Thursday, March 08, 2007

Great Scot!!!

The world is about to discover the seemingly limitless talents of a heretofore underappreciated Scottish actor whose career trajectory I've been following for some time, and all I can say is, it's about time!!!
The movie 300 is thundering into theaters nationwide today. In fact, in many cities it opened at the midnight hour last night to gargantuan box-office success. A movie about an underdog kingdom defiantly facing down a fearsome contingent of warriors against truly mind-boggling odds, 300 has not only the boys and men surging eagerly toward the theaters, but also is drawing women of all ages in droves.
{Girrrls, can you say 'impeccably toned and fabulous male bodies clad in nothing but leather briefs and glorious crimson capes?' Uh huh. I thought you could.}

All teasing aside... 300 is lead by my H'wood favorite, Scotsman Gerard Butler {a.k.a. Gerry Butler, a.k.a. Yon Great Kilted One; fabulous in Phantom of the Opera, Dear Frankie, Timeline, and Beowulf & Grendel... and yes, that's him above}, who shines even brighter than ever before as the fiercely protective and unyielding King Leonidas. His commanding presence can be physically felt and experienced by the viewer--powerful, powerful, powerful. Not to be outdone, the rest of the movie's talented cast delivers each and every scene with a life and vigor that has managed to gather the attention of all of Hollywood, comic book fans, gaming fans, action adventure fans, and yes, women world-wide. Not bad for a film that stars none of the usual Star Magazine and US Weekly crowd. {Thanks to director Zack Snyder for that!}
Ah, but if it offered nothing more than a whole lotta eye candy, the advance buzz wouldn't have reached such impressive heights. The CGI special effects are amazing, the stylized atmosphere starkly commanding and beautiful at once, often tinged by an eerie, golden light. In fact, the imagery is so all-encompassing, one might expect character development to be an unfortunate afterthought, but the performances of all actors involved in this film are flawless through and through. Especially evocative is the emotional arc of the love story between Leonidas and his beloved queen, Gorgo {played by the exceptional Lena Headey}. Their exchanges without words are both poignant and heartrending, clearly read by anyone who thinks to look.

300 is a powerful and amazing ride, THE must-see movie of the year. Go see it!

Have fun at the movies!

Love to all,


Mad {madly!}

P.S. Oh, okay. Since you begged, here's one more pic. This one's from the March 5th premiere at the Grauman Chinese Theater in Los Angeles:


He is fairly fabulous, isn't he? You should see him in a kilt.

P.P.S. One last thing to highlight the vid work of a very talented friend, BluEyedDaizy Productions {see the link to the right--->}:


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mad, as usual your' take on this movie is 'Pairfect'. I didn't want to comment until I had seen the film myself. I did last night. This film is just wonderful. The entire cast was wonderful, Zack Snyder has truly come into his own as a director.
But Gerard commands the role of Leonidas with absolute authority. I can't imagine another actor that could bring the purity, purpose and prescence that Gerard does. His Leonidas is truly regal, and gives a renewed sense of dignity and definition to the posture of what it means to be truly regal.

Ann said...

Mad, it WAS awesome, wasn't it (sigh). Everyone will know his name now.

It's been a while since I had a bit of free time, so I am off now to partake of your Single Most Important Bit of Writing Advice. Thanks, my friend.

Ann