After Watchmen...

... what's next. 

DC Comics has compiled a list of books to check out if you liked "Watchmen."

I personally recommend Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series, most of Alan Moore's opus, and and "Transmetropolitan." "Planetary" is wonderful in itself but is absolutely brilliant only if you're a big comic book geek. 

Frakking Awesome!

So say we all. Bill Frakking Adama in the house. 

Edward James Olmos has always been badass. 

But his turn as the admiral in the new Battlestar Galactica has raised it to new heights. From giving "the look" to drinking with Tigh to executing the "Adama maneuver" to smoking weed and getting busy with the president of the colonies, there is nothing that EJO/Adama does that isn't cool. 

As the series is about to end the producers and cast visit the UN to talk about human rights. 

And while that may seem slightly Sean Penn-ish to some, the fact that EJO stays in frakking character most of the time more than makes up for that. He addresses everyone there AS BILL ADAMA and ends his speech with "so say we all."

And the audience responds in kind. Frakking awesome. 

  

DeathSponge

The most awesome dub ever. 

Why watch

Here's what I don't get about the MTRCB: you can allow graphic violence like the Comedian's murder and Dan and Laurie beating the crap out of a street gang but you have to cut a sex scene to reduce the rating? One of the most awesome things about "Watchmen" is the soundtrack and in the quest to get in down to R13 the distributors manage to butcher what could've been the best music video of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."

Seriously, is there any better lyric for a washed up superhero with erectile dysfunction, pre-Viagra, to make love to?

There was a time you let me know
Whats real and going on below
But now you never show it to me do ya?
I remember when I moved in you
The holy ghost was moving too
And every breath we drew was hallelujah 

The NYTimes' AO Scott is calling for a moratorium on the song (it was used in "Shrek" of all places) but, hey, here it works. 

"Everybody Wants to Rule the World," as Veidt was addressing the businessmen  is obvious; what's less so is Nena's "99 Luftbaloons." And while it seemed jarring to hear that a tad too loud during Dan and Laurie's dinner, the lyrics were more than apt. I never paid attention to it before but apparently in the song they release 99 red balloons and start a war. 

99 red balloons.
floating in the summer sky.
Panic bells, it's red alert.
There's something here from somewhere else.
The war machine springs to life.
Opens up one eager eye.
Focusing it on the sky.
Where 99 red balloons go by.

Foreshadowing for those who remember the english translation of the song.

But what really blew me away was the opening credits. "Watchmen" is probably the only superhero film that you can set to Bob Dylan without sounding cheesy or "pilit." 

[Edit: Aw crap, they took the video down. Guess you better watch it again.]

* * * * * 

I like the new ending. Without a lengthy exposition involving psionics and genetic engineers and Veidt's extra-spatial studies institute the giant squid would've been weird. Instead we get a 9/11 vibe with Dr. Manhattan as the boogeyman. 

And it works in the film. The giant monster from outer space is a staple in superhero comics but won't really work in a film era full of Dark Knights and Iron Men. So a blue explosion it is. More bodies perhaps, but I'm fine with what we have.  

* * * * *

And Rorschach. Oh yeah. Best. Line. Ever. 

Philip Jose Farmer 1918-2009

May you wake up near a grailstone next to Alice Lidell.

My first encounter with Philip Jose Farmer was through his crappy "Dungeon" series, which, while never among his top works, still was enough to blow the mind of a 12 year old. The image of Clive Foliot battling a gelatinous blob with the head of his brother was simultaneously creepy and fascinating.

As is most of his work.

Most everyone's favorite (mine too) is the Riverworld series, where everyone who has lived from the dawn of history to the early 1980s is resurrected on the banks of a million-mile long river in perfect health and youth. Skip the crappy Sci-Fi movie and get the books. Start with "To Your Scattered Bodies Go" and work your way up.

You will be missed.