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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Tim Riley
300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE (Rated R)
If the swords-and-sandals epic saga “300: Rise of an Empire” were to be considered a sequel to the blockbuster “300,” then maybe it should have been titled “300: Revenge of the Spartans.”
Unfortunately, the 300 Spartans, including beloved King Leonidas (Gerard Butler, appearing here only in snippets from the first film), were wiped out during a brave last stand against the invading Persian forces.
In essence, “300: Rise of an Empire” is not a sequel, because Leonidas perished, leaving behind his widow Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), a tough cookie nevertheless skeptical about joining the Greeks against Persian God-King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro).
I don’t know how anyone takes Xerxes seriously. Decked out in gold briefs and pierced with lots of jewelry, Xerxes looks like he belongs in a Las Vegas floorshow surrounded by half-naked women with feather boas.
This could be why Persian naval commander Artemisia (Eva Green), a hardened, vicious warrior extremely motivated for bloodthirsty vengeance, eclipses the vain, strutting Xerxes as the story’s centerpiece villain.
The battle of Thermopylae, where Leonidas and his soldiers made a valiant last stand, was just one fight in a war with the Persians that lasted many years. So this non-sequel is more of a parallel story to the ongoing wars.
Absent the leadership of Leonidas, an Athenian soldier politician named Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) steps in to command a Greek naval force that is badly outnumbered by the Persian vessels under the command of the scheming Artemisia.
Themistocles, much like Leonidas, turns out to be a fierce and clever tactician and adversary. Though exuding a rough-hewn charisma, Sullivan Stapleton is no Gerard Butler, falling short of the brash, wild abandon with which the big guy in the sandals made his overtly physical mark.
Arguably, this hardcore action film, where swordplay is graphically realized with much spilling of blood and severing of body parts, belongs to the strong-willed Artemisia, the biggest, pardon the expression, badass, who would be a serious challenge even for Leonidas.
One of the many problems for Themistocles is the thorny political objective of uniting the various Greek city-states to volunteer their soldiers for a battle that looks pretty much like a suicide mission.
The Athenian general also ventures up to Sparta to try to enlist the naval support of the Spartan fleet, though Queen Gorgo is not easily persuaded to forge an alliance that could effectively engage the overwhelming Persian armada.
Fittingly, considering her towering presence, Artemisia, though Greek-born, has an interesting backstory to explain her hatred of her native land. As a child, she witnessed the brutal murder of her family by Greek soldiers, and she was saved by Xerxes’ father.
Cunning and ruthless, Artemisia is an exceptional military officer, which is why she is entrusted to command the entire Persian naval fleet. She also likes a superior challenge, which is what Themistocles represents.
Though she appears to have no use for diplomacy, one of the fascinating moments during the heat of battle is when Artemisia invites Themistocles to a summit meeting aboard her ship.
The shipboard encounter between two powerful enemies turns into a night of rough sex, with Themistocles eventually rejecting her entreaties for surrender. One cannot imagine this happening today, but to be safe, I’d be careful not to send a high-ranking female diplomat to meet with Vladimir Putin.
Unlike the Spartans, the Greeks are not career soldiers. The toll of war on fathers and sons is personified through two warriors, Scyllias and his son Calisto (Callan Mulvey and Jack O’Connell, respectively), who risk it all behind enemy lines, though both are loyal to a fault to Themistocles.
On a larger scale, the soldiers on both sides are merely anonymous fighters ending up in the meat grinder of countless battles on land and sea. On the Greek side, with their buffed torsos exposed, most soldiers look like regulars at Gold’s Gym.
One particular stunning naval battle occurs on the storm-tossed waters of the Aegean Sea, where Themistocles devises a clever battle plan to encircle the larger Persian armada so as to sink so many ships they are forced to an ignominious retreat.
The bottom line for “300: Rise of an Empire” is that if you enjoyed the original film, then this battleground festival of bloody carnage and destruction will not disappoint fans of the genre.
Even though Zack Snyder did not direct this time, his graphic novel style is clearly present. Even the slow-motion scenes of blood spurting from various body parts, skewered or severed, efficiently serve the Zack Snyder method.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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- Written by: Editor
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Take 1 Jazz comes to the Soper Reese Theatre Friday, March 21.
The show will take place beginning at 7 p.m. at the theater, located at 275 S. Main St.
Take 1 Jazz features George Husaruk on flute and Christian Foley-Beining on guitar.
In a change-up from the usual country and rock music for which Third Friday Live is known, the March 21 show focuses on pure jazz, sometimes driving, sometimes relaxing, with Wes Montgomery, Cal Tjader, Will Siegel and Elena Casanova influences.
All seats for Third Friday Live are $10 each.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.SoperReeseTheatre.com ; at the Theatre Box Office, 275 S. Main St. in Lakeport on Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; or by phone at 707-263-0577.
Tickets also are available at The Travel Center, 1265 S. Main, Lakeport, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Soper Reese Theatre is a restored, historic, performing and motion picture arts venue established in 1949. It operates under the guidance of the nonprofit Lake County Arts Council.
The 300-seat theater brings dance, music, film, plays and poetry to all members of the Lake County community.
Check out the theater's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Soper-Reese-Theatre/117392951610902 for updates on events and other theater news.
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- Written by: Editor
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A broad range of musical styles on the keyboard will be presented at the Soper Reese Theatre on Sunday, March 16, by seven well-known pianists from the region.
Musicians will combine their talent and years of experience to benefit fundraising efforts for the arts and education in Lake County.
The Lake County Friends of Mendocino College is partnering with the Soper Reese Theatre to sponsor the third annual Benefit Pianists Concert. The afternoon begins at 2 p.m. with a no-host reception, followed by the concert at 3 p.m.
Raffle tickets for baskets of Lake County products donated by businesses and individuals will be sold during the reception and intermission.
Lake County artists Tom Aiken, Tom Ganoung, and David Neft will be joined by performers Spencer Brewer, Elena Casanova, Elizabeth MacDougall and Ed Reinhart from Mendocino County.
The concert will feature all the pianists on stage throughout the afternoon as they converse about their life experiences and play a variety of musical selections.
Tickets are $25 for regular reserved and $30 for premium reserved and may be purchased at the box office on Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., or by phone to 707-263-0577.
The Soper Reese is located at 275 S. Main St. in Lakeport.
The Travel Center in the Shoreline Shopping Center, 1265 S. Main St., Lakeport, also sells tickets, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online at www.soperreesetheatre.com .
“The Lake County Friends, an affiliate of the Mendocino College Foundation, was created to benefit students and programs at the Lake Center. We are delighted that proceeds from this benefit concert will enable us to help equip the first Chemistry laboratory at the Lake Center campus in Lakeport,” said Wilda Shock, chairperson of Friends.
Proceeds from the past concerts have funded a $1,000 scholarship for a Lake County student and tutors at the Lake Center. More information about the Friends is available from Shock at 707-263-7575.
The Soper Reese Theatre is a restored performing arts venue operated by an all-volunteer management team under the auspices of the Lake County Arts Council.
“Concert proceeds will be dedicated to the next phases of renovation, including expansion of the lobby and new restrooms,” according to theater Executive Director Mike Adams.
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
Here’s another lovely poem to honor the caregivers among us. Amy Fleury lives and teaches in Louisiana.
Ablution
Because one must be naked to get clean,
my dad shrugs out of his pajama shirt,
steps from his boxers and into the tub
as I brace him, whose long illness
has made him shed modesty too.
Seated on the plastic bench, he holds
the soap like a caught fish in his lap,
waiting for me to test the water’s heat
on my wrist before turning the nozzle
toward his pale skin. He leans over
to be doused, then hands me the soap
so I might scrub his shoulders and neck,
suds sluicing from spine to buttock cleft.
Like a child he wants a washcloth
to cover his eyes while I lather
a palmful of pearlescent shampoo
into his craniotomy-scarred scalp
and then rinse clear whatever soft hair
is left. Our voices echo in the spray
and steam of this room where once,
long ago, he knelt at the tub’s edge
to pour cups of bathwater over my head.
He reminds me to wash behind his ears,
and when he judges himself to be clean,
I turn off the tap. He grips the safety bar,
steadies himself, and stands. Turning to me,
his body is dripping and frail and pink.
And although I am nearly forty,
he has this one last thing to teach me.
I hold open the towel to receive him.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2013 by Amy Fleury from her most recent book of poems, Sympathetic Magic, Southern Illinois Univ. Press, 2013. Poem reprinted by permission of Amy Fleury and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2014 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.