Looming Large
Had I known Beowulf was such a rousing adaptation of the Old English epic poem from the Middle Ages, I surely wouldn’t have waited two and a half months since its February release to screen the unrated DVD. However, good things come to those who wait, and the film is a triumph of technology that immerses the viewer in a mystical realm of 6th century Denmark where kingdoms are threatened by bloodthirsty, virtually impervious monsters spawned from clandestine pacts between nobility and bewitching creatures. The cast includes Ray Winstone as the heroic demon slayer, Anthony Hopkins and Robin Wright Penn as the harsh land’s king and queen, John Malkovich as a loyal subject, and Angelina Jolie as a seductive reptilian goddess while directorial duties are efficiently wrangled by Back to the Future and Forrest Gump creator Robert Zemeckis. The animated movie’s unique visual style is achieved through motion capture, a process where actors are outfitted with many sensor buttons that allow computers to recognize and record their movements, with their actions then translated onto digital characters to interact with the CGI environments and occupy the frame without limitation. A look at the behind the scenes featurette included in the special features shows how time consuming and complex motion capture is for actors and crew, who have to color code and scan all the sets, props, helmets, and weapons so that they can be differentiated by the software when the final shots are rendered. Their hard work yields great rewards because the gruesome battle scenes are nothing short of stunning and mystical locations are brought to life with vivid clarity, all done without sacrificing the raw emotion that comes from human performance. The tale can casually be compared to The Lord of the Rings trilogy in its scope and depiction of a world inhabited by hellish beasts but make no mistake, Beowulf reaches a pinnacle on its own merits. A graphic work of art that earns a place in the pantheon of fantasy films, see it and bask in the fusion of a classic literary piece with an ultra-modern storytelling technique, you will undoubtedly be amazed.
Last year’s departure of founding bassist Hub hasn’t slowed down hip-hop titans The Roots one bit as their new record Rising Down , now in stores, blares through my Bose in-ear headphones. I got my first taste of these new cuts when I downloaded their set from Florida’s Langerado Festival in March. “75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)” stood out as a breakneck track from that show and the studio version retains the live intensity effectively. The entire album isn’t quite as engaging as their previous effort Game Theory but any new music from the Philly-based crew is always welcome and guests including Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Malik B., and Common provide additional flavor as they spit rhymes. A co-headlining tour with Erykah Badu begins tomorrow in Washington, DC with a stop at the LA’s Greek Theatre on June 12 and they’ll also be headlining the Jam Day of the Jazz Reggae Festival at UCLA on May 25th over Memorial Day weekend. Give in to the booming beats and lyrical workouts; catch The Roots’ show when they come to your town.
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