Who Watches the Watchmen

Travelin' Miles Journal March 6, 2009

Watchmen finally opens in theaters.



The viewing public will shout, "We don't get it!" and I'll whisper, "No! you won't!"

Watchmen is not a movie; it is an experience. If you are not a fan of the book then mostly likely you will not like this movie. It is not your typical "super-hero" film. It is more like a film adaptation. You will not have a hero verses villain plot line. There will be no evil plan that the heroes must stop. Instead you will get a story that inner-connects all the characters across time starting with the death of one of the main characters.

I've read the Watchmen graphic novel a couple of times. The first time I finished it, I was blown away. I wished that I was old enough to remember the 80's so I could put more perspective on it. This new movie has helped me do that. The movie isn't as much about the cold war and nuclear destruction as the book. The movie is about the lives of people trying to make the world better even if it is through super hero means.

This is not your grandpa's superhero movie. Viewing public listen to me. Do not take your kids to this one. It is rated R! Hell most adults will not like what they see in this movie. You will see one hero trying to rape another hero. The will be a blue man that walks around naked for the most of the time. The heroes do more talking about running around stopping criminals that actually doing it.

DO NOT SEE this film if you're not a fan! You will hate it. You will not understand the story. It will be too "all-over-the-place" for you. It will seem slow. It will seem boring. It will not entertain you. If you are not a fan there is no way for me to argue it's importance. I won't even try.

Now, if you are a fan. Then enjoy watching your favorite book come to life.

Watchmen is an A - Awesome, not because it has great shots or action scenes, not because it has great dialogue, no it is because the emotion you feel when you finally see the movie made from a book that was said could never happen. I am bias, I know that. I don't care. I liked the movie. Most likely you will not. I am ok with that. It wasn't made for you. It was made for all of the fans of the Watchmen.


"God, help us all" - The Comedian

The Wrestler....

I know this is quite late, but I need to get warmed up if I am going to make this year successful. So I finally saw The Wrestler.



I wanted to see this movie when it opened, but like usual I got caught up in my busy lifestyle. So after hunting down a theater still showing it, and two hours later....Wow!

This movie is as good as all the fancy critics are proclaiming. The pace of the movie is slow but I was not bored once. When it was over I still wanted to see more. Isn't that what a good movie is suppose to do. Leaving you wanting the answers to the questions it raises.

First off, Mickey Rourke is amazing. As the movie progressed I grew to feel more and more sorry for his character. He really gives a great performance on the inner emotional struggle of the wrestler. Nothing goes this guy's way. Not because he has bad luck. It is because he just gives up too easily. One on hand you want to see the character pull his shit together and the next you just shake your head thinking that he deserves his pain. I don't want to give away scenes or the plot because I believe everyone needs to go in fresh minded, but if you haven't seen it yet....GO!

For the first ten minutes I hated the shooting and editing, but soon I realized the point of it and then I thought it to be brilliant. That how it is with Darren Aronofsky, either you love or hate his movies. (I didn't get the point of The Fountain, and Requiem for a Dream I was only able to watch once. It gave me a headache at the end with all the music and quick edits...ouch.) In this movie alot of the shots are following Rourke's character as he walks to places. All I saw was the back of Rourke's head. It bothered me at first, but right in the middle it all snapped into meaning. You are following this man around as if you are the wrestler yourself. His whole live is like he is getting ready for the next show entrance. Then there are moments where he's thrown back into real life and he can't take the pressure so he jumps right back into the show.

I don't view this movie as a commentary of the professional wrestling industry. I see it more like a view into an hopeless addict's life. I don't mean addict as in the sense to drugs and alcohol rather more of a lifestyle choice. The characters in this movie (mainly the two main characters) only do what they do because they don't know any other way. Marisa Tomei plays a middle-aged stripper. She doesn't want to be there but knows nothing else. Her and Rourke naturally gravitate toward eachother. You get the feeling that if only they got together that they could help eachother in changing their lives. The only problem is that whenever one is ready to give in, the other has already decided to give up.

This movie was emotional and compelling. It makes you think about the things in your own life that could be different if only you tried harder in someway. It gets a L. It is definely a Legendary movie and it deserves all the awards given to it. I suggest you see it.

Gearing Up....Ready to GO!!

Well 2009 just sprang right on top of us. Wow, this year is going to be a great one movie wise. Alot of great blockbusters coming soon, and I'm ready to see them all.

A few things are going to be differnet this year. Like last year I'm going to make a list, and I am going to try to watch every single movie on the list hopefully on opening weekend. Only this year the list will have flexiblity. Movies can be added and cut from the list as the summer hype progresses. Also I'm going to try to blog via my phone directly after the movie. These will mostly be a simple yea or nay with the fill-in of the blanks coming later. I'm hoping for a more interactive year also. That means you...the reader....I want to hear what you think of my ramblings. You think you can do that?!

Also it seems like the summer movie season keeps starting earlier and earlier each year. I mean come on Watchmen is coming out the first week of March! That doesn't give me much time, but you better believe I'll be ready.

Here is a tentative first draft of THE LIST

March 6, - Watchmen
March 13, - Race to Witch Mountain
April 3, - Fast and Furious
April 8, - Dragonball
April 24, - The Soloist
May 1, - X-Men Origins: Wolverine
May 8, - Star Trek
May 15, - Angels & Demons
May 22, - Terminator Salvation
June 26, - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
July 1, - Ice Age: Dawn of Dinosaurs
July 17, - Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
August 9, - G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra

That doesn't seem like that many, but more can always be added.

It's Movie Time!

Update 2/2/09:

The trailers played during the Super Bowl really helped the list grow with these new movies coming soon.

Added to the List

March 27 - Aliens vs. Monsters
May 29, - Up
June 5, - Land of the Lost
June 19, - Year One

Twilight

So I had to see what all the hype was about. I wasn't a reader of the novels. Hell, until last month I didn't know there were any novels. I thought this would be a good chance for me to watch a movie and critique it on no previous knowledge of the film.



First off, the fans of these novels will say this is a forbidding love story. That it is, but it the basic Romeo and Juliet story. You know the drill. They love each other but there are all these reasons why they shouldn't. As for the story, I thought it was a bit too easy. It is like they fall in love just because they are not alike. They barely talk to each other for the first part of the movie. The girl falls for the guy cause she is more interested in discovering the truth about him, and the guy is alot like a stalker. Well he is a vampire. I just thought the binding everlasting love was most likely not translated as well from the book to movie. Got to make it quicker on the screen for all the dumbies, right?

Ok on to the vampires. Aren't vampires suppose to be scary and awesome?! Well not these vampires. Usually when I get done watching a movie about vampires, there is nothing more I'd rather be than a vampire. I want to fly, stalk, hunt, and talk to people like they are inferior species with my yellow eyes and fangs. It would be so cool. But after this movie there is noway I wanted to be like these vampires. They were wimps. Polite and courteous.....blah. The only cool thing any of them would do was run up trees. WOW, you could totally win the lumberjack games.

Even the "bad" vampires were lame. There was one and he was disposed of quite easily. Where is the epic battle to the death...Highlander style? And really is there anything such as a "good" vampire? Oh I want to bite you but I will resist it and be your friend instead......blah blah blah. Screw that rip her freaking neck out! I got to say the best line of the whole movie was, "you're like my own personal heroin." Great line. I'm going to start saying that to girls I meet. HA!

Ok so I bet the books are great. Since I didn't read them. I can't really say anything about those books. I just didn't get that "this is so cool" feeling that was suppose to be projected from this movie. The supernatural stuff wasn't "super" enough. The movements of the vampires didn't seem so awesome either. I've seen it all before. Being able to see the quick movements the vampires isn't everything, i.e. The Lost Boys. You're going to sit there and tell me with all that CGI technology out there you couldn't make these vamps look cooler? And what is with the Gitter skin?!!!

Twilight gets a l - lame, because I wasn't blown away by it. Half way through it I didn't even think it was entertaining, I just had to pee. It was a same old love story formula with no real defined payout. No tragedy. No plot twist. No happy ending. The whole movie can be summed up like this: girl moves to new town, she meets vampire boy, they "somehow" fall in love, vampire saves girl from other vamps. One last thing. Also you're going to tell me that no one else in this town has any idea that these people are vampires? They all just accept that they are all strange. Bullshit! I guess I should have read the novels instead.

Quantum of Solace

Legendary Movie Review is Back!

And so is James Bond.....or so I thought



Now I for one was stoked about the new direction of the James Bond franchise. Casino Royale took the character back to the beginning, (call it a reboot if you'd like) and made Bond tougher, dirtier, smarter, and even cockier. James Bond wasn't only a secret agent but also a human, who gets scratched and bruised throughout his battles with evil.

Now bring on Quantum of Solace! This film is suppose to be the continuation of what happened at the end of Casino Royale. Basically Bond is on the hunt for the man behind killing his girl from the the first movie.

Right from the get go this movie is action packed. It starts with a high speed car chase and never stops from there. The movie is filled with action. Every scene is either an action sequence or a transition to an action sequence. I can't really tell you what the story is about. Something about finding out information about an organization that no national secret agency has any idea even if it exists.

Overall I'd say that this movie delivers. If you wanted to see some awesome Bond fighting stunts....it delivers. If you wanted to see Daniel Craig kick ass....it delivers. If you wanted to see Bond as the coolest man on earth....it delivers. What is doesn't deliver .....STOP RIGHT NOW IF YOU DON"T WANT TO GET SPOILED, GO TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH NOW......is an ending. Casino Royale's ending was great. He shot a man in the leg and introduced himself with the famous line Bond, James Bond. Quantum's ending is week. It is a downer. What happened?! We don't get anything resolved. Yes, he finds the man he was looking for but what does he do with him? We don't know. And what about the organization? Do we get an insight of what this organization does, or any leads on who is behind it? NO! And what the hell is the Quantum of Solace?! I'm guessing this is all set up to the next Bond movie that will no doubt be made within the next few years. Christ! I have to wait all over again. In a way it is brilliant, they make you want more James Bond action.

With that said, Quantum of Solace is a great action packed Bond film. It gets an A - Awesome just for that alone. It may not live up to Casino Royale but hopefully it will be a transition needed to greater Bond films in the foreseeable future. Go see it if you like James Bond in anyway.

Revamp in Progress

So the site pretty much died after the Dark Knight hit the street. Sorry about that. I went to see it like five times and thought it to be a little redundant to keep reviewing it.

But the show must go on! I had alot of fun this summer going to movies with my friends and writing crapy reviews (cough....my pov's)about movies. So I decided to keep the train a comin'. Be on the look out for more reviews and changes coming to the blog site soon. Plus the brand new countdown to summer movies '09.

Coming to a theatre near you!!

The Dark Knight

It is 6 am. I just got out of the Dark Knight. 3 am IMAX showing, yeah!!!



Bale was amazing! Eckhart was awesome! Ledger was extraordinary!

The movie is LEGENDARY!!!!

I have more but I'm tired right now so I'll update this later.

UPDATE: 7/20

And here.....we.....GO

Just saw the movie again.

It is flawless!

The Joker steals the show. There are all these talks about Heath Ledger getting an Oscar for his performance. I disagree. I think that will only tarnish this amazing performance of the Joker. More would center around his death than the fact that he brought his scary sociopathic character to life. As soon as you see the Joker in the scene your eyes lock in on him to try to see the actor. There is none. You see only the Joker. Brilliant!!!

The Joker may steal the movie but it is not all about him. This is how a origin story is meant to be done. By that I mean the origin of Two Face. Many would like to see the the origin of the Joker, but that would just ruin the Batman world Nolan has created. Anyways if you're a fan of comics you already know that there are multiple versions of the Joker's origin. I prefer "The Killing Joke"......read it!

Back to Two Face. This story being the rise and fall of Harvey Dent couldn't have been done better. Unlike in Batman Forever....which was awful to look back on now. Nolan brought realism to the Batman world. This could happen to people. He makes you believe. Plus Aaron Eckhart was great! His transformation into the villian was dead on.

And we can't forget about Christian Bale. Again he proves to be the best Batman ever!I think what makes him good is how he plays Bruce Wayne. Others made Bruce to be alittle standoff-ish and eccentric. Bale plays three different Bruce Waynes. The playboy selfish billionaire for the world to see. The truthful caring man for his "girl" friend. And the reckless still needing guidance "youngman" for Alfred. Man, talk about awards. He should get four for playing four characters.

Other brilliant's go out to Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman. They all did great jobs in their roles, especially Oldman. Another guy that can make the role into something more, something real. (Side note: I love how everyone calls him "the" Batman with reference to Frank Miller's Return of the Dark Knight and Batman: Year One) Maggie Gyllenhaal...eh....not much there. I really didn't feel her, but she probably did better than Katie Holmes.....HA!

Finally a movie of this summer goes all the way to the top. Dark Knight gets L- Lengendary. It will go down in history as not only the best Batman movie, but it might even push Superman the Movie (original) off the top as best comic book movie. If you haven't seen it yet.......quit your job, email will keep, skip the gym, whatever you are doing stop it and go see this movie. NOW!!!

Up next.......I have no idea

p.s. How about the Watchmen trailer?! How geeked out are you? If you don't have any idea what Watchmen is about, go pick up the graphic novel at your local book store.

Update #2: 7/21 Spoiler Alert do not read any further if you have not yet watched the movie!

For open discussion. As for the very end of the movie, what do you think of it? What do you think is the fate of Two Face? I've had some discussions amongst friends. They believe that it is the end. I think different