dog carcass in alley this morning.

Kat's Journal: March 9, 2007
Cramming the final pages in as the opening trailers attempted to distract me and a cell phone light lit the panels, I finished the critically acclaimed graphic novel, Watchmen. Then, I watched the movie.

The opening credits set the tone for the whole film, and as a huge Bob Dylan fan I was smitten from the start.
The transition from novel to film was not designed for a die hard novel fan though, it appealed to a wider audience. This was a sacrifice, but one that had to be made in order to make the film marketable and profitable.
The changes in plot did change the overall vibe of the ending though, and I don't want to be a spoiler, but it changed the enemy from unknown intergalactic invaders to something less unfamiliar. This kind of took away from the unity that was acheived, I think. But to make up for it, the whole first half of the movie was dead on to the book, and at certain points the shots were taken right from the panels, which is a necessity when going from graphic novel to film.
The effects were good, the only problem I had was an overuse of slow motion. At some points it was completely unnecessary and annoying, but the Mars scenes were outstanding. The overall look of the movie was edgy and fit well with the story.
I am in love with the soundtrack. All of the recognizable songs gave a familiar feel to the film and tied well with the story. EXCEPT HALLELUJAH. i use that song as an alarm clock and kind of despsie the way they used it in the movie. Also, I think Tyler Bates did a great job composing, especially with "I Love You" it's a really good song.
The nudity of the film was a problem to some people? I found that I didn't mind Dr. Manhattan walking around naked because I was preoccupied with the fact that he was blue.
The violence was horrifying, but we're adapted straight from the novel so I can't complain. It was just so harrowing to see something so horrific brought from pictures to film, it made the actions and scenes a lot more disturbing seeing them acted out. That's another point I'm going to make about the adaptation, it made a lot of things feel more real than just reading it. I connected more with the movie than the book, but I enjoyed the plot of the book more.
My favorite scene in both, though, is Dr. Manhattan on Mars. I don't want to give anything away, but the meaning and emotion behind the whole scene coupled with the amazing effects just made it awesome.

Overall, I liked the movie. If I hadn't read the book I would've loved it. As usual, I guess, the book is so much better.


but really, don't even bother about what I say, just listen to what Pruane2 has to say

We shall not cease from exploring.

When I was younger, my dad would always attempt to make me a cooler little child. He made me read books I've never heard of, listen to music whose lyrics blew high above my head, and made me watch movies inappropriate for even 16 year old Kat. 

One day though, we sat down in front of HBO. It was one of those days when nothing needs to be done because you decided not to do anything. On the T.V. was "Fog of War." It's an award winning documentary by Errol Morris that in essence is just a two hour interview. I'm going to estimate and say I was ten, but my young mind and inability to sit still did not stop me from watching every second of this amazing documentary, and luckily for me I remembered the title and watched it again today, and yesterday.

Ok, so I don't understand how 10 year old Kat appreciated it so much. It's an amazing series of revealing lessons, eleven in all, that are woven into the story of Robert McNamara's life. 10 year old Kat wasn't the avid history buff that 16 year old Kat is, so why did she enjoy it so much?

I HAVE NO CLUE BUT IT'S AMAZING.

The lessons that McNamara portrays are so broad and universal, but he exceptionally expresses how he learned each one in his time during World War 2 as a bombing statistician, as president of Ford, or as Secretary of War under Kennedy and Johnson. 

All the lessons hit home, but my favorite is the eleventh, "You can't change human nature." 

McNamara explains this "We all make mistakes. We know we make mistakes... war is so complex it's beyond the ability of the human mind to comprehend all the variables. Our judgement, our understading, are not adequate. And we kill people unnecessarily."

It is human nature to make mistakes, even the most horrid of ones. McNamara played a huge role in the Vietnam War, and because of measures he approved, such as Agent Orange, people died. 

But, on a lighter note, his full name is Robert Strange McNamara and I thought that was awesome

and also his wife is a cutie

here's a clip from a scene about B20 bombers and McNamara's colleage Lemay, who epitomized Lesson #9, "in order to do good, you may have to engage in evil." It also goes on to explain the bombing of Tokyo, which is kind of heartbreaking.

I could go on forever about this movie, but I really would love everyone in the world to see it and love it to. This is a tough aspiration though because I doubt everyone else shares my intense love of history coupled with a documentary infatuation. I don't know if I can call it inspiring, even though I want to. I'm not inspired to go and drop incendiary bombs on Vietnam, but the lessons he portrays are really worthwhile.