300

since AT&T is being so generous as to offer a free 7 day preview of every channel under the sun, me and the hubby snuggled up and watched 300 again last night.

this was the third time i've seen the movie, but the last time i watched it was at least a year ago.

i was once again struck by the copious amounts of male abdominal musculature...and i have a pretty big crush on ole King Leonidas. the color of the cinematography is just so lovely. and of course, i closed my eyes at the gory(est) parts.

there were some things that i had not noticed on previous viewings, and i'm curious as to how culturally relevant the scenes were to the Greek people.

first: the oracle. was she not practising Seid-style prophecy?

second: the notion of a glorious death only being found in battle. Heathens tend toward the belief of death in battle being the 'escape' from the cycle of reincarnation; did the Greeks also believe this?

third: the high regard for the women of Greece. as i thought about this i came to the conclusion that before the rise of monotheism the whole world probably regarded women in a more equal way.

i know it's a bit late for a movie review, but it's not very often that i actually like a movie. i think it's extremely rare that a movie is able to address issues such as valor and true strength of spirit and character without being cheesy or pretentious.

i give it two thumbs up. ;}