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Who watches the Watchmen - was "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? "

 
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Loosely translated, this means "who watches the watchmen". and in case you don't know, the Watchmen is a movie coming out soon, base on the graphic novel. Many people consider the novel to be one of those "books you must read before you die". Personally, I think it's better than that. I think it's the book you must go out and buy RIGHT NOW and read before you do anything else. and odds are, when you're done, you'll want to read it again immediately.

I find myself giddy with anticipation for this movie. I've read the comic DOZENS of times, and keep finding entirely new things in it each time I read it. Heck, I was reading something about it not too long ago, and somebody wrote "Basically, character X's journey parallels character Y's..." (i don't want to give anything away), and I though to myself "HOLY SH**!!! I never made THAT connection...".

Wil Wheaton (the actor and Geek) saw it recently and LOVED it (minor language alert), saying that he has waited 20 years for this movie, and it was "worth the wait". Everything I've seen and read about this movie makes it look and sound awesome. If I can find a babysitter and can get the day off work, this is a movie I would consider going to see at midnight. That may not sound like a big deal to some of you, but i'm 40+, have a wife, a 6yr old daughter, and usually go to bed around 9pm every night - except on those GOOD nights when I'm in bed by 8:30.

So, Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? I will... again and again.
 
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fred rosenberger wrote:Loosely translated, this means "who watches the watchmen".


Either that or, "who cleans up after the custodians?"
 
fred rosenberger
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Is nobody else excited about this movie? Has nobody heard of this but me?

Seriously - this is one of the best books i've ever read. and i do mean best BOOK, not 'best comic book'.
 
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Yes, this was one of the best comics ever... And when this movie was first announced, it was really exciting....


Then there was tons of stuff about how this movie may not come out, and about copyrights problems, etc. And how things need to be changed. etc. etc. etc.

I am very excited about this movie -- but I am not holding my breath that it will be good... sorry.

Henry
 
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Have you seen the previews? I am amazed at how many scenes i see and can say "i know the exact panel that shot is from in the book". Everything I've seen looks pretty faithful to the look and feel of the comic, although I've heard there is some changes to the ending. Not the big plot, but the details of what exactly is done changes. According to Wil Wheaton, it serves the exact same purpose.

There is also supposed to be released a dvd with with "The Tales of the Black Freighter". None of the pirate stuff makes it into the movie (which I think is a smart choice), but they wanted to do something with it...
 
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That's it... you convinced me... I will have to buy the comic then
 
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I agree with Alan Moore - I reckon this comic is unfilmable. Some things just fit certain formats. Given the list of Moore's stories translated to the big screen that were somewhat underwhelming (From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V For Vendetta) it doesn't fill me with much hope.

The comic is great. Fred is right: go read it! Unfortunately, I'm just waiting to be disapointed by the movie.
 
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I thought it was Gilliam who called it 'unfilmable'.

I thought "300" was a pretty good adaptation of a Moore comic. And this is by the same director as that one.
 
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300 was Frank Miller, not Moore.

I agree that the "unfilmable" comment came from Gilliam. Moore just disavows all adaptations of his work, at this point, sight unseen. Not without some past justification, I suppose. I'm still hopeful about this movie though.
 
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ah... thanks for correcting me.

I can understand Moore's position. He has been burned many times. But I think this director really 'gets' the comic. He fought very hard to keep the film true to the comic. for example, an early draft was set in the modern day, and Doc Manhattan was fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan. This director forced it back to the mid-80's and put Doc back in Viet Nam.

He also fought to keep the mature content. the studio originally wanted to go for a pg-13, which would require a lot of stuff to be cut - especially some of Rorschach's scenes.
 
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fred rosenberger wrote:I thought it was Gilliam who called it 'unfilmable'.



I heard it that Gillian asked Moore how he would film it, and Moore's response was "I wouldn't".
 
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it opens today across the u.s.a. so far, i've read some mixed reviews, but both gave it about 7/10. one review was by a fanboy, and one was by someone who had never read the source material. They seem to have cut Rorschach role somewhat, and altered his backstory slightly, which I find annoying.

But i'm still planning on seeing it as soon as i can find a babysitter.
 
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also, if Hanna-Barberra had been able to license the "Watchmen" for a saturday morning cartoon, it possibly would have looked like this.
 
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So Fred, Did you watch the movie?
 
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I watched the movie. Without any prior interest or knowledge of the graphic novel and all the lore that goes along with it, I really like the film. I thought the cast was great, the action scenes are really well done, even the sex scene was good (yes, perverts, sex scenes can be bad). The story was great, the ending was good. My only complaint was it the length of the movie. It was just a bit too long due to a couple of slow spots. But overall, great movie. I plan on watching it again before it leaves theaters.
 
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I liked it. I did read the story beforehand. I think the movie could have been a bit shorter though. Maybe merge some of the flashbacks.
 
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Sridhar Santhanakrishnan wrote:So Fred, Did you watch the movie?

Alas, I have a 6 yr old daughter, so unless movies have dogs that star in TV shows, robots, or animated mice, I don't get to see many movies.

We're going to try and find a babysitter for this weekend.

I have two geek friends who have seen it. One read the comics when the originally came out, and one read them soon after. Both thought it was very good.
 
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Gregg Bolinger wrote:, even the sex scene was good (yes, perverts, sex scenes can be bad)...



I liked the movie in spite of the sex scene actually. Don't get me wrong, it is one of the hottest sex scene EVER. Yes, with Malin Akerman keep showing off her hot body much throughout the movie. At that point (especially men) audience are so ready for the sex scene to happen. Yes, comic book movies sex scenes are often unimaginably hot because they are allow to touch up the picture so much. (Remember Jamie King in Sin City?)

It's just that... this sex scene is so emphasized... In the middle of it I cant help but wonder if I am watching a soft core porn... (One that is very well done to say the least) It just doesn't seem to belong in this move though...
 
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