Movies

Oscar Watch: Scratch ‘Beowulf’

I don’t drop the O word in my lengthy three-star review of “Beowulf” in today’s Post. You can forget it being nominated in the Best Animated Feature race; even if you accept the debatable notion that motion-capture is a form of animation, as a piece of art isn’t in the same league as what looks like the three locked nominations in the category: “Ratatouille,” “Persepolis” and “The Simpsons Movie.” We’ve been hearing Paramount is planning a Best Picture campaign for “Beowulf,” which, seeing the final product, seems like a vanity campaign. The studio will have to settle for what some see as a $50 million opening weekend. “Bewoulf,” by the way, is showing in three different formats. I’d spring for the $16 (in Manhattan) to see it in IMAX 3D. The first showings begin at 9 p.m. tonight. Possibly among the moviegoers will be lawyers for “300” star Gerard Butler, who starred in a low-budget version of “Beowulf” a couple of years ago. Maybe it’s just us, but sure think that the hero of the new “Beowulf” looks a lot more like the buff Butler than the portly character actor who “plays” him in the new flick, Ray Winstone (pictured above).