Beowulf

Beowulf
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring:
Ray Windstone
Robin Wright Penn
Anthony Hopkins
Crispin Glover
Angelina Jolie


Plot:

A young, brazen Beowulf (Ray Windstone) promises his men glory and riches, they set out across the seas to answer a call from King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins). His kingdom is being terrorized by Grendel (Crispin Glover) and no one in Denmark can defeat the beast. Beowulf and his men defeat Grendel and now Beowulf has to deal with Grendel's mother (Angelina Jolie). After his dealings with her, Hrothgar announces Beowulf his heir leaving everything including his Queen Wealthow (Robin Wright Penn). Hrothgar kills himself shortly after his announcement. Beowulf remains King for several decades until his past comes back to haunt him. Of course I am only breezing over the story, there is much, much more to go over. If you want the whole story watch the movie :).

Review:

The storyline is one of the oldest stories out there. I particularly like how Beowulf was portrayed like a brazen youth with a never admit defeat attitude. This was shown with Beowulf talking about losing a swimming contest and why he lost it. Instead of saying shrugging his shoulders and saying oh well, he went into a story about being attacked by sea monsters during the race and it was his bravery that cost him the race not his slowness to cross the finish line.

The animation was really well done at at parts you almost had to guess if it was live action or not, like when there was a close up of a character's face but for most of the movie it was like watching a well animated video game. As always there are quirks to figure out like the "We've all been snorting coke and can't move our upper lips syndrome" which has plagued all animated movies.

The PG-13 rating is a bit of concern. While there is not a lot of blood and extremely brief nudity, which was masked by an almost comical ode to Austin Power way. The violence and brutality was still there and at times there were close up views of what was happening in detail. Also, the behind the scenes relationship of Beowulf's and Wealthow's royal marriage could be considered a subject matter for a more mature audience. I can see why the PG-13 rating was given, there wasn't much blood and no bad language, but a word of caution to parents, if you aren't prepared to answer the "Beowulf is married to the Queen why is there another woman in his bed?" or "How come Hrothgar gave the Queen to Beowulf, isn't she married to him and why would she be married to Beowulf just because the Beowulf is King, doesn't she get to chose?" Also, if you don't know the answers you may want to brush up a bit on the story and maybe some old world customs.

If you like old legends retold then I think you will truly enjoy this movie. The animated action is well done and storyline tight. It doesn't have any drag time like you see in most movies now, the plot and action keep you interested.

The Darkroom

The Darkroom (2006)

Director: Mike Hurst

Starring:

Greg Grunberg
Lucy Lawless
Reed Diamond
Shawn Pyfrom

Plot: FYI, I normally try to do a basic plot point. I don't like going into specifics for spoiler purposes.

A mental patient (Reed Diamond) who has had amnesia for 15 years is given an experimental drug. The drug is designed to help people with amnesia to remember their life and things like their name, family, where they might live or grew up. After the patient escapes the facility his dreams become nightmares with flash images of what looks to be a crime, he is plagued by a creature that chases him in his dreams, he also has hallucinations involving the creature. He figures the creature is a creation from the drug and tries his best to dismiss it's presence. However, he fears he has done a heinous murder, he lays low in the homeless community. During his self exile he manages to befriend a boy named Stanley(Shawn Pyfrom) by chasing off two bullys.

The boy has his own family problems, his mother (Lucy Lawless) is an alcoholic and his step father (Greg Grunberg) is detached, distance and secretive. The marriage is strained because the father goes out late at night with a camera and has a dark room in the house, which he constantly keeps locked. The relationship between the step father and boy is also strained, the step father is constantly reminded that he is not the boys real father and he hates to be reminded of that fact. With the help of his new friend, Stanley finds out his step fathers secrets which he is not fully prepared to find out. There is a bit of a twist to this story but I will leave that up to the reader to figure out on their own.

Review: The main reason I watched this film was simply for Lucy Lawless. She has always played fairly strong minded women so it was nice to see her ability to play a vulnerable house wife is just as great. Even though this was a supporting role Lucy is able to convey the anger and mental pain the character feels toward the husband and also the feeling of helplessness of being in an unhappy marriage.

Another thing I liked is how the creature is portrayed on screen. Part nightmare, part hallucination, part fear is what makes this creature. As the movie progressed the viewer can see what events caused this creature to be incorporated into the patients psyche. The creature did have a "Pumpkin head" feel to it, I'm sure thanks to the director experience on such films.

The movie doesn't get too graphic but it does show some pretty intense scenes. There's blood and murder, not a lot of gore. I think this is a good mix of storyline and horror. Like all movies there are some plot holes in it but they aren't bad. The horror part wasn't over bearing and the storyline kept it moving. Good movie if you like the horror genre but don't want the gore factor to get in the way or plot line to be senseless.

SCI Fi Channels Ghost Hunters - Sanatorium Live Results

Is it just me or has this show jumped the shark?

I caught the Sanatorium Live Results episode last night and I have to say it was a big departure from the first episodes aired. The reveal was nothing but reactions to things seen off camera. I understand it's hard to photograph or video tape hard cut evidence but please don't pass off people being freaked out as evidence of the paranormal. Let's face it there is already an atmosphere of uneasiness going into the place, people will get freaked out by seeing a mouse.

In the beginning, I remember Jason being a bit of a hard ass when it came to the evidence and wanting to declare a place haunted. I remember the team being less skittish and more logical about debunking things. I also recall Jason not allowing evidence that didn't show anything substantial. Showing someones reaction to something off camera is not evidence of anything but someone being startled by something explainable or by their own imagination.

Also, what was up with bringing a a wrestler on to the show? Are The Ghost Hunters going to start having "Guest Appearances" from B or C list celebrities? I did find it amusing to watch Elijah Burke scream like a girl and run away. I don't think he will be living that down anytime soon. But I did happen to notice something interesting on camera. Right before Elijah tweaked, it looked like Grant poked him in the side as a joke or maybe to give him a cue to get scared and run.

Are the days of seeing hard to debunk evidence gone from this show? Are they trying to hype up less active places or maybe cover up a bad place to investigate by filling the time with fluff? I'm not saying the Waverly place is or is not haunted and I can totally understand Jason and Grant not wanting egg on their face especially if they made a big deal about the investigation being live. Nobody wants to pull a Geraldo Rivera what's in Al Cappone's vault moment. But if you got nothing don't try to cover it up with a puppet show.