Slashy 'Eragon'

I am certainly going to end up seeing Eragon this weekend, as my kids will not give me any choice in the matter.

And while I was not looking forward to it very much, despite the presence of Jeremy Irons, John Malkovitch, Djimon Hounsou and the voice of Rachel Weisz -- because the TV previews sound so painfully bad despite pretty visuals, and most of the reviews have been scathing -- The New York Times has changed my perspective with this line:

"The young hero’s heavy-breathing romp with a strapping male cousin could only have been envisioned by someone completely lacking in subtext radar." Whoo! A scene I must see!

The Washington Post review, by the way, is screechingly funny if terribly negative, with such lines as "Irons, who looks as though he just cycled in nonstop on Route 66 from a roadshow company of 'Hamlet' in Oklahoma City, is cast as Brom" and "Alas, these great actors, this great dragon, even the good-spirited Anne Arundelian Renaissance Festival staff, all revolve around a rather dim young man named Ed Speleers."

It also makes the all-important observation, "Late in the going, a new young hero (Garrett Hedlund), far more charismatic than poor Ed, is brought in to fire off a few arrows and brood sexily in the background. Why, you sit there wondering, wasn't the movie about this kid?"