Watchmen

[X]

$75 dollars good?!?!?  No.  Little will be worth that.  But for my $5, it was well worth it.

Yeah it cost me 75 to take the wife out to the movies if we follow our usual patterns. It's 22 just to get into the movie for two and then another 25 for a sitter. Then food ... yeah .. gotta love the economy.

[Rico]

Does your wife like these types of films too?  Also, I almost always go to the matinees and don't normally buy food at the theater (except when my son worked there).  I certainly can understand why you wouldn't go if it costs you that amount each time.

[X]

Does your wife like these types of films too?  Also, I almost always go to the matinees and don't normally buy food at the theater (except when my son worked there).  I certainly can understand why you wouldn't go if it costs you that amount each time.

Yeah. Her favorite movies are those with things that blow up. She say she doesn't like comedies, but she like them just fine if they are romantic comedies. Action and sci-fi are her genres of preference. We've never had to sit through a romantic comedy at the theater, but anything action and sci-fi, she's there. Which pretty much means that if I want to see something, she also wants to see it, if not more.

[billybob476]

Well, if you can afford it, there's nothing wrong with making an evening of it!

[X]

Well, if you can afford it, there's nothing wrong with making an evening of it!

We have a entertainment budget of sorts. If there aren't any good 360 games coming out in a month, we put that money towards movies and vice versa. It's 100 a month for games/dvds and 100 a month for movies / dining out / wine / hard stuff. Since I love to cook and she loves my cooking, we rarely go out to eat unless it's the diner and the movie thing. Also since we have two Xboxes, if I get a good game, I usually have to buy a second copy so that we both can play without split screen. I hate split screen.

[Bryancd]

We don't have any video games and Jamie isn't a big fan of the movies so I just put all ou entertainment budget into booze. Jamie is a riot when she's a little tipsy!  :cheers

[X]

We don't have any video games and Jamie isn't a big fan of the movies so I just put all ou entertainment budget into booze. Jamie is a riot when she's a little tipsy!  :cheers

LOL!

[moyer777]

We don't have any video games and Jamie isn't a big fan of the movies so I just put all ou entertainment budget into booze. Jamie is a riot when she's a little tipsy!  :cheers

Ok, you made me laugh!  That was a great response.

Nathan went to the movie and since he hadn't read the graphic novel, was like... ewwww.  He was kind of distracted by the high school girls giggling at the large blue p**is.  :)  I think you have to know the novel in order for it to be really good.  I may be wrong.  What do you think?

[wraith1701]

We don't have any video games and Jamie isn't a big fan of the movies so I just put all ou entertainment budget into booze. Jamie is a riot when she's a little tipsy!  :cheers

Ok, you made me laugh!  That was a great response.

Nathan went to the movie and since he hadn't read the graphic novel, was like... ewwww.  He was kind of distracted by the high school girls giggling at the large blue p**is.  :)  I think you have to know the novel in order for it to be really good.  I may be wrong.  What do you think?

I don't think you have to have read the story for the movie to be really good, but I think it's important to be familiar with what the story is about.  I think some folks might see the trailer and think they are in for a Superhero flick like Iron Man or The Fantastic Four, when this story is actually quite different.   

Here's a screwy analogy--

I like lemonade, and I like vodka.  But if I grabbed an ice-cold glass of what I thought was lemonade on a hot summer day, took a big swig, and discovered it was vodka, I'd be pretty put off.  ;)

[moyer777]

Good analogy, of course if I did that I would also have a buzz.  :) 

[Geekyfanboy]

Well I haven't read the graphic novel, and I don't know much about the story but I'm really looking foward to seeing this movie this week.

[Dan M]

I've read the comic a few times, though it's probably been 2 years since the last reading.

I loved the movie. They made changes but so much was the same that I was happy.

My wife read it last year and didn't really like it.  It was just too depressing.  Surprisingly, she enjoyed the movie.  I think it might've been lowered expectations.

Neither of us felt like it was a 2:43 running time.  It flew by.

[jedijeff]

I was not familiar with the story of the Watchmen before seeing this movie, so it was a bit different then I expected. I knew going in that this would be very different then other Super hero movies, and it certainly was no X-Men or even Batman, since for the most part there was not a lot of elements that are seen in Super hero type movies(or it was not the major part of the story). I did leave the theatre with plenty to think about after, mostly what is right and what is wrong, and I came home and read up some more on the Watchmen on the Internet. I will probably seek out the graphic novel at somepoint to read the story. I am still on the fence about my feelings on the movie, either it was ok, or good to me, maybe reading the story at somepoint will give me a better appreciation of it(or less).

[wraith1701]

My spoiler-free thoughts on the film-

Had some free time today, and decided to use it to see the movie.  I thought it was great!    ;D The producers had quite a job on their hands, but I think they succeeded in doing what many would have thought impossible-- They took a story who's genius was in the novel way in which it was presented, and whose appeal was largely derived from the time period during which it was released, and made it entertaining and relevant.  All this was achieved despite the passing of over two decades since the release of the books.

About the time-frame:   Maybe it's because I grew up in the 80's, but I thought that the cold-war influence and references were both understandable and believable.  And the use of multiple songs and video clips from the decade helped to pull me firmly into the world of the story.  The costuming, set design, and even the most subtle music cues used throughout the film made it feel like a living, breathing, alternate-universe version of the 80's.

Regarding the translation to film:  Once again, well done.  Part of what caught a lot of people's attention about the Watchmen comic was the groundbreaking manner in which the story was presented.  First of all, the gritty, raw content of the book was at the time unexpected, especially coming from a major comic company like DC. 

Even more appealing back then was the depth of back-story and character development.  Unlike other comics of the time, Watchmen had no corporate sponsorship, i.e., no advertisements in the comic.  No advertiser had any idea what this 'crazy story' was all about, and none of them wanted to bother paying for ad space in it.  This had the benefit of giving Alan Moore extra space in each issue to fill; space he used to flesh out the Watchmen universe.  This resulted in a comic series that delivered a lot more bang for the buck per issue, and a story that managed to build a rich, believable world in half the time of most other comic series. 

Without "extra pages" to fill on the big-screen, I was worried that the producers wouldn't be able to create such a rich world.  But they managed, by simply making every shot and scene count.  The opening credits sequence did a fantastic job taking the place of the "extra pages" that Moore had at his disposal.  The score of the opening montage immediately pulled me into the Watchmen backstory, and the clips and pictures used had much of the same information and 'feel' of the comic.  Hell; even the unique style in which the opening montage was filmed felt like a comic book page brought to life.   

There is only one element that I can see some of the Die-Hard comic geeks taking issue with:  The ending of the film. 

While watching the movie, part of me kept wondering how they were going to pull the ending off on the big-screen, and make it feel believable.  As time wore on, I slowly came to the realization that the ending I was expecting probably wasn't going to be very likely.  And as the 'end-game' swung into high gear, I realized with a certainty that the producers were going to take a different route. 

Looking back though, I find that in a way, the producers DID stick to the main idea of the ending.  Without spoiling anything, all I can really say is that the main plot-device used by the Bad-Guy remained more or less intact.  It took a different form, but it still served the same purpose.  And in retrospect, I think that using this approach was a wise choice on the part of the producers. 

Using the comic book 'Ending Event' would have required even more backstory, and would have slowed the pace of the film considerably.  The producers managed to stay true to the heart of the comic, while keeping the story streamlined. 

In summary- A must-see film for grown-up comic fans, as well as for non-comic fans who like their sci-fi flavored with a bit of dystopian bleakness and irony. 

By the way; the characters were SPOT-ON; especially Rorschach.  ;D

[Meds]

Off to see it tomorrow, great review Wraith.