Yesterday was a pretty packed day full of awesomeness. David and I spent part of the afternoon at the movies for an impromptu date and then last night I met up with my dear friend Gillian for a night of entertainment with Lynda Carter — the day was pretty spectacular. First things first … yesterday, David and made our way to the ArcLight to see Watchmen mid-day so as to avoid the crush of movie goers. Forget all the bitchy negative reviews you may read about this film, I’m here to tell you that it is a great film, deffo worth watching:
Having just read Watchmen for the first time this week, the story from the graphic novel was fresh in my mind as I saw the film adaptation yesterday. I contend that the film version is a very faithful retelling of the graphic novel that will surely entertain folks who have read the comics or not. The opening sequence was really very cool … it explained some of the history of the superheros in the film and set up the storyline nicely. In the comics, there is a lot of graphic violence that is not seen in very many comic book titles … but even so, I was never bothered by the images I saw. On the big screen, the violence is brought to life and really drives the point home. In this way, I think the movie version is superior to the comics. As I suspected, there is a lot of penis in this film. I’d say that 90% of the scenes with Dr. Manhattan in them has full frontal CGI p33n swingin’ in the breeze. I must say, it’s refreshing that the male anatomy can be so casually used in a movie like this … it adds to the realism and amplifies the feeling you’re supposed to get from the graphic novel. Of the actors in the film, I felt that Malin Ackerman (who plays Silk Spectre II) came off as a poor man’s Cameron Diaz (you may remember her as the bitchy younger sister in 27 Dresses) and was the weakest of the cast … but overall, I quite liked the performances from all of the actors. The movie is not Academy Award level but it’s really entertaining. As for the changed ending, I have to say that I much prefer the ending in the film to the ending in the book. If you are a purest for the graphic novel, you may be disappointed but I was not at all. I much preferred the way the movie ended … it was more believable and saved the film from getting too cheesy. I don’t have many complaints … the movie is a really good representation of the comics. I’d be curious to hear what real moviegoers who don’t like the film as compared to the graphic novel think. Mebbe I missed something. But, as I said, I really enjoyed the film … I deffo think y’all will too.
After the movie, I had to race home to change and meet up with Gillian for our date with Lynda Carter. After the jump, check out some photos from our fun last night and watch a video of Ms. Carter performing Crazy by Patsy Cline …
OMG, we had so much fun … and I am THRILLED to let y’all know that I did get to meet and take a photo with Lynda Carter. She performed an hour and a half of standards and a few original songs. Here is a short video of Lynda singing Crazy by Patsy Cline:
She looked utterly stunning … just beautiful. Her band was made up of some pretty amazing musicians … including her sax player who Jim Henson based his Muppet character Zoot on. G and I were thrilled that we got to meet a real life Muppet! But the real thrill was meeting Lynda Carter. She was so sweet — getting a hug from her was truly a thrill. Much love goes out to my good friend Angie for her help hooking me up with Lynda’s tour manager Regina who helped orchestrate our meeting. Love to you all!! Gillian and I also met a fab couple, Rick & Steve, who we hit it off with famously. We decided to all go out for pizza together and had a great time getting to know one another. I really hope Rick and Steve stay in touch, they are a very fun couple and I would love to add them to our mix of friends :)
Unfortch, all the drinking and cold weather left me susceptible to the cold I could feel coming on … I woke up this morning wanting to die. David has been such a doll … his taking care of me has made me feel so much better already. I’m hoping to kill this cold as soon as I can. I almost made it thru the Winter season without getting sick … I hope I can get rid of it soon. As a result, I think I’ll be sleeping a lot today … I really want to feel better.
i had no idea lynda carter sang! was it mostly covers?
That explained my response to Silk Spectre II! I kept thinking why does she seem so familiar- and it’s b/c she is a poor man’s version of Cameron Diaz. She got ok as the story went along but she was the weakest one. Patrick Wilson was perfect though! I still prefer the graphic novel over the movie if only b/c the film felt weighed down by all the origin stories- by the time we got the background on Dr. Manhattan I went to the bathroom to give myself a break. Good adaptation though and a fun way to spend time at the movies.
I’ll have to respectfully disagree on the movie. I hadn’t read the book, so maybe that’s why I didn’t care for the movie. Regardless of that though, the movie was long, and non entertaining in the least. If you took out all the characters aside Dr. Manhattan and Adrian, then the outcome of the movie would still be the same. So thus a non interesting and boring plot.
Trent you look sooo thrilled to meet Lynda Carter very exciting eventful evening I would say!!!
I sure hope you feel better:)
I have to say the movie was enjoyable; but Mr Manahatten killed it for me. I couldnt stand his voice or actions. The only time I liked him was when he yelled “leave me alone”. And you are so right about Malin, but I kept imagining her as the crazy wife in “The Heartbreak Kid” with Ben Stiller. If I hadn’t seen that movie she would’ve probably been fine.
As for Lynda Carter; that is very awesome
I loved the movie but agree Malin Ackerman was not good, Laurie is so fiesty and interesting in the novel but dull in the movie. Matthew Goode was also pretty bad as Adrien/Ozymendis didnt see very bright
But Jackie Earl Haley was fantastic as Raurchach he was amazing…Patrick Wilson and Billy Crudup were also great!
I thought this was an interesting film. My hubby is a huge comic book fan and had owned the original Watchmen graphic novel in the ’80′s so he loved it. I was more on the fence about it. The characters talked So MUCH that it got a little draining, but the storyline held my interest so much that I didn’t fall asleep one time (which is a feat considering the movie started at 12:30 am and was 2 1/2 hours long) and the action scenes were very well done. This is a “graphic” novel, but I still wasn’t prepared for the level of violence this movie had – I still enjoyed it though.
And I totally agree with you regarding Malin Ackerman. She’s usually the weakest link in all of the movies I’ve seen her in and this one was no exception. I also have to give you much love for all of the love you show the “D”. I am born and raised in the “D” and I still love my city :-)
That was great reading about Lynda Carter – I just love her, too. I was hoping to see her show in DC, but unfortunately it’s happening before I get there. Ah well, that’s the way the ballerina spins. Maybe next time.
Get well soon! (and hope your Mom is better now too)
My thoughts on the film:
I dunno, while the film itself may not be Oscar worthy, I thought Jackie Earl Haley was deserving of SOMETHING, especially for the end of the film when he was so conflicted about…well, I won’t say so as not to spoil it for anyone else.
Patrick Wilson was hot, which was kinda weird.
I prefer the big change at the end, the original end was kinda lame, and I don’t think it would have worked well in the film. People not familiar with the book would have left laughing.
Speaking of people not familiar with the book, I went with three people who’d never read it, and didn’t know much about the story, and they all loved it, one has already decided it’s has favorite film of all time, and the other has already made it about halfway through my copy.
We were a little shocked by how many kids were brought to see this movie at the theater we were at. LOL–this is not for kids but, it was good. They must have had some interesting questions for mom and dad on the way home. :) Malin Ackerman looks like Lucy Lawless to me but, I’m sure her looks were the main reason she was hired. Patrick Wilson was quite hot in a geeky way but, I like me some geeks. All the actors did a good job and it was refreshing to see superheroes with character development for a change. And they didn’t simplify them or the story to sell some action figures. Lynda Carter is still amazing. That first season of Wonder Woman is so fun to watch. It too had great characters, romance, action, tongue in cheek humor—it had it all. If hollywood ever does a new Wonder Woman movie or show—Lynda has to be involved in some way. Her acting is always seems so sincere and genuine, like she’s just being herself.
It wasn’t as bad as I thought though, I’d give it a 5/10. Truncated, Snyderised and stripped of its comic book medium, the movie is still as worthless as adaptations can get.
FU**ING STUPID movie, im sorry but how can you say that it was good. i wasted over 2 hours of my life that im never going to get back. if u want to see blue dick tthen go see this movie.
Are you reading/watching Peter Travers’ blog on rollingstone.com?
Because he said the exact same thing, that Malin Akerman came off
as the “poor man’s Cameron Diaz”…:S
I have to say….being a diehard Watchmen fan…I missed the squid….
I just saw it last night.
I only went ‘cuz my sister wanted to see it, but really, i think the movie sucked. It could be because i didn’t read the comic book, but i didn’t like it. Dr. Manhattan ruined it, his voice, his bright blue color (lol), his peen, it just wasn’t attractive. too much nudity, sex.. should’ve been more action, those scenes were the best. I loved Raurchach, he was the best character in the entire movie. All in all, it was kind of lame.
The movie was a good adaptation, and as someone who is a big fan of the original novel, I was a little nervous going in. I felt that many of the sequences did a good explanation of past events and I feel that anyone who hadn’t read the book that went to go see the movie would definitely get the meaning. I don’t prefer the movie ending, but I agree that it was better to change it for a movie audience.
There were still many things that were cut that I think could have (and probably should have) been added, but maybe we’ll see them in the director’s cut…
As for the extreme violence and sex scenes? Well, I for one don’t usually shy away from violent movies, but I think anyone who has read the book and thought about it knows that the violence is not a focal point, and nor should it be. I found some of the violence to be a little over the top and quite honestly distracting from the point of the movie, but Zack Snyder loves his graphic violence and you have to keep a general theatre audience entertained for almost 3 hours somehow! The sex scene was a bit over the top too!
All in all I still was pretty impressed with the movie, not a bad adaptation at all! I still prefer the book, but I think Zack Snyder, and the entire cast (except for Malin Ackerman – even the whiny character of Laurie was not that annoying in the book) deserve a round of applause. Particularly Jackie Earle Haley who could have very easily turned his character into a cheesy, one dimensional character, and instead was the most outstanding actor in the film. Patrick Wilson rocked too!
@Cassie — totally agree!
i just read the book too trent… and i liked the movie alot! i do prefer the book though, it is more rich with background info and more characters that the movie missed (the newspaper stand guy/kid reading the black freighter/psychologists wife).. but i do agree that i prefered the ending in the movie, makes more sense now a days. i bet people would get over a giant squid and go back to war….? i have no opinion on malin but i thought matthew goode was not a good representation of adrien. the perfect actor would have been rutger hauer circa blade runner years. and Jackie Earle Haley was AWESOME. rorschach was awesome!
Most of the bad reviews came from people expecting more of an action type movie. This movie was based almost exactly off of its comic book counterpart. Therefore it would rely more on dialogue than on action. I loved it for that. I think a person really has to appreciate the novel to really appreciate the film. Unfortunately not everything from a novel can always fit into a movie adaptation. That is why you read the book. Can’t win though. If you stray too far from the original story then you upset the diehard fans, but if you keep too close to the story than no one else understands. Did anyone else love the soundtrack?