Alan Moore On Camera

Alan Moore On Camera

I always had the impression that Alan Moore was quite a bit of a recluse, to the point where appearing on camera would go against his style. Apparently not, as he shows his gruffy mug for nearly ten minutes here, giving his thoughts on his writing style and the films made of his work:



If you walk away from that video thinking that Alan Moore is a funky looking nutter, please keep in mind who he is. Moore is unquestionably, in my view, the most groundbreaking writer of his generation. He can dress and look however he wants. No one else's work even compares to his, and that cannot be said about many other writers, in comic books, non-fiction, fiction or any other field.

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Is Alan Moore Right When He Declares Watchmen Movie "Wrong?"

Is Alan Moore Right When He Declares Watchmen Movie "Wrong?"

Alan Moore has been rather outspoken about his distaste for the films made based on his graphic novels. While this tended towards irritation with DC Comics using his work without his permission, it's gotten a little more harsh with Watchmen:

If I write a crappy comic book, it doesn't cost the budget of an emergent Third World nation. When you've got these kinds of sums involved in creating another two hours of entertainment for Western teenagers, I feel it crosses the line from being merely distasteful to being wrong.

Moore is of course talking about the estimated $130,000,000 budget for Watchmen. While I tend to roll my eyes at criticisms of the evils of capitalism and much of what Alan Moore says veers into angry old man territory, it's really difficult to argue with Moore's critique of the Watchmen film budget. Watchmen is his characters and his stories and just happened to be published before creator-owned properties were becoming commonplace. These movies should not be made against the creators' wishes.

Never mind the fact that Watchmen was marketed as an action movie, leaving intellectually adverse moviegoers wondering what they had just seen. Most of the people I've met who enjoyed Watchmen had already read the book. Those I've met that saw the movie and hadn't read the book tended to not like it.

Given Hollywood's outspoken politically liberal inclinations, it would be nice if they put these massive resources in a more philanthropic direction.

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Wolverine Vs. Dr. Manhattan

Wolverine Vs. Dr. Manhattan

Dr. Manhattan meets Wolverine? Yup, that's what happens in this video parodying the two characters. There's some pretty good jibes here at both Watchmen and all of the X-Men movies. I really like the line they gave Dr. Manhattan about the X-Men movies having a bunch of mutant characters but no character development. Ouchies.

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The End(ing) Is Nigh

The End(ing) Is Nigh

Last night my room mates and I went to the midnight showing of the most anticipated movie of the year, The Watchmen. Needless to say my geeky enthusiasm had me buzzing as I sat in the leather seats at The Landmark Theater in West Los Angeles waiting for the trailers to start. The ordinarily epic trailers that precede action movies such as The Watchmen were replaced with mostly comedy trailers, which I find very odd. However the opening sequence of the main event is as epic as any movie I have ever seen. Once the lights of the theater darken, and the movie begins, the previously rowdy crowd becomes so silent you could hear assorted pairs of sneakers squeaking on the polished floor in anticipation of the cinematic release of The Watchmen.

The movie is stunningly true to the graphic novel for the majority of the film which is wonderful because the source material for the movie is amazing. However, there is a major alteration of the ending, which is necessary to keep the movie just under three hours long, but dramatically changes the impact of the stories conclusion.

Even though the ending has changed the movie still makes sense to the casual movie-goer who has not read the graphic novel. In fact I would recommend that you watch the movie before reading The Watchmen for a more satisfying experience.

Other than the personal quarrel I have with the ending The Watchmen is a breathtaking film. The visual effects are superb, the cinematography is astonishing, and the acting does not make you feel like you're watching someone play a super hero. But rather like you're witnessing a hero's personal conflicts within themselves as they struggle to decide whats right and whats wrong.

I give The Watchmen a 9.7 out of 10

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