Went and saw it today. I did enjoy it, however I think Brad Pitt's acting was less than perfect. Damn, he looked fine though! There didn't seem to be enough going on and the battles didn't seem very fierce. The story was nice but the screen-play wasn't very well written, although there were a couple REALLY good lines. It was great to see Peter O'Toole again. Anybody else see it?

Saw it, and I liked it. It's no "gladiator", but I think it's good. Probably will buy it on DVD when it comes out. Although it still takes a backseat to "Gladiator".

Alexi

Gladiator was good but tried too hard to throw as much action at you as possible that the battles moved to fast to see anything. If they slowed the battles down just a bit so you could immerse yourself a little more it'd be truly awesome. Haven't seen Troy yet but I want to.

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So you guys would recommend Gladiator then? I never saw it yet because for one, I wasn't all that impressed with Russell Crow until I saw A Beautiful Mind. (He's was good in Master and Commander too.) Second, I was afraid it might just be too gory. Blood and guts stories make me ill. Troy was fine, but something like the Passion of the Christ (you know the scene I mean) and the scene at the beginning of Saving Private Ryan made me sick. So tell me, which is Gladiator like?

Gladiator's not as gory as Saving Private Ryan. And I liked it a lot. I say it's DEFINITELY worth the rental. Even if for some reason you don't like it, what'd you lose? Five bucks at the most? Go for it.

Alexi

gladiator?? hell no.. that was a good movie but this movie was way better. there is a nice balance between the action and story line. i loved this movie. i think it's just as good as the last samurai and i will buy this when it comes out. raverboy

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...this is just my perspective on the situation...

True. Troy had more storyline than gladiator. But gladiator was STILL very good. You don't get nominated for 12 oscars and 5 golden globes for being "ok".

Alexi

The speed of the battles was the only problem I had with Gladiator. I still bought it, it IS a good movie. But when you look at Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan, Last Samurai and you see their battles you see it well enough to get totally immersed in what's going on. Gladiator was just too quick and you're just like "wtf is going on, I just see bodies moving around."

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Thanks Alexi, I'm going to rent it.
I can see what you mean, Illusional saying that it was as good as The Last Samurai. I didn't think so, but I see where you're coming from. Captain Nathan Algren was very similar to Achilles. Politically, I mean. Fighting for what's right and not necessarily the side you happen to be on. Don't wanna say too much because Zekk hasn't seen it yet.

Achilles didn't fight for right or wrong. He fought to fight. To be remembered and to go down in history. Not to mentino that he was half-god and invulnerable except for his achilles heel (hence how we now have that term for that specific part of the heel).

Alexi

Yes, yes Alexi, but without trying to give too much away Achilles hated Agamemnon because he waged war to satiate his greed, hence the "wrong" thing. He was a warrior and did go to Troy so people would remember his name, but I saw his character as much more than that. Surely the way he treated Briseis proved that. He wasn't just a killing machine and he had honour and a clear sense of what was right. Example, the scene with Priam after Hector was killed. What he allowed Priam to do and then the pact he made for 12 days; something even Agamemnon wouldn't do and was fiercely angered by. I think whether Achilles fought so people remembered his name or not, he still wanted to do the right thing, hence his likeness to Algren.

Well, I recently bought a copy of "The Iliad" (on my list of books to read) so I'll be starting that one in a few weeks. First I have to finish up Bram Stoker's Dracula followed by the complete Grimm's Brother's Fairy Tales (Really REALLY cool stuff). I'm an avid reader and LOVE reading interesting stuff.

Dracula so far is 'so-so' but I'm sure it gets better cause otherwise they wouldn't have bothered making a movie out of it.

Grimms Brothers fairy tales I've read through about four times (all 210 of them) and I love them. Gonna go through again (for old times sake). Then The Iliad (which I've been DYING to read), followed by The Odyssey (which will be my third or fourth time reading through).

I'm a sucker ESPECIALLY for greek mythology and stories. I even went so far as to buy a 'classical myth' textbook. Without ever even planning on taking the class. I just like it THAT much.

Alexi <---- psycho, greek-loving clarinet player.

I love that!!! lol

You've done a LOT of reading. Holy crap. Don't you find the Brother's Grimm a little gruesome? They're a little different from the way Disney tells those stories, I mean. Not quite as romantic, I think. lol
I've been wanting to read the Iliad myself. I did study Homer briefly in highschool, (but I don't recall much of it), in my Ancient and Medieval history class; one of my very favourite subjects. Have you ever read Beowulf? We did it in English one year. I don't know if you're just into stories or if you would enjoy an epic poem though. Never read Dracula.......well, not Bram Stoker's anyway. I've read, versions of the story. Let me know if it gets better! At the moment I'm reading To Kill a Mockingbird. Very good story. I never saw the movie and I'm glad to be reading the book first. I've read books that were made into movies that REALLY stunk. Some things just can't be condensed into 2 hours.
I'm assuming you've read LOTR. I read it YEARS ago, when I was 16. Got it as a Christmas gift and I have LOVED it ever since. I think Peter Jackson did an excellent job with the three books. I still have the original copy, (mine was all in one), although it's somewhat tattered now. lol I read and did a book report on the Hobbit also. Man, that was good.

Not gonna deny that. I actually have my bookshelves stuffed WITH BOOKS. Most of them I've read, and some I haven't cause they didn't interest me, but my mommy or someone bought cause they thought I might have been interested in it. I don't plan to stop reading anytime soon. Specially with summer here. Nothing like going on the beach and reading for a few hours.lol. Yeah. They were written for adults back when there wasn't any TV and no way to entertain except for stories and the like. I was just telling some friends of mine about all the blood and gore in the ORIGINAL Snow White and Cinderella and stuff. Freaky.Yup. Read it and enjoyed it. Iliad/Odyssey are epic poems as well. I also have the complete collection of Edgar Allen Poe's stuff (some MORE depressing stuff. I'm on a role lately . . .)Twice. And the hobbit twice. And I bought "The Tolkein Companion" (a dictionary/encyclopedia of all names and places ever mentioned in the LOTR saga). And for three years of my life I spend every night playing an online Tolkein game. I'm a big tolkein fan. I'm also a big 'fantasy' fan so I've read almost all of Piers Anthony's stuff and I thoroughly enjoyed the original Dragonlance Chronicles. If you like JRR Tolkein, I'd say give the dragonlance chronicles a try. I LITERALLY (LITERALLY) cried my eyes out in the last book with some of the shit that happened. I can't cry for movies, but I can get so emotionally into a book that I will literally cry or laugh out loud. And when I start reading, I can't stop. I've been known to read a book a day cause I will pick it up and not put it down for about nine hours until I finish.So did I. Very good job. Much more thorough than the old cartoons of the 80's (which I also own!)

One of the things that sucks is that I do read a lot, but I have trouble retaining what I read. Very rarely. So I end up reading the same book over and over again always 'shocked' or ending up 'remembering' as I go along. I'll forget main characters names or very key moments in the book until I see them again and then I say, "OH YEAH! I remember now!" Blessing/curse. Blessing cause it's new to me every time and more fun. Curse because, well, I forget what happens. And when someone asks what it's about, I'm like, "Well, I don't remember all of it . . . but something about a ring . . . and it's a bad ring . . . "

Alexi

Too.......many.......WORDS!!!

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