep up with Ferrell on this one.

I understand there's a lot of comedy to be mined from characters who are diametrically opposed. But I kind of think Ferrell is better when he has other comedic actors to bounce off of. Another strike against the film is the WAY past its welcome conceit of two woefully mismatched cops.

But frequent Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay wrote and directed the script, so maybe there will be some curve balls in there. The Anchorman pedigree lives large in my mind, so I'm probably predisposed to ignore the film's faults when it hits theaters this weekend.

What about the rest of you? Is anyone else anticipating The Other Guys this weekend or does the "mismatched cops" trope have you concerned? Did I go to far with my assessment of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World? Leave your comments below!

Originally I was going to do a comic about San Diego Comic-Con. But at this point, I think if I read one more tweet, blog post or status update about Panel "X" or Celebrity Sighting "Y" I'm going to scream.

Good job, internet. You've covered San Diego Comic-Con so thoroughly I have no interest in talking about it with anyone else.

Salt hit theaters this weekend and raked in $36 million at the box office. Certainly a very respectable opening. But the big story is that Inception only slid 31% in its second week, earning $43 million in ticket sales. For a cerebral thriller like Inception to have that kind of staying power in its second week is a testament to how good the film is and how strong word of mouth was.

The reviews for Salt have been 50/50. Critical reaction to Knight and Day was practically the same.

This kind of surprised me because I don't know anyone who saw Knight and Day. Meanwhile, I have several friends that went to see Salt and raved about it. I'd had heard it favorably compared to The Bourne Supremacy and films of that ilk This left me with the assumption that Cruise picked the wrong horse.

I suppose the only way to be sure is to wait around a couple of weeks and see if anyone is still talking about Salt. Although, if it couldn't unseat Inception in its second week, I find the prospects of that unlikely.

Then again, with Dinner for Schmucks, Charlie St. Cloud and Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore as Salt's only competition this weekend, maybe it's got a chance!

What do you guys think? Did you see Salt this weekend? Was it any good? How many of you went back for a second helping of Inception? Leave your comments below!

I think the reason Inception went over so well this weekend (to the tune of $61 million) is because it works on multiple levels. And if you've seen the movie, no - that is not a pun.

Inception has both visceral and intellectual thrills. I think you can figure out that comic-Tom is probably responding to the former rather than the latter. But for real-life Tom, I found myself thoroughly engrossed by all of the film's many facets.

Inception is the rare Hollywood blockbuster that rewards you for having an attention span longer than 5 minutes. There's a lot going on in this movie - some high-concept stuff. But it never treats the audience like idiots and leaves a pretty clear trail of breadcrumbs for you to follow as it establishes the rules at play in its universe.

At it's core, Inception is a heist movie and I love how they gave each of the players a specific role - The Point Man, The Chemist, The Architect, etc. Everyone is sharply dressed in elegant suits and form-fitting vests as they trot around the globe on personal jets for high-profile and dangerous clients.

Incidentally, Christopher Nolan has expressed an interest in directing a James Bond movie. After watching Inception, I say LET HIM!

A few things that crossed my mind while watching Inception:

• The weightless fight sequence in the hotel hallway succinctly and authoritatively spit in the eye of Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski and everything they accomplished with The Matrix.
• The physical prowess Joseph Gordon-Levitt displays in that sequence puts his Donald O'Connor homage from hosting Saturday Night Live last year in a completely different context. If I could find a clip right now, I'd be sharing it.
• Between Inception and Shutter Island, Leonard DiCaprio (or "Leo-Dio," as I like to call him) has delivered two fascinating portraits of broken family men wrestling with their subconscious. Maybe it was the suits, but for some reason, I kept thinking of Jimmy Stewart's performance in Vertigo while watching DiCaprio in Inception. I think when The Academy puts together his inevitable lifetime achievement reel, people are going to look back to this time as the height of his power.
• Lastly, I don't want to say too much about the ending. But I have to share it was probably one of the best audience reactions I've heard in theater in a long time.

So, what about you guys? Did you see Inception over the weekend? What did you think? Leave your comments below and let's see if we can untangle the Christmas lights this movie left behind in our brains, shall we?

I had a chance to see Predators over the weekend, but I blew it.

As you guys may or may not recall, I'm pursuing my Master's degree at the moment. The class I'm taking right now is this weird weekend thing that on an accelerated schedule. I go Friday's from 5 to 10 and Saturday's from 8 to 5 and after 3 weeks, I'm done!

Anyway, Friday was the first night of class and afterwords, I thought it might be fun to catch the late showing of Predators.

Unfortunately, due to some miscommunication and me forgetting to take my cell phone with me when I left the house that morning, I didn't know if my in-laws (who were watching the kids) was having them spend the night at their house or if they were waiting at our house for me to come home and relieve them of duty.

It should be noted, Cami was not at home as she was attending an event that was on the calendar months in advance.

At any rate, I bypassed the theater and came home to discover... the kids were spending the night at my in-laws.

So, long story short, DON'T LEAVE YOUR CELL PHONE AT HOME, PEOPLE!

There really wasn't an opportunity for me to see Predators this weekend after that.

I'm bummed, too, because all of the feedback I've been reading from fans is that the movie does the franchise justice. Much better than the last two Alien Vs. Predator movies which are abysmal failures by nearly everyone's measuring stick.

Critics are dumping on Predators, of course, claiming that it's just another kill-o-thon where the only thing that will retain your interest is the order characters are killed in. But I don't care because that's not the reason I see a Predator movie anyway. I go because it's a rare treat to see Stan Winston's legacy living and breathing on screen again.

The character design for the Predator makes him (them?) one of the most indelible movie-monsters in history. It sounds superficial, but we root for the Predator because he's so damn cool looking. And mysterious to boot!

I know people like to give Predator 2 static for being this awkward... thing of an action movie. But I LOVE that film for the small ways it pushed the backstory of the Predators forward.

Watching that movie, you know that the Predator wasn't a weird one-off monster living in the Colombian jungle. He wasn't an urban legend. He was a member of a species that hunt for sport. They have crazy Frisbees that will cut your head off and their elders will give you antique guns if you kill one of their own.

Dare I say I love that movie more than the original Predator? Well, maybe not. Predator 2 doesn't have classic lines like "If it bleeds, we can kill it," "Stick around," "I ain't got time to bleed" and "GET TO DA CHOPPA!"

Then again, "You can't see the eyes of the demon, until him come callin'" is pretty good, too.

Not really. But, hey, GARY BUSEY was in it!

Anyway, whether or not Preadtors builds on the legacy of the first two films, I don't know - but I'm optimistic.

What I DO know is that I have to squeeze it in sometime before Inception comes out. Because THAT is something I simply cannot allow myself to miss.

Did you guys see Preadtors this weekend? If so, what did you think? Does it hold a candle to the first two films or does it make you want to detonate your forearm mounted nuclear device? Leave your comments below!

In the meantime, enjoy this video. It's about the best day of Adrien Brody's life. And since Adrien Brody is in Predators, I'm sure you can see the connection.

Apologies for the comic being a day late. The July 4th holiday threw a monkey wrench into things for me. At what point did July 4th change from being a holiday I looked forward to and into a holiday I can only hope to survive.

Oh, yeah. When I had kids. Now I remember.

This is the last of the Toy Story 3 comics I had rattling around in my brain. Next week I plan on moving onto greener pastures. Specifically, Predators. I'm looking forward to this movie so much, it's ridiculous. So be on the look out for that one.

Before anyone says anything about my depiction of Sid in today's comic, let me come right out and says that - yes - I've heard the rumors that Sid makes a cameo in Toy Story 3 as a garbage man.

Here's the thing, though. I'm not sure I believe it.

Pixar is known for throwing Easter eggs into their films, referencing their past and future films. But Pixar is also kind of known for promoting these Easter eggs as a way to entice and reward the hard core fans.

I've read a few articles that have suggested Sid's cameo, but there aren't any images from the movie floating around online.

Fortunately, I snagged a shot from a book that my Mother-In-Law gave Henry over the weekend. I've scanned it and am posting it here. Is this Sid? You be the judge.

I can see how people can think it might be Sid because, in the movie, he's wearing headphones, banging on trash can lids and generally acting like the destructive little Ritalin money we're familiar with from the first film.

They say he's wearing a black shirt with a skull on it like he does in the first movie, but this shot makes it kind of hard to tell. I guess until I see the movie a second time, I feel like the jury is still out. Maybe I'm just in denial because I wanted Pixar to make a bigger deal about Sid's return or at least be a little more obvious about it. I dunno. Maybe that would take all the fun out of guessing?

What do you guys think? I this Sid? Had you already heard the rumors or is the first you've been told about it? Will you see Toy Story 3 a second time to confirm?

And - real quick - what about The Last Airbender? I mentioned it on Facebook last week because it seemed like no one was talking about it. Then, there was an avalanche of bad reviews. But lo and behold, the film made over $70 million at the box office this weekend! Will terrible word of mouth kill this film in the second week or are the Airbender faithful going to keep it aloft?

Another question; Considering the large box office this weekend, is a sequel inevitable? If so, will M. Night Shyamalan be asked to return?

More grist for the mill! Thanks for your patience and leave your comments below!