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David McK (3562 KP) rated Troy (2004) in Movies

Apr 28, 2020 (Updated Aug 25, 2024)  
Troy (2004)
Troy (2004)
2004 | Action, Drama, History
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 the face of this version of Helen of Sparta (or Troy) may not be able to launch 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).
  
Buyer, Beware
Buyer, Beware
Diane Vallere | 2013 | Mystery
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Is Samantha in Danger Taking a Dead Buyer’s Job?
Samantha Kidd is excited about another fashion store opening up in her hometown of Ribbon, Pennsylvania. She and some friends attend the opening night party, but the party ends abruptly when Samantha stumbles on the body of a dead woman in the handbag department. The woman was the store’s handbag buyer, and the police quickly rule it a murder. Then Samantha gets another shock – the store’s owner asks Samantha to take over the dead woman’s job and use her position to help figure out what happened. But is Samantha putting herself in danger by taking a dead woman’s job?

I might not normally have picked up this book because of the fashion theme, but I already knew that author Diane Vallere can craft a great cozy mystery. Yes, fashion is certainly an aspect of the book, and even plays into the plot, but it never overwhelmed the story or bored me since the book never loses sight of the fact that it is a mystery first and foremost. And what a mystery! The suspects are all outstanding and do a great job of misleading us. Samantha has to deal with twists and red herrings galore until she finally figures things out. I did feel a few of the details could have been smoothed into the story better, but that’s a minor complaint overall. I enjoyed this book and need to make time to visit with Samantha again soon.