Movie Review: Beowulf 3-D

Beowulf
rated PG-13 for Intense sequences of Violence including disturbing images, sexual material and nudity
Filmmaking- 3 1/2 out of 5 stars
Moral Rating: Offensive
Overall: 3 out of 5 stars

Beowulf is one of those classic tales that everyone has heard of. You may not have read it before, but undoubtedly you know of the epic poem of the viking Beowulf, and how he slew the monster Grendel that was terrorizing King Hrothgar's people in Denmark.
This story had the potential to be an amazing movie. The story features fights, monsters, vikings, and dragons. What more could you ask for? Unfortunately, director Robert Zemeckis saw fit to destroy the story by incorporating a relationship between Grendel's mother and Beowulf into the plot that results in an illegitimate son that can shift shapes into a dragon. Yes, that does result in a fight between father and son that results in Beowulf ripping the dragon's heart out with his bare hands.

Filmmaking was very well done overall. The new digital animation was dazzling, with characters that looked almost exactly like their real life counterparts. That ended up being a problem however. More on that later. The vistas, fights, and weather effects were amazing; but the characters themselves lacked something that a live action movie would have had- emotion. At times it was like watching dolls and being expected to sympathize. If you don't feel they are human, how can you? The story is where this movie loses its stars. This movie had the potential to be really good, but as I stated before, Zemeckis messed it up by changing the story and removing some of the heroic traits that the original gave to Beowulf.

Morally speaking, this movie was terrible. Zemeckis saw fit to dirty up the script with a lot of sexual innuendos, implied relations, and most offensively, nudity. The nudity was so extensive, in fact, that had this movie been live action, it would have automatically been given an R rating. In his epic fight with Grendel, Beowulf is completely naked, often showing his backside to the audience. He is glimpsed from the front, but- comically- things are placed so that you just cant make anything out- whether it is an elbow, smoke, or a sword hilt. The most offensive nudity comes in the shape of Grendel's mother, however. Played by Angelina Jolie, she reportedly was embarrassed at how much of her was shown- which was all of it. As a sensual seductress, she appears emerging from the water completely naked, dripping with gold. Nothing is disguised from here on out whenever she appears. Because of the animation however, certain body parts were "modified" to prevent it from being too graphic. However, The animation was still rather realistic, particularly with her chest. Because of this, I am not recommending this movie to anyone.
The fighting was really graphic, and when the 3-D technology got involved, blood would drip on people, along with spears and arrows being shot past. Dismembered body parts would crash in front of you, people's heads would be ripped off. Flesh is sliced down and internal organs crash into the water, people are ripped in half. This is no kiddie movie! If you are weak of heart, do not see Beowulf!

Overall, I was disappointed in Beowulf. It was a lot of fun to see in 3-D, but because of the nudity, extremely graphic violence, and the weak morality in the plot, I don't want to recommend this movie to anyone under 18. If you can handle the violence and nudity, it is worth it to see the movie in the new stunningly beautiful 3-D technology. Otherwise, stay at home.

Signing out, The Buckland Fiddler

Best of series Update

For all you video game fans who were eagerly awaiting my picks for best games of 07, you are going to have to wait a little longer! I decided to postpone that post until I have a chance to play Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Assassins Creed, Project Gotham Racing 4, and possibly some others along with or instead of these.....

All will be revealed soon!

Stay tuned for a Best Television post!

Signing out, as always, The Buckland Fiddler

Entertainment News for November 13th

Howdy Ya'll!

For today I have a few news announcements concerning various entertainment headlines.
First off....

Apparently, Jack Nicholson is not happy that Heath Ledger is playing the Joker in the new Batman movie. When asked about it, he was reported as having said "They didn't ask me! I know how to do it!". To some degree I agree, but you have to admit that Heath looks good as Joker.
The Dark Knight will be released next May nation wide.

Next, DONT go see The Golden Compass! It has come out recently that this trilogy follows the story of a girl who, get this, is on a quest to KILL GOD. I didn't believe it at first, but the more I read, the more I realized this was true. The author, atheist Philip Pullman, has admitted to this. What is scary though is how he is marketing this movie to kids. Kids will go see the movies, read the books, and slowly become indoctrinated with his atheistic world view.

Finally,
The Newgrass Band Will Tell has now entered the studio a second time to begin work on an all new demo. All 5 members are incredibly excited and think that what they have heard so far sounds great. Coming soon will be a brand new website, myspace page, demo cd, an EP cd that will be sold at concerts, as well as t-shirts, stickers and various other merchandise.

Check out our Facebook.com fan club for more information.
Signing out, The Buckland Fiddler

The Best Music of 2007

This installment in the Best of 07 series looks at the best music releases and music tours of the year.

Tobymac- Portable Sounds
This cd certainly took me by surprise. While I expected more of the stereo typical Toby MacKeehan , he turned around and delivered a cd with strong pop-rock roots. For those of you who are tobyMac fans, you know that he has always done a rap-hip hip sound, and very well I might add. While he DID sing with dcTalk and HAS sung on some of his past cds, it was a major surprise to hear a cd that was almost entirely singing. Toby, we love you man!

Relient K- Five Score and Seven Years
Relient K has always been a band to innovate the punk rock sound, releasing cds that outdid all of their previous works, yet somehow remaining connected. This time, Relient K went a different route and incorporated air tight harmonies, clever instrumentations, and an overall newer-edgier sound with Five Score. This was my favorite release of 07 because of the overall listenability of the cd. It is one of those projects that you just never get tired of!

Casting Crowns- The Altar and the Door
Casting Crowns burst onto the Christian music scene a couple of years ago with their self titled debut. Each cd they have released to date has been absolutely amazing, with deep lyrics and a musical knowledge that has the music theorist in me smiling. With The Altar and the Door, CC took an already seemingly perfect formula and made it even better by adding some hard-hitting punches at the church. This is definitely going to take people by surprise the first time they hear it, because of the shocking quality to the lyrics. BUT, it is most definitely worth the listen...particularly for the hit East to West.

Phil Wickham-Cannons
Phil Wickham released a debut a couple of years ago that while being a solid record and artistically original, still lacked that thing to take it to the top. This time, Phil and producer Peter Kipley deliver a record that is VERY artistic, and VERY listenable. At times sounding like a cross between Coldplay and Dave Mathews, Cannons is an awesome addition to any CD collection.

Jars of Clay-Christmas Songs
Jars of Clay + Christmas Music= A nostalgic musical look at the holidays through music that is typically skipped over. Need I say more? This Christmas record is awesome...combining the artistic style of JOC with some Christmas songs that really needed to be recorded. Plus, they wrote a few originals that capture the Christmas feel perfectly. This is incidently their first release on their independent record label-Grey Matters.

Switchfoot/Relient K/Ruth- The Appetite for Construction tour
This tour was AMAZING. All three bands were great live, particularly Relient K and Switchfoot, and they donated a portion of their proceeds to Habitat for Humanity.
All I can say is there is nothing quite like hearing Oh Gravity live!

That is it for the Best Music of 2007 post! Once again, if you have any comments or suggestions, let me know! Signing out, The Buckland Fiddler

The Best Movies of 2007

It is now the time of the year to review the best (and worst) of 2007!
This week I will review the great box office successes and wonderful films of the year.

Best Action Film:
The Bourne Ultimatum

I don't think anyone expected this movie to be as good as it was. In the summer of sequels and threequels, this was clearly the best all around. With a solid performance from Matt Damon, and a good script and cinematography, this film was win-win. While Pirates 3 and Spiderman 3 made more money, they had plot holes and story features that fans did not like. This Bourne movie was a hit with Bourne fans, and while finishing the three movie story arc, left room for more movies in this series in the future.

Best Animated Film:
Meet the Robinsons

I know that there are a lot of people right now who hate me for giving this award to Meet the Robinsons and not Ratatouille, but to them I say this-"Did you expect Meet the Robinsons to be so good? No. What about Ratatouille? Yes"
Pixar films are expected to be great, and we all compared their latest to their other hits. Disney, on the other hand, went completely original and took a creative twist with Meet the Robinsons. It had a great plot, good animation and a heck of a lot more appeal to us older folks. After Chicken Little I expected nothing, and Meet the Robinsons delivered....majorly. Shrek the Third was pathetic and everything else was unoriginal, so that is why Meet the Robinsons gets this prize.

Best Comedy:
Ocean's Thirteen

It says something about the pathetic state of comedies when a non-comedy is the funniest movie of the year. Sure it is technically a crime movie, but who wouldn't laugh at Matt Damon with a fake nose wooing a drunk Ellen Bergen?
Evan Almighty was okay, and some of the animated movies entertained, but almost all of the comedies of 2007 were R rated sex comedies, which I never go for. Ocean's Thirteen was hilarious, well made, and had a wonderful returning cast, so it gets the vote for Best Comedy.

Best Drama:
Pan's Labyrinth

Some of you may not remember this film. It came out it in the first quarter of 07 and to a limited release at that. While this film could probably be classified as a fantasy film, it fits nicely in the drama category because of the stories of the two main characters and their struggles against the blood and tears of war. I have never seen as much debate on whether a fantasy world was real or not. I have gotten into countless debates over this one movie and no one can seem to agree. That is why writer/director Guillermo del Toro gets the prize for this one. Although it was very bloody ( The MPAA rating was R for graphic violence) Pan's Labyrinth really captured the hardships of war in a way that even Children of Men did not.

Email me if there was a category you feel I left out!
Signing out, The Buckland Fiddler

The Best of 2007 series

Sure, the year is not over yet, but that doesn't mean we can't recognize the great entertainment that has come out so far!

Starting this week, stay in touch for:

The Best Movies of 2007

The Best Music of 2007

The Best Television of 2007

The Best Video Games of 2007

Signing out, The Buckland Fiddler

Movie Mini-Review: Elizabeth The Golden Age

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
rated PG-13 for Violence, Sexuality, and Nudity

Filmmaking: 5 out of 5 stars
Moral Content: 3 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

This film is great for people who are fans of Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush, or for those who like historical films.

Story: Very good story, nice writing.
Acting: A phenomenal job from all of the lead actors, especially Cate Blanchett.
Effects and Costumes: Very realistic. Some of the sea battles were a bit composed, but other than that it was captivating.
Objectionable Material: Minor profanities are used about 10 times, some sensuality is seen as Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) woos one of Elizabeth's maids, and brief full nudity is seen from behind when Elizabeth removes a robe. This is extremely brief though, and nothing besides her butt is seen.
My thoughts: It was fascinating to see a Hollywood portrayal of historical time such as this, but I liked it a lot. And I stayed awake, even though I saw it at 10 PM!

This movie is not recommended for anyone under 15.