Mitch loses his shirt, 300 talk

I’ve seen fellow blogger Mitch go from a svelte life model to a blimp and back again, and it’s good to see him on the upswing post-surgery. Mitch was kind enough to show us a little leg after losing some of the weight although I suspect from his 300 movie post that he’ll be training to lose more. And hopefully lose more than just his shirt next time. I mean, Mitch … you’re a life model; don’t be coy. We’re all adults here. Congrats so far, and keep up the good work. I want to see those abs, Mitch; can’t be Leonidas without the abs.

Like most of the reviews you’ve probably read, 300 was most everything they said it was. I caught a History Channel segment on Leonidas a week before the movie came out; so, I knew a little bit about the story going into it. And for what it was (a graphic novel turned movie), I would say what was presented was in reason. Facts may be off a bit (I think) but you get the gist of the story from the movie as a whole. I won’t go into detail about a synopsis of the film because you can get from online review sources, but I will tell you … if in the right frame of mind upon seeing the film, you will without a doubt fall in love with the cinematography and aesthetic of the film.

Despite a solid storyline, what impressed me most was the beauty in the desaturation of color, the splatter of blood (overt but not nearly as much as say Kill Bill), and the war choreography. There is a stop-motion battle scene of Leonidas that is simply amazing … almost as if it were works of art whizzing by you to form an animated picture.

The question of flesh. Yes, there’s a lot of it. But not distasteful and no more homoerotic than a rugby game or wrestling match. That said, for the straight lot of you reading this, get over it. This should be a non-issue anyway considering the recent, telling discovery that hetero guys check each other out. I was a little disappointed at the lack of female characters. The only one present is Leonidas’ wife, who I believe should really have been cast as a more ethnic woman.

Be advised, the film weaves a lot fantasy into the story (e.g. the oracle, the red-eyed wolf, et cetera); so, don’t expect anything “down to earth.” If anything, it’s a visually stunning film and well-told story, and on those merits, I would definitely recommend seeing it. The abs don’t hurt either.

Finally, speaking of Greeks, much lurve to Dimitri who celebrated his birthday at Fuego over the weekend.