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Reviews
Troy (2004)
Truely dissapointing
This movie didn't sit right with me at all. The screenplay was abysmal and the casting was strange. Garrett Hedlund as Patroclus was the best example of this. His role was one of a younger, less experienced cousin to Achilles. I don't mind the inconsistencies with the Illiad. I was bothered by the fact that he was obviously old enough to take care of himself, probably in his early 20s.
**SPOILER**
There's a scene in the movie where he disguises himself like Achilles and leads the Greeks into battle only to die at the hands of Hector. Hector realizes this is not Achilles and so in turn decides to call the battle off. A few shrugged shoulders and everyone walks away. Now if Patroclus was say a lanky 14 year old boy that would have made at least some sense, but they were in the middle of a fierce battle (that the Trojans were winning) and it seems unbelievable that Hector could even command his thousands of troops to stop fighting and walk home at that point. In the book, Achilles sends Patroclus out to fight in his stead, but told him not to chase if the Trojans retreated. The Trojans did end up retreating and Patroclus pursued them. Apollo struck down Patroclus, knocking his helmet and armor off. Hector laid the final blow and dragged Patroclus' body around after cutting off his arms (this is why Achilles did the same with Hector's body).
Another thing that really bothered me was how one-sided the movie was. The Trojans were depicted as the innocent defenders of a grand city and the Greeks were depicted as blood thirsty brutes who were trying to take over the world.
The dialog was weak at best. I count that up to writing, directing and casting. Orlando Bloom came off way too stiff, but it seemed like everyone was stiff. If I find myself criticizing a movie during the movie there's something seriously wrong and about 20 minutes into this I kept thinking, `what the hell was Wolfgang thinking?' I think they figured they didn't have to write a good screenplay, since they were adapting one of the greatest stories ever told. So they threw out the influence of the Gods (which would have been pretty spectacular with today's CG); they threw out the drama; they threw out the feeling of the book and were left with the shell of a movie that they never really filled.
Trucks (1997)
A must see!
No really, you have to see this movie. If for no other reason than all the awful reviews. I actually enjoyed this movie. It was entertaining. I liked the characters. They made sense... well I guess if you consider the trucks as characters that kinda makes my statement invalid. I swear, the Sci-fi channell looks for the worst movies ever. I am, however, standing by my review: not worse than "Night Shift". I'd even say it was better than that because the characters were entertaining. There was nothing good about "Night Shift". It was horrible. You should really see that one too. Awful. Nothing redeemable in "Night Shift".
The Others (2001)
Not as good as the others
Nothing special, nothing new, with a suprise ending that you could see coming from the begining(not necessarily the exact ending but you knew there would be a suprise). The whole point of a suprise ending is that you don't expect it. It wasn't suspenseful so count that out. It was obvious through the whole movie that something didn't fit. Maybe that's what they were trying to accomplish: showing us how obvious it should have been but how hard it was for them to realize the truth. It wasn't a bad movie but it certianly wasn't a good movie. It copied Sixth Sense in so many ways but totally failed where Sixth Sense succeeded so dramatically. I just couldn't wait for this movie to be over and I'm shocked at how high the ratings are on IMDB.
Empire of the Sun (1987)
An emersive movie in every sense
Spielberg takes you there. The brilliant story by Ballard takes you to the civilian camps of China in WWII. The acting by Christian Bale and Malkovitch is superb. The cinematography is on par with Ridley Scott's work. Allen Daviau brings so much life to his work (see Amazing Stories). And then there's the soundtrack. One of the best mood inspiring theme's of all time. Williams is a master and I feel this is his best work yet. I've only seen this movie twice but it feels like part of my life, just like "Cool Hand Luke". I've seen very few better all around movies. It's a must for anybody who loves movies.