Ooh Troy. Entertaining even though it had a modern feel to it. For a while it was on TV at least every week: my dad would flip the channel at the appropriate spots, so I never saw anymore than one or two seconds of problematic content =P
Hector was the best character: pity he had to, well, you know -_- Achilles was a spoiled brat and therefore his admittedly good looks were somewhat soiled. And Paris? He should have manned up waaaaay before the last five minutes of the movie.

Leaving the gods out made it so much more enjoyable. I've read the Iliad for school, and let me tell you, any one god was more spoiled then Paris and Achilles combined. On one of their more particularly bad spoiled days. If that tells you anything. Just sayin.

/that was LONG, sorry.

Ditto with the Hector part! I was like, aww! Anger won't do any good, even if your life is in risk. Achilles really was mad at Hector so I understand him, though he should have thought about it before doing so. And! I just was really touched when King Priam, Hector's father, asked bravely for his son back so he can give his son a proper burial.

The Illiad is loaded with mythology. The gods are always stepping in and intervening on behalf of one side or the other. I seem to recall there were two camps among the deities...I think Aphrodite (or is it Venus?) was on the side of the Trojans while Ares/Mars was on the Greek side. Lots of back and forth dialogue between them and finally Zeus makes up his mind to throw his lot in with the Greeks for some reason I don't recall, but at great cost to Achilles. The story began some time after the Greeks had already landed and had basically been laying siege to Troy for some unspecified amount of time. When Troy came out I was wondering how they'd play the deity angle since they were so prevalent in the book, but I guess I can understand their skipping it altogether so as to focus on the historical aspects of the event. I always meant to go into the Oddyssey, but never did get around to it.

Aphrodite or Venus, they're the same. You're right about the Iliad because I've read some feedbacks about it, and they say it's kind of like a mind twisting book because of the gods and goddesses's doings.

A little catch-up

The very end was my favorite though, when they're sitting outside, & he calls her Mrs. Darcy!

Really? I think that is by far the silliest part of the movie, and several of my female friends agree with me, so I don't think it's just a guy thing, or even an Austenite thing. I crack up every time I see that scene. I almost lauged aloud when I saw it in the movie theater, but I thought that would be slightly disrespectful of my fellow audience members. Also, my grandmother was sitting next to me going "awww..." the whole time.

I'm still surprised that Disney would opt to do an adaptation of The Sword and the Stone at all

Again, remember that the version they were using was different from the one you and I have read. From what I know about it, White's first stab at the story sounds like it had a lot more cinematic potential than the later reworking. I'll have to read the standalone version at some point to compare.

I heard that Robin Hood was just meh? Nothing new, completely re-writing the story, making it into a drama rather than comedy? Thoughts anyone? I've been wanting to see it but feeling iffy about it.

For some reason it got a bad rap, I think because people expected it to be Gladiator, or the Erroll Flynn version of Robin Hood, and it wasn't either really. It's grittier than most of the previous films, but I found the middle section of it quite humorous, actually. And how says Robin Hood should be a comedy, rather than a drama? Here's the thing, folks: Robin Hood is an incredibly old story, and there have been many differing versions over the years. Scott just presented the audience with his own variant, which is perfectly fine as far as I'm concerned. There are a few things in the movie that struck me as rather stupid (

) but overall it was very entertaining and well-made. I recommend it to those who have an open mind about this sort of thing.

What I've been watching recently:

The Court Jester - an old family favorite, and probably my favorite Danny Kaye movie (although I haven't seen all of his, and of the ones I've seen I am quite fond of Up in Arms among others), but one that I hadn't seen in a long time. It was a joy to rediscover it. Comic perfection from beginning to end. I think people get so wrapped up in the admittedly brilliant "vessel with the pestle" sequence that they forget how many other great gags and scenes are here. When I first saw it, my sides hurt from laughing so hard, and it still gets me today. 9/10

To Have or Have Not - the first film that paired Humphrey Bogart with the young Lauren Bacall, and one of two movies that paired the couple with the dream-team of director Howard Hawks and screenwriter William Faulkner. The second, The Big Sleep, is one of my favorite films, so I couldn't help but watch this one when it came on TV. I won't say it's as good as the movie that followed it, but it's still highly entertaining, which is what I've come to expect from Hawks. If I were to summarize it in one sentence, I'd say that it's a lot like Casablanca, except faster-paced and with more action. This was Bacall's debut role at the age of only eighteen, and she shows a maturity far beyond her years - if anyone was born a star, it was she. And of course, she and Bogie have great screen chemistry, as we practically see them fall in love over the course of the filming. To be honest, we really wouldn't remember this movie if it weren't for them, but because of them, I give it 7/10.

Nanny McPhee - I tried watching this when it first came out on DVD, but for some reason I never finished it - I think I found it rather weird, as well as a bit derivative of both Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. But the theatrical release of the new movie prompted me to try it again, and I'm so glad I did. It's really a great children's movie - better and less "packaged"-feeling than most of the stuff Walden puts out, IMHO. (Oh dear, saying that is practically blasphemy on this board, isn't that? ) The number of British greats in the cast is really jaw-dropping. But I suppose when you're Emma Thompson, you can pretty much drop by the house of any Sir or Dame out there, say, "Hello, I'm doing a little picture down the road ... want to be in it?" and they will immediately accept. Thompson herself is wonderful here, but my favorite performance comes from Kelly MacDonald, who is just marvelous in this picture. 8/10

The Blind Side - not entirely sure why there was such a big fuss made about this movie. Not that there's anything terribly wrong with it; it's a satisfying and entertaining picture in its way - a "feel-good" movie that at times feels like something one might seem on the Hallmark channel. There are some good sequences, and others that are rather silly, especially those involving the coaches. Sandra Bullock probably gave one of her best performances here, but not something that we'll be talking about in ten years' time - and certainly not Oscar-worthy. Meryl Streep really got jipped on that one. Still, I'm glad I saw the picture, and enjoyed most of it. 6/10

The Woman in White - Ihatestupidliteraryadaptationsthatarenothinglikethebookgrr. There, now I've gotten that out and can discuss this movie with relative calm. I'll say up front that in its way it's fairly well-made - some nice cinematography, and good acting all around. Ian Richardson played Mr. Fairlie twice in his long acting career, and seeing his hilarious performance here, it's easy to see why. The youngsters - Andrew Lincoln, Tara Fitzgerald, and especially Justine Waddell in one of her earliest roles - all do well too. But Simon Callow is just wrong as Count Fosco. Given that the Count's extreme weight is mentioned so prominently in the book, why cast a thin actor in the role? He wasn't near menacing enough, either. And that was only the beginning of the problems. So many of the changes in this movie seemed so pointless - why change Marian's last name from Holcolmbe to Fairlie, when it is mentioned several times that she and Laura are only half-sisters? I think the audience would have figured that out. And the nature of the mystery itself was totally different too. If they wanted to make their own movie, they should have done it, and left poor Wilkie Collins alone. 4/10

lysander,
Aw! I know you aren't alone in your assessment of The Blind Side but I really loved that movie! I saw it before all its Oscar Buzz though, so I wasn't sure what to expect from it, though I did figure it'd be good since it turned out to be such a hit. From the beginning I loved it. the coach scenes I agree were rather silly but I loved the rest of it.

I didn't dislike it - it just didn't find it particularly memorable, and certainly not Oscar-worthy. I think critics were just so surprised that Sandra Bullock could act (even if it's not a groundbreaking performance or anything), they allowed that to determine their opinion of the movie. And the public followed.

EDIT: I have to add, too, that IMHO Streep's Julia Child wasn't the only performance last year that surpassed Bullock's. Emily Blunt and Carey Mulligan were also superb, in The Young Victoria and An Education respectively. Blunt wasn't even nominated at the Oscars! Ridiculous. I enjoyed Bullock, but that she should be nominated - let alone win - when Blunt wasn't, seems crazy to me.

I'm a fan of Bullock, of course I haven't seen all her movies. I'm not the target audience for most. But I've really enjoyed what I have seen her in. And I didn't follow the critics on that one either. I actually ignored it for a month and half until a friend recommended it to me. I had a free movie ticket, so I used it on it.

EDIT: Streep was great in her role, no doubt. Mulligan was good, but I prefer Bullock. Blunt was terrific, but again, I preferred Bullock here too.

Streep and Bullock is a toss up for me. Though the movie in general, TBS I preferred more than J&J although both are great movies IMO.

I just watched Despicable Me and I've gotta say, it was sooo touching, funny, and made me go awwww, all the time! Gru really is a good dad, even though he is a villain. I really recommend this movie to those who haven't watched it yet.
PLUS! VotDT was in the trailer slides before the movie started!!! I was going nuts and all that and every line in the trailer I just had to join them because I can't help it! I didn't even mind the others getting annoyed cause I really was sooo jiggy, happy and jolly when I saw the trailer!

Lysander, I saw The Blind Side recently, and while Sandra b*****k was much better then I'd expected (and I could understand how she got nominated) still...to win over Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan?! Ugh. Carey Mulligan was simply stunning in An Education, and while I didn't really think she'd win the oscar because of her "new-ness" I sure didn't expect Sandra to.

I just watched Despicable Me and I've gotta say, it was sooo touching, funny, and made me go awwww, all the time! Gru really is a good dad, even though he is a villain. I really recommend this movie to those who haven't watched it yet.
PLUS! VotDT was in the trailer slides before the movie started!!! I was going nuts and all that and every line in the trailer I just had to join them because I can't help it! I didn't even mind the others getting annoyed cause I really was sooo jiggy, happy and jolly when I saw the trailer!

I love that movie too! I laughed the entire time and laughed for an hour after! lol that movie was awesome!
they had the VotDT trailer before it when you saw it! lucky! it wasn't there before it when I saw it oh well

Blind Side was as good as a sports movie as you can get. Yes, Sandra Bullock can act, but it was a rarity. She is one of the very few actors/actresses who succeeded in winning an Oscor and a Razzie in the same year. The one thing that most people, at least on the Christian side of things, is that the family that adopted Michael Oher are solid Christians and Sandra Bullock said they were the first Christians she saw that walked the walk. Of course that means that Christians she has met aren't walking, or that means she hasn't been around many Christians in her Hollywood life (likely both).

I saw Cirque de Freak: Vampire's Assistant today. I have to say, that while the cast had some pretty good names (Ken Wanatabe, Josh Hutcherson, William Dafoe, to name a few), the movie was sub-par for the fantasy genre. I usually don't want vampire/zombie movies, and I wasn't particularly impressed. Script was rather weak, story needed quite a bit of work, effects decent, nothing stood out about the score, and the acting has definately seen better days. Overall, I can't really give it more than a 5/10.

Next week, Prince of Persia comes out to DVD and a week after that Robin Hood. I never got a chance to see those theatrically and wanted to, so those will be on my RedBox list.

FencerforJesus,
Hope you enjoy PoP and RH. PoP is a great popcorn movie, try to take it as just that- mindless fun and you should enjoy it. RH is one of my year's favorite movies. I loved it completely. Don't understand the negative word of mouth it seems to get.

Libb: Yeah it was shown. Lucky! Haha. I think some movies were already assigned to have the VDT Trailer since Despicable Me was shown here last Sept. 5.

I was flipping through channels the other day and I watched this one movie for a few minutes. I have no idea what it was called so I was wondering if you could help me: it took place in a plane (the scene that I saw) and I think it was the copilot that got up out of his seat to take care of a huge gash he had on his arm. Then a stewardess or something like that comes to where he's standing and takes care of it for him. Then a bunch of the passengers just like start passing out. For example, this adult guy hands his cell phone to a little boy and then he passes out. It sounds like a weird movie, but it frustrates me when I don't know something. I would appreciate it if you could help me

NL4, not sure about that one. It's not any of the Airport films since they didn't have cells at the time. It's not the Langoliers...you didn't mention reptiles, so it's not Snakes on a Plane. There was one with Jodie Foster in it from a few years ago but that didn't have anything to do with people passing out. It's not Executive Decision because that was terrorists taking over an airplane.

Hmm...this one has me stumped. It could be someone pumped some sort of gas into the plane and folks passed out, or it could be the plane depressurized which would knock people out too if the plane was at high enough altitude (there was a major plot element of this in the Langoliers, but that's not the film you're describing). Who starred in it? That might help me narrow it down a bit!

Rush hour 2 was shown last night in Star Movies and boy! I laughed so hard. Sigh, I really love this movie soooo much because of its comedy.

oh argh. my sister managed to get me to promise that I would watch the BBC version of VotDT sometime between now and December 10. ack!
so, I am doing it this week to get it over with.