Retro-Blog: V for Vendetta Commentary

Short commentary.

V for Vendetta is an excellent film. I know Alan Moore (the writer of the original comic) hates it based on the script, but I think the film is extremely well-made. However, this isn't about how good I thought it was...if you even care about that, you can read my mini-review. Here, I just want to note a few of my thoughts after watching it.

In the film, the main character is trying to release Great Britain from the hold of a tryannical chancellor. It made me better appreciate our Constitution and the freedoms that we have, because whether the president is Bill Clinton or George W., we are still allowed to speak our minds regarding how we feel about him.

I guess I could be wrong, by I don't think Will Ferrell's ever been kidnapped and beaten by agents of the government for mocking the president.

Of course, if you're a female entertainer who airs your griefs on foreign soil, you might get hate mail and death threats from his supporters, but at least they're not from the government.

I realize it’s a fictional story, but regardless of what you think about the film itself, or the main character's actions, I'm not sure how you could watch this film and not come away with a greater appreciation of the freedoms that we have.

Retro-Blog: V for Vendetta

It's late, so I just want to note that I just got back from the movie.

It was a fascinating experience.

I can't wait to see it on IMAX.

That's all I have to say about that. I'm going to bed.

Retro-Blog: Opening Weekend

I'm going to see V for Vendetta tonight - nothing like seeing a comic book film on opening weekend! I'm looking forward to see if it's bad as Alan Moore thinks.

Quote of the Day
They were written to be impossible to reproduce in terms of cinema. And so, why not leave them simply as a comic in the way that they were intended to be? And if you are going to make them into films, please try to make them into better ones than the ones that I have been cursed with thus far.
-Alan Moore on the comics and graphic novels he's written (From Hell, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta)

Retro-Blog: Mirrormask and Comic Book Movie Stuff

I saw Mirrormask last night - truly an amazing film. Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean at their best. Another film I'm kicking myself for not seeing at the theater. Gaiman weaves an exotic tapestry of a story and Mckean applies it to canvas. [Did I mix too many forms of art there?] Dark and bright all at the same time, it's the kind of film that leaves you awestruck. Rent it or buy it or something...just see it.

Here are a couple of interesting articles intertwining Mirrormask and Comic Book Movies:

'$1m a minute to film? No problem' by Neil Gaiman

Best quote from the article:

Comics are one step in the digestive process of Hollywood eating itself.
-Alan Moore

It’s not always who draws wins by Dominic Wells

Best quote from the article:

Basically, it’s the work of two thwarted and impotent liberals who want to say how annoyed they are with their President, but want to do so in a safe way — by setting it in a fantasy Great Britain.
-(again) Alan Moore, describing the film V for Vendetta - the Wachowski-adapted version of the Moore graphic novel of the same name

Retro-Blog: Ultraviolet, Comic Book Movie

Pure, pure comic book, indeed.

That quote from writer/director Kurt Wimmer proved more prophetic than statement of fact.

I saw Ultraviolet this weekend, and I'm glad I did - it was well worth the watch. I won't spoil all the comic connections here (check out my review for a more in-depth discussion), but the film has an intense comic book feel. And it appears that all the internet references to the obscure European comic was a sly marketing ploy akin to what Mark Hamill did with Comic Book: The Movie, albeit with a little more cash behind it.

The movie started extremely strong, but kind of languished in the middle. It ended stronger, but if it could have maintained it's intensity, it could have been an excellent film, rather than just a good film.

I remember thinking something similar at the end of Wimmer's Equilibrium where the climactic end lost something...I think his movies would have more success, if he could maintain what he does right with some consistency throughout a film.

I have to get in one more comic book connection (external to the film): Milla Jovovich has a quote in an article I saw over at ComingSoon.net, comparing her protagonist in Resident Evil (Alice) with Violet in this film:

I think Violet is very much like some mythological character I had in my head, where Alice is a bit more of a modern character in my head. Violet was kind of all my dreams of being a ninja my whole life, like coming true in this moment. There was a bit more of that comic book edge so it was a bit brighter.