Just another reason why the monthly unlimited MTA card should not increase to $103.

A March 5th midnight show, 3 screens 2 sold out, surrounded by comic book fans from my local comic shop, I saw The Watchmen.  So what did I think of it.  Quite simply I liked it.  It was good.  If I had to pinpoint one problem the movie had was its runtime.  Clocking in at 165 minutes, it is just too short to completely capture the soul of the graphic novel.  It novel is very dense.  An average comic book will take me between 10-15 minutes to read, an issue of The Watchmen (the graphic novel is a collection of the 12 issue mini-series) can take me closer to 20-25 minutes, just because there is so much information, not only in the words but in the art as well.  Of course some things were cut or truncated for the adaptation, which I expected, but there was only so much you could omit.  It is the volume of content combined with the runtime that makes a good portion of the film is rushed, robbing certain scenes of their emotional impact and character development.  However, I will add that the changes made to the big climax of the movie did not lessen the impact of the events and the message of the story, making me very happy.

One place where the movie excels is the acting on the part of Jackie Earle Haley was spot on.  He brought is character of Rorschach to life, and I challenge anyone to read (or re-read) the graphic novel and not have Rorschach sound like he did in the movie.  I know that as I finish up my fourth re-read I have that voice in my head.  Another outstanding performance came from Patrick Wilson’s Dan Dreiberg, Nite Owl II.  When I do read The Watchmen, this is how I picture Dan Dreiberg.  Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan (he actually did act the part, he was replaced in post-production just like Andy Serkis was in the Lord of the Rings movies), was cold, withdrawn and a bit scary, so he also did a good job.  There were some issues with the CGI.  I did read a review in which did confirm one of my thought while watching it, that the mouth movements were sometimes iffy.  Malin Akerman definitely looked the part of Laurie Juspeczyk (she was Laurie Jupiter in the movie, but in the novel she makes it a point to correct people so, so will I), but there were times her performance was stiff.

Sadly, in the end the legendary creator Alan Moore, was probably right, it is “unfilmable”.  However, I do not think it is because of the material in the novel, but that Hollywood won’t give it the time it needs to tell the story.  It needs at least 2 3hour movies, or even better a 12 episode mini-series on HBO or Showtime to come close to being able to tell the story the right way.

I could go into more detail as to where I felt the movie went south or excelled, and I may later on, but I do not want to so until more people have a chance to see it.  What I will say is that in the graphic novel there is a comic within the comic which Zack Snyder has turned into an animated direct to DVD feature called “Tales of the Black Freighter” (out on March 24th), and the reports are that Warner Brothers has Snyder cut down the original runtime of the movie to under 3 hours.  I am hopeful that the eventual extended directors cut (which will include the Black Freighter cut within the movie) will be better than the theatrical release and become the standard (just like the Blade Runner Director’s Cut), but that doesn’t mean you should wait for it.  Go out and see The Watchmen, hell I am even going to see it again, and by all means if you haven’t read the graphic novel, go and read it.

This spot conjures up memories of me sitting in my grandparents living room watching cartoons. why they were advertising during cartoons is another story that the coked up media planners of the ’80s will have to answer… all i know is that any training that lets you leave w/ your own set of tools is kinda awesome.

Being a pretty avid reader (And loving NYC’s Library service), I’ve always envied the people on the subway I see reading the Amazon Kindle. It’s an awesome device, with eInk, which beautifully and faithfully reproduces printed text. And there’s a growing library of titles appearing on Amazon, for a lot cheaper or equivilent to a paperback.

The problem for me is the device is in the $300 range, which is pretty steep for a bookreader, that doesn’t do much more, with a 16-greyscale shade screen. But an iPod touch, which is roughly around the same price (which I own) can function a million other things, just like it’s big brother the iPhone.

So this is a pretty big deal to me. I’m sure for you too.

Download it!
Clickable iTunes Link

This ad ran in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette briefly before they noticed the phallic resemblance of that tan colored bicycle seat. Oh Arkansas, how you put a new meaning to “Dirty South.”

Facebook Advertisement - by jimisaacs

I thought Facebook was supposed to taylor their ads to be specific for the user. Should this worry me?

My life was honestly a little incomplete until someone introduced me to this site. Now it fills the little place inside me that used to be filled with vegetables and seitan. Now all i can think about is a corndog pizza. Thanks fat america!

umm, for real. if someone ever showed up on american idol or other equally shitty american talent show in black face, they would be crucified. that said, the wayan’s brothers dressing up in ‘white face’ and pretending to be horribly unattractive white girls was somehow acceptable. after seeing the trailer for that film i couldn’t get an erection for weeks. then you’ve got the long list of film debacles that put white dudes in black face… from the low point of C. Thomas Howell in Soul Man - to Robert Downey Jr. in his recent film Tropic Thunder (which other than the faux trailers was sort of a snooze)… the long story short, everyone stick to their own skin tone. it never really works out and usually only nets out in uncomfortable laughter from those around you.

@ TED - bill gates decided to show all the attendees what it’s like to fear malaria by setting loose a shit-ton of mosquitos on them in a closed theater. Granted they didn’t have malaria, it was still sorta ‘edgy’ for a guy like gates. read the gist here: 404 ERROR

Props to The Gothamist for finally discussing the maple syrup smell that permiates Manhattan about once a week. I’ve had conspiracy theories about this for months but now we’ve sorta got an answer (i think it’s still a coverup for something clandestine related to WOM) - anywho, read up. and stop licking buildings. They aren’t pancake flavored.