Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Robin Hood

Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe team up once again in an historical epic. I loved this movie. I thought the action was great, the characters had a wonderful dynamic and the film was beautifully shot. I have the feeling that with all of the movies that have been done in the past decade and a half revolving around historical characters, have bored many of us movie goers. Think King Arthur as an example. There was so much fiction and skewed fact that I did not know what to think of the tale itself, even though I enjoyed the movie. With all of the LARPing and weird douchery going on in the fantasy genre I thought that this movie would have been more of a steamroller in the box office. They marketed the $h*t out of this thing

I loved Kate Blanchett as Maid Marian, she was powerful, strong and fragile. She played the perfect heroine in this adventurous ballyhoo, and had great chemistry with Russell Crowe. Why are people not a fan of this guy? He is such an amazingly well rounded actor, able to portray a myriad of individuals, each different than the next. He has played every part under the sun from grief-stricken gladiator to cocky, pissy cop. I love this guy. Not only does he train his character nuances from body language to spoken language, but his physical appearance changes as the role requires.

Robin Hood was reminiscient of the Errol Flynn era of sword play and rope swinging madness. The obvious difference was the look of the film. Ridley Scott creates a dark undertone in his movies that not only give an ominous feel, but reflects important social issues from a culturally reflexive vantage point. The sound is intense and increases anxiety during climaxes of confrontation and physicality. It pulsed of raw emotion and savagery as the dynamic of post-Crusade England unfolded. This film was awash in a dark canvas of hues and tones, perpetuating the seething societal beast that was ripping apart America's Motherland.

Like in any action sequence or one of tension, dutching or obliquing the camera angle effectively puts the viewer at unease. What is dutching or obliquing well that kind folks is defined as tilting the camera at an angle, almost a diagonal. During key peaks of fighting or emotional stress, Scott turned the camera on its side at a low angle, to remove any power or confidence from the viewer. Effective! I recommend this movie on a rainy day, it will help add excitement to the drab conditions through which we may be suffering. Awesome Go see it.

2 comments:

  1. I liked it too, and I really like Russell Crowe. I think people don't like him because he throws stuff at people in real life. But who doesn't? I'm throwing stuff at people in real life all the time.

    My only complaint is I hadn't been forwarned that this isn't the traditional Robin Hood story everyone has heard a million times. So for the whole movie I was in a state of horrible anxiety thinking: "We've been here for 2 hours and we haven't even fought with the Sherriff of Nottingham yet! We need to cram this stuff in!" Little did I know it wasn't in the plan. I wish I had, because I could have avoided a huge amount of crippling panic.

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  2. I'm with Craig where I was confused for a bit cause I thought it was going to be the typical Robin Hood story, but once I saw Crows rippling abs all was right in the world! I did feel like we were watching Gladiator for a bit though...it was almost the same role.

    Ps- I love Kate Blanchett

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