One more WATCHMEN review

2 comments March 6th, 2009

I’m posting a link to Jeffrey Wells’ review over at his site, HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE, because he seemed completely primed to hate this movie, taking every opportunity to take potshots at it in the months leading up to the opening, then when he finally saw it, well…

“WATCHMEN  may or may not be your cup of tea (it’s not mine) but at least it was made by a kind of madman who gave as little quarter as possible and didn’t muck around. I almost love the fact that WATCHMEN doesn’t try to make you feel “good,” and that it just tries to be itself.

I emerged from the theatre feeling subdued but not seething inside. WATCHMEN never put a real smile on my face, but neither did it make me sit forward and groan and spread my fingers across my face. Yes, it frequently turned me off and sometimes inspired feelings of deep loathing. It provided almost nothing in the way of whole-hog satisfaction, but at least it left me feeling that I’d seen something different.”

I appreciate Wells’ honesty, admitting a movie he didn’t think he’d like at all has something to recommend it. And I like how he sorts out his feelings during the actual review (something he does a lot on his sometimes-infuriating-but-always-worth-reading site). In a world of four-star-or-no-star reviews, sharing mixed feelings about a movie is refreshing.

If all goes according to plan, I’ll see it Saturday night and post something here Sunday. If you see it, please swing by and post your thoughts in the comments.

Bad times at the movies

2 comments March 6th, 2009

Over at the Onion AV Club, writers and readers are sharing stories of their worst moviegoing experiences. It’s both funny and depressing.

I’d say my worst time (aside from seeing LICENSE TO WED, har har har) was watching D.W. Griffith’s silent (and boring) 1916 classic INTOLERANCE in college in the least comfortable chair ever designed. What’s worse is that there was no soundtrack — none! — and so the only sound in the theater was the film going through the projector. It got so bad that at one point I got up, left the building, took a walk around the campus, came back and sat down to watch the rest of the movie.

Talk about a film living up to its name.

Friday afternoon videos: New STAR TREK trailer

2 comments March 6th, 2009

Here’s the latest trailer for J.J. Abrams’ reworking of the STAR TREK storyline, featuring the crew’s early days. This trailer focuses almost solely on Kirk, with just a glimpse of the actor I’m most interested in — Simon Pegg as a young Scotty. Lots of action though — probably more in just this trailer than in the entire run of the original series.

“Rorschach’s friends to the animals, when he’s not clowning around”

3 comments March 6th, 2009

Sure, there’s a lot of hoopla about the new WATCHMEN movie, but has everyone forgotten the Saturday morning cartoon from the 1980s? Here’s a sample to jog your memory…