The_MOW Blog

Under discussion:

Troy  (2004)

"Troy" is the story of the Greeks' bloody attack on the city of which the movie is named after lead by "Achilles" (Brad Pitt) to bring back "Helen of Troy" (Diane Kruger) to her homeland of Sparta.

The movie is reminicent to the movies of the 1960's visually. The story is a bit weak and lags somewhat, as is some of the acting.

The visuals look amazing, but I watched the movie on a television. This is the kind of movie that must be seen on the silver screen. From what I could see, the director picked the most spectacular shots he could come up with. I was amazed by how the scenery, especially the battles, filled the screen all the way to the distance. There is however way too much tan and brown colors thanks to the buildings and sand that dominates the screen.

Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom have standout performances in "Troy". In fact, I didn't recognize either until I read the cast on Yahoo Movies. Veteran actor Peter O'Toole sadly had only one scene that he stole. Sadly, O'Toole didn't have a bigger role.

Another fine performance was by Pitt. His delivery of the lines could have been better though. Pitt truly stands out in the battle scenes, especially when he is one-on-one with an opponent.

None of the other actors truly stood out in this film. And most of their performances were not as good as a blockbuster movie should have to make it memorable.

A problem with the performances is that none of them are great enough for you to actually care for them. You don't have much sympathy for any who die, including Pitt at the end (sorry for the spoiler). If all involved tried harder, the performances would have stood out like the visuals.

If you want to see a spectacularly visual movie, then this will fit the bill. I do recommend you get the wide-screen format to truly appreciate the scenery. Just don't expect truly amazing performances that a cast such as this could do.

To sum it up, "Troy" is not the epic it was intended to be. All it is is a visually amazing movie with only fair performances that were almost, but not quite perfect.

Under discussion:

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy  (2004)

"Ron Burgundy" (Will Ferrell) is the most popular news anchorman in 1970s San Diego, despite being an immature bafoon. His career is jeopardized when the station hires an attractive female reporter (Christina Applegate) who wants to be the first female anchorperson.

This movie is not as funny as the TV promos lead you to believe. Although it does have some funny moments, but not enough to make it a good comedy. The comedy bits that do make you laugh will make you giggle, but nothing more.

The cast itself is fair, but are one-dementional for the most part. The best defined are those played by Applegate and Ferrell.

The performances, for the most part aren't that good as a whole -- with exception to Applegate, and Ferrell. In my opinion, Applegate was the best of the performers in this movie.

The wardrobe was dead on. Even the hairstyles were perfect. You had a sense that you were in the seventies.

Sadly, there was way too many problems with this film. There were a lot of problems in performances and jokes. If you see this in your local video rental shop, don't pick it up.

Under discussion:

Daredevil  (2003)

Based on the comic book of the same title, Ben Affleck plays "Matt Murdock", a blind lawyer from the Hell's Kitchen section of New York City. He also plays the vigilante, "Daredevil", who is also known as "The Man Without Fear".

First of all, unlike "Batman" and "Superman," it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the main characters: "Daredevil", "Elektra" (Jennifer Garner), "Kingpin" (Michael Clarke Duncan) and "Bullseye" (Colin Farrell). If you don't, then you will not like this movie. People who are regular comic book readers will know the characters more than the general public.

There are many subplots in this movie, one of which is a tabloid reporter (Joe Pantoliano) investigating "Daredevil" and his true identity. The two main plots are the relationship between "Murdock" and "Elektra," and "Murdock" trying to bring "Kingpin" to justice, while "Daredevil" tries to get "Bullseye".

The cast is very good. I was impressed with the way Affleck and Garner's chemistry melded. But I was really impressed with the maniacle performance of Farrell, who injected some comedy into his portrayal of "Bullseye".

Another great part of this movie is the special effects for "Murdock/Daredevil's" "radar", which he got in a chemical accident as a child. Sometimes it's hard to understand the "radar" but it clears up clearly as the "soundwaves" reach "Murdock/Daredevil".

Overall, this movie is only good if you are a comic book reader or you familiarize yourself with the characters. If you don't know the characters, this is not the movie for you.