I AM BEOWULF! AND I LIKE TO BE NAKED! AND YELL! A LOT!
So Hublet and I were going to go see No Country for Old Men on Friday, but all the showings were sold out. Since this was our only opportunity to see a movie for the foreseeable future, we were determined to See A Movie, Dammit! This, coupled with my Medievalist roots, explains how we ended up seeing Beowulf.
I am torn. I know what Gaiman was probably going for with the screenplay, but he ended up with Danes and Geats as a bunch of frat boys with better tats and leathers, and he fell into the po-mo trap wherein a simple tale of heroism and human foibles leading to a great king's downfall and ultimate redemption isn't good enough - we need a naked water demoness! And a magic cup! And a mysterious open ending in order to drop the anvils of "temptation never dies" and "heavy is the crowny cranium" with a dash of "who are the real monsters" hoo-ha onto the heads of our unsuspecting audience!
That said, it was visually interesting, although CGI people are still creepy with their dead, dead, eyes and jumpy movements. Really. We just haven't got the hang of CGI people yet. Although the Angelina Jolie character was the least artificial looking one. Not sure if that means that the effects people were unduly obsessed, or if Ms. Jolie's facial characteristics are scarily artificially smooth in real life.
Bottom line - this movie will make it REALLY easy for teachers of Beowulf to tell who's actually done the reading and who cheated by watching the film.
I am torn. I know what Gaiman was probably going for with the screenplay, but he ended up with Danes and Geats as a bunch of frat boys with better tats and leathers, and he fell into the po-mo trap wherein a simple tale of heroism and human foibles leading to a great king's downfall and ultimate redemption isn't good enough - we need a naked water demoness! And a magic cup! And a mysterious open ending in order to drop the anvils of "temptation never dies" and "heavy is the crowny cranium" with a dash of "who are the real monsters" hoo-ha onto the heads of our unsuspecting audience!
That said, it was visually interesting, although CGI people are still creepy with their dead, dead, eyes and jumpy movements. Really. We just haven't got the hang of CGI people yet. Although the Angelina Jolie character was the least artificial looking one. Not sure if that means that the effects people were unduly obsessed, or if Ms. Jolie's facial characteristics are scarily artificially smooth in real life.
Bottom line - this movie will make it REALLY easy for teachers of Beowulf to tell who's actually done the reading and who cheated by watching the film.
Categories
Day in the Life , Pop, Pop, Pop Culture0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: I AM BEOWULF! AND I LIKE TO BE NAKED! AND YELL! A LOT!.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://bigarmwoman.com/newblog/mt-tb.cgi/40
Despite the Neil Gaiman screenplay, we've held off on going to Beowulf, mostly because of the horrid look of the pseudo-animation. The Polar Express was the creepiest Christmas movie ever made, and although everyone swears the techniques have improved with this film, the trailers put the lie to that claim. Although, I guess Beowulf can be allowed to look creepy, unlike that skin-crawling Christmas movie.
Get Smart ``The Mild Ones'' (December 9 1967) had a ``ye olde'' motorcycle gang if you want a little more action. I recommend the 5-season DVD.
The series is a guy's love story, actually.
dhanson -
I totally agree about The Polar Express. Yeesh. But this just wasn't much better - the eyes are always flat and dead looking, no matter the pixel count.
It was like watching an animated Madame Tussaud's figure trying to be human. Creep. E.