Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Vengeance and Medieval

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There  is more to going to the movies than seeing big blockbusters like Top Gun or Jurassic Park:  Dominion.  I would like to talk about two lesser-known movies that have not gotten a lot of attention, but may be of interest to you.  They may  no longer be in the theatres, so you might have to watch on a streaming service.

Vengeance is a black comedy written and directed by B.J. Novak (Ryan on The Office) and he also stars.  The movie tells the story of a self-absorbed and commitment phobic urban blogger named Ben Manalowitz .  Ben is asked to attend the funeral of a girl he hooked up with a few times, and barely remembers.  Her Texas family is under the impression that they were seriously involved and he plays along with them thinking he will get some interesting ideas for his blog.  He finds out her brother believes she was murdered, and wants Ben to help find the culprit.  As the story goes on, Ben finds the truth not only of what happened to the victim; but a few truths about family and trust, and himself as well. The script is very witty and warm, and full of interesting and thought provoking conversations.

Medieval is an entirely different story than Vengeance.  Medieval is a Czech drama that is one of those ‘based in actual events’ tales ( ones that are always stretched and/or changed around) based on the life of Jan Zizka, a Bohemian military commander who never lost a battle.  In this movie, he is fighting the efforts of  feuding brothers’ armies (from the Holy Roman Empire and the Teutonic Order no less) to ascend to the Emperor’s throne (the last Holy Roman Emperor having just died). He is a national hero in The Czech Republic. There is a fine cast, Ben Foster plays Jan, Matthew Goode is King Sigismund and Michael Cain plays the political Lord Bores.  Medieval is extremely violent, although the violence is realistic to the time period (1300’s).  What I liked about this movie is that I learned about a very interesting historical person that I had never heard of.  I went online and read everything I could about this fascinating guy.

The Northman

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The Northman is about a young Viking heir, Prince Amieth, who witnesses the murder of his father, King Aurandil War-Raven at the hands of his brother, Fjolnir (a la the Lion King).  Ethan Hawke plays the ill-fated king who I honestly did not recognize – as was the case with other characters like Willem Dafoe as Heimir the Fool and Bjork as Seeress the blind prophetess.  Prince Amieth (Alexander Skarsgard) vows to avenge his father’s death and rescue his kidnapped mother played by Nicole Kidman.  Unfortunately for Fjolnir (Claes Bang), the kingdom he steals from his brother is stolen from him and he flees to Iceland with  Prince Amieth’s mother.  The Prince pretends to be a slave in order to get to Iceland for his revenge.  In the process, he meets a slave girl on his journey played by Ana Taylor-Joy and she becomes his love and his support in his quest.  But the road to vengeance is bumpy for them both.  There is a lot of fighting, torture, murder and pain. This is an extremely violent movie, but then Vikings were violent people.  A common Christian prayer at the time was “a furore normanorum, libera nos Domine! (from the fury of the Norsemen, deliver us O Lord). Animal lovers take care as there are two gruesome beheadings of horses.  I also did not enjoy the very realistic Viking funeral.  The Viking lore interspersed throughout the movie was fascinating to me and it appears they did a lot of research into the lifestyle.  The setting (especially when they get to Iceland) and cinematography were exquisite.  The plot has a few surprises, and I love it when I do not anticipate events in a movie.  All in all, if you like realistic violence, Viking mythology and breathtaking scenery, and people with unusual names ( Finnr the Nose-Stub, I’m talking about you) you just might enjoy the Northman.

The Power of the Dog

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“The Power of the Dog” has been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.  Why, you ask?  Well it is full of great acting, wonderful costumes, and breathtaking scenery.  Will you want to watch it?  My guess is probably not.  In summary, this is a story about two ranching brothers who live in 1925 Montana.  Phil Burbank is a bitter bully who torments his brother, his horse, and anyone else who makes him angry.  Phil is played by Benedict Cumberbatch who speaks in an American accent and is perfectly convincing and menacing in his role.  Phil and his brother George (Jesse Plemons) stop at a prairie restaurant in a small  town to give their men a break on a cattle drive and meet widow Rose played by Kirsten Dunst and her seemingly tender-hearted son, Peter (Kodi Smit McPhee).  After a whirlwind courtship, George marries Rose and she and her son move to the ranch where Phil’s ominous presence and overt bullying cause a change in behavior in both Rose and Peter.  Everything that happens (or doesn’t happen) is so slow and subtle that if you blink, you may miss an important piece of the plot. In fact, you will spend most of the movie waiting for ‘something’ to happen. This is one of those movies that needs 100% of your attention.  By the way, “The Power of the Dog” has nothing to do with dogs for you animal lovers out there, and there is animal abuse depicted that is hard to watch.  That being said, this may be some of the best acting  of Cumberbatch’s career  and I would not be surprised if he won an Oscar.  His performance may be reason enough to see this, although Jesse Plemons really surprised me as the quiet, long-suffering brother.  But the other characters are sketchily drawn and hardly figure in the story. And a lot of what action is depicted is detached and doesn’t really add or detract from the story, and borders on the lightly bizarre at times.  I’ll be honest, after seeing this movie, I had to look up a few things on Google in order to understand exactly what the ending was all about.  That rarely happens to me.  I know this movie is an artistic triumph, but I just can’t give it my highest rating as it was not an enjoyable experience  and I don’t see myself watching it again.  If you end up watching, I would love to hear what you thought!

The Last Duel

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The Last Duel is based on the true story of the last trial by combat in medieval France. Matt Damon plays Jean De Carrouges, a respected knight who is brave and skillful in battle. Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver) is a squire renowned for intelligence and wit. The two men start out as friends, Jean even saves Jacques’ life in battle; but it all quickly goes wrong. The Count d’Alencon (Ben Affleck) however, hates Jean and goes out of the way to deny him his rightful position and privilege; while giving Jacques the position and makes him his right hand man. Jacques is enamored of Marguerite, De Carrouge’s sweet, beautiful wife (Jodie Comer) and takes liberties with her while Jean is away fighting in Scotland. She accuses Le Gris of raping her, thus setting up the famous duel when Jean demands the King grant him trial by combat…to the death. Director Ridley Scott has decided to tell the main events of the story three different times through the eyes of each main character. Obviously each retelling is slightly different than the last one. There is a religious court and legal wrangling that shows how little rights and protections women, even noble women, had in that society. The duel is the last resort to clear Marguerite’s name. If Jean doesn’t win, she will be put to the stake! Will she be saved? Tune in to find out! I enjoyed this movie, but I can’t quite give it a Golden Apple. Repeating events (with slight differences) three times made the middle of the movie drag. However, there are the great, gritty action scenes you’d expect of Scott, and the world of Middle Ages France is recreated very well. If you like period pieces based on true events that you probably didn’t even know about, this is the movie for you.

Little Women

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“Little Women” is a classic novel written in 1869 by Louisa May Alcott.  There have been many movie versions made, and I am pretty sure I have seen them all.  I have read the book every few years since I was 12; so it was with a skeptical eye that I approached this latest iteration of a beloved novel.  I LOVED IT.  Greta Gerwig has told a familiar story (keeping very close to the original source material), but has made it seem fresh and new.  The story takes place during the Civil War.  The March sisters are played wonderfully by Saorise Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen,  They are frequently left to their own devices while Father (Bob Odenkirk) fights in the war and Marmee (Laura Dern) tends to the local poor,  The action picks up when the sisters meet Mr. Lawrence, their gruff but kind-hearted neighbor (Chris Cooper) and his handsome son, Laurie (Timothee Chalamet) – who is destined to love one sister, but marry another.  Meryl Streep is Aunt March, the rich relative who hires Jo (Saorise) to be her “companion” in return for a promised tour of Europe.  There is a an innovation, though, that some people may not like.  The story is told in flashbacks, not in the linear way of the original novel.  This may be confusing if you are not familiar with the book, but I didn’t think it took anything away from the story.  If you are familiar with the story, disregard what some people have been saying in reviews, Gerwig did not change the ending of the book so Professor Bhaer definitely makes an appearance.  All this version does is add the publishing of the book “Little Women,” which is alluded to at the end of the original.  Whether you are a newbie, or know the story backwards and forwards, you will laugh and cry with Louisa May ALcott’s delightful characters brought to new life by Greta Gerwig.