Ministry of Intrigue

I went to go see Watchmen opening night, and I thought it would be worth my while to jot down some of my thoughts, now that I have had a couple to days to think about the film.

First, a disclaimer, the comics have been out for 20 years, and as such I am unclear of what would be considered a spoiler and I don’t really care. There will be spoilers in this review. If you have not seen/read Watchmen yet, either stop reading this review now or deal with any spoilers you encounter.

Let me start by saying this about Watchmen: in my opinion, it is as faithful a movie adaptation of the comic as we could reasonably expect. It has its flaws, but ultimately Zack Snyder has done a good job bringing the comic to life on the screen. He has captured the look, feel and pace of the comic, and coming in at nearly three hours in duration, Snyder has managed to squeeze in almost every essential scene into the movie, although geek purists may still complain about a few issues. The primary reason for that is that the aforementioned “geek purists” use their ability to identify inconsistencies with the source material and their associated rage as a method of demonstrating dominance in the geek pecking order. In short, that sort of behavior is mostly a pissing match.

So let’s talk about the movie.

In general, I thought the casting for the movie was excellent. Perhaps Adrian Veidt could have been a bit more charismatic, and Malin Akerman’s rendition of Laurie Jupiter was tolerable, but could have been better. However, Billy Crudrup’s Dr. Manhattan, Jeffery Dean Morgan’s Comedian, and Jackie Earl Haley’s Rorschach were all outstanding casting choices, as was Patrick Wilson’s Nite Owl II. The movie would have failed had it cast the lead roles incorrectly, but it succeeded here. I think they probably could have done a better job casting with Nixon, but honestly I don’t care much about him in the movie. He’s a background character in the comic, and only takes a slightly larger role in the movie to help explain to the audience what’s going on politically in this alternate version of 1985.

As you would expect in a Snyder film, the action receives special attention. It’s brutal in the comic, and Snyder definitely brings that to the big screen. There are moments where I think Snyder goes further than the comic, but I have a hard time faulting him for it particularly when he has a modern movie-going audience that’s already seen some gritty comic book movies. I’ve read some reviews where people complain about the violence, particularly in relation to the kidnapping case Rorschach investigates. Complaints seem centered around the sadism of how the little girl was killed, although that’s in the comic too, so the issue is with the established story and not the movie. Admittedly, there is a change here in the movie that some comics fans have an issue with and that is Rorschach’s method of dispatching the kidnapper. The original story had Rorschach handcuffing the criminal to the stove with only a small saw for his wrist and setting the house on fire. I can see one obvious reason why this has been changed: because by now, this has been done in movies and television so many times already that it doesn’t have the same level of impact it once did. In fact, it’s almost passé, so I didn’t have an issue with the change.

Some fans will be disappointed that there is no time devoted in the film for “Tales of the Black Freighter”, the comic within the comic. This has been split out into a separate animated short. In this interview, Snyder says he shot all the in and out scenes at the newsstand in order to incorporate it in the movie, but that we may have to wait for a DVD before we see it integrated into the film. From the interview:

Alan C: We know that the “Black Freighter” is being produced as some sort of add on to the film for home release. What I want to know is will the “Black Freighter” parts cut back and forth to the newsstand and the comic as it does in the book? Will the DVD release have an option to include the “Black Freighter” scenes in context with the film (as they happen in the book) or will it just be a standalone extra?

Zack Snyder: It is my intent right now, and of course all this could change, to create a version of the “Black Freighter” that thread throughout the movie. As I write this, I have already shot the ins and outs of the News Vendor and Bernard… So we’ll try them in the film and then certainly we’ll at least see them on the DVD, but if it works awesome, then it works awesome, and it could end up in the film. I just want to make the best movie I can.

I’ve heard some fans complaining that not enough time was dedicated to Rorschach’s story, and in particular a sense of disappointment that the film wasn’t as character driven as the comic was. This is a valid complaint, but in order to do such a thing without cutting any of the other essential scenes would have required a minimum of another hour of screen time in order to do them properly. The cuts that would have been required in order to pull that off would have had every fan up in arms. Honestly, the only way to do that would have been to film Watchmen as a high budget miniseries, with an episode for each chapter, and even then I’m not sure that would work.

The ending of the film undergoes a slight change, but I have to say, I think it was a better choice within the context of the movie. To establish the original ending would have probably required another 30 minutes or more of build up in the course of the film and honestly, I think this works a bit better than what’s in the comic for the final strike of Veidt’s plan. I’ve always had a problem with the comic’s ending because I feel like it comes out of left field. Moore does his work establishing the design and backstory for the alien beast, but then says that Veidt cloned its brain from human psychics, without ever previously establishing that psychic phenomenon exist in the context of the story. That always felt a little sloppy to me, and especially in deference to making a movie that is not six hours long, the shift in focus to Dr. Manhattan is much better choice for the film.

I’ve heard some people complaining about the way the soundtrack of the movie was handled, it didn’t always fit what was happening on the screen. A lot of the music seemed to be selected by the lyrics that were quoted in the comic, but when the music was put up against the backdrop of the screen it didn’t work. I’ll agree that it was an awkward soundtrack for the film, it probably would have been better to ignore those quotations and just score it based off of the movie itself.

I’ve also read a lot of people complaining about how uncomfortable they were watching the love scene in Nite Owl’s ship. My girlfriend and I both left the movie with the impression it was deliberately shot to be uncomfortably awkward and we found it a little bit funny. It’s an important moment for the two characters, but in the context of the story its also a ridiculous one. I mean, in the comic and the movie, we see that it takes wearing his costume again for Dreiberg to be able to get it up, his self-confidence is so tied into his vigilantism. That being said, that probably could have been expressed with a slightly shorter scene, but in the end I think it works.

I only have one primary complaint about the movie, and it is related to the end, but not the plot change. My issue is with Dr. Manhattan’s departure. In the movie, he explains to Laurie that he is going to another galaxy, and his line “Nothing ever ends” is delivered by Laurie, quoting him. Here’s my issue with this: One of my favorite parts of the original story is that after Veidt has won the complicity of all those involved, and achieved all his goals, he has a moment of self-doubt in his final conversation with Dr. Manhattan (who reveals he is leaving for another galaxy). Veidt asks, “I did the right thing didn’t I? It all worked out in the end.” And Dr. Manhattan replies, “‘In the end’? Nothing ends, Adrian. Nothing ever ends.” Veidt calls out for an explanation, but Dr. Manhattan is already gone. It’s significant, and the way it’s shifted around in the film neuters the line and the moment. In my ideal version of the movie, Adrian Veidt would have had this moment with Dr. Manhattan and the movie would have ended as Veidt sits alone in his dark room trying to understand what Dr. Manhattan’s cryptic answer meant.

All that being said, I think Watchmen was an excellent adaptation of the comic, though not without its flaws. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and am really looking forward to getting my hands on the DVD when it comes out so that I can see the super-nerdy extended cut with everything Snyder had to remove from the film to get it down to just under three hours. I’m particularly excited at the possibility to see a version of the movie with the Black Freighter comic integrated into it. If you haven’t seen the movie yet (in which case why did you read a review filled with spoilers), I recommend you go see it, especially if you are a fan of the comic. If you haven’t read the comic, you may have to watch it more than once to understand everything that is going on, but you should really read the comic anyway.

Final Verdict: The Ministry of Intrigue approves this movie.

I know that I usually write about geekery and tech here, but I do occasionally walk away from my electronics and live in the physical world. This is categorized, appropriately, as a “good thing“. Certainly my girlfriend, friends and family appreciate it. So I thought I’d share with you something from my adventures in meatspace.

I love to cook. I don’t set aside time for it often enough, but I love preparing an elaborate meal that will be enjoyed by others. I collect recipes and cookbooks, although I only rarely refer back to them. Most of my cooking is more like improvisational theater based off of a half-remembered premise rather than a scripted scene, and I rarely record what I come up with, preferring to rely on memory and creativity when I revisit a particular dish. That being said, I did whip up a steak marinade last night that was delicious enough to share with others. It’s not the most elaborate or original recipe in the world, but quite good.

Please note, measurements are not exact, as I’m just estimating on some of them. When I’m cooking I tend to go with “what feels right” rather than a numerical value. I made this marinade for two thick-cut steaks, a ribeye and a New York strip. You may need to adjust the amount of marinade depending on how many steaks you are preparing. You will certainly need to double this if you intend on doing more than two steaks at a time.

Also note that you will want to have at least two bottles (I prefer the widget bottles) of Guinness on hand for this recipe: one to include in the marinade and one to drink while you grill the steaks.

Marinade Ingredients

• 4-5 cloves of garlic (minced very fine, or through a garlic press)
• 5-6 Tbsp of brown sugar
• 7 Tbsp of soy sauce (or more to your taste)
• 1 12 oz. bottle of Guinness

Preparation

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a glass dish or bowl that will be large enough to hold the steaks, but small enough that the marinade will actually cover them. If the marinade doesn’t cover them completely, you can occasionally flip the steaks to ensure that the meat gets fully soaked.

If you wish, you can grind some sea salt onto each side of the steaks and rub it into the meat before placing them in the marinade, but that is a personal choice. I personally like to do it, although I doubt it has a huge impact on flavor after you factor in the marinade itself. Be careful not to overdo it though, just use a little salt. After all, the soy in the marinade already provides plenty of salty goodness.

If you are not going to have time to marinate the steaks for at least 3-6 hours, you can pierce the steaks repeatedly with a fork before placing them in the marinade to help it soak into the center of the meat. This is a bit of a cheat, but if you only have about two hours of marinating time available, it will help. The steaks will increase in tenderness the longer you marinate them, so if you can, try to let them soak for at least four hours. Also, unless you have some highly advanced immune system or just decide to tempt fate, always marinate your meat in the refrigerator.

When you are done marinating the steaks, grill them to your personal definition of perfection. Personally, I prefer to have steak that is prepared medium to medium-rare, but feel free to char them to smithereens if you prefer.

Serve the steaks with your favorite sides. Personally, I don’t think you can go wrong with some potatoes and broccoli, but use whatever you prefer. If you still have some left, drink Guinness with the steaks, or lieu of that, a nice red wine.

As I said, it’s not an especially elaborate or unusual recipe, but it is quite delicious. I know that I will be playing with variations of this marinade for some time to come.

Enjoy!

My good friend Dan Patterson of Creepy Sleepy just recently had a rather nasty wake-up call with regards to his current hosting provider, Bluehost. Due to a security flaw on their servers, malicious files were injected into several of the websites he was hosting there, but despite the fact that it was failure to maintain security on their servers (as opposed to his account being hacked due to weak passwords or similar), they suspended his account. Dan sent out an email to both his friends and the folks whose sites he was hosting explaining the issue. Here is an excerpt of that email (reprinted with permission):

According to the tech support guy (who refused to let me speak to his manager) Bluehost recently (he wouldn’t say when) experienced a security flaw/vulnerability that exploited a vulnerability in php. They initially blamed the problem on Wordpress and said that “everyone” with WP sites was experiencing this right now. I told them that upon doing a Google Blogsearch and Twitter search, I’ve seen no other similar problems. I also pointed out that after the last Bluehost security flaw (yes, something similar happened a month or two ago) I made a point to keep every single site up to date. They guy tried to reiterate that it was not Bluehost’s problem if a security vulnerability doesn’t take down every Bluehost site. I replied, calmly (really) that it was their flaw on their servers and that even if it was a php or WP problem, and even if I wasn’t taking care of my servers, they have a responsibility to a) warn me first, b) give me the chance to backup. They killed even backend access. I stayed on the phone until they relented and allowed a short window to backup.

When the long hard ass pain of migration is done, I will look at this as an opportunity to talk about brands. At the core, Bluehost experienced problems that exposed their paying customers to a security flaw. Bluehost lied about the extent of the problem (first they wouldn’t say where the vulnerability occurred, then finally admitted that it originated on their end). Then blamed me, the customer. After prodding, they blamed Wordpress. Finally, they allowed me to back up, but refused to assist in the process or migration. I, the customer, stayed calm during the entire processes. I was not allowed to talk to a manager, and no one apologized or said “I’m sorry sir, we see that you’ve been a customer for a number of years. While we don’t believe the problem is our fault, we would like to assist you in restoring your sites, backing up your data, or migrating to a new provider.” This is customer service 101 and essential for every brand in the digital age.

Forget ethics, forget right and wrong - let’s look at the brand and company. Bluehost’s demo is web-savvy folk looking for affordable hosting. Is this the way a brand should act? Who’s calling the shots? I can understand a car manufacturer, but for a hosting company this is just complete incompetence. And it’s sad.

This is a pretty terrible way for Bluehost to deal with a customer, especially when it appears it was an error on their part. I suspect it has a lot to do with poorly trained, outsourced support staff. But, as Dan said later in his email, this is an opportunity to talk about what a competent brand should do when they make a mistake.

• Own up to it, confess. “We screwed up.”
•  Apologize.
• Make it right, or help the customer move on. Stories like this spread fast, make sure you are the good guy.

Anyone competent knows this, because competent people know that the best solution is to use common sense. So the end result is: Bluehost loses a customer, a customer who happens to be an excellent media producer at that. More than that, they will probably lose a lot of potential customers as well. At least, one would hope so.

Stories like this really mark the night and day difference between companies like Bluehost, and my current hosting company of choice. Webfaction (not an affiliate link, I don’t advertise here) has always been highly responsive and helpful. On the rare occasion that they have made a mistake, they have always been quick to take ownership of the error and make it right for any customers affected. This is what good brands do. This is what good people do. The two concepts usually (and should) lead to the same conclusions.

Really, when looking for the appropriate response to any situation, whether as a brand or a person, it’s actually pretty easy to figure out what to do. Use common sense, and do the right thing. Most importantly, remember what Wil Wheaton said and “don’t be a dick.”

Here’s hoping that Dan’s migration goes well, and that we see the return of Creepy Sleepy sometime soon.

I can’t decide if NaNoWriMo is harder than I thought it would be, or if I’m just a bigger wimp than I thought I was. Regardless, it is tough. So, rather than writing out a long entry about it, when I should be working on the novel, I decided it would be quicker to record a quick video.

More updates to follow as the month goes on.

I have not had time to post here in a while. My new job has kept me very busy and most of the time when I get home I just want to relax and spend time with my girlfriend. It is a little frustrating that I have fallen behind on personal projects (like this site), but the work is fulfilling so that is OK.

All that being said, it really nags at me. I haven’t had a chance to bring comments back online here yet, primarily because I realized that before I do that I should probably update the code of this site for Django 1.0 which was recently released. This site is currently running off of Django trunk, unfortunately in the midst of moving and switching jobs I’m several months behind and there are some major revisions that occurred during that time. It won’t be a trivial task, so I wouldn’t expect it to get done right away. So comments will continue to be disabled until the rewrite is done. You are always welcome to contact me, or comment on FriendFeed in the meantime.

The other reason that the rewrite is going to be delayed is that I’ve decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. This is actually going to be a serious challenge because it looks like November is already going to be a busy month for me and squeezing out 50,000 words at the same time is going to be rough. However, my right brain is feeling lonely and coding projects just aren’t satisfying my urge to do something creative. I don’t really want to get into a debate of the merits of people cranking out a word count during a month rather than focusing on writing really well. That’s a subject for another time. The way I’m looking at NaNoWriMo is that it’s a kick in the ass for me to get my act together, stop talking about writing, and just write.

I’ve actually attempted NaNoWriMo once before, but I kept it a secret at the time because I was afraid of publicly failing to meet the goal. Consequently, I used that as an out to procrastinate and not get anything done beyond the first few pages. Deadlines don’t matter if there is no consequence for failing to meet them, and I don’t want to fall into that trap again. This year, I plan to be very open and public about how I’m doing during NaNoWriMo, both by posting to the official NaNoWriMo site, as well as posting here and on Twitter. I’ll try to provide an update once a week here, and Twitter posts will appear with the same level of randomness they always do.

If you haven’t ever participated in National Novel Writing Month and you have the urge to write, but can’t seem to bring yourself to get it done, consider signing up this year. Post how you are doing online, and we can go on this journey together. Maybe we succeed, maybe we don’t, but we’ll learn a lot about ourselves as writers in the meantime.