film: Beowulf (Zemeckis 2007) (trailer)

[tambourine-man]

Castaway delivered.

Just like FedEx.

 

[physix]

Oh yes, I want to have wild sex with Will Smith, because I don't like Contact.

well, since you couldn't read the subtext of my point -- which, considering what my point was, is rather ironic -- i'll be more direct about it.

people wanted obvious.

Contact was subtle. It was about connecting science with faith. in fact, the story was about faith.

not aliens.

aliens was merely the vehicle to drive point the connection.

so, in that respect, the movie delivered. and it seems that most people who object -- maybe not you, personally, but most -- wanted more aliens, wanted more action; and, in the process, missed the theme of the movie.

Aha!

Yes, the ending was what dissapointed me. Not because I expected some sort of extravagant CGI ridden alien monstrosity, but rather because thematically I expected a bigger payoff than her having a conversation with her father. And the argument that humans couldn't fathom the experience of encountering an alien species was just idiotic and cowardly as far as I'm concerned.

that wasn't the theme of the movie.

the theme dealt with connecting science and faith. it was a critique on fields of theology and science splintering and how that is a RECENT phenomenon.

the scientist experiences something, something poignant. so much so, that even SHE admits that a scientist should not have been the one to experience this. she has doubts about faith, about the logic of faith -- which, to her, is an oxymoron.

then, she experiences something. she knows it happens. she knows it was important. and now, because of what other people SAW and EXPERIENCED, they have doubts about what she says happens. they'll make excuses, call her crazy, say she hallucinated... only a few people know about the missing time that Angela Basset's character pointed out. Count how many people were in the room, too, when she makes that revelation.

still, Foster's character knows it happened. others will need to have faith that her testimony was true.

suddenly, this scientist is directly affected by faith -- just of a different sort.

and for THAT theme -- that subtle point -- the ending was perfect; the pay-out, apt.

of course, that's just my interpretation. if others interpreted it differently, that could explain the lacklustre pay-out.

Castaway delivered.

Just like FedEx.

i didn't even watch Castaway, i'm afraid. Hanks is ugly.


yes... i'm that shallow.

 

[TALLY]

Does anyone else think, in the commercial, Beowulf says...

"I AM BEOWULF!!!!!"

sounds like

"THIS IS SPARTAAA!!!!"

 

[tambourine-man]

i didn't even watch Castaway, i'm afraid.

Which is why my awes0mest joke passed you by. :D

Good post re: contact though. You nailed it.

Does anyone else think, in the commercial, Beowulf says...

"I AM BEOWULF!!!!!"

sounds like

"THIS IS SPARTAAA!!!!"

Yes. Very much so.

Although Spartan warriors with Glaswegian accents will be a tough act to follow.

 

[L2R]

^nice use of rhetorical questions. bravo.

now, back to beowulf.

despite the overly kiddy nature of his previous offering, i'm still looking for to this zemeckis work. out here next week.

 

[physix]

I don't like Asimov very my either as far as science fiction goes. Does that make me ignorant? Are there certain books/authors/films that I am required by law to approve of in order to meet your elitist expectations?

no, but you exceeded the petty-BL quotient by not being able to read that my original statement was a generalization that didn't require your defensiveness to begin with. if it didn't apply to you, then it didn't apply to you. sorry that your ego felt so bruised that you had to defend yourself to this 'elitist' and to a board the majority of which you'll never meet in your entire life. so yes, indeed: brava.

 

[JerryBlunted]

oh snap!

 

[L2R]

i think he's referencing one third of rice bubbles.

but anyways, everyone drop it. it's not that important. people like whatever they like and no one is wrong for it.

 

[tambourine-man]

Pish.

I could only think two things to myself:

1. This feels like the cut-scenes in Baldur's Gate
2. How awesome would this have been to see Malkovich and Hopkins acting alongside eachother in the flesh...

It was alright, but not what I'd expected.

It might have had greater impact had the animated style been done a la "300".