300 Comic to Movie Comparison

To go along with my 300 review below check out this comic to movie comparison. Looks like they got it pretty close to the comic book.

300 (* * * 1/2)

I was able to make it out to a late show last night and see 300. I was excited and planning on seeing this film for a long time, I was going to wait a while but after my friend Jeff's review I decided I needed to get out and see this soon. I am glad I did, I really liked 300. I am currently torn between giving the film 3 or 4 stars, so I went with 3 1/2. I liked the movie enough to give it 4, but I found enough flaws to give it 3.
Obviously the first thing you will notice, and love, about 300 is the visual style and cinematography. It's truly amazing and unique. The story is great and the acting is pretty good, but there are a few holes here and there that the visuals just weren't enough to fill.
Oh and if you go see this film, be aware that the audience will be made mostly of young males with tattoo's, large ear rings, too much gel in their hair and a monthly pass to Gold's Gym (steroids optional). At least that's what it was like for me. Watch yourself in the parking lot.
As always spoilers to follow.
Anyone who has seen the various trailers or promotional images for 300 will immediately recognize the fascinating visual style. Director Zack Snyder really did a great job with the creativity on this one. Anyone who has seen his remake of Dawn of the Dead will recognize his unique style with lighting and contrast. You can literally take most of this film, print it out and hang it on your wall, it's that beautiful and amazing. There is just some great lighting and backgrounds. Shot almost entirely with blue screen technology, he was able to make it look however he wanted. There were a few flaws though, there are a couple of scenes that you can really tell that the actors are in front of a blue screen. It's not a big deal, but just a little distracting. Although most people won't notice, I just pay more attention to detail than most people. Going to see this film for the visual style alone is worth the ticket price.
Another unique aspect of the movie is the fight scenes. I really think there is some creative choreography and interesting fight scenes. Let's face it, there isn't a lot out there that hasn't been done as far as fight scenes go. Especially when we are talking early history with swords and shields. I think that they really got creative on this one. It's interesting and fun to watch, although it's extremely graphic, it's different than anything you have seen before.
The story is really interesting and very loosely based on the real life Battle of Thermopylae. So there is some historical basis, although it's very blown out of proportion and dramatized. The movie is also based on Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name. Most of the visual style was interpreted from the graphic novel. The story at it's core is really just about a huge battle, although I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of detail and depth of the story that I didn't expect. At the heart of the story you have King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan soldiers versus The God King Xerxes and his thousands of soldiers. But there is more to the story, there is the King's upbringing as a Spartan and his very loyal soldiers, his wife and his son. King Xerxes and his ability to corrupt and purchase a Spartan politician. As I said before, the story is actually pretty detailed and intricate, I expected a basic battle with blood and carnage but was happy to see more depth.
I am probably being pretty picky about this one, but I thought the acting was just mediocre. There are a few that stand out and do a great job, but for the most part it was just OK. The dialog was very repetitive and even laughable at times (there are only so many ways and so many times to say "This Is Sparta!!!). Most of my issues with the acting probably stem from the dialog, but it's up to the actors to deliver it properly. There are several main characters, most notably King Leonidas played by Gerard Butler. I am sure he went to great lengths to look the part, and he did. He did a good job in all of the action scenes and even some of the sentimental moments with his wounded soldiers, his son and his wife. But the guy in real life is Scottish and Irish, that accent must be hard to get rid of, and it was easy to tell in the film that he had an accent. In fact that is one of the things that bothered me the most, each character had a different accent. It was pretty obvious. I did think the standout performances were by those that were left behind, not those in the battles themselves. I felt like Dominic West played a great corrupt politician as Theron, you really hated this guy and you could tell that there was something about him that you didn't like, right off the bat. I also think that Lena Headey stole the scene each time as Queen Gorgo, she was bold and stood strong. I thought they did a great job. Most people will remember David Wenham from The Lord of the Rings films, he was good in his part and I enjoyed it having him as a narrator. I tend to enjoy films with narrators anyway, but it was cool to hear him tell the story from start to finish and see his role in the story. Rodrigo Santoro played the part of Xerxes, he was good but I think they played with his voice too much. It was weird to look at this giant feminine man and hear that deep voice, it worked for the film but felt a little off to me.
Something that I don't want to overlook in this film, is the music. The music plays a huge role in this film and I think they did a great job setting the mood using music. There are several scenes that are emotionally enhanced by the music and it really helps to keep the pacing right, because the pacing in the film does go in and out, fast and slow.
The Bottom Line....
I really liked 300, it's a great movie and I did want to give it 4 stars because I had a lot of fun watching it, but I gave it 3 1/2 stars because of a few nit picky things that bothered me. The visuals and cinematography are enough to go see this movie, that's it, just go and feast your eyes on the creativity. You will not be bored just watching this movie for that alone. The music sets the mood and the story will surprise you with it's depth, suspense and a few surprises. The acting is pretty good, but the dialog and delivery felt a little off to me, although there are some stand out performances. Most people will probably not be bothered at all by those things. The movie isn't too long, coming in just under 2 hours, but trust me the pacing isn't a problem and you won't be bored.
The movie is rated R and it completely deserves it's rating. There is a ton of extremely graphic images and there is quite a bit of sexual images as well. To be honest, I was caught off guard with the sex scenes, I didn't expect it at all. The good news is there is virtually no obscene language. I think it's quite obvious, although not to everyone in my theater, that you shouldn't bring your kids to this movie.
I don't really know who to recommend seeing this film, obviously kids and most women are not going to enjoy this movie. Even guys who like war movies aren't generally going to like this movie, it's not like Saving Private Ryan. I enjoyed this movie because it was really creative and visual, I am a visual person and anything that stunning can captivate me for two hours. The movie is stylish with the "cool factor" through the roof. But it's not for everyone, although it's raking in quite a bit at the box office.
So take your chances and let me know what you thought of 3oo, or if you are even interested (or if you even read this far). You can read my friend Jeff's, comments here, he loved it.

Hailee Fun

I was bored tonight so I thought I would post a couple of new pictures of Hailee for everyone to enjoy. Hailee is loving just being able to run around and do whatever she wants. Literally, she has her own agenda and goes wherever she wants to do whatever is on her mind. You will notice the picture of her with the laundry basket on her head, she just did that one night. She thought it would be fun to put it on her head and run around the house, so she did, for about 30 minutes. It was hilarous, she always keeps us on our toes and laughing at her antics.
If you are interested in viewing any of the pictures Brooke or I have uploaded, since December. Click here. Google has a new thing called Picasa Web Albums, it's a way for people to share pictures online. They integrate it with Blogger and Picasa (A free and great photo organization software, I highly recommend), so go check it out and if you use Blooger, Picasa or both you might want to look into using it. You should be able to view, print and even purchase any of the photos that are included there.

Zodiac (* * * *)

It's been a long time since I have put up a movie review, I apologize to the few of you who like to read them. It's also been a long time since I have seen a movie, although I have seen a few good ones here and there. (The Departed (* * * *) and Children of Men (* * * *)) to name basically the only two. Both movies I would love to review if I ever get the time. Suffice it to say for now, they are both 4 stars and excellent movies. If you watch The Departed, watch for X's. You will know what I mean.
Anyway, I (along with Brooke and Josh) saw Zodiac over the weekend and I wanted to write a little about it. I know a few of you are expecting some comments from me on this film, although I am sure to write more than you wanted to hear this isn't as traditional as a review as you have come to expect from me.
As always there are spoilers below. Although this story is true and you can find out all you want about it anywhere, avoid my review if you don't know about the Zodiac murders and you don't want to be spoiled for the movie.

Zodiac (* * * *)

To start I would like to paraphrase from an article I read about David Fincher.

"So have you heard, Fincher is back? Run, don't walk, I am not kidding here, run, don't walk to your nearest theater and see Zodiac. It's been 5 years since we had anything from Fincher and it could be 5 years before we do again. So don't miss this opportunity."

I am giving Zodiac 4 stars, because it is an excellent movie. There is so much that is great about it, the story is so interesting and so well presented, the acting is great, the music and mood as well as the style with the cinematography.
I won't even attempt to tell you the whole story, it's way too complex. So essentially the movie is based on a two books by Robert Graysmith (Zodiac and Zodiac Unmasked) regarding the Zodiac murders in California during the 60's and 70's. Robert was a cartoonist at a newspaper in San Francisco during the time of the Zodiac murders in the area. He took it upon himself to investigate the murders and published his books based upon his experiences. The movie is also based on his experiences, Robert served as a consultant and writer for the film. Needless to say the film is very accurately based on his conclusions, although not necessarily everyone's conclusions regarding the murders. David Fincher also grew up in San Francisco during the time of the killings. There is stories all over the Internet about Zodiac, Fincher and Graysmith during this time, Google it if you want more info.
I will tell you that the story is told very well. There isn't a lot of confusion, although there are many surprises, and it's laid out for you in all of it's detail and complexity. I really felt like an investigator learning along with the characters and the movie progressed through the history of these events. As the characters made discoveries regarding the investigation, I felt like I was making the discovery. I was also very shocked at the procedures and events in investigations of that time period that would never go well today. I also felt engulfed into this time period and location. I think they did a great job of making it look like that time and getting all the minute details to make the viewer feel as if they had traveled back in time. The mood and the setting is great, it's creepy and creates a feeling of suspense and fright right off the bat. Many people worry that the story is difficult to end, because the real Zodiac killer has never been caught or even named. But they did a good job telling the story as they know it, the story has a difficult ending because the killer never is caught or even identified. But don't worry, there is still a great deal of suspense near the final minutes of the movie. In fact it's almost more scary knowing that it does end in an untraditional sense, the good guys don't necessarily win.
There are some great scenes to watch out for, this is not a movie of just dialog, you will be frightened. There is a gruesome scene of one of the murders, a stabbing on the shores of the lake. I think that scene will haunt me for several years, it's so real and so scary. One of the methods used to make it so scary was that there is no music during that scene. All of the scenes where the murders take place are frightening, but this one stood out as quite disturbing. There is also a scene involving a pregnant woman with a young child in a car. It was almost scary enough that the kid wasn't in a car seat, they didn't use them back then. But watch out for that one. Be advised that while frightening and disturbing, there really isn't a lot of gore and bloodshed in the film, it's mostly based upon the investigation and not the murders themselves.
The acting is really great. Most avid movie goers will recognize most, if not all, of the main characters in the film. A few of the roles really stood out and surprised me. I really liked Mark Ruffalo as David Toschi, the head investigator on the case. I haven't seen a lot of Ruffalo's work outside of a few romantic comedy's and he was OK in those, but he was great in this. He was interesting to watch because you could read what was going on in his head by watching his expressions. He even had a few funny moments and you could really feel that this character was a real person. Jake Gyllenhaall played Robert Graysmith in the movie and had the opportunity to work with him throughout filming. He was good and the movie centered mostly around him, you could feel his excitement as he figured out new clues. You could also see the destruction as he became more and more obsessed with the murders and less careful with his family and his safety. It showed on his face and the way he played the character. His performance was good but I really think Ruffalo stole many of the scenes they were in together. Robert Downey Jr. was good as Paul Avery, the newspapers crime reporter and Anthony Edwards played Ruffalo's parter at the beginning of the murders. I can't say that any of the acting is bad, Fincher is known to be a perfectionist and do as many takes as needed to get everything right. I don't think you will see much bad acting in any of Fincher's films, he works with good actors and expects nothing less than the best. It shows.
One of the great things about seeing a David Fincher film is that visually it really is a treat to watch. The mood of the film is influenced by great scenery and especially with lighting and music. There is such a dark and mysterious look to the film. The cinematography is fresh and interesting, it's unique and nothing like you see anywhere else. It's great for a film in which the central character, Zodiac, is so mysterious and alluding that he still hasn't been caught (If he's still living).
The Bottom Line...
Zodiac is a great movie, for those of you who love crime and serial killer dramas, this is the movie for you. In fact I would say it's the best since Silence of the Lambs, or Fincher's own Se7en. I gave the movie 4 stars because of a great story, excellent acting and of course David Finchers directing, cinematography and signature dark and mysterious mood. This will be part of my DVD collection as soon as it's released. The film does come in at a butt numbing 2 hours and 40 minutes, but it doesn't feel like it. If I had to make a criticism of the movie, I would say that the middle part of the story is a little slow, but very easy to overlook because the payoff of the last 3/4 of the movie is great. It is rated R, obviously for violence and disturbing images, drug material (Not much), some language (Very little) and brief sexual images (Although I must have missed that because I didn't notice). Of course you wouldn't want to take your kids to it, but most adults shouldn't have a problem or be offended. My recommendation is that anyone could really see this movie and enjoy it. Some may be turned off by the long run time and the R rating, don't let that deter you, this really is a great film that anyone over 18 will enjoy it.
As always if you have seen or go to see Zodiac, chime in on the comments and let me know what you think. (Josh and Brooke, this means you because you were with me and I know you have seen it and liked it)
A side note for Jeff, go out and see this and let me know what you think of your favorite directors latest film in the comments.