S has gamely put up with weeks of me shushing her whenever the 300 trailer comes on TV. And yes, you can only walk around yelling "This. Is. Sparta!" for so long before you get on everyone's nerves.
Synopsis. 300 hundred Spartans, led by King Leonidas, attempt to stop the invasion of God\King Xerxes' Persian Army by fighting them in a narrow pass.
So how much does this movie rock? Um, how about quite a lot? I fell in love with it when it was just a wee trailer. The original trailer. The one where they were still blasting NIN behind lots of slo-mo Persians taking a nasty header into a rocky pit. I snapped up the hardcover reprinting soon after and that only heightened my anticipation of the actual film.
Sadly though, it was one of those things where I built up the film up in my head so much that there was no way the real thing was ever going to live up to the hype. (It's called Stars Wars Syndrome and its a big reason why I'm trying to keep my expectation for the Transformers movie so low. Damn you Michael Bay!)
The cinematography in 300 is amazing. There are several incredibly elaborate battle scenes filmed in one continuous shot, speeding up and slowing down the frame rate for maximum effect. It's not a new technique but I don't think I've ever seen the device done on such a large scale. And like Miller's last big screen adapation much of the visual aesthetic of the film is pulled directly from the comic. Light and shadow are continually shaped and formed in every shot focusing the attention of the audience as needed.
Yes there are a lot of decapitations and dismemberments. But the blood flashes by so quickly on the screen, that the film never feels truly gory. Headless corpses don't bleed and the wounds on an arrow riddled solider are strangely clean. In fact, given the material, 300 is remarkably restrained. Once you get past the initial shock you'll see that even the more heinous of injuries are presented with very little blood.
The film's weakest moments come when it attempts to distance itself from the source material by tacking on an unessesary subplot. Having Leonidas' wife Queen Gorgo attempt to rally the nation behind her absent husband (using rousing speeches about freedom and duty) might have been intended to bring a feminine presence to the story but all it really does is slow the film down.
And Gerard Butler's undeniable screen presence as King Leonidas would have been better served by a stronger supporting cast. Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes in particular delivered a weak performance, never quite managing to portray the menace and decadence nessecary to a megolmaniacal God\King.
So what's the final verdict? After years of bungled oppurtunites and missed chances it's nice to see comic book movies finally getting the chance to show a mainstream audience what the medium is capable of. 300 is one of the best examples I can think of where the essence of the original work has been translated successfully and effectively onto the big screen. Like any film it has it's weaknesses but when you put those aside I think you'll be surprised at just how powerful a movie it is.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Pull List: 7\3\7
52 #44
Interesting twist\disembowelment last week. I hope that's not the end of Osiris because he was the first interesting addition to the Merry Marvel Family in a long time. Also it's good to see Buddy Baker alive and kicking. I've got warm place in the cockles of my heart (maybe below the cockles, maybe in the sub-cockle area) for Animal Man whenever Morrison is writing him. At first I thought that they may have revamped his powers but after a reread I realized he wasn't actually doing anything new, just reading the powers from animals who are reeeeeeally far away.
Authority #2
FINALLY. I thought this was never going to come out. I'd almost forgotten what the Authority was. They're a super team right? Hopefully after the lead up of the first ish we'll actually see some faces this time out.
Midnighter #5
Out on his own. I wasn't sure how well a solo title was going to work for Midnighter. A lot of his character is defined by his relation to the rest of the Authority. On his own he's just Batman without any pesky morals about killing. But I have to admit that Ennis did a really good job. They're handling the whole team\solo adventure puzzle by treating it similar to Wolverine and the X-Men. Midnighter is still part of the team. But now, every so often, he just goes out on his own and kicks a little ass.
Superman / Batman #32
This title is dragging a little bit. I'm still reading it but my interest in what happens is flagging. I think it might be because the Loeb arc was such an epic adventure that it becomes a challenge for the next guy out to top it. I'm not ready to drop it just yet but previously I couldn't wait for the next ish to come out and now I'm reading it hoping that the current blah-ness is just a temporary condition.
Ultimate Spiderman #106
I came to USM late but I've always loved Bagley's pencils. The great thing about the Ultimate Universe is that there isn't thirty years of continuity weighing everything down. It brings a freshness to Spiderman stories that's pretty hard to find anywhere else. I think they've done a great job touching on the major threads of Peter's life and making a new story out of it instead of just retelling it.
Ultimate Vision #3
A good read. I love the nearly continuous plot thread here that comes out of the Ultimate Extinction story line. They just as easily could have given The Vision a "Villian of the Week" to pound on. But instead they chose to tie in her story directly to the larger over arching plotlines of the Ultimate Universe. I likes it.
new universal #4
I've never read New Universe. So I don't have any baggage when it comes to this title. I just like watching Ellis dabble in his super teams. Nothing so far to drive me away. One caveat. Salvador Larroca, for whatever reason, likes to draw the peripheral characters based on famous actors. I find it distracting rather than amusing. I don't know if he's just screwing around or if there's a reason behind the whole thing.
Dark Tower #2
Peter David meets Stephen King. I know there are naysayers, but I really loved the early Dark Tower books as a kid. David does a great job creating the feel and flavour of Roland's world and he condenses a lot of information from different books into one coherent storyline. Also a big thumbs up for Jae Lee's pencils.
Justice League of America #6
Nearly seven years on and I still miss Morrison's turn on JLA. Meltzer is doing a fairly decent job but he's taking his sweet time officially revealing the new line up. (Although you'd have to be pretty slow not to have pieced it together by now.) All in all a good read.
Interesting twist\disembowelment last week. I hope that's not the end of Osiris because he was the first interesting addition to the Merry Marvel Family in a long time. Also it's good to see Buddy Baker alive and kicking. I've got warm place in the cockles of my heart (maybe below the cockles, maybe in the sub-cockle area) for Animal Man whenever Morrison is writing him. At first I thought that they may have revamped his powers but after a reread I realized he wasn't actually doing anything new, just reading the powers from animals who are reeeeeeally far away.
Authority #2
FINALLY. I thought this was never going to come out. I'd almost forgotten what the Authority was. They're a super team right? Hopefully after the lead up of the first ish we'll actually see some faces this time out.
Midnighter #5
Out on his own. I wasn't sure how well a solo title was going to work for Midnighter. A lot of his character is defined by his relation to the rest of the Authority. On his own he's just Batman without any pesky morals about killing. But I have to admit that Ennis did a really good job. They're handling the whole team\solo adventure puzzle by treating it similar to Wolverine and the X-Men. Midnighter is still part of the team. But now, every so often, he just goes out on his own and kicks a little ass.
Superman / Batman #32
This title is dragging a little bit. I'm still reading it but my interest in what happens is flagging. I think it might be because the Loeb arc was such an epic adventure that it becomes a challenge for the next guy out to top it. I'm not ready to drop it just yet but previously I couldn't wait for the next ish to come out and now I'm reading it hoping that the current blah-ness is just a temporary condition.
Ultimate Spiderman #106
I came to USM late but I've always loved Bagley's pencils. The great thing about the Ultimate Universe is that there isn't thirty years of continuity weighing everything down. It brings a freshness to Spiderman stories that's pretty hard to find anywhere else. I think they've done a great job touching on the major threads of Peter's life and making a new story out of it instead of just retelling it.
Ultimate Vision #3
A good read. I love the nearly continuous plot thread here that comes out of the Ultimate Extinction story line. They just as easily could have given The Vision a "Villian of the Week" to pound on. But instead they chose to tie in her story directly to the larger over arching plotlines of the Ultimate Universe. I likes it.
new universal #4
I've never read New Universe. So I don't have any baggage when it comes to this title. I just like watching Ellis dabble in his super teams. Nothing so far to drive me away. One caveat. Salvador Larroca, for whatever reason, likes to draw the peripheral characters based on famous actors. I find it distracting rather than amusing. I don't know if he's just screwing around or if there's a reason behind the whole thing.
Dark Tower #2
Peter David meets Stephen King. I know there are naysayers, but I really loved the early Dark Tower books as a kid. David does a great job creating the feel and flavour of Roland's world and he condenses a lot of information from different books into one coherent storyline. Also a big thumbs up for Jae Lee's pencils.
Justice League of America #6
Nearly seven years on and I still miss Morrison's turn on JLA. Meltzer is doing a fairly decent job but he's taking his sweet time officially revealing the new line up. (Although you'd have to be pretty slow not to have pieced it together by now.) All in all a good read.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
The Quick and the Dead aka Before They Were Big
The Quick and the Dead is one of those perfect movies where it combines the talent of those just on the cusp of making it big with those already there. Originally a Sharon Stone vehicle, TQATD attempts to capitalize on the sucess of Basic Instint and Sliver by showing the tough as nails femininity of Stone in a different genre.
The really great thing about this film is that so many of her co-stars are on their way up the Hollywood ladder while Stone is at her peak. After this the only thing her fans have left to look forward to is her milfy retread Basic Instinct 2. (Of course I'm completely ignoring her role in Casino in order to make my point here)
But look at who else is in this film. Sam Raimi, in his first directing gig post Army of Darkness, is clearly having a blast with a bigger budget film. He brings the same tongue in cheek sense of humour to the Western genre that he did to Horror by poking fun of the tired old motifs and making them his own. When Raimi cam meets Western style zoom ins good times will be had by all.
And the talent. Gene Hackman crustily barking his way through the entire thing. Russell Crowe in his biggest film to date and his first Hollywood outing. Leonardo DiCaprio three years out of Growing Pains and taking on adult roles. Cameos by Tobin Bell, Lance Henriksen and Gary Sinese showcase some solid actors who've got their best work ahead of them.
It doesn't hurt that I'm a sucker for a good Western and there are far worse cinematic travesties than watching Hackman chew up the scenery under Raimi's direction. There's no way you could gather all these names under the same tent today.
TQATD isn't a perfect film. You still have to put up with all the restrictions placed on it in order to prevent anyone from taking the attention away from Stone. And it feels a little cheesy sometimes as Raimi overuses some Western conventions. (Does it really have to rain everytime something really bad happens) But overall, for genre fans its got a lot of good things going for it and you'd be hard pressed to find a more energetic, creative Western.
P.S. After sitting through the travesty that was Prison Break this week I'm dropping this turkey like a phat beat on Saturday night. They're not even trying to keep the plot believable anymore. Stace and I spent the entire episode laughing our asses off at how cheesy the story was. Letting this show go won't be tough at all.
The really great thing about this film is that so many of her co-stars are on their way up the Hollywood ladder while Stone is at her peak. After this the only thing her fans have left to look forward to is her milfy retread Basic Instinct 2. (Of course I'm completely ignoring her role in Casino in order to make my point here)
But look at who else is in this film. Sam Raimi, in his first directing gig post Army of Darkness, is clearly having a blast with a bigger budget film. He brings the same tongue in cheek sense of humour to the Western genre that he did to Horror by poking fun of the tired old motifs and making them his own. When Raimi cam meets Western style zoom ins good times will be had by all.
And the talent. Gene Hackman crustily barking his way through the entire thing. Russell Crowe in his biggest film to date and his first Hollywood outing. Leonardo DiCaprio three years out of Growing Pains and taking on adult roles. Cameos by Tobin Bell, Lance Henriksen and Gary Sinese showcase some solid actors who've got their best work ahead of them.
It doesn't hurt that I'm a sucker for a good Western and there are far worse cinematic travesties than watching Hackman chew up the scenery under Raimi's direction. There's no way you could gather all these names under the same tent today.
TQATD isn't a perfect film. You still have to put up with all the restrictions placed on it in order to prevent anyone from taking the attention away from Stone. And it feels a little cheesy sometimes as Raimi overuses some Western conventions. (Does it really have to rain everytime something really bad happens) But overall, for genre fans its got a lot of good things going for it and you'd be hard pressed to find a more energetic, creative Western.
P.S. After sitting through the travesty that was Prison Break this week I'm dropping this turkey like a phat beat on Saturday night. They're not even trying to keep the plot believable anymore. Stace and I spent the entire episode laughing our asses off at how cheesy the story was. Letting this show go won't be tough at all.
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