My World … and welcome to it!

That appears to be the basis for the movie/book Watchmen which I finally got to see last night. BTW I thoroughly enjoyed especially the montage at the beginning. But then, I AM of that age so it made a lot of sense to me. Younger viewers have complained that they didn’t quite get it.

Anyhoo. I felt the movie was overly long. They could really have cut about 45 to 60 minutes and still kept the storyline intact. It was also confusing at the start as to when/where we were and who was who. Not overly so but enough to be annoying.

I loved the costumes, the themes, the ideas, but NOT the violence. I know, I know, it’s from a graphic novel and they’re all about violence. But still.

I liked the ending. It really makes you think, does the end justify the means? Who should be sacrificed to save the many? Should anyone be sacrificed? Can humanity be save at all? Or are we forever enslaved to our viler nature?

That’s something I’ve mulled over a lot especially during the last 8 years. Are we worth saving? I have to admit sometimes I look around and think, NO. Mother Nature should wipe us off the planet. Or maybe 90% of us and let us try again. But would that solve the ultimate dilemma of how do we live peaceably amongst ourselves and in harmony with nature? Will we ever figure it out or should we just go gently into that good night?

Overall I’d give Watchmen a B-, 4 out of 5 stars, 1 thumb up.

It was NOT, however, worth the $85 motel room we had to get because it was snowing so hard by the time the movie was over at 10:30 P.M. (only one showing a day in our little town) that we couldn’t see to get home. Yup. That’s right.

We live 7 miles outside of town on an unlit, 2 lane blacktop. We got about halfway home doing 30mph and Joey finally had to give up. We couldn’t see from one marker to the next it was coming down so thickly. We were passed by a Sheriff’s suv and by the time hubby got the truck turned around those tracks were already obliterated.

We crept back to town and made it to the Holiday Inn where we checked in just ahead of another couple who’d spent the previous 4 hours driving down from Hardin, MT at 20mph pulling a 22 foot trailer. She was PISSED because they’d been through this a few years earlier when they’d been stuck here for 3 days AND it was so late the restaurant was closed. As were all the fast food joints in town, it being 11PM and all the sidewalks were already rolled up. bummer.

So we woke up to iced streets and overcast skies. The furbabies were glad we were home and I’m exhausted.

I haven’t done a movie review in quite some time. Just in case you were wondering about my creds … well back in the dark ages when I worked as a DJ at the local radio station I did a weekly movie review for the local theater owner. I did it for 14 years. I love movies.

I miss doing the reviews and had intended to start doing them here on my blog but kept forgetting. I realized yesterday I’ve been droning on (mostly to myself) about politics and I’m sick of that. What better way to break the monotony than to go back to doing what I love. Discussing books AND movies.

Let me start by saying I really REALLY enjoyed (if one can use that word in describing a reaction to this particular movie) the Cohen brothers last outing, No Country for Old Men. Yes, it was violent. Astoundingly so. But Javier Bardem scared the socks off of me and that just doesn’t happen all that often. About half way through the movie I realized the guy hadn’t blinked ONCE. And if anyone got in his way, too bad for them. (shudder)

So I was very much looking forward to Burn After Reading especially because Frances McDormand was in it along with George Clooney and Brad Pitt. John Malkovich and Tilda Swinton take secondary roles that are central to the plot. I wasn’t disappointed.

In case you don’t have a TV or simply choose not to watch the idiot box (or are like me and record all your programs to the DVR so you can avoid the commercials), BAR follows two, no make that THREE, idiots who get in waaay over their collective heads.

Clooney’s character is a major womanizer. And that’s being kind. He’s a slut. Big time. He cheats on his wife every chance he gets. His current paramour is played by Swinton. An angry harridan who’s a pediatrician who abuses her young patients as much as her husband — a schlub who works in the CIA (played by Malkovich).

Pitt and McDormand both work for a health club. Pitt’s portrayal is mildly amusing if only for his hairdo and mannerisms. McDormand’s character is looking for love in all the wrong places and freaking out about her body falling apart around her. She wants plastic surgery to correct all her “flaws” and, silly woman, doesn’t realize that her insurance won’t cover elective surgery. Like anyone’s health insurance will cover anything at all.

The plot revolves around their attempts to extort money from Malkovich’s character when they find a CD that contains what they think are CIA secrets. When he won’t cooperate they turn to the Russian embassy. I kept thinking, don’t these two idiots know what the penalty for TREASON is? But she wants the plastic surgery and will go to any lengths to get it.

The movie spins madly around the machinations of these two, blending in the other characters quite nicely. It turns violent towards the end, an unexpected twist that left me open mouthed.

I dont’ know if I’d recommend shelling out all that money for a ticket though. This one could easily be enjoyed at home on the telly. Personally I prefer the theater for the huge screen, the dark room and the lack of distractions. But then, I have a lifetime pass and even if I didn’t our tickets here are, what? $5? Less during the afternoon matinee.

tomorrow I’ll review Babylon AD with Vin Diesel.