2009 had an amazing Summer at the box office, and that was due in part to some amazing action flicks. Surprisingly, they weren't all blockbusters, and they weren't all about just blowing stuff up. What was your favorite action flick of the year?
Don't forget to vote on all of my Best of 2009 polls!
All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. Also out this week: The Great Buck Howard, Monk: Season Seven, and Psych: Season Three.
Watchmen
Do you guys remember when it was all Watchmen hype, all the time? It seems like that went on forever and then finally the movie, based on the critically acclaimed comic book series by Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore, hit theaters. And it was fun, especially for those of us who had read the book. Director Zack Snyder made a faithful adaptation, which has its benefits and drawbacks. Visually it is a feast for the eyes, especially the opening sequence, and I think it's definitely worth taking home if you didn't catch it on the big screen. The cast is pretty cool, too, and includes Jackie Earle Haley, Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Carla Gugino, and Patrick Wilson.
There are lots of DVD extras, like a director's cut of the film (186 minutes) on some versions, a featurette titled "The Phenomenon: The Comic That Changed Comics," and webisodes.
Two more DVDS to check out if you read more
One of the coolest things about the Blu-ray takeover is BD-Live, which allows you do cool stuff like watch movies while recording your own commentary track — I've done The Dark Knight with my nearest and dearest and confirm its awesomeness.
For the Watchmen's Blu-ray release, it'll also get a revolutionary welcome on social network site Facebook. The Blu-ray discs will capitalize on the BD-Live feature and enable you to have "community screenings" on Facebook; you'll be able to watch the movie simultaneously with your Facebook friends and make status updates for your commentary.
The Blu-ray disc (which you'll need) will come out some time in July, and in the meantime, make sure you seek out all your Facebook friends who are also Watchmen fans!
Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Admittedly, I don't know much about superhero movies . . . but I know quite a bit about super cute smooshies. For those of you just as (un) comic book savvy as I am, the movie, Watchmen, is based on a series of the same name and was adapted to the big screen by acclaimed director, Zack Snyder. As far as the plot goes, my quick research revealed there are good guys and bad guys, including Matthew Goode.
OK that was my long winded way of introducing this cute Boxer puppy. The lucky twosome got a cab to transport them from somewhere in Dublin to somewhere else in Dublin – not always the easiest thing to do with a larger dog! I can't wait to see more of this pup but check out their Irish car trip in the photos below.
It's kind of a random time of year for movies, and I'm curious to see what audiences are in the mood for. This weekend has lots to offer, including a new animated feature, a horror flick, and some holdovers from previous weekends — including an Oscar winner.
So tell me: What, if any, movie will you see this weekend?
The special effects thriller Knowing handily won the box office over the weekend with an estimated $24.8 million. Meanwhile, Paul Rudd and Jason Segel's comedy I Love You, Man came in second place with an estimated $18 million, followed by Duplicity, starring Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, at No. 3.
Race to Witch Mountain slid to No. 4 after winning the top spot a week ago, while Watchmen continued its free-fall to the fifth spot, earning a total of $98.1 million since debuting three weeks ago.
Last week Watchmen screenwriter David Hayter posted an open letter to fans asking them to buy more tickets to see his movie, warning that "if it drops off the radar after the first weekend, they will never allow a film like this to be made again."
Well, it looks like his plea went unheeded as Watchmen slipped from the top spot, coming in at No. 2 behind Disney's family-friendly Race to Witch Mountain.
The Last House on the Left took the third spot, followed by Taken at No. 4 and Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail at No. 5.
Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
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While parents flock to theaters to see the very adult-oriented flick Watchmen, action figures like this Watchmen Movie Figure Wave 1 ($17) are jumping on and off shelves.
Most young children won't be exposed to the Watchmen film (it's rated R and, according to Buzz, quite graphic), but the appeal of the toys is understandable. This one in particular has a grandiose Mr. Incredible look to it. Do you ever buy your children toys from movies or books they haven't seen or read?
Zack Snyder's long-awaited screen adaptation of Watchmen finally hit theaters over the weekend and scored the best opening of the year with an estimated $55.7 million. Apparently that's actually a bit of a disappointment to the studio which, according to Variety, "had hoped Watchmen would match, or even best, the $70.9 million domestic opening of Zack Snyder's previous film, 300, which bowed on the same weekend in 2007."
The rest of the top five at the box office was all mixed up with Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail coming in second place, followed by Taken in third, Slumdog Millionaire in fourth, and Paul Blart: Mall Cop in the fifth spot. Oh, Paul Blart. America just can't seem to quit you.
So what did you see over the weekend? Did you venture out into the world of Watchmen?
Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.
It's obviously difficult to adapt a beloved written (and, in this case, drawn) work for the big screen — and it’s downright impossible to make an adaptation that satisfies every viewer (or certainly every megafan). I truly enjoyed reading the comic book series Watchmen by Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore, and having seen the film adaptation, I don't dislike it. It's probably the best we could have asked for as far as adaptations go. And I know it's useless now to say that the work should never have been brought to film in the first place (though I do feel that way), so now that it has been made into a movie, is it any good? From a fan's perspective I say, sure, it's fine. But I don't have any other perspective to go by.
I have no idea how this movie comes across to someone who has never read the comic book series. I can't even pretend to be unbiased about this — as a fan, just seeing these characters come to life is incredibly exciting. But as a standalone movie, I can admit that it's probably not great. Essentially, it's made for the fanboys (and fangirls) and other viewers may not understand or like it. It's campy, sometimes resembling a silly soap opera, and truthfully I am hard-pressed to remember any distinct images or scenes from the movie, just a few days after seeing it. It's certainly temporary entertainment, and for some it may be frustrating to watch. For more about the movie and my take, read more
