For Honor

In the year 1193 BC, Paris (Orlando Bloom-Pirates of the Caribbean), a prince of Troy, woos Helen (Diane Kruger-Michel Vaillant), Queen of Sparta, away from her husband, Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson-Gangs of New York), setting the kingdoms of Mycenae Greece at war with Troy. Achilles (Brad Pitt-Confessions of A Dangerous Mind) was the greatest hero among the Greeks, while Hector (Eric Bana-The Hulk), the eldest son of Priam (Peter O'Toole-Bright Young Things), King of Troy, embodied the hopes of the people of his city.
Also featuring Brian Cox (X2), Julian Glover (Out of Time), and Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings).

I enjoyed Troy far more than I expected I would. I had assumed, based on the trailer, that it would be almost a parody of Homer's "The Illyaid". Director Wolfgang Petersen (The Perfect Storm) did a wonderful job with a screenplay that managed to humanize the romantic figures of the story. Pitt was much better than I expected, and Bloom was well cast as the handsome, but weak, Paris. In my opinion, it was Eric Bana who stole the show. His performance was touched with a sympathetic grace that drew the eye to him. Actually, there were strong performances by all. While "Troy" is not the epic one might expect, it is truely entertaining and worth seeing.

Rating: 4.25 (out of 5)

Labels: Action, Adventure

posted by Lisa at 11:58 a.m. |

 
Forgive me.

I don't have time to do the full reviews for the following movies. I hope you'll forgive me.

The Punisher:
A very well done remake of Marvel's character "The Punisher".
Rating: 3.75 (out of 5)

Van Helsing:
Better than I expected it to be. Kate Beckingsale was terrible, as usual, but Peter Jackson was a delight. Great job on the 'classic' movie monsters.
Rating: 3.5 (out of 5)

The Corporation:
An interesting, and sometimes terrifying, look at the growth of corporations from public service companies to powerful businesses. A little long, but definately worth checking out.
Rating: 4 (out of 5)

New York Minute:
The Olsen twins in their big screen debut. Much funnier in its own right than I ever expected, with great appearances by many well known SCTV actors.
Rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

13 Going on 30:
Absolute garbage, this movie makes New York Minute seem Oscar worthy. Geared towards 10 year olds with lame jokes and more cliches than you can shake a stick at.
Rating: 1 (out of 5)

Labels: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Romance

posted by Lisa at 9:35 a.m. |