Watchmen
Last night was pretty quiet. I was mostly watching TV, but there wasn't really much on. I was drinking some beer so that was fun. I was also listening to a Trisha Yearwood CD (I still really like CDs despite the digital music revolution or whatever). I got to bed at about five in the morning, planning to get up sharp in order to make it to the twelve o'clock screening of Watchmen. I woke up at eight and made myself my coffee and went back to bed to listen to the radio, but I must have fallen asleep again, because the next thing I knew it was eleven, and I was too late to make the planned showing. I remember I was having some kind of dream, but I can't remember anything about it except that it involved either Rachael Leigh Cook or Natalie Portman, and that it was a good one.
Anyway I did manage to make it up to the one o'clock screening of Watchmen, directed by Zack Snyder and based on the graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. The movie, and graphic novel, are both set in a kind of alternative USA in 1985. In this world costumed superheros are an acknowledged reality and have been since the 1940s, however due to government crackdowns most of them are retired. In this world, Richard Nixon is in his third term as President and the USA won in Vietnam. The USA and the Soviet Union stand on the brink of nuclear war, with America's principal weapon being the powerful, blue-skinned superbeing Dr. Manhattan (played by Billy Crudrup). The plot revolves around the brutal murder of violent crime-fighter turned government agent known as The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Investigating the murder, psychotic vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) comes to the conclusion that there is a conspiracy to assassinate costumed heroes and sets out to warn the rest of the now-disbanded group known as the "Watchmen", which both he and The Comedian, as well as Dr. Manhattan used to belong to. As the rest of the group are drawn into the mystery, they soon discover that there is more at stake then they could have imagined. The film is relatively faithful to the original graphic novel, and is possibly as close an adaptation as could be made of very difficult source material. The book blends comic book style with fictional magazine interviews, newspaper articles, book extracts and psychological and police reports as well as extracts from a violent pirate comic which a character in the book reads, the idea being that in a world where superheroes are a reality superhero comic books would not be popular and instead the comic staple would be pirate comics (the pirate story doesn't appear in the film, although it was made as an animation that apparently will be turned into a feature for the film's DVD release). The orginal writer, Alan Moore refused anything to do with the film, even refusing on-screen credit and royalties. Apparently, he refuses anything to do with any of the film versions of his comics (which include From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and V for Vendetta) and won't even watch them.
On my way back I bought some milk and a fish supper.
Anyway I did manage to make it up to the one o'clock screening of Watchmen, directed by Zack Snyder and based on the graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. The movie, and graphic novel, are both set in a kind of alternative USA in 1985. In this world costumed superheros are an acknowledged reality and have been since the 1940s, however due to government crackdowns most of them are retired. In this world, Richard Nixon is in his third term as President and the USA won in Vietnam. The USA and the Soviet Union stand on the brink of nuclear war, with America's principal weapon being the powerful, blue-skinned superbeing Dr. Manhattan (played by Billy Crudrup). The plot revolves around the brutal murder of violent crime-fighter turned government agent known as The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Investigating the murder, psychotic vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) comes to the conclusion that there is a conspiracy to assassinate costumed heroes and sets out to warn the rest of the now-disbanded group known as the "Watchmen", which both he and The Comedian, as well as Dr. Manhattan used to belong to. As the rest of the group are drawn into the mystery, they soon discover that there is more at stake then they could have imagined. The film is relatively faithful to the original graphic novel, and is possibly as close an adaptation as could be made of very difficult source material. The book blends comic book style with fictional magazine interviews, newspaper articles, book extracts and psychological and police reports as well as extracts from a violent pirate comic which a character in the book reads, the idea being that in a world where superheroes are a reality superhero comic books would not be popular and instead the comic staple would be pirate comics (the pirate story doesn't appear in the film, although it was made as an animation that apparently will be turned into a feature for the film's DVD release). The orginal writer, Alan Moore refused anything to do with the film, even refusing on-screen credit and royalties. Apparently, he refuses anything to do with any of the film versions of his comics (which include From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and V for Vendetta) and won't even watch them.
On my way back I bought some milk and a fish supper.
posted by WildatHeart87 at 1:45 PM
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