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akaihyoI see I have fallen behind again.
The Girl with the Pearl Earring, a historical costume drama touching on the life of the Dutch painter Vermeer. Very pretty with amazing cinematography but also very slow, slice of life narrative. Scarlett Johansson plays the lead role. Interesting if you like such things. My Grade: C/C+
The Prestige, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as rival magicians in turn of the century England. David Bowie co-stars as Tesla. Again, a pretty period piece and a nice window into obsession. But it never managed to fully convince me, the Tesla device I had no problems with, but the two big reveals at the end . . . just did not work for me. My Grade: C+
And a classic from the swords and sandals era The 300 Spartans! Which I just had to see again after seeing 300. It embraces a different agenda from 300, it holds up the unity of the Greeks and the bravery of them all (but especially the Spartans) in the face of overwhelming odds. The Persian army is actually represented by the traditional cast of thousands which really gives the odds involved a huge visual boost and the costumes at least attempt to be historically accurate. Now it does not have the blood or visceral joy of 300 hundred, but the 300 Spartans wear armor and fight smart on a patch of Greece that looks a lot like Thermopylae. Better on the broad outlines of history and the details of the battle but it is dated and very hokey at times. Still, much fun. My grade: C+/B-
The Girl with the Pearl Earring, a historical costume drama touching on the life of the Dutch painter Vermeer. Very pretty with amazing cinematography but also very slow, slice of life narrative. Scarlett Johansson plays the lead role. Interesting if you like such things. My Grade: C/C+
The Prestige, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman as rival magicians in turn of the century England. David Bowie co-stars as Tesla. Again, a pretty period piece and a nice window into obsession. But it never managed to fully convince me, the Tesla device I had no problems with, but the two big reveals at the end . . . just did not work for me. My Grade: C+
And a classic from the swords and sandals era The 300 Spartans! Which I just had to see again after seeing 300. It embraces a different agenda from 300, it holds up the unity of the Greeks and the bravery of them all (but especially the Spartans) in the face of overwhelming odds. The Persian army is actually represented by the traditional cast of thousands which really gives the odds involved a huge visual boost and the costumes at least attempt to be historically accurate. Now it does not have the blood or visceral joy of 300 hundred, but the 300 Spartans wear armor and fight smart on a patch of Greece that looks a lot like Thermopylae. Better on the broad outlines of history and the details of the battle but it is dated and very hokey at times. Still, much fun. My grade: C+/B-