Watchmen: Get to Know the Characters

IGN has a great article up detailing the main cast of characters for the upcoming Watchmen film. Beware as there are some spoilers but not really enough to give away too much about the graphic novel or movie. For those who have read the graphic novel, this serves as a great refresher. For those who haven't, it may just intrigue you enough to pick it up and read for yourself.

IGN: Cast of Characters: Watchmen

Who Watches the Watchmen and Should We Care?

The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout, "save us!"...and I'll look down, and whisper "no."

The folks over at io9.com have an interesting article up about the upcoming Watchmen movie. The upcoming film was the talk of this year's San Diego Comic Con and the hype for this has been overwhelming. While I think the folks over at io9.com may be right, I certainly hope they aren't.

Here's why they might be right about assuming that it's being overhyped. First of all, how well will certain elements translate on film? Personally, I don't think many of them will. Such as the fact that the heroes in our film version won't look as ridiculous in their costumes as they did in the comics, a method in the story of the book that was 100% deliberate. Alan Moore's goal was to add a bit of realism to the superhero genre with Watchmen. I mean, what if there were real superheroes right? Well, there wouldn't be because people wouldn't be walking around with powers and what have you (with the notable exception in his work of Dr. Manhattan). So we couldn't really call them "superheroes" could we? No, we couldn't. Ahh yes, we can call them "costumed heroes." And how ridiculous of a notion is that anyway? If we saw people dressed up as superheroes, or "costumed heroes," in reality we'd think they were insane and, well, looked ridiculous. Unfortunately, that message won't translate on the screen. Instead the movie viewer will see them simply as superheroes...in terrible outfits. So, in that regard, the outfits in the film will be not as ridiculous as in the comics which, in of itself, will take away a big message in the book.

The comic was revolutionary for the time because it brought the idea that comics as a medium could be used as a serious method of storytelling. The problem with that on screen is that no one will care about that fact. They may end up sitting around scratching their heads wondering why they should be caring about a guy with a mask wearing a trenchcoat and a fedora? Without telling a lot of the back story of these characters, it will be difficult to really gain a true understanding of them and what drives them. Also, as io9.com pointed out, the story background is a bit outdated. Although he is right, I still think it can work as a solid backdrop for the film. Regardless of the current time, no one can dispute the disturbing ending to the comic and although the premise may be old now, the moral implications of the ending are still relevant.

The Watchmen movie can basically go one of two ways. It can revolutionize the genre on the big screen much as it did in the comic pages some 20 odd years ago, or it can fall flat on it's face trying to take the genre too serious and convincing the viewer that they should too. Either way, we're in for a wild ride. I hope Mr. Snyder can pull this one off, I really do. Good luck.

The Guild

Okay, my new online obsession! And we blame this entirely on Felicia Day being in Dr Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog (which was BRILLIANT!) and both of them being on Twitter, and my newfound obession with said miniblogging..

The Guild is an online series, posted on YouTube and created by Felicia Day (Aka Penny from Dr Horrible). It is about a local World of Warcraft guild and is friggin fantastic! It deals with the dynamics of a guild, both online and in the real world. I am not a WoW gamer myself, but i have friends who are, and, am also an über nerd myself. So I get the lingo, and I DEFINATELY get the nerdiness LOL → meet in the "real" world?! o_O hehe (although I have done that, and she is now one of my best friends ;-p my online social life is so much more prolific than my real world one!)

Anyway, its a great series, and I really reccommend you watch it. Even more so if you are a WoW gamer!! Felicia is working on Season Two as we speak, and I for one am waiting with baited breath!

Here is the first episode:

Links:

Their Website: http://www.watchtheguild.com/

Their YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/watchtheguild

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/theguild

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/watchtheguild

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/The-Guild/6068232341

Zack Snyder to Limit Use of Green Screen for Watchmen

One more reason to be extremely hyped for the upcoming film adaptation of Moore and Gibbons' graphic novel, Watchmen. According to this article, Snyder is going to limit the use of green screens to a select number of sequences, such as the Mars scene. According to the article:

In the 30 years since Richard Donner's Superman, visual-effects technology has advanced to the point that filmmakers can now twist reality like a comic book—but do it convincingly. With 300, Snyder used green-screen technology to replicate the impressionistic look of Frank Miller's graphic novel. For Watchmen, he's limiting that trick to select sequences, such as those set on Mars, in an effort to recreate Moore and illustrator Gibbons's world using practical environments wherever possible.

So, in other words, he's going to bring us a true Watchmen adaptation. The beauty of that book was the fact that it was grounded in so much realism. These were real people, with real problems, and real personalities who also were "costumed heroes." Snyder is likely taking a huge leap of faith with this. Considering the pic above shows Snyder in a submersible Owl Ship created for the movie, I think he knows what he's doing. He could have done that all in CGI yet instead he chooses to build one for the film!! That's saying something. This could be incredible.

Red Sonja Remake Coming in 2009. Why?!

Sure the poster looks cool right? Remember we are talking about Red freaking Sonja here alright?! Everyone probably recalls their initial reaction to watching the first Red Sonja. Chances are, if you watched it, the first thought that came to mind was, "well, that's an hour and a half of my life I'll never be able to get back." Yeah, it was so remarkably terrible that it even managed to receive a zero star rating at Scifimoviepage.com. In all honesty, the original Red Sonja was believable with Brigitte Nielsen in the role (imagine a female Arnold in the 80's). So in this remake we get...Rose McGowan?! Are you kidding me? Sure Brigitte is a terrible actress, but Rose McGowan won't be believable in this role. Note to Hollywood: if you run out of good classics to remake, please don't remake the garbage. It was crap the first time and it will be crap this time around.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army - A Visually Stunning and Humorous tail

A review by DR

Guillermo Del Toro has once again tickled our eyes and provoked our imaginations in his latest film, Hellboy II: The Golden Army. It is rare for a director to be able to leave his signature mark on a film, but Del Toro does so in such a marvelous way that it leaves you shocked and amazed by his masterful art. There's something about it that I can't quite describe, but everyone knows what it is when they see it. There's something in the way he crafts these monsters that reaches out and slaps you, as if to say, "yeah...I'm Guillermo Del Toro, bitch!" While Del Toro's vision is fantastic, that's not the only reason to go see Hellboy II.

What makes this movie so good is the combination of Ron Perlman's wit and charisma and Del Toro's vision and design. Del Toro creates this marvelous world that leaves your jaw open while Perlman's Hellboy gives you the reason to keep watching. I mean, despite how marvelous a film looks, if the characters aren't likeable or relatable to the audience, no one is going to care about it (see Hancock). But it isn't just Perlman that engrosses the viewer. Selma Blair does a fantastic job in her portrayal of Liz Sherman as does Doug Jones (of Silver Surfer fame) as Abe Sapien. Luke Goss is equally impressive as Prince Nuada. One of the few problems I find with the film is that Prince Nuada is not shown enough. When he appears, however, it is well worth it.

The story in this film focuses on Prince Nuada and his attempt at raising the Golden Army, which was hidden long ago by his father. His reason for doing so is simply to crush human kind so that the people of their world no longer have to remain hidden. In order to do this, he must unite three pieces of a crown. He manages to get two of them but his sister, Princess Nuala, holds the other one. Understanding that her brother has gone mad, she flees with the crown piece where she meets up with Hellboy, Liz, Abe, and the rest of the crew. From here, Del Toro takes us on a fantastic adventure in Hellboy's efforts to stop Prince Nuada from raising the Golden Army. Along the way, he fights a forest elemental, a ton of Golden Army golems, and finally Prince Nuada.

Another appealing part of the film is the love stories between Hellboy and Liz as well as Abe and Princess Nuala. Understanding his audience, Del Toro presents these romances in a way most guys can relate to. In one humorous moment, the drunken friends, Hellboy and Abe, sing a duet together of "Can't Smile Without You" that will leave you dying of laughter. All too often in films like these, the romance/love element is presented in a cheesy fashion or one that makes you want to roll your eyes. Not so in Hellboy II.

I've managed to see a lot of good films this summer. Wall-E, Iron Man, Indiana Jones, The Dark Knight, Kung Fu Panda, and a few others. Of those, I'd say Hellboy is one of the best. In fact, I'd say it's probably the third best movie I've seen this summer behind The Dark Knight and Iron Man. It's a shame that in two weekends, Hellboy II has only managed to gross $58 million at the time of this writing.

In summary, Hellboy II is a fun movie with a wonderful cast of characters, an engaging and often humorous plot, and a visionary landscape with Del Toro's trademark style. It's well worth your money to see this one.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Alan Moore Talks Watchmen - Video

I'm not sure exactly how old this video is, but in a sit down Alan Moore discusses Watchmen and the complexities of portraying "real-life superheroes". It's an interesting video and worth a watch, no pun intended. Towards the end he does a reading of a sample of Rorschach's journal.