Beowulf: Director’s Cut (2007) Review

Before underdressed CGI blue cat people fought “the man” in 3D and made a billion dollars, another underdressed CGI hero fought against “the woman” in 3D and barely managed a profit worldwide. Despite its underwhelming box office, this movie inspired by an ancient Anglo-Saxon poem is the more interesting of the two. Gory, boisterous, beautiful, and dark, it was hampered by trying to be both a meditation on human frailty and a popcorn action flick. UPDATED June 2013 with Blu-ray details and HD screen captures.

In those forgotten days before television, before movies, before radio, and yes even before comic books, heroic tales still circulated. Traveling bards who could recite great tales were highly valued and the superstars of their day. Committed to memory, countless tales that thrilled audiences of the past have been lost. But a few lasted long enough to be transcribed to paper and Beowulf is the oldest in the English culture.

If you are a dedicated fan and purist about the heroic poem, please stop reading here. It will save you time wailing and gnashing your teeth – besides, Grendel of the movie is much better at doing both of those. This movie is more of an “inspired by” story than an adaptation.

Set in 6th Century Denmark, the film begins with with chanting driven orchestral music (composed by veteran Alan Silvestri) and the main title flashing on screen. In 3D at the theater, it looked very good I must say. Quickly the title fades and we are presented with an ornate golden horn drinking cup featuring a dragon. It is apparent that we are supposed to pay attention to this object and I recall thinking “It’s a plot device!”

As the camera pans up, we are introduced to our first look at how the all CGI film renders humans. A very pretty and regal looking Nordic lady is holding the cup during its filling, all the while looking none too happy to be doing so. Soon we find out why and her identity.

A Worthy Anime

While I’ve been aware of Kickstarter for some time now and even been interested in a few projects, there has been nothing that I was willing to put my money on until now. Time of EVE is a wonderful webcast science fiction anime about a café where humans and humanoid robots mingle in a homage to Isaac Asimov’s robot stories. After marathoning the episodes the day after the Kickstarter announcement for an international Blu-ray of the movie version, I knew I had to contribute.

At the moment, the funding stands at $99,112 with my contribution in. The goal was $18,000 by June 22 and was blown through in 22 hours. That should give you an idea of what people think of the anime. Because of the overwhelming support, an English dub is going to be included and further stretch goals are being worked on. Personally, I’m hoping for a soundtrack CD for the next goal.

Time of EVE is wonderfully written and animated, so don’t expect crude Flash animation – this is the quality of theatrical release along the lines of Studio Ghibli productions. Heavy on character development, the film features humor and gentle emotion throughout rather than action.

The story begins when a curious high school student tries to account for the movements of the female humanoid housekeeper robot and walks into a mysterious unmarked back alley café. Inside there is one rule: don’t discriminate between humans and robots. As the mystery deepens, the question of what makes an individual a person is raised, tolerance is tested, and outside political intrigue raises the stakes involved. Along the way, everyone’s personal story gets told.

Check out the first episode for free at Crunchyroll and the whole thing if you are a paid subscriber.

Area 88 Ep. 5: An Unyielding Spirit in Lipstick

An anime original character loosely based on one from the source manga makes her debut in this action filled episode. With their top ace grounded, the mercenaries at Area 88 receive a large surprise when a fighter sweep goes wrong. Forcefully inserting herself into the all male base, a brash newcomer finds her abundant self confidence tested in the lethal skies.

The greatest strength of Area 88 lies not in its action sequences, but in its character development. A third of the way into the series and it had already introduced a good number of unique individuals, but lacked a strong female. Wanting to rectify that, the writer and director of the show decided to bring in a new pilot. It’s a well timed introduction given Shin is grounded while waiting for his new fighter.

Before the opening credits roll, a tense situation is depicted with the commander of the base, Saki, listening to the combat chatter while watching the radar screen. One of the flights has gotten into a furball and used all their ammunition up. Kim, the young boy flying the Sea Harrier FRS.1, is in trouble and unable to shake the MiG-21 on his tail.

Post credits, things look worse as a warning of a bogey entering the area is immediately followed by a radar warning receiver going off. That indicates a fighter radar has gone into padlock mode to lock a target for a guided missile. Kim prepares to die as the missile streaks in from the unfamiliar plane.

So I’m Thinking of Building an Ark…

…Not because I want to or have been commanded to, but because the rain keeps coming. There is a large amount of water standing in the fields around the county, flash flooding between Caledonia and Hokah last night, and the promise of another round of intense storms this afternoon. It’s reminding me a little of 2007 when the floods hit.

So far there hasn’t been anything quite to that level. However, the ground is past saturated and fields in the valleys are mostly unplanted. I did see some corn planted in higher elevations around Caledonia at least. What little thought toward a garden has been negated by the cold and wet spring we are suffering from. The farmers have far more to worry about though.

The Internet service has been going in and out the last few days and I suspect water is getting into the lines or repeater boxes somewhere. That’s trivial compared to how damaged the driveway is getting. A few more storms and we’ll be able to compete with the Grand Canyon for tourists.

The Last Dinosaur (1977) Review

You wouldn’t expect the studio behind Rudolph and Frosty the Snowman to put out a live action monster movie, but that’s exactly what Rankin/Bass Productions did in 1977. Supposedly aimed at older kids, this movie is a great deal more adult in its themes than expected. Ostensibly about a big game hunter getting a chance to hunt a dinosaur, the story is really about being a relic in a changing modern world.

Rankin/Bass Productions had a long running association with Japanese studios with both their animated and stop motion children’s specials being produced in the land of the rising sun. But that wasn’t the only kind of content made for the American producers. In the late 1960s, King Kong Escapes was made as a live action joint production taking advantage of the cheaper suit acting for giant monsters pioneered in Gojira.

In fact, The Last Dinosaur has a direct connection to that classic movie through the special effects studio founded by Eiji Tsuburaya, creator of the effects of the early Godzilla series and television’s Ultraman. Providing all the miniatures and dinosaurs, their work imbues the movie with the kaiju spirit.

The film opens with a dark room with a home movie comprised of big game hunting footage being shown over a fireplace. Hints of shag rug complete the impression of a 1970s make out den and sure enough when the lights come on it’s there. You will not mistake the setting for another time period, that’s for sure.

A pretty brunette in a pink blouse appears to be the trophy girlfriend of the much older and wealthy owner of the residence. He paws her for a bit before handing her his photo scrapbook to peruse while he goes to check on what the guys up front are doing. A quick pullback reveals that this is a room on a plane, which is very impressive.

Then we find out it is actually a model plane from the external shot. Okay, being just a little snarky there, but sometimes the Japanese use of models to just use models doesn’t look too great and this is one of those occasions.

The credits roll while the young woman leafs through the life of our main character, Masten Thrust, Jr. That name is also a giveaway of which decade this was made in, come to think of it. Played by Richard Boone of Have Gun, Will Travel fame, Masten is a man’s man according to the clever device used to show his backstory. Every page shows a part of his life through photos and newspaper clippings. Even his personality shows via the short and humorous comments on each page.

Memorial Day 2013

It is a rainy and cold day that adds a somber atmosphere to the day set aside in the United States to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Many people confuse Memorial Day with Veterans Day, but this day is for those fallen in battle. A gloom has fallen on this holiday weekend, traditionally more a time to grill outside and for families to gather from afar.

I feel an odd foreboding today and have no inspiration to write the kind of post I’d like to. Browsing through my photos, I find that ones of the county memorial exist only in my memory and not on my hard drive. Instead, this photo of the M3A3 Stuart tank from World War II on display in Houston will have to suffice.

Many have sacrificed all so that the rest of us can exercise our agency and enjoy freedom. Sadly, I think remembrance of their deeds is fading in our ever more self centered society. I’m grateful for the way they laid down their lives for a greater good and I hope more of my fellow Americans will reflect on the true meaning of the day.

Topblogstories Referral Spam

Another round of spam has hit the blog stats page and this time it is a link to a purported hookup service for the sexually desperate. Okay, it doesn’t say that, but that’s how I view it.

topblogstories . com / led me to this page:

Link to NSFW screen capture, but not pornographic image.

topblogstories . com / 18331&c=3 led to virtually the same page:

Link to NSFW screen capture, but not pornographic image.

Notice the javascript coding picks up where your IP is from. I suspect false advertising given the number of breasts promised.

As usual, do not click on the referrals! I hope your mother warned you about these kinds of girls…

…and hopefully you will warn others about these kinds of spam.

UPDATE: The first link now leads to a topless photo. It may be that they rotate them, but be warned it is now very NSFW!

UPDATE 2: Seeing another round of it with a small variance. Persistent, aren’t they?

topblogstories . com / 7293&c=6

UPDATE 3: Thanks to the efforts of commenter Edgar Bangkok there are more details on the spammers, both methods and probable location in Ukraine. He’s posted detailed analysis at his blog in two posts:

The first one shows how javascript is used on the webpage.

The second post drops shows the topblogstories spammers are now targeting Google Analytics and shows sublinks going to AdultFriendFinder and Damned Love.

If you don’t read Italian, you’ll need to use a translation service such as Google Translate to read his posts.