Venkman

Hope you feel better soon, Jessie!

My brother wants to buy me a graphic novel for my birthday, rather than get book 4 of a series, I'd like to start affresh with something I might not ordinarily get. Is Locke & Key a suitable starter?

Yknow, I was thinking about this the other day.

One of Alan Moore's (many) objections to the film is that with the book "a reader can take the time to absorb the character backgrounds, by having the option of turning back the pages so that they can connect elements they had just read to past elements, but that film forces you to watch the story at 24 frames per second"

I don't know about you guys, but I've been known to do that with a DVD on a number of occasions, so Hayter's pleas for us to see the film more than once doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

My irk was more that we should go and see it at the cinema again to show studios that this sort of film works.

Am very happy and interested to watch the film again, just not happy to pay for it until it comes out on DVD and I can watch it at home, go back and look at everything in detail etc.

Watchmen screenwriter David Hayter pleads for us to see the film more than once. His argument is that this film needs to be watched as many times as the book needs to be read. Not particularly impressed at this. (although I am really interested to see the dvd - not just a director's cut but the 'Under the Hood' doc which sounds like a really good way to adapt the bonus material in the comics)

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/40409

'Rohne, since you clearly felt exactly the same way that I do - ie., that no film was ever going to do Watchmen justice, let alone one directed by Zack Snyder - why did you bother seeing it in the first place? Did you think there was any chance that your pessimism would turn out to be unwarranted, or was it a "well, I might as well pick at the scab" sense of obligation?

 

That's probably going to sound fairly passive-aggressive, but I'm genuinely curious. Same goes for anyone else in the "I was fully expecting to hate it, but had to see it anyway" camp - I don't know how many of those guys we've got here, but I've seen plenty of them elsewhere. Why?

 

Also, perhaps more importantly - did anyone who was expecting to hate it find themselves pleasantly surprised? Or, of course, the opposite - anyone who was expecting to love it but ended up being hugely-disappointed? I just wonder, because almost all of the reviews I'm seeing, both positive and negative, seem to be "well, that was more-or-less exactly what I was expecting". While this does rather reinforce my decision not to see it, I'd be very curious to hear from anyone who bucks that trend.

I think I fairly flip-flopped during this film's build-up and definitely remember writing at least once that I just didn't care about the upcoming Watchmen movie. But I suppose the reason I went to see it was morbid curiosity.

My review of the film can be summed up as 'all the revelations from the book were there but they lost most of the bits that made you care' (wasn't meant to rhyme btw). So many people on other message boards/twitter etc are saying they just saw the film but have to think about their response. I think that what's actually happening is that people are struggling to care either way. Basically, I nothinged the film. It passed the time, not too unpleasantly but I didn't feel much of anything at all while I was watching it. I went wanting to like it or not like it but it was just so average and there is no need for me to ever watch this film again.

I found it quite telling afterwards that, for all it's plots and pomp, my favourite scene was Dan and Laurie discussing Captain Carnage (who enjoyed being beaten up, as I'm sure you remember) and how he tried it on Rorschach who then dropped him down an elevator shaft.

Similarly, Lady Venkman's favourite bit was near the end where Rorschach apologises to Nite Owl, realising he can be difficult to work with and that Dan is a good friend.

I found it interesting that those were the two scenes that really stuck with us. The nice little character moments that made it in to the film without having to cram so much exposition or information into the other scenes or indulging in some often unnecessary spectacle to a soundtrack that may have been lyrically appropriate but that, musically, did not evoke anything.

It would be very easy to fall into listing all the things I didn't like but, ultimately, it just wasn't worth the fuss.

As is predictable, Flight of the Conchords' Bowie In Space song is a favourite of mine.

(but as Trace says, I probably prefer the preamble and ramble of the live version)

TV -

Live - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iR2L98gobTQ

Watched my first eps of 30 Rock about half an hour ago. Brilliant.

Dusted off Dark City last night for its annual screening - interested to hear your thoughts on this (did a search but couldn't find any previous ref).

A film noir that turns out to be a sci-fi. Should be my favourite film ever. It isn't, but I do really like it. Apart from the opening voiceover which isn't Alex Proyas' fault (I just watch that bit with the sound down) I do think that the first two thirds are some of the best mystery/reveal stuff ever but it loses it in the final third. It's a lot like the Matrix in it's structure but just lacks the kung-fu finales. Is that the only difference though? Even Richard O'Brien's Mister Hand has a nice parallel to Agent Smith in terms of theirl rebellion.

Lady Venkman also points out that the score never bloody stops through the film so, even when you're an hour in, you still feel like you're at the beginning.

Fantastic performances pretty much across the board though. Stand-out is William Hurt but even Keifer Sutherland's Peter Lorre impression is still appealling.

But for all its esoteric 'searching for the human soul' - I guess the baddies don't actually feel as identifiable or sentient as the machines in the Matrix. It just really is one of the few films I have trouble being objective about.

Can someone help me with my score for it, please. :mong:

OK everyone, I'm off to Canada for the weekend to spend time with my girlfriend.

Am I the only one who rose an eyebrow?

No. But then I just happened to be following my Roger Moore 'Highbrow Eyebrow' Workout Video at the time when I was reading it.

Two slightly older films that our online rental service randomly distributed...

The Darjeeling Limited - Another nice little oddity from Wes Anderson. Possibly my least favourite from his canon though. (The Life Aquatic is my favourite by a mile despite the fact I possibly think it's the lesser of Rushmore and Tenenbaums. I just like it so much!) It's as quirky and as idiosynchratic as can be and narratively messy as you might expect. Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman were all just as endearingly broken as each other. The moments of unity they shared (virtually almost all dialogue free) were a fantastic contrast to the character flaw (deliberate, that is) filled dialogue. Zach Snyder take note - Wes Anderson is the actual master of slo-mo! 3/5

Definitely, Maybe - This was actually a really surprising treat for a fellah not overly fussed about Rom-Com's. It actually had a bit of mystery to it and didn't play by the usual rules. No one was overtly rubbish in order to cause a rift that had to be healed at the end of act two. All of the girls were charming and Ryan Reynolds really does seem to be working through Tom Hanks' career path - charming now and he'll be winning oscars by the time we hit 2015. Plus Abigail Breslin (the little girl from Little Miss Sunshine and Signs) is already a bonafide star in our eyes. And Kevin Kline turns up for a little extended cameo which I didn't know about in advance so that's always going to win us over. 4/5

Incredible. Very sly too.

That's not actually Spain, is it ?!?

You've seen its true face.

Legend. Whatever, the film's like - something good has definitely come of it.

Personally, I seem to have a hangover from just three pints last night. And this was on top of a very large veggie-burger, salad and chunky chips. Are we all just particularly fragile at the moment?

 

No, you're just a girl's blouse.

Let's see what size is on the label - what a surprise: big

 

Laugh it up before I keeeell you

Let the Right One In - I keep hearing lovely things about the film so thought I'd read the book while it takes its time to reach these shores (and before the American remake). Unhappy 12 year old Oskar befriends vampire Eli who moves in next door who looks 12 but is slightly older (by a couple of centuries). It's a brilliant relationship coupled with an angry mob after Eli's blood.

What a wonderful book. Haunting and cosy while at the same time horrific and grim. I genuinely haven't enjoyed a book as much in years.

A.

...Tuesday, I'm in love...

See, now you might really hurt yourself...

Man, everyone be careful, please! Don't want anyone getting hurt, if that's okay.

Personally, I seem to have a hangover from just three pints last night. And this was on top of a very large veggie-burger, salad and chunky chips. Are we all just particularly fragile at the moment?

Odd how writing a three-film list would have been far easier than writing the lucky dozen. I also use the proviso that this list may well be different in a matter of minutes.

Ghostbusters

Jaws

12 Angry Men

The Maltese Falcon

Unbreakable

Memento

American Psycho

The Iron Giant

Back to the Future

The Man who Wasn't There

Pan's Labyrinth

The Matrix.

Other than Whedon's own breaks away from the status quo he himself established, the name I always looked out for was Tim Minear. It always felt like he was the stand-in for quality when Whedon was stretched thin across too many shows.

He has some of my favourite episodes of Angel and Firefly to his name.

Bah. You're so contrary!

Yeah, you should definitely check out Dead Set, Abhi. While I prefer Shaun of the Dead (mostly for even nerdier reasons of its perfect screenplay structure) Dead Set gets plenty of points for its concept and actually managing to find its way onto British telly. Just about gets the right blend of its satire and broader humour (arsehole producer forced to shit in a bin scenes the exception) with the actual horror.

Its a proper horror with satire as opposed to Shaun which is an outright horror/romcom.

Mark - Pegg's with you and me on this 'un!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/nov/0...n-pegg-dead-set

Wanted. Well...mediocre?

No zombie should act in a manner indicating motivations more complex than the following:

 

1. Locate source of juicy, tasty, nourishing brains.

2. Lurch towards source of juicy, tasty, nourishing brains.

3. Eat juicy, tasty, nourishing brains.

4. Repeat.

Rules is rules

Amazing! Have a great time away from it all - and come back to us when you're ready!

I didn't even notice Rorshach! Just like the books, brutha man just pops outta nowhere!

Now if only the new film could be that subtle.