Sucker Punch!

When it comes directors, Zach Snyder is one of my favorites.  300, Watchmen, and Dawn of the Dead are really entertaining movies.  Snyder is back with a new visually enticing film called Sucker Punch.  Enjoy the trailer!

Review of Watchman: Tales Of The Black Freighter

For those of that aren't familiar with The Watchmen graphic novel, "Tales of the Black Freighter" was a comic book style story within The Watchmen that parallels the novel.  It is about a lone surviving ship captain (voiced by Gerard Butler, you know him from "300" and that odd movie with Jody Foster) who survives a run in with the deadly Black Freighter.  His crew were all killed by the Freighter and he drifts to a small deserted island.  He longs for his family and knows that he must reach his homeland to warn them of the impending doom of the Freighter. The captain sets sail (see boat description below) and barely makes it home alive only to discover he has turned into a depraved and evil man.

This short animated film was dark as hell.  A ton of guts and blood and although I knew what was coming (I read it in the novel), seeing the story animated made it all the more grotesque.  One of the more disgusting moments is watching the ship captain assemble a raft out of the corpses of his fallen crew.  He binds them together as if they were logs and floats on their carcasses out to sea. 

This DVD is quite different and I'm not exactly sure how I feel about it.  I implore you now, if you haven't read the novel go out and purchase it immediately.  It is a great read and it will make your movie going experience all the richer.  That being said, if you haven't read the novel, "Black Freighter" won't make a ton of sense.  It is a short little story that works great in the novel, but as a stand alone entity (at 25 mins) leaves you feeling empty and dark (which I suppose is the point). 

Zach Snyder (director of "Watchmen" and creepy security guard in "Dawn of the Dead") wanted to make this short because it was an important part of the graphic novel.  With the film clocking in at about three hours, there simply wasn't room for anything else.  Many touted Watchmen as a film that couldn't be made because of it's depth and complexity; this was an attempt to fill in the gaps. 

The DVD also included "Under The Hood" which is sort of like a documentary.  In the graphic novel "Under the Hood" consisted of newspaper clippings, photos, and reports all on the back story of the characters in the novel.  I skipped over this section in the graphic novel simply because it was long and I wanted to keep on moving forward with the Watchmen story. Thus I skipped it on the disc as well, and opted to watch the documentary on making of a story within a story (oddly enough I didn't see Alan Moore in any of the behind the scenes clips).  Yes, I am aware that this completely removes me from fan boy status, but alas I label myself as simply a closet geek. 

In closing, if you are curious about this short, and you have read the graphic novel, I suggest you give it a watchmen (you chuckled, admit it!).  If you are a fan boy I know you will purchase this disc, but in all honesty I don't really picture myself watching over and over again.