Somebody Watched "The Watchmen"

Via Reuters and the Hollywood Reporter, the first review I've seen of "The Watchmen."

Not much enthusiasm or depth of insight in the review. A pretty dry review that you might expect from a trade journal of sorts. They even go so far as to peg the film a flop. That just seems like showboating for no particular reason other than being iconoclastic. But you won't be swayed either way by this particular write-up. I doubt it will be a flop and I'm sure it will be damn interesting - even if it's a fail.

Here's another review - this time from Australia. It was filed at 12AM on February 27, they must be racing to get out there as early as possible.

What they are saying in the land down under sounds a bit more interesting:
"The story teems with weirdness and wild adventure..."

"It won't be forgotten in a hurry..."

"But many extremely violent scenes earning it an MA 15+ rating will hamper its blockbuster hopes. Sex, politics, a nuclear holocaust, copious blood splattering and bone shattering could make Watchmen's mammoth 160 minutes an ordeal for some."

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Smashing Hanson Trick of Wayne

From Billboard.com
"Former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos, Hanson's Taylor Hanson and Fountains Of Wayne bassist Adam Schlesinger have formed a new band, Tinted Windows."

Is this for real? Sounds like a pretty damn amazing band if you ask me. It's a power-pop supergroup. All they need now is Ron Dante singing lead (and a Saturday-morning cartoon show. And flexi-discs on the backs of cereal boxes.)

**P.S. Ron Dante's website has a free MP3 of a truly amazing song:
"Aunt Matilda's Double Yummy Blow Your Mind Out Brownies"

"..Alice is there and the rabbit is too,
Everyone there is waiting for you..."

The mind reels. My new favorite song.

Behind the Scenes of 'Coraline'

Sculptor Damon Bard's website has some very cool images of 'Coraline' maquettes and models as well as a couple shots of the large scale sets.

Mr. Bard is apparently the go-to-guy for this kind of sculpting and development. Besides 'Coraline' he has created sculpts for 'Ratatouille', 'Madagascar', 'Over the Hedge' and all sorts of interesting projects. Geeks of all ages will appreciate this early version of a 'Mars Attacks' dude.

I wish I could create characters in clay and just scan the damn things. CGI modeling is not the way to create interesting organic-looking models. As I write, I am struggling to create a passable, on-model version of Quick Draw McGraw in Lightwave. Not an easy task.

'Coraline' => 'Nightmare Before Christmas'

Not much I'm going to be able to add to the deserved buzz around Henry Selick's 'Coraline' other than to implore you to see it as soon as possible. 'Coraline' is miles beyond "Nightmare Before Christmas" both technically and aesthetically. And it's much more fun than the flawed (but still interesting) "James and the Giant Peach."

My only real caveat is the 3D presentation and that's probably my own damn problem. I've got a pretty wack lazy eye and my depth-perception is rather lacking in the real world. I have been watching 3D stuff in theatres since at least 'Jaws 3D' and have never seen anything that works for me (with the exceptions being certain parts of Disneyland's 'Captain EO' and the title credits of 'Friday the 13th 3D.') So the 3D effect was lost on me. I am almost wholly depth-perception challenged-please feel free to direct me to the appropriate support group.

I will note for the record that the snazzy glasses were quite comfortable and while the depth effect was nil (to me) it was akin to watching an ordinary print (although I still had to wear the glasses.) I flipped the faux-Ray Bans up from time to time and noticed that sometimes the image looked like a normal print (although a bit brighter, like a slightly over-exposed print) and the 3D stuff was only used in scenes where it would deliver a really pronounced effect. 3D only seems to work on stuff moving along a horizontal access. So putting it out in 3D may have been an afterthought. A couple obvious in-your-face tricks stand out but nothing that is going to seem inappropriate if you have to see this in plain ol' 2-dimensions.

Probably one of the best looking stop-motion works ever.

Jerry Beck's Cartoon Brew led me to some interesting articles on 'Coraline' and Henry Selick. Like a cool interview with Selick here on the AVClub and another one over at Aint It Cool.