Wonderful wonderful

Rating: 8/10 (19 March 2007)

I've heard of Sin City but have not seen it. But after seeing this, I'll try my best to get a copy of Sin City. What a breath-taking movie 300 is. This is what a movie is supposed to be -- it should move you, entertain and suck you in for the whole 90 minutes or more you are in the cinema. Never mind if its historically incorrect. Movies are never meant to represent real life. For real life, go read the news -- which are at times even stranger than fiction! I was totally bowled over by the visuals, the sound and the actors. The grainy and out of worldly color of the movie, helped in placating the faint hearted, to the scenes of decapitations, limbs flying off in different directions. The soundtrack was most apt. The rock music weaved seamlessly into the ancient setting of the movie quite magically. I've seen movies where they tried to weave modern music into period drama movies and the results were most horrible it made you cringe (one movie that comes to mind is the utter waste-of-time, inappropriate and highly embarrassing Keith Ledger vehicle, A Knight's Tale). The transformation of the actors in this movie is quite amazing. After watching Gerard Butler in Phantom of the Opera last weekend, his appearance in this movie reflected how hard he must have worked to transform it-- his buffed up body (even his nose looked totally buffed up -- like a boxer's nose) made him barely recognizable as the actor who had sung his way through the whole musical. Watch out for Stephen McHattie, the underrated blonde actor who once acted as James Dean in a telemovie, a goatish looking loyalist who helps the queen gain access to the Council. David Wenham (who was the gentle yet brave Faramir in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) is the storyteller here. Pretty boy (i.e. drop-dead gorgeous) Rodrigo Santoro is transformed into the gigantic and totally corrupt Xerxes (plus body piercings, khol lined eyes, and painted eyebrows -- who looks suspiciously like Kumar, a comedian who's a household name in Singapore). What can I say?? I love this movie. Good job! Highly recommended.