Troy: Immortality Awaits - In This World Or The Next!

Title: Troy (R)

Year: 2004

"If they ever tell my story, let them say I walked with giants. Men rise & fall like the winter weeds, but these names will never die. Let them say I lived in the time of Hector, taming the forces. Let them say - I Lived, In The Time Of Achilles"
 - Achilles

King Agamemnon (Brian Cox) of Mycenae wants to rule over the world. He has already conquered most of Greece, forming them into a fragile alliance and the only kingdom powerful enough to rival the Greek nation is the kingdom of Troy, with whom they have made a peace pact. Achilles (Brad Pitt), considered the greatest warrior ever born on the face of the planet fights for the Greek army. But his disdain for Agamemnon's rule threatens to break apart the fragile alliance. In Thessaly, Greece, Agememnon challenges the King of the land to fight the war in the old fashioned way, the best fighter of each side fighting one another and deciding the result. Of course, Agamemnon calls forth Achilles, whom he hates from the bottom of his heart. Achilles finishes the fight in one move and both the armies are confounded by his superior battle skills. He has many myths surrounding him; his mother being an eternal Goddess, his immortality even in the toughest and fiercest of battles, to name a few. His only aim in life is to immortalize and etch his name into the minds of men and history books for ages to come. When his bones will be dust , he wants to be remembered as being the greatest warrior in the the time of Achilles. Paris (Orlando Bloom) is smitten by Helen (Diane Kruger) who happens to be Agamemnon's brother's young wife. They both run away from Sparta along with his brother, Hector (Eric Bana), the Prince of Troy. Having got his reason for a war with Troy, Agamemnon gets his troops and marches his massive fleet across the great seas in hopes of bringing down Troy's unbreachable walls and defeating Troy to become the greatest Emperor.

The greatest of fights are always fought because of a woman, look at Mahabharatha and Ramayana from our Indian myths (cannot say its completely a myth, proof is being uncovered that it all happened). Brad Pitt has probably immortalized Achilles much more than the real Achilles had ever anticipated or hoped for. Brad Pitt is like an incarnate of Achilles' ferocity, love, beauty, strength, agility, prowess, his defiance, his supreme confidence. I was left in awe of this man's performance, he is such a good actor. And everybody in the film complement him with some wonderful, fine method performances. Achilles gives a short speech when approaching the beach of Troy, saying immortality awaits beyond the horizon. He takes the beach of Troy with only 50 men, defying Agamemnon's orders! I had read the story of Troy and knew how it ended, most would also guess given the ending involves a certain 'Trojan Horse'. Well, here is how the name 'trojan' stuck to a virus. Agamemnon is really a back-stabbing, lying, cheating bastard whom I hated from the bottom of my heart. In that respect, Brian Cox was awesome as Agamemnon.

Wolfgang Peterson has brought the story of Troy to life in this superb movie. Everything about this movie screams of a tale of epic proportions; love, betrayal, valour, justice, evil; and the movie is filled with testosterone filled six pack hunks to satisfy the viewer. Orlando Bloom plays the role of the scared younger brother of the heroic Hector to perfection. Other than Achilles, I loved Hector. He is like a Trojan (A man of Troy) version of our own Yudhishtira, the brave, kind and righteous king. I loved Bana's performance, I was hoping against hope he would win his fight against Achilles. The women in the movie, though having very less screen time, give amazing performances. The fight scenes are amazing even with the cgi effects, which you will rarely notice. The story is pretty authentic and the director has made a good effort to stay true to the story and make it entertaining. Give this movie a try if you haven't seen it yet and I promise you, you will be glad you saw it.

My rating: ****1/2 out of *****

The Box: Thinking Outside The Box!

Title: The Box (PG-13)

Year: 2009

One thing nobody can say about this movie is it is unoriginal. The story is very interesting, confusing and could well become an inspiration for other films. Nobody had ever thought about combining NSA, NASA and supernatural stuff like Richard Kelly does here. Of course if you know who Richard is, you wouldn't be surprised as he is the director of the amazing cult-classic 'Donnie Darko'. Like that movie, this is also a type of movie which you will either really like or hate. This is a slow movie which reveals itself in layers and you have to be patient and forgiving enough to enjoy it. Cameron Diaz seems to be making a conscious effort to do movies which give her enough chance to show her acting skills. After all those films which required nothing more than her charm and smile, she has done two good dramas; My Sister's Keeper and The Box. Those who like movies which take their sweet time to come around to the point will like this movie.

In the year 1976 in Virginia, a doorbell rings in the early morning when the Lewis' are asleep. By the time Norma Lewis (Cameron Diaz) gets up to meet the visitor, there is nobody except a package left on the front porch. Norma is a high school teacher, Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) is an optical specialist at NASA's Langley Research Center and they have one child, Walter (Sam Oz Stone). The family gather around the package during breakfast and open it. It contains a weird box with a red button, and to open the box they need a key. There is an accompanying letter saying that a certain 'Mr. Steward' (Frank Langella) will meet them that evening at 5:00 PM in their home to explain about the package. Dressed in an elegant suit and sounding like a perfect gentleman, the mysterious Arlington Steward arrives at the designated time. Of course the problem is he looks like a cousin to Harvey Dent (Two Face in 'The Dark Knight' whose one side of the face is completely burned away) and there are a few butterflies in the stomach by just seeing him. Steward hands over the key to the box and gives a bizarre explanation telling Norma that he will give them $1 million in cash if she or her husband push the button by 5:00 PM the next day.

Arlington Steward: Maybe Two Face's Cousin!

The weird thing is he tells her that a person who their family doesn't know will die if they push the button, and warns them against telling about this to anybody. He also gives a gift of $100 whether they push the button or not, as a show of good faith. Norma and Arthur are skeptical, believing the whole thing is a scam and after a few moments of moral dilemma Norma pushes the button. The next evening Steward delivers them a $1 million in cash, as promised. Now, they are afraid and try to give him the money back, but he assures them the deed is already done and he won't accept it back. Then there are people following Arthur and Norma's every move, these people have nosebleeds and do weird things. What exactly is going on and will the consequences be too high to pay for the Lewis'?

The setting of the movie is well done and authentic and the acting is good; Frank Langella (nominated for Oscar in 'Frost/Nixon') and Cameron Diaz, especially give good performances. Frank Langella is like the good devil; he gives you choices, hard choices among which you will have to choose and whatever you choose, you will bear a huge burden. Cameron Diaz doesn't smile much as her character needs to be afraid and emotional. James Marsden has a come a long way from his 27 Dresses, Enchanted and X-Men days, he is also pretty believable in his role. The eventual explanation of the nosebleeds and Steward's history and connection with the supernatural is excellent. There is no apparent weak link, except for the very weird special effects. Try 'The Box', you may like it.

My Rating: ***1/2 out of *****