ZDONK

Jeff Katz – founder and CEO of American Original, Comic Book author, Producer, former Executive at New Line, ZDONK Board Member, etc, etc, etc — has launched the genre consumer’s response to The Huffington Post. GeekWeek is a one-stop shop for everything…well, geek.

The design is an amalgamation of Newsweek and the NY Post. It’s layout is simple and easy to navigate. He’s got writers from all the major Cinephile sites and geek blogs — JoBlo.com, IGN, amongst others — and seems to be the first aggregator that understands a seemingly basic fact…

The worlds of gaming, sports, wrestling, movies, comics, music, tech, etc have a huge crossover in their fan bases. If I knew how to draw a Venn Diagram using Wordpress (help would be much appreciated in the comments) the area where the many circles intersect would be huge. I’d be right smack in the middle.

Now I don’t have to go to wired for my tech news, bleedingcool for my comic news, joblo for my film news, profootballtalk for my football news — it’s all under one roof at Geekweek.com

If you’re a movie fan who loves football and wants to download a cheat code so they can beat their friends in Call of Duty on XBOX Live while talking about Chris Jericho’s performance in Smackdown, then you better check it out.

If anyone can pull it off, it’s Jeff Katz. He was probably doing all of that last night.

(Follow GeekWeek on Twitter)

Went to the premier of Zombieland last week with Ally and thought it’d be interesting to compare our thoughts…it’s a post-apocalyptic Zombie comedy about a plain-vanilla, scared-of-life dude who never appreciated human-to-human interaction until all the humans were gone, and he, by following a strict set of rules, managed to be one of the only survivors in Z-Land.

It’s an awesomely unconventional coming of age story where the main character learns to appreciate the little things while evading blood-thirsty zombies and searching for twinkies with an angry, hilarious Zombie killing machine, Woody Harrelson.

Don’t want to drop any spoilers, so I’m keeping it short:

My thoughts — It was more fun than SHAUN OF THE DEAD (the most comparable movie I can think of), and if Zombie Comedy were a category, it would be the most entertaining, accessible Zombie Comedy of all time.

Her thoughts — She loved the tone, the tongue-in-cheek gore and Woody Harrelson, but didn’t appreciate the ode to Ghostbusters and the overly campy cameo. Overall, she really liked it (means a lot coming from someone whose favorite movies are PRETTY WOMAN and PRIDE & PREJUDICE).

Definitely one of the most enjoyable movies of the year, and since Surrogates probably won’t be raking in the dough in its second week, I’d guess this movie exceeds expectations.

Clip:

Last Monday I saw a screening of DISTRICT 9 at Sony. For me, it was the movie of the summer.

The story takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa, the scene of an increasingly heated co-existence between the native humans and the extraterrestrial refugees who have taken up permanent residence. The main character is an annoyingly optimistic MNU (a UN-ish force that monitors the alien refugees) employee, Wikus van der Merwe, who has to oversee the transfer of the extraterrestrials from their current dwelling in District 9, underneath the shadow of their long hovering spaceship, to a more remote location in District 10.

After being exposed to a gooey substance, Wikus’ DNA begins to transform, and he slowly morphs into a “prawn” (the derogatory term used to classify the aliens). We follow Wikus’ journey to try and fight the mutation while being hotly pursued by government agents wanting to turn him into a science project limb-by-limb (because of the DNA transfusion, he is able to operate the alien weapons) and Nigerian warlords wanting to dismember his various body parts for their witchdoctors.

The story is refreshingly original, and the Cloverfield-esque style of filmmaking immediately brings you into Wikus’ world. The first act very effectively establishes the varying degrees of hostility between humans and “prawns” with a bizarrely tense humor before throwing you into an incredible amount of blood and gore as every level of society reveals its immoral core.

The fact that this film was made for around $30m and looked every bit as good as TRANSFORMERS or TERMINATOR should mean that Neill Blomkamp (Peter Jackson’s editor on LORD OF THE RINGS) is a Director to watch. I understand that the Michael Bay’s of the world are making crazy up-front bank, and taking first out gross, but there’s no way this accounts for the disgustingly inflated budgets of many of the non-3D summer Blockbusters.

This film should be profitable for Sony (and I’m sure Peter Jackson will do his fair share), to say the least. I met with a member of our Board of Directors earlier today who predicted that DISTRICT 9 could even have the legs to eat into the opening of INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, the following week. We’ll see.

Oh yeah, also interesting: Sony covered park benches everywhere with signs “for humans only” and a number to report non-humans. Supposedly thousands of people are calling in and reporting non-humans…except they’re serious. I was told you could listen to the voice messages, can’t find the URL. Here’s the site if you want to look - DISTRICT 9.

Spoilers ahead…

I can safely say what many fans have been saying in the last couple of days: Go see Watchmen if only for the fact that it exists. Because that, dear readers, does merit celebration. Now, in the turbulent sea of reactions this movie has generated you will find every compliment and criticism a director can attain. Some have called Snyder the violator of a cultural masterpiece, some have heralded him as a creative genius. Through this diversity of opinion we see that regardless of what you think, this movie got people talking…a lot.

Alan Moore’s disappointment aside, Watchmen always had the potential to be a visually stunning movie. On that note Snyder didn’t fail. He took on the thankless task of creating a movie out of something that should in an ideal world perhaps have been an HBO ten part mini-series. He brought it to vivid life, while staying true to the page. I only wish he had stayed true to the dialogue.

That brings me to my main critiques, and though they are probably unoriginal and shared by thousands, I still have to vent. Snyder should have never presumed to write over Moore! Removing is fine Zack, adding is not. I went into the movie accepting that I was not going to see the Monster ending, and even welcomed the Doc Manhattan frame up as a plausible alternative…but re-writing Rorshach? Doc Manhattan? Overplaying the love story and characters of Dan and Laurie while downplaying the two characters people love most?  Where was the full Walter Kovacs prison conversation, illustrating the deep and fascinating psychology of a traumatized mind? Where were the philosophical musings of Doc Manhattan on Mars, which lend the reader a glimpse into the concept of seeing the world objectively and without linear time?

We can accept that a movie has to sacrifice certain aspects of the source material, but don’t linger on the boring parts and blow through scenes originated from the deepest portions of the book. And speaking of complete deviations: Veidt’s new masterstoke didn’t sell. It was revealed as a rushed, highly convenient set up. It seemed almost weird that the world would unite as a result of the attacks. How did people so quickly conclude that this was Doc Manhattan punishing them for their violent nature? Furthermore, Veidt seemed so cold and smug. In the book you struggle to hate him and his horrific actions, as he appears to be an intelligent man making an impossible decision to save mankind. Here it was just arrogant and villainous.

Lastly, I have to say, I found the music to be rather distracting. It worked wonderfully in the opening credits, but an epic has no place for famous classics like Bob Dylan and Frank Sinatra. Epics need original instrumental compositions, not songs with lyrics that give the movie a locked in shelf life. Think Batman…not a lyric in the whole movie, thanks to Hans Zimmer.

OK, I got that all off my chest…

Now I can say, that overall it was good. And I know that may sound paradoxically positive in light of my earlier remarks, but I did enjoy seeing it. Despite my loyalty to the book, and my various disappointments, Watchmen was overall an engaged, mature and entertaining epic born from the best of graphic novels. Snyder…you probably haven’t lost that many fans.

And as for whether this movie will be considered a success, both artistically and financially. Take a look at the reviews out there: Some are articulate, some are not. Some are scathing, some are adoring. But you can’t come across a movie site in the world that isn’t writing about Watchmen right now. So in that regard…well done Mr Snyder.

Watchmen: Visually stunning, but uneven

Watchmen: Good, but not Great

Watchmen: A case study in the inherent differences between comics and film

Roger Ebert: The film is rich enough to be seen more than once

Don’t mess with the fan boys…

“A prick…Zack Snyder is…”

In about 10 days “Watchmen” will finally hit theaters (the movie poster with the big blue man on it). I say ‘finally’ because Watchmen has been a potential movie project for two decades now, having gone through several studios and directors. If you’ve read the book, you know why. Watchmen is, and always will be regardless of how well it does in theaters, the novel that can never truly be translated to film. So what are we to expect?

Well, from the following review it seems Watchmen is going to meet or exceed most expectations.

This is probably not the first you’ve read or heard about the Watchmen, even if you haven’t read the source material. It’s not Jane Austen being put to film here, this IS the holy grail of comics and has been for over 20 years. Geeky as it may be, many people are excited, anxious or unknowing. Read any blog discussion (there are several) and you can gauge the excitement. Some are even organizing dinner parties to discuss it. Meanwhile, mainstream sites fight for exclusive clips, every one of them watched eagerly by fans. There’s that much of a following, and for good reason. To read Watchmen is to become an instant fan. It doesn’t matter if you just tried it for the first time or you’re a well versed comic scholar, Watchmen is the greatest piece of graphic literature ever committed to paper. It is the Gold standard. It is…the Beatles.

Enough hyperbole though, let’s discuss what we might subject ourselves to in a couple of days.

Taking the optimistic angle, which seems to be most people’s approach, it’ll be another entertaining Hollywood blockbuster. It won’t be a PG hit to attract kids, but rather a gritty R rated spectacle…instantly a cultural phenomenon. It might get a new generation to read the original work, elevating the literary worth of the comic as the Dark Knight and first X-men movies have done.

Pessimistically, Snyder might utterly fail to meet the expectations of us spoiled comic brats and our overinflated expectations. To be fair, how do you tell someone how to enjoy something they love? It will be difficult to accept a literary masterpiece getting turned into a simplified blockbuster.

The Watchmen project is filled with these paradoxes. On one end it’s an amazing piece of visual art and requires a visionary to bring it to screen. In that regard, it’s a good thing they put the guy who did 300 on it. On the other hand, it’s dense with intelligent dialogue, complex plot twists and deep philosophies…so why did they put the guy who did 300 on it?

I intend to watch Watchmen with an open mind, a few grains of salt and a lot of hope. I can’t expect too much, but at the same time, I know how much great material there is to be translated to film.

One final note: I’m not one for spoilers, but the F.S.R. review did mention one line that bothered me:

“…while an omission from the source has been wisely altered to make the ending a tad more palatable though the true end result is exactly the same”

When Snyder first took the helm on this project, people immediately speculated and predicted which aspects of the novel he’d drop, “interpret” or just plain change. I’m rational enough to admit that plenty of the things about the novel could go for the sake of realistically creating a movie, but I’ve always stood by one conclusion about the Watchmen: Don’t touch the ending! The exact events, the fate of the characters and the very last image of the book tie the whole story together. Now, despite this opinion, it’s been confirmed that Snyder has taken the opposite route. Without giving anything away this alternative ending, according to some, is as equally strong as the original…we’ll see.

See you all on the 6th, good luck Mr. Snyder

People are abuzz over the news that Sacha Baron Cohen has another mega-hit in the pipeline. This time the ‘voice of Austrian youth TV’ will explore our great nation. The current working title is: Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt.

By the sounds of it, the movie will probably take the lovable Austrian protagonist on a pan-American journey through such iconic locales as New York’s catwalks, Daytona’s ‘Gay’ beaches, and anywhere else he can gauge this country’s fashion pulse. It feels a lot like the Borat movie, except this time it’s Bruno — it will probably kill at the box office, and rightly so.

Sacha Baron Cohen might be the funniest person in Hollywood because he never allows his celebrity to overcast his comedic personas. Other comedians sometimes utilize the appeal of their celebrity in a role, and the audience ends up laughing at the actor rather than the character. Cohen always manages to reinvent himself with quality characters that don’t rely on their predecessors.

Next year we can look forward to him offering us a comedic Sherlock Holmes to Will Ferrell’s Watson. I got my hands on the script and gave it a read — its going to be really good. The public hasn’t had a Sherlock Holmes movie in decades, and now they will have two to choose from: Robert Downey Jr. is starring as Sherlock and Jude Law as Watson in another version of the tale. Both movies interestingly enough will be released around November 2009.

The new 007 flick: Quantum of Solace hits theaters tomorrow. A friend of mine saw an early screening and said the film uses every penny of its $261 million dollar production budget to deliver huge stunts from exotic locations. At 106 minutes, Quantum of Solace is the most expensive film per minute according to Nikki Finke’s blog, Deadline Hollywood. For all you whiz kids that’s almost $2.5 million every sixty seconds.

Any amount of money can be thrown into a movie and for the most part, people will be impressed by the production value. But I’ve heard good things about the story of Quantum of Solace, and I think Daniel Craig might be the second best James Bond behind the legendary Sean Connery.

Daniel Craig puts on a solid performance as 007, but the last installment of the franchise, Casino Royale played more like a Bourne Identity/Ultimatum film than your traditional Bond flick. Lots of hand held camera work and hand to hand combat. The action scenes even have that gritty, grainy film quality that the Bourne franchises use.

That style is certainly a popular trend for action films, but James Bond better not become Jason Bourne. The fact they share the same initials is enough for me.

Last night, a good buddy of mine who works for Universal got me into the screening of the upcoming movie Role Models, starring Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott. Those two weren’t at the screening, but the director David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer) showed up with some of his regulars to greet the audience.

It was a pretty lively crowd too, which always makes it more fun. While David Wain and some of the cast were presenting the film, some drunk audience member shouted out: “Sign my Wet Hot American Summer!”

The whole theater grew silent, trying to process what that meant, until David Wain, on cue with the mic in hand, responds: “Is that code for dick? If it is, then yes, absolutely. But we might need a fine tipped sharpie”. Zing!

There was even a Universal employee dressed up in the Minotaur outfit throwing t-shirts to the crowd. Theatrics aside, the movie itself was funny, and pretty enjoyable. The movie is about two immature friends (Rudd and Sean William Scott) who are sentenced to 150 hours of community service after crashing their car into school property. Their lawyer (Rudd’s love interest, played by Elizabeth Banks) refers them to a big brother type of outreach program where they are partnered up with kids in need of a mentor.

Paul Rudd and Sean William Scott gave solid performances, but the supporting cast was outstanding – David Wain can cast the shit out a movie. I was most excited to see Bobb’e J. Thompson from the Human Giant comedy sketch “Shutterbugs” among other things. He was definitely funny, and delivered when he had to, but Jane Lynch stole the show. She played Gayle Sweeney, the head of Sturdy Wings (the big brother mentor program), and loves hot dogs – you’ll see.

The movie explored the same kind of misfit culture that Wet Hot American Summer did so successfully, and balanced out humor with heart as well. The beginning of the film dragged a bit, and I didn’t totally buy into Rudd and Sean William Scott’s characters needing some sort of life changing reformation, but the pace really picked up when they entered the Sturdy Winds program.

The last couple scenes had great energy and tied the whole thing together without being too sappy or cheap. I never thought a pretend fight battle royale could be so entertaining.

The movie comes out November 7th – I would definitely recommend checking it out.