WATCHMEN

Visual. Visceral. Violent. Intelligent. Absorbing.

I've been a fan of Zack Snyder since he directed the Dawn of the Dead remake back in 2004. I love how he re-made this zombie movie with more fury and tension. His next work came about in 300. A movie based on the graphic novel by frank miller. Again, Snyder was able to bring the pages of this novel to life. A movie full of eye candy and carnage.

So we come to his 3rd work, Watchmen. The graphic novel that could "never be filmed". The subject matter transcended its time to become a celebrated work. I don't want to get into the minutia of the story. This is a movie that will force you to open your brain to the ideas being laid before you. The opening sequence is brutal. A nice taste of the aforementioned violence that is to come. The opening titles will re-write history before your eyes but will you let yourself accept it. This movie will push people. There are boundaries that are seldom crossed within comic books films. We don't expect the heroes to be the villains but in life many of our heroes have done villainous things. The movie take the superhero archetypes that we have praised in comics for ages and tears them down to raw humanity. You have to look at it from a different point of view.

The cast is very good. The standouts for me are Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach and Patrick Wilson as Nite Owl II. The only let down is Malin Ackerman as Silk Spectre II. I didn't like her in 27 Dresses and I just don't like her here. The character needs more passion and more depth. She couldn't convey any of that well. There is the occasional CGI full frontal of Dr. Manhattan and a hot sex scene. There is also violence against women, rape, murder. This movie deserves the R rating it received. There is nothing left to the imagination. It was filmed perfectly and some scenes are just awesome. I have two gripes that affected my overall grade. 1: The music chosen can be good (Times, They are a Changin' during the opening titles) but sometimes the songs fall flat (99 luftballoons and All Along the Watchtower) because they have been used so much in film over the years. 2: I felt the movie could have been longer. There was so much to cover in 2 hours and 41 min. I didn't feel the running time at all. The story was so different that it kept me engaged the entire time. That said some scenes could have been shortened and others lengthened. This is the beginning of the event movie season and it is well worth watching. Even days after watching it, I can't really stop thinking about it. I will have to watch it again. My Grade : B+

P.S. I Love You

Is there an undying love within all of us? If the person you love so much was taken away from you, How would you cope?

P.S. I Love You is the film based on the novel by Cecelia Ahern. The story of Holly (Hilary Swank) who loses her husband Gerry (Gerard Butler) to a brain tumor. Before his death, Gerry created an elaborate plan to help his wife deal with his eventual death. He would send letters to her and her friends to slowly ease her out of grieving.

I found the movie to be a bit disjointed. You have colorful comedic characters among this sad storyline. I understand that you want the audience to celebrate life by offering a light-hearted story. What ends up happening is that your are not really allowed to connect with Hilary Swank and what she is going through. They throw the friends in all the time to allow comic relief. The movie has some great moments of heart especially the scenes with Kathy Bates, who plays Holly's mother. Overall an enjoyable film about a solemn subject and the performances from Gerard and Hilary are pretty good. I felt the movie could focus more on our main character and downplay the friends a bit more. My Grade: C+