Ken’s Blog

Just a quick nibble…I’ve always loved Pixar’s work (and, yes, I wished I had some skillset that would’ve allowed me to work there but alas…) and followed it. I hated the idea of them being acquired by Disney even though it made some measure of sense. John Lasseter’s been heading up the creative side of Disney since the acquisition which, I think, is the reason Disney isn’t still going down in flames. I might be wrong but I think Bolt was the first animated film produced while Lassiter was “in office” so to speak (though not put together by Pixar) and it wasn’t too bad. Not the same as a Pixar movie but not the complete crap Disney used to put out. You can see some of the creativity you’d expect in a Pixar movie in Bolt (the pigeons and their movements). It’s that sophisticated attention to detail and ability to find humor in that detail which is a Pixar trademark.

Now, Pixar’s first film post-Disney Acquisition, Up is coming. And, honestly, I don’t feel the same sort of anticipation I used to feel about their previous movies. I saw the trailer and it was like…meh. Even though I knew it was a Pixar movie, I couldn’t find any excitement in it. Not sure why 100% but I think one part of it is the switch to “plain old” humans. The only Pixar movie with humans as the main characters was the Incredibles–but they were superheroes.

I guess we’ll see if the movie does well enough to put it up on Pixar’s award shelf…thing is, in general, each Pixar movie’s done better than the previous one…something tells me this one won’t do BETTER but it’ll do okay. At least Iger’s standing by them…

kn

I saw the Watchmen movie today. Now, I’m not a fanboy and I haven’t really read through the graphic novel the movie is based on. I did read up on the characters, backstory, plot, etc (yes, I’m the kind of guy that reads he last page of a book to see how it ends before I get there). Maybe that ruined it for me. Don’t know but I can’t say I’m crazy impressed with the movie.

I liked the 300. I think the graphic treatment and storytelling were great. But this, isn’t really a 300 to me (by the way, be sure to check out the 300 reference on the door to the Comedian’s apartment…).

I can’t say what the fanboys are going to feel like after coming out of the theater on this one. Just like anything else that’s got devoted fans, you’re gonna hear yeas and nays. Someone’s gonna say it was awesome (maybe because they get to see it on the big screen finally…after 20 years of bouncing around in Hollywood–Arnold Schwartzenegger as Dr. Manhattan? Fuck sake…but at least he’s already auditioned for the role…). The guy next to him will say it sucked balls.

I say, it was a decent movie with some cool scenes that spent all of it’s 162 minutes (yes, 2:42, my friends) telling the full story of the Watchmen. And, I realize you can’t break this up into multiple movies (no real point) and that it’s really unlikely there’ll be a sequel (since there isn’t a story to follow it up). So, the writers and the director are stuck trying to compress it all down into one movie. I wouldn’t say they failed outright but there are times when you think, “Oh, crap, we’ve only gone down memory lane with two out of the five Watchmen…someone get me another soda.”

Not to say the stories aren’t pretty well done and at times spot on (pay attention to the way Dr. Manhattan tells his story…it matches who he is like a glove). The various threads of stories unfurl slowly over the course of the movie and I think the director, Zach Snyder, did a great job juggling all of that plus doing his best to please the fans. Be sure to look for all the easter eggs (I noticed a couple but I’m sure there were plenty more…note the digital clock on the left during the McLaughlin scene and check out the folders that are on Ozymandias’ floppy disk).

Plus, the characters are flawed in a good way. I think my favorite character has to be Rorschach. Gotta love the line when he’s in prison: “I’m not locked in here with you! You’re locked in here with ME!” Brilliant.

One serious problem with the film, though? Music. Who the fuck was the idiot that put those stupid tunes in over the scenes they were on? I can’t think of one that really matched the mood of the particular scene 100%. The only one that got close was a sped up version of Mozart’s Requiem (1st movement) but that was sacrilege given the beauty of the original piece. Made me want to throw something at the screen.

All in all, though, I think you all best judge for yourself. If you’re a fanboy, you’ve got to see it in theater. If you’re not and you’re looking for a decent action flick but aren’t into comics, I’d go for a matinee or wait for the DVD if you don’t care about the big screen experience. Definitely worth seeing but a bit disappointing given the hype and interest out there. Too bad…

kn

So, I saw the Max Payne film on Friday. I can’t say it made me piss my pants or anything but it definitely had a good mix of the required elements for a movie based on the Max Payne game:

1) Moody? – check!

2) Dark? – check!

3) Max looks like he could kick some ass? – check!

4) Mona Sax looks bad-ass? – check (but I couldn’t help but see Family Guy’s Meg in Mila Kunis)

5) Max’s family dies for a bad, non-random reason though you’re meant to think it’s random? – check (c’mon…that’s not a spoiler…you should’ve played the game)

6) Bullet time/slo-mo used? – ch–well, sorta.

That’s gotta be my biggest problem with the movie. This is the first game to mimick the Matrix-style slo-mo in a way that worked. You could slow down time and shoot the hell out of your enemies while they shoot at where you were. There was something like one or two scenes. It reminds me of Doom (not that I can say that was a great movie by any measure) when they had a 30 second or whatever it was bit where they filmed it like you were the main character.

Is it worth seeing? I think so. It’s a great movie if you want something moody and dark. It’s got the whole heaven and hell thing going as well so…

Oh, and if you’re a fan or otherwise liked the movie, stay through the credits!