300

So, a wird thing happened to me on the way to see a movie last Thursday. I was having a hard time figuring out what to see, but I finally decided to opt for The Number 23. It was showing at the right time at an acceptable theater and I thought I could get there on time if I hustled. I was not really happy with the theater because it was an old favorite that had changed ownership from AMC to Starplex and was turning into Suxville. But, everything else was OK so I headed that direction. Only, turns out when I got there right on time and asked fro a ticket, the guy says, oh yeah it won;t be starting until 5:30 (four and half hours from now). We had to shut down five theaters as we are remodeling. Gee. Thanks for the info. So, I vaguely remember that I think Wild Hogs is showig Downtown at 1:30. Again, I think if I hustle I can make it, but I am not sure that it is downtown and not somewhere else. So, I attempt to call them. Only, they don't answer four times. So I call another good theater to see what my options there are. Turns out Wild Hogs is showing at 1:20, and I think I can make it. I am not particularly excited about Wild Hogs, but I am vaguely interested so I give it a whirl. I get there at 1:19 and begin to debate if I really want to see Wild Hogs or if I would rather see Black Snake Moan in fifteen minutes. I kinda want to see them both, but they both look a little crappy as well. I elect to go for Wild Hogs because it will get me out sooner. (I later read another review of Black Snake Moan and it sounds even more horrible than my instincts first thought.) So, I go in and midway through the first trailer, the filmstrip breaks. After they get it fixed, I begin to notice that the trailers I am getting do not seem to fit the audience that would be attending Wild Hogs. And as the movie begins, Lo and Behold, it is 300, a movie I was very excited to see, a day before it is supposed to be released. Sweet. And, just for a kicker, enough of the old fogeys I was with coimplained, so on my way out after seeing all of 300, I got a rain check to go back for another flick in the future. Talk about good fortune, everything's coming up Milhouse.
As for the movie I thought it was pretty good. The plot was pretty straight line, and there was not much of my kind of "message". There was a short quip to civil disobedience, and of course the obligatory war and death are noble and savage business that mght be expected. But I really liked the feel of the movie. It did a much better job of pulling off its visual style than Sin City, another Frank Miller flick. I really felt like the film looked exactly like they wanted it to look and the characters looked just like they were supposed to, which is to say, just like the graphic novel from which the story was drawn. There were some really good effects also. I particularly liked the otherwordly voice of Xerxes, god-king. So, I enjoyed the movie. Not one for the squeamish, or for those who disdain action, but I liked it quite a bit.