Wednesday 25 July 2007

captive audience.

New Zealand Air provides your own movie screen on the back of the seat in front, and your own set of controls, and a decent selection of recent films and classics, so I caught up with some of the movies I've been missing while I've had my head down finishing The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard.
300 to begin with. Greece must be one of the brightest places in the world. Here it's the colour of the varnish on old oil paintings. It's most interesting when Miller's still pictures are translated to moving ones. I can willingly suspend disbelief as well the next person, but some standard movie set-ups occasionally break my involvement, for instance the ending just like the one in Braveheart. But why is the bard leading the assembled armies of Greece?
A couple of lovely English historical things I was better able to lose my self in: Becoming Jane about Jane Austen's moment of truth. Hard enough to decide to make your way in the world as a writer, but being a woman and being in the nineteenth century.
Amazing Grace starring Ioan Grufudd and a some of the best living British actors Ian Richardson (no, wait, he was in the Jane Austen movie. must have been one he made before he died, as my mum would say. hi, Mum!) Michael Gambon etc.. the story of William Wilberforce, the Man who tirelessly railed against the evil of slavery and eventually won its abolition in Britain in 1807. A great movie about a great man whom we should all know more about. The title comes from the song written by John Newton who also plays a role in the story, played by Albert Finney.
Lonely heart with Travolta and Gandolfini, who also does the spoken narration, as a pair of detectives in a 1940s story that is probably based on a true case. It plays well, and convincingly, with none of the stupid compromises that usually go into movies, though some of that narration sounds a bit too self consciously hard boiled.
Wee cal chose Ghost Rider, that nutty skating thing with Will Farrell and The Shooter. He watched 300 for 15 minutes then switched to a vid game. I was sitting close enough I could probably review all those too, even without the sound.
When my eyes got tired i found a whole cd's worth of Jacques Loussier doing his jazz thing to two Mozart piano concertos (#20 and #23). Must buy the cd and listen some more.

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2 Comments:

Blogger spacedlaw said...

Loussier is more known for his work on Bach. Nice to know he attacked Mozart too.

26 July 2007 at 01:23:00 GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"But why is the bard leading the assembled armies of Greece?"

Assuming that this is a serious question, although it may not be...
As an Ancient History student of the Greco-Persian conflicts and Spartan society, albeit one who has not got around to seeing 300 yet, I can say that if there was in fact a musician leading the SPARTAN army in particular, then this is perfectly historically accurate. The Spartans were highly musical, and believed in using music to rouse the hearts of soldiers and keep them in step.

However, from what I've heard, the rest is historically shite, haha.

And then again, having not seen the movie, I probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but when has that ever stopped me?

30 July 2007 at 07:29:00 GMT-5  

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