I saw Watchmen in theaters, but the other two movies make me glad that I have enough self restraint to wait for them to come to Netflix. If I dropped $10 on every movie that looked interesting to me from commercials or trailers, I could probably no longer afford trips to the OCB.
Who watches the Watchmen?
I did, and I'd have to say it's pretty much ripped (although condensed) from the comic book -- with one big exception (p.s. it's near the end). Zach Snyder (300) has taken the effort to almost transfer the frames right out of the "graphic novel" (as Watchmen is more widely known as) keeping intact the look of the characters, settings, and time. I finished watching the movie with the same feeling I had after my friend G lent me the book -- nyeh.
If you're expecting a traditional superhero movie you'll be surprised. The good guys aren't that good, the movie is ultra violent, and it's not a fairy tale ending where the heroes valiantly triumph over evil. Starting with a history of a twisted timeline, the movie is well paced with continual switches to the past that helps us understand the characters and the world they live in. While a comic book not suited for "Summer Blockbuster" status, Watchmen is a sweeping mystery without a predictable ending that mixes action (mostly good), sex, special effects, and a bad-ass ginger. Because it is so different than everything out there, I'll give it:
My Score: 7/10, Catch in Theaters
Which brings me to Payne... Max Payne that is.
You'd think a movie based on a shoot 'em up game that revolves around "bullet time" (made famous by The Matrix -- essentially slow motion) would be a solid shoot 'em up movie that revolved around "bullet time". Unfortunately for us, that is not the case. I played Max Payne years ago, so the only part of the story I remember is that his family is murdered and Max (played by Mark Wahlberg in the movie) goes looking for answers and revenge.
What we get from the movie is a confusingly loud cacaphony of explosions (not from when things blow up, more from when the sky turns to fire), angels, Chris O'Donnell for ten minutes of screen time, and a lot of unanswered questions -- the biggest one to me being: why did Beau Bridges stop Max Payne from being impaled in the face by a drugged up super soldier when he wanted Max dead and was actually there to kill him? I mean, besides the fact that the whole mystery needed to be explained by BB (to us). The film starts off painfully slow, and I can't say it really picked up to a point where it became enjoyable. I can say it got weirder and weirder, but unfortunately that will only negatively affect:
My Score: 1/10, Not Worth Your Time
... Step-Brothers.
I had a small inkling to see this movie in theaters where I had missed out on Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory, both Will Farrell movies that which I really enjoyed. However, it ended up being a good call because while having some funny parts, Step-Brothers is not a very good movie. I felt the deleted scenes (as played by themselves) were more enjoyable to watch than the actual movie because then I wouldn't have to spend my time viewing the ridiculous familial interactions of the ridiculous characters.
My Score: 4/10, Rent (if you've got nothing else to)
Who watches the Watchmen?
I did, and I'd have to say it's pretty much ripped (although condensed) from the comic book -- with one big exception (p.s. it's near the end). Zach Snyder (300) has taken the effort to almost transfer the frames right out of the "graphic novel" (as Watchmen is more widely known as) keeping intact the look of the characters, settings, and time. I finished watching the movie with the same feeling I had after my friend G lent me the book -- nyeh.
If you're expecting a traditional superhero movie you'll be surprised. The good guys aren't that good, the movie is ultra violent, and it's not a fairy tale ending where the heroes valiantly triumph over evil. Starting with a history of a twisted timeline, the movie is well paced with continual switches to the past that helps us understand the characters and the world they live in. While a comic book not suited for "Summer Blockbuster" status, Watchmen is a sweeping mystery without a predictable ending that mixes action (mostly good), sex, special effects, and a bad-ass ginger. Because it is so different than everything out there, I'll give it:
My Score: 7/10, Catch in Theaters
Which brings me to Payne... Max Payne that is.
You'd think a movie based on a shoot 'em up game that revolves around "bullet time" (made famous by The Matrix -- essentially slow motion) would be a solid shoot 'em up movie that revolved around "bullet time". Unfortunately for us, that is not the case. I played Max Payne years ago, so the only part of the story I remember is that his family is murdered and Max (played by Mark Wahlberg in the movie) goes looking for answers and revenge.
What we get from the movie is a confusingly loud cacaphony of explosions (not from when things blow up, more from when the sky turns to fire), angels, Chris O'Donnell for ten minutes of screen time, and a lot of unanswered questions -- the biggest one to me being: why did Beau Bridges stop Max Payne from being impaled in the face by a drugged up super soldier when he wanted Max dead and was actually there to kill him? I mean, besides the fact that the whole mystery needed to be explained by BB (to us). The film starts off painfully slow, and I can't say it really picked up to a point where it became enjoyable. I can say it got weirder and weirder, but unfortunately that will only negatively affect:
My Score: 1/10, Not Worth Your Time
... Step-Brothers.
I had a small inkling to see this movie in theaters where I had missed out on Talladega Nights and Blades of Glory, both Will Farrell movies that which I really enjoyed. However, it ended up being a good call because while having some funny parts, Step-Brothers is not a very good movie. I felt the deleted scenes (as played by themselves) were more enjoyable to watch than the actual movie because then I wouldn't have to spend my time viewing the ridiculous familial interactions of the ridiculous characters.
My Score: 4/10, Rent (if you've got nothing else to)
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