"Tonight, we dine in hell!" Wow. WOW. Spartan warriors with amazing fighting skills defending their kingdom wearing nothing but capes and codpieces...Zack Snyder's film 300, based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, is not only an achievement in comic-book adaptation, but also an achievement in new forms of special effects and the way in which a film is presented. Depicted is the building of Xerxe's empire, which leads to the Battle of Thermopolae where just 300 soldiers defend Sparta against millions of opposing forces. Basically what was so appealing when watching this film was how energetic and thrilled it left me feeling. Also, as it was such a MAN's movie, it just left me feeling really pumped and manly. I know this may sound odd as I am female, and I actually don't really believe that there are clear man movies and woman movies, as I LOVE war films, fantasy films (Star Wars anyone?) and most action films, which are all generally considered man movies. However, seeing 300 just felt like the perfect event when you want to feel like a man (little explanation: when I just really need to feel like a girl, I will take a bubble bath, do other forms of grooming like nail painting, hang out with other girly girls, eat chocolate, etc. and watching this movie feels like the ideal thing I would watch if I wanted to feel more like a man!). Much past the basic plot of defending Sparta, the visual presentation of the movie is what should be focused on (and pretty much is most of the film-this thing wasn't nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar if you catch my drift, though there are some great one-liners). The whole look of the film has an unrealistic, high contrast painted feel; interesting as it was live action (very locally; all the backgrounds were painted in). Another visual aspect of the film that was almost unrealistic was the bodies of the actors--meaning the perfectly sculpted and tone pecs, six packs, biceps, etc. Fun little tidbit: though I'm sure there was a bit of shading and enhancement done graphically with these perfect-looking muscles, the actors playing the Spartan warriors went through an incredibly intense training session with a professional trainer who made them all crazily strenuous and odd workouts, such as flipping tires repeatedly (and I don't mean car tires, I mean truck and tractor trailers), pulling huge weights with a rope over their shoulders, and other such activities. Whatever the orthodox method, it certainly showed on screen. Recommended film if you want to get in touch with the testosterone bits in your body!
Sunday, May 6, 2007
300
"Tonight, we dine in hell!" Wow. WOW. Spartan warriors with amazing fighting skills defending their kingdom wearing nothing but capes and codpieces...Zack Snyder's film 300, based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, is not only an achievement in comic-book adaptation, but also an achievement in new forms of special effects and the way in which a film is presented. Depicted is the building of Xerxe's empire, which leads to the Battle of Thermopolae where just 300 soldiers defend Sparta against millions of opposing forces. Basically what was so appealing when watching this film was how energetic and thrilled it left me feeling. Also, as it was such a MAN's movie, it just left me feeling really pumped and manly. I know this may sound odd as I am female, and I actually don't really believe that there are clear man movies and woman movies, as I LOVE war films, fantasy films (Star Wars anyone?) and most action films, which are all generally considered man movies. However, seeing 300 just felt like the perfect event when you want to feel like a man (little explanation: when I just really need to feel like a girl, I will take a bubble bath, do other forms of grooming like nail painting, hang out with other girly girls, eat chocolate, etc. and watching this movie feels like the ideal thing I would watch if I wanted to feel more like a man!). Much past the basic plot of defending Sparta, the visual presentation of the movie is what should be focused on (and pretty much is most of the film-this thing wasn't nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar if you catch my drift, though there are some great one-liners). The whole look of the film has an unrealistic, high contrast painted feel; interesting as it was live action (very locally; all the backgrounds were painted in). Another visual aspect of the film that was almost unrealistic was the bodies of the actors--meaning the perfectly sculpted and tone pecs, six packs, biceps, etc. Fun little tidbit: though I'm sure there was a bit of shading and enhancement done graphically with these perfect-looking muscles, the actors playing the Spartan warriors went through an incredibly intense training session with a professional trainer who made them all crazily strenuous and odd workouts, such as flipping tires repeatedly (and I don't mean car tires, I mean truck and tractor trailers), pulling huge weights with a rope over their shoulders, and other such activities. Whatever the orthodox method, it certainly showed on screen. Recommended film if you want to get in touch with the testosterone bits in your body!
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