On the Other Hand . . .

I'm going to try to be positive today. Well, first a bit of negativity. No news on Brooke or where she has gotten herself. Now, on to the fun!

I went to see Beowulf today. Not just the plain old version. The 3-D version. In the IMAX theatre in Fitchburg. Expensive but fun.

It's really my fault that I didn't enjoy the movie a whole lot (gave it three out of five on Netflix). I've read Heaney's translation of the poem, as well as Eaters of the Dead and Grendel. Every time I think the story's completely gross. Why did I think this was going to be different? I have no idea what I was thinking. So, yeah, Grendel is incredibly gross. He's basically a skeleton giant with bloody, sinewy flesh. And he does eat one guy's head. Not wonderful viewing.

Beowulf is not, I would argue, the actual hero of the movie. I think Wealthow, the wife of first Hrothgar and then Beowulf, is. She's not interested in the boasting and glory-seeking like her husbands were (and whose hubris caused all the problems with the demons). She manages to be kind to the woman who shares Beowulf's bed, and tries to keep things together. Yeah, she and Wiglaf are the two fully virtuous characters.

Also, there's a lot of nudity in this movie. Now, I knew that going in, but it seems like Beowulf is stripping down whenever he gets the chance. Closet nudist, I declare! I'm not saying this is a bad thing; if Ray Winstone's real-life body is anything like his animated body, his significant other(s) is/are lucky. (I know nothing about his personal life.) A bigger deal with those online was the nudity of Angelina Jolie's character (Grendel's mother). I don't get this; I thought she looked about as sexy as an Emmy award. Her body's all gold and she has this freaky prehensile braid. Simply nonhuman, and thus not remotely arousing. In my opinion.

One last issue – I didn't like the ending. I'm not going to ruin it for the random person who actually reads this crap. But because of the development of Wiglaf's personality, I felt that what ended up happening is not the greatest.