Film Reviews by CD

The best bits of this film are superb - the sight of the Greek ships in the Aegean, the amazing battle scenes, the attempts to recreate ancient Troy.  The cast is very strong but inevitably the dialogue is limited and you feel many of the actors’ talents are a bit wasted.  Brad Pitt and Peter O’Toole stand out.  Well worth a watch but be ready to skip a few scenes.

This film receives lukewarm reviews but this is the second time I have watched and enjoyed it. The acting is good and the "dark age" post Roman period of the film is interesting. Quite a lot of fighting, some romantic scenes and good overall themes of loyalty and love. I'd recommend it for a cold winter's evening.

I concur with other reviewers in being disappointed with the film, although had only seen a few of the Deadwood TV series many years back. You know you are in for a mixed experience within the first 2 scenes where characters arrive and then are not developed properly in the film. The dialogue is quite interesting with some effort to make it (how one imagines) people might have spoken in the late 19th century. Half way through you realise that this is going towards a predictable conclusion, and you may be tempted to reach for the fast forward button just to make sure.

I enjoyed the late 1960s references and style, and the Hollywood glamour set backdrop. However its a strange and ultimately unsatisfying film, with many themes not coming together. I agree with other reviews that it is unnecessarily violent. Brad Pitt's character is never really developed and that's a real shame as he's probably the most interesting personality in the film. As a positive the chemistry between Pitt and DiCaprio is excellent and kept me watching what was quite a long film to its painful conclusion.

Disc 1: Fantastic performances by James Nesbitt (in the Miller's Tale) and Julie Walters in the Wife of Bath. Plenty of wit and fun in both although the Miller's Tale seemed a long way from what I remembered of Chaucer's original tale.

Less keen on the Knight's Tale but mainly because of the dark rendition of the plot in a modern prison - I am sure that some will like it as a tragedy as it is blessed again by great acting .

I'm looking forward to disc 2!

I really enjoyed this movie which kept me interested till the end. It has a very good combination of great acting, interesting characters and enough action and plot . It splices together two tales in one. You're left wondering what is fictional and what is real, but the ending seems just right. Thoroughly recommended.

Good acting and characterisation - I really liked the film. The sort of situations every parent might go through when universities are being considered, told with humour and sensitivity

The film was much better than I expected from the film critics. Special effects are imaginative and there is humour, ok acting and enough of a story to keep viewers entertained all the way through.

I was impressed by this film - the acting is good and there are some clever directing moments in particular in the stand off between the security guards and the police officers. The landscape is suitably bleak but beautiful.

The interaction between the main character and the occultist is interesting and keeps the film moving, The director has the usual problem of how to progress an occult type film without bringing in standard horror fare. I was ok with how it resolved itself but if you are looking for a lot of scary moments then this is probably not for you, but if you like a slightly more offbeat slow and tense film, you may like it.

Great acting from the whole cast and the tension builds well throughout the film - the location setting adds to the brooding atmosphere - in many ways a shocking film but thought provoking as well

This is a tough film to watch but the Christian faith shown, the counterviews from the oppressors and the ethical dilemmas presented are very thought provoking - well worth a viewing

Ralph Fiennes really carries the film with a tremendously charismatic performance. The other characters are rather low key but the film works. Not one I would like to watch with my children as some rather embarrassing love scenes and it is only rated 15. A film that makes you think though around joie de vivre versus staying safe and being square. The music is fun, especially for Stones fans!

Thoroughly enjoyed this film which has some great vampirish horror and special effects but many surprisingly touching and poignant moments. Acting is excellent and the story races along - highly recommended

The film falls between different genres and is not really strong enough on plot, characters or action to be really memorable. It is also very slow moving, not helped by the difficulty in actually hearing what the cast is saying! Still, some good characterisation and the outback backdrop is interesting.