On The Watch

As someone who prides himself on his pop culture awareness I have to say - The Watchmen came out of left field for me. The first I heard about it is when Joey B pointed out my old high school classmate, Malin, on the cover of Entertainment Weekly.

I have never been much of a comic book fan. When I was a kid, I would take a look if they happened to be lying around, but I was much more interested in novels of the young adult oeuvre. I am proud of the fact (but not in that pompus "I'm too good for this" kind of a way) that I have managed to resist all peer pressure and thereby haven't seen any of the Spiderman or Batman films (I broke down and watched Ironman with Joey B In December... meh). The truth is that these films hold very little appeal for me. I detest car chases, fight scenes and explosions. I could have cut at least an hour out of the final LOTR movie - without sacrificing a second of plot. Frankly, I'd rather have a Shamrock Shake (available now for a limited time!)

For some strange reason, I am totally jonesing (note: SpellCheck recommended replacing josesing with minnesinger) to see this film, to the point where I tried to get Joey B to go see a screening at 7am this morning in the IMAX theater on Navy Pier (I would have still been able to get to the office on time) but he thought we should purchase the Graphic Novel (read: comic book) before we see the film. I have been thinking about popping out of the office to grab a copy, but the weather and the huge number of slow walking tourists on Michigan Avenue have kept me firmly at my desk.

Still, the lure of this film (with reported full frontal CGI nudity) is palpable. I am definitely planning on checking it out as soon as I can sharing my thoughts with you. If you happen to catch a glimpse of a fast-moving blur progressing up the Magnificent Mile, there's no need to fear. It's not a bird (or a plane) it's just a man on a mission.