Life is about experiences both real and virtual. In the realm of the real, space seems vast but accomplishable given the right amount of time and resources and offers a tangible repertoire of what we let each other see. The realm of the virtual is infinite in both its time and space and sheds away layer after layer the boundaries and limitations taught in the real. Minds can expand beyond what they expect. Imaginations can be stretched to its bare sinew fibres and extend in multiple strands that lead to an endless array of possibilities.
The real is where we live, thrive and co-exist through rules.
The virtual is an endless universe of where we play, dream and imagination relentlessly reign.
These worlds can live harmoniously with each other, though when conditions allow them to collide, the percieved calamity is due to the rules of each that differ yet are similar; judged by people yet persecuted by community; built by the body yet fueled by the mind.
The line between the real and the virtual is measured only by belief.
Since the initial release, I avoided watching 300, rolling my eyes at the trailer and thinking ‘not another one of those‘, that is until tonight when I finally watched the movie and absolutely loved it! Well beyond my expectations, 300 delivered a stunning cinematic experience far that could be compared to Kill Bill or even better, the first Matrix movie. Maybe I am desensitized to violence but this movie did not seem as bad as portayed by the media and reviews – especially given that its based on an ancient historical battle where brutal hand-to-hand combat was the norm.
The story was well written and compelling and heightened through the use of a dark, gritty visual style, soaked in rich sepia tones (think Frank Miller stylization reminiscent of his last film Sin City) had me captivated from the beginning. I especially enoyed the portrayal of Spartan women as being empowered – far to many Hollywood movies have women the ‘damsel in distress’ – pu-lease! The powerful female characters I think only add to the overall strength of the film to further illustrate how disciplined and warrior natured Sparta was at the time.
My one complaint is that the story could have delved deeper into the history of Sparta and its people. The brief glimpses we see do offer enough basic background into the warrior nature and sense of life in the ‘civilized’ city to carry the storyline but only to the point of typical glorified Hollywood manner – skip over the facts and get to the fight.
Overall the movie with a historical setting and battle, amazing cinematography and slick visual style, is a must see in my book.
Now I must go work on my abs – for SPARTA!!!
Another day when I wasn’t sure I would run well but sure enough, I broke another record with my best 1 mile at 7min 59sec (1 sec under, but still counts!) beating my previous 8min 09sec time. I’ve also added a new Nike+ feature (coded in down-right) that displays the last 5 runs as recorded with my Nike+/iPod Nano setup. I’ll be pushing to break more records this week including surpassing the 100km mark since I started up again in May! Special thanks to the group who cheered me on in the park and helped me get up the big hill near the end.
Feels real good… I’ve also picked an awesome new ‘Power Song’ (this may surprise some of you) called Seneca Falls by The Distillers – I just LOVE the energy of this song & Brody’s singing where each beat sets my pace of a foot hitting the pavement – (clickie to hear the song) – hey what can I say, I’m a rocker at heart and think this music is frickin’ awesome! ;-P.
