300: Rise of an Empire

I have been waiting a long time for this prequel and sequel to 300, 300: Rise of an Empire.
This movie is a companion to 300 in a way. The story first took place (before the fall of the 300) at the Battle of Marathon (First Persian invasion of Greece led by King Darius I or Prince Xerces' father), which later led to the Second Persian invasion of Greece by King Xerxes I (where the famous Battle of Thermopylae occurred - the fall of 300 Spartans led by King Leonidas I and the naval Battle of Artemisium occurring simultaneously) and finally leading to the naval Battle of Salamis.
The main draw of the movie is not the historical accuracy but the action packed sequences, and plenty of slow-motion in the tradition of the first 300 movie. :) Plenty of blood and gore in this prequel/ sequel 300 as well, if not bloodier and more gory. The Greeks are not too bad but give me a perfectly ripped Spartan anytime from the first 300 movie. :P Actually, I also preferred the villain, Artemisia, the female Persian naval commander. I couldn't dislike her at all! She drew most of my attention in the movie. She is my hero lol. I would love to have those killer glares and moves of hers. Nothing excites me more than to see men quaking in fear of a woman. :P Woman power! Lol. 

Those looks could kill! :)

Spartan Queen Gorgo is not too bad too :) and the hero, Athenian commander Themistocles

 (Source of photos: http://www.movieweb.com/movie/300-rise-of-an-empire)

300: Rise of an Empire trailer 1 (uploaded by Warners Bros. Pictures)
 

300: Rise of an Empire trailer 2 (uploaded by Warners Bros. Pictures)


300: Rise of an Empire trailer 3 (uploaded by Warners Bros. Pictures)


Quotes from 300: Rise of an Empire  (source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1253863/quotes)
Queen Gorgo: It begins as a whisper... a promise... the lightest of breezes dances above the death cries of 300 men. That breeze became a wind. A wind that my brothers have sacrificed. A wind of freedom... a wind of justice... a wind of vengeance.

Themistocles: Better we show them, we chose to die on our feet, rather than live on our knees!  

300: Rise of an Empire didn't disappoint and totally lived up to my expectation. :) It was definitely worth the wait. I really enjoyed the movie and will buy it when it comes out on blu-ray. 

Movie Watching... and Re-watching

Do you like to watch movies?
I do. There is a kind of magic watching movies at the cinema which can't be replicated at home. If I can, I will try as far as possible to watch the movies in the cinema. Once I have watched the movies on the big screen, it is okay then to watch them on DVDs.

Do you like to re-watch movies?
I do. I have a few favourites, actually quite a number of movies that I can watch over and over again and I don't get bored! Lol. To name but a few - The Indiana Jones series, The Star Wars series, The Aliens series, The Mummy series, The Matrix series, Bourne series, Underworld series, LOTR series, HP series, 300, ... (the list goes on, lol).

What led me to write about today's post is 300. I watched 300 last year (my 12 March 2007 blog post) on the big screen and I couldn't get it out of my mind. I bought the DVD to keep. A few days before HBO showed it on cable tv, I watched the 300 DVD again. I was surprised at how captivated I still am by the movie. 300 still has the power to leave me breathless and panting away! Oi, not because of the nearly naked bods of hunks lah! But 300's great cinematography, the fight scenes and sequences. Lol.

I watched 300 again on HBO last night but was quite offended that certain scenes had been cut from the tv version of 300. I can understand because on tv, it has to be PG rated but somehow those scenes made a stronger impact for the movie. Hmm, I actually knew where and what the missing scenes were, lol. Goes to show those scenes had definitely made an impression on me. Anyway, 300 is showing on HBO again at 12 am tonight. I am going to watch it again, despite the cut scenes. :P

300 - Prepare for GLORY!

I went to watch a movie today. My hubby was like "Alone?". Yar, and then?! He is getting old, he has forgotten I used to watch movies on my own. My record was 4 movies in 1 day, yes, at the theatre! Anyway, I digressed.

I saw "300". I think it is one of the best movies I have seen. Before you all start sniggerring and winking away, I went for "300" because of the story - in 480 B.C., Spartan King Leonidas and his 300 men fought against the Persian soldiers under Xerxes at the Battle of Thermopylae. Fine, the fab abs on the bods of those hunks in 300 is just an added bonus, ok, a BIG BONUS! Hahaha. I have always been interested in the history and legends of ancient civilisations - Egypt, Minoan, Mesopotamia, Mycenae, Phoneicians, Greece, Rome, China, Moche, Maya, Byzantine, Anasazi, Aztec, Inca, Anglo-Saxon Britain. When "300" opened here, I went for it.

"300" is a very well-made movie. However, it is not for the faint-hearted or those who will faint at the sight of blood as there are very graphic and vivid scenes of blood and gore. The fight scenes and fight sequences are GREAT! And they are paired with great rock music and slow-mo effect (think Matrix). It was like watching a beautiful dance. (Ok, by now, you would have realised that I like violence, but only in movies. I do NOT advocate violence in real life.) I think "300" is going to become one of the great classics, one of the epic movies in the new millenium. Not just because of the fight scenes and sequences in "300", more because of the values that "300" is advocating, the Spartan values which are still applicable in today's society - duty, discipline, determination, loyalty, respect, honour, courage and strength. I watched the movie this morning and the scenes from the movie are still re-enacting in my mind and the message from the movie still reverberating in my mind. Such is the power of "300" on me.

Dark skies forebode in Warner Bros. Pictures' 300 - 2007 (Source: Yahoo! Movies)

Warriors take their places at the front of the deadly Spartan phalanx in Warner Bros. Pictures' 300 - 2007 (Source: Yahoo! Movies)

Narrated at the end of "300":

"Go, tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie." —

Epitaph of Simonides at Burial Mound of Spartans at Thermopylae

Epitaph at Thermopylae (Source: Wikipedia)

I would strongly encourage anyone who is into history, action, and drama to watch "300" on the big screen, digital too if possible, to get the full effect of "300". Forget about watching it on DVD, the effect just won't be the same.

Here's the trailer for "300"

300 - Trailer 2

Oh, if anyone wants to watch "300", give me a call. I am up for watching it again, anytime.

PS. Those interested to know a little more about Sparta, Leonidas, Battle of Thermopylae can find information in Wikipedia.