The Watchmen

First Hit: Mesmerizing visuals in sometimes cohesive scenes strung together by popular songs as the vehicle for transitioning between them.

I was mesmerized by the strong visual scenes in this film but the lack of a strong story line reduced its potential power.

The film begins during the opening credits and if you don’t pay attention; the history of why the world is as dark as it is, as depicted in this film, will be lost. From what I could guess there were two plots of somewhat equal value. One plot is about finding out who is killing past super heroes and the other is about the world coming to an end if someone doesn’t do something about it.

In both plots it is the combination of Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Patrick Wilson playing their superhero roles that make and the attempt to create bridges between the beautiful scenes while making sense of the story.

The most glaring, obtrusive and enjoyable part of moving from scene to scene was the use of popular songs (songs I liked). However, their use felt too abrupt and most of the time out of context.

Zack Snyder directed this as he did 300; stylized and other worldly. For my taste, neither one is a really great film but they are fun to watch. There are attempts to create substance in the stories he tells, but both films fall short. In this film, the illusion that there is much substance in this graphic novel is hopeful at best. There was a lot of pre-release hype about this film and a pumping up of how important this graphic novel was, but for my taste, the story less than strong and the film exemplifies this. However, the positive side of this work (and 300 as well) is that he has a great visual eye and draws from a wide range of sensory queues. The use of colors, varying angled shots, lush backgrounds, interesting sounds, and intense detailed interiors are his strong suit. The characters in Watchmen that compelled me to pay attention to were Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian, and Billy Crudup as Dr. Manhattan.

Overall: Visually stimulating film with a weak storyline but well worth the time and money to see.

City Of Ember

First Hit: I thought the concept was interesting and there was some good acting, but I don’t think the staging, or why this city came into existence was introduced very well.

The essence of this film was that there was a destruction of the earth on the surface and therefore a few people built a city under the earth’s surface.

They built a generator which was built to last a very long time. The initial builders also left instructions on to how to leave the city and go back to the surface. These instructions were left in a box which had a timer and set to unlock in 200 years. The box was to be handed down from mayor to mayor.

However, along the way it was forgotten and left on the floor of a closet. As time when on the blackouts from the failing generator were becoming more frequent and the city was slowing dying. Two young kids decided they were going to follow their instincts, clues, and the partially destroyed information from the unlocked box which was found in a closet.

Saoirse Ronan plays a young messenger named Lina Mayfleet and Harry Treadaway plays a pipe works worker named Doon Harrow. These two were outstanding and made the film interesting. I also thought Martin Landau was perfect as the pipe worker who just does his job. However, the scenes with Mary Kay Place seemed forced and it felt as though scripts on cue cards were just out of camera range. Bill Murray, as Mayor Cole, was being Bill Murray and it worked for the most part.

Overall: I did like the film but I thought the beginning scene “set up” was poorly constructed. Above all I thought Ronan and Treadaway were wonderful and a joy to watch.

The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep

First Hit: A predictable and delightful film that keeps the legend alive.

This is a World War II story as told by an old Angus MacMorrow. He is telling some young people about himself as a young boy. 

As the story goes, Angus (played by Alex Etel) finds a barnacle encrusted egg on the shore of a local Loch. He takes the egg back to his house and starts to pry it open but he gets called away. When he returns he finds the egg broken open and an odd looking creature mucking about in the tool shed.

After feeding the creature a whole barrel of scraps, he discovers that it likes water. It accidentally ends up in the house and in the bathtub performing wonderful water tricks. In a matter of hours the creature really begins to grow by leaps and bounds. It escapes the clutches of a dog, gets chased out of the house and ends up in a fountain where it grows to more than 4 feet.

In the meantime, his mom, played by Emily Watson, is the head caretaker of the large house near the Loch where they live. She hires Lewis Mowbray, a handyman, to help with the household chores.

Lewis (played by Ben Chaplin) recognizes the creature as a Water Horse, from a legendary tale, and after finding it in the fountain sets it free in the Loch where the Water Horse grows to be more than 20 feet high. 

The town hears of it through two old fishermen who see it swimming on the Loch, as do some of the British Army personnel located there to prevent German submarines from entering the Loch. A couple of the Army men believe the Water Horse to be a menace and try to kill it but the boy saves the day.

The acting is good (not great) and this is a fantasy story. The effects of the Water Horse are especially good when it is small and one could actually think this animal (like a dog or seal) really exists.

There are a couple funny encounters between the characters and the Water Horse along with a couple of funny scenes between a bull dog and the Water Horse.

Overall: This is enjoyable and a pretty good children’s story.

Golden Compass

First Hit: Visually it was interesting and engaging but the story and execution lacked either depth or a missing component.

Dakota Blue Richards did an amazing job of being a young girl with wisdom. She combined the two elements to create a believable character in a somewhat unbelievable film.

I have read a little of the internet discussion about the religious undertones of this film and Christianity and although I understand their view, if the Catholics see a false representation of their beliefs they need to let it go. If they are uncomfortable with what they see then it might be striking some truth.

I also thought the idea of our soul being represented by a “demon” animal who traveled outside our body was wonderful. I especially liked that, as a child, they change until our soul settles down with age.

The story is about a young woman setting out to discover the north country, understand more about “dust” (spirit and life source), and to rescue all the young children who have been kidnapped by a group trying to separate children from their demons and still keep the kids alive.

In this journey she receives the only remaining magic compass (alethiometer) which tells the truth (past and future). The compass is the object being sought by Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman), who is a cold calculating woman and in service to Magisterium (The quasi religious government).

Lyra is befriended by a polar bear (Iorek) who is down on his luck and their friendship propels him and her to rescue the kids while Iorek is able redeem his honor by becoming King of his people (other bears).

Overall: The visuals are great; some of the acting is excellent and it is a pleasing film to watch with the requisite positive ending; but this film needed a demon (a soul).

The Hunting Party

First Hit: A film that didn’t quite work in any way, shape or form.

Richard Gere and Terrence Howard are teamed up as a reporter and cameraman respectively.

They are admired and win awards and then Gere’s character flips out on a live broadcast. This virtually ends his career. We learn later why this happens as these two meet up later and go for the prize interview/capture.

This film is lazy, does little to explore their depth as people, and ends up being almost laughable. The scenes which they were to be scared just didn’t work because their fear was badly acted, misplaced and lacked real content.

Overall: There was nothing compelling about this film and it’s too bad because there may have been a good story in this somewhere, but it didn’t come out in the script, acting, direction, or presentation.