Thursday, March 26, 2009

Rorschach!





Rorschach is one of the most interesting characters in the Watchmen and so I thought I would do some fun sketches of him. He is an interesting symbol of justice, and you have to love the mask. Done in Painter X and Photoshop, about half and half.

Watchmen Movie Review




Hi Guys, here is my late review of the Watchmen movie. For anyone who has read the graphic novel you will definitely know that the novel lives up to the hype. So how does director Zack Snyder's interpretation work on the big screen? Well, the short answer is not very well. Visually the movie brings the illustrations of Dave Gibbons to stunning realization. This along with the fantastic opening credit sequence are the two high points. From there on it becomes a noble failure. Casting was great in that they used less known actors, but their were some weakspots, like Mathew Goode, and Malin Akerman. Malin Akerman looks like Laurie but, fails to capture Laurie's character. Mathew Goode is a good actor just not right for the role
of Ozymandias. The music is one of the most dissappointing parts of the movie and is probably the worst in a movie I have seen. It is jarring and missed placed and pulls you out of any emotional scene. It also adds to the dairy farm sized amount of cheese in the movie, that is not in the novel. The story is pretty much untouched except for the ending which was not well done. There were also a few parts that were changed to up the gore factor. Also there is a graphic sex scene which comes off like comic geek porn and is pretty much an insult. The main gripe I have with the movie is that the movie strips any emotional connection with the characters and ruins the detective story. The end of the world is imminent and as viewers you don't really care. In the end, the movie becomes a shallow visual companion to the great graphic novel. Watch it to satisfied your curiousity and at best it should be a rental.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

New Cameras like to Travel...








Hi guys, we recently got a new Nikon D40 camera and we have been having a great time learning to master its power. Here is a sample of some of my wife, Margaret's, lovely skills with the camera. The first is a still life she set up, and the second is a preview from our recent weekend trip to Asheville where we got to do some nice relaxing in a great bed and breakfast.

Asheville Trip

Margaret Photo*




Margaret Photo*


Margaret Photo*

Asheville Trip Continued...

Margaret Photo*





Margaret Photo*