What a dissapointment!
Let me start at the beginning.
Infact thats a good place to start as it was looking ok at that point, exillerating first battle, no talking yet.
... and then the script started... Oh dear...
Such a shame, this tale is a favourite of mine byt the script was so flakey! Brad Pit's Achillies was so 1 dimensional and his portrayal of him wooden to the extreme, I thought he would get washed away witht the tide! Ahh well...
The action was good and the effects fantastic, I just found myself tapping my feet and drumming my fingers waiting for the next battle, which i thought was a shame, especially seeing as there was a lot of rubbish inbetween...
Quite possibly Brad Pit's worst ever role, though I really don't blame him for the poor script he had to work with.
Eric Bana's Hector wasn't bad, and in what could have been an interseting twist to the classic tale, it was told as if the Greeks were the bad guys, which if done right would have been refreshing, as we all know the story from Homer to be pretty pro Greek, too bad they couldnt really carry it off.
The film also leaves out the mystical side of the tale, well the Gods are still mentioned of course, but make no appearances; again a good idea as it tried to focus more on the people involved. REPEAT..... TRIED.
Intersting aside...
During the last weeks of filming the huge set of the Walls of Troy was struck by a hurricane, totaly destroying it. The whole thing had to be rebuilt from scratch for the last fight scene between Hector and Achillies.
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Deus Ex Machina
I thought Id post this up as for some reason this has been cropping up in conversations recently and Ive never really known the full meaning for it.
In some ancient Greek drama, an apparently insoluble crisis was solved by the intervention of a god, often brought on stage by an elaborate piece of equipment. This "god from the machine" was literally a deus ex machina.
Few modern works feature deities suspended by wires from the ceiling, but the term deus ex machina is still used for cases where an author uses some improbable (and often clumsy) plot device to work his or her way out of a difficult situation. When the cavalry comes charging over the hill or when the impoverished hero is relieved by an unexpected inheritance, it's often called a deus ex machina.
So there you go... not just a computer game heheh
In some ancient Greek drama, an apparently insoluble crisis was solved by the intervention of a god, often brought on stage by an elaborate piece of equipment. This "god from the machine" was literally a deus ex machina.
Few modern works feature deities suspended by wires from the ceiling, but the term deus ex machina is still used for cases where an author uses some improbable (and often clumsy) plot device to work his or her way out of a difficult situation. When the cavalry comes charging over the hill or when the impoverished hero is relieved by an unexpected inheritance, it's often called a deus ex machina.
So there you go... not just a computer game heheh
Monday, May 17, 2004
Ooh this just in....Star Wars
Hmm Star Wars seems to be in almost every conversation I have at the moment in some form or other but, I read this morning that the new film's title has been announced.
"Birth of the Empire"
Though how much truth there is in that, who knows. I did after all only read it in the Sun over the shoulder of someone on the bus this morning, shortly before a rather pretentious schoolgirl fell over her own oversized bag and sprawled face down along the aisle! I had to bite my lip not to laugh, am I wicked? Oh she wasnt hurt, just terribly embarressed!!!
"Birth of the Empire"
Though how much truth there is in that, who knows. I did after all only read it in the Sun over the shoulder of someone on the bus this morning, shortly before a rather pretentious schoolgirl fell over her own oversized bag and sprawled face down along the aisle! I had to bite my lip not to laugh, am I wicked? Oh she wasnt hurt, just terribly embarressed!!!
The Weekend...
This weekend went to visit mum and co. Didnt see much of my sister Claudie as she is now working in a bar in Oxford which takes up a lot of her time... horrid, rememebr it well! However I did get to play lots of Playstation 2 games with my brother Gabriel, which was great fun.
Unfortuantely their Arga had died so it was cold food and pub lunch for us!
When we got home on sunday, we popped over to say hi to Nikala's mum who is over from France and staying with Nikala's brother Aaron down the road. It was good to see her and catch up then we watched Shaun of the Dead.... Extremely funny! barely stopped laughing... loved it when the enraged girlfriend is battering zombies with the leg of her boyfriend (or is that something only i would find funny?)
Sore thoat now....grrr think its brought onby the cursed hayfever -- damn pollen everywhere!
Unfortuantely their Arga had died so it was cold food and pub lunch for us!
When we got home on sunday, we popped over to say hi to Nikala's mum who is over from France and staying with Nikala's brother Aaron down the road. It was good to see her and catch up then we watched Shaun of the Dead.... Extremely funny! barely stopped laughing... loved it when the enraged girlfriend is battering zombies with the leg of her boyfriend (or is that something only i would find funny?)
Sore thoat now....grrr think its brought onby the cursed hayfever -- damn pollen everywhere!
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Blogging a facelift...
Well it seems as though the site has been nicely updated, and so not to fall behind the rest of the community (or at least Mark!) i will be giving this page a facelift in the near future!
Back From the east of Middle!
Wow!
Even now I am still stunned!
Wow! and incase I didnt get that across already... wow!
Nikala and I have returned from Dubai to miserable old grey England...how depressing! We have only just bcome acustomed to the 43 degrees Centigrade that we had out there!
Yes thats right! 43 degrees!!! My god it was hot hot hot!
And the service... wow!
Until we had to leave Dubai, the last time either of us had to carry our luggage was when we checked in at Gatwick Airport, after that someone was always there to help, and although there were times we tried to protest and do something for ourselves, the locals were horrified and wouldnt let us. It was a very strange experience. Even the man polishing the floor was all smiles and full of greetings and wishes for a good health etc. and unlike the USA it really seemed to be a genuine question there.
The rooms were fabulous, bigger than our flat and thrice as luxurious -- the bathroom was bigger than our living room and all marble! We had a view of palm trees, sand and the ocean from our balcony... it was an awe inspiring sight and we now feel totaly spoilt.
For those of you like us, to whom food is of great import, the choice was immense... the breakfast alone had so much to choose from that Nikala and I often found ourselves going back for seconds, thirds and on one particularly piggy occaision fourths... didnt feel to well after that!
On saterday we went on the Dune Safari, which consisted of tearing down the almost empty highways at a collossal 190 KPH !!! quite scary! then going off road rocketing up huge sand dunes and sliding down the other side until we eventually reached a campsite in the middle of the desert... (I must say even my usualy ironclad stomach was feeling a little quesy.)
... where we were entertained by a belly dancer and had some traditional Arabian tucker (kebabs and salad heheheh) There was also a lady giving henna prints, Nikala got a butterfly on her hip and ive been cursed with some monstosity that looks somewhat like a wonky bat on my arm!
On our last day, we went to the souks (not sure how you spell it) which are essentaily markets. There are two main ones, the first of which is the gold souk. Its truely an incredible site if a little gaudy... There are close to 300 shops all of which have thousands of rings, bracelets and necklesses in, and to give you an idea of the wealth there... just one of those rings was worth 300,000 US$ ... jaw dropping.
However it was a touch "bling bling" for us...
... and so, we trundled over to the spice souk, and wow!, you have never seen so much stuff! and the smell! i loved it so we were in there bartering and haggling away... didnt actually buy much but it was fun!
Now, I know how expensive saffron is, and if im not mistaken its more expensive by weight than anything else... well there were sacks and sacks and sacks of the stuff all over the place, we bought 10 grams for 20 DHS which is about £3, i think you pay about the same over here for 2 or 3 strands!
Unfortunately the week was over and we were soon to be returning, and as if on que, Nikala suffered from nast painful food poisoning, which spoilt an otherwise great trip; i was glad I had avoided it...
On the plane on the way home... I realised I hadn't... wasnt a fun 7 hours.
Here are some links to the hotels we stayed at...
Royal Mirage
and the not as nice Grand Hyatt
and finaly the souks
Even now I am still stunned!
Wow! and incase I didnt get that across already... wow!
Nikala and I have returned from Dubai to miserable old grey England...how depressing! We have only just bcome acustomed to the 43 degrees Centigrade that we had out there!
Yes thats right! 43 degrees!!! My god it was hot hot hot!
And the service... wow!
Until we had to leave Dubai, the last time either of us had to carry our luggage was when we checked in at Gatwick Airport, after that someone was always there to help, and although there were times we tried to protest and do something for ourselves, the locals were horrified and wouldnt let us. It was a very strange experience. Even the man polishing the floor was all smiles and full of greetings and wishes for a good health etc. and unlike the USA it really seemed to be a genuine question there.
The rooms were fabulous, bigger than our flat and thrice as luxurious -- the bathroom was bigger than our living room and all marble! We had a view of palm trees, sand and the ocean from our balcony... it was an awe inspiring sight and we now feel totaly spoilt.
For those of you like us, to whom food is of great import, the choice was immense... the breakfast alone had so much to choose from that Nikala and I often found ourselves going back for seconds, thirds and on one particularly piggy occaision fourths... didnt feel to well after that!
On saterday we went on the Dune Safari, which consisted of tearing down the almost empty highways at a collossal 190 KPH !!! quite scary! then going off road rocketing up huge sand dunes and sliding down the other side until we eventually reached a campsite in the middle of the desert... (I must say even my usualy ironclad stomach was feeling a little quesy.)
... where we were entertained by a belly dancer and had some traditional Arabian tucker (kebabs and salad heheheh) There was also a lady giving henna prints, Nikala got a butterfly on her hip and ive been cursed with some monstosity that looks somewhat like a wonky bat on my arm!
On our last day, we went to the souks (not sure how you spell it) which are essentaily markets. There are two main ones, the first of which is the gold souk. Its truely an incredible site if a little gaudy... There are close to 300 shops all of which have thousands of rings, bracelets and necklesses in, and to give you an idea of the wealth there... just one of those rings was worth 300,000 US$ ... jaw dropping.
However it was a touch "bling bling" for us...
... and so, we trundled over to the spice souk, and wow!, you have never seen so much stuff! and the smell! i loved it so we were in there bartering and haggling away... didnt actually buy much but it was fun!
Now, I know how expensive saffron is, and if im not mistaken its more expensive by weight than anything else... well there were sacks and sacks and sacks of the stuff all over the place, we bought 10 grams for 20 DHS which is about £3, i think you pay about the same over here for 2 or 3 strands!
Unfortunately the week was over and we were soon to be returning, and as if on que, Nikala suffered from nast painful food poisoning, which spoilt an otherwise great trip; i was glad I had avoided it...
On the plane on the way home... I realised I hadn't... wasnt a fun 7 hours.
Here are some links to the hotels we stayed at...
Royal Mirage
and the not as nice Grand Hyatt
and finaly the souks
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