Thursday meant another day on the floor like Wednesday, but earlier, longer, and busier. I was able to grab my share of freebies as I criss-crossed the floor as I waited out an eventual visit to Hall H for the first time this year. We were treated to a goodie bag upon entry that included an Indiana Jones IV oversized souvenier book featuring artwork from decades of Indiana Jones films, Beowulf comic and card, and 3 t-shirts from Iron Man, Star Trek, and JJ Abrams untitled "Cloverfield" movie (the t-shirt only says "Slusho" and features a slushy type drink on it... vague as always from the man who brought us LOST).  We also received a voucher for a tube full of posters that are exclusive to Comic-Con and can't be seen or acquired anywhere else. The posters included were Star Trek, Iron Man, Johnny Depp's Sweeney Todd, and the "Cloverfield" poster that depicts a beheaded Statue of Liberty and a controvertially smoking New York skyline with the header that simply says "Monstrous", which is NOT the title of the movie, according to Abrams.

Thursday meant another day on the floor like Wednesday, but earlier, longer, and busier.  I was able to grab my share of freebies as I criss-crossed the floor as I waited out an eventual visit to Hall H for the first time this year.  We were treated to a goodie bag upon entry that included an Indiana Jones IV oversized souvenier book featuring artwork from decades of Indiana Jones films, Beowulf comic and card, and 3 t-shirts from Iron Man, Star Trek, and JJ Abrams untitled "Cloverfield" movie (the t-shirt only says "Slusho" and features a slushy type drink on it... vague as always from the man who brought us LOST).  We also received a voucher for a tube full of posters that are exclusive to Comic-Con and can't be seen or acquired anywhere else.  The posters included were Star Trek, Iron Man, Johnny Depp's Sweeney Todd, and the "Cloverfield" poster that depicts a beheaded Statue of Liberty and a controvertially smoking New York skyline with the header that simply says "Monstrous", which is NOT the title of the movie, according to Abrams.

After collecting our posters from the fulfillment room, we made our way to the LOST panel, which you can read about in my other post.  After that, the day was done, except for the free preview screening of the Clive Owen movie "Shoot 'Em Up".  We got to the theater more than an hour early, but that didn't get us in.  While Robin went back to the room to upload more video, I decided to stick around and see it alone at the 12:15 showing.  After reading the entire Entertainment Weekly from cover to cover for more than 2 hours, they let us in, and the writer/director, who came out into the line to thank us for sticking around and coming to see his movie, bought everyone a popcorn and soda for our troubles.  This later screening wasn't a packed house, but it was crowded.  Without going into full review mode, I guess I wasn't really sure what to expect coming in.  This seemed like a dark comedy with guns more than a straight up action film.  The only problem was that we were laughing at how many creative ways Clive Owen could shoot people as he tried to protect a baby from being killed by assassins.  It's fairly twisted, even for my tastes (and I know twisted!), and not all the dark humor came off as funny as it was just dark.  The movie is mean-spirited, with unsympathetic characters, a convoluted non-plot, motivations that don't matter, and insanely impossible action sequences that make the Matrix seem like a documentary by comparison.  I felt sorry for this skilled group of actors, including Paul Giamatti, Monica Belluci, and the aforementioned Clive Owen, as they stumbled through cliche line readings, forced physical (and vocal) affectations, and mind numbing action sequences.  Still, if you want to shut off your brain for 90 minutes, this is the movie to do it during.  I realize that this is best described as a Bugs Bunny (Owen even chomps carrots while shooting) versus Elmer Fudd (Giamatti sounds like a long lost relative of James Cagney) movie with guns, but when the sound of gunfire expresses the only emotional depth capable from these characters, you have to take it only at face value and not listen to anything that tells you this could do permanent damage to your brain if you keep watching it.  The over the toppiness can be fun at times, such as the skydiving gun fight between Owen and a half dozen other men armed with uzis (and the resulting aftermath), but part of me fears that one more movie like this (Crank seemed to be the first modern moderate "hit" in this brainless shoot-and-wink style), we'll be looking at a trend that we just don't need.  Putting talented known actors in this type of film doesn't make them better, it makes the actors worse.

And now comes sleep...

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