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David McK (3185 KP) rated Troy (2004) in Movies
Apr 28, 2020
Following the success of "Gladiator" in 2000, I was expecting Hollywood to resurrect the old sword and sandals movies of yore, and for their to be a glut of the same.
At the time of writing this review (2020), there was actually surprisingly few such films: of the top of my head, I can only really think of "Robin Hood", "Kingdom of Heaven", and this.
With quite a few big names in its cast - Brad Pitt, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Peter O'Toole and Eric Bana to name a few - this retells the story of the siege of Troy (although said siege doesn't seem to last as long as originally told), following Paris (Orlando Bloom) elopement with the wife of Menelaus of Troy (Brendan Gleeson) Helen (Diane Kruger), giving an excuse for Agememnon (a scenery chewing Brian Cox) to go to war against that city.
While this does have some bruising action scenes - the beach landing, and Achilles Vs Hector are my personal favourite - unfortunately large swathes of the film are bogged down by necessary exposition, and I have to say that this version of Helen of Sparta (or Troy) face may be able to launch a dinghy or two, but not the fleet of a thousand ships that she is described as in the original texts (where she is said to be the most beautiful woman in the world).
At the time of writing this review (2020), there was actually surprisingly few such films: of the top of my head, I can only really think of "Robin Hood", "Kingdom of Heaven", and this.
With quite a few big names in its cast - Brad Pitt, Sean Bean, Orlando Bloom, Peter O'Toole and Eric Bana to name a few - this retells the story of the siege of Troy (although said siege doesn't seem to last as long as originally told), following Paris (Orlando Bloom) elopement with the wife of Menelaus of Troy (Brendan Gleeson) Helen (Diane Kruger), giving an excuse for Agememnon (a scenery chewing Brian Cox) to go to war against that city.
While this does have some bruising action scenes - the beach landing, and Achilles Vs Hector are my personal favourite - unfortunately large swathes of the film are bogged down by necessary exposition, and I have to say that this version of Helen of Sparta (or Troy) face may be able to launch a dinghy or two, but not the fleet of a thousand ships that she is described as in the original texts (where she is said to be the most beautiful woman in the world).
Darren (1599 KP) rated Zulu (2013) in Movies
Aug 5, 2019
Story: Zulu starts when a young woman is murdered, police officer Ali Sokhela (Forest) and his team that includes the washed up Brian Epkeen (Bloom) and rookie Dan Fletcher (Kemp) must start to investigate the case.
As the investigation deepens Brian must hold himself together while Ali must face his demons from his past which becomes deadly as they fall into an illegal drug dealing ring with a new devasting drug on the market.
Thoughts on Zulu
Characters – Brian Epkeen is a washed-up police officer, he is great at solving crimes, he tends to have a different woman every night, which has made him distant from his son. He never looks professional but will always do the right thing for his team. Ali Sokhela is scared by his childhood in the racial torn country, now he is a captain in the police force which sees him needing to forgive the men his father fought against to work in the same team, he does have connections which helps him through the city, with his own demons he must locate the killer. Dan is a rookie officer that is part of the team, his innocence isn’t ready to be in the field with the seasoned vets. Ruby is Brian’s ex-wife that hates him and that Brian hassle when he feels like it.
Performances – Orlando Bloom does show us that he can still be a leading man, an edgy side to his character is a big plus too, we could happily watch more of his work here. Forest Whitaker is great too, he has the darker backstory which pushes him into his decisions and hits the accent. The rest of the cast don’t get as much screen time as he does, but you do feel like they hired a lot of local talent which helps make the film feel authentic.
Story – The story follows two cops, one with a dark past because of his skin colour as a child, the other lives in darkness because of his addiction that must use their skills to solve a crime which starts simple enough until things get out of hand to a much bigger problem running through the city. This does feel gritty with how we investigate things, it doesn’t hold back with what happens to the characters and shows us just how far the criminal underworld will go to keep a secret. While this doesn’t rely on twists to get the final outcome, it does show us just how far these two would go to solve a crime and bring the criminals to justice.
Crime – The crime world we enter here shows us just how both sides in a drug war are waging against each other, we get bodies piling up that will only increase the battle with a racial tension that just increases the tension between the twos.
Settings – The film is set in South Africa, we get to see how difficult the drug war is with the racial tension still between the people in the city.
Scene of the Movie – Brian’s escape plan.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The scene where the head turns up, there is such a pointless line here.
Final Thoughts – This is a gritty crime drama that shows us the harsh reality of the drug world, the two cops must overcome demons that will put them through a major test to get to the bottom of a crime.
Overall: Crime fans surprise.
As the investigation deepens Brian must hold himself together while Ali must face his demons from his past which becomes deadly as they fall into an illegal drug dealing ring with a new devasting drug on the market.
Thoughts on Zulu
Characters – Brian Epkeen is a washed-up police officer, he is great at solving crimes, he tends to have a different woman every night, which has made him distant from his son. He never looks professional but will always do the right thing for his team. Ali Sokhela is scared by his childhood in the racial torn country, now he is a captain in the police force which sees him needing to forgive the men his father fought against to work in the same team, he does have connections which helps him through the city, with his own demons he must locate the killer. Dan is a rookie officer that is part of the team, his innocence isn’t ready to be in the field with the seasoned vets. Ruby is Brian’s ex-wife that hates him and that Brian hassle when he feels like it.
Performances – Orlando Bloom does show us that he can still be a leading man, an edgy side to his character is a big plus too, we could happily watch more of his work here. Forest Whitaker is great too, he has the darker backstory which pushes him into his decisions and hits the accent. The rest of the cast don’t get as much screen time as he does, but you do feel like they hired a lot of local talent which helps make the film feel authentic.
Story – The story follows two cops, one with a dark past because of his skin colour as a child, the other lives in darkness because of his addiction that must use their skills to solve a crime which starts simple enough until things get out of hand to a much bigger problem running through the city. This does feel gritty with how we investigate things, it doesn’t hold back with what happens to the characters and shows us just how far the criminal underworld will go to keep a secret. While this doesn’t rely on twists to get the final outcome, it does show us just how far these two would go to solve a crime and bring the criminals to justice.
Crime – The crime world we enter here shows us just how both sides in a drug war are waging against each other, we get bodies piling up that will only increase the battle with a racial tension that just increases the tension between the twos.
Settings – The film is set in South Africa, we get to see how difficult the drug war is with the racial tension still between the people in the city.
Scene of the Movie – Brian’s escape plan.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The scene where the head turns up, there is such a pointless line here.
Final Thoughts – This is a gritty crime drama that shows us the harsh reality of the drug world, the two cops must overcome demons that will put them through a major test to get to the bottom of a crime.
Overall: Crime fans surprise.