Spartacus: Blood and Sand @ Wikipedia

Spartacus: Blood and Sand @ IMDb

Trailer: This is Sparta … cus!

Spartacus (a name given to him by the Romans later), a Thracian, joins forces with a Roman Legatus to fight against an evil horde that constantly raid their villages, rob their crop and rape their women. But then the Romans don’t hold their end of the bargain and the Thracians desert to protect their villages on their own. The Legatus doesn’t take that too kindly and follows them. He can take Spartacus as a prisoner and sentences him to die in the arena. But that man is not that easy to kill.

Lots of nudity (male and female). Even more blood. Better you put a bucket below your telly in case it spills out of the screen. The visual appearance leans more towards 300 than Gladiator, especially when there’s blood flowing. The problem is the story. These first two episodes show how Spartacus became a Gladiator but it didn’t give the viewer an idea what the entire show is going to be about. And that’s why I am not yet convinced. To quote Buffy’s Spike: “I love a good slaughter as much as the next bloke.” but I also need a real story in between.
Time will tell … at least you now get the chance you never got with Xena: To see Lucy Lawless in the nude.

Categories: Short Review
Tags: 300 · Buffy the Vampire Slayer · Gladiator · Spartacus: Blood and Sand · Xena: Warrior Princess
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Deutsche Version | October | December

November, 3rd

Rambo

Sylvester Stallone … John Rambo
Julie Benz … Sarah
Matthew Marsden … School Boy
Graham McTavish … Lewis
Jake La Botz … Reese
Tim Kang … En-Joo
Paul Schulze … Michael Burnett

Synopsis: In Burma a civil war is causing countless deaths on a daily basis. But John Rambo isn’t interested in war anymore. He lives a quiet life in Thailand and doesn’t care about the world. But one day christian missionaries want to rent his boat to get into that war zone. And when they don’t return he does what he was born to do.

My Opinion: A very bloody movie. Make sure you have a bucket under your TV to catch all the blood that is dripping out of it. But it’s also a very honest movie; it does not hide or glorify the truth of battle. After the first, this is the best Rambo movie and it brings the story full circle. I don’t think Stallone should make another one. Just like with Rocky he finished the story of the character in a satisfying way and he should leave it at that.

BTW: Check out the body count chart.

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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Movie Watchings 2009
Tags: 1984 · Ben Hur · Catch and Release · Gladiator · Harry Potter · Rocky Rambo · Spartacus · Star Trek · V for Vendetta
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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray
Tags: Gladiator · Independence Day · Star Trek
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Since I ama fan of sword movies, I am going to watch the new show Spartacus: Blood and Sand this autumn even though it looks like a mix of Gladiator and 300.

Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Spider-Man) and Robert Tapert (Hercules, Xena) are producing this and Lucy Lawless (Xena, Battlestar Galactica) is starring – that makes it basically a must-see for me.

Categories: Short Review
Tags: 300 · Battlestar Galactica · Gladiator · Hercules: The Legendary Journeys · Spartacus: Blood and Sand · Spider-Man · The Evil Dead · Xena: Warrior Princess
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Deutsche Version

After I was done I was in the mood for a battle. Thus I started a mini-marathon under the theme
The Way of the Warrior: Strength & Honour.

The Charge of the Light Brigade
by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!” he said.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Some one had blunder’d.
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die.
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash’d all their sabres bare,
Flash’d as they turn’d in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder’d.
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro’ the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel’d from the sabre-stroke
Shatter’d and sunder’d.
Then they rode back, but not,
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley’d and thunder’d;
Storm’d at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro’ the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder’d.
Honor the charge they made!
Honor the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Gladiator

Russell Crowe … Maximus
Joaquin Phoenix … Commudus
Connie Nielsen … Lucilla
Oliver Reed … Proximo
Richard Harris … Marcus Aurelius
Derek Jacobi … Gracchus
Djimon Hounsou … Juba

Synopsis: General Maximus who has just conquered Germania is supposed to take the leadership of the Roman Empire after the emperor has died. But the emperor’s son kills his father, assumes the throne for himself and tries to kill Maximus. He can escape but becomes a slave and is being sold as “fresh meat” for the arena. There he makes a name of himself as “the Spaniard” until the day he faces the new emperor again.

My Opinion: Great movie. Loved it from the first time I ever saw it. Had to buy the extended version at once. Has a lot of quotable scenes in it that I can recite both in english and in german. While I am oppsosed to dubbing in general they did a great job with this, the german voice of Maximus is well chosen. I loved the battles in the arena, especially the “battle of Carthage”.
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Categories: DVD / Blu-ray, DVD Marathon, Mini Marathon
Tags: A Knight's Tale · Braveheart · Dragonheart · Gladiator · Star Trek · Stargate SG-1 · The Last Samurai · The Three Musketeers
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