Watchmen a twisted treat

After finally seeing Watchmen in theaters, I have to say that I was a little surprised in general, though pleasantly. I was expecting X-Men, but got a cross between Sin City and Mystery Men. While many moments contained the raw, edgy action of City, there were other moments of unintentional comedy.

While the film is crazy long, the pace is such that it feels like it's right, or else something would have been left out. It progresses much like a comic book or graphic novel, with disjointed sections and sometimes rough transitions, but nothing that you can't put together as time progresses, despite the Nancy Drews thinking that talking in the theater is alright so long as they're revealing some wholly obvious plot twist in case the brain-dead among us missed it.

The look and feel of the film is top shelf: great use of color, effects, and sound. The inevitable CGI doesn't ruin your immersion like in many lower-budget flicks. The role of Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach is amazing, and worth the price of admission alone.

That said, Watchmen is not for everyone. If you're expecting Sin City or Batman then you may leave disappointed, as there is as much time spent on story and character development as there is on setting up the next action sequence.

But if you're patient and can suspend your disbelief a little at some less-than-likely loose ends, Watchmen is sure to entertain and warrants a couple of views to fully soak in its message and the depth of its story and characters, assuming you can check your impatience and your political leanings at the door.

New to DVD: "Role Models"

The latest Paul Rudd film - Role Models - sports a cast with which it's hard to miss the mark, both Rudd and Sean William Scott - a team that could make you laugh just standing there. And the premise isn't bad, since there's nothing more entertaining than a good meltdown scene (Jerry McGuire, Nothing to Lose) followed by the chance to corrupt young adults by showing them the majesty of the slacker MTV generation.

There is a little of the inevitable moralizing along with the hilly cycle that ends on an up-note, but it doesn't overshadow the humor. However, the film is not nearly as tightly crafted as it really should be. I mean, this isn't going to win any awards or be immortalized, but neither is The 40-year-old Virgin, though that doesn't stop Virgin from being amazing.

Sometimes when the writing is okay and the actors rely on the hits keepin' on a'comin' even a small element of lag can turn a good comedy into a drag. Models does have some slower moments that its overall charm smooths over, but still leaves a slightly pitted road.

Models is worth renting for some pretty solid laughs peppered throughout, but don't count on it leaving you reeling or breaking any comic ground. If a few good chuckles and some entertainment is what you're after, Models will do you just fine.

Theater: "Taken" steals the show

I'll open with the obvious: Taken's plot has been done before. Man of Fire (the original and the remake), The Limey, Get Carter - even Hardcore borders on the same premise: someone goes missing and a bad-ass breaks medieval on all who stand in his way to finding her.

But recycled plots do not mean the film is poorer for it; look how many times the whole wayward tourists has been done, the vampire love story, or the penitent assassin. The question is whether it's done well, and in Taken's case, the answer is an emphatic Yes.

Liam Neeson is an ex-007 type who's trying to reconnect with his daughter, but when she's kidnapped while on vacation in Europe, Neeson has to conjure all his past experience to track her down and make those behind it pay.

Neeson's character, Bryan, is not warm and fuzzy, nor is he the tragic hero a la Washington's character in the aforementioned Man of Fire remake, but your heart and mind are invariably with him from the very beginning as he's the only one who can see the forest for the trees. The film does this well - where the viewer can see things coming much like Neeson sees them, but like other characters cannot. That's not to say there aren't twists: any film with as many Mexican stand-offs is bound to surprise you at some point.

Mostly, I think Taken appeals because we would all like to believe that there is someone out there who cares about us enough to make the kinds of life and death sacrifices and decisions that Neeson makes, or that we ourselves would be willing to make those decisions and take those actions if the ones we love were in the same grave danger.

Either way, it's easy to identify with the passion and desperation in the film, making the non-stop action that much more compelling. While not so full of visuals to mandate a viewing in the theater, this is one you're not going to miss.

Day of the 'Dog: "What Planet Are You From?"

There is very little about today's 'dog - What Planet Are You From? - that doesn’t meet the criteria for great comedy. There's both clever and original situation comedy as Garry Shandling is an alien sent to Earth in order to breed via a prototype reproductive organ (his race never needed such anatomy before).

The writing is witty and well-timed, with no glaring moments where a certain joke or situation has been stretched too thin. Plus, while I like Shandling as a comedian, I am by no means a huge fan, and you certainly don't have to be to enjoy the film.

So why didn't most people like it? It did receive a pretty mediocre 5.4 IMDb rating with few votes, to boot. Which is a real tragedy when you consider how many belly-roll laughs the movie has - moments where you're likely to pause it to get a chance to catch your breath. Annette Bening is (as usual) very good as the alien's "mate."

I suppose it might be due to the very adult and sometimes awkward subject matter - sex, mostly - of the film that caused it to be ignored by most and given a "meh" reaction by many others. While there are no moments even half as cringe-worthy as the most tame Borat sketch, perhaps the candidness of sex and procreation were a little much for the mainstream to latch onto, despite the cleverness and otherwise well-formed comedy.

So let's say that if you are comfortable with films that contain a little more "adult" comedy, then Planet is a real gem that got an undeserved bum rap, and is sure to bring many good laughs (not to mention some wonderful one-liners).

DVD: "Zach and Miri Make a Porno"

There's something oddly satisfying about being a fly on the wall to down-on-their-luck, indolent and uncouth figures such as the two main characters in Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Maybe it's the catharsis of seeing someone else's dreams having not come true, seeing their witty retorts to inevitable judgments of peers, and the all-around downward spiral that you know will eventually lead to salvation (or at least vindication).

In this way, Zack and Miri (played by Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks) are totally believable and highly hilarious, evidenced by the near-flawless high school reunion scene, with a great cameo by Justin Long.

After this point, though, and before the speed picks up before the end, is where I could see Zack and Miri losing some people...though not me. You have to like the particularly lewd but witty comedy of Kevin Smith in order to fully appreciate the more subtle laughs of the film's middle, which relies upon lots of pop-culture references and '80s kids winks and nods that are priceless...if you like that kind of thing. Frankly, though, you shouldn't even bother renting Zack and Miri if you don't.

That said, there is some serious skills being laid down by Banks, who is so completely believable and passionate as Miri. While Jason Mewes was awesome as always, it was Banks who stole the show.

When I first saw Knocked Up, I really enjoyed it, but wasn't ROFL as the truncated lingo of our texting culture might say, and yet - when I saw it again just a week ago - I was instantly re-hooked and found it even more entertaining than before. Perhaps Zack and Miri will have a similar effect; I wouldn't be at all surprised.

But on my first viewing, I'd give it a solid 7.0 with some definite replay quality. This is one you'll likely pop in with some friends even after you've all seen it many times.

Throwback Thursday: "Nobody's Perfect"

Who knows what it was with the '80s and dressing up dudes like chicks and vice versa (Just One of the Guys, Sleepaway Camp, Tootsie), but this week's throwback Nobody's Perfect has got to be among the funniest.

Starring Chad Lowe, who you might remember from CBS School Break Special "No Means No" (hilarious in retrospect), is a love-struck freshman in college who cross-dresses so he can get to know his object of affection. Already a convincing chick, he's coached by clever and likable partner in crime Patrick Breen.

Sure, it's largely situation comedy, but it's well-written with lots of clean laughs (anything that can have cross-dressing and not make one sex joke after another is doing well).

What made it stand out more in my mind is that I must have watched it 1,000 times when I was younger due to a shortage of blank VHS tapes, but even though Perfect had scarcity power, it's still a decent flick. And what it lacks in original plot devices it makes up for in acting and excellent casting.

So put down that copy of Ladybugs and check out Nobody's Perfect. Good for a few laughs and a fitting family movie (the PG-13 kinda family). Just don't watch it so many times that the tape breaks, or it will remain hardwired to your brain like it is mine.

Day of the Doc: "The Obama Deception"

The Obama Deception is another documentary by acclaimed conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, the guy who brought you Terrorstorm: A History of Government-Sponsored Terrorism. What I should preface with is that the doc isn't really about Obama at all, and really does smack of a non-partisan agenda, so don't think that you wouldn't want to see it if you are a lefty or would agree with every word if you're a righty. It's about the power behind the throne, according to Jones.

While I found Jones' 9/11 stuff half interesting, half complete reaching, it and Deception have some notable qualities that your average viewer might like:

1. The films are very well put together. The editing, sound, and especially the graphics are top notch. I'm not sure if it's the same guy putting together all of them, but they are excellently crafted.

2. It's abnormal. We're in a society where 24/7 news can have you all caught up after a month-long news fast in about an hour. However, it's largely the same types of stories on the same subject matters. No matter what you might think of the infowars stuff, at least it's different.

3. It makes no apologies. These films seem to communicate the message of: "I may have been way off the mark 99 times, but if I'm right that one time in a 100, you're gonna wish you'd listened," which is very different from mainstream media. Sure mainstream media is full of crap most of the time, too, but it's not really trying to connect the dots to make a big picture, but just kind of taking this hands-off, we're just here to give you info sort of stance.

While many documentaries end up getting bogged down in repetition and the majesty where's off after about an hour, most of Jones' stuff is about 2 hours long, and is genuinely interesting the whole time. While I'm not sold to the point of molding an aluminum skull cap or checking the skies for black helicopters, some of the things he covers about global warming and the Fed warrant further investigation and are pretty insightful.

So, embrace your inner paranoia and check out The Obama Deception on DVD, no matter how you feel about Jones or Obama. At the very least, you'll be entertained and informed by something other than your typical media.