Reviews

Films

Beowulf

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson and Angelina Jolie

Seamus Heaney considers it "a work of the greatest imaginative vitality, a masterpiece where the structuring of the tale is as elaborate as the beautiful contrivances of its language".

Kingsley Amis, however, thought it "a crass, purblind, infantile, featureless heap of gangrened elephant sputum".

They were talking about the earliest major literary text in our language, the 3,182-line Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, written in 10th century England, set in 8th century Denmark, and now brought to the screen by Robert Zemeckis, continuing his interest in excursions into the past (his Back to the Future trilogy) and his experiments in working between animation and live action (Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The Polar Express).

The film takes in the main incidents of the poem. The Geatish warrior Beowulf (Ray Winstone) comes from what is now southern Sweden to the Danish court of King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) to defeat first the man-eating monster Grendel (Crispin Glover), then Grendel's beguiling mother (Angelina Jolie). Some years later, now himself a king, he confronts in mutually destructive combat a mighty dragon.

Co-scripted by comic-strip author Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, who shared a best original screenplay Oscar with Tarantino for Pulp Fiction, the film is technically a state-of-the-art affair in the way the digitally enhanced live-action figures are inseparable from the animated backgrounds, but it belongs to the blunt end of the cinematic cutting edge as far as the acting and dialogue go.

Winstone's Beowulf has been enhanced into a 2.5m giant, but you still expect him to tap Grendel's chest with his forefinger and say (in a strong London accent): "You're out of fuckin' order!" The contrivance by which Beowulf's private parts are obscured as he strolls around Hrothgar's hall and does battle with Grendel would win him 10 points from a judging panel that included Phyllis Dixey, Gypsy Rose Lee and Sally Rand. His carousing Myrmidons sing jocularly dirty songs like a gang of drunken rugby players and talk about "bollocks" and "wankers", though when it comes to sexual matters, everyone opts for the Middle English "swiving".

Anthony Hopkins with his Burtonesque Dylan Thomas delivery seems always on the point of saying: "Do not chase Grendel into that good night", and the naked Jolie resembles Shirley Eaton as the 24-carat fall girl who got the stick in Goldfinger. Zemeckis believes his film "should stir some debate in academia", but it's all pretty laughable sword-and-sorcery stuff and could well have been called Norse by Norse Worst.

Ex Drummer

Directed by Koen Mortier, starring Dries Van Hegen, Norman Baert, Gunter Lamoot and Sam Louwyck

Ex Drummer is a staggeringly violent and grimy film from Belgian director Koen Mortier, about a renowned writer who steps out of his comfy life to join a brutal punk band.

There's a dark strain of absurd humor and a certain pop promo style to it all, but you feel like you need a good bath after watching it.

Good Luck Chuck

Directed by Mark Helfrich, starring Dane Cook and Jessica Alba

Before watching Good Luck Chuck you need funnybone bypass surgery. It's an abject sex comedy about a hexed man (Dane Cook), his disgusting best friend and pretty Jessica Alba who, of course, looks after penguins at a theme park.

The Guardian

(China Daily 11/20/2007 page20)