Beowulf: Stardust goes viking with Pulp Fiction

Hwæt. We Gardena in gear-dagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

As students have had to learn for centuries, these are the opening lines of the poem Beowulf, practically an English national epic as one of the earliest Anglo-Saxon poems, written over 1,200 years ago. The recent best-selling poetic translation by Seamus Heaney notwithstanding, as an undergrad years ago I found the poem difficult and dull. Yet the story is undeniably memorable. Not only is it the first significant piece of English literature, but a tale for the ages, enduring because of its inherent power and images.

Also powerful and memorable is the new film version by Robert Zemeckis. In recreating the old story in a movie that works Zemeckis has beautifully fused two creative elements: motion capture animation bringing the fantastic to life, and an edgy script from Neil Gaiman (Stardust) and Roger Avary (Pulp Fiction).

The motion capture goes the next step beyond that used by Zemeckis in his 2004 Polar Express or Peter Jackson in 2001's Lord of the Rings. While characters clearly appear animated, individual actors are recognizable and facial expressions are captured with subtlety. The animation feels less intrusive than Polar Express and allows for both strong performances and smoothly integrated special effects. All the lead actors turn in creditable work: Anthony Perkins and John Malkovich are expansive as leaders of the Spear Danes, Robin Wright Penn is nicely understated as the Queen and Ray Winstone's Beowulf is appropriately withdrawn as the heroic braggart with secret shame. Grendel and the dragon are suitably monstrous studies in SFX and Angelina Jolie is memorably animated.

It is in the character of Jolie as Grendel's mother that the script has its genius. By changing the nature of the mother and the encounter between her and Beowulf, Gaiman and Avary manage to tie together the disparate plot elements and story conflicts, making the whole story more cohesive than the original as well as more cinematic. If their Beowulf is less than a heroic caricature, he is a more human character -- and his story the more riveting.

Black Book / Zwartboek

My expectations about this movie went up and down. When I first saw a trailer in the theater, it looked intriguing. Then when I saw it in Netflix and put the DVD in my queue, I was reminded that it was a Paul Verhoeven film and my expectations dropped -- a lot. I've seen a few Verhoeven films: liked a few a bit and disliked more. But even the ones I liked, I liked more than I respected. Movies like Basic Instinct, Total Recall and Starship Troopers are strictly guilty pleasure films. Robocop was pretty bad, I've never been able to bring myself to watch Showgirls, and Hollow Man was solid crud. Maybe his Dutch movies are better than what he's done in Hollywood.

So I lowered my hopes -- and was pleasantly surprised. This is the most respectable Verhoeven I've seen, even if not totally respectable. But it's an exciting and action-packed World War II story about Jewish refugees and the Dutch underground. Even with a bit of sexual pandering, a couple of cop-out stereotypes and a whole string of unlikely plot coincidences that would strain credulity if we had time to stop and think, the movie keeps drawing the viewer in. Well researched sets & costumes combined with excellent cinematography believably recreate occupied Holland.

A lot of the story's success depends on strong performances by the leads. Carice Van Houten is consistently riveting as the Jewish singer living through terrible trials and forced by circumstances to aid the Nazis. She essentially carries the film and won awards for her portrayal. In another strong performance, German actor Sebastian Koch -- who also starred in the Oscar-winning Lives of Others -- portrays a somewhat sympathetic Nazi officer.

The seriousness of the subject, high production values, the suspenseful and fast-moving narrative, and the strong humane characterizations make this movie worth watching.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

I expect that librarians should be recommending books and that doctors should be keeping us well, but it doesn't always happen just that way. After I told my doctor about a recent trip to Transylvania, he said "wait a minute, I've got a book for you to read." And ducking into his office he returned to the exam room with Kostova's The Historian. He had just finished it and told me to keep it as long as I needed to (and it's a long book).

This wasn't the first time somebody had recommended the book, but this one felt like fate. Who am I to go against my doctor's recommendation? I didn't know that much about the book beyond the blurb, but I soon realized it was a vampire story -- a Dracula story, to be precise -- with a lot of history thrown in. By the time I got to the undead librarians, I was hooked.

This is a good book, and a lot of its charm comes from its settings. Much of it takes place in libraries, but the locaitons vary tremendously, from the U.S. to Britain to Western Europe to Eastern Europe and Turkey. The combination of travelogue and history woven into a suspenseful vampire story makes a fascinating read. Though one chapter reads like an extended history lecture, interest in the narrative rarely flags. Flashbacks within flashbacks can occasionally be a bit confusing in remembering who the point-of-view narrator is, but confusion is rare and the device adds a lot of interest and variety. I talked up the book around the house and it became one of the rare titles that Marsha & I both read and enjoyed.

I read much of this in print, but also listened to a lot of the unabridged recorded version on my iPod. The recording alternates between two readers, who change with female and male narration in the text. Both readers do an outstanding job with a large number of characters and accents appropriate to many nationalities.

Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys historical ficiton, horror, speculative fiction, travel stories or undead librarians!

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

This is a magical book. As magical as stories, as picture books, as silent films -- because it's all of them at once and a terrific read to boot.

Brian Selznick has written a story accessible to older children but able to grab adults. The story unfolds both in words and pictures, and Selznick's genius is that the pictures are not normal illustrations, but long sequences of double page spreads that immerse the reader into a virtual silent film. As the story goes on, the technique grows increasingly natural and fitting.

The novel tells of young Hugo Cabret, secretly living in the Paris train station in the 1920s and eking out a living by petty theft. Hugo's life seems a tragedy, but is filled with small mysteries, as are the lives of the people he encounters.

Anyone who enjoys a good story and picks up this book will likely be hooked in a few minutes. It's a quick read, both moving and entertaining, and would be a good piece of historical fiction for reluctant readers.

Best Old Movies for Families

I stumbled across this film guide from Boston Globe critic Ty Burr while browsing at the library. I'm glad I found it: it's a worthwhile read for film buffs as well as parents. Subtitled A Guide to Watching Together, and using anecdotes from the author's experiences with his children, the book provides an accessible and useful guide to parents who want to spend quality time with their kids and introduce them to good movies.

In the introduction Burr relates how his daughter wanted, and got, a Katherine Hepburn party for her ninth birthday, complete with a screening of Bringing Up Baby. He goes on to list starter films for various ages. Additional chapters explore various film genres. An appendix lists films recommended for various ages.

The emphasis is not on protecting your kids from movies that don't have family values, but exploring good films with your family. Entertainingly written, with something for every movie buff, this is highly recommended.

Anime worth watching: Black Lagoon

Let's start by saying that Black Lagoon is not worth watching for people offended by ultraviolence in pop culture: if Sin City & Kill Bill aren't your cup of tea, avoid Black Lagoon.

For those who enjoy such films, this anime is "Hallelujah, amen, peanut butter."

Nicely designed and cleanly drawn with lovely seascapes and tropical colors, this story of modern pirates in the South China Sea combines fast action with a riveting soundtrack in a manner unlike anything since Cowboy Bebop. Indeed this wouldn't be far afield from Quentin Tarantino's Bebop.

The story begins with a simple Japanese salaryman transporting data. He winds up in the company of a disreputable crew of mercenaries aboard a WW II PT boat. Included are the commander Vietnam vet Dutch -- who not coincidentally resonates of Jet Black, weapons specialist hot babe Remy -- full of issues and attitude, and mechanic/computer tech Benny. Naturally it's not long before the erstwhile salaryman, now dubbed Rock, graduates from cargo to hostage to crew member.

All of this flows along as a fairly well-produced, if violent, action-adventure until the fourth episode, when the modern-day narrative becomes interspersed with an extended flashback showing the final voyage of a Nazi submarine. The added complexity and the doomed sub crew add an unexpected poignancy that kicks Black Lagoon to another level. Combined with hints of a slowly evolving back story, there's plenty of reason to look forward to future disks in the series.

This is definitely for mature audiences, however, due to extensive violence and profanity.

Music and Lyrics

This Hugh Grant / Drew Barrymore romantic comedy vehicle is as irresistible as a pop song with a great hook. The opening credits are a 1980s music video for an apparently younger Hugh Grant's career with a Brit pop band. Flash forward to the present time, when Hugh is subsisting on oldies gigs at theme parks and hopes to land a TV spot on "Battle of the 80s Has-Beens."

When a hapless plant attendant enters his life to over-water his houseplants, he does not suspect a pending songwriting partnership nor romance. Though the movie is almost completely predictable, it is also completely likable. Grant & Barrymore are both earnest and funny and they make these characters not only likeable, but believable, there's a cast of colorful supporting types and the music is consistently entertaining.

Recommended for all but the cynically discriminating.