Clash of the Titans (and Gods)

I saw the Clash!  Well, not the band, alas, but the by-the-numbers (including 3D) movie remake.  One odd thing about it is that Clash of the Titans is really about a war of the Olympian gods, whereas next year’s movie War of the Gods is actually about a fight against the Titans, the gods’ predecessors (and that will probably be a much better movie, directed by Tarsem, who was responsible for the “Losing My Religion” video by R.E.M., the disturbing and visually surreal Jennifer Lopez thriller The Cell, and the stunning metafictional fantasy The Fall).

I wasn’t originally planning to see the Clash of the Titans remake but must admit that hearing the line “release the Kraken” in the ads for the first time in years weakened my resolve (and releasing a Greek gods film between April Fool’s Day and Easter seems about right).  Ralph Fiennes as Hades does such a brilliant job of seeming like a random hack playing a B-movie villain, it almost makes the whole thing worthwhile.  Some contributors to the Wikipedia entry about the movie have been harsher, though, and I couldn’t help noticing just a bit of editorializing in this phrase that was on that page last time I checked: “Apparently lacking any creative ability or knowledge of Greek mythology whatsoever, Sims had difficulty designing Medusa, explaining…”

But enough about ancient 3D Greek warriors:  tomorrow, a Book Selection entry about Goths and Mongols!  And the morning after that, remember, you can catch me on the western steps of Bryant Park at 10am for the subway ride to Brooklyn College, where at 11am, I’ll recite an Easter-morning Rand speech.  Let us hope Yahweh does not retaliate by…unleashing the Kraken.

P.S. The mention of J-Lo above reminds me that I recently overheard a man explaining, seriously, that he was giving his seventy-something dad a “J-Ho” blow-up sex doll for his birthday.

P.P.S. Kyle Smith has also posted a couple entries about Clash of the Titans, not entirely coincidentally, as well as an entry about MGM in the comments thread of which I express my fear about the Hobbit movies.