Two Movies, Two Days

I think two movies may close in two days. Both are worthwhile.

I recently saw the revival of Z (1969) at the Film Forum. A fact-based story (like The Haunting in Connecticut!) revolving around a political assassination, Z still pulses with vitality forty years after its release. The story becomes more involving as it unfolds, practically inviting additional research into the real-life basis for the movie. Director Costa-Gravas...Wait! It's been held over through March 31! So now you've got more time to prepare for...

Watchmen in IMAX at the AMC Loews Lincoln Square! That exclamation mark might be overdoing it at bit, because Watchmen isn't that great a movie. However, I've come up with a theory: One's enjoyment of Watchmen is enhanced if one has read the book and if one sees it in IMAX. The book (originally a series of comic books) is a great example of how absorbing graphic fiction can be; the movie, which omits story elements, doesn't match the book when it comes to inventiveness, but it largely works well as a realization of some interesting aspects of the book. The IMAX format yields some gripping visuals (though at one of last night's screenings some sort of debris seemed to mar the projections for several minutes) and the action sequences add life to the static panels. Some of the dialogue is laughable or just unsubtle—especially toward the end—but lots of the more interesting and more important themes of the original (which has its own finale issues) do come through.

Back to Z: Here's an interview between Costas-Gravas and Leonard Lopate on WNYC.



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