Word: romanizer
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...serene image, ghostly and tranquil, the kind of shot a director like Terrence Malick would undoubtedly be enraptured with. And those few seconds are about as long as it takes for Ridley Scott's adrenaline-charged combat epic to hit overdrive, rapidly shifting to Germania, where the seemingly unstoppable Roman army (a second century equivalent to the Yankees) is waiting to do bloody battle with the rebellious locals. All eyes are trained upon the formidable General Maximus (Russell Crowe), a man of impressive stature and rock-hard determination, who commands his troops to give 'em hell. And by God they...
...terms of plot, Gladiator has some fairly epic ambitions of its own. Maximus is adored by the Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), who is nearing death and tortured by uncertainties over his place in history. Therefore, he decides to bypass his power-hungry son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), as emperor and invest all his authority in Maximus, who can then re-empower the senate and help Rome return to its glory days as a republic. Maximus is not particularly enthusiastic he'd much rather occupy his time with a less stressful task, like tending crops, but he reluctantly agrees. Next...
...deep inner-conflict and shades of gray that marked the roles of Bud White and Jeffrey Wigand, Crowe is given the opportunity here to display a white-hot intensity and impressive physicalitynever, not even for a nanosecond, do we fail to believe that he is every inch a Roman warrior. I've almost no doubt that Crowe, ever a chameleon, is capable of playing any role in Gladiator he is the ultimate action hero, dispensing with cheap one-liners in favor of good, old-fashioned brute force...
...Roman Signer, a Swiss artist who utilizes simple physical properties to uncover beauty in the natural world, reminds me of my 7th grade science teacher. But when one sees his "experiments," ten of which are exhibited here on video, which he uses to document these process-based pieces, the allure of his work is quickly apparent. In one, a large inflated ball is placed into a flowing stream, where it is stopped by a wall with a hole smaller than the ball can fit through. Several seconds pass until the water pressure builds up and the ball pops through...
...Thoughts: Maijke van Warmerdam and Video via Venice: Hightlights from the Biennale: Eija-Liisa Ahtila, William Kentridge, Roman Signer and Zhang Huan are showing at the ICA through July 2. The ICA is very near the Hynes/ICA stop on the Green Line. Hours are Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m., Thursday, 12 to 9 p.m. and Friday, 12 to 7 p.m. Admission is $4 with your student ID and free on Thursdays after...