Watchmen 4 out of 5 stars

Graphic novel, you're not kidding. Watchmen, directed by Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, 300) is visually striking and intensely gory and violent. Make no mistake; this is no kiddie comic book movie. I strongly caution parents. It is rated R for very good reason, not the least of which is the giant naked blue man. There is little in the way of female nudity, but there is one brutal scene leading up to an attempted rape.

Imagined in an alternate 1985 where Nixon is in his 5th term as President. The U.S.S.R. and the United States are on the verge of nuclear war. The U.S. has a super weapon on their side, Dr Manhattan, a scientist with special abilities thanks to a lab accident in 1959. If Doomsday did arrive, Dr. Manhattan would have the ability to stop 98% of the nukes before they hit their target, the remaining 2% would still be enough to possibly destroy the world.

I really don’t want to give to much away, as I went into the theatre cold..having not read a review or the Graphic Novel. From what I saw, I can expect that Snyder was faithful to the novel to the point of using its content as storyboards for the film. As with Sin City, I saw scenes that I could imagine on the pages of the novel.

I understand that 30 minutes or so were cut from this release to bring it in with a reasonable running time. As it is, I felt it ran a bit too long. The story dragged in certain parts.

As far as the performances, I think they were all good. Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children) steals the show. I can’t imagine how he went 13 years without a part.

Matt Frewer (Max Headroom), Plays Moloch the Mystic in a small but effective part.

Carla Gugino is fine in a part where she is mostly an older retired superhero. I wish we could have seen more of her kicking butt and not the other way around.

Published in 1886-87, Watchman spins a cautionary tail about our relationships with other countries on this planet and our place in the universe as a whole.

In summation: Watchman is certainly worth taking a trip to the multiplex, the bigger the screen the better. It is visually stunning and brutally violent. The heroes are Superheroes without superpowers except for the ability to dish out and absorb a beating, not unlike The Dark Knight.

The International - 3 out of 5 stars

3 out of 5 stars

Is my Credit Union selling weapons??

The International is a story about a big international bank that is all about making money by managing the debt created from international conflicts. It seems that they will stop at nothing to keep their agenda a secret and that includes hiring hit men to do their bidding when anyone is getting close to exposing them. The problem is, they are killing the wrong people. The first person they should have shot is Louis Salinger (Clive Owen), but then there would be no movie.

Clive Owen plays a former Scotland Yard agent who is now working for Interpol and he is intent on taking down the bank. He is sick and tired of the red tape and politics that are involved when trying to bring a case against a well connected international corporation. He partners up with Naomi Watts, a NYC DA. Watts is wasted here, her part is underdeveloped and extraneous.

Clive has this type of character down to a science. From Sin City, Children Of Men or Shoot 'Em UP, he's solid playing the obsessed, put upon hero.

Armin Mueller-Stahl (Eastern Promises) gives a good performance as a tired ex-communist revolutionary who has given in to the powers of greed and corruption, sacrificing his values along the way.

The centerpiece of the movie is a very long gunfight at the Guggenheim Museum, which while exciting, left me wondering a couple of things.
Just how does plaster stop a hail of bullets?
Why would you remove your bullet proof vest in the middle of a gunfight?
Does The Guggenheim Museum have any security?
How long does it take local police to respond to a 'million gunshots fired' call?

Local police do eventually arrive, after about the millionth bullet has flown.

The International is a good thriller. Of course, you have to suspend your disbelief if you are to enjoy the film. I personally don't think that there are evil people out there doing really evil things. Are there really "hit men" who make a fabulous living killing other humans?? People who have access to the best weapons, weapons which they seem to move freely around the world from location to location? I'm guessing that they don't fly commercial.

The bottom line is, law enforcement may chase their tail trying to bring you down, but don't mess with the Itanians.