21 posts tagged “watchmen”
It’s awards season and as good a time as any to take a look back over the releases of 2008 and then peek into the future at the coming movies of 2009.
I’ll quickly preface this by saying that unlike most movie audiences, the burden of expectation on critics and movie buffs is equivalent to Atlas with a full bladder and jock itch during mosquito season. Thanks to the trailers, TV spots, script reviews, production art, set photos, test screening reviews, we’ve seen 60% of the movie before its hit the cinema and as you’d expect it almost never matches the one you’ve got playing in your head.
A Knight to Remember….
What a shock then that not only was 2008 an upturn in movies, I’d be surprised if it didn’t warm the hearts of even the most inveterate cynic.
To really credit the comic book film as a genre, it reached its apotheosis this year, but most importantly, in the form of Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Dark Knight’, received much deserved critical acclaim. Building on the promise of the first film, ‘Batman Begins’, that breathed new life into the stale superheroics of the once great ‘X-Men’ and ‘Spiderman’ franchises, Nolan and Warner Bros brought an edgier crime noir feel to the next in the series. Immersing us in a crafty marketing campaign and waking us to the idea of a comic villain, in the form of Heath Ledger’s menacing Joker, snagging Award nominations.
If ‘The Dark Knight’ was the dark, scuffed side of this cinematic coin, John Favreau’s ‘Iron Man’ was the light, irresistibly bright reverse. Coming second only to Bats as the biggest US grossing film of 2008 and giving us yet another wonderfully charismatic performance, this time from the now redeemed actor, Robert Downey Jr.- matched only by the one he gave in ‘Tropic Thunder’.
While some of the other movies in the genre didn’t do quite so well filling the studio coffers, ‘The Incredible Hulk’ at the very least, realised the potential of a 9ft tall Emerald powerhouse that uses cars for sparring practice and puts out a Chinook engine fire with some mild applause. Similarly, while not breaking big at the box office, ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ surpassed its predecessor for breadth of imagination and wit.
I could go on to discuss the relative merits of Angelina Jolie’s tattoos in the absurdly enjoyable ‘Wanted’, the disappointment of ‘Indiana Jones and the Empty Skull’ and ‘Hancock’ or the ridiculously violent fun of Rambo’s return, but besides all that, the other great thing about 2008, is that while the Oscars have become, and almost certainly always will be, a soulless, glad-handing vacuum of a personality contest, this time around we have a raft of movies to actually cheer for.
A number have been critiqued on this very site, and whatever your thoughts on ‘Milk’, ‘The Wrestler’, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, ‘Frost/Nixon’ and ‘Benjamin Button’, you couldn’t call them boring. Each one, a burst of diversity, accomplishment and entertainment. Something that we now have to cross our fingers will be repeated as we move ever further into 2009.
Watchmen will be the movie of the year……
Considering I’ve discussed the success of the superhero in such depth above, it seems necessary now to tear it apart with fine textual scalpels.
Not that I have much work to do as coming in March (and that seems a sure thing now, as I’ll explain in a moment) we have Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s ‘Watchmen’. A seminal masterwork of the comic medium, as deconstruction of the superhero, a movie version has been gestating for years and recently hit what can only be described as a legal clusterfuck as the production studio Warner Bros came under fire from Fox over rights issues.
I’d very much like to bore you to tears with an overview of what will probably go down as a neat bit of publicity (and quite frankly, I can’t think of a movie more deserving of it) suffice it to say, a suit was filed, a court date booked and thankfully, after much legal wrangling and expensive lunches later, we have a positive result.
In short, ‘Watchmen’ will be the movie of the year. If everything onscreen matches the quality of the stuff drip-fed from the production over the past couple of years, this will be both an astonishing creative accomplishment, vindication for the studio after they bravely took on a property no-one wanted to touch, but most importantly, a movie that combines the depth of thought of a literary novel with the lavish production values of a Golden Age epic.
Set in an alternate America where superheroes have been outlawed and political tensions with Russia have set the Doomsday Clock at 5mins to Midnight, the uncompromising vigilante Rorschach brings together his former teammates over the savage murder of a former colleague, the resulting investigation revealing well kept secrets that could have a catastrophic effect on our world. Alternatively you could call this a movie about a luminous blue penis, attached to an atomic God, but that’s kind of the point. The movie’s got something for everyone. Check it out over at:
http://watchmenmovie.warnerbros.com/
and
http://rss.warnerbros.com/watchmen/
and for the ultimate Watchmen resource, check out this site:
http://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/
Terminate the Transformers? Make it so…..
After gushing for far too long over that movie, I’ll get right into the next couple of picks, sidestepping, with a neat dismissal, another big movie hitting in June. Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ or ‘Transformer 2: Because You Mugs Paid For the Last One’ will hopefully fail big time in the action department, bringing an end to this rape of our respective childhoods. It’s the only way this won’t drag millions into the cinemas to see another round of shallow characterisation, lame jokes, and non-existent story. Just because it vaguely resembles the vehicle/robot couplings we zoomed across our living room floors as kids doesn’t make it Transformers. Avoid.
Instead, get your fix of hyperactive camerawork, glossy visuals and gung ho patriotism from the far less obnoxious, though dumber sounding McG and ‘Terminator: Salvation’ (subtitles are for morons). Not only is this a continuation of one of the most beloved science fiction franchises of all time. Not only does this have Batman himself, Christian Bale, as one of the most recognisable names in cinema. Get this; it also has a load of new, and Transformer-resembling, machines for you to rush out to the shops and buy in toy form on the movie’s release. The footage looks promising too, albeit with a rather unnecessary reprisal of the classic line, ‘Come with me if you want to live’, voiced by what looks like a prepubescent (Anton Yelchin) playing the legendary, Kyle Reese.
Jumping from Kyle Reese to yet another beloved genre character, Mr Yelchin is also playing the vowel mangling security officer Chekov in J.J. Abrams reboot of the Star Trek franchise in May. Long overdue would be the best way to describe this, and based on the trailer, that both grounds the story and then sends it rocketing into a new frontier, it looks set to appeal to both old and new fans alike. There’s also that cameo that’s sure to send the partisans into paroxysms of geekgasms.
Sam Worthington, another face from ‘Terminator: Salvation’, stars in the new James Cameron epic out in December. The sci-fi ‘Avatar’ sees him in the lead role as a paraplegic marine forced into a mission of exploration and exploitation on an alien world. Looking set to push the boundaries of cinema far beyond anything we’ve seen before, it’s sure to be a breathtaking mix of pioneering 3-D action and memorable characters. A ‘Blade Runner’ for the new Millennium?
From Wizards to Weepies…..
Powering down for just the sake of word count rather than quality, we have a raft of other releases to pique your interest.
After being pushed back from its usual Autumn slot, the next entry in the Harry Potter series, the Half Blood Prince, is released in July, and based on the almost exponential growth in both maturity, level of performance and effects work; this too will prove to be a smash hit.
Two films that might never have hit the cinemas: ‘The Wolf Man’, the reimagining of the Lon Chaney classic (November) and the perennial childhood favourite, ’Where the Wild Things Are’ (December). The former due to a director walk-out over creative differences. The latter down to bizarre studio pressures. Fan favourites, it looks like both will do their source material proud.
Moving into edgier genre territory we have Vampire myth revision in the shape of already cult Swedish horror, ‘Let the Right One In’ (April) and the surprise return of Quentin Tarantino (surprising only because he seems more interested in collecting projects than actually filming them) with the knowingly misspelled WWII Men on a Mission flick ‘Inglourious Basterds’ (August).
With trepidation I include ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’, slashing through cinemas in May. While it has the talented Gavin Hood at the helm, it has had a very troubled production history, including reports of the infamous Fox Studio head, Tom Rothman, getting involved. And while the recent trailer shows some potential, it looks a little too bargain basement. Adamantium claws crossed for this one.
Other than that, it’s a burst of bare knuckle boxing sleuthing, as Robert Downey Jr. returns to this preview in Guy Ritchie’s, no doubt, cockneyfied ‘Sherlock Holmes’ (November); a no doubt heartbreaking take on loss in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s excellent ‘The Lovely Bones’ and finally the Heath Ledger’s last film, ‘The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus’ (TBC). Directed by the legendary Terry Gilliam, it also stars Verne Troyer so Big Brother fans are catered for. In fact, if there’s not a movie for everyone this year, I’ll eat Michael Bay’s hat.
Please note that some of these release dates are TBC in the UK and subject to change.
Well under rather mysterious circumstances Watchmencomicmovie.com have today released photos of what most of the Watchmen cast will look like in full costume.
Apart from a rather odd looking getup from Veidt (Ozymandias) (little boy playing dressup in B&R/Spartan wear) and Nite Owl's rather strange interpretation of the cowl from the book (visual metaphor for his impotency?) everything looks rather impressive, especially Rorschach, Silk Spectre and of course, Rorschach. For some reason Snyder has run them through his favourite desaturation mode which makes it hard to make out some of the details, especially in the case of Rorschach's famous purple pinstripe trousers and cravat. But on the whole, I think fans can breath a collective sigh of relief. Check them out below, and here's the original link to the source
Nite Owl played by Patrick Wilson
The Comedian played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Veidt (Ozymandias) played by Matthew Goode
Rorschach played by Jackie Earle Haley
Good god. The look, the details. Might be a little too Seven in filter, but makes me very excited to see some footage of this:
One of the parents of arguably the greatest comic book story in history (Watchmen), Dave Gibbons, poses infront of Dollar Bill's costume. Note the blood and bullet holes from that poor schmuck's demise, his cape getting caught in a revolving door while trying to foil a robbery, opening him up to a hail of gunfire. I can't believe the level of fidelity involved in this production. Litte or no modernisation or hippification; it looks exactly like it does in the book, corny, but all the better for it.
Check out the pic below and click here for the first part of Mr Gibbons, exuberant set report.
Oh and check out this look at the door to the Rimrunner bar. Nothing spectacular, but it is where Rorschach likes to conduct the openings to many of his investigations. What's cool is that this came as an exclusive to arguably the best Watchman message board from the production itself. With any luck more exclusives will be following:
Trying not to give myself a cerebral hernia through geekgasm, but the Watchmen is honestly my Star Wars and seeing such beautifully resonant production photos like these is very exciting and quite frankly, very reassuring (check out the newstand, the gorgeous colours of the Gunga Diner). And though it may not be the full on, perfectly composed, and detailed character pic I wanted, that's Rorschach goddammit. Check below for the pics, and click here for their source at the official Watchmen site .
For some bizarre reason Snyder hasn't confirmed Matthew Goode as Veidt at ComicCon. Why this is I have no idea, especially as he seemed ready to announce the full cast there, but commented that the "the press" had scooped him.
Anyway, no mention of Goode, but we did get a new addition in the form of Stephen McHattie, he of History of Violence, now cast as The Nite Owl I, better known as Hollis. I know to many fans this will come as a wee bit of a shock as I'm sure they'd have loved to see Paul Newman slipping into the comfy slippers. For me, McHattie reeks a little too much of the psychopath to play the mild mannered ex mask. Still, it's not a misstep from Snyder, more of a side step. Unless, there's more to come in terms of net updates, bit of a piss poor Watchmen panel if I'm honest.
The one good thing to come out of it is the confirmation that Snyder won't be going down the '300' route with the film; sets are already being built in Vancouver including one for NY, and it'll be mostly practical stuff except for digital on the Mars and Antartica scenes which is to expected. The major point is that he's going for a more gritty aesthetic, akin to 'Seven' and I remember 'Taxi Driver' being bandied about which is important. If you're going to take this seriously, you need to embrace it from the ground up and situate characters like Rorschach in a truly believable urban setting.
Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985 America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society, and the "Doomsday Clock" – which charts the USA's tension with the Soviet Union – is permanently set at five minutes to midnight. When one of his former colleagues is murdered, the washed up but no less determined masked vigilante Rorschach sets out to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes. As he reconnects with his former crime-fighting legion – a ragtag group of retired superheroes, only one of whom has true powers – Rorschach glimpses a wide-ranging and disturbing conspiracy with links to their shared past and catastrophic consequences for the future. Their mission is to watch over humanity... but who is watching the Watchmen?
Official word from Warner Bros. It's really happening people
Well, after reading these CHUD reports it's doubtful I will be. My suspicion about these sites has steadily been outweighed by my hope and love for the film, but I think Devin is right and this is simply a cash grab from the OneRing.net famer Michael Regina. I hope we're proven wrong, but.....
Looking on the bright side, the casting rumours have all been very promising and it looks like there's going to be a lot of people made happy at Comicon, come the end of the month. Fingers crossed we get some kind of footage as well.
Checking my e-mails this morning I noticed two new ones linked to the Watchmen viral that's been going round. A new site's been launched as a side-line to the Rorschachs Journal and can be found here. Looks pretty barebones. Can't tell if it has any studio investment at all as yet.
The second e-mail was a spoofy maildrop for the Veidt Method:
Dear Customer,
You have received this e-mail because you have expressed interest in my course, and if you did that, it's because you think you need a change in your life.A better body? Increased confidence and magnetism? Advanced mental techniques that will help you at home or business? Well, yes we can offer you all these things...but in order to have and enjoy them, there's got to be a new YOU!
More than just a bodybuilding course, the Veidt Method is designed to produce bright and capable young men and women who will be fit to inherit the challenged, promising, and often difficult world that awaits in our future. The course is designed to be easy to read and to understand, and if you follow it through, I can assure you that you and uour friends will quickly notice the results as a whole new realm of ability and experience is opened to you. Stay tuned for more updates on what you can expect to find in later updates online.
Please visit TheVeidtMethod.com!
Best wishes and encouragement - Adrian Veidt.
Different film, but no less interesting, according to JJ Abrams two of the viral sites that I linked to in an earlier post have absolutely nothing to do with his disaster flick Cloverfield. Apparently we are yet to discover the real virals he's seeded across the net....Oh really. As you can read in this story over at AICN, only 1-18-08.com is attached to the movie. Now, the Talkbacks below the article have gone mental, finding references and links and suspicious sites relating to this information so I doubt it will be long before the truth is revealed. I have a sneaking suspicion that Abrams is backtracking on this, as I remember hearing that some of the puzzles on the Game viral site made reference to the same date of 1st August 2008. Coincidence?
As much as it'd be a shame if the film didn't turn out to be about Cthulhu and Lovecraft, the reason the stories were so effective wasn't because of the great reveals, it was the creeping dread and the the aura that surrounded the Great Old Ones. I don't know if them in all their full CGI glory would be quite so chilling.
