300

I expected it to be entertaining. I didn't expect it to be good. It's actually really great.

I was worried they wouldn't bring the gay in a historically appropriate manner. Oh, they bring the gay all right. They just also make it clear that everyone (except Xerxes) is a little too busy to be worrying about the gay or you know, anything else besides the obvious.

On the gender front, it's brilliant. Being Spartan is far more important than whether one is male or female. The Queen doesn't fight not because she can't, but because she has a different job to do, and it does that whole "men kill impersonally, women kill personally" thing too. She is badass. But more amazing is that at no point in this watching of a film largely about men was I conscious of not being one. Nor, in watching a film about people more, well, pretty much everything, than me, was I conscious of being less. For a noisy, bloody spectacle, it's a generous film, and it's willing to let you in in surprising ways.

I am also grateful for the film. Because when people say to me, "I don't get why you're so hard on yourself" or "how can you be so hard on yourself?" or "why are you so hard on yourself?" I can say, "because as hard as I am on myself, it is nothing." It's nothing.

When I was in 4th grade, and I first learnt about the Spartans I tried hard to understand how they could really live that way, how it could be true, as opposed to somethign they said until they were actually hurt and in pain. Weirdly, this comic book movie gets close to allowing one to actually grok it.

Also surprising? The acting is amazing. Becase my god, shot on blue screen, ridiculous bombastic dialogue and barely any clothing? And yet you can totally believe in all the crap that comes out of everyone's mouths.

Lots of nervous titters in the first 15 minutes of the movie. It's so bombastic, so huge, and so really damn pornographic at every turn. And then it just shuts people the hell up.

Awesome like woah. And when I'm sober, a real review. Let's just say, there will be zero problem getting up ass early to practice tomorrow. Zilch.

(no subject)

OKay, vaguely cogent review of 300 here: http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976928280

Off to the farmers market, then work, then home, then other work.

If you start at Monday, I've only had two days of major physical activity this week. Which means I don't have general soreness anywhere today for the first time in ages. But it doesn't feel like a relief. It feels weird. Maybe I'll go to the ECD on Tuesday, since with Lunacon next weekend, I won't be getting in the third fencing class or much else, but then after that I should be able to do three fencing classes most weeks.

It's a good thing I'm really busy today, or else I'd just go see 300 again. Man, fandom needs to write faster.