Who Watches The [2009] Watchmen: A Retrospective.

This blog post contains both major plot spoilers for The Watchmen Movie and Book. 

If you haven't experienced either and still want to be surprised by things like character deaths,

stop reading now.

You have been warned

In 2009 Warner Brothers pictures decided, in the wake of the success of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, to draw deep from comic book lore and attempt the impossible. A big screen version of Alan Moore's seminal work, The Watchmen. Known to most people as the only graphic novel to be included in Time Magazine's  100 Best Novels of all Time list as well as the book your nerdy friend keeps desperately trying to get you to read. And for good reason. Among comic book fans it's widely considered to be the best superhero graphic novel ever written,  and even those who wouldn't say that would agree that when this thing hit the shelves in 1987, it changed the way comics where made. At 101 pages, it's exceedingly long (bearing in mind of course that comics use larger pages than your average book) and ludicrously detailed with diverse, immersive supporting subplots and tangents that grab the reader by the cajones and refuse to let go. Telling the story of a retired team of crime fighters in a heightened version of the cold war of the 1980's, it raised the bar for both writing and art in comics. It's also one of my personal favourite works of fiction. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's Watchmen is peerless, and was widely considered unfilm-able by anyone who read it.

Which is why when Warner Brothers announced their plans to do Watchmen as a motion picture surfaced around 2007, all of us comic book geeks took notice, and most of us were instantly skeptical.

Warner reported that the film was to be directed by Zach Snyder, who had just come off the wildly successful 300. It seemed like a great idea at the time, he hadn't directed Sucker Punch yet at any rate. Even the trailer looked great. But when the film came out in 2009 it was widely rejected by many comic book fans who maintain to this day that Zach Snyder's Watchmen is just another example of Hollywood ruining a beloved comic book series.

But is it?

I'll admit, for a while, that's what I thought, but recently I picked up the director's cut of the movie, and had to wonder; Have we, the nerd-populace, misjudged this movie?

It's been 4 years since it came out. The initial shock and awe has long since worn off, so I think it's time to look at this movie with some fresh perspective and give it perhaps the credit it's due. Lets see how it really is as a stand alone movie, and take another look at how it stacks up against the source material.

That's right it's my first Movie Review on my Blog, I'll try to keep it mostly short.

Let's Dive into Zach Snyder's Watchmen.

Look

If there's one thing we can say for sure, it's that Snyder clearly cares a whole lot about what his movies look like.

His films have been noted across the board as being incredibly strong in the visuals department. Everything he's done from Man of Steel to Dawn of the Dead even, Sucker Punch  have amazing visuals to them. Described by Snyder himself as "Somewhere between a comic book and a heavy metal album" (Taken from this interview for Man of Steel http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2U9R-cXxbY).

Watchmen is no exception, it's visuals are incredible, everything from the cinematography to the visual effects to the costumes in this movie are nothing short of top notch. What's even better, from a fan's perspective is the direct and deliberate visual lifts from Dave Gibbon's artwork on the original comic. Things like The Comedian's legendary window exit:

Rorschach's death

Rorschach's unmasking:

The character designs themselves are also extremely well done. 

Each one of these character designs remains, in my opinion faithful to the comic itself while also updating the look for a motion picture. I mean sure Spectre's sleeves look fine in the book, but it'd look pretty impractical to have flowing 80's sweater sleeves while kicking the crap out of prison guards as soon as you turned the cameras on. Everything in this movie somehow manages to walk the fine line between updated look, and source faithful interpretation. All while keeping everything looking very 80's chiche. 

The biggest departure between the look of the movie and the book is actually the colour palate. Dave Gibbons's work has a legendary and iconic style to it. Extreme prevalent oranges, reds and yellows and he often works with as few colours as possible in any given panel. Where the movie takes on a more balanced colour wheel and instead go for a more muted metallic look. Replacing vivd colours with shine and glimmer.

Ultimately I think that's a choice for the better, Gibbon's art really only works on the page, a movie, especially one trying to welcome in newcomers has to have a palate that's... well palatable. I also really appreciate a darker turn with the colours, to me it seems to match the tone of the story really well, it's a dark, dark story, so I think Snyder's call for the colours to echo that is a no brainer.

Overall the look of this movie is a stand out. Even at the time of release amongst all the fan commotion about it's inaccuracies and the absences, everyone seemed to agree that Snyder at least got the look right. 

Cast

Just for funzies lets do a quick rundown of the main cast, complete with some IMDB links so you can dive even deeper into this internet hole you've dug your way into.

Laurie Jupiter/ Silk Spectre II- Malin Akerman

John Osterman/ Dr. Manhattan- Billy Crudup

Adrian Veidt/ Ozymandias- Matthew Goode

Rorschach- Jackie Earl Haley

Eddy Blake/ The Comedian- Jeffery Dean Morgan

Dan Drieberg/ Nite Owl II- Patrick Wilson

Sally Jupiter/ Silk Spectre I- Carla Gugino

Each one of these actors is relatively unknown, having maybe one or two notable roles before this movie. Not complete Unknowns but largely supporting actors. There's not big "Stars" in this movie and I think that works for the best.

The acting in this movie is great across the board but there are a few stand outs, Billy Crudup's Dr. Manhattan is as detached and seemingly cold as I'd imagined from reading the books. I think Jeffery Dean Morgan knocks The Comedian out of the park, the nihilistic narcissistic scumbag anti-hero from days gone by could have easily been hammed up to the point of absolute camp. But, Morgan gives the character a huge does of believability. Jackie Earl Haley's Rorschach is fantastic as well, it's a character who's face we don't even see (or at least don't realize we see) until the last third of the film. Instead, just like the book, we're treated to monologues delivered to both deliver exposition and develop character, and Haley kills 'em, his dark and malevolent vocal performance is a real treat.

The rest of the cast do very well with their roles as well. A lot of the time poor performances can really take me out of a superhero movie, but, not for a moment was I ever taken out of Watchmen by a performance that was either too over the top or just plain bad like in other superhero movies. 

I was actually most surprised by Malin Akerman's performance. Last time I saw her was as the bimbo blonde southern housewife in Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. In which she was.... well clearly only there for one reason... or, two... But in Watchmen I think she gives a great performance, she gives Laurie a lot more strength than I read her as having in the books, which was a positive change in my opinion. 

 Music and Score

This movie all the way through, uses some awesome, period accurate songs. First off take a look at the opening credit sequence, all done to Bob Dlyan's Times They are a Changin' Right Here.

Snyder also throws in some Simon and Garfunkel...

Leonard Cohen... 

I couldn't find the actual scene on youtube... well I'm not surprised... given it's content...

Jimi Hendrix...

Nat King Cole sings his way through the opening fight...

There's also songs by Janis Joplin, KC and the Sunshine Band, and a whole bunch more as well. Snyder really knows how to put songs well into his movies. Watchmen and Sucker Punch are both great examples of how he likes to use licensed songs as a score for the movie, instead of the more traditional strings 'n' things that make up the majority of summer movie scores.

Watchmen also leans pretty heavy on Bob Dylan as well, it uses three of his songs.

And more Bob Dylan really is never a bad thing.

Plot

It's tough to adapt any great book into a great movie. And during this film's production Hollywood seemed to be having a lot of trouble adapting comics. Sure, Ironman, and The Dark Knight were good, The Incredible Hulk seemed to hold a story together, but we were also getting... well... these:

I could go on... and on... oh boy, I just stirred up some bad memories there.

Anyway, we were getting those, movies written by people who seemingly never heard of the source material for the characters, OR of the idea that movies shouldn't be the worst thing to happen to your week. 

Hollywood seemed to still be on pretty shaky ground when it came to doing adaptations, and the nerds, we were hurt too many times. We all paid money to see Ang Lee's Hulk. Which is why I think a lot of people lashed out at Watchmen when it came out. We were like scorned lovers. We'd be damned if we were gonna let that dizzy harlet walk out of the house with our favourite book. 

Of course we didn't factor in that perhaps this harlet (...Snyder) was maybe just getting all the food stains and dust off of it so we could show it around like we used to.

That's what Watchmen feels like to me. It's not the book, but it's an easy to digest way to introduce someone to what comics maybe can be.

I think the movie's plot moves really well, the pacing is right where it needs to be, although it's much better in the Directors Cut. The movie's not the book, and I think it knows it. Things like The Tales of the Black Freighter or the alien... mouth monster aren't in it. We don't get to read passages of Under the Hood or really spend much more time than we need to with the Minutemen, there's no inclusion of the Rorschach's psychiatrist's story and we're missing Captain Metropolis II entirely. Ozymandias' plan has been altered from kidnapping scientists and artists, and making them create an alien... mouth monster... on a deserted Island to instead be just hiring scientists to create "Dr. Manhatten Nukes" and then just murdering them after. 

There's a lot missing here. I would have liked to see more, I think we all would have. BUT I think we always would have wanted more. You couldn't have put "enough of the book" into the movie to make it into the book without making a shot for shot recreation. And that would actually be pretty tiring to watch. How do I know that? Well, they actually did it just after the movie came out, sort of, you can watch it here if you want to kill your afternoon off (Please don't). A movie can only really be about 3 hours at the most, and how much can you do in three hours and STILL have a watchable engaging movie? 

Well I think Snyder's film answers that question for us. It is exactly how much content you can do. It's got almost every iconic moment you remember, played well and with an incredible earnestness. It's got great character work, from the characters you loved form the books, all portrayed well, and it's got this sweet-ass action sequence:

All in All

All in all, I think it's a solid movie. And one of the better Superhero movies out there (the best of which I think is Man of Steel another Zack Snyder film). Snyder's Watchmen is made with so much clear love for the original work, something not always seen in a superhero movie. It's also the only comic book movie out there to be a direct  adaptation of a single graphic novel. That makes it actually unique. I can't think of a single other superhero movie that's a direct adaptation like this. Sure Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight draws heavily from things like The Long Halloween and Year One but it's not those books it's a totally original story. Watchmen strives for a lofty, lofty goal here by attempting to do justice to the most celebrated graphic novel of all time without creating a new story from it.

Does it achieve that?

That's still a matter of opinion, but mine is that Snyder's Watchmen is not the book, and not as good as the book is, But I think it comes pretty close. Furthermore I think it's as close as one can get to doing the book justice in a film. Alan Moore's original work defined an entire genre of art and fiction, as well as being one of the truest examples of it, how could a movie ever replicate that? It's like trying to do the entirety of the A Song of Ice and Fire series two or three movies. Not do-able.

Watchmen, the movie, as a movie though, for someone who hasn't read the book? 

Great. Really it is. As a stand alone film it works from beginning to end. It's engaging and full of great action, great visuals, awesome characters and a plot that's more than you'd expect from your typical hollywood superhero movie. 

And at the end of the day isn't that what really matters?

Who watches the Watchmen?

Maybe we all should.

-Matt

p.s. If you are going to check out this movie, and I recommend you do, make sure you pick up the directors cut. It's a vast improvement over the theatrical release.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Violence In Gaming, but Were Too Afraid to Ask

So, the holiday season is upon us. Sugar plums are... roasting? Not sure, the point is that around this time millions of people will be desperately combing through every catalogue and store shelf to find the perfect gift for every person on their list. Many of those people will be parents buying for their children. And here's the thing, many, many kids want Video Games in some form or another, in fact I'd say most of them do. Parents, wanting to please, will of course want to get the exact game their little bundle of joy asked for, and without knowing much more than what title will buy that game for them.

It's understandable, often I've got no idea what to buy for a particular family member, and have to refer to their wish list to make sure I get it right. There's a lot of gifts to buy, you know. But here's the thing, moms, dads, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas, very often these kids will be asking for things that are wildly inappropriate for them to be playing, just today, I had to explain to a woman at the store what GTA V was, and then when she told me it was for her 11 year old son, I had to really tell her what it was.

Pictured above, torture, a key story element.

See, I assumed that everyone understood that games have a rating system attached to them, just like movies, and that people would understand what each one meant. 

But you know what they say about assuming.

Without my telling this nice lady about how most of GTA V revolves around robbing banks, holding people hostage, urban terrorism, car jacking, and prostitution engagements, she would have no idea. That's not a slight against her, I feel like there's a lot of parents who are in the same boat. Unfortunately I think that many of these misunderstandings take very ugly turns afterwards. 

Pretty much every time a new Call of Duty, or Grand Theft Auto, or Halo  is released it's followed almost instantly by a mainstream media storm of  "ARE  GAMES TOO VIOLENT FOR OUR KIDS?" to which the simple answer is actually no.

But also yes.

Allow me to explain.

There are violent video games, incredibly violent video games, that half the time come coupled with Game of Thrones style soft "Personal Encounters" thrown in all over the place. Games witch give you the ability to just walk up to a pair of police officers and beat them to death with a giant veiny purple... um... Instrument?

Games can be freaking crazy.

But, those games are not made for "kids." They're made for the adult gamer demographic of 18-35 year olds that's responsible for over half of total video game sales. In fact Kids aren't allowed to buy them themselves. Almost every reputable game retailer will refuse to sell them to anyone under 17, because of this image:

There can be many more things written there as well. "Cartoon violence"

is always a funny one for me.

That's a rating from the ESRB or, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. "M" for Mature. It means the game can not be purchased by peoples under the age of 17. It's exactly like a movie rating. Pretty much an R. Ratings like this one can be found on every single game's box, in the bottom left corner plain as day:

Games with a "M" rating like this include:

Battlefield

Call of Duty

Grand Theft Auto

Tomb Raider

Borderlands

Last of Us

Uncharted

Halo

Assassins Creed

Saints Row

Bioshock

Notice something? Those are some of the highest grossing games this year. That means it's more than just the adult market who end up playing them. As anyone who plays any of these games online can tell you, there are so many young kids playing these games. A disproportionate amount. Especially since they're restricted titles. 

This is why it's important that parents and other people, considering buying games for their kids this holiday season understand what they're buying. You wouldn't but your 9 year old I Spit on Your Grave or Hobo With a Shotgun, Rambo, Dawn of the dead. or any other R rated movie, so why would you buy him this:

Instead of something like this, intended for kids:

Side note: I'd rather play this one myself, but that's just me.

Visit the ESRB's website: http://www.esrb.org/index-js.jsp and read up on all the different ratings symbols to find out what they mean if you don't know. And if you do know, then why don't you actually help dispel all of this "VIDEOGAMESAREEVIL" media hyperspin that we all hate by telling parents you see in the store, what they're buying 9/10 times they have no idea and are greatfull you told them, and even if they still buy it, at least they know they've only got themselves to blame when the kid comes downstairs spouting 18 new racially sensitive curse words and holding mom's.... instrument...

'Tis the season for understanding people. Let's make games fun for everyone, except the media.

Excelsior!

Matt

An In Tents Weekend

There's nothing quite like catching up with old camp friends. There's just something different about them, anyone who's ever worked at a summer camp will tell you the same. Every time you see them, no matter how long it's been the same things become funny again, the same stories re-told for the umpteenth time are imbued with the hilarity of the first telling, and inside jokes that you couldn't stop doing for months after camp (that none of your other friends found funny, even after multiple explanations) finally, deliciously, flow like spirits.

Just for a moment, all your "maturing"and "normalcy" is stripped away and you're that wild, weird, and probably awkward teenager you once were (and really, kinda had to be to do camp at all) all over again.

They're probably the cheapest time machine you can find.

And this past weekend I got to ride in the DeLorean of old friendships, as I watched, and stood by, one of my oldest camp friends tie the knot with the girl of his dreams. It was a great time, not only for the two of them, but also me. As, like any great wedding, there was a great opportunity to see friends long gone once again. This of course lead to much joking, awkward dancing and deep conversations.

The three hallmarks of every great camp friend relationship.

I did camp during the summers for 6 summers as a staff member, then three more as an actual camper, in total 15 and a half months of my life if you were to put it all in a row, but that's the thing about camp, it's never all in a row. It's an environment that is constantly almost here and almost over, where you're never sure which goodbye is the last one, and where you say new ones every week, and where people you've know for two weeks can seem as close as family.  It's the one place where weeks pass faster than days.

That's why it's so weird seeing camp friends get married. I've seen it a couple times now, and it took me until now to understand why it's always such a surreal experience. Why does it always seem so preternatural?

Because it denotes change.

Marriage changes your life in many ways. Of course, we all know that. Just ask any stand-up comedian from the 90's, they'll all tell you. Marriage is one of those big things in life, that comes along (statistically more than once), that changes the lives of those two people forever.

But, how about the rest of us? The ones on the sideline?

I think it's weird for me to watch my old camp friends proceed in the noted tax-haven that is marriage, because the little tiny voice in the back of my head that always thinks "Can't wait to see them next summer!" is finally shut off for good. Which is ironic, because I'm not even going this year myself, but I mean I always could. And so could they. Until they tie that knot.

Don't get me wrong, that's not a bad thing at all. But it does mean that I'm probably not going to see my friends in that context, ever again. It's the end of an era. But instead, the beginning of a new one.

That kind of transition does tend to give someone an added layer of perspective. For me, it meant seeing a very clear picture of the kid I was 6, 7, years ago, and the person I am now, all at the same time. Clearly laid out in stark contrast. For me, this is yet another transition, another change, another piece in my misshapen existential puzzle of self identity.


But nothing throws your mind in for quite the same trip as finding out that you've had a friend almost disappear for good. A separate event this weekend, that needs no more attention here, but was none the less, impactful.


Everybody knows, it sucks to grow up, So weird to be back here.


-Matt

Grey Days Full of Promise

If there's one thing I know about Orangeville right now, is that it's covered in snow. Some people would miss that I guess, snow seeming to symbolize the impending inevitability of the Christmas season, and therein exciting the child inside all of us awaiting presents of the morning of December 25th. But not me. Snow, while, sure, ascetically looks great, is never something I'm really all that happy to see. Some people think Christmas when they see snow, I think of freezing toes and fingers, and long, uneven ice and snow covered driveways in need to be cleared, as well as the constant annoyance of perpetually damp socks.

And, no, I'm not "Scrooging" or Grinching" or "Jim-Carrey-as-Dr.-Suess'-The-Grinch-ing" I love Christmas, and I'd love to have snow on it, just never at any other point. Ever.

Seriously, snow is the worst.

Which is why I'm ecstatic about the weather I've been enjoying in Halifax lately. It may be cold, it may be extremely wet, and there may be winds so strong that they seem like they might actually shift your house off its foundations, but there is no snow. Not a flake so far. But I mean, now that I've said that I guess I'm dooming the rest of the city to a white blanket of overhyped annoyance in the near future. But I guess that's a risk I'm willing to take.

It was grey overcast wet weather that set the stage for our journey on Monday. A shoot inside an abandoned Youth Training Centre which, while it was active, served as a boarding school of sorts for people with intellectual disabilities. What a location. Paint decades old peeling off the walls, windows shattered, drop ceilings in decay, cabinets left either eerily empty or suspiciously locked, as well as miles of files and torturous looking bathrooms. All in all it was a cinematographer's dream.

The shoot was for A Flow Productions documentary, The Freedom Tour which Brad has been working on for some time and which I was lucky enough to be invited to do some camera work on.

We followed around Al, a former student at the facility who told us all about all the things that went on while he was there, both good, and particularly awful. He also took us through some of his old yearbooks, while sitting in an old dorm room of his. It was really powerful shoot that really captured well all his emotions and opinions of the kind of facility that that place used to be.

(Such institutions were shut down country wide in 1996)

The Freedom Tour looks to be a big film for the company. The subject matter is compelling and well captured, and will likely be a big stepping stone for us in the future.

The future. That seems to be the place where all our best projects are having their success. We should see about taking a trip there sometime.

But for now I can just look at those things and not touch them.

Things like The Flow Show, as well as the corporate blog, launching in the next week hopefully. We've got my short film Wicked Smart in preproduction as well as a couple potential short subject documentaries and a completion grant for Bottom Feeders (AKA Lobster Inc.). All things that have the potential to be big payoffs in the future but for now give us only lip service, and long work days.

They're the things I think about while I flip burgers at Mcdonald's. Yes I'm still working there. Unfortunately it's still necessary, but I always figured I'd be working somewhere pretty terrible for the first 6 mouths to a year out here on the part time until things get going. With the way things are looking I might be lucky, it might be more in the 6 month range. Which would be much better than a year.

Mcd's gives me two things: money and material. Wicked Smart, the short I've been writing for the last month and a half centres around a character who works at a similar fast food place, so at least i get plenty of ideas for that.

Keep an eye out for updates on all these things and more coming up soon. For now they're mostly all I have to talk about because working on them is taking up the majority of my time for the moment.


So, I guess I better get back to it.

Nose, meet grindstone, population: you.


-Matt.

We'll All Flow-t On

So, November has arrived. My third month on the other side of the country. Hard to believe it's been two whole months since my long awaited journey out here, and it already feels like home. However, that particular sentiment was thrown for a bit of a loop come the October 31st.

Halloween, it marked the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one as our previous roommate, Jaime, finally made a trans-Canada move of his own, by driving out to Fort McMurray, Alberta, to chase down some better work. Jaime had become one of my friends out here, and when you're in a new city, loosing even one of those new friendships is less than preferable. In his stead we were provided with our new roommate, Adrian. A man so totally different from us that we've dubbed him our "Straight Man" aka the Steve Martin to our collective John Candy. However so far things are very amicable, and Adrian has brought a substantial amount of furniture and kitchen ware, so that's a real big help.

Aside from that we also changed landlords, internet providers and have had to start thinking about the costs of heating the house for the first time. We're on an oil furnace so, as you can imagine, it can be quite expensive to fill, which only pushes us to hold off on heating the house for as long as we can, via usage of warm teas, coffees, blankets, house coats, winter hats and coats and our one, single, space heater. Which I think I probably hog the most.

The company is going well. Flow has been busy chasing down grants for projects, new contracts and building the website as well as our collective brand so we can be ready to start going after top contract prospects in the near future. We've also had some cool video work, including some videos for local non-profit organizations. But by far and away my favorite thing we've got going right now is The Flow Show our soon to drop podcast that focuses on the film making process and showcasing local film makers and artists, especially documentarians. We've spent the last couple weeks recording our first two episodes and are set to record the third and fourth ones tomorrow and the day after. Then shortly following that we're going to start releasing each episode on our website, free to download, so be sure to check that out, we're going to have a lot of very interesting guests on, including a man who visited every music festival in Canada, an award winning documentary film maker and a Holocaust survivor and his film making son. It's going to be a really cool thing and we're very excited about it.

Apart from that, one of the bigger things on the Flow-rizon is coming near the end of the month when Brad, and myself as well as our fellow Flow-stranaut Alexa head to the south shore of Nova Scotia once more to hopefully wrap up filming for our lobster documentary (formerly known as Lobster Inc.)  which is coming back with a vengeance and a new title (yet to be revealed). We've learned so much about the subject matter over the last year and this time we're finally going down there to shoot with what we feel is a fully complete understanding of the issue we're trying to cover and the ability to tell the story we want to. A story that does not shy away from the uncomfortable truths of the lobster industry and paints as honest a picture as we possibly can. We're going down with more experience, better equipment and a plan. It's going to be magical.

Personally I've been really trying my best to acclimate to my new situation. It's weird. I think because I feel simultaneously out of place and that there's no where I'd rather be. It's really hitting home lately how long things are really going to take before I can finally do what I want to do full time. Work. You gotta do it. But I feel like, so long as you're down for the long haul, this is the city that's going to reward you the most. It's like Halifax just wants to make sure you're really committed to the relationship before moving in with you. But once it does... well there's a good chance you'll enjoy yourself at the expense of your mother's approval.

Not sure why I went for that particular metaphor...

But my point still stands. We got Irons in the fire, now we just gotta wait for them to be soft enough to hammer into something dangerous.


Tarah for now,

Matt

P.S. This month is probably going to see me doing some posting over at The Lobster Tail, my production blog for our Lobertin' doc as well as starting a tertiary corporate blog over on Flow's website (www.flowproductions.ca) so keep an eye out. It's going to be a lot of writing for me so please forgive me if there are some waits between posts.

DesperMOtivation: My New Word for My New World

"Desperate times, call for desperate measures."

-The Greeks

                                -Michael Scott

Despermotivation is a word that I may have created, I may not have, I honestly haven't checked, nor do I intend to. For the purposes of this post I'm just going to assume that I have indeed created this word, and as it's creator, I suppose I should define it. Properly too.

Despermotivation

des-per-mo-tiv-a-shon
noun
1. The act of achieving sufficient motivation for a task via one's own desperate circumstance.
2. A combination of "Derperation" and "Motivation" meaning both at once.

It's a term that I've come to describe my circumstances, as well as Brad's over the last few weeks. You see, we've both been in different, yet similar instances of this state. The state of motivating yourself out of pure desperation or necessity. For Brad that's meant that everyday over the past year he's woken up and put 100% of his energy into what is now Flow Productions  (Now with a logo! But still no content, we're working on it) because in his words "It was either that, or not eating." When you've literally GOT to do something to survive it seems to really motivate you to do it.

For me, Despermotivation has come and gone at different points, my move out here was fuelled by it. But from a more artistic desperation rather than a financial one, I needed to go, otherwise I wasn't going to create. I was just going to stagnate. Now that I'm out here, I've begun to run into the same kind of despermotivation. Again, not from a financial side (I'm still pretty broke, but the kind of broke where I can pay all my bills and eat, just not buy new cool things) it's my artistic desperation that's motivating me to try new things. And, look for work, real, paying work, in some kind of field that satisfies those desires. A lofty task, I know. I've been setting myself up to look for work to replace McDonald's, and I'm about to pull the trigger, going after radio stations, TV stations, A/V companies and whatever else I can find. Really anything that doesn't involve wearing a visor. And as a somewhat lazy/socially anxious person, I've really come to rely on my Artistic Despremotivation as the key to it all. As well as the realization that the best jobs seem to rarely post want ads, and you've really got to work for them to get in. A lot of that requires networking too, something I've been poor at in the past, but it's something I'm going to have to get good at if I want to do interesting things for a living. And I do.

Despermotivation. Tell your friends, and get desperately motivated today!

-Matt

Thanksgiving Misgivings

Thanksgiving, the Canadian version, is today. Traditionally a time of families coming together and celebrating everything that they are thankful for, and eating a great meal. My family, like most others has been doing it for years, but this time they'll be doing it without me. It's weird not having an awesome turkey dinner this weekend, everyone around me is going to their families places and I'm stuck here watching Quentin Tarantino movies and eating Ramen. I'd go out but, that'd be money. Instead I'm left in here with my canned food and video games in an empty apartment. Both my roommates have places to be.

I guess that's what happens when you're new in a city.  I'm not going to lie, I was kind of hoping I'd have one of those sit-com esce thanksgivings where I'd be joining a group of people also with no where to go, complete with wacky high-jinks and innuendo of course. But, apparently, life is not like a sit-com. Shocker, I know.

But that's OK.

It gives me more time to really think on what I have to be thankful for. There's a lot, it's just different things this year.

This year I'm not thankful for a big, home cooked family meal. I'm thankful for the Pizza I was able to afford.

Thin crust, pepperoni, donair meat and green peppers. Mmmm mmmm.

This year, instead of being thankful that my parents continue to tolerate my living with them, I get to be thankful for my apartment and the awesome view from my deck.

Made with real Ocean!

This year, instead of despising the town I live in I get to actually be thankful for it! I mean, check out this park that's across the street from me!

Actually that may not be the best angle

I'm thankful for the opportunity I've been given to work with Brad on Flow Productions out here. I'm thankful that I have a job to support that dream. And for my family and friends back home who've called and messaged me with support and encouragement since I got here. 

I mean, to be honest, for all my complaining about money, I'm actually pretty lucky. I think that most of us really are, which is why Thanksgiving is so important, because we really do have a lot to be thankful for. That's really the big takeaway for me, after spending thanksgiving on my own. I thought a lot more this year about thankfulness and appreciating what I have. Rather than just anticipating a lovely turkey dinner. But I did very much miss the connection to family we all get around this time of year. So for those who did get the opportunity to do that, remember that not everyone gets to, and raise a toast to family, warts and all, they're the only one you've got.

Thanks,

Matt. 

Starving the Artist. AKA: What I Would Literally do for a Klondike Bar

First of all I think I should put out a disclaimer. I'm not actually "Starving" nor am I in real danger of actually not having any food to eat. However, with my recent budget constraints I am limited in what foods I can buy. Things like rotisserie chicken, sugar cereals, fresh vegetables and yes, even Klondike Bars are frustratingly out of my reach. I like sugary things a lot, as anyone who's seen me with my shirt off can attest too, so I'm not particularly enjoying this lapse of creamy frozen goodness. In fact I've compiled a list of things that I would actually (probably) do to get my hands on a box of Klondike's famous bars.

Oh wait. No, screw Klondikes, sign me up for a box of these.

5. Shovel Pass a Kitten

Kittens are lovely things. They're fantastic and honestly I'd never want to hurt one. However, If I were playing a full contact football game, in my current economic situation, and my coach were to pull me over to the sideline and give me an empowering speech about trying new things, and how if I pull off this crazy play he's dreamed up there's a box of ice cream snacks in it for me, I could foresee blatantly throwing a kitten to a fullback so he can try to run through a heard of violent steroid infused behemoths. I mean at that point it's mostly his fault if the Kitten kicks it.

4. Never Play GTA V

I haven't played it yet. That's right. Me. I haven't played GTA V. It came along at the worst possible time for me finically. There's no way I can afford buying this thing right now, and I'm sure it's great and all but if someone came up to me and offered me a box of delicious ice cream treats to stay away from GTA V for the rest of my days, I would do it. I mean, I just downloaded Saints Row 3 for free on the PSN and it's giving me everything I need in the "needless destruction" centre of my brain. 

3.  Be Forced to Play "Wonderwall" on Guitar at a Party

On October 30th 1995 the british rock band known as Noel Gallager and Friends released this song. And ever since then it has been the scourge of not only the house party but also of the open mic night. Four of the most basic cords one first learns on an acoustic guitar, a capo, and an easy, but recognizable strumming pattern give us the song sung at every party by the guy who wants to ruin the entire night subconsciously.

 

"Do you know the one that goes na na do do daa Be Free? I

 bet all the chicks here would totally dig it."

I used to be that guy. Strumming away at every party I went too, singing every hack song from Wonderwall to Wagonwheel, off key and too loud. I was the worst. If there was ever a sign that I needed to quit drinking for a while, that was it.

That being said, I'd do it all again for some soft serve covered in thin chocolate coatings.

2. Not See Thor: The Dark World

This might be from a Nicolas Sparks movie, I'm not sure. 

If it was raining I'd be sure.

I love comics. I love movies. I love comic book movies. I even love bad comic book movies sometimes for the sheer awfulness. So I mean there's no way I'm actually going to hate this new Thor movie. I mean, personally I doubt it's going to become a new favourite of mine, but at the very least I can say with confidence that I'd enjoy it. 

But not more than a Klondike Bar.

Sorry, Avenger.

1. Petty Larceny

Ha! Jokes on you, Hand Cuffs, I have incredibly thin palms!

Lets get this straight. I said Petty Larceny. Petty. Meaning the theft of something under $500 dollars. Very under. Like say, 6.45$ at Shoppers Drug Mart. 

Oh, I see what he did there.

Look. I mean at this point there's not a lot I wouldn't do for a Klondike Bar/Reese Cup-o-Awesome.

Namaste

-Matt

P.S. NO, MOM, I'm not going to actually steal something.... Unless your birthday falls further away from a payday than I thought...

A Brave New World: The Realization of the Weight of Choices

Right off the bat, I think it's important to aknowledge the wonderful people at No Name Foods. Without their moderately priced quality food products I don't think I'd be able to do my groceries on the budget I have set out for myself (Currently it's "DON"T SPEND ANYTHING"). Today on my grocery run I only spent 19 dollars, but came home with around 9 assorted cans with food inside them, bread, milk, eggs, and knock off Timbits, which made me feel particularly smart and mature for some reason. Well, if I'm more honest it made me feel like the Boba Fett of groceries.

It's been a while since my last post and I want to apologize for that, I know many of you have been waiting with bated breath (but I also feel like at least half of you have been consumed by the insanity that is GTAV and have forgotten about this blog altogether) and I hate to disappoint you like that, so I'll try to make them come in more quickly. The reason for the delay results largely in the work load I've taken on. Yes, I have finally started flipping burgers at the local McDonald's, and that is time consuming, but the workload from Flow Productions has been surprisingly demanding. Recently we've put a new logo and title card together, shot a local Halifax band live concert, continued ongoing lobster industry research, recorded a podcast, and I'm even writing a new short film that we're hoping to make in the coming months (more on that as it materializes).

You'd think with all this work I'm doing more money'd be coming in...

But that's the weird animal that is video production, often your paydays don't come at the time most convenient to you. That's what McDonald's is for in this whole equation. I can at least count on that money coming in.

Money.

Such a weird idea.

Money holds so much power in our lives. Something I don't think I've really realized until very very recently. When you live at home, or you're in college I don't think most people really grasp the full value of money. It's just something that you sometimes have and sometimes don't. But now that I'm relying on just my money to get me through everyday I've begun to see why money and the love of it drive so much of the wrong that is in the world. It's a powerful force. More so than it should be. I think too often we value money more than the life of our fellow man, we turn a blind eye to those in need and rationalize our own "need" of that money over someone who's living on the street. And for those of us who, like me, follow a particular Jewish Rabbi as our mentor in this life, I think we put that money in front of our desire to follow him as well. Not something we should be doing.

This has definitely been a time in my life when I've valued my money above everything else. Not consciously, but it was motivating every decision I've made since I got out here, and I wasn't aware of it until yesterday.

Yesterday I met a guy named Jesse.

There I was standing at the bus stop, listening to an episode of Harmontown (probably my new favourite podcast) when this guy walks up to me and holds out his hand for me to shake. He looked like he was around my age standing at around 5 foot 10, with blonde hair, wired glasses and an unassuming plain grey hoodie. He told me his name and perhaps something else, I'm not sure Dan Harmon's dulced tones were still partially reverberating through my ears as I was very much caught off guard.

"Jesse ______ nice to meet you."

"Uh, hi" I responded, uncomfortable at meeting someone I wasn't prepared for. (See: crippling social awkwardness)

"I'm Matt"

"Hey matt how's it going, just hanging around outside today."

"Yeah man, we are definitely outside."

Why am I always such a passive aggressive misanthrope? Must be the British in me.

"Yep. It's a beautiful day. Don't you think it's a beautiful day?" Jesse asked bouncing on the balls of his feel, hands now in his pockets, looking like he was perfectly pleased with the actual rain that was falling all around us.

"Yeah I guess man, I mean If you like rain. I personally don't mind it but I guess if you weren't into that, it's probably not preferable"

I hate small talk. I'm not good at it. I'm also still very confused at why this guy is talking to me.

"Nah. Everyday is beautiful my friend. Every new day you see."

I honestly didn't have much of a reply to that other than a generic nodding of my head. Jesse went on to ask me what I was planning to do today. A question that threw me off. I was really starting to feel weary of this dude I mean, why does he want to know? Is he gonna stab me? or worse, try to sell me something?

I don't know why, but I told him that I was going to get shoes for work and then I was heading home. He seemed enthralled, commenting on how the shoes I had on looked like they were really nice (Vans, yo #swag). We talked about how I'd moved out here to start a production company as it became clear to me that Jesse at the very least was not dangerous. That's when he hit me with this.

"That's awesome man I have a buddy doing that same thing. It's good to have work."

"Yeah man, you working now?"

"No, I actually don't even have money to eat with right now."

"Dude. That sucks."

"Yeah. I'm actually wondering if you've got any change."

I gave him what I had, it really was not much maybe like 70 cents. I had no bills or anything on me, but he seemed just happy to get what I gave him. He kept smiling serenely, and told me that it might just be enough to convince the nice lady at the Tim's to give him a coffee as well.

"Hey man I'm sorry"

It was all I could think to say. What do you say? What do you say to a seemingly perfectly normal person who can't afford a sandwich?

"Don't be man. Just remember. Everyday is beautiful."

That's when he walked away. Leaving me to catch the bus alone.




Now I realize that the story I just told you is long for what it is and that I could have just said I gave money to a nice homeless guy I met. But I felt I had to write it down. Jesse showed me something this week I think I'd forgotten. That people matter so much more than money.

That's why we have to look out for each other. So that we can all be as happy about every new day as Jesse is, but also so that none of us end up starving in a gutter. Because if someone is sleeping on the street the blame for that comes back to us. To society. Sure that person may have made a few mistakes in life, but they may not have. Regardless, if we as a society see those people, those fellow human beings lying out begging for change and refuse to give them neither the physical change, or the societal change to lift them up and bring them back....

Then how can we look at them in distain?

At that point we're far more disgusting than they ever can be.


Look out for each other.

-Matt


P.S. If you clicked on the GloryHound Youtube video and thought "Wow that looks awesome Matt, well done with the video stuff" you should know I did not shoot that video, that's just a music video they already had, what we shot for that band was a live performance that will be edited together soon and released at the band's discretion. I just linked it so you'd get an idea of the awesome music I got to be on stage for (yes, on stage, it was awesome).

Arrival: The Trials and Tribulations of Overwhelming Responsibility for the Perpetually Immature

So,  it's been four days since we arrived in Halifax/Dartmouth,  I  have moved into my grown up person apartment, and my parents have left. It was a hard goodbye, harder than perhaps similar ones are. When someone moves out of their parents house for real, not for school or what have you, normally it's to somewhere at least relatively close, but not this time. I'm 21 years old and I just moved halfway across the country, and to be honest it scares me a little. There's so many unknowns, money, work, friends, hangouts, bat-fleck, so many things yet to be fully defined, and for a mental planner such as myself it's a little daunting.

On Wednesday we found my living quarters at around 3:30 and moved in my things, met my landlord and read a very nice note from Brad, which seems to have been dashed off very quickly but with full intent, as his hasty illustrations would seem to suggest. Then my parents found their motel and I met my other roommate, Jamie, who turns out, is a pretty nice guy. I also spent my first ever night in my new house, surrounded by boxes and empty walls, excited and also terrified.

Thursday was spent with my parents, again, as they bought me an awesome desk and chair as a delayed graduation present. It took a long time but it turned out well. We then grabbed a slice of pizza and headed back to my place where, the financial reality of what I have decided to undertake fully hit me, and my parents for the first time, a panic that did not wear off until well after they had left for the night, as I feverishly applied for any and all work I could find to support myself in the event of Video Production not being able to fully support me (a likely scenario). It was a hard night for me, surrounded by a still partially put together room and too many unanswered questions streaming through my head at a pace that was impossible to keep up with. But, one question in particular I kept coming back too again and again.

Is this what everyone feels like?

I guess it must be.

Fortunately, and by the grace of God, my many feverish, stuttering prayers for employment seemed to have an immediate pay off when Friday morning dawned with a phone call, and a Job interview. Sure, it was McDonald's, not the most glamourous of jobs,  but it would pay the bills while Brad and I try to get this dream off the ground. Dreams ain't free kids. And it also eased many of my financial worries.

Don't get me wrong, this has still been a stressful move, for both me and my parents, but that was one thing I didn't have to worry about... as much...

Over the rest of friday and today, I finally got my room sorted out, and decorated, to a small degree, and spent a lot of time with my parents. Something I ordinarily don't look forward too, but when goodbyes came today. I find it's something I'm going to miss very very much. Sure, my family comprises six emotionally awkward and slightly neurotic individuals who have a hard time communicating, but deep down we all love each other very much and are always there for each other. I'm very sad I'll be so separated from that I'm going to miss them very much. I'd be lying if I said that when I said goodbye today I was not emotional.

I think anyone who moves this far away from their family must feel that way. Even some who live closer.

It's a whole new world for me. Something I've said a lot, yet something that has only just now sunk in. New people. New Places. New Prices. New Job. Nothing familiar. This is my life now. I'm Terrified. I'm Excited. I'm Ready. But also Not.

In the words of John Mayer:

"Don't know how else to say it. I don't want to see my parents go."

"Stop this train, I want to get off and go home again. I can't take the speed it's killing me, I know I can't but can't someone stop this train."

I'm gonna miss you guys. Stay healthy, stay happy.

Matt



P.S. Below are some pictures of my new abode, well just my own bedroom. I'm sure at some point I'll put up some pictures from around the rest of the house.

The Door, Lanterns and all.

Door Open! Enter Leafs Nation, Dartmouth!

My lovely ladies, all looking fine.

Comic book/Magic cards/general geekery

Bench? Step? You tell me!............it's mostly a step it's a tall bed

Bed in question. New Joker poster accompanied by my old Star Wars one.

The view out my bedroom window.

Bluray/PS3 games/Goldbond 

TV/ Second Monitor

 Desk and chair

Arctic Batman, Mr. Freeze and an AMBUSHED Aquaman

TARDIS Container.

Closet

 Ladies.... I'm very available. Ignore the Green Lantern stuff.