Slaughter And Blood And The Choking Groans Of Men

      Skimming through the various reviews of Troy (partially because I may or may not be teaching The Iliad next year, if RK and I get our respective ways), it seems the film has the following primary dimensions: expensive and elaborate special effects; a 20th century military mentality; a mildly attractive but not especially entrancing Helen; an almost androgynous Paris; lots of fancy battle scenes; a fine but brief performance by Peter O'Toole as Priam (O'Toole's the only one getting consistently good reviews); Brad Pitt's biceps; Brad Pitt's arse; Brad Pitt's arse; and, most significantly, Brad Pitt's absolutely heroic arse. Oh, dear lord.... And, oh yeah, they've apparently buggered up the Agamemnon storyline. I'm sure, however, that there will soon be an utterly unnecessary novelization of the film to come, Homeric aspects rent utterly asunder, chronicling instead, in finest detail, the intricacies of Brad Pitt's arse, which, apparently, explains all the seamen on those thousand ships.