If you like complex comic book heroes and dark story lines, you just might enjoy Watchmen, now available for purchase or rental. Set in an alternate reality circa 1985 that’s teetering on the brink of nuclear war, Watchmen covers the exploits of half a dozen flawed superheroes as they investigate the murder of one of their number and uncover a sinister plot threatening the world.
While the avian-themed Nite Owl appears to be the only quasi-furry character in the movie, for me the heart and soul of the flick is Rorschach. Looking like some 1940’s gumshoe detective in a trench coat and a fedora, Rorschach also sports an enigmatic mask on which play constantly-changing inkblot images that give the character his name. Rorschach also has the best dialogue in the flick, lines like:
“Felt dark planet turn under my feet and know what cats know that makes them scream like babies in night.”
(…from the journal of Rorschach as seen in the movie, Watchmen…)
While a sociopath as “crazy as a snake’s armpit,” Rorschach makes disturbing sense at times, has a kind of tragic nobility to him, and is exceedingly tough and cool. When locked up in a prison with fifty or so criminals he placed there, Rorschach re-frames the situation to consider the cons as locked up with him, not he with them…he is the alpha predator there, and he proves it!
Watchmen also features Ozymandias, the world’s smartest human, with his intriguing animal companion, lynx. There is also the blue-skinned Dr. Manhattan, yet another physicist given awesome powers to manipulate matter as a result of a terrible accident. Nearly-omnipotent, Dr. Manhattan spends much of the movie fully-exposed in the nude…(when you’re omnipotent, you can dress pretty much any darn way you want!)
The movie also has a wonderful historical perspective, going back to 1940 or so to chronicle the early history of these superheroes and their parents; you’ll even catch glimpses of President Kennedy and the legendary second gunman who assassinated him, and view Watchmen fighting on the American side in Vietnam. There’s a Mothman in this group as well, but he’s not the cryptid and winds up in an asylum, possibly due to a cheesy costume.
You’ll probably either love or hate Watchmen, but I fell into the former group…guess I’m learning what cats know…
—I appreciate you, my loyal, intelligent, and off-beat readers!–As of July 27th, we’ve had over 40,000 hits on this blog, reaching up to 769 hits on a single day!—Foxsylvania has been listed as a growing blog and on lists of “better blogs” (whatever they are), and it’s all because of you! 
— In an incident reported July 17th, a Colorado man used an 18″ chainsaw to successfully fight off a mountain lion that attacked him during a camping trip with his wife and two toddlers in northwest Wyoming! The adult male lion was described as being emaciated and showing other signs of starvation when he pounced on the man, an ex-Marine…Semper Fi, Dude! 
— Believe it or not, there appears to be a live-action Aquaman movie in the works, with the star yet undecided! Aquaman has come a long way since his rather insipid portrayal as a whale-summoner in old ‘toon shows like 
— MonsterQuest 
— Jeez, you can hardly turn around these days without another beloved 
— If you missed today’s solar eclipse that was visible across much of Asia, tough luck; there won’t be a longer one until 2132! In parts of Asia, today’s eclipse lasted as long as 6 minutes and 39 seconds, the longest since July 11th, 1991; it will not be equaled again in this century.
–My people are moving on in…to Detroit, that is. That’s right, the Motor City! ‘Ya see, Detroit had a population of 1.8 million hyoomans in 1950, and it’s down to 900,000 now. With the big economic meltdown and GM goin’ belly-up, Detroit has an unemployment rate of 23%. Bad for hyoomans, good for us foxies; we’re movin’ in, ‘ya see. We figure we just might be able to do somethin’ wid da place…
— On this 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing, it is sobering to think 
— Woo hoo!–The Green Lantern is coming to the big screen!–Just not real soon…think June 2011. At least we’ll get a chance to see it before the Mayan calendar runs out in December 2012…
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