Hahahaha

I hope you don’t think I’m a Watchmen-file now but this was just too much to not post hahaha.

The largest projector in the world was used to create a 100-foot visage of Dr. Manhattan for the London premier or Watchmen.  Noteworthy: He was reportedly going commando but luckily things were “mercifully fuzzy” for those who might be offended.  PS. Watchmen is not for the faint of heart.  Don’t watch it if you’re not ready to be shocked (or even disturbed) in more ways than one.

I Am Very Curious About This Movie

Looks like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow meets Serenity.  Thumbs up or down?  Can’t tell yet.  View the trailer here.

Watching for Watchmen

As some of you may know, I’ve begun to write for Evil Monito, an online journal that seeks to discuss contemporary pop culture in ways that challenges the methods and approach of traditional publications.  I recently did a small piece on Watchmen, a film that I’m sure most of the GDFHT’s readers are eagerly waiting for, which is quietly sneaking into theaters next week.  I sense Watchmen could be another Pulp Fiction, Boondock Saints, Taxi Driver, Memento, Fight Club–a movie with a cult following that will become an required __ of DVD collections everywhere.  I thought the discussion was significant enough to share with all of you who follow the Goodfight and I also posted some pictures I couldn’t included on EM.  Enjoy…

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When was the last time you watched a film that moved you so dramatically you could barely sleep?  In a little more than a week, the movie Watchmen is going to release in theaters all over the country.  The anticipation might have been muted by recent Oscar buzz but I have a feeling this movie has the potential to be the next Matrix–or the year’s biggest letdown.  You know why?  [Read the rest here.]

This makes me so unspeakably angry.

Sometimes I hate Hollywood.  They took something special to me and bastardized it.  And whoever thought of “modernizing” the story should be taken to the back and stabbed repeatedly with a spoon.  The same should be done with whoever is heading up the Streetfighter Legend of Chun-Li picture.  Good lord that is going to be so bad.  I’m about ready to go Christian Bale on somebody’s ass.

When dealing with something created in another culture or time several things need to be kept in mind:

1. Some things do not translate over languages and cultures.  American “My Sassy Girl” was a bad idea.  When you change the cultural context you can potentially lose an essential part of the subject’s soul.  Especially when you “Americanize” it.  And we wonder why the international community hates us.

2. Treat the subject with respect or leave it alone.  Respect the author’s original intentions.  Respect the original designs.  Respect the audience’s nostalgia.  Things are the way they are for a reason.  There are times when you can’t take creative license over something just because you think you know what would be “cooler.”  Understand that line.  Using present day cars and changing the design of Optimus Prime in Transformers was fine because it still held true to the general design (and it might have been weirder to shift everything back to the 80’s) and the transforming sequences kicked ass.  Putting a mouth on him was not.  Who ok’d that?  The facemask is part of what makes him infinitely more hard than Megatron.  Giving him lips made me think of James Earl Jones everytime he talked.  Don’t ask why.

3. Don’t change characters’ ethnicities.  That’s disrespectful*.

4. Since we’re on the subject of ethnicity, don’t put in random people of other ethnicities who never existed in the original story just because you want to be “fair.”  There is no affirmative action in the recreation of someone else’s world.  It just makes things look weird, corny, and fake.  I’m all for equal representation but I would never cast an asian in a Viking movie.  Neither would I cast a black knight.  There were no black knights during medieval times.  Nor were there white samurais (cough, cough).

I wish more artists produced movies–not just big suits looking to make a quick buck off an uneducated audience.

*I know, Goku technically isn’t even human, but his character was definitely meant to look Japanese–or at least asian.

The Fall

Motionographer recently kicked of a mini-series called “The Art of the Title,” honoring title sequences of what they consider truly beautiful title sequences.  Their first installment honors a film I watched awhile ago, which I felt was worth highlighting.  When the first trailers for The Fall started dropping I found myself holding my breath for what looked to be the most visually arresting film since 300 had sacked theaters in with its epic shots and visceral slow motion.  Filmed by the notorious Tarsem Singh, more commonly known simply as “Tarsem,” The Fall was director’s second feature film (the first being The Cell), set to debut at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival.

Unfortunately, like J-Lo’s flick, the movie as a whole turned out to be lackluster, featuring a storyline that was perhaps overly dramatic and hard to relate to.  But also like The Cell, storyline aside, the cinematography of the film was nothing less than stunning.  If you’re in the market for visual inspiration, both films are more than worth a peek.

Like Zack Snyder in 300, Motionographer points out that Tarsem masterfully utilizes slow motion to give chaos an eerie sense of tranquility.  View the breathtaking title sequence of The Fall here.