""Prepare For Glory!" ~ In Pursuit Of A Beautiful Death" | 2009-11-02 |
| - Reviewed By kerubu |
Watching the amazing. hallucinatory 2007 film '300' is a visual treat not soon to be forgotten, it's like experiencing history through the eyes of Salvador Dali. To make the viewing experience even more impressive is the inclusion of a highly intelligent script with dialogue that resonates with the audiences intellect and emotions. Action and philosophy merge as one as deeds and word meld into a comprehensive worldview examining the paradigms of both the people of Sparta and those that would seek to enslave them. As the brave 300 battle against insurmountable odds a profound Spartan philosophy of war is lived out before your eyes and one comes to understand and embrace what they are doing and the reason behind their willingness to die for the greater good.
'300' is a one-of-a-kind film that I will never get tire of watching. It's an absolutely astonishing cinematic achievement! |
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"Entertaining, but........." | 2009-10-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1A5JJIUNXTPR7 |
| This is an entertaining movie to a point. Yes, it's based on fact, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to say just how much. I was expecting to see a regular historical movie but was very disappointed in the fact that it had "supernatural" occurances and creatures. Also, I'm not deaf in the least, but I and my husband had a lot of trouble understanding some of the dialog. Would I recommend this movie...no. |
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"Short and Sweet" | 2009-10-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: A34XJKTB5C0TXE |
| I just bought this Blu-ray and I would have to say that it is all I could have wanted. I thought that the book was a bit much, but it was still a very nice package. I first saw 300 in an IMAX theatre, and was amazed. Shortly after I upgraded to a 1080p HDTV. The 300 BD has many ways to view the movie. I have now seen them all, and they are each a different and interesting experience. If you liked this movie, and you are looking for the best version, this is worth the price. ***warning*** the BD book doesnt fit most BD holders, so keep that in mind. |
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"Fun Action, Irritating Subtext, Blu-Ray transfer could be better" | 2009-10-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: AK0CENM3LUM28 |
300 / B000Q6GX5Y
*Spoilers*
As a spectacle fighting movie, "300" is a joy to behold. The fighting sequences are beautifully choreographed, and the camera work is superb. Special effects merge flawlessly with the rest of the action, and it is a delight to see what a big budget and talented cast can produce when they put their minds to it. Even the soundtrack and soothing narrative overlay are gorgeous, combining to make the frequent and varied battle scenes a feast for the eyes and ears. And the stunning visual effects aren't limited to the battleground; the much-hyped Oracle scene is as lovely in film as it was on the promotional posters, and the visions of Xerxes and his entourage are lovely, if historically unrealistic (more on that later). Even the writing for the Spartan warriors is nicely done; the humorous quips on the battlefield are clever and help to relieve the overall tension.
This isn't to say "300" is for everyone - if visual effects aren't your thing and spectacle fighting doesn't interest you, this movie likely won't hold your interest. There is a story, but it's definitely the weakest point of "300" - the jingoistic, oh-aren't-I-a-clever-writer dialogue for the Spartan queen in particular will grate on anyone's nerves, with flat lines like "Freedom isn't free" spoken with such overdone fervor and determination that it feels she's stepped directly out of Team America: World Police.
And it's important to note that "300" isn't even remotely historically accurate - not that it needs to be, but sometimes the movie seems to think that we should think that, which is just odd. Spartans shouldn't be talking about "freedom" and "free men" as if they were present-day Americans; Sparta was a slave-holding society without shame, so why this unnecessary "freedom" subtext? Can't we just have a nice spectacle fighting movie about defending one's borders from an invading power without needing to make the whole thing 'relevant' to modern day events? It almost feels like the movie is embarrassed of itself and wants to tag on a "deep" subtext as an excuse for all this artistic fighting, but the "deep" material just distracts, unlike the subtext in Gladiator which I felt served an actual point.
As a final note, having owned both the Blu-ray and the regular version of this movie, I don't particularly feel that the Blu-ray version is worth shelling out the extra money. The transfer isn't the best (there are many scenes that are still very grainy), and this isn't really the best movie to showcase Blu-ray abilities anyway, since the visual effects are deliberately kind of washed and grainy to begin with. I'd definitely recommend buying this movie, as it's definitely worthy of a spot on the shelf, but I'd buy the regular DVD over the Blu-ray version. |
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"Very disappointing movie, way too Sci-Fi for me" | 2009-10-13 |
| - Reviewed By User: AEL6CQNQXONBX |
Summary:
In 480 BC, the Persian king sends his massive army to conquer Greece. The Greek city of Sparta houses its finest warriors, the King of Greece and 300 of his soldiers meet the Persians at Thermopylae, engaging the soldiers in a narrow canyon where they cannot take full advantage of their numbers. The battle is a suicide mission, meant to buy time for the rest of the Greek forces to prepare for the invasion. However, that doesn't stop the Spartans from throwing their hearts into the fray, determined to take as many Persians as possible with them.
This movie is one of the most disappointing movies I have ever seen. The story of 300 Greek soldiers battling the huge Persian army reminds me of Braveheart, which is my favorite movie of all time. I thought I would like this movie for sure but it was quick to disappointment me. The entire movie is so incredibly unbelievable. These 300 Greek soldiers must have defeated several thousand Persian soldiers before any of them were killed. The Persian Army also had huge Rhino's and Elephant's that must have been taking steroids because they were pretty fake looking too. And then some of the people that they had to battle were just ridiculous like this guy that has huge blades instead of hands. And another giant guy who gets stabbed in his eye with a knife and just keeps fighting. There was another hunchback guy that looked quite strange as well.
Maybe I am in the minority but I thought this movie was a joke and I find it hard to believe that anyone could actually like this movie.
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"I don't understand what people see in this movie." | 2009-10-10 |
| - Reviewed By User: AB33FFMQMZS5T |
Really, what is in this movie?
What is so awesome about it?
That makes it so manly, so brave, so heroic, so epic?
Well first off,
The protagonists are well-trained warriors who spend a good deal of the movie slaughtering pathetic cannon fodder.
Then the Persians break out their amazing elite Immortals, who remind me of the monkeys from The Wizard of Oz.
How is making the antagonists completely incompetent glorify the protagonists? How is it cool to watch?
If you got got a huge spear and shield and starting stabbing people armed only with letter openers and sticks would you then be awesome?
Also, apparently giving King Leonidas a back massage makes Xerxes super evil and a wonderful villain.
Then there's the most astounding display of courage yet: pushing an unarmed messenger into a pit for absolutely no reason!
Next, the characters. King Leonidas has a spear, a shield, muscles, and a penis. But the actor forgot that he actually had to act to make a convincing hero. And his face on the box cover is just so intimidating and heroic.
All the other Spartans are flat. They kill people and get killed, but since there's no connection to them, I can't sympathize with their cause.
The action is actually decent, but then we have the incredibly important political sub-plot. Everyone really wants to take a break from the battle to know what is happening back in Sparta. The sex scene was also absolutely essential to the plot.
Why are random people so ugly in this movie? Why is there a random crab arm guy? Why is the screen always have an unnatural red tint?
This movie makes no sense. I was happy when the Spartans finally died. For people that enjoy the action, I can understand that, but the people that think it's epic and a great story with excellent plot, what is wrong?
Since when is this garbage an excellent movie? |
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