Gobbylygook following:

* Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience is an innovative, retail Blu-ray Hi-Def game and film hybrid which will include Watchmen: The End is Nigh Parts 1 and 2 and the Watchmen: Director’s Cut on Blu-ray. This new cut of the action-packed blockbuster includes an additional 25 minutes of footage not seen in theaters, available only on Blu-ray and DVD. The two-disc collectible set will also feature exclusive artwork in a premium package. The game will be playable on the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system which can also play the Blu-ray disc of Watchmen: Director’s Cut. The Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience will be available on July 21 for a suggested retail price of $49.99.

* Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 2 will be available for download on PC on July 29 and PlayStation Network on July 30 for a suggested retail price of $14.99 and on Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft on August 26 for 1200 Microsoft Points.

Who watches the Watchmen? Thanks Shacknews for the heads up.

Boy, Funny or Die is really bringing the Nerd Funny these days, huh?

I’ll keep this short since you’re probably sick of reading about this movie by now. My biggest problem was that the film felt too beholden to the book, almost to the point where it seemed to have little life of its own beyond that source material. Yes, the sex and violence is ramped up to ludicrous levels, but I think if I wasn’t intimately familiar with these characters already, I’d find it difficult to care about them. Zack Snyder does not appear to me to be an actor’s director. Compare his approach here to Jon Favreau’s in Iron Man and you’ll see what I mean: there’s a warmth and a life and a vitality to the characters in the latter film that’s missing in Watchmen, and I suspect it’s because Snyder adheres so strongly to the book. Jackie Earle Haley is the perfect Rorschach, but to me the real star of the film is Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the Comedian. Of all the actors, he does the best job of giving his character a 3-dimensionality that isn’t quite there anyplace else.

The overuse of the soundtrack drove me nuts. The trimming for the theatrical cut left some odd loose ends (the appearance of Bubastis, which would make no sense to someone who didn’t read the book; Laurie pulling a gun on Adrian out of nowhere). The fake nose on the actor playing Nixon looked stupid (if Frank Langella didn’t need one, why should this guy?). On the other hand, they got Dr. Manhattan right in terms of characterization if not performance, though, in fairness, I don’t know who could’ve made a role so unusual really work (Billy Crudup did his best, but the scene with Laurie on Mars should’ve been super-charged with emotion and it wasn’t; didn’t help that Malin Akerman sucks). The new ending is not so bad, all things considered.

Overall I found it entertaining but only because I know the book so well. Preserving Alan Moore’s vision is a laudable goal, but in the end, he’s right – this is a story that’s better suited for comics. By bending over backwards to uphold the source material, Snyder tried to have his cake and eat it too, but he ended up doing himself and the book a disservice. Compare this film to the one that I still rank as the best comic book movie of all time – American Splendor – and see how the spirit of Harvey Pekar’s comic blends perfectly with the filmmakers’ interpretation of that comic, and you’ll see exactly what I mean about Watchmen the movie being a slave to its source.

Touching on Cold War hysteria, politics in general, and how superheroes would be perceived by the public as well as themselves, Watchmen certainly is ambitious. With every conversation between the characters, and every newspaper commentating on the escalation between America and Russia, there is the sense that humanity could destroy itself if things don’t change. It’s a densely-packed narrative, with a number of small, intimate subplots playing into it. The struggles and conflicts of the characters are engaging and thought-provoking, with each of the remaining Watchmen having their own views on what can be done about the world, if anything. Dan Drieberg and Laurie Jupiter look to each other for comfort and reassurance, eventually finding freedom in revisiting their alter egos, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre. Adrian Veidt, the world’s smartest man, and one of its richest, challenges captains of industry, believing that the world can be united if only they would let go of their selfish practices. Meanwhile, Rorschach remains vigilant despite masked crimefighting being outlawed. As enigmatic as the ever-changing inkblots on his mask, he’s steadfast in his need to punish evil and see to it that the truth isn’t hidden from the public, no matter how ugly it may be. Blessed with godlike powers and a perception of time and reality beyond human comprehension, Dr. Manhattan finds himself growing more distant from humanity every day. Ultimately, everyone has to ask themselves what they’re willing to compromise for the greater good.

Jackie Earl Haley and Jeffery Dean Morgan (Rorschach and The Comedian respectively) are the standouts in the ensemble cast. They capture the extreme nature of their characters effortlessly, monstrous in their actions and their views of the world. Their underlying cynicism speaks volumes about the world being presented to us. As Nite Owl, Patrick Wilson conveys the necessary sense of fear and insecurity the character feels out of costume. Assisted by CGI, Billy Crudup is surprisingly endearing Dr. Manhattan. Decidedly soft-spoken throughout the film, he sells not only the character’s indifference, but just how mindful he is of that indifference. However, Matthew Goode (Veidt) and Malin Ackerman (Spectre) struggle to bring their characters to life. Goode has his moments as Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias, but Ackerman is lost for a majority of the film.

Director Zack Snyder does an impressive job capturing the look and tone of the comic, while infusing the film with his own sensibilities. His use of slow-mo may be overbearing to some, but it helps to the sell the emotion of a number of scenes, especially the Comedian’s murder, as well as the film’s near-brilliant opening credits sequence. There’s also a great deal of violence that manages to work in the context of the film, even when it appears needlessly excessive. If there are any issues to be had, the primary one would have to be the somewhat lacking perspective of normal individuals, as we never get a true sense of why the backlash towards masked crimefighters was so strong, or their views on the threat of nuclear war. Furthermore, the use of music has its ups and downs. The contrast between Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable” and the Comedian’s fight scene with his killer is fantastic, but the use of “Hallelujah” during a love scene feels entirely out of place and almost comical. It doesn’t help that the scene is punctuated by a flamethrower as a visual metaphor for climax.

Visually stimulating and thought-provoking, Watchmen sets out to tell an incredibly large, multi-layered story, and hits the mark more often than not. Not without its shortcomings, it still stands an achievement in challenging pre-conceived notions of superheroes, and takes things further by challenging pre-conceived notions of superheroes when translated to film.

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Paramount just posted JJ Abrams’ new Star Trek trailer which premieres before Watchmen, and it looks incredible. Sure it’s high on adrenaline, but if any franchise needed a boost, it’s this one. I mean, c’mon…Star Trek: Nemesis, anyone?

Bring on Sylar-Spock!

Well, this is pretty much spot-on, perfectly mixing Saturday morning cartoon tropes, with actual Watchmen plot points, for a perfect synergy. Click here to check it out.

[Via]

This is what’s called in the business a “half-developed idea.” Feel free to continue it by making your own…

I was with it up until the music at the end. Granted, I’m still with it, regardless, but… This is clearly the trailer for people who DON’T know the comic, as opposed to the last one, which was, “Hey geeks, no worries, it looks like the book.”

So, thoughts?

In my mind, Watchmen imagery is first and foremost the bloody yellow smiley & Rorschach — they encapsulate everything that is cool to me about Watchmen.

However, this poster is supposed to bring in the “civilians” as we call them –movie-goers or casual fans who haven’t read the book — and that audience is almost solely familiar with Watchmen via the movie trailer, which doesn’t make prominent use of the smiley. And after polling a handful of “civilians” I know, I found the figure who stands out most from the trailer is Dr. Manhattan. More than a few responded, “Watchmen, that’s the movie with the big blue guy right?”

Because of this, all my initial mock-ups featured Dr. Manhattan — and man did they look really lame. Everybody kept saying he just looked really weird and creepy, which was true. I mean, you’re that tall and you’re BRIGHT BLUE. You’re gonna look a little freaky. So, “focus groups” be damned — we finally decided to give in and feature every fanboy’s favorite, Rorschach.

PCS will be doing video interviews at both events, natch ;)

For immediate release:

WATCHMEN ARTIST DAVE GIBBONS AT MIDTOWN COMICS IN NYC!
Artist celebrates release of new retrospective work, Watching The Watchmen, from Titan Books.

Thursday, October 30, from 5:00 to 7:00PM
Midtown Comics Times Square location
200 W. 40th Street, Corner 7th Avenue, NYC

MIDTOWNCOMICS.COM
NYC Store Locations:
Times Square: 200 W. 40th Street, corner 7th Avenue.
Grand Central: 459 Lexington Avenue, corner 45th Street.
Contact: Gerry Gladston
gerry@midtowncomics.com

New York, NY, USA, October 21th, 2008- Midtown Comics in New York City is proud to announce a signing event with acclaimed comic book artist Dave Gibbons, to celebrate the release of his new retrospective work, Watching the Watchmen, from Titan Books.

In 1986, Mr. Gibbons collaborated with Alan Moore on the ground breaking 12 issue comic book mini-series Watchmen, now the #1 best-selling graphic novel, and the only one to appear on Time Magazine’s list of 100 Best English-Language Novels since 1923. In his own words, Mr. Gibbons created the Watchmen characters from “the descriptions that Alan had provided,” to come up with “a classic superhero feel, but a little bit stranger… a sort of operatic look… an Egyptian kind of a look.”

Artistic stints on iconic characters like Superman, Green Lantern, and Judge Dredd, as well creating original work such as Give Me Liberty with co-creator Frank Miller, are among the great accomplishments on Mr. Gibbons’ brilliant resume. He has also ventured into the orignal graphic novel arena with his recent Vertigo book, The Originals.

The ultimate companion to a true masterpiece, Watching The Watchmen goes behind the scenes on the creation of the seminal work. Rare glimpses of early Watchmen sketches, character designs, portfolio art and much more will be revealed.

Watchmen is on a hot streak as it rockets toward a March 2009 major film release from Warner Bros. Pictures, the trailer for which set screens ablaze all summer long as audiences waited to see The Dark Knight.

Midtown Comics opened its first store in 1997, and is now the industry’s leading retailer of comic books, graphic novels and Manga, with its online store as well as two landmark NYC locations in Times Square and Grand Central.

More information available online at: http://www.midtowncomics.com

Thanks to DC for coming through with the art assets! :)

Matthew Goode – Ozymandias
Jackie Earle Haley – Rorschach
Patrick Wilson – Nite Owl
Malin Ackerman – Silk Spectre