Friends, I hope you've had a good week. On Wednesday, 18 March 2009, Janice and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary (and 19 years of being together) by going out to a nice dinner at Blue on Highland in Needham Heights, Massachusetts. Several friends and family members have also had birthdays or anniversaries this month.

On Thursday, fellow copy editors Michele L.D'F., Bob R., and I met former co-worker Jacqui M.D., who was in town on business. We went to P.F. Chang's and gelato at the Melt Café in the Natick Collection. My Mongolian beef dish was very good. Among other things, we talked about the social networking Web sites, the ongoing economic recession, and challenges facing the publishing/journalism industry.

This past weekend, we ate out at Stone Hearth Pizza and Fresco Café, also in Needham, and we stopped in at New England Comics in Norwood. It's been a while since I've reviewed comics, but I'm currently enjoying Doctor Who: the Forgotten, Marvel Adventures: Avengers, and Superman/Action Comics. The direct market — local comic book shops — has been suffering along with other print publications, but I hope the art form endures.

Yesterday, I joined Dexter V.H. for Lord of the Rings Online, and later, him, Beruk A., and Byron V.O. for a Pathfinder: "Holy Steel" teleconferencing session. I took off from work today for a doctor's appointment, and the D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" game will reconvene next week.

Among other genre television, I caught up on the premiere of NBC's Kings, a decent drama about an alternate reality in which a modern monarchy parallels the story of the Biblical David. The season finale of computer-animated space opera Star Wars: the Clone Wars was also good, but Batman and the Brave and Bold continues to surprise with its fresh takes on obscure DC Comics characters from the Silver Age.

Janice and I have started watching Castle, an ABC mystery/comedy show starring Firefly/Serenity's Nathan Fillion. It's closer to the canceled Women's Murder Club than to Psych in tone, but it's still amusing in the style of classics such as Magnum P.I., Simon and Simon, and Remington Steele. I'll try to review the series finale of Battlestar Galactica and the direct-to-DVD Wonder Woman in the coming week or so.

Friends, I hope you had a good weekend. On Saturday, 14 March 2009, Janice and I met Beruk A. and Thomas K.Y. at the Comcast IMAX theater at Jordan's Furniture near where I work in Framingham, Massachusetts. We screened the live-action adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen. Janice and I both read the landmark graphic novel last week, and note that some of the links below may lead to "spoilers" for those unfamiliar with it.

The superhero movie closely follows the source material, in which costumed vigilantes first appeared in the 1940s but mostly disbanded by the 1970s. In that alternate reality, the metahuman Doctor Manhattan helped the U.S. win the Vietnam War, and Richard Nixon is still president. The murder of some of their colleagues brings a few would-be heroes out of retirement.

Director Zach Snyder, who previously adapted Frank Miller's ahistorical but entertainingly macho 300, is not only faithful to the look of the mid-1980s 12-issue DC Comics miniseries, but he also manages to keep the adult sensibilities and complexities that made the original so influential. Snyder does focus on violent scenes, preserving Gibbons' gritty New York setting and retelling the origins of the main characters through copious flashbacks.

The acting performances are also strong, led by Jackie Earle Haley as the masked, tormented Walter Kovacs/Rorschach, who serves as narrator amid Manhattan's seedy streets, which aren't that different from how I remember them from my own childhood. Rorschach, who is loosely based on characters such as Batman or The Question, is like Bernie Goetz as played by Clint Eastwood.

Jeffery Dean Morgan is also compelling as Edward Blake/the Comedian, a ruthless soldier of fortune, as is Patrick Wilson, who plays Dan Drieberg/Nite Owl, a gadgeteer gone soft and the most conventionally heroic member of the former team.

Thanks to motion-capture technology, Billy Crudup is both godlike and touching as the blue-skinned Dr. Jon Osterman/Dr. Manhattan in a world on the brink of Cold War self-destruction. Some people have made fun of the fact that Dr. Manhattan, the only true metahuman in the story, is naked much of the time, but that doesn't detract from his role.

Carla Gugino and Malin Ackerman provide a much-needed female presence as the ambivalent mother/daughter team of Sally and Laurie Jupiter/Silk Spectre I and II, respectively. If there is a weaker link among the actors, it's Matthew Goode as the genius Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias. He's a bit young for the role of the cool calculator who profits from action-figure licensing, but that's a small quibble.

Snyder does an excellent job of recapping the fictional timeline before the opening credits, paralleling both real-world events and the development of comic books. Viewers familiar with Forrest Gump, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button will be familiar with the technique of placing characters into historical events.

Watchmen does earn its "R "rating with adult language, sexuality, and graphic violence. While we may take these things for granted in movies and graphic novels today, back in 1985, Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns marked the turning point from the youthful idealism of the Silver Age to the darker Iron Age.

Postmodern comics such as Marvels, V for Vendetta (another Moore work faithfully adapted), and Powers have continued the rumination on the nature of identity, power (both personal and governmental), and morality. Recent movies such as X-Men and The Dark Knight are also indebted to the psychological realism of Iron Age storytelling. After such films, Watchmen may seem like a period piece, even if it's a progenitor.

In fact, some recent superhero comics and cartoons, such as Justice by Alex Ross or Spectacular Spider-Man, have been a reaction to what some call overly angsty depictions of costumed icons and hearken back to a more heroic attitude.

Watchmen's soundtrack, which includes popular music from the 1960s and 1980s, is good if a bit overwhelming at times. Snyder uses his trademark slow motion for the fight scenes, leading some viewers to mistake martial arts for superhuman feats.

Fans of the original graphic novel might find the so-called motion comic or eventual DVD with th
e "Tales of the Black Freighter" pirate subplot to be more faithful, but I think the film was long enough at nearly three hours! Aspects of the plot's end have been changed (spoilers), but mostly for the better, I thought.

I'd give Watchmen a 9 out of 10 or an A for its faithfulness to the source material, even if the movie slipped in box-office receipts after a wave of negative criticism. I found that many mainstream media reviews missed the point of both the original graphic novel and the film adaptation, which continues the trend toward more adult superhero stories.

Before the movie, I took Janice to Big Fresh for the first time, and after it, we joined Beruk and Thomas for dinner at Minerva. I've been busy with gaming and work since then, but I hope to review more games, comic books, and genre television in the coming weeks!

Last weekend, I was honored to participate in the wedding of high school friend Damon F.P. and Nicole D.P. at St. James the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in Carmel, New York. Janice and I drove down from Massachusetts early on Saturday, 7 March 2009.

I had served as Damon's best man 10 years ago, and my scripture readings at his and Nicole's renewal of vows went smoothly. Nicole's teenage children, Aaron and Katie, were best man and maid of honor, respectively.

Unlike the previous weekend, in which we got a foot of snow in New England, the weather was unseasonably warm and pleasant. Unfortunately, our New York City friends such as Dexter V.H. weren't able to attend. After the ceremony, we joined Damon & Nicole's family and friends at McCarthy's pub, where we sat outside for a round of drinks before dinner.

Janice and I chatted Carlo R. and Steve M., whom I've hung out with since our time together at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains in the early 1980s, while fellow SUNY-Binghamton alumnus Ron J.K. and his parents left. Carlo ran into a cousin of his at the wedding.

Although the restaurant's service was slow, my stuffed fillet of sole was very good. We discussed work, sports, gaming, and travel, and Carlo later joined Janice and me at Heidi's Inn (where we had stayed for last August's 40th birthday bash). We considered trying to screen Watchmen but decided to wait, instead staying up talking about religion, science, and genre entertainment. Damon & Nicole left the next morning for a second honeymoon in Italy.

On the way home on Sunday, Janice and I stopped at That's Entertainment and Borders Books in Worcester, Mass., and had an early dinner at the Olive Garden near where I work in Framingham, Mass. I've been catching up on recorded television and gaming since then, but I expect to have lots to review in the coming weeks!

Friends, I've been busy with work, but here are some quick hits:

Food and travel: This past weekend, Janice and I enjoyed a buffet lunch at Asia Treasures, and I've been spoiled with her roasts and chicken enchilada casserole. We've also tried cooking pasta with less water, as articles have recommended. This coming weekend, we're looking forward to attending the church wedding of Damon F.P. & Nicole D.P. in New York.

Chores: I had to cancel the D&D4e "Vanished Lands: the Faith-Based Initiative" session of Monday, 2 March 2009, because of snow. This morning, I had a regularly scheduled dental appointment, and with our taxes done, I expect my aging car to be the next thing to need attention.

Other games: While half of our supergroup has continued with the City of Heroes multiplayer online game, David I.S., Dexter V.H., and I have overcome our initial technical hurdles to play Lord of the Rings Online. Despite "SciFriday," Fridays will probably be our regular time slot, with Sunday nights devoted to the Pathfinder: "Holy Steel" teleconferencing role-players.

Genre entertainment: Slacker espionage comedy Chuck has been rejoined by supernatural slacker comedy Reaper in my viewing schedule, even as Leverage and Psych take a breather. On cable television, I also caught Gone Baby, Gone, which was a good neo-noir crime drama set in and around Boston. It wasn't the sort of movie I'd pay to see in a theater, but it was pretty good.

I've been rereading Watchmen in preparation for the upcoming live-action movie adaptation. As other reviewers have noted, the Cold War setting is dated, but the intricate drama and superhero deconstruction remain impressive 20+ years after I first read the graphic novel. Because of my travel plans, I'll have to wait to screen the film. Have a good week!

During the visit of college chum Stuart C.G. and his son Sammy just over a week ago, Janice and I met them and Thomas K.Y. to screen Coraline at the AMC Framingham multiplex near where I work in Framingham, Massachusetts.

I enjoyed the stop-motion fantasy movie, which reminded me of Pan's Labyrinth as much as its siblings The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach. Unlike Alan Moore, who has been unhappy with cinematic adaptations of his graphic novels — From Hell, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, V for Vendetta, and the upcoming Watchmen — Neil Gaiman has been more involved and arguably gotten better results.

MirrorMask, Stardust, and Coraline have all been faithful in spirit, if not in plot particulars, to Gaiman's quirky work. In addition, among many other things (most notably Sandman for DC Comics' Vertigo line), Gaiman adapted Princess Mononoke for U.S. audiences and wrote the screenplay for the computer-animated Beowulf.

Coraline is about a girl (voiced by Dakota Fanning) who is bored with her parents and finds a parallel world in which everyone initially appears to be nicer and more interested in her. Fans of The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, and similar fairy tales will recognize the archetypes, but the strange-looking denizens of Coraline still felt fresh.

The voice casting, as with the best animated films, uses actors for the appropriateness of their voices rather than publicity stunts. For example, Lois and Clark's Teri Hatcher provides the voice of the girl's mothers, and Gargoyles' Keith David is the cat who warns of hidden dangers in the "button-eyed" universe. Overall, I'd give Coraline an 8 out of 10, or a B+/A-. It's rated PG for some scary images.

Speaking of Princess Mononoke, later that weekend, I met Beruk A., Stuart, and Sammy at Thomas' place for Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, the latest anime feature from Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli. Ponyo is about a boy in a seaside village who finds a small mermaid. As with most Studio Ghibli movies, it balances a charming depiction of childhood with larger mythic themes.

Unlike other recent Miyazaki films, such as Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo is more child-friendly, avoiding grotesque monsters or carnage in favor of a timeless reminder of the value of friendship. Thus, the award-winning Ponyo is closer in style to The Cat Returns or Kiki's Delivery Service. It was a little long for Sammy and the youngest watchers. The video we watched was subtitled, but I look forward to an English-language dubbed version. I'd also give Ponyo an 8 out of 10.

Backing up a bit, with all the gaming I've been doing lately, friends have asked how I've found time for so much genre television. The truth is that I've finally dropped a few shows, such as Battlestar Galactica and Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, in favor of reading episode summaries online.

After Psych's entertaining half-season finale, and with Dollhouse still being lackluster so far, I'd have to say that my favorite "SciFriday" show lately has been the computer-animated Star Wars: the Clone Wars, with the fun Batman and the Brave and the Bold a close second.