• 11Mar 09

  To the Watchmen fanboys out there who hate the film adaptation...

  Va te faire foutre!

  Here is why. I read this book, bought on Amazon.com last summer for $14 new... and thoroughly enjoyed the warped take it had on society.

  I did not, however, have the chance to rewind the clock 23 years and read this as it came out new, which I am pretty sure most of you fanboys did not. But, regardless, my few months of waiting eagerly for the movie adaptation that was announced years ago, holds no candle to the shrines you have figuratively or literally created in your little minds surrounding this book and/or its creator, Alan Moore.

  What I read and took from the book... and interesting take on an alternate reality scenario involving the history of our country. What I did note, though, is that the world in the book was in the same sh*t shape that the world was in on and around 1985. In Moore's fantastic recreation of American history, this Brit, mind you, you mindless patriots, took a stab at interpreting life, law and political climates through vigilante justice.

  What I liked was that from the days of the Minutemen, he made it very clear that these people were VERY human, not like the ideals that tend to follow early interpretations of superheros in print and on screen. He crafted a world that seemed believable that needed costumed heroes and then gave a political reason why they weren't need any longer and how that affected these humans.

  I like the Dr. Manhattan angle, as he was the 1st true superhero, having powers that were beyond what was sculpted as the hero template from the times of the Minutemen. I enjoyed learning how he showed he was becoming more detached from our reality and how it took Silk Spectre II took bring him back. I did see the significance of his nudity as well as his escape to Mars.

  Now, as for the movie rendition, I really enjoyed the Zach Snyder adaptation, and here is why... it's a freaking movie! Books are made into movies everyday! And I can't think of took many books that were translated into novels that can equate your emotional response to that medium when it is translated into another (actually, the success in film adaptation is when you can make this link)... but, where some filmmakers try, others try to make it more their own, and some, well, some studios (see: Financiers) seek to make changes to film adaptations for the sake of focus groups reactions and that potential financial impact.

  Sorry, back to my WHY... I enjoyed this movie as the book served to me as a template for another person's interpretation... like, for you fanboys... all those times you and your dork friends sit around your parents coffee table and endlessly debate subjective material, thinking you can convince one another that your emotional response to a story should be theirs. Not the case for me, I sat knowing that this is one person's collaborative effort to turn a 12 part story into a 2-3 hour movie.

  So, while I can detach myself from what I read and try to take in the world that was contructed by another person that is not named Alan Moore... I can appreciate and enjoy how Zach Snyder and company put this together. I didn't think that this movie was the end all be all of Superhero movies, a genre that is very tired anyway... but it was a very good story that translated nicely in a 163 minute package.

  The acting was ok to brilliant (where I was not overly impressed with Nite Owl or (surprisingly) Carla Gugino's Sally Jupiter, I was blown away by Rorschach, and very impressed by Billy Crudup - who seems to be good to great in everything he is in - and the Comedian guy).

  Anyway, for those of you out there that hate on this movie because it warped some picture you had in your mind about this story... seriously... take a breath, and look at the facts... it was not, nor ever, going to be YOUR vision of the story... whether or not you wanted that story made into a movie or not. The fact was, someone paid for the rights, got their financing and made their interpretation of the story, and they did it for the sole reason of making money selling it back to you are your sick ilk.

  So, all that being said, for anyone out there that complains about how this movie is not faithful to the book, please note: This book is currently #1 in Amazon book sales... they are listing it at freaking $11 new... my guess, this is ONLY because the movie got people interested in the source material, so here is what you and your comic book reading elistist asses can do... roll up your copy of the book, and shove it up your ass, because this movie has been released, it will end up being moderately to hugely successful financially, but most of all, this movie will drive more mainstream folks to your near and dear hardcore graphic novel that you loved because no one else knew it existed... and they, too, will be able to see the brilliance that was Alan Moore's story and Dave Gibbons' art. It will be at that time, some people might just say that Zach Snyder's take on the events that lead us to the finale were about 1000x better in the film that a goddamn giant squid dropped in NY.

  I give the movie an emphatic 8 out of 10 (on imdb.com) and would recommend this to anyone over 17 that likes deep thinking action/popcorn movies... because that is what Zach Snyder created... not a movie that is going to win an Oscar, but a movie that fans should like ('cept you idiots), will make some serious ca$h and will might just get others interested in the source material.

  • Posted Mar 11, 2009 9:04 pm PT
  • Category: Movies
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• 16May 08

  Good Christ... GTA IV

  Freakin' love it.

  Taking my sweet ass time getting through this one, and enjoying every minute... would suggest the same to everyone else out there!

  • Posted May 16, 2008 7:33 pm PT
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• 16Jan 08

  It's Been Awhile...

  Wow, it's been 20 months since my last post.

  Funny how the last thing I said about Tomb Raider:Legend means something completely different after 12 months of being a X360 owner!

  I have really taken to the new system and in 12 months, have racked up 7100+ gamerscore. Not bad for a guy with a 40+ hr a week job!

  Anyway, nothing to report other than I was taken a bit aback what I said about Tomb Raider: Legend and how 100% means squat... now all I can think about is trying to get my hands on a cheap copy of the X360 version so I can get all of the accomplishments!

  I currently only have one game of 1000/1000, but it was worth it and I loved it - it was my second playthrough on "Just Cause". I had beat the PC version when it first came out, but later after learning of achievements on X360, I just had to get my hands on a copy, and I think the one I got cost me $30. Much more fun to play a game like that with a gamepad rather than a keyboard and mouse.

  Peace out

  • Posted Jan 16, 2008 1:16 am PT
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