I know I've said this ad nauseum, but 300 is a terrible film. Pointless, silly, a wretched misuse of cinema--aside from the one moment I concede to my friend Sam, when the mighty elephant goes splat. But that's a lot of horse shit to sit through to get to that one moment.
Now, this new film Watchmen made by the same people looks like it has promise. Great graphic novel. And I must confess I still enjoy The Smashing Pumpkins. But I worry about the dialog. In 300, someone was announcing their home town every two minutes, usually while expectorating giant wads of spit over their finely combed beards. I guess the writers were concerned the audience would forget the characters' origins (like we cared). I love when the Persian leader pleads to their Greek sense of logic, to which Leonidas responds something to the effect of "We're Sparta". My, that's clever. Woo them with your logic, oh great king.
I hope these filmmakers try for something beyond style with this next one.
9 comments:
Sorry to keep stalking your blog. But:
You can't make a movie out of a comic book that is ABOUT comic books. That's the whole point of Wtchmen--it's a meta-comic book. The characters are supposed to look cartoony and silly, not badass.
Although that song is pretty haunting.
Bah, purist bullshit. But I still love you (in that manly "sup yo" sort of way).
There is no "supposed to" in film adaptation. There just "is". Criticism is levied on the final product; an assessment of whether or not the package in its entirety worked, not whether or not it performed the appropriate mimicry.
But if you follow the idea that a film adaptation should be true to the "essense"...fuck, we finished Tyndall's class a year ago!
All's I'm saying is, if you remove the 'meta' part of Watchmen, you remove the entire point of the book--it's NOT about cool superheroes beating the shit out of bad guys like the trailer shows. It's about taking those archetypal characters to their logical limits, making them fallible and human.
That 'there is no supposed to' stuff may hold for Writing Threshold Land, but don't bring it to Gutbucketville cause it ain't gonna fly.
And thanks for the love.
*chortle* Gutbucketville. Sounds like a euphemism.
Perhaps you've levied your criticism too early. Maybe the "meta" you're looking for is in the film, even if the trailer doesn't reveal it. Of course, considering the source the opposite could very well be true.
My point is: wait to see it, oh obnoxious brute. Then you can raise the flag of Gutbucketville, which I vision to carry the logo of a coonskin hat and a six-pack of Pawtucket Ale.
oh man...I loved that part in 300..where that guy..the guy with the beard...kicked that other guy..he kicked that other guy into the hole...that was awesome!!!! and that part with those others guys was awesome too...
Pfff. You probably liked Top Gun too.
"Top Gun"? Yeah man!!! that part where the guy was sitting on his bike...he was sitting on his bike and the fight jet flew over?...awesome!!!!
OMG, a highborw snob...on the internet?
You know what I love? That moment in that Wes Anderson film where Jason Schwartzman says something ironic...and Owen Wilson shows up in a funny hat? THAT s cinema.
Or that film where the guy is writing a really long book and his wife walks out on him and he knocks up another girl. With that guy from Black Rain?
That's cinema.
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