If My Marriage Was A Child...

If My Marriage Was A Child...

... It'd be old enough to vote today.

At this time 18 years ago, I was standing outside a church posing for pictures with my stomach tied up in knots, because in just a few hours I was going to marry the woman I loved more than life itself.

The wedding itself went well, though I don't remember much of it. All of my memories of the ceremony are of Melissa. I couldn't take my eyes off her, not even when my younger brother Micah fainted from locking his knees.

Since then, through ups and downs, tragedies and triumphant joys, Melissa's been there for me when I needed her, and I've done my best to be there for her.

I wouldn't trade a second of that, not the times we were so angry at each other we couldn't talk rationally, not the times our hearts were broken, none of it. The bad parts are more than made up for by the good parts, and the whole package fills me with joy every time I think about it.

Happy Anniversary, Melissa. You're one of the best things that's ever happened to me, and if the first 18 years make me this happy, I can't wait to see what the next 50 look like.

Who Watched The Watchmen?

Who Watched The Watchmen?

Saw 'Watchmen' last night.

What really worked:
Rorschach
The Comedian
The prison stuff
The 'world history in 5 minutes' montage at the beginning
Rorshach's death
The art direction

What didn't quite work:
Veidt's reveal
The coda w/ Sally Jupiter
Silk Sprectre II
Not enough Bernie/Bernard

It wasn't the differences per se, or the more faithful bits that kept the movie this side of great. It came down to the cuts more than anything else - Moore and Gibbons wove everything into the story, and the cuts removed a lot of the nuances that fleshed out the story. Additionally, the cuts made Moore's already weak depictions of women a lot more problematic.

All in all, it's a good movie, but not quite a great movie. The graphic novel was, for its time, absolutely ground-breaking and shattering of the superhero tropes as we knew them in the mid-eighties. Since then, other comics and superhero movies have been informed by Watchmen, so that we've seen all of this before - maybe not in the same movie all at once, but we've seen it.

I give Snyder full points for having the balls to attempt to adapt Watchmen, and had his source material been less weighted with its own history and the emotional history of its fans, I think he could have had a great film. In the end, though, there's too much to put on the screen and Snyder fell just a wee bit short. And I'm OK with that - I don't think every hit has to be a home run, it's perfectly OK to get a solid base hit.

So I'll go see it again, and I'll go see the Director's Cut when it comes out, and I'll buy the DVD.

I will be interested in reading/hearing the reactions of people that came to the movie without reading the source material.

At Midnight All The Agents...

At Midnight All The Agents...

Tonight's the night - Melissa and I are heading to see 'Watchmen' at 7. It's been a while since I've looked forward to a movie as much as I am this one. Those of you that aren't hip to the comic probably don't get it, and them as got into comics after the late 1980s probably don't get it either. I remember picking up the first issue of this comic and being blown away - Moore and Gibbons did one of the best jobs of world-building ever, and the comic has stood up to multiple readings - there are always new nuggets to discover in the text and art.

The reviews I've seen have, for the most part, been positive. People whose opinions and tastes match mine (Wil Wheaton, f'rex) have raved about it. Still, I could hate it. That's possible. If so, there are no doubt some of you that will be delighted to be able to say, 'I told you so!' That's cool.

Anyhoo, I'm leaving work in a few minutes, and I'll probably post a mini review tomorrow morning.

My favorite quote from the comic:

Heard joke once: Man goes to doctor. Says he's depressed. Says life seems harsh and cruel. Says he feels all alone in a threatening world where what lies ahead is vague and uncertain. Doctor says "Treatment is simple. Great clown Pagliacci is in town tonight. Go and see him. That should pick you up." Man bursts into tears. Says "But Doctor... I am Pagliacci."