Posted on by mwhybark

All along the Watchmentower

I’ve been amusedly following the reviews for Zak Snyder’s “Watchmen.” The news, it seems, is not so good. Most of the negative reviews have been by relatively thoughtless reviewers, a few have been reviews that contained worthwhile critiques, and a vanishingly small number have been by folks who understand the brilliance of the original comic and have consequently approached the film with a strong sense of trepidation.

Only The New York Times‘ A. O. Scott, however, included this sentence:

Indeed, the ideal viewer — or reviewer, as the case may be — of the “Watchmen” movie would probably be a mid-’80s college sophomore with a smattering of Nietzsche, an extensive record collection and a comic-book nerd for a roommate.



As it happens, in 1986 and 1987, when the original series was coming out and i was hungrily devouring it (and The Dark Knight Returns and the first run of Love and Rockets, among others) I was:

  • a college sophomore

I had

  • an extensive record collection
  • a smattering of Nietzche
  • a comic-book nerd for a roomate

For the record, I preferred and continue to prefer Debord, thank you very much. Also it should be well-noted that I actually roomed with several comic-book nerds, including yours truly, and perhaps ‘nerd’ fails to capture the social and sexual dynamism of that household.

Posted on by mwhybark

City and the Night

Watched “Night and the City” (Widmark, Tierney, more) on Friday, giggling. Widmark is a semi-sympathetic American hustler in ’40s London, the the film is largely shot on location. Widmark’s films around this time are usually eye-popping, and this was no exception. I think the last time I saw it was about a decade ago, circumstances long forgot. This vieweing, however, was oddly affected by an unwaaranted notion of geographic familiarity with riverbank London, which features prominently in the film.

I was mildly puzzled by this, having only passed through London once over a few days as a teenager, until I realized it was due to a video game I am playing on and off which features a grossly-accurate 3-D model of London during the Blitz, over which I, as a videogame player, fly over and over and over, with particular attention to an extended run along the Thames ending at the Tower of London, just beyond the Tower Bridge, which is the featured setting for the film’s conclusion.

It was one of those odd virtual familiarity experiences which were once confined to dreams, remembered dreams, and the deja vu experience. It still feels peculiar, despite the quotidian explication to hand.