Watchmen - the clock is running

There are some things in life you just can’t miss out on. Your first kiss, turning 21, reading a great novel, and on and on. These are experiences you can’t live without, or if you do then your life just feels all that much more shallow and empty. And there are movies that fall into this group as well. In 2009 I expect that a film will be released that will be in that category.

Watchmen

If you have never read a comic book or graphic novel, you need to read this. If you have never seen a movie based on a graphic novel or comic book you need to see this (and what rock have you been under the last 2 decades?). This should be bigger than Spiderman, bigger than The Dark Knight, bigger than all of them.

I’m heaping a lot of praise in advance of this movie which is not normal for me. But if this is done right, you will never question why.

Here is the video that just came out.



The story is too big, and complex to explain in a single post. In fact if you were told about the movie or novel it would be a crime. The pleasure is going on the cruise.

I will say this. Rorschach is the man. And Ozymandus (I always spell it wrong) is smarter than Batman (if you understand that Bruce Wayne is the greatest detective ever – not that the movies show it).

Let me give you a taste of the man that would tell the world …



This is unlike any hero movie you’ve ever seen. This is a story 95% will never figure out ahead of time. Unless they completely screw it up, it’s a movie that will stand out from virtually every story you’ve ever watched.

The clock is running, the joke is on you. 2009 is not too far.

The collectibles in the attic

Everyone knows that stamps and coins are collectibles. Every so often any one of us has looked up an odd coin that we found in a pocket while doing laundry or stuffed in the sofa. Some may go through old letters of a family member when moving from one house to another and thought about looking up this or that stamp. It’s obvious and known that these are potentially valuable items. Baseball cards are perhaps the best know must check items. But there are so many more.

The world has changed in many ways over the last 4 decades alone. Technology has improved and the culture has changed. Thus many items are now considered valuable that once were worthless (or at least to a mom cleaning up a cluttered house). I know that firsthand even way back in the 1980’s when I lost my first comic book collection to my mother’s spring cleaning effort. I won’t even say how much that collection was worth, simply that it included a couple hundred of the earliest Spiderman, X-Men (including #4), Hulk and other issues.

But for the sake of younger more modern collectors I took a look at video games, books, cell phones and the like.

In looking at video games most are older than the current youth generation. In fact I’m sure most kids under 20 probably have never seen the game consoles that play these games. Still I’m sure that in more than a few closets or attics there lies these gems waiting to hit eBay. The best item to find is quite rare, in fact only 26 exist but they are out there. It’s the Nintendo World Championships: Gold Edition, worth at least $10,000 each. This game for the NES console is 18 years old, and in terms of gaming the equal of dinosaurs. But if your mom runs across a gold colored cartridge game, check it out before she throws it out.

Going even further back in time, the equivalent to maybe the first amoebas or protozoa’s, is the Atari 2600. I doubt that most under 30 even have heard of this game console, let alone played on one. But if you are an old gamer like myself, and a bit of a packrat, you may find a dusty copy of Air Raid. Now if you are so lucky as to find this, you may expect to get about $3,500. And this is not the game Air Raider’s, also for the Atari 2600 but nowhere near as rare or valuable. If you have a blue Atari cartridge game, that plays similar to Space Invaders if you have a TV that can play it, then I suggest you investigate it a bit.

Going into a different direction is something I never consider would be worth anything. Children’s picture books. We’ve all had them, we’ve all read them. More than a few of us may have even chewed on them. And if in your family these books have survived from child to child, you may have a windfall. If you can part with them.

There are several dozen books of some value. And it’s understood that many of these books will not be in pristine condition as they are for children (though values for an original in very good or better condition can double its base price). I’ll just mention 3 of my favorites, which I recall reading as a child some 35+ years ago. (My mother must have had excellent taste since each of these is in the top 15, two in the top 10.

The Story of Babar. A great book, first made in 1933. Current value $2,200 to $3,800.

The next 2 are in the top 10 and are favorites of mine. I very distinctly recall reading, and re-reading, the first of the 2:

The 500 Hats Of Bartholomew Cubbins. Made by the genius of children’s books, and memorable – at least to me. Dr. Seuss made an indelible mark on generations, and still counting. That mark is reflected in the value of this book. $3,800 to $6,200.

And my most favored book of childhood (and among my top books as an adult). I can still recite 75% of the entire book, word for word. Sounds odd I suppose, but if you are feeling depressed or stressed try reciting it. You may be surprised by how much you recall and how you feel afterwards. Written by the great Dr. Seuss in 1960. Green Eggs And Ham, $2,800 to $4,800.

Now there are numerous other items that are collectible today. I can’t possible cover them all. From collectible card games, cell phones, DVD’s, miniature figurines (ie. Warhammer 40,000), printers, pocket watches, ties and on.

Suffice to say, the next time you want to throw out that ancient doodad in the attic, check it out first. You may be surprised at what you have.

What movie will you go see? - 3.20.2007.2

So what are you planning to watch this summer? There is a huge list of movies coming out soon, and for once there are several that look quite good. An obvious choice would be Pirates of the Caribbean 3 or the Harry Potter movies. Another solid choice is Spiderman 3. But what about a movie that isn’t a sequel of a good idea?

Well there aren’t a lot of choices for the non-repeat films. Even horrible films such as the Fantastic Four have a sequel. Why? No idea, it’s not as if the first film was good. Perhaps the teenage boys hoping to peak at an invisible Ms. Jessica Alba is the motivation. I really can’t imagine it being much else. While I am a fan of the Silver Surfer, and his effects look quite good, I doubt that this movie will do justice to him or Galactus. Perhaps I will be wrong, but they screwed up Dr. Doom and the initial storyline so I doubt this will be better. Wait for the DVD.

Another sequel that has gone one movie too far is Rush Hour 3. I love Mr. Jackie Chan, he is quite accomplished and has made multiple good movies. Rush Hour 2 was not one of them and I fear 3 will rank beside The Tuxedo. Mr. Chris Tucker was good in the limited role in Fifth Element, and decent in the original film. But his acting abilities are stretched to breaking in the subsequent film and I believe will have snapped in this film. Don’t expect much and you may get just that. Get the bootleg DVD.

A possibly good movie sequel could be Ocean’s Thirteen. The cast is back plus someone else. Someone that you would never expect. No it’s not the baby. Ms. Ellen Barkin seems to be taking over the role done by Ms. Julia Roberts. And Mr. Al Pacino is the bad guy. That is the main reason this may be good. He picks his roles well. The rest of the cast are solid, and obviously they work together as well as a cast of stars can. But I just don’t get how they have the 13th member on the team. We will see. I’d go to the theater for this. (a trailer for this film is out now.)

Another positive choice should be the last in the Jason Bourne series, the Bourne Ultimatum. The final part of a 3 book series, of which the movies do not follow the books verbatim, this should be great. The first 2 films were well done. Mr. Matt Damon has handled the role expertly each time previously. He sells the action sequences well and his acting is above par. The writing and plots make sense and are intelligent. This may be the best outside of Pirates and Spiderman. Definitely a movie theater choice.

Other choices that are up for grabs include The Simpson’s Movie, another sequel Evan Almighty (following up Bruce Almighty), and the Adam Sandler movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. I can’t even guess how these will go.

Oh don’t let me forget the Transformers movie. Considering the supposed focus of the film will be the humans I won’t see it. There is no point if the title characters are not the main feature of the film. Not to mention that the main audience of the movie are over a decade past 20-something, not appealing to what they remember is a bad choice. But I’m sure they will get the toy sales. If the movie is not focused on the Autobots or Decepticons, hold onto your memories and wallets and let it fade away.

But I can’t imagine where the original films are. I mean even an original version of a book that hasn’t already been done. I know that the Steven King sons have a script available. There have to be others. Hollywood has not done every idea ever made. Heck there are a number of good comic books that are just waiting to have their characters transferred to the big screen. Forbid the fact that someone actually has an idea. Or a really good one. The shock will just be too great. Until then expect to hear about Rush Hour 4, the Carrot Man movie, Friends the Movie and the adaptation of The Sword of Shanara.

This is what I think, what do you think?