Movie Review: The Adventures of Robin Hood

Back last May, I wrote a review for ‘Robin Hood Prince of Thieves,’ and it turned out not to be the movie I was expecting at all. Apparently, that was because I was expecting *this* movie, and if you’ve seen both, you might imagine my consternation.

(Really, it was the deer on the table thing I remembered most. And knocking over all those candles in the final fight scene. Although I kept expecting things to catch on fire, which they never did.)

Right, so this movie was sort of terrible and awesome all at the same time. Because 1938 was a different world, and there were some cringeworthy moments, and yet — Robin Hood! This is so clearly the film that has colored all of my expectations of what Robin Hood should be about. (Fun. Tights. Swinging from trees. Sparkles. Hats. Laughing. Filming in fast forward when you want it to look like people are going quickly.)

Anyway! The tights, the hats, the sparkles! Prince John — he was so… short! And ginger! Guy! He was so… colorfully dressed! Like a fabric shop exploded all over him! (He and Robin both looked *so* surprised when he died — I was sad.)

Question: Was Will Scarlett *actually* high all the time, or was that some sort of acting decision? He was all ‘hahahaha I’ll play my lute!’ On the other hand, he was hardly the only one to act oddly, well, merry. Maybe it was something in the water?

I think I liked it, and I’m definitely glad I watched it. If you’ve ever wondered why the gang (thanks BBC version!) was called ‘Robin Hood and his Merry Men’ when all the portrayals were so darned depressing, this film will set your mind at ease. They were totally merry! They climbed trees merrily, and swung down on traveling nobles merrily! They ate mutton merrily, despite a suspicious lack of sheep! They wore tights merrily, and shot arrows merrily, because at the heart of any great rebellion is a great color scheme and a never-ending supply of arrows that don’t draw blood!

In conclusion: The BBC series left me with an odd affection for Guy, and Star Trek sort of ruined the whole Marion/Robin romance angle for me, but Errol Flynn sure did wear those tights with panache and aplomb!

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.

seminar time!

These things are always great for at least one post — today was learning tiemz; there was an offsite seminar on how to be a leader (hint: lead) and team builder (hint: it’s the empty cigarette lighter and the steel wool that are the most important in that plane survival exercise — go team go!).

Here are some gems of wisdom:
“Throwing in the towel is easy, but it’s not a success strategy.”

“Other people in general drive us crazy.”

In other news:
1. Apparently mind mapping is back! I did this back in the 4th grade, when it was still called a ‘thought web,’ and I thought it was silly because I wanted to make a linear outline (I liked the roman numerals). [But then there was that Smallville fic, where Lex got Clark hired as the building manager for an off-campus apartment and Clark had window boxes and made pie and his teacher was Adam Pierson and the class came over for study group and he had mind maps for his notes and that did sort of make them cool for me in a very small dorky way.]

2. Pipe cleaners are now officially called “Fuzzy Sticks” on the packaging. (There were lols, and I bravely kept them all inside.) We made a peace sign in my group. Because peace is awesome, just like my group. Actually, I was assigned the ‘can’t talk’ role during the activity, which just shows how well I fooled the instructor into thinking I was an extrovert. (She asked how it felt afterwards, and I was all, ‘I liked it! Let’s do more silent craft projects that my boss is paying for!’)

3. Yet another personality profiling system: the elements! Get this: there’s Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, and… HEART, AND WHEN YOU COMBINE YOUR POWERS YOU GET CAPTAIN PLANET! Well, no, actually the fifth one is “fusion,” which just means you’re good at lying to others, which I totally respect as a useful job skill. But I liked the Captain Planet way better. I’m Wheeler, apparently (even though I totally thought his name was Rusty — where did that even come from?).

Mirrored from The Marci Rating System.