filmandcinemapuritans

Well, this month was fun for the WATCHMEN. I apologize for turning the blog into a WATCHMEN only thing. I will continue in April to give you more movie stuff that has nothing to do with the WATCHMEN. But I warn you I will keep you posted on any special screenings of DVD releases. In summary the film was great, it wasn’t as good as the book but I have the feeling the Directors Cut will work out the plot holes. The movie is still number 8, and made 103 million dollars, it’s got forty seven million dollars to make back its budget which it will during worldwide distrubution and DVD sales. The film was a moderate success but I have a feeling when it hits homes on DVD it’ll be given new life.

Good movie

A user asked “Why do people want to see the Watchmen.” Honestly, I think from the stand point of the average viewer, the trailer makes it look cool. If you actually know the story then it’s a treat. The film is the ultimate geek experience, a serious comic book story that was produced almost frame for frame by panel for panel. The film is an experience, and all though it isn’t as good as the comic book, I think it’s close as a faithful adaption to the book as what it could of been. In review the guy Sam Haim who wrote the BATMAN(1989) script wrote a version that was very happy and silly and that almost went to production in 1991. The movie changes how we look at the worlds, it’s diffiuclt to swallow it now after 9/11, because we did see a giant diaster on American soil but if you take it all in the effect can be jarring.

Try it out anyway all skeptics.

A big drop off this week but the WATCHMEN is still in the top five. The horrible Nicholas Cage film took the firstspot this week with 25 million, that movie wont stay long because it seems to be a combination of different disaster movies plus INDEPENDENCE DAY. This film will drop very sharply.  I’m just happy that the Julia Roberts film tanked by coming in at number three this week(DUPLICITY). It’s projected that the WATCHMEN will end up making a 130 million domestically, it’ll get its money back with DVD sales and a worldwide gross. The budget was 150 million and I think it’ll break even, which is a shame bcause it was a good and entertaining movie.

This review is WATCHMEN related.

I just saw a film that should have been either nominated or won for best picture in 2006; the film is called LITTLE CHILDREN. Based on a book, it stars Kate Winslet as a house mom who has taken a leave of absence from her job as an English professor to be a mother for her daughter. However throughout the film we see how not happy she is as a mother and we even see how bad she is as a mother. Patrick Wilson stars as one of her neighbors who also has a child and they make play dates together. Soon, it becomes inevitable and they wind up falling in love with one another. The film is not your typical adulterous affairs movie, it delves into deeper issues such as fetishism, yuppie – scum life, marrying the wrong person, and self-punishment. The film is not for everyone, but I feel the performances from the actors, the script and the composition of the film makes it worthwhile kind of experience. Sadly this movie was only nominated for acting by a few of the actors and the big prize went to THE DEPARTED. Which I still feel should not of been nominated. I feel that THE DEPARTED was a good film but not award worthy. THE DEPARTED only won because John Stewart made a comment a year before that the “Three-Six Mafia” won Oscars and that Martin Scorcese never won. There is no way that’s a coincidence. Especially since THE AVIATOR was a superior film to THE DEPARTED. Getting back to my original WATCHMEN reference to actors from the film are in the WATCHMEN, Patrick Wilson who plays Nite Owl and Jackie Earle Hailey who is Rorschach.

I’m riding the high from the WATCHMEN. I’ll return with more fun this Sunday. In the mean while go see the WATCHMEN it’s still playing.

www.movietickets.com

I was so afraid that nobody was going to watch the WATCHMEN. That was my fear because it wasn’t a name that was household people would walk by(Batman, Superman). But from the brillience of Zack Snyder he broke the barrier and got enough people to get interest. The film grossed 55.7 million in it’s opening weekend which is the biggest opening since TWILIGHT from last November.  The film is budgeted at 130 million so 55 million is a good start that usually means that anybody who wanted to see the film saw it this weekend. But that’s almost half the budget so when the movie goes worldwide most likely it’ll get its money back and make a good profit. Probably the suits in Hollywood will see “money” and think sequel, even though I can’t see them doing a sequel. Awesome!

Well here is the review I’ve been waiting to write for ten years now (eight months on this website) my review of the WATCHMEN. My initial reaction is the film was a complete success! This review will contain SOME SPOILERS but not a lot, because I feel everybody should see the film and enjoy it. When the film comes on DVD I’ll write a bigger review; that’s when the directors cut will hit the streets.

The film was I’m going to say Eighty-Five percent comic and stayed true to the original book. There were some scenes that panel for panel was the book and that’s impressive.

What Zack Snyder did add was a lot of action scenes. I feel that he “movie-d” the book up and that he hand no choice but to add a lot of Kung Fu action scenes, to keep the casual movie viewer’s attention. Plus the ending is changed from the original evil plot but it was done so to subtract a back-story and get the action moving. I was sad to see that some characters didn’t make the theatrical cut but I’m pretty sure they’ll be in the director’s cut. In the book a newsstand guy and a kid are the central driving force of the story, the kid reads a comic book called “TALES OF THE BLACK FREIGHTER” which plays as a sub-plot through the entire book. They obviously couldn’t do that in the film because then the film would have been almost four hours long, but do not fret, that story is available I think online and or will be included in the directors cut. 

So yes the film is still dark and deep but I think the normal movie watcher could get what’s going on. Of course I had my viewing experience ALMOST ruined by a talker who sat next to me and had to discuss the entire film to his girlfriend (and take a personal phone call on his cell phone). I can’t believe people are that rude. I visualized Arnold Schwarzenegger in TRUE LIES when he’s driving in the car with Bill Paxton; Paxton is laughing so hard that Arnold back fists him.

Anyway, see the WATCHMEN, I’m not biased, the film turned out good, Alan Moore will have a fit though. But the movie is defiantly worth the viewing, the cast was great, the direction was great, the attention to detail was incredible, everything stayed true to its form in the 1985 time period.

Who watches the WATCHMEN? Hopefully everybody can.

Check this out first: http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/

It’s March! I’ve been waiting eight months for this. In six days the premiere of the WATCHMEN finally happens and of course everyday to that day I’m going to bring you nothing but WATCHMEN blogs. Why you ask? I admit to myself that I’m a geek. In fact I’m going opening day with a WATCHMEN t-shirt on. I don’t think that it’s that dumb because if anybody is going to a sporting event a t-shirt is worn to promote his or her team. Any way, if you act now AMAZON.COM has a plethora of WATCHMEN stuff, yet if you don’t want to pay a fortune for shipping before opening day. The local clothing store that you find in your shopping malls: HOT TOPIC sells A LOT of paraphernalia. Check them out as well www.hottopic.com

In the eve of the greatest movie even so far in 2009, I in my stead am eating crackers with Salmon to calm my enthusiasm. I can’t wait for tomorrow when I can actually see the film. I honestly don’t know why I am so excited about seeing a film that is depressing and has a very downer ending, but the book effected me in a powerful way. The story is unforgettable and every piece like a puzzle put together perfectly. It was a very strong piece of writing and was honored by TIME MAGAZINE and the HUGO awards. I am going to take a few minutes and discuss the brilliance of the writer Alan Moore. When you open the first chapter of the WATCHMEN you are immediately transported into his mind and how he sees the world. With Moore there is nothing sugar coated in his world he portrays the world as a brutal, hideous and disgusting place. He makes you take inventory what you like and what you love because in the end (in his world and the one we live in) you can lose it at the stroke of a clock. His characters are not only flawed, they’re actually human you could relate to each one of them and their problems. Stuff that you are really nervous to talk about or would never divulge in your private life, Moore’s characters have to tackle as well. Moore even writes non-clichéd very interesting dialogue.

This goes for his other works as well, in FROM HELL (which was completely different from the film); there is a scene that goes on for a whole chapter of the character of William Gull traveling through London with his handsome cab driver. We spend the whole chapter listening to this madman about the streets of London and the history and in the back of the reader’s mind, the question “Why?” keeps popping up. Then when our two characters reach a church, William Gull pulls out a map of London and shows the cab driver exactly where they traveled too. He draws the locations on the map and he reveals that they have traveled a complete pentagram. The moment was chilling and thought provoking plus gave in-depth character analysis of William Gull, who is Jack the Ripper in the story (that is not a spoiler, you find out in chapter three).

V FOR VENDETTA, was good as a film and as a book but of course the book had more detail and you fell in love more with the character of V. His book JUDGEMENT DAY which was a “sort-of” sequel to the WATCHMEN, dealt with superheroes and the murder of one. His recent book THE COURTYARD was a small little vignette into drug culture, which again leads us to a door in Alan Moore’s mind that I wasn’t expecting.

To learn more about Alan Moore go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore,_Alan

Anyway about the film, I’m looking foreword to it obviously, but I’m going to say it right now. My review will be impartial. If I hate the film, I’ll let you know. I’m not going to give any spoilers even if I don’t like it. I think the film should be experienced by as many open-minded people as it can.

Best of luck to the film and thank you to a brilliant author Alan Moore.

Also Zack Snyder the director of the movie and his passion for it and David Gibbons who was the illustrator of the original comic.

Check out this interactive movie trailer from the official website http://6minutestomidnight.com/

This is cool and not to miss. My personaly favorite character is Rorshach, just because of his demented and honest view of the world. This makes him one of the most interesting characters in all of literature and soon cinema. I’m very interested in see how the actors play these famous characters, the cast is very lucky because this film will make(or break) their careers. If  they did any film in their careers this is the film they should do. I bet most of these actors go on to be big stars or reboot their careers.

Found a website where you can actually read some qeustions about the WATCHMEN,  comic and the movie. I recommend you actually read the book first. I mean it might take you two days or watch the animated comic book, which is available either on ITUNES or AMAZON.com. Anyway this is for die hard fans who have  knowledge of the story: http://io9.com/tag/watchmen/?skyline=true&s=t