rivers_bend

lokte and I had adventures in San Francisco today. We started off going to see a free Britney Spears show. It was... interesting from a sociological standpoint, and it was being filmed for morning TV, so there were some cool camera rigs, but it had the worst sound I have ever heard, like we could not hear a single word anyone said or sang. She also looked like she has had some kind of whole-body injury, the way she was moving. We had fun, though, possibly because I had my iPod filled with pictures of Adam Lambert and Tommy Joe to look at while we waited between songs.

After that we went and had lunch at the fancy-schmancy food court at the Westfield, and then went and saw Sucker Punch. NOT A SPOILER: the women in that movie are INSANELY HOT.


Pretty much my absolute favourite thing about cinema in the last decade is the leaps and bounds wirework has taken. I love stunts, I love leaping, flying, kicking, sword-fighting stunts even more. If the people doing the leaping, flying, kicking and sword fighting are also wearing miniskirts and stockings, I am pretty much in heaven. THE LEVEL OF HOTNESS IN THIS MOVIE CANNOT BE OVERSTATED.

Also, Jena Malone. I LOVE HER.

I loved the story structure, too. The story exists on three levels: reality, surreality, and one of pure, wire-work fantasy. They are all gorgeous in a filthy, desaturated way, and the visuals often took my breath away, and not just in a high-kicks in short-skirts way. It was one of those movies where I didn't know what was going on for most of it, but that was okay. It wasn't confusing so much as anticipatory. It was in many ways like watching a supremely well-played video game.

Everything I was super excited about from the moment I saw the trailer delivered in spades.

I didn't love it unreservedly, though. The opening scene was exquisitely shot, and was told entirely without dialogue. I can't think of another time I've gotten such a complete story with nothing but pictures. It was really hard to watch, though. The story it told wasn't pretty.

None of the story told in this was pretty. Or very little of the story, anyway. In some wonderful ways it's about self-actualization and strong women, but it's also very much a story of women existing in a world where they have had their power taken away, and men are in charge and violent. And pretty vile. In many ways it's like watching a much, much prettier episode of Law and Order SVU.

It DEFINITELY fulfilled my need for some characters to write femslash about, though. I'm hoping that a plot bunny bites soon. alksjdfhalskdjfhasldkfjs I MENTIONED THE HOT, RIGHT?