BuzzSugar

Watchmen: Fun For Fans

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 09:30:33 PST

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. The opening credits (which I got to see at Wondercon, awesomely) are perhaps my favorite part of the whole thing as we hear Bob Dylan's "The Times, They Are A-Changing" and go through a series of slow-motion images of what's been happening politically over the Cold War years, along with images depicting the rise and fall of masked vigilantes in the US. Originally revered as society's helpers, by the 1980s masked crime-fighters have become hated, and people want their good ol' police officers back protecting them. One "mask" is the dark outlaw Rorschach, who still wears a mask of ever-shifting ink blots over his face. Now in 1985 New York City, Rorschach notices that someone has been murdering former masked avengers one by one and he becomes determined to get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile, tensions between the US and the Soviet Union are reaching a boil and nuclear war seems imminent. The movie strings together several different stories of the various former crime-fighters while simultaneously increasing the threat of nuclear destruction within the US-Soviet conflict. Director Zack Snyder is very faithful to the written work (though he makes some decisions to make certain scenes bigger or smaller, like a particular sex scene that seems to go on for approximately forever). So any real issues one has with the story of Watchmen or with the characters are probably issues with the source material itself and not so much with Snyder's adaptation. That said, even having read the series, the movie is way more violent than I thought it would be. At times it's that cartoonish violence that's easy to take, but some of the gore is startling. In movie form it's just gruesome. Despite this faithfulness to the material, though, there's a weightiness and a complexity to the written work that doesn't quite come through, leaving many of the scenes to fall flat and empty. The written work is expansive and complicated and multilayered - to pare it all down to a storyline people can understand (even in the lengthy running time of approximately 162 minutes) is an insanely massive task to take on. And in attempting to do so, some parts of the book simply don’t translate well. Dr. Manhattan (a physicist who has an accident in his lab, resulting in his becoming an all-powerful blue, glowy giant being), for example, comes across as just silly and in fact, I found myself at times bored or annoyed with him. His scenes with Laurie are even more tiresome. Perhaps unsurprisingly (but no less satisfyingly), the best moments come from Rorschach. Aside from being a fan favorite in general, Jackie Earle Haley does a marvelous job making us care about Rorschach and see him as a disturbed man with a strong sense of right and wrong. He's pitiable and a little bit frightening, too. It's easy to root for Rorschach; it's easy for the audience to want to be on his side. We know that he's a bit messed up but somehow all the more likable because of it. And the dark electricity Haley brings to the screen in each of his scenes sets the character of Rorschach apart from the rest. And maybe I'm easily amused, but the ever-shifting mask he wears is unendingly cool to watch. See, that's the thing. As a fan, I forgive so much. I don't know how to recommend this movie to the uninitiated - I have no idea what it looks like, or if it's worth the nearly three hours in a movie theater. But as a fan I was going to go anyway, and short of total disaster, I was probably always going to think what I think: that it's cool-looking and super satisfying to see these characters come to life.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

It's Official: Watchmen Lawsuit Settled - and It Will Open March 6!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:52:56 PST

The dispute over Watchmen won't be handed down by a judge next week after all. Fox and Warner Bros. have reached a settlement and will request that the case be dismissed. According to The Hollywood Reporter:

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but the deal is said to involve a sizable cash payment to Fox and a percentage of the film's boxoffice grosses; Fox will not be a co-distributor on the film, nor will it co-own the Watchmen property, but it will share in revenue derived from it.

The best news of all, though, came in a joint statement the companies released:

Warner Bros. and Fox, like all Watchmen fans, look forward with great anticipation to this film's March 6 release in theaters.

Hooray!

Images courtesy of Warner Bros.

Watchmen Release Date Ruling to Come Jan. 20

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:30:32 PST

It's like the world is watching the Watchmen today with the arrival of a pretty juicy Japanese trailer for the movie (check it out after the jump) and the news that a ruling regarding the movie's release date will come on Jan. 20. Here's more:

In court papers filed Monday with U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess, attorneys for Fox and Warner Bros. jointly said they would let the judge decide Jan. 20 whether Fox could block the film's theatrical distribution, now scheduled for March 6, as Fox has been seeking all along as part of its copyright infringement lawsuit against Warner Bros.

Fingers (and toes and eyes and anything else) crossed that the end result will be a March 6 release. For now, there's a new Japanese trailer online and it's pretty intriguing. There's more footage, and most notably we get a glimpse of the politically-themed parts of the story (we see Nixon and get a sense for the political atmosphere). Of course, it is in Japanese, but it's just as absorbing (if not more so) than any of the previous trailers. To check it out,

read more. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

New Watchmen Trailer Provides More Info

BuzzSugar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 05:30:11 PST

OK, I'll admit it: When I first saw the teaser trailer for Watchmen, I didn't really get it. I liked the look of it and I think the use of that Smashing Pumpkins song "The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning" is inspired. But I didn't understand what was going on, unfamiliar as I was with the source material. Well, I decided to become familiar with the source material and now that I have, I'm a wee bit obsessed. To find out why and to see a new trailer,

read more. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons's comic book series Watchmen has received overwhelming critical praise ever since publication in 1986 and 1987. In 2005 it was included on Time's list of "the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present," and Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof has called it ''the greatest piece of popular fiction ever produced." Unlike other superhero franchises (Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, etc.), Watchmen was deemed "unfilmmable," with director Terry Gilliam stating that "by reducing it to a two or two-and-a-half hour film, it seemed to me to take away the essence of what Watchmen is about.” Well, in this superhero-happy era of filmmaking, Watchmen was going to be made, and admirably enough (at least in my opinion) 300 director Zack Snyder took on the project mostly because he loves the work and he worried that the wrong director wouldn't do it justice. Now I'm almost done reading Watchmen and while I wasn't sure I'd like it, I have to say, I'm totally mesmerized. I think I see what all the fuss is about. And yesterday I (somewhat) patiently waited until 5:00 p.m. my time to catch the latest trailer for the film, which opens March 6, 2009. I've rarely been this intrigued by something I won't see for another four months. The new trailer provides more information on the story, so check it out below and tell me what you think. Images courtesy of Warner Bros.

The Spirit Looks Good, Watchmen Looks Freaking Awesome

BuzzSugar — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:33:41 PDT

Yeah, another dispatch from Comic-Con today but I just had to share because I attended the panels for Watchmen (see: photo below) and The Spirit today and both were so exciting. The one for Watchmen in particular was not only coolest in terms of the footage we got to see, but also because of the funny, laid-back vibe of the panel. I think Zack Snyder with his friendly, boy-next-door ways pretty much set the tone for that.

More on that later. First, some thoughts on Frank Miller's film version of Will Eisner's The Spirit:

There are two things that I really loved about The Spirit footage we saw and the panel itself. For one, the movie truly looks like a comic book, and it's a lot of fun to watch. Jaime King described it as visually "intoxicating," which I could see. Secondly, Samuel L. Jackson was at the panel and he was a great interviewee. He chuckled when the topic of his Spirit character's Nazi costume came up. "That was awesome. I was a Nazi! Nick Fury became a black skinhead."
That said, there was something about both the movie and the panel that was a little empty and detached. Miller completely admits that if a woman is in his movies, she's gonna be hot and wearing tight clothing. And that's fine. His choice, etc. But there's a line between making an artistic choice and objectifying women, and Miller skates that line.
Finally, there's the issue of the Spirit himself, played by Gabriel Macht. I think Macht is an incredibly cute guy. And the character of the hero of the film is an important one to cast. On this topic, Miller mentioned that Hollywood has many fine male actors, but "not many men." Which is why, he says, we hold onto the Bruce Willises and Harrison Fords and Clive Owens (his examples, all). And then. . . he chose Gabriel Macht to be his manly hero? I thought the footage they showed us from the movie would explain this a little more, but not so. Onscreen as the Spirit, Macht is likable and funny and cute, but he's not the heroic "man" that Miller referenced earlier, which struck me as odd.

For some of my thoughts on Watchmen sneak peek,

Comic-Con Report: Reaper, Clive, Gondry, More

BuzzSugar — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 11:25:57 PDT

Friday was another busy day at Comic-Con in San Diego, and Team member Phasekitty is again offering up her reports from the floor. Be sure to check out all of her blogging about the event. Here are a few highlights:

At the "Reaper" panel, Phasekitty got to hear Kevin Smith talk about his role in directing one of my favorite pilots for the CW. You should really just read Phasekitty's full report from the panel, but a couple of highlights: She saw the re-shot pilot with Missy Peregrym (a newer version than I've seen) and learned that Smith has two upcoming film projects scheduled back-to-back starting in January.

Remember that teaser for Get Smart I posted a little bit ago? Well, at the Warner Bros. panel, Phasekitty got to see the whole thing. She writes: "It shows more of the cast and gives us a taste of the physical comedy and action. Also we get to see a lot more of Anne Hathaway's character, Agent 99, previously only briefly seen in the teaser."
There was also an update on Watchmen, where Phasekitty says fans seemed pleased so far. Cast members Jackie Earle Haley and Malin Ackerman joined the panel where, Phasekitty says, "they mostly talked about how they planned to do the source material justice and how they hoped that if Alan Moore ever sees it he wouldn't hate it too much."
The New Line Cinema panel featured three of the action sequences for Shoot 'Em Up, the Clive Owen film out in September. Phasekitty says: "It is some of the most exciting action I've seen in a long time; very similar to the Transporter series, though with a new comedic element. Clive Owen's character is protecting a woman and a child from a hit man (Paul Giamatti), and spends most of the action sequences out-shooting people with one hand and carrying the infant baby in the other."

More goodies, including updates on the new Michel Gondry film and the Star Wars episode of "Family Guy," so

New Line also showed the trailer for the new Michel Gondry film, Be Kind Rewind. I'm jealous! Here's what she said: "Ever since I heard the concept of this film, a guy accidentally erases all of the tapes in his video rental store and him and a friend replace them with their own homemade takes on the films, I've been looking forward to seeing footage from it. I love Michael Gondry and this is just the original concept that he seems to shine with. The trailer they screened for this was hysterical. The film stars Jack Black and Mos Def and is set to release by the end of the year."
After a five-minute clip from The Golden Compass, Phasekitty got worried that it was maybe a little too much like the Narnia film, though she said Nicole Kidman fit well into the villain's role.
Frank Miller project update!
He said that Sin City 2 is on definite hold right now. It was delayed last year, for his vague reason of "something to do with the Weinsteins," but he did sound a little annoyed when he said that it should have been out by now. The script is ready and will be based on the second installment to the series, A Dame to Kill For, and various other short stories from the seventh installment. Another highly anticipated project in the comic book adaptation world is Will Eisner's "The Spirit." Miller announced that he would be helming the project as the director at Comic-Con last year and this year divulges that he is storyboarding it now and they will begin shooting soon in Albuquerque. Many people, myself included, feel that Miller may have bit off more than he can chew with this one; he is adapting a very beloved character in the comic book universe and has very little experience. His only directing credit comes in the form of a co-directing credit on the first Sin City. Let's hope he does the character justice. Miller also revealed that though his arm had to be twisted to agree to Sin City, after the success of that and 300, he plans on adapting more of his works, but would not hint at which ones.
Here's how the cast breaks down for the Star Wars episode of "Family Guy": Stewie is Darth Vader, Peter is Han Solo, Chris is Luke Skywalker, Brian is Chewbacca, Lois is Princess Lea, Quagmire is C-3PO, and Cleveland is R2D2.

I Will Be Watching the Watchmen

BuzzSugar — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:06:24 PDT

300 director Zack Snyder's next project is Watchmen, an adaptation of the 1980s comic book series by Alan Moore. For many weeks there have been rumors going around about who, exactly, we'd be watching in Watchmen (Keanu Reeves? Jude Law?) and now that the cast has been finalized, I am even more excited for this project. Patrick Wilson! Billy Crudup! Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who I love! This is fantastic. Variety has details:

"Watchmen" has taken decades to get off the ground. Based on Alan Moore's 1980s comicbook series, the adaptation will be set in an alternate 1985 with plenty of Cold War overtones.

Crudup will play the fatalistic Dr. Manhattan, a role Keanu Reeves once eyed, while Wilson will portray Night Owl, a rich kid interested in birds. Morgan has been cast as the Comedian, a Vietnam vet who's a member of the Minutemen. [Jackie Earle] Haley and [Malin] Akerman round out the cast as Rorschach, a vigilante, and Silk Spectre, the key femme role.

Malin Akerman is the lone female so far who gets to hang out with all the boys after her Ben Stiller comedy The Heartbreak Kid opens this fall. Lucky lady.

Billy Crudup photo source
Other photos source

What Comes After 300

BuzzSugar — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 06:56:39 PDT

Though 300 wasn't exactly a great movie, it was unlike anything I've seen on the big screen, which is why I'm excited to see what director Zack Snyder and the rest of the 300 gang will do next. Not surprisingly - given the movie's massive box-office success - most everyone involved in 300 has some very cool projects coming down the pike. Here's a look at what's brewing.

A 300 Sequel? Maybe

When a movie makes this much money, it doesn't take long for people to say "sequel." But director Zack Snyder says that issue should be taken up with Frank Miller, the graphic novelist behind the 300 source material. In a very geeky interview conducted in the virtual world of Second Life, Miller said he is talking to Warner Bros. about the possibility:

"I do know exactly what the sequel would be," Miller responded with a chuckle. "But I'll say to you the same thing that I've said to the people at Warner [Bros.]: That's all anybody gets without paying."

Snyder, meanwhile, is working on another project for the studio; for the details,

read more Snyder Eyes Watchmen For his next film, director Snyder is tackling a beloved 1986 graphic superhero novel called Watchmen written by Alan Moore. According to a recent MTV News story:

Snyder has never met Moore, the notoriously reclusive author who has famously soured on Hollywood and said he doesn't want a Watchmen movie ever made. Still, Snyder hopes to arrange a meeting soon so he can explain that the script he's calling "closer to 'Dr. Strangelove' than 'Fantastic Four' " will embrace exactly what studios have feared in the past.

It sounds pretty awesome, so I hope that one works out.
A Sin City Sequel? Certainly Though Miller is pretty mum about what will happen with the 300 sequel, the next installment of Sin City is a sure thing. In the Second Life interview, Miller revealed that the movie will likely begin shooting in June. "I just saw Robert Rodriguez the night before last, and we've nearly got the script," Miller said. Star Rosario Dawson will also be making an encore. Gerard Butler's Remake Meanwhile, star Gerard Butler, who plays King Leonidas, will likely join the cast of another cult classic: a remake of John Carpenter's Escape From New York. Butler would play Snake Plissken, the role originated by the wonderfully campy Kurt Russell.
Source

What to TiVo: Saturday

BuzzSugar — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 23:59:23 PST

8:00 College Football: Oregon at Stanford

8:00 South Carolina Rebuplican Debate
9:00 NCIS (repeat)
10:00 48 Hours Mystery (new)

8:00 Cops (new)
8:30 Cops (new)
9:00 UFC: Velasquez vs. Dos Santos
11:00 Hell's Kitchen (repeat)

8:00 College Football: Maryland vs. Notre Dame
11:30 Saturday Night Live (new, with guest Emma Stone and Coldplay)

DC Comics Graphic Novels Exclusive on Kindle Fire

Kelly Schwarze — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 04:43:06 PDT

Synergy's in the air for tech early adopters and comic fans, as DC Entertainment will release 100 of its classic graphic novels exclusively to the new Kindle Fire.

Some of DC's most popular graphic novels like Watchmen, Batman: Arkham City, and Superman: Earth One are among the titles that will make their digital debut to readers. The entire 100 title library includes all the Batman classics, along with V For Vendetta, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Fables, Green Lantern, and more.

Pre-order select novels in the Kindle Store now and stay tuned for other titles to roll out soon. So, even if you're a digital convert you can maintain a committed comic book collection. Marvel fans can still look to the iPad for digital editions of their favorite reads.