Happythankyoumoreplease (2010)

3/5

Happythankyoumoreplease is another middle-of-the-road quirky indie comedy, but what this one has that no other one has is an annoying title that omits spaces for no reason whatsoever. The plot follows three couples in New York: 1) Sam (Radnor) and Mississippi (Mara) after a three-night stand, 2) Annie (Akerman) and Sam #2 (Hale) in a workplace romance, and 3) Mary Catherine (Kazan) and Charlie (Schreiber) with an unexpected pregnancy. I really don't have much to say about this movie, except that it is exactly what I expected based on the preview.

It's about six 20-something romantics and their sex lives, who try to find grand meaning in the smallest details of their boring lives. The characters were bland and uninteresting; nobody had a backstory to make them fleshed out or complex. The acting was equally unmemorable and flat. The movie's saving grace was the humor (yes, it was funny), but the script overall was pretty weak. (And I always hate it when people try to argue that New York is the greatest city in the world when we all know it's Chicago.) And although they feel trite and overused, the movie's messages are thoughtful and real. It's a happy enough indie movie that's enjoyable enough to sit through without feeling like your time was wasted, but it's nothing to write home about.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1481572/

Watchmen (2009)

4/5

Watchmen was not as bad as I expected. I expected another 300, but I got something much better. After seeing both, I realized that Zack Snyder does little to alter, either improve or tarnish, the source material he is given. As far as graphic novels are concerned, Frank Miller's 300 sucks and Alan Moore's Watchmen rocks. Everything I liked about this movie originated from Alan Moore--the believable story, the complex characters, the mature mood and atmosphere. Everything I didn't like originated from Zack Snyder--the incessant slow-motion, the bad special effects, the poor music choices. There is one thing I will credit Zack Snyder with adapting successfully, and that is the intro credit sequence to backdrop the story's timeline.

Still, there were a number of changes Snyder should have made to make the adaptation more successful. First, it should have been around 2 hours (instead of 2 hours 45 minutes) and more focused. Snyder allowed extraneous material to bog down the pacing and confuse the audience. Second, there was way too much nudity, especially of a certain blue penis. (Also, why does Dr. Manhattan have eyebrows but no pubic hair?) Third, the actors spoke with comic book stylings, which stood as a stark contrast to the mature mood evoked by the movie's story. Fourth, it didn't really explain the universe. Why are these superheroes stronger/faster/smarter than everyone else? How can someone just raise their daughter into a career of crime-fighting? Why does Rorschach's mask constantly change ink patterns? How is Ozymandias faster than a speeding bullet? Most of these complaints are minor, but I often think of them when I think of this movie. Still, Watchmen is an altogether enjoyable experience and one I would highly recommend to people who are curious as to what might really happen in an alternate universe of superheroes.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0409459/