New glasses, finally.
Also finally, I watched Watchmen this weekend. My first blu-ray movie. It had some good points, but mostly it fell flat for me. I enjoyed the background historical parts more than the main action of the movie.
But then, what you have to bear in mind is that I'm a geezer. This is old news to me. I read it brand new, hot off the presses, back in the day. The fact they finally made a movie is roughly as exciting to me as it would be to the world at large if it were announced that the ancient Egyptians had finally figured out how to put central heating in the pyramids.
The original Watchmen had an influence on me, because one part of it resonated with what I already knew, deep down. When Doctor Manhattan makes his speech about how life is overrated, and Mars gets along fine without it.. this summed up what I had long felt... but it didn't quite word it right. Life is *not* overrated- it's just not a privileged frame of reference. The universe does not intrinsically value life, or complexity, or order. In fact, rather the opposite, from what I can see.
But *rating*, over or otherwise? That's a life thing. That's a human thing. That's what we do. I don't hear the universe howling me down when I say it can't be highly rated enough, because it just doesn't care.
Most of us do.
However, the closing of that scene where Dr. Manhattan finds his unexpected miracle in Silk Spectre II always left me flat.
Another observation, in closing- authors and writers who are supposedly brilliant and brave because they aren't afraid to kill off significant characters? Bullshit.
Yes, bullshit.
Oh, I won't argue that you can't do it and not have a good work of fiction- or even a great one- but it's the easy path.
Show me someone who can keep dramatic tension high, have their work ring true, and not leave you with the emotional equivalent of phantom limb pain- and there's someone who's brilliant.
To my mind, anyway.
Wow. I wake up at 2:30 in the bloody AM, and all I have to show for it is this stupid post.
Also finally, I watched Watchmen this weekend. My first blu-ray movie. It had some good points, but mostly it fell flat for me. I enjoyed the background historical parts more than the main action of the movie.
But then, what you have to bear in mind is that I'm a geezer. This is old news to me. I read it brand new, hot off the presses, back in the day. The fact they finally made a movie is roughly as exciting to me as it would be to the world at large if it were announced that the ancient Egyptians had finally figured out how to put central heating in the pyramids.
The original Watchmen had an influence on me, because one part of it resonated with what I already knew, deep down. When Doctor Manhattan makes his speech about how life is overrated, and Mars gets along fine without it.. this summed up what I had long felt... but it didn't quite word it right. Life is *not* overrated- it's just not a privileged frame of reference. The universe does not intrinsically value life, or complexity, or order. In fact, rather the opposite, from what I can see.
But *rating*, over or otherwise? That's a life thing. That's a human thing. That's what we do. I don't hear the universe howling me down when I say it can't be highly rated enough, because it just doesn't care.
Most of us do.
However, the closing of that scene where Dr. Manhattan finds his unexpected miracle in Silk Spectre II always left me flat.
Another observation, in closing- authors and writers who are supposedly brilliant and brave because they aren't afraid to kill off significant characters? Bullshit.
Yes, bullshit.
Oh, I won't argue that you can't do it and not have a good work of fiction- or even a great one- but it's the easy path.
Show me someone who can keep dramatic tension high, have their work ring true, and not leave you with the emotional equivalent of phantom limb pain- and there's someone who's brilliant.
To my mind, anyway.
Wow. I wake up at 2:30 in the bloody AM, and all I have to show for it is this stupid post.
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I liked Watchmen but I think the criticisms you make are valid.
I wish the posts that I made at 2 am were as well thought out as this one.