Ah, The Dread

The dread this morning, me waking up to watch last night's episode of The Daily Show. I had a feeling that Rick Santelli would bluster his way through his appearance, shrug off his own misplaced and undeserved anger, that Jon Stewart, no matter how hard he tried, wouldn't win this battle against a truly idiotic man. So when Rick Santelli cancelled on Jon Stewart, I perked up because I wouldn't have to hear him talk, but grumbled when I realized what a pansy-ass move it was to cancel.

Then Stewart started his first segment, discussing Santelli, his cancellation, and why Santelli was worth having on the show at all. This led to Stewart discussing CNBC in depth and skewering them for all they're worth. Let's hope he doesn't stop tonight. Kudos to you, Stewart, for proving me wrong.

But, on a separate yet similar note, can I be proven wrong with regards to Watchmen? Oh, I hope so. Oh, I doubt it. Let me clarify: I've never read the graphic novel (I would like to, though). I am hoping, beyond hope, that it doesn't matter, that Zack Snyder and company will work their hardest to make me feel as comfortable as if I was watching something that had no prior source material. There have been loads of positive reviews, but none of them have been from legitimate sources, aside from a B- review from Owen Gleiberman (which isn't incredibly positive, grade-wise) and a four-star review from Roger Ebert, whose opinion I respect but, these days, take with a grain of salt. Yes, he gives four stars to movies I like, but he also hands them out far more frequently than in the past.

I could still like or love this movie, but the more I hear about it, the more I doubt. Somehow, this movie being longer than The Dark Knight makes me wonder. The movie having a far longer director's cut makes me wonder. The criticisms of the actors, or most of them, make me wonder. The extreme violence makes me wonder.

Yes, I'll see the movie, and see it this weekend, but I have my doubts. I want to be proven wrong. We'll find out soon enough.