Watch out

Based on Alan Moore’s best-selling comic book series, Watchmen is set in an alternate 1985, and is new on DVD this week. When police run into a dead end in a murder investigation, Rorschach, a masked vigilante, looks into it on his own, believing the U.S. government is working covertly to eliminate all “superhero” crime fighters. Meanwhile the only guy with actual superpowers is an emotionally detached, blue, ghost-like Superman named Dr. Manhattan, and he is accused of causing cancer among certain high-profile citizens. Shamed, he exiles himself to Mars. Why? Because that’s where super heroes go for some “me time.” Problem is, without Dr. Manhattan’s aid, the United States weakens internationally and Russia grows stronger, which causes all kinds of problems. So while Rorschach and his masked friends face extermination, Dr. Manhattan must face his own demons and decide if or how to help the country he once served valiantly. Malin Ackerman, Billy Crudup, Jackie Earl Haley, Carla Gugino and Patrick Wilson star. Rated R.