Troy
 

Well I just came back from a special screening of Troy.

Good movie. It's a little slow to start, but once it gets going, it'e very exciting.
Brad Pitt has issues with his English accent...he keeps fliping back and forth. He should have just stayed with an American accent.

Other than that. Very good movie. I recommend it.

P.S Orlando Bloom is the yummiest man alive (even if he is a bit of a wuss in this movie). Brad is quite sexy himself and I would give up the Gods for him! :D

English accent, huh? Why is it that characters tend to speak with an English accent or pseudo English accent in almost every epic period film?

Mmmmmmmmmm....I'm going to have some yummy dreams tonight! I am anxiously awaiting Friday night so hubby and I can go see this movie. I haven't anticipated a movie this much since Legends of the Fall came out.....

i really want to see this. a beefy brad and yummy orlando! hopefully with all the ancient roman clothing = more eye candy of thier bods. they'll prolly have a bunch of armor on :(

I am so excited for this movie. I called my dad and told him he was taking me and he can't go with anyone else. Who plays who in the movie?

Yummmmm....eagerly awaiting this beefcake buffet!

what about eric bana? i think he is more delicious than orlando bloom

I think Brad was trying to blend in with the rest of the actors.
Eg. Peter O'Toole, Brian Cox, Orlando Bloom, Saffron Burows, Sean Bean (I heart him too :D ). Almost all of the actors had British Accents, except Helen, and I believe she is German.

Oh yeah, he is yummy too, but my eye is still for Orlando.

Brad Pitt is Achilles and Orlando Bloom is Paris.

Re: Troy
 

Brad Pitt always has issues with any accents -- remember Interview with the Vampire? Painful.

You can take the boy out of Missouri, but.... ;)

[DISCLAIMER]No slam on Missouri intended, just that even when Brad Pitt is trying to use an English accent, the midwest American keeps poking through.[/DISCLAIMER]

I can't wait to see this movie, but I've heard that there were a lot of liberties taken with the history of the story.

The movie only says that it is inspired by "The Illiad" not based and not a movie version of the story.

ahhhhh ok :)

Was Helen of Troy beautiful enough to be the "face that launched a thousand ships?"


In mythology, Helen of Troy was the perennial victim. I think she was even kidnppaed and raped as an adolescent.

James, I was wondering the same thing. You could get the most beautiful women in the world to line up to play the part of Helen of Troy, but there's always going to be a critic. I think Helen of Troy's beauty is best left to our imaginations.

Brad Pitt, however, is almost beautiful enough to play Helen of Troy. Almost. *sigh* ESPECIALLY with Orlando Bloom in the movie as well...there's enough beauty in those two men alone to trump anything Helen of Troy could bring to the table.

I think this thread may be mislabled, as it just seems to be about hot guys. Anyway, I'm def going to Troy this weekend and glad to hear some good things about it.

Yep yep......that's exactly why I'm going to see this movie on my day off next week :)

Am I the only woman on Earth who does not find Orlando Bloom attractive? lol I do LOVE Brad Pitt, though. Not every man can look hot in a skirt, but I think he has pulled it off!

Ahhhh, have patience Danielsan...we can't discuss the movie if we haven't seen it yet, and we can't see it until it's released in 2 days. 2 very long days. After that, it will still be about hot guys, but then we'll be able to discuss other things, such as plot and acting abilities (and hot boys!) as well.

I totally did not know that he was the same guy that was in LOTR. I fell in love w/ him in Pirates of the Caribbean. He looks terrible as a blonde (okay, gray-headed, white, albino, whatever).

I cannot wait for this movie...normally I don't really get too attracted to celebrities, but Orlando....man oh man.

And he's even yummier when he's half naked!

:D :D :D

Bring on the beef!

Where is the tongue-hanging-out-of-the-mouth smiley? I almost fainted here in my chair at work. I think I might have to skip out of work early on Friday so I can get to the first showing of this movie. I have a feeling I'll be seeing this several times - in the theater - before owning the DVD.

So, who performs better half-naked? Brad or Orlando? Or the other guy (what's his name? Eric?)?

What about Meet Joe Black? Was his accent from 'the islands' in that very good?

Well brad semi-naked is hot too! It's a little more built than Orlando. I normally don't go for really skinny guys, but there's just something about Orlando that makes me swoon. He needs to have more nude scenes! :D

Eric Bana didn't have any nude scenes.

(actually the nudes scenes were only semi0bude scenes)

I saw it last night, awesome movie. Helen is really HOT.

I loved this movie, but, then again, I love ancient history. Even if you don't like history, though, you should check this out! The eye candy alone makes the $6 ticket worth it.

Brad was hot. Orlando was hot. Eric was hot. Do we see a pattern here? The plot is well done, too. I guess I should throw that in for good measure... ;)

I liked it.

But there wasn't enough Orlando nudity. :(

Oh. My. God. This movie was absolutely just awesome. I loved it.

Okay, Mr. Pitt's accent thing didn't bother me at all. I didn't even notice it really.

Orlando Bloom is so hot! But Brad is hotter! Orlando's a bit skinny for my taste in this movie. I'll admit it - Eric Bana (is he the one who played Hector?) is hot. The chick who played Helen is hot. They're all hot!

I would give my right arm to be the girl who played Perseius. Seriously. To have Brad Pitt laying naked on me while shoving his tongue in my mouth - who needs their arm? She just laid there anyways. And girls, you KNOW he was naked several times during the filming of that movie.

What was the name of the actor who played Odysseus?

ETA: how many Oscar nominations do you think this movie will get (if any)? Will it be "the big one" for Brad?

I got to see the movie on Thursday. It came out a day earlier in Germany than in the States. :D

Since I saw it in German, I didn't get the experience of Brad Pitt's stupid accent. Oh well, better just to stare at him anyway. Him and Orlando Bloom and Eric Bana...yum.

Other than the eye candy, I was really impressed with the plot and everything in the movie. I usually get restless in movies and look at my watch to see how long it is until the end of the movie, but I didn't do that even once during Troy. I was completely wrapped up in the movie the whole time.

Question -- that priestess girl who hooked up with Achilles, does that character exist in the actual myth or no? I didn't know about that character.

Movie Critique, may not want to reas if you haven't seen it yet
 

Overall, well done movie...

This movie was very much about Achilles role and the battle scenes. If you can live with that, then it's a great movie. If you were expecting "The Illiad" in its classic form, or something similiar to every other adaptation of this story, then you may be disappointed.

For me, it started out a little rocky. I was slightly bored by the first half an hour because the storytelling was lacking (Achilles is an awesome warrior, Sparta and Troy make peace, Helen leaves with Paris, and let the war begin!).

It was slightly refreshing to see a version that wasn't really about Helen. Yes, she was the catalyst, but it was really about Agamemnon's greed. Yet, I still would have liked to have seen more of an introduction to the history of these characters and a better timeline of events. (They made it seem like the Trojan Horse was built overnight and that Troy fell 12 days after Hector's death). But, then again, if they included everything, the film would have been four hours long.

***

Yes, she does. From Sparknotes: "Achilles’ wrath at Agamemnon for taking his war prize, the maiden Briseis, forms the main subject of the Iliad."

Yes. Eric Bana did play Hector. Definitly hot. Too bad he didn't have any nude/semi-nude scenes. ;)

Odysseus was played By Sean Bean (I heart him too...yummm :D ). Sean Bean play Boromir (sp?) in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. He can also be seen in a British drama Series, Sharpe's Riffles (that's where I fell in love with him :D ). I'm sure he;s in many other things, but those are the 2 I know him best in.

Me and the boyfriend are going to see Troy later on today. I'm so excited! There are so many good movies coming up this summer, but I guess that should be another thread!

I'll post once I return from the movie.

Re: Movie Critique, may not want to reas if you haven't seen it yet
 

I couldn't remember how to spell that chick's name. I thought it was prounounced "Per-say-us" so I just kind of went off that.

I pretty much agree w/ your review. I knew the movie wasn't going to be true to the Iliad, so I wasn't disappointed like I usually am when I see a movie based on a book. I definitely agree they could have spent a little more time in the beginning developing some of the characters. I was disappointed, esp. after Hector died, about the lack of Helen and Paris' presence. I mean, they could have spent a little more time showing Paris and Helen's reaction to Hector's death, etc. And another area where I was a bit disappointed was they didn't show very much about Paris preparing to fight Menalaus...I mean, I had no idea whether or not he had even been substantially trained to fight (from the convo b/w him and Hector at the beginning on the boat where Hector asks him if he's ever fought and he says no it made me wonder what kind of training he's had).

One thing this movie did do, which really surprised me, was conflict me on who to "root for." I mean, I knew Troy was going to fall, Achilles was going to die, etc. but I was just so torn...I wanted Achilles and Hector to become friends and kill Agamemnon together or something. I don't know. :D I wanted to rewrite the story I guess because the movie inspired such loyalty to both characters.

Re: Re: Movie Critique, may not want to reas if you haven't seen it yet
 

My boyfriend and I were having this conversation too, and I totally agree. Most "battle movies" are usually partial or do not do a very good job of portraying both sides of the story. The writers/director did a great job of making the audience sympathetic to both the Greeks and Trojans (excluding Agamemnon). When Patroclus died, you felt bad for Achilles...When Hector died, you felt bad for Priam, etc.

Ebert: http://www.suntimes.com/output/ebert...s-troy14f.html





BY ROGER EBERT

"Troy" is based on the epic poem The Iliad by Homer, according to the credits. Homer's estate should sue. The movie sidesteps the existence of the Greek gods, turns its heroes into action movie cliches and demonstrates that we're getting tired of computer-generated armies. Better a couple of hundred sweaty warriors than two masses of 50,000 men marching toward one another across a sea of special effects.

The movie recounts the legend of the Trojan War, as the fortress city is attacked by a Greek army led by Menelaus of Sparta and Agamemnon of Mycenae. The war has become necessary because of the lust of the young Trojan prince named Paris (Orlando Bloom), who while during a peace mission to Sparta, seduces the city-state's queen, Helen (Diane Kruger).

This action understandably annoys Helen's husband, Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson), not to mention Paris' brother Hector (Eric Bana), who points out, quite correctly, that when you visit a king on a peace mission, it is counterproductive to leave with his wife.

What the movie doesn't explain is why Helen would leave with Paris after an acquaintanceship of a few nights. Is it because her loins throb with passion for a hero? No, because she tells him: "I don't want a hero. I want a man I can grow old with." Not in Greek myth, you don't. If you believe Helen of Troy could actually tell Paris anything remotely like that, you will probably also agree that the second night he slipped into her boudoir, she told him, "Last night was a mistake."

The seduction of Helen is the curtain-raiser for the main story, which involves vast Greek armies laying siege to the impenetrable city. Chief among their leaders is Achilles, said to be the greatest warrior of all time, but played by Brad Pitt as if he doesn't believe it. If Achilles was anything, he was a man who believed his own press releases. Heroes are not introspective in Greek drama, they do not have second thoughts, and they are not conflicted.

Achilles is all of these things. He mopes on the flanks of the Greek army with his own independent band of fighters, carrying out a separate diplomatic policy, kind of like Ollie North. He thinks Agamemnon is a poor leader with bad strategy and doesn't really get worked up until his beloved cousin Patroclus (Garrett Hedlund) is killed in battle.

Patroclus, who looks a little like Achilles, wears his helmet and armor to fool the enemy, and until the helmet is removed everyone thinks that Achilles has been slain. So dramatic is that development that the movie shows perhaps 100,000 men in hand-to-hand combat, and then completely forgets them in order to focus on the Patroclus battle scene, with everybody standing around like during a fight on the playground.

Pitt is a good actor and a handsome man, and he worked out for six months to get buff for the role, but Achilles is not a character he inhabits comfortably. Say what you will about Charlton Heston and Victor Mature, but one good way to carry off a sword-and-sandal epic is to be filmed by a camera down around your knees, while you intone quasi-formal prose in a heroic baritone. Pitt is modern, nuanced, introspective; he brings complexity to a role where it is not required.

By treating Achilles and the other characters as if they were human, instead of the larger-than-life creations of Greek myth, director Wolfgang Petersen miscalculates. What happens in Greek myth cannot happen between psychologically plausible characters. That's the whole point of myth. Great films like Michael Cacoyannis' "Elektra," about the murder of Agamemnon after the Trojan War, know that and use a stark dramatic approach that is deliberately stylized. Of course, "Elektra" wouldn't work for a multiplex audience, but then maybe it shouldn't.

The best scene in the movie has Peter O'Toole creating an island of drama and emotion in the middle of all that plodding dialogue. He plays old King Priam of Troy, who at night ventures outside his walls and into the enemy camp, surprising Achilles in his tent. Achilles has defeated Priam's son Hector in hand-to-hand combat before the walls of Troy, and dragged his body back to camp behind his chariot. Now Priam asks that the body be returned for proper preparation and burial. This scene is given the time and attention it needs to build its mood, and we believe it when Achilles tells Priam, "You're a far better king than the one who leads this army." O'Toole's presence is a reminder of "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), which I saw again two weeks ago, and which proved that patience with dialogue and character is more important than action in making war movies work.

As for the Greek cities themselves, a cliche from the old Hollywood epics has remained intact. This is the convention that whenever a battle of great drama takes place, all the important characters have box seats for it. When Achilles battles Hector before the walls of Troy, for example, Priam and his family have a sort of viewing stand right at the front of the palace, and we get the usual crowd reaction shots, some of them awkward closeups of actresses told to look grieved.

In a way, "Troy" resembles "The Alamo." Both are about fortresses under siege. Both are defeated because of faulty night watchmen. The Mexicans sneak up on the Alamo undetected, and absolutely nobody is awake to see the Greeks climbing out of the Trojan Horse. One difference between the two movies is that Billy Bob Thornton and the other "Alamo" actors are given evocative dialogue, and deliver it well, while "Troy" provides dialogue that probably cannot be delivered well because it would sound even sillier that way.

Geez, Ebert's ripping into Brad Pitt as if Pitt wrote and directed the movie, instead of starred in it. Ebert only makes one comment about how "director Wolfgang Petersen miscalculates." I'm sure that Pitt did not interpret the character of Achilles the way Ebert describes...the script obviously painted him that way!

Crush on Brad much lol? :p

What you are saying is true, but the script is not a static thing, the actor has a lot of input. Also . . .if he was up for best picture h would get the credit for character development etc . . so when it goes bad . . he gets the blame.