Watchmen

Got my ticket, but I'm kinda disappointed that there's no midnight shows in my area. How am I going to enjoy the movie, without a theatre full of people in costume?!

In other awesome news... guess who's the J!NX pic of the week? Oh, that's right... ME!
Skydog's Pic of the Week: Code Writer

Working on my paper...

Working on my big paper for Violence in Modern Literature; I'm looking at Watchmen, by the great Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Doing preliminary research, I came across this quote from Mr. Moore:

"Whenever anybody talks about comics, they usually make a great deal of the similarities between comics and film. And while I agree that a comic creator who understands cinematic techniques will probably be a better creator than one who doesn't, I feel that if we only see comics in relationship to movies, than the best that they will ever be are films that do not move. I'd found it in the mid-Eighties preferable to try and concentrate upon those things that only comics could achieve. The way in which a tremendous amount of information could be included visually in every panel; the juxtapositions between what a character was saying and what the image that the reader was looking at would be. So, in a sense, I suppose that you could say that most of my work from the Eighties onwards, was more or less designed to be unfilmable."
- Alan Moore, The Mindscape of Alan Moore

Based on this point of view, I'm thinking of crafting a thesis which responds to this assertion, based on the research I'm working on below:

How are comics like film?

• I'm working on research for this section, to explore similarities between comics and film, as supported by critical evidence.

Comics And Cubism

• Comics have been called the most successful art form in which to bridge the fourth dimension, fulfilling many goals of futurism and cubism (Bernard and Carter). The reader is exposed to the same scenes and actions from multiple view points and time points at once, because the images are juxtaposed on the pages. This relates to McCloud’s redefinition of Eisner’s “sequential art” term; he suggests that comics are also defined by this juxtaposition of visual images in space (McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: HarperPerennial, 1993).
  
• Film does not have the capacity to perform this juxtaposition in the same manner; but does this mean that comics are “unfilmable”?

Film’s Response

• I'm looking at semiotics and the notion of suture for this section (Silverman, Kaja. “Suture.” The Subject of Semiotics. Oxford University Press, 1983. 194-236.; Butte, G. "Suture and the narration of subjectivity in film." Poetics today 29.2 (2008): 277-308.)
  
• Zack Snyder’s directing style, however, reflects a new style of innovation that breaks down a lot of the traditional rules in filmmaking, as outlined in Silverman’s writing. He changes our perception of the flow of time and uses innovative movements of the camera in order to allow the viewer to see events from different angles and call attention to different events that are happening within a single shot. In this manner, I think he is bridging the gap between juxtaposed images and consecutive images in film.
• I'm working on research to support this notion; I can't go too much further until I see Watchmen.

Primary Resources

Moore, Alan (Writ.) and Gibbons, Dave (Art.). Watchmen. New York: DC Comics, 1986-1987.

Watchmen. Dir. Zack Snyder. Writ. David Hayter and Alex Tse. Warner Bros. Entertainment, 2009.

Secondary Resources

Bernard, Mark and Carter, James Bucky. “Alan Moore and the Graphic Novel: Confronting the Fourth Dimension.” ImageTexT: Interdisciplinary Comics Studies 1.2 (2004): 28 pars. 11 Feb 2009.

Bourdieu, Pierre. “On Symbolic Power.” Language and Symbolic Power. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991.

Butte, G. "Suture and the narration of subjectivity in film." Poetics today 29.2 (2008): 277-308.

Dubose, Mike S. “Holding Out for a Hero: Reaganism, Comic Book Vigilantes and Captain America.” The Journal of Popular Culture 40.6 (2007): 915-935.

Eisner, Will. Comics and Sequential Art. Tamarac, FL: Poorhouse Press, 1985.

Fiske, John. Reading the Popular. New York, NY: Routledge, 1989.

Held, Jacob M. “Can We Steer This Rudderless World? Kant, Rorschach, Retributivism, and Honor.” Watchmen and Philosophy. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. 19-31.

Huges, Jamie A. “‘Who Watches the Watchmen?’: Ideology and ‘Real World’ Superheroes.” The Journal of Popular Culture 39.4 (2006): 546-557.

Kness, G. and Van Leeuwen, T. Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design. Routledge, 1996.

Loftis, J. Robert. “Means, Ends and the Critique of Pure Superheroes.” Watchmen and Philosophy. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. 63-77.

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: HarperPerennial, 1993.

Meskin, Aaron. “‘Why Don’t You Go Read a Book or Something?’ Watchmen as Literature.” Watchmen and Philosophy. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. 157-171.

Mindscape of Alan Moore, The. Writ., Dir. DeZ Vylenz. Subj. Alan Moore. DVD. Shadowsnake Films, 2003.

Moore, Alan. Alan Moore’s Writing for Comics. Urbana, IL: Avatar Press, 2003.

“Monsters, Maniacs and Moore.” England, Their England. Dir. Norman Hull. Central Independent Television. 1987.

Silverman, Kaja. “Suture.” The Subject of Semiotics. Oxford University Press, 1983. 194-236.

Spanakos, Tony. “Super-Vigilantes and the Keene Act.” Watchmen and Philosophy. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. 33-46.

*drum roll* THE OSCARS!

I think we all know that the Academy Awards take place this weekend. Everybody who's anybody who cares about what a group of secret professionals think about movies will be watching it. (Awkward sentence, I know, but you get my meaning.) Here's my picks for the big winners:

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

Of them, I liked Frost/Nixon the best. But my vote doesn't count, and Slumdog Millionaire is going to win.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Richard Jenkins (The Visitor)
Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)
Sean Penn (Milk)
Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

I think Mickey Rourke deserves it, and I think in this case, the Academy might agree with me.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Josh Brolin (Milk)
Robert Downey Jr. (Tropic Thunder)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt)
Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)
Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road)

There's quite a few here who did a great job, but both the Academy and I are going to give it to the late, great Heath Ledger.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married)
Angelina Jolie (Changeling)
Melissa Leo (Frozen River)
Meryl Streep (Doubt)
Kate Winslet (The Reader)

I'm pulling for Kate Winslet in this category, though I wouldn't mind seeing the lovely Angelina take a statue home. The Academy might feel they should give one to Meryl Streep, since it's been decades since she took one home; if not, they'll agree with me and give it to Ms. Winslet.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams (Doubt)
Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Viola Davis (Doubt)
Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button)
Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler)

I'd give it to Amy Adams, her work in Doubt was wildly impressive. I'm totally unsure what the Academy will do; maybe they'll give it to Penelope Cruz so she can compete with Javier Bardem. Is she still dating him, or did she star in a movie with someone else and hop on their train?

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL•E

I like Kung Fu Panda; they'll give it to WALL•E.

Let the game begin!

Movie Review: Wristcutters: A Love Story

Ahhh, Valentine's Day. The time of the year when all of the couples in the world dump their money into Hallmark's pockets. Being single this year, I opted to stay in, drink fine red wine, and spend some time with Shannyn Sossamon. I'd wanted to see Wristcutters for a while, but hadn't had the chance until now.

Wristcutters is a tale about the afterlife that suicides inhabit; it's a love story told in a world without hope and vitality. Despite the obviously dark subject matter, the movie is very funny and engaging. The acting is very good, and supporting performances by Tom Waits and Will Arnett really impress. The soundtrack is excellent; Through the Roof 'n' Underground has been running through my head constantly since the credits rolled.

4/5

Twitter...

I am obsessed. Can't... stop... reading... tweets...

Movie Review: My Best Friend's Girl

Wow.

If you're thinking of buying, renting or even downloading this movie, stop right now. It's not worth your money, time, effort, bandwidth, or even the second thought. If you started to download it, you should stop seeding this thing for the internet's own good, ratio be damned!

Note to movie producers everywhere: Dane Cook is not "date movie" material. Note to Dane Cook: either stick to standup, or take your money and run while you still can.

Special note to Alec Baldwin: yeah, you were the best thing about this movie, but that's not saying much. Please stick to making me laugh via 30 Rock.

minus-a-million/5

*growl*

Do you ever feel like no one is listening to you? Like you're trying to share insights, and nothing is coming out right? My eloquence is failing me.

On a literary note, I desperately want a pair of these to attach a tail to and let the wild rumpus start!