No Spoilers in this post. I was able to see an advanced screening of Beowulf last night. I hadn't read anything about the story or the movie, I only heard Angelina Jolie was in it. Well that's what I get for not doing my homework before seeing a movie.
The first thing I learned was the movie is all computer animation. I don't really care for all computer animation, but I really liked the way 300 was made using real actors with computer animation added. The next thing I learned was the movie is in 3D. Yes, in 3D. Images of uncomfortable paper red/blue glasses ran through my mind. But that wasn't the case. The glasses were actually really nice and looked like a pair of sunglasses. They were comfortable and covered your whole eye area so there was no distractions coming from the side. The next thing I learned was the showing would be in the IMAX theater. That excited me. I love IMAX theaters and the one in Jordan Commons is really nice.
The movie itself was fantastic. The 3D worked really well. Despite having to sit near the front of the theater I really felt the depth of the 3D. They did a good job. At one point during the show the cameras got out of sync and it made my eyes cross. That only lasted for about 30 seconds and never happened again. I would say the 3D coupled with an IMAX screen and exceptional computer animation made up for any of the other crap that happened. The movie was great.
** This movie is not Kid friendly ** There, I warned you.
While standing in line this guy, apparently associated with the theater or production company started to tell us they wouldn't allow any electronic devices into the showing. In fact they had what looked like metal detectors at the entrance. This person said if they caught anyone with devices in the theater they would escort them out and suggested we take our cell phones, cameras, PDA's and iPods (not sure why an iPod would be targeted) to our vehicle's. So, I left my spot in line to take my mobile phone out to the car. That pissed me off which is part of the reason I had to sit in front.
Once everyone was seated this same person started repeating the no electronic device mantra he was spewing in the lobby. Funny thing was, there were dozens of people sitting in the theater with mobile phones on, with cameras, one guy was playing a PSP, and the whole time the guy who was laying down the law just stood there. I'm thinking, didn't you tell everyone out in the lobby they couldn't bring anything into the theater, and I lost my place in line while you stand there and do nothing? What ever. It was very lame.
I'm not sure if the whole phone/pda deal was a Jordan Commons thing or something the movie distribution company mandated, but the guy didn't do a very good job, I felt like a thief, and don't they know a version of this movie will make it out on the Internet whether they want it to or not? Besides, you can't take quality photos with a camera phone, and there wouldn't be enough storage or long enough battery life to record on your phone. Duh, get a grip.
I do want to thank Jeff Norris at iscifi.tv for providing the tickets. You rock Jeff. I also had a chance to meet Capn T. Rex. He's the awesome guy who started iscifi.tv. We had a good conversation which I will blog about later.
