The Popular Arts Post: Film, Poetry, Roleplaying, Music and Literature

[tcpip]

Went to IMAX for the first time last week to see "300". As the thread on RPG.net suggestsit really isn't good at all (my summary is probably on the last page). Also recently saw The Notorious Bettie Page. Visually cute, it included some excellent thematic considerations and then utterly failed to elaborate on them.

Unitarian service last Sunday was poetry, readings and folk music. As is my norm, I selected Unitarian poets and authors, specifically, Horatio Alger, Ambrose Bierce, ee cummings, and Kurt Vonnegut Jnr.

Easter Sunday was spent, as per last year, playing GURPS Bunnies & Burrows. The Fellowship of Talor journeys in the eleventh scene for HeroQuest. Have managed to convince imajica_lj to run Call of Cthulhu in the near future.

Went a bit nuts on the weekend buying music: Johnny Cash, Velvet Underground, Hawkwind, Gang of Four, Devo, China Crisis, Eels, Elysium. No one can claim I don't have a variety of tastes. Have made a start on the small moutain of books sent to me by Ticonderoga; a seven-part space opera by Kevin J. Anderson. Also should mention that my review of Blackbeard: The real pirate of the Caribbean is available in the latest issue.

Cocktail party for Friday night is shaping up very nicely indeed.

Comments

[mundens.livejournal.com]

Someone else has heard of Hawkwind ? :)

[rodshark.livejournal.com]

Well, considering that 300 was based off a comic book, which was loosely based off of the real battle, I went in knowing it was going to be the "Sin City" version of the historical event.

I would have liked to have seen a little more historical accuracy and a little less Spartan torso, the real warriors wore bronze armor over their torso and their shields were individually decorated. And I did take issue with the whole "fighting for freedom" kinda thing and the whole Western idiology/Christian aspect they tacted on to it ("tonight we dine in Hell"? Um I am pretty sure that the ancient Spartans didn't believe in Hell, I think "Hades" is the word you were looking for *lol*)and Sparta at least wasn't a bastion of Democracy but a brutal totalitarian regime. But in this day and age it didn't surprise me a bit that they twisted it a little. Of course I have heard historians talk that the battle of Thermopyale was a turning point in Greek culture where it became "Greece" instead of individual city/states.

I totally agree, they really made Xerxes way too over the top, but I suppose they felt the need to have a "HUGE" imposing villian.

The action, Special effects, and acting were highly stylized and over the top, but being based off of a comic book they were intended to be.

I took it for what it was, a stylized action movie based off of a comic book that is loosely based upon a real battle in history. It wasn't the best movie I had ever seen by any means of the imagination, but I didn't think it was that bad either.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

You don't have varied musical tastes!

I'd be interested to know what Saga of Seven Suns is like. Having read some KJA in the past, I'm thinking The Wheel of Time-esque.

Having read one of his Dune stuff and the first of the Gamearth novels (which I need to track down to finish) I'd be wary.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

You, me and mr_figgy at least.

Epic space-rock who are masters of space and time, with a horde of hashish assasins on flying carpets.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

You don't have varied musical tastes!

You mean all those can be classified into a genre? I submit to your taxonomy!

Hmmm... Musical taxonomy. Something to be said for that.

I'd be interested to know what Saga of Seven Suns is like.

So far? 100% pure space opera.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I really liked Sin City which I guess in part why I was quite displeased with 300; It certainly had its moments; but they were pretty few and far between.

Not sure on the shield thing; the design is, apparently, what the Spartans used during the Peloponnesian wars. Another aspect which was certainly overlooked in the film and, in my opinion, is quite important, is the fact that several hundred Thespians fought alongside the Spartans, as did almost a thousand Spartan slaves and the Spartans held a large number of Thebans hostage!

One of the things I really don't understand about contemporary recreations of historical events is that there's no need to contradict important historical; all that ends up happening is the history buffs get annoyed. Elaborate by all means; include minatours and dragons if it suits the setting - that adds to the story.

Especially in an event like the Battle of Thermopylae which, in reality, was damn interesting.

[v3nu5.livejournal.com]

I r in Melbins from Thurs night til painfully early monday morning.

Xx

[rodshark.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I mentioned the Thespians in my review of it as well. From the sources I saw (a couple History chennel programs and a couple of history books- which is where I also saw that it was customary to decorate their shield)it was around 1000 to 1500 Thespians that fought alongside them. The slaves and hostages probably died in the first day as fodder or were just used to "clean up" after the skirmishes. Of course they do mention the Thespians kinda when they said "a handful of Greeks stayed behind" but yeah, they left a lot of the "good stuff" out and replaced it with giants, werewolves, and war rhinos *lol*

But I agree for the most part. More accuracy and less "comic bookness" would have been nice. I also hated the fact that they didn't even mention the pitched naval battle that was taking place at the same time when a greatly outnumbered Greek general managed to hold back the Persian Armada and keep them from landing troops behind (I also enjoyed all the "politics" that the general performed in lying to get the citizens to approve spending money to increase the navy.

But like I said, being based off of a comic book, I didn't expect it to be a history channel recreation of the event.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Come to our cocktail party on Friday night!!!!

1/74 Brighton Rd, Ripponlea - about 2mins from the train sation; about 15 mins from the city by train...

[discordia13.livejournal.com]

I'm with rodshark. I saw 300 last night, and it certainly wasn't a bad movie - it was what it was - a comic book adaption that faithfully reproduced the art using actors. Something that i'm finding increasingly cool these days.

It was fun to watch for the same reason The Matrix was fun to watch. The acting was just as wooden. The SFX were as good (albeit not groundbreaking). The plot was just as thin.

Certainly if you try to treat it as a historically accurate epic, it's going to fall short. Even the director admits that.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

The director is way off the mark; 90% of the events are accurate? No way. If one was to do an event-by-event study of the film (and even weighted according to screentime) it would be well below the 90% claim - probably below 50%.

As for the Matrix the acting was better (marginally), there was slightly more plot and character development and, perhaps most importantly, the theme was well executed.

This said, neither were particularly great films.

NB: Snyder is apparently going to do a film of Watchment. *fingers crossed*

[lokicarbis.livejournal.com]

Easter Sunday was spent, as per last year, playing GURPS Bunnies & Burrows.

Now that's an Easter tradition I may have to adopt for myself :)

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Ummm.. if you mean the Battle of Artemisium, the Greeks were thoroughly defeated there. Of course a month later, at Salamis the Greeks really went to town....

being based off of a comic book

Y'know, maybe I should read the comic book at some stage - I mean it could be that it's just that the comic book is wildly inaccurate and Synder simply replicated the errors: GIGO.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Come play with us! We could always do with another bunny!

Speaking of which (ahem) consider this a formal invite to our cocktail party... I've been meaning to send you one in person, but I seem to have misplaced your email address. Whoops.

[v3nu5.livejournal.com]

I'm modelling for miss emily until 630 and I don't know what happens after that, but tell me what time the party starts and what to bring and I will make an attempt :)

[lokicarbis.livejournal.com]

Remind me again in a year or so :)

Party sounds fun. When & where?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Bring your lovely self and a cocktail drink (mmm.. brandy? triple sek?) and all will be most excellent!

Yay! v3nu5 in Melbourne! Yay!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I should say bring a friend or two as well if you like....

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Party is @ 1/74 Brighton Rd, Ripponlea - about 2 minutes from Ripponlea train station. This Friday eve at 8pm. 1920s/horror theme...

[filarete.livejournal.com]

http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1874951.htm
Margaret and David:
...Gerard Butler, is one tough dude; he’s got more muscles than a seafood casserole...
...Xerxes looks as if he's going clubbing...

[rodshark.livejournal.com]

Yes thats the battle I was referring to, and though they did lose eventually, they did hold off the Persian fleet for a couple of days and inflicted heavy losses on the fleet before being forced to retreat after the pass was taken.

I need to read the comic book as well, but from what I have read, the director followed the comic book almost exactly, so I think thatit is a case of the comic book being innacurate thereby making the movie inaccurate.

It would be really great to see someone give this battle the treatment it deserves and make it more historically accurate, oh well probably never happen.

[lokicarbis.livejournal.com]

Ack! Can't make this Friday - I have a family dinner to go to.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

so I think thatit is a case of the comic book being innacurate thereby making the movie inaccurate.

Ahhh, that would explain a lot.

It would be really great to see someone give this battle the treatment it deserves and make it more historically accurate, oh well probably never happen.

There are several factors acting against this - not the least being that there is no easily identifiable good guys versus bad guys.

[dandelionclock.livejournal.com]

I have the comic and thought it was shit (not because it messes with an historical event, no, because hell, Herodotus did enough of that, no, it's because it was badly written and cliched) and I am avoiding 300 like the plague.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I think David's 2/5 is about right. Margaret's 3.5/5 seems to based on the claim that it's "robustly funny" - which is OK except that's not what they intended. Maybe it'll make a comeback in the future as a B grade classic.

Another thing which that review reminded me; despite the claims of Leonidas during the film of disinterest in adolscents his wife Gorgo was married to him in her early teens and - by the time of "300" - would have been probably 17-18 if that!

Although to the director's credit she is given a much more significant role than apparently she received in the comic book. However, her acumen of judging character in the film, which apparently was exceptional, seems absent.