Review of Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter DVD

Those of you who have read the book know well the story of the sea captain driven mad after an attack by the demonic crew of The Black Freighter. In this animated retelling of the comic-book-within-a-comic-book, we have 300’s Gerard Butler as the voice of the sea captain, minus his inexplicable Scottish accent he used for his Spartan character in 300. The animation is great, and it is nice to experience the tale outside the realm of the larger Watchmen story. In a way, it pulls you deeper into the captain’s world as he slowly loses his grip on reality. In the book, the tale serves as reinforcement of what is happening in the main story, but is difficult to appreciate in and of itself. This DVD allows that to occur. The Tales of the Black Freighter (subtitled Marooned! in the graphic novel) clocks in at 26 minutes.

Also on the DVD is Under the Hood which is done in a documentary style. Not only does it have Hollis Mason (the first Nite Owl) talking about the formation of the Minuteman, but it also pulls other elements of the Watchmen mythology into play as well. For anyone who has seen the movie, this DVD takes you deeper in the the Watchmen world. The DVD has a behind the scenes look at both features, too. If you have seen the movie, but haven’t read the book, you will want to watch this feature (called Story within a Story: The Books of Watchmen) first so you understand it’s place in the story. Or better yet, buy the book to truly get the full Watchmen experience. Aside from this is a behind the scenes look at the animated Green Latern movie and chapter one of Watchmen, the motion comic. This feature is essentially screenshots of the orginal comic with sound effects and voice talent. The latter of which is the most horrendous example of acting I have ever witnessed. It’s almost as if they recorded these actors as they read the script for the first time.

And for some inexplicable reason, the voice of Laurie Juspeczyk/Silk Spectre 2 is performed by a guy.

Luckily this feature is not a main proponent of the DVD, but more of a little extra thrown in for our amusement (it amused me, at any rate). The DVD as a whole is a must for fans of the movie, and even more so for fans of the novel.

Scarlett Johanssen signed on For Iron Man 2

Yesterday, E! Online revealed that actress Scarlett Johannsen will be playing the role of deadly russian superspy Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. The Black Widow, in Iron Man 2. Mickey Rourke seems likely to play Marvel villian Whiplash. Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle have already signed on for the sequel to last Summer’s blockbuster.
In related news, Johanssen’s co-star from The Other Boleyn Girl, Natalie Portman, is set to co-star in 2010’s big screen adaption of Thor. However, it is unclear at this time which character she will be playing.

Alan Moore Talks Watchmen

Alan Moore talking about his graphic novel, Watchmen, back in 2007…