finally saw "300"....eh....

[Blue_Tires]

i stayed away from all the flame threads from a few weeks ago until i saw it myself...I'm not going to rehash all the stuff that went back and forth in those threads, but suffice to say i didn't really like it and thought it so-so (I know it was a glossy, CGI'd hollywood dressup based on a story based on a real battle--I knew that going in)...I know it isn't a direct comparison, but for sheer entertainment value, "Troy" was MUCH better (and i know that isn't saying much)...just wanted to add my two pennies

[Orsino]

1. I'd like to be the first to call it 'Brokeback Spartan'.

I haven't seen it yet, but dang--the trailers and clips are just full of man candy, aren't they? I think I'm taking my wife to it for her birthday, and I just hope our marriage can survive.

[Blue_Tires]

2. yeah, lots of manly flesh and blood

more boastful testosterone than an NFL locker room on 'roids...i hope your wife likes that and a whole lot of CGI blood splatter....but it does have a unique visual feel to it, i grant

[Orsino]

4. Don't miss these videos!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi2t58CRmbU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-pBLPju7EQ

We actually did enjoy the movie. It was frequently hilarious. Unintentionally, of course. But I did like that everyone in the flick kept a straight face. Must have been difficult.

I think my wife liked it more than I did. Tons of beefcake, and it was all macho cool, like her favorite movie, Conan.

Sometimes, it was truly stirring. I abhor violence, generally, but I appreciate the model of selfless service presented here, even though as a history lesson it was ludicrous. Not even a mention of the helots, the slave class on whose backs their "free" society ran? Bwahahahaha!

[Ignacio Upton]

3. I still haven't seen it yet

I'm interested in it because of the plot and the graphics (I love the format that was used in Sin City, and it looks just as cool in 300).

[Deep13]

6. Sin City actually had a lot more going on.

300 was a good looking movie, but I found it rather linear and formulaic

[Deep13]

5. " 'Troy' was MUCH better"

I agree. Troy is one of my favorite films. I love Achillies' fatalistic attitude. "Someone's got to lose." I also like the anti-religious theme. I figured out the one "safe" place filmmakers can be openly anti-religious is when dealing with an extinct pagan religion.

[Bassic]

7. Aside form the occasional pro-war propaganda,

I thought it was a pretty good movie. But I like big battle scenes, so that was probably why I liked it.

[Gen. Jack D. Ripper]

8. I wrote a review for this film that wasn't exactly glowing

for a movie buffs group I belong to and, boy, the backlash was fairly severe. Fans of the film are, err, devout.

[Blue_Tires]

9. welcome to the site!

great name! (I thought Ripper was a General??)

[Gen. Jack D. Ripper]

12. brigadier general as a matter of fact

I remembered this only after signing up, unfortunately.

Thanks for the welcome!

[Alexander]

10. The movie was quite racist, if you think about it.

All the white people (Spartans) are portrayed as "good" and defenders of "freedom" and democracy (and most are quite attractive), whereas the hunchbacks, the diseased and inbred, and all of the dark-skinned people (Persians) were seen as evil. I was quite shocked by how blatant it was.

[Orsino]

11. Much was made of the servitude Xerxes demanded...

...while the Spartan helots were not mentioned.