Bläeckfisk is the Swedish translation for the word octopus. I am not Swedish, but I do own a lot of furniture from Sweden and I like octopuses while admiring their multi-tasking ability. I would like to travel to Sweden at some point, plus I think it is a pretty cool looking word. Anyhow, speaking of words, I guess you could say that is why we are here. Words are the foundation for way we try to wrap our thoughts around everything in the galaxy. The tendrils that lead to emotions and curiosity. I am not here to solve the mysteries of the universe, just to discuss words in general. Specifically words written by other people and have been printed off and slapped between two slices of thin card stock. Many of these sandwiches go on to bigger and better things, some bigger and better than others. So, I guess we will be talking about those as well. If you share an interest in words or enjoi seeing what they can look like in action....välkommen! (Swedish for welcome.)

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

F33: 300 Rise of an Empire-Directed by Noam Murro

"Seize your glory!"

Oh there will be blood. Oceans of it. While this second installment of 300 series was not quite as good as the original, it was still preposterously awesome. Back are the shredded abs of our Greek heroes, gone are the 300 Spartan troops that ultimately were annihilated by Xerxes' Persian army. Aesthetically, this movie is a ridiculous. It plays out like a living, breathing comic book. The style of how the action is filmed is terrifyingly beautiful as you can almost feel the whisper of arrows and swords gracing past your earlobes. Shot mostly against a green screen, the effects and fight sequences are gnarly and are definitely worth your $8.75.

Leonidas is dead and the angry swarm Persian troops begins its march to Athens. This film serves as both prequel and sequel as the action begins with the monumental Greek victory at the Battle of Marathon. Led by the cagey general Themistokles, the Greeks stave off the mighty Darius in an unlikely victory against his voracious army. Witnessing the embarrassing defeat of his father is the adolescent Xerxes, whose gluttony for revenge and gold body paint bring him back to Greece years later to finish what Darius started. Although he is leading the charge, the real villain in this film is the ruthlessly Machiavellian Artemisia, a Greek herself whose sole passion is the utter destruction of Athens. Historically speaking, she was a Greek female naval commander and did exact a great deal of influence of the actions of Xerxes. I loved seeing this strand teased out and developed into her becoming the arch nemesis of Themistokles. Everything comes to a head at the battle of Salamis. And if you paid attention in class, the rest as they say, is history. Highly recommend seeing this, just make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. To victory!