Reviews

Fight Coordinator/Weapons Trainer Mike Loades presents a mini-series that carefully examines the developments in Medieval warfare and how they were applied in Britain. Swords, bows, lances, shields and armor are all examined in turn. Loades typically takes a group of novices and trains them in the handling and tactical use of these weapons. In addition he discuses these items within the context of historical events. Fans of action/fantasy cinema should watch this series as it makes clear just how brutal and tiring Medieval warfare was. Just like hockey players these warriors would have had to work in shifts. Medieval Warfare would appear to be anaerobic in nature. It should also dispel another myth, that the European knights and foot soldiers were crudely and less rigorously trained, less skilled than their Asian cousins. My criticisms of the mini-series are two-fold. Firstly, Loades does perpetuate the "longbow" myth propagated by Victorian England. My readings have suggested to me that there was no such thing as the "longbow" per se. There were other bows in use on the European Continent of more sophisticated, composite design and significantly more powerful than the so-called "longbow". (not including the much maligned crossbow) English archery was effective because Edward I began employing his archers much like the Welsh did, in much large numbers for a shock of arrows - almost like artillery. My second complaint is that five episodes is just not enough. I want more! Ah well... too much of a good thing perhaps. I plan to teach history in High School and I will definitely use this series as a resource.

If you haven't seen the film it might be best to skip this review. FairWarning. - - - Wes Anderson's fourth film moves further into the surreality that one usually finds in Continental Europe. "The Life Aquatic feels like a French film, with its surreal qualities and deliberate use of artifice. Some people have found the film too fantastical to take seriously, that it is just too disjointed. A friend of mine and I discussed this and he stated something that I have come to agree with - the film is actually Steve Zissou's dream. Zissou is a man in the midst of mid-life crisis wrestling with his regrets, unfulfilled desires, insecurities and adolescent fantasies. Things listed in IMDb as continuity errors are more readily explained this way. Guns with never-ending ammo. Glocks that become Barettas. Filipino pirates off the coast of Africa. Zissou's sub-conscience is trying to sort things out and in a dream things follow a logic all its own. Two other things speak to me about the dream theory. 1. Zissou is the only one to get swamp leeches in his wet suit - a very dream like quality that could be explained as the bad stuff only happens to him. 2. Ned is on board the ship when they board it after the walking sequence during the credits. You can see his silhouette against the sky in his pilots uniform, smoking a pipe. Everything works out in the end and even the dead have returned. Anderson's soundtrack for this film continues a tradition of excellence.