I Watched The Watchmen

"All we ever see of the stars are their old photographs."
-Dr. Manhattan

Just saw “The Watchmen” which I think was great by the way and noticed in a few of the preceding film previews the following categories: Gangster Violence and Pervasive Language. I couldn't imagine for the life of me what these categories meant. What happened to just plain old Violence or Swearing? I mean are there people who are not offended by all violence in particular and need to know exactly what kind of violence they will be viewing? MPAA is such a fucking crock of shit organization. I don’t even know where to begin. They really bug me. Maybe these categories have been around for a while and I just haven’t noticed them. If that’s the case then I apologize for my lateness it expressing how ridiculous I think it is.

As for the Watchmen, I will try to be simple in my review. I never did finish the graphic novel but I did read enough of it to see that that the movie followed it almost to the letter and I am really proud of that. I have to admit that while reading it I was hyper aware of the total lack of any Watchmen of color but what can you expect from characters who outwardly admit to having virtually Nazi like mentalities? I find that the movie dodged these issues way more overtly than the novel did. The novel, I am told, included a larger narrative of one of the only characters of color in the story, the shrink who sees Rorschach as a patient. But naturally that story was completely omitted from the movie. That pisses me off but rather than go on a tangent I will stick to what I really loved about the movie. Mostly that I felt it did not compromise (until the end of course) the novel’s sense of ironic darkness and pervasive global doom for easy, fluffy resolutions. Again I did not finish the novel and understand as an avid reader that a book, graphic novel or more traditional literature has a life of it’s own which cannot be replicated cinematically at least not often.

What you get from books, the ability to imagine, re-imagine and live within a story is almost always compromised when adapted for the screen. The part of your brain used to simulate actions, feeling, emotions and intellectual and emotional struggle is given over to what a director and cinematographer install for the viewer. The studio replaces your imagination with their own vision, which is fine, as long you still have your own imagination in tact. That takes a daily exercising of your own imagination though. I fear new generations may not be encouraged to do this very often if at all. But more on that later.

Let talk about Dr. Manhattan’s penis. No really, I’m gonna go there and say that I am really proud at how well they pulled that off. I mean I watched the movie in my favorite theater in Chelsea, Manhattan’s great gay Mecca and not one oooh or awe whenever the blue phallus was exposed. Dr. Manhattan was that well rounded, that classy, and with a character so grounded in intellect and logic that he drew virtually no attention to his dick when he was naked which was about 80% of the movie. Was that Billy Cruddup's actual penis? One may never know. Maybe it's entirely CGI. Technology has come so far. No pun intended. Okay lemme get off the dick.

The opening credits alone were amazing, disturbing and beautiful. The fact that they opened with Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a Changing” didn’t hurt at all. I was delighted to hear, Simon & Garfunkel, Jimi Hendrix and Leonard Cohen as well although the use of “Hallelujah” during the obligatory sex scene was the least subtle segue of all the musical score use throughout the movie. Listening to “Unforgettable” sung by Nat King Cole while watching “The Comedian” get his ass handed to him was in a word, unforgettable. I will save the rest for those who wish to see the movie themselves. The moral and political discussions were satisfyingly handled although I don’t wish to discuss at length here what I feel might have been glossed over, simplified or omitted entirely.

It is unfortunate that we have come to accept the usual pattern in movies over the years that require exceptional scripts to wrap themselves up in the last thirty or so minutes like some 80’s episode of a “Murder She Wrote” mystery and “The Watchmen” is no exception to that. But I think there is more to “The Watchmen” to see than can be gathered in one viewing. And I will say this, and I haven’t said this about a movie in a long time: I can’t wait to watch it again and again. The writing, the cinematography and the performance were compelling and held me really tightly. It was poetically brutal. That’s hard to pull off.

The Magnet Man

The day started out dreary but the sun is actually out now, in the mid afternoon. I woke up much too early from having gone to be way too late. I’d fallen asleep while watching an old Salma Hayek and Russell Crowe movie, Breaking Up on my laptop in bed. It was never a very good movie but I haven’t seen in years and the script still holds up for me. I was in love with Russell Crowe in the days when I loved this movie. But it’s Salma Hayek who gives the dialogue its strength and logic. But Russell does have this incredibly unexpected way of transforming in the subtlest ways. By the end of the movie, he’s a totally different version of the character he plays in the beginning. The movie itself is a bit of a mess but that’s mostly because it was written for the stage and not film. It was not a very successful adaptation.

I had to force myself to get out of bed, my only motivation being that I did not want to get to the Ronnybrook Farms stand at the Farmers Market late this time the way I did last week. I managed to get the only Mango Yogurt drink left last Saturday. The Mango flavor is my favorite but one was not enough to get me through the work week. Whenever the vendors move to the south side of Union Square because of construction in the main area RonnyBrook sells out within a few hours! I took the cross-town bus on 125th and Lennox so I could take the East Side express. I surprised myself by scribbling down a poem during my ride, something that had been gestating in my subconscious for months.

I gathered four yogurt drinks, two Mango, one Blueberry and one Blueberry Pomegranate and then strolled along aimlessly through the market. Just a few feet away on my right I saw a table with laminated magnets. I know this is where my dad bought the magnets that practically cover his fridge. The same Curious George magnet he bought me was on the table. The old man who sold the magnets fiddled with some money or something he was counting or maybe they were magnets. I don’t remember. I almost walked right by but something drew me back. I think I was looking to see if he had any Obama magnets and then when I saw that he didn’t, I wondered why. But then I think I kind of liked that he didn’t. He stuck to his usual magnets of people and themes of his era or his particular liking; Reefer Madness, Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Robinson, Wonder Woman. I scanned a Wonder Woman magnet and immediately went for one with a poster of the original movie “The Day The Earth Stood Still” which I had literally just watched this passed week with Francis on an old VHS copy I found behind a stack of DVDs. It’s way better than the remake and one of my favorites. I saw that the sale sign said “Two for 5” so I picked up Wonder Woman and “The Day the Earth Stood Still” gesturing to the man that I would take them.

“Pick another.” He said. What? Did he mean he didn’t want me to pick these? I told him I noticed the sign.

“Take another.” He said. “You can take another. For you three for five.”

It took me a second before I realized he was being nice. When for my third choice I picked out a famous Clint Eastwood close-up from on of his great westerns with Sergio Leone, the man smiled and made a noise of approval. He told me he liked “The Day the Earth Stood Still” as well and that “Forbidden Planet” is good as well as he put my magnets in a small baggy. I’ve never seen “Forbidden Planet” but I did know that the comic book store on Broadway just a few blocks from where we stood and in which my brother and spent many weekends was named after the 50s sci-fi movie. I gave him a ten and thanked him as he gave me back a five and said

“No thank you. Thank you.” He said

I walked away feeling very warm and somehow honored that he’d been so nice to me. It was weird. I feel like he was very discreetly observing me even as I stood there looking at the magnets, before I even chose anything. I don’t know when did he decided he would let me have one for free but he seemed genuinely invested in my third choice. I don’t know, it was just a really pleasant exchange. It made me smile as I walked away, feeling like I had gained more than just a few magnets.