tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post8083082577439104116..comments2023-06-19T12:26:50.652-04:00Comments on Out 1 Film Journal: The Curious Case of the "Fanboy"/CriticJames Hansenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09650436008918093617noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-53886989212911071752009-06-07T18:53:22.054-04:002009-06-07T18:53:22.054-04:00Brandon,
I am wowed every time I read one of your...Brandon,<br /><br />I am wowed every time I read one of your film reviews. The integration of wit, humor and intellect in your writing is exceptional. Regarding the film review, you are spot on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-44815959605263340012009-03-27T02:10:00.000-04:002009-03-27T02:10:00.000-04:00Thanks for the compliment, Anonymous!Adaptation is...Thanks for the compliment, Anonymous!<BR/><BR/>Adaptation is murky territory to tread in, to say the least, particularly in this context. Most of my other close ties to adaptations based on my knowledge/love of their source material actually comes from films being re-made. Sadly, I'm not a HUGE reader of fiction, so my experience with this is mostly limited to watching certain films I love being re-made in alternate visions - many of which I appreciate based on my understanding and acquaintance with source material. The first example that pops into my head is Paul Thomas Anderson's HARD EIGHT (1996), a re-working of Jean-Pierre Melville's BOB LE FLAMBEUR (1956). Although the analogy between these two films and a WATCHMEN the book/WATCHMEN the movie adaptation is certainly imperfect, I think the difficulty of treating an adapted film as being independent of its source is similarly difficult in both cases. How do I explain the shifts in meaning achieved by PTA's remake if they haven't seen Melville's original? It's like hearing a counterargument without hearing the original argument - the same with WATCHMEN.<BR/><BR/>Also, it seems I've convinced at least a couple of readers to give the film a fair chance who might have been dismissive otherwise, which, as a critic, is the ultimate goal. In that sense, I'm glad I can say "mission accomplished."Brandon Colvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373364966092756041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-88360307292925794902009-03-26T16:27:00.000-04:002009-03-26T16:27:00.000-04:00I think this review is incredible--well said and w...I think this review is incredible--well said and well-balanced. <BR/><BR/>We all have those movies, right? Ones we're so apt to defend because of their inherent brilliance (whether book or movie)? <BR/><BR/>For me, I go to the mat with anyone who disregards Jonathan Demme's "Beloved" adaptation. I mean, what a random example to bring it back to, but it's one of those you should read the book first...and then get the amazing canted angles, deep southern/frantic score and the beautiful, almost lyric performance by Thandie Newton. But anyway, I digress.<BR/><BR/>I read this review and think yes: the movie has to have merit.<BR/><BR/>I'll be honest, The Dark Knight might be one of three comic book movies I've ever considered as "good." I'm skeptical, but you've convinced me I need to see it. If not for my love of the book, then for its deeper context asking to be unearthed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-80438484598865384972009-03-22T14:50:00.000-04:002009-03-22T14:50:00.000-04:00Mike F,One thing about WATCHMEN and nearly any mov...Mike F,<BR/><BR/>One thing about WATCHMEN and nearly any movie created in the past decade, is that they firmly exist within the age of the DVD. Although you can necessarily flip back through a book in this instance, the viewers control over the film in a home video environment is perhaps even more intense than with a book. WATCHMEN seems to have been made with this in mind. The fact that the original 4-hour cut is only going to be released on DVD seems to indicate that the filmmakers ideal medium for WATCHMEN is indeed home video, where a viewer can "read" the movie like a book - even adding commentary, notes (in the form of making of features, etc.). It's as if the DVD of WATCHMEN will be the expanded, annotated, definitive text of the movie as it was intended without the compromise of theatrical distribution.<BR/><BR/>It's also amazing how many people were upset by the penis. The entire point of having him be visibly naked on repeated occasions is to emphasize that nudity does not matter to him while it matters to us - separating him from humanity. Most reviewers' trouble with the presence his blue member reinforces the purpose for the nudity in the first place. I'm not sure how so many people have overlooked the reason why the penis is there.Brandon Colvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373364966092756041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-81331098297556367492009-03-21T18:42:00.000-04:002009-03-21T18:42:00.000-04:00I think I need to see it again before I pass judgm...I think I need to see it again before I pass judgment. Like the book, there's just too much there coming at you too fast to take it all in at once. Unlike the book, you can't turn the page back and say "wait, what the hell was that?"<BR/><BR/>I very much want to rewatch the ending, because I think the book masterfully poses the question... "Who is right? Ozymandius or Rorschach? Utilitarianism or the Moral Imperative?" It never answers, and it shouldn't. The reader is supposed to answer for him/herself.<BR/><BR/>Talking to people who hadn't read the book, they had very clear ideas on who is right, who is good, who is bad, etc. And they were all in agreement. So, again, I need to rewatch so I can decide if the movie missed that crucial balance.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and lastly, thanks for not commenting on Dr. Manhattan's blue penis. I think too many people obsessed too much over it (and clearly missed the symbolism behind the nudity)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-33342177775856755612009-03-21T17:06:00.000-04:002009-03-21T17:06:00.000-04:00Tony,We've extensively discussed, so I think you u...Tony,<BR/><BR/>We've extensively discussed, so I think you understand my predicament. Haha. As far as the music, I'm really glad you dug that part. I wish I would've been able to deal with that montage. I could write a whole review just on that.<BR/><BR/>MovieMan,<BR/><BR/>I understand where your reservations are coming from, but I think it's a theoretical argument that has little basis in actuality. Your argument seems to assume that there is an ideal cinematic mode, but I'm not sure I believe that. Different films have different aims and require different styles. That's a bit of a platitude, but I think it's useful to remember. Superhero stories are valuable as myths - much like Westerns or sci-fi works. I view WATCHMEN more as a piece of science-fiction, which is how many superhero movies feel to me. The seriousness of the subject matter doesn't seem strained, but the circumstances are contrived - as in any speculative fiction and most genre pieces.<BR/><BR/>What is unique about WATCHMEN is that it is paradoxically serious and intentionally absurd. It is a deconstruction of the genre, not a revamping. It is, if anything, a meta-superhero movie. WATCHMEN, like THE WILD BUNCH destroys its genre, rather than celebrating it anew, as THE DARK KNIGHT does, or IRON MAN (which I think are both valuable in their own right, especially the latter).<BR/><BR/>I would also resolutely argue that WATCHMEN is more cinematic than DOUBT or THE READER or any number of films hailed as great cinema. I would say that characters like Rorschach, Ozymandias, Dr. Manhattan, and Nite Owl II are deeper, richer, and more complex than Randy "Ram" Robinson or even Benjamin Button.Brandon Colvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373364966092756041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-68124267662650124682009-03-20T00:06:00.000-04:002009-03-20T00:06:00.000-04:00I hadn't planned on seeing this movie, but a recen...I hadn't planned on seeing this movie, but a recently-acquired free pass has made me reconsider. It expires tomorrow, however, so I will have to make my decision quickly. Your review may have edged me over into affirmation.<BR/><BR/>So I will wait until I've seen Watchmen to respond to your post. Except for one of thing: I am one of those people who have a problem with the way "comic-book movies" try to transpose the form of one medium into another. You can read my tentative reservations in a post from last August, if you haven't seen it already:<BR/><BR/>http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2008/08/problem-with-comic-books-and-movies.htmlJoel Bockohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238338958380683893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-71184042839172583752009-03-18T01:03:00.000-04:002009-03-18T01:03:00.000-04:00Sounds like this movie was as hard to review as it...Sounds like this movie was as hard to review as it was to make. I'd like to see the paper length review this movie deserves. <BR/><BR/>I do appreciate your read of the sex scene and music. I fucking loved the music throughout and was shocked to find I was in the minority.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-80511951038212472512009-03-18T00:10:00.000-04:002009-03-18T00:10:00.000-04:00I don't know how to put the grade up. James is out...I don't know how to put the grade up. James is out of town so I had to put up the post, which is why there also aren't any other screen caps. I don't know how to do it, I'm new to the whole process. <BR/><BR/>Grade-wise though, I'd give it a B+. <BR/><BR/>If you want to discuss the opening more, we can always do so in the comments.Brandon Colvinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02373364966092756041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634886419866749682.post-60065281150978114362009-03-17T21:01:00.000-04:002009-03-17T21:01:00.000-04:00i agree with most of the review. it was a good mov...i agree with most of the review. it was a good movie. i wish you would have discussed the opening sequence though. i feel that was very well put together.<BR/><BR/>also where's the grade?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com