Re: Re: Razzies Announced: '300' strangely snubbed

From: Sam Elliot <SamLElliot_at_DUUHyEfX3uTHHJa_OBUNuBAacz-2ekYQrKaAkYTPmRyQs9XgVBUYhMr6wSWhAADf7>
Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 18:35:39 -0300


That's all fine and well, John, but is it any good? Sam.

On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 2:09 AM, John Hughes <john.hughes_at_Mu3pLRkwA-4JF6qwANogqo36Vv3x5AVIvTB92MnJBOScJJzyDi3vZsBGKJMPMshr7PgrQ5Ol2vBtClGi1w.yahoo.invalid> wrote:
> "The only real outcome of Thermopylae was that it
> rid the Greeks of an incompetent military commander, but that's mere
> history."
>
> "Emotional constipation, deep confusion, and even deeper contradiction."
>
> "'300' can best be summed up as a Republican
> stick movie, deeply fearful of everything that
> isn't white, male and gung-ho for gore; a comic
> book tale of buff ubermensch fighting a holy war
> for 'freedom' against hordes of subhuman blacks
> and Iranians (sorry, 'Persians'). It manages to
> give us history simplified to caricature, myth
> reduced to bombast, and all semblance of human
> feeling buffed up to a homoerotic Chippendale dance routine. With spears."
>
> "While dipping deeply into what scholars call
> 'the Spartan Mirage' the modern appropriation of
> supposed Spartan values for propaganda purposes,
> '300' comes across most strongly as rejected bits
> of 'Lord Of The Rings' gathered up from the
> cutting room floor. It has the gollum bit
> (disfigured Ephialtes lolling close behind the
> main party: he wants the precious), the
> 'cavetroll' bit (it's big, it's chained, it wants
> to hit you so bad…), the exotic animals bit, the
> subhuman enemy trope, and obviously, the massed
> battles bit. It even has a terminally
> embarrassed, plastic-chested David Wenham doing
> what he can with some painfully trite
> sub-shakespearian dialogue.(WTF is he doing
> here?!) And teenage mutant ninja Immortals. "
>
> "<http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=240591&inline=nyt-per>Gerard
> Butler as Leonidis can't decide if he's Sean or
> Mel, but generously gives us his wandering
> impressions of both. The rest of the cast make do
> as best they can. Dominic West as Theron is so
> mind-numbingly one-dimensional in his evil you'd
> swear he worked for Haliburton. At least Rodrigo
> Santoro as Xerxes looks like he's having fun:
> after all, he's got lots of bling and plenty of
> ho's: are we perchance talking caricature here? Again?"
>
> "Women in '300' are divided into three
> categories. Some are dead. Most are solely
> writhing lust objects, sexualised playthings with
> tongue parts but no speaking bits. And then
> there's Gorgo, the single good woman who keeps
> the home fires burning. And gets raped."
>
> As you can see, I've mellowed.
>
> Defending FREEDOM to the last tanning clinic....
>
> Dim Jim
>
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