THE NORTHMAN (Robert Eggers, 2022) -- Alexander Skarsgard, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Björk, Anya Taylor-Joy, Willem Dafoe...

just wonder if this going to be another film that feels like Chloé Zhao going from Nomadland to The Eternals, hope not

I like what my podcast cohost Oriana said: "the trailer is interesting, feels like Focus was given a mandate to market it as your kind of standard Viking movie when you just know it’s going to be so much weirder"

the revenge mantra got me thinking of Inigo Montoya lol

Can a trailer be so disconnected from the movie that you have no idea from seeing it about the quality of the film? I don't know. A weird Viking movie is something I would really like to see, but this doesn't seem like that from the trailer

A weird Viking movie is something I would really like to see

That's Valhalla Rising... odd film

lol that trailer looks like total shit

I loved The Witch and The Lighthouse.

Why did they leave the lion out and change it a lighthouse? Hollywood, sheesh

the story reminds me of Last Kingdom a bit?
but yeah the heavy leaning on story in the trailer leads me to think this might deliver sonething altogether much weirder

Can a trailer be so disconnected from the movie that you have no idea from seeing it about the quality of the film?

well, the trailer for The VVitch made it seem like a straightforward horror film, but it definitely wasn't quite that lol

I've given up being hopeful about this film

THE MORTHNAN

"There is always hope."

What on earth is Taylor-Joy's accent supposed to be?

i bet this movie rocks

yeah in the worst case scenario that this is just a dumbass $90m spooky viking movie with bad performances i'd still be pretty fine w/that

i'd like to go on record with my prediction that this will rule

yeah in the worst case scenario that this is just a dumbass $90m spooky viking movie with bad performances and bjork's return to acting i'd still be pretty fine w/that

yeah I'm looking forward to this, hopefully in the theater. Even if I get covid again like I got during Dune

I hope cooper Hoffman runs through a scene

just feeling turned off by the idea that the kind of bombastic action-movie music we were presented with in the trailers might be the actual music in this film, in which case I know I won't like it

from the New Yorker profile on Eggers, I think there's a bit of tension between the studio and him: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/04/04/robert-eggerss-historical-visions-go-mainstream

but it does sound it will be different from the trailer, going by some scene descriptions in the article

that's a great profile, particularly the stuff about his origins in theater

i would probably prefer to watch a less entertaining version of this movie but i'm glad he at least likes the final cut

Found this enjoyable but a little too straightforward and too reliant on cgi. There's a decent twist but it needed more things. Still sad to hear it's flopping so bad.

My quick review: a 2 1/2 hour Amon Amarth video with different music? Why sure. Thought (to use two different comparison points) The Green Knight and The Lighthouse were better and arguably the entire plot (which, as was already clear, is essentially the root story that Hamlet was eventually created from) is 'boy, toxic masculinity REALLY sucks,' but it didn't drag, Iceland's scenery looks unsurprisingly amazing, the typical Eggers 'what if the supernatural bleeds over into reality juuuust enough' vibe is present. And Bjork's Bjork, one scene plus one brief bit later but she makes the most of it.

movie is so dope

Is this a Hollywood movie or an art movie?

it is the most straightforward robert eggers movie yet but it is still a slow moving artfully made sword and sorcery epic

I loved this. A marvel to look at too

like The Lighthouse before it I enjoyed it plenty but felt like it was a little empty in the end - i'm not even sure "empty" is the right word, i wouldn't generally use it as a term of critique. i think maybe it's just not quite enough, for reasons i can't nail down

it doesn't drag tho and there's much fun to be had and yeah i appreciate that there's plenty of emphasis on Acting not just stunt work

i spent a lot of time thinking about Skellige and a little time thinking about Sansho the Bailiff so definitely not complaining

wonder if they did or could market to the elden ring fanbase

I've definitely gotten ads for it on Elden Ring twitch streams, lol.

i just want a book of the 'art' of the film.

also so much fire. and blood.

but this is my metal side talking

Headline of the Richard Brody review made me LOL: "Just a Bunch of Research and Gore". Uh, yes please!

Don't threaten me with a good time

Saw it yesterday and really enjoyed it... I was even ready to be underwhelmed due to some things I'd read but it was pretty much fault-free to my eyes. As just mentioned, the art direction and set design stuff was pretty amazing. (The shrieking valkyrie is almost worth the ticket price alone.)

Okay, the healing hot springs looked kinda phony but everything else looked awesome

saw this last night, delivered the "b-movie for eggheads" goods as advertised, lotsa fun, glad i saw it on the big screen. sorry this is bombing (my theater was totally empty) but also cant believe anyone was crazy enough to give give eggers $90m for this. honestly for all the talk of the runaway budget i didnt really feel like i saw it all onscreen considering how 85% of the film takes place on a small farm, but i guess all the cgi plus shooting in insanely inhospitable locations really adds up.

despite all the talk of realism & authenticity its strong on the pulpy EC Comics vibes. the magical tree of kings reminded me of something from sam raimi.

This was fucking sick. Just a relentless drumbeat of primal bloodlust psychosis. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so attuned to a rhythm like that.

haven't seen the film yet, but thought this was in interesting series of tweets (with clips) describing the unusual camera movements

THE NORTHMAN has intensely peculiar camera operation, and I'm surprised it hasn't been brought up more. You've got lots of shots like this, in which the camera seems to be reacting deliberately sluggishly and panning/tilting in a jagged and awkward way. pic.twitter.com/oDtyR7P4Vj

— Devan Scott (@SadHillDevan) May 14, 2022

it was fun enough and not half as annoying as The Lighthouse, but ultimately not really much more interesting than any above average episode of Vikings.

I liked Vikings to an extent, but it was ultimately just another big dumb prestige TV drama

Pretty sure that was calz's point

but vikings had the BLOOD EAGLE so its not a complete waste :D

I wasn't comparing The Northman to Vikings.

and The Lighthouse was awesome btw

It really wasn't

Adequate maybe. Sound design was nice

ok

I don't even know what passes for prestige tv drama these days, but I don't think the creators of Vikings when it started were aiming to compete with Olive Kitteridge in the whatever whatever prestige TV awards! I just thought there was something distinctly slightly above average about about this movie. Which isn't a terrible thing to achieve tbf.

anyway Valhalla Rising is still the top viking movie of the modern era!

Finally got around to this and honestly, I could have skipped it. 2.5 out of 5, tops.

Viking movies, ranked:

1. Valhalla Rising
2. The 13th Warrior
3. Outlander
4. The Northman, I guess

I didnt mind this film, felt the end scene was a bit silly though, reminded me of the Anakin/Obi Wan fight lol.

I watched this the other night and enjoyed it more than I expected to, though I agree about the final fight falling flat. (It was also underlit.)

I'll probably never get around to watching this, but I've seen the trailer and what I want to know is this: Is Willem Dafoe playing Terry Gilliam's Holy Grail bridgekeeper in this movie?

The Northman: Werner Herzog’s “What’s Opera, Doc?” Good for the first 90 minutes, then suddenly great. Now I understand why it wasn’t a hit. It asks a lot more of the audience than the trailers would lead you to believe.

— Matt Zoller Seitz (@mattzollerseitz) May 16, 2022

Watched this last night and am still a bit bewildered. I loved the naked aggression of it and the ritual elements (3-eyed Bjork probably the standout) but something about the pacing was off in the second half I think? It might just be the natural action movie necessity of moving toward the 'end boss' and the end boss fight being a bit lame compared to what's come before. I also wonder if I could have done without the Anya Taylor-Joy subplot, ie make it a pure revenge flick and keep it to a tight 90 minutes. It's incredible that Skarsgård was making this as well as Succession.

I would like to see it again though.

Good to see Finchy get a run-out.