Beowulf

Rating: ****/*****, or 7/10

Second foray of Robert Zemeckis into the realm of 'performance capture' (the first being The Polar Express (2004), allowing digital artists to record the motions of actors in blue suits on stage, especially their facial movements for maximum emotional impact, and filling in everything else via the computer afterwards. This time Zemeckis appropriated this technique for telling the epic tale of the medieval hero Beowulf (Ray Winstone), a valiant but arrogant warrior who comes to the aid of a king (Anthony Hopkins) who is plagued by the hideous monster Grendel (Crispin Glover). Beowulf fights the monster successfully, but must than deal with his seductive mother (Angelina Jolie) who promises him fame and riches in return for him giving her a new son. Beowulf accepts, but finds he made a deal with the devil: though he gets what was promised it makes him feel empty and alone. When his son returns as a dragon and lays waste to his kingdom, Beowulf gets one last chance to set things right and be a genuine hero again. Plenty of good action and amazing visuals, but the digital technique just didn't prove able to convincingly breathe life into the pixelized cast, making them feel eerily artificial and soulless. It did prove effective for getting Angelina Jolie stark naked though. Zemeckis, not one to give up on an evolving means of effects, applied performance capture a third time to his take on A Christmas Carol (2009). Beowulf was the first film I ever watched in (IMAX) 3D, and still one of the very few I feel made effective use of the 3D process (just before the 3D craze got a hold of Hollywood and most blockbusters used it to squeeze more bucks out of the audience without delivering the promised goods): the way those giant sea serpents alone came at you made the movie quite spectacular, despite its digital shortcomings. Overall, a good version of the old English poem, effectively combining the very old with the very new.

Starring: Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

USA: Paramount Pictures, 2007

Back to the Future Part III

Rating: ****/*****, or 7/10

Third and final entry in the Back to the Future trilogy adds a western element to the overall Sci-Fi feel of this set of films. Marty McFly tracks down his friend Doc Brown in the year 1885 to save him from his impending death at the hands of the nefarious outlaw Mad Dog Tannen, a murderous forebear of Marty's nemesis Biff. To complicate matters and add some romance to the movie, Doc has fallen in love with the local school teacher (Mary Steenburgen). This movie focuses a little too much on the western element and as such feels less connected to its predecessors, but is overall still a worthy watch, taking the parallels between the past and present to an even higher level and still delivering plenty of action and humour in the process. Overall, the trilogy's plot is wrapped up nicely, though the threat of a Part IV, which might hurt the story as a whole, has loomed for years.

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

USA: Universal Pictures, 1990

Back to the Future Part II

Rating: ****/*****, or 8/10

Excellent sequel to the (still better) hit film sees Marty McFly travelling both forward and backward in time. First, Marty needs to help his son from staying out of jail in the future year of 2015, where he is again confronted by old adversary Biff and his psycho kid, which culminates in a fabulous hoverboard chase sequence. Upon successfully returning to his own time, he finds his home changed into a dystopic hell town, which warrants him to take yet another trip back to 1955 to set things right. Again. Though high in dynamic action and humour, with grand visions of a funky future and convincingly creepy images of an altered present (that is, the eighties), the movie lacks the overall narrative surprise of its predecessor, though the story parallels between the past, present and future are very well crafted.

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

USA: Universal Pictures, 1989

Back to the Future

Rating: ****/*****, or 9/10

Instant classic Sci-Fi adventure film, one of the great signature films of the eighties. In 1985, teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), aiding the local lunatic inventor Doc Brown (delightful role for Christopher Lloyd), finds himself transported back to 1955 in a Delorean car equipped with time travel technology, where he jeopardizes his own existence when his then young mother accidentally falls in love with him. To make sure history plays out as it should, Marty needs to hook up his nerdy father with his mother, a job made harder by the continuous avances of his mom and the dangerous interference of town bully Biff (Thomas F. Wilson). Great Scott! One of the most fun movies ever made, utilizing the time travel ploy to great success without worrying too much about temporal paradoxes (but instead, making them work for the story of the next two installments of this hit trilogy).

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

USA: Universal Pictures, 1985