Reviews

I had been told that this movie was bad, but still I was unprepared for this incredible stupidity. There is not a single redeeming feature – or a single detail reminding me of my ancestors in this movie. Allow me to expand on that. Let me begin with the obvious. By now most people already know that the vikings didn't have horned helmets. Nor did they have spikes or wings on their helmets, or their ships! They used simple yet ingenious helmets of hammered iron or steel, sometimes with a nose-guard attached. They were used to fighting in close formations, so any unnecessary protrusions in armor would be avoided. They often fought much like the romans in close ranks with shields up front. From behind these shield-walls, they wielded long-shafted axes.

The vikings used plain leather and chain mail armor. If they ever used pieces of plate armor, it would have been salvaged from a battleground after a fight, like the plate armor used by the viking leader in the 13 Warrior.

The vikings never had the word «viking» in their vocabulary. It is a relatively modern term. The vikings who sailed to America were Christians with no intent for slaughter or pillage. They were traders and settlers. The viking era was behind them, ending in around 1030.

If you get the chance, see the original Pathfinder movie Ofelas, made around where I grew up. It is a lot better.

Not much else to say. There are no vikings in this movie, and no story. «They came, they slaughtered, they …» well, no spoilers here, but you get the idea. Bad dialogue, no direction, badly cut, horrible pacing, and the movie is too long considering the content. Would have been great as a power metal video on TV though.

I had the honor of watching this excellent and emotional movie in the director´s own home town (Tromso, Norway), and the satisfaction of hearing him talking about the movie after the premiere. He also answered questions from the audience.

About the movie: I haven´t read the book, but I might, still. I had a strong impression of the movie, a feeling that it was true to the book, not really trying to moralize, even though the title may suggest so. It gave depression a face. Instead of trying to explain real depression it visualized it, leaving it to the beholder to interpret the emotions and works of the perfect depression, what it does to the hapless victim, and to those close to him/her.

About the actors: Christina Ricci gave depression a face in the movie, just like Elizabeth Wurtzel did in the novel. She was awesome! You could tell that this movie was important to her, that she wanted to add something of herself. The same could be said about Lou Reed, who happened to be in the area when they filmed. He made it possible for Erik Skjoldbjærg to put even more depth into the movie, through himself, and through his music, which often delves into strong emotions and deep, all-consuming depression. And yes, even the pie-f***er, Jason Biggs, did great! He´s clearly so much more than a buffoon. He has more than just two dimensions to boot. The same credit should go to Jessica Lange, Anne Heche, and Michelle Williams. They all did a marvellous job.

Conclusion: This is a movie everyone should see. This is the part of human nature we often deny. Depression is part of everyones life, from time to time, and some people experience what I would call the perfect depression. It´s all-consuming and very destructive. It is important to know and to understand. Erik Skjoldbjærg brought this to you, and we should thank him. Not only is he one of the best directors in this small strip of coastland, but he also has guts. He took a chance making this difficult movie, instead of playing safe after the success of Insomnia. Watch his movie, and try to understand it. It´s important. If not to you, then to someone close to you.

10/10

A young warrior becomes more and more powerful. In the end he learns that the greatest of all powers is love. Only his truest friend could be his worst enemy, and through him he will make the last stand, not for life, but for love. Great action, great music, an awesome journey. Believe it.

Some said to me; "forget the Matrix" ... and I must agree. Not because The Matrix is a bad movie, on the contrary - The Matrix is great, but you cannot compare this movie to the Wachowski brothers´ masterpiece, don´t even try. They are completely different movies.

Equilibrium depicts a dystopia, a brave new world, only made possible by a special emotion-suppressing designer drug called prozium. To maintain law and order the government uses warrior clerics, trained to use Gun-Kata, the perfect symbiosis of unarmed fighting techniques and futuristic firearms. These warrior monks are crusaders against all evil (emotions, art, music), and they rule with fire and steel, just as the crusaders in our real history.

The use of Gun-Kata has added something new to the cinematic world, and the movie in itself is a masterpiece of well-directed action sequences, and cool and snappy lines, even though they don´t say much in the movie, the symbolism speaks for itself.

While the movie suffers a bit from the low budget, both the acting crew and the directing/producing crew did an excellent job on this one. Extremely entertaining, very streetwise, relatively original, and it has both style and substance. Of course as with all science fiction you will need an open mind, and be sure to read between the lines.

Pompel & Pilt are two unique characters developed for Norwegian television,

and they have scared thousands of innocent kids into their adolescence, and

have without a shadow of a doubt left deep scars in many a young mind.

Yes, of course they are just dolls, but still ... they are infinitely weird and their surroundings extremely surreal. The point was to make children think for

themselves, and that was probably the result. That and countless nightmares

about the evil janitor, Gorgon! The plot is simple. Pompel & Pilt think of themselves as clever repairmen, like MacGyver, only not equally adept, and the result is always disaster.

The plot is interesting and some of the scenes are awesome, but science fiction is unfortunately not one of De Palma´s stronger sides. The problem is the science in the science fiction, and this movie has no real cohesion, no root in reality. Mars is one thing. The Red Planet beckons ... but it is a long journey, and it is more likely that mankind will be sufficiently prepared when and if we decide to head for Mars. The technology used in The Mission To Mars bears more resemblance to what we have today, and does not reflect what we can expect to have in twenty years from now.

The laws of physics should also be taken into account, and I can´t see why astronauts should not be allowed to have intelligent remarks from time to time. "It isn´t possible" is not very scientific ... and who put the fuel pipes on the outside of the spacecraft for crying out loud?