Valhalla Rising
Valhalla Rising
is Nicholas Winding Refn's tribute to Terrence Malick. A beautiful,
almost langorous, film, Valhalla
Rising
isn't so much about compelling narrative as it is about atmosphere
and mood. This is a film meant not to be seen, but absorbed.
Mads Mikkelsen (of the excellent Flame& Citron) plays One-Eye, a Viking slave who lives like a dog, released from his pen only to fight for the enrichment of his owners. After escaping, he falls in with a band of Christians on a journey to fight in the Holy Land. Things do not go well.
That's all you need to know. The rest of your rental (or streaming) choice will come down to two questions: 1. Do you like Terrence Malick? 2. Do you like Mads Mikkelsen? If you answer yes on both counts, hit “play.” If not, all the atmosphere and mood in the world won't keep you from checking your watch. Fortunately for me, I answer yes. I enjoyed Valhalla Rising.
Jurassic Park
Last week, my
beautiful bride & I realized we hadn't seen Jurassic Park
since its initial release. Worse, we hadn't shown it to our
kids. We were bad parents!
Having rectified the situation, I'm happy to report that Jurassic Park holds up remarkably well. Though some of the actors' makeup calls attention to itself on a large HD screen, the dinosaurs look as realistic as ever, the story (which basically consists of a series of missions – Tour the park! Escape the pen! Get to the whatsit and turn on the thingamajig! Etc.) moves right along, and the whole endeavour is just as engaging, scary, and fun as ever. We loved it, our kids loved it, and we are good parents once more.
Valhalla Rising
is Nicholas Winding Refn's tribute to Terrence Malick. A beautiful,
almost langorous, film, Valhalla
Rising
isn't so much about compelling narrative as it is about atmosphere
and mood. This is a film meant not to be seen, but absorbed.Mads Mikkelsen (of the excellent Flame& Citron) plays One-Eye, a Viking slave who lives like a dog, released from his pen only to fight for the enrichment of his owners. After escaping, he falls in with a band of Christians on a journey to fight in the Holy Land. Things do not go well.
That's all you need to know. The rest of your rental (or streaming) choice will come down to two questions: 1. Do you like Terrence Malick? 2. Do you like Mads Mikkelsen? If you answer yes on both counts, hit “play.” If not, all the atmosphere and mood in the world won't keep you from checking your watch. Fortunately for me, I answer yes. I enjoyed Valhalla Rising.
Jurassic Park
Last week, my
beautiful bride & I realized we hadn't seen Jurassic Park
since its initial release. Worse, we hadn't shown it to our
kids. We were bad parents!Having rectified the situation, I'm happy to report that Jurassic Park holds up remarkably well. Though some of the actors' makeup calls attention to itself on a large HD screen, the dinosaurs look as realistic as ever, the story (which basically consists of a series of missions – Tour the park! Escape the pen! Get to the whatsit and turn on the thingamajig! Etc.) moves right along, and the whole endeavour is just as engaging, scary, and fun as ever. We loved it, our kids loved it, and we are good parents once more.
