haunting stories

Last night I got home real tired and hungry, and as soon as I’d changed into house clothes, I settled down for dinner in front of the TV. I kept switching channels, trying to find a good movie or show, when I chanced upon one that got my attention, The first person I saw on the screen was Tom Hanks. A really thin, sick-looking Tom Hanks talking to Denzel Washington. PHILADELPHIA!!!

My favorite Tom Hanks movie next to Forrest Gump, and I realized I hadn’t seen it again in years!

So there I was, stuck to that channel, watching scenes unfold between Tom and Denzel and Antonio…awed by Tom’s deep, haunting portrayal and entranced by Antonio’s sexy accent…never mind Denzel. =P

And I cried buckets of tears. Dang.

And there’s this beautiful haunting song played at the end of the movie that really got to me — Philadelphia by Neil Young.

After the movie was over I switched channels again, and what should I chance upon this time around? Wicker Park. Just in time for the climax and conclusion, too.

You know, Diane Kruger is pretty, but I find Rose Byrne more…appealing…and intriguing. I like her beauty. I like the conflicting strength and sensitivity mirrored in her face.

By the way, both women were also inTroy. Diane played the famed Helen, and Rose played Briseis. Yeah she got to have some hot scenes with Brad Pitt, and she was in my favorite part of the movie — where Achilles dies in Briseis’ arms as Paris rains arrows on him despite her frantic screaming.

And speaking of Troy (now I’m jumping around but I’ve started and I can’t stop), I always thought it funny that the center of the story was supposedly Helen but she never really did anything there. Well if you really think about it, Troy is based on Homer’s Iliad, which is not about Helen. It is about Achilles, though the Trojan war itself started because Paris stole Helen away from Menelaus…or if you read Greek mythology…it started even waaaay back…to a vengeful Eris, Goddess of Discord.

The movie wasn’t really that great, despite the hype and the big names and Brad Pitt in a skimpy skirt-like costume. It was a hit internationally — probably because of the sheer fame of some of the cast — but it flopped in the US. I really didn’t like the way they got rid of the Olympians involved in the story and just focused on the mortals. What is the Iliad without the Olympians? What is Greek mythology without its gods and goddesses? Some key characters were also missing; I particularly missed Cassandra. And there wasn’t just Briseis, there was Chryseis too. Troy fused them all into one character.

*Sigh* I love the Greek myths, and I wish they’d make more movies about them. With all the glory of the gods & goddesses, of course. =P

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PHILADELPHIA
by Neil Young

Sometimes I think that I know
What love’s all about
And when I see the light
I know I’ll be all right.

Sometimes I think that I know
What love’s all about
And when I see the light
I know I’ll be all right.
Philadelphia