Pop, Pop, Pop Culture: November 2007 Archives
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.
The Fabulous Moola is no more. I remember watching her on GLOW, Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, way back in the 80s. Recently a friend of mine was involved in making a documentary in which she was featured. And I seem to remember a segment for the Daily Show several years back in which Moola discussed training female midget wrestlers in her S.C. home...I believe the phrase, "that's my damn midget" was bandied about, which is why it has stuck in my memory.
