Kingdom of Heaven

[Spino]

I actually think that Orlando isn't that bad of an actor. But as for Gladitor, I think it was ok... as long as you forgot everything you knew about history for a couple of hours. Same for Braveheart, though I think that Mel isn't nearly as good an actor as Russel Crowe.

I disagree about Bloom, he has the acting range of a defective squirt gun. He is the same person in every role he plays. Barring the costumes and hairstyles you could interchange all the characters he's played and you would not be able to discern the differences in his performances. Bloom is constantly working not because of his acting abilities but because ever since Lord of the Rings hit the theaters it has been proven that his onscreen presence moistens the seats of young teenage girls and and that directly translates into box office numbers.

I definitely agree that Crowe is far superior to Gibson in terms of acting ability. However as far as historical trangressions are concerned Braveheart didn't seem nearly as bad as Gladiator, perhaps because I think it is a superior film to Gladiator. My problems with Gladiator are not simply rooted in its historical inaccuracies. When I watch Gladiator the only thing that I enjoy outside the cinematography and technical achievements is the presence of Russell Crowe, Derek Jacobi, Richard Harris and the 15-20 minutes of carnage that took place in the arenas and colosseum. Beyond those elements I cannot think of Gladiator as anything other than a B flick made on a massive budget. The script is ridiculously shallow and a good chunk of the supporting cast defies all sense of logic and taste. I could have done withouth Joaquin Phoenix and his terrible English accent. Dijmon Honsou sucks, period. That oversized former Mr. Universe/Mr. Olympian German actor who played Maximus' token aryan gladiator buddy would be more convincing if he was cast as a stone wall.

[Hurin_Rules]

On heroism at the fall of Acre (Akko), I believe that the last of the christians to hold out were one of the fighting orders (Templars, I believe, or Hospitallers) who fought on after the walls of the city had been breached. They holed themselves up in their fortress/convent when everyone else left and refused surrender terms (although I beleive one Muslim source says that they were offered terms but the Muslims then took them back when the knights abused some prisoners). Eventually, their fortress was undermined and collapsed, and all the knights died in the final defense.