“The Northman” is a bloody Scandinavian Viking’s tale of revenge. The film follows Prince Amleth (played by Alexander Skarsgård) who vows to avenge his father’s death at the hands of his uncle.
While, perhaps, not everyone waits with baited breath for the next bloody Viking saga, this particular outing might have a shot at a wider audience due to the elevated filmmaking and stunning visuals.
The trailer (below) will give you a taste of this, and based on how you feel once having viewed it you may have a better idea of why you might want to visit a theater (later this month, only in theaters) to get the full treatment.
Along with Skarsgård comes a hard-hitting cast including: Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hake (plays King Aurvandil), Anya Taylor-Joy, Claes Bang and William Dafoe (witch).
Reviews for the film, directed by Robert Egger, are coming out now, since the theatrical release of the film will hit screens at the end of the month. Rotten Tomatoes calls it “bold, unflinching and visually breathtaking”. Eggers is known for the historical fables / period setting pieces that push the genre, such as in his previous films, for example, “The Lighthouse” and “The Witch”.
“The Northman” is set for theatrical release starting April 22.
John Wick with a milquetoast twist? No, much better than that…
Are you, like me, someone who just has to watch any movie with Liam Neeson after “Taken” where he plays an underestimated character doing mega damage to the bad guys? Was “John Wick” (and 2 and 3 etc) a worthwhile experience but you could imagine a bit of Bob Odenkirk à la mode mixed in? You’re in luck (seriously).
The official blurb from Universal goes like this: Emmy winner Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, The Post, Nebraska, Breaking Bad) stars as Hutch Mansell, an underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life’s indignities on the chin and never pushing back. A nobody.
Add to this his “particular set of skills” and ominous past and you have an inspired next step in this now established feel-good as the blood-flows genre. (trailer below)
At a time when, metaphorically, perhaps all of us feel like we are bullied once too many times, and when the vagaries of trying to live in peace have us at wits end, watching this could be the antidote to all those pent-up feelings.
However, if going to see it live in a movie theater still seems too dangerous, you will soon be able to stream – if you are willing to pay for video-on-demand.
As of Friday, April 16th you will be able to purchase to stream at the usual VOD outlets (most likely, Apple, Amazon and others) and there’s even a blu-ray disk in the offing which has pre-order options already.
Directed by Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry), and written by Derek Kolstad (John Wick), a great cast that includes Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, The Post, Nebraska) and co-stars legendary Emmy winner Christopher Lloyd as Hutch’s father, musician-actor RZA as Hutch’s brother, whose own hidden talents aid Hutch in his quest for vengeance.
Here is the description provided on the official web site by Universal Pictures:
Sometimes the man you don’t notice is the most dangerous of all. Emmy winner Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul, The Post, Nebraska) stars as Hutch Mansell, an underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life’s indignities on the chin and never pushing back. A nobody.
When two thieves break into his suburban home one night, Hutch declines to defend himself or his family, hoping to prevent serious violence. His teenage son, Blake (Gage Munroe, The Shack), is disappointed in him and his wife, Becca (Connie Nielsen, Wonder Woman), seems to pull only further away.
The aftermath of the incident strikes a match to Hutch’s long-simmering rage, triggering dormant instincts and propelling him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary (famed Russian actor Aleksey Serebryakov, Amazon’s McMafia)—and ensure that he will never be underestimated as a nobody again.
Nobody is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ilya Naishuller (Hardcore Henry), from a script by Derek Kolstad, the narrative architect of the John Wick franchise, and co-stars legendary Emmy winner Christopher Lloyd as Hutch’s father and multi-hyphenate musician-actor RZA as Hutch’s brother, whose own hidden talents aid Hutch in his quest for vengeance.
The film is produced by Kelly McCormick, p.g.a, and David Leitch, p.g.a., the filmmakers of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, Deadpool 2 and Atomic Blonde, for their company 87North, by Braden Aftergood, p.g.a. (Hell or High Water, Wind River), for his Eighty Two Films, and by Bob Odenkirk and Marc Provissiero (Hulu’s PEN15) for Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment. The film is executive produced by Derek Kolstad, Marc S. Fischer, Annie Marter and Tobey Maguire.
Idris Elba announced today via his twitter account that he has been diagnosed with covid-19, also known as the novel coronavirus. He posted a video along with the tweet and indicated that he has no symptoms so far and feels ok. Along with Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, who are in isolation recovering in Australia, this announcement is the second recent one involving a major Hollywood star.
Long lines all over L.A. with people trying to buy staples, Sports events and Concerts cancelled, empty shelves everywhere and now both Disney and Universal are releasing current upcoming films for streaming – since box office will be zero or even cancelled for an undetermined time period. Not to mention the Dow is down nearly 3000 points at closing today (-2997.10 / -12.92%). Yikes.
This morning I tested positive for Covid 19. I feel ok, I have no symptoms so far but have been isolated since I found out about my possible exposure to the virus. Stay home people and be pragmatic. I will keep you updated on how I’m doing 👊🏾👊🏾 No panic. pic.twitter.com/Lg7HVMZglZ
This news, based on the incredible familiarity that we all have with stars of this magnitude, is making the pandemic more and more “real” for all of us. In the chart below a big reason for the extreme precautionary measures can be seen:
The line all the way to the right, almost straight up vertical is the number of cases not in China. As is clear the total is nearly as many as all that have been reported in China to date and will soon overtake that number. Most alarming is the vertical rise – far steeper than the gradual increase that was seen since February 16th, after the drastic measures were taken in China by that time.
In a widely shared graphic, a tan curve represents a scenario without social distancing measures and where the U.S. hospital system becomes inundated with coronavirus patients. Chart / PBS
Just such a slow down in additional cases will “flatten the curve” of non-China cases and is the goal of the extreme and increasingly invasive measures we are taking in the US and Europe. Although the feeling in the air, especially if shopping for supplies, seems somewhat panicked, it is important to recognize that all of these measures, most of all self-quarantine and social distancing are meant to protect us, and ultimately, flatten the curve to a point where the number of cases can actually slow down enough that this chart will actually be on a downward slope.
The interactive chart of Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases can be accessed here, courtesy of the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The mobile version of the chart can be accessed here.
About a month ahead of its release this December, Universal dropped a new trailer for its anthropomorphic “Cats” spectacle and social media users have responded in new and amusing variations. The newest trailer comes after the original trailer was released four months ago in July.
Universal’s “Cats” is a musical fantasy film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical of the same name, which was based on T.S. Eliot’s poetry collection from 1939 “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.”
The director of the notorious 2012 “Les Misérables” musical film adaptation Tom Hooper is directing the film with a screenplay co-written by him and British playwright and screenwriter Lee Hall, who wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”
The main subject of the public internet’s fixation and fascination with “Cats” is witnessing the strange-looking, computer-animated cat versions of its star-studded cast, which includes Taylor Swift, James Corden, Jennifer Hudson, Jason Derulo, Rebel Wilson, Ian McKellan, Judi Dench, and Idris Elba.
Hundreds of tweets surged following the new trailer, with cat jokes and memes, many a meme surrounding how freaky it is to see a human playing a cat and how equally terrifying it is to see their furry “naked” cat characters played by well known celebrities.
