Shaken, Not Stirred

For three years, I blogged about movie challenges that I set for myself: a different movie every day (2009-2010), how many movies I watched a year (2010-2011), and how many NEW movies I watched in a year (2011-2012).

Now it's more a catch-all for my entertainment musings. The title, of course, is how James Bond takes his martinis.

The answers to the last two years' questions were 199 movies in a year, and 135 new movies in a year (one every 2.7 days). In case you were curious :-)

Friday, May 29, 2009

May 29, 2009

Troy (2004)
There are actually a few things that I like about this movie. First of all, Eric Bana, Brad Pitt, and Orlando Bloom in skimpy clothing is never bad (and as an added bonus, Orlando gets to wield a bow and arrow again). The changes that are made to the accepted legend are mostly done to improve characterization and to help the story stand on its own as opposed to being part of a larger story like The Iliad is. Andromache and her son are certainly spared the horror of their original fate. Paris is not quite the shallow, cowardly moron that he often is made out to be. Plus, there's a great reference to The Aeneid if you're paying attention. Yes, things have been changed - yes, it's too long - and yes, parts are totally ridiculous. But overall, it's kind of enjoyable. And Brian Cox is brilliant when he's playing villains, isn't he?
My Netflix rating: 4 stars