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MguyXXV 
"X marks the spot"
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 Posted - 03/06/2009 : 11:16:18
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I just finished a midnight show on opening day.
If you enjoyed the novel, you should really enjoy the film. It translated very well to the screen. I greatly enjoyed it.
Nope: no spoilers here, folks. 
P.S. Completely forgot to mention some stuff, so scroll down to see what I forgot!  |
Edited by - MguyXXV on 03/06/2009 20:19:18 |
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BiggerBoat 
"Pass me the harpoon"
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Posted - 03/06/2009 : 15:02:14
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Delighted to hear that. I'm going to be seeing it in the next couple of days and, to be frank, I still haven't recovered properly from Spiderman 3 despite all the good work The Dark Knight did for my recuperation.
I just don't know if I'm ready to believe in comic book films again. |
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benj clews 
"...."
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Posted - 03/06/2009 : 15:56:11
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| Does seem to be getting good write-ups, and this is despite the blue CG todger. |
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BiggerBoat
"Pass me the harpoon"
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Posted - 03/06/2009 : 16:15:58
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quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
Does seem to be getting good write-ups, and this is despite the blue CG todger.
I suppose that it does make sense. Seeing as he's got a girlfriend it would have been strange for him to have a Barbie mound. |
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damalc 
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 03/06/2009 : 17:27:09
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quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
Does seem to be getting good write-ups, and this is despite the blue CG todger.
sorry i'm not up on my euro-slang. had to visit urban dictionary. yeah, the todger was distracting.
the film was ok, a bit ham-handed. more later, as if any of you care what i think.  |
Edited by - damalc on 03/06/2009 17:38:45 |
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MguyXXV
"X marks the spot"
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Posted - 03/06/2009 : 20:18:16
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Oh: I completely forgot to mention that someone I know co-wrote the screenplay adaptation (Alex Tse). I didn't realize this until I saw one of those behind-the-scenes shows and saw him chatting with the other co-writer (David Hayter, whom I don't know).
So I went to go do my morning CrossFit workout today, and lo and behold, there was Alex and his wife Lisa geared up to start today's workout (which we CrossFitters do as a group, and usually for time). I was sure to compliment him on the great screenplay, which did an excellent job of remaining faithful to the source material and presenting a very coherent retelling of the story. Alex is a cool, normal guy, so he was gracious and humble, but he was thankful that I enjoyed the film. I mentioned that benj was my inspiration to read the Watchmen graphic novel (who mentioned in a thread last year that it was one of his favorites, so I went out and got it) and mentioned the site to him. Who knows: he might post a review or two.
Then, both Alex and his wife proceeded to kick my ass on the workout [run 200 meters, do 25 situps, repeat four times]. Alex finished 42 seconds ahead of me [7:04], and Lisa about 15 seconds ahead of me [7:31]. I'm attributing their success to feeling good about the movie's final product. Yeah: nothing to do with me getting slow or anything.  I was distracted!
P.S. Why is it that all the really nice/cool chaps I know have wives named Lisa??? |
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 03/06/2009 : 20:31:47
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quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
Does seem to be getting good write-ups, and this is despite the blue CG todger.
Not the ones I've been reading. Time Out, The Times and a couple of others have put the costumed boot in. I'm still seeing it, as a definite fan of the graphic novel (and rather excited in a boyish fashion to see Rorschach doing his thing), and as a former class mate of one of the cast I'll be interested to see if he can sink or swim in this particular enormous venture.
With some negative feedback out there I'm almost certain to enjoy it more; the Dark Knight was obliterated for me by the preposterous hype. |
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randall 
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 03/06/2009 : 22:52:17
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quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
Does seem to be getting good write-ups, and this is despite the blue CG todger.
Not over here. SiskelEbert's replacements both loved it, but print reviewers from Tony Scott [NY Times] to Joe Morgenstern [WS Journal] to Anthony Lane [New Yorker] to David Edelstein [New York] are all telling me the fault is that it's *too slavish* to the original comic, and that the *opening titles*, where the director has no comic to go from, are the best part of the movie, never to return! Whew!
I have not seen the movie yet. But as someone who read the original publication *month by month* 25[!] or so years ago, I always thought WATCHMEN represented the storyboards to an incredible but impossible movie. While it's true that these days you can visually depict anything you can imagine [c.f. Kubrick], you still can't copy the underlying mojo. The only guy who's ever done that is Peter Jackson, and IMHO that's the exception that proves the rule.
It was just as brave to shoot WATCHMEN as it was to shoot LotR. Now I'll go in and see, but I am trepidacious. |
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RockGolf
"1500+ reviews. 1 joke."
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Posted - 03/07/2009 : 00:39:20
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Roger Ebert gave it 4 stars (out of 4) and wrote TWO articles on it.
And by now you've probably seen this, but just in case you haven't, ladies & gentlemen, I give you "Saturday Morning Watchmen" |
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 03/07/2009 : 00:59:25
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after following "Watchmen" from it's original 12-issue monthly format 20+ years ago, and re-reading it a few times since, i was delighted to see it come to life on the screen, but i think it was trusted to the wrong hands and in the wrong format.
Snyder lets us know what we're in for near the beginning when, during a fight, the last digit of an address is knocked from a door. what's left? 300.
we get the same graphic violence, and the quickly getting old, slo-mo-speed-up-on-impact punch from Snyder's "300." looks like that effect is going to be to Snyder as the doves are to John Woo.
true, "Watchmen" was a violent tale, with some heavy issues, but they weren't overemphasized the way the film did.
i think storytelling was sacrificed for the sake of faithfulness to the source. for instance, i get that the blue guy walks around naked, but how many shots of his todger do we need? i read a review that i think summed it up best: Snyder made "a motion comic book over a breathable adaptation."
mainly by the nature of Watchmen being a year-long series originally, i think it would have been much better suited as a cable mini-series than a feature, but then i wouldn't have been able to submit a fwfr.
there were some witty subtle moments -- look for the celebrity cameos, and read every sign -- but too few. the makeup, visual effects, and acting were all overdone at times.
but some of the stuff that disappointed me, probably tickled the heck out of a bunch of people.
this probably sounds like i hated it. i enjoyed the movie, but the potential is there for a landmark project, just like the original series was, but i'll classify this as a comic-book movie, like "Spawn" and "Fantastic Four," rather than a dynamic film like "Spider-Man 2." |
Edited by - damalc on 03/07/2009 01:03:24 |
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benj clews
"...."
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Posted - 03/07/2009 : 01:05:39
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quote:
Originally posted by damalc
i'll classify this as a comic-book movie, like "Spawn" and "Fantastic Four"
God, I hope not- both those films were hideous and about as far removed from why I read comic books as I can possibly imagine. Still, at least you didn't liken it to the Punisher movie  |
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benj clews
"...."
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Posted - 03/07/2009 : 01:09:17
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quote:
Originally posted by Ro�k G01f
Roger Ebert gave it 4 stars (out of 4) and wrote TWO articles on it.
And by now you've probably seen this, but just in case you haven't, ladies & gentlemen, I give you "Saturday Morning Watchmen"
That is brilliant! I'd love to know where the heck that ever come from- obviously it has to be a piss-take but boy has someone put serious effort into that! |
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MguyXXV
"X marks the spot"
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Posted - 03/07/2009 : 02:08:51
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quote:
Originally posted by Ro�k G01f
Roger Ebert gave it 4 stars (out of 4) and wrote TWO articles on it.
And by now you've probably seen this, but just in case you haven't, ladies & gentlemen, I give you "Saturday Morning Watchmen"
GUFFAW! |
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damalc
"last watched: Sausage Party"
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Posted - 03/07/2009 : 22:08:48
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quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
quote:
Originally posted by damalc
i'll classify this as a comic-book movie, like "Spawn" and "Fantastic Four"
God, I hope not- both those films were hideous and about as far removed from why I read comic books as I can possibly imagine. Still, at least you didn't liken it to the Punisher movie
definitely better than those, but obviously made for the comic audience, but a more mature one. and, hey, i liked "Spawn!"
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Conan The Westy
"Father, Faithful Friend, Fwiffer"
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Posted - 03/07/2009 : 22:29:50
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I enjoyed it but when the most lovable "hero" is a masked vigilante who administers justice with repeated blows of a meat cleaver to the skull, black and white becomes a very murky grey.
I'm considering a review "More Saw, than Spidey" in an attempt to play on the graphic nature of the violence, which is normally more muted in superhero movies. (Confession time: I'm adapting the line from a Christian review site that wasn't overly impressed with the social values expressed in the film. ) Do you reckon it will pass the generic test?
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MguyXXV
"X marks the spot"
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Posted - 03/08/2009 : 00:18:07
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To be a bit more solicitous toward the source material, I have to note that it was a graphic novel: it wasn't a comic book in the classic sense. The themes and juxtapositions in the story are actually quite complex -- like a novel -- so I view the violence and the way it occurs as a mechanism to convey some of the story's complexity.
The meat cleavering occurs in the original story, so it's not a mere gratuitous exhibition of violence (though I'm not saying that you were saying that). Quite obviously (and forgive me for stating the obvious, and I'm not saying you didn't see it), the method of the kidnapper execution indicates the turning point where justice, retribution and vengeance blur for Rorschach into a single goal: summary eradication of evil. He is reminiscent of Dirty Harry in this regard, in that Rorschach has no qualms with using the tactics of criminals to deal with criminals. Rorschach becomes a true vigilante, dispensing with the inherent hypocrisy of the other costumed adventurers, who pretend to themselves that they are acting within the bounds of the law when in fact they are breaking it.
"Loveable"? There's a unique term to apply to Rorschach. |
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Watchmen (2009)
