Reviews

As a huge fan of Monty Python, I couldn't help but notice the stylistic resemblance, and if you like their approach, this comedy is a must see.

Summary: modern life issues in a Dark Ages set, as seen through the eyes of a few Viking villagers.

Then, as if the contrasting modern issues and the medieval set were not enough, there is another hilarious clash, the cultural differences between the Norse village inhabitants and the rest of the world, through the ideas come from afar, with the slaves they bring with them after a successful raid.

This series also reminds me a bit of Woody Allen's Love and Death, in a sense that one of the main characters is a total misfit, having a completely different philosophy compared to the rest of the villagers. He seems just trapped in a time and place where he doesn't belong (the irony!).

All in all, I love Norsemen, a sarcastic take on all that's wrong with us today. It is rather a micro-social kind of satire, but I wouldn't be surprised if some current largely debated global issues made their way into the series at some point.

I am a fan of the sci-fi genre. I am also a big fan of the Spanish cinema. So I began to watch the series with great expectations. However, a few episodes later I started to fast-forward it, and close to the end of the first season I was actually watching a few minutes/episode - that is, some of the scenes with gorgeous girls. Can't just stop watching something like that.

As other reviewers accurately described it: pathetic. Where should I begin? The 'sci' part is annoyingly wrong and stupid, as anyone with a minimal scientific education (talking here read a damn scientific section of a newspaper, not actually go to school) would immediately notice.

The 'sweet-roll' part is so wrong and stupid, I can't imagine anyone who ever was in a relationship swallowing it. A 9 years old just might... but I have my doubts.

The dialogues are so wrong and stupid, I strongly believe the death penalty should be reinstated throughout Europe. At least for screenwriters. I can't believe I am actually saying this, but given such a silly screenplay, the acting and direction are mostly great. The actors managed to make me half-believe some of the least stupid things happening there.

I liked several songs on the soundtrack. Alongside most of the actors (and the girls - distinct category), I found this to be one of the few redeeming qualities of the show. That's how I rated it -1/10 instead of -10/10.

I find myself, sometimes, strongly disagreeing with other viewer's opinions about a movie or another. I guess this is the case here too, since I was amazed with the subtle irony of the screenplay and the great acting in Vampires. It fulfills the promises HBO's True Blood made in the beginning (and after that fell into ridiculous). A 10/10 start and then some pretty shallow following seasons – nothing to make me watch it anymore, except for one episode here and there, in the nights when I really don't have anything better to do.

This movie, by comparison, brings something fresh and interesting (and holds it throughout, to the end) in the whole vampire films industry, with its dull mass production and only few products that really shine and stand out. I'm not sure - perhaps it's a bit hard to 'get it, because in order to thoroughly enjoy it, one must be familiar with the myths and taboos AND the reality regarding the two main locations in the movie – Belgium and Canada. The second requirement would be to watch it not expecting some wild action or romance fantasy movie, but a very reality-based review of the social and personal issues of the regular guy/family.

If I were to describe it by comparing to other movies that made an impression on me in the same way, this vampire movie is kind of what Last Night (1998, Canada) means for the 'end of days' genre, 2046 (2004, Hong Kong) for the 'hard to find your soul mate' genre, The Mirror (1975, Soviet Union) for 'my life as I remember it' genre, The Fountain (2006, USA) for 'how we cope with the loss' genre and so on. OK, I think I may have made up those genres, but you get the idea... I'm talking about an unexpected point of view, intelligent, deep, making a point with great sense of humour (in Vampires) – all things that set it apart from the crowd.

The villages, small towns are the places where, far from the the alert rhythm of the big cities, people find time for themselves, for introspection, remembrance, or/and redemption. Here's such a story... OK, not a story, really, but rather something vaguely resembling. Could have been a great episode in a series following the characters in the movie and going deeper in their life and psychology. Something like Durham County, maybe?

I found the movie almost by mistake, browsing in a lazy night the available HD movies on my fibe TV subscription, and seeing the TIFF stamp on the poster I placed the order instantly. My annual Andrei Tarkovsky phase, when I re-watch some of his films, was at an end, and this one was a nice step to the real world, coming from the dreamy-big-questions-and-endless-search-tarkovskyan world. I've immediately felt at home, with a familiar style and landscape, only much, much simpler. Something reminding of Fargo (1996, USA/UK), as many others saw the resemblance. With a lesser story, though.

Overall, an excellent crafted, but with an 'unfinished' feel movie. Absolutely worth watching. And more than once, if one enjoys great acting and fantastic directing, regardless the unsatisfactory plot.

The smart people are called so because they are different from the vast majority, the average (the same is true for the stupid but this really isn't what's about in this movie) – and Juno is one of the most interesting characters in a teen movie. Smart, sensitive, nice, compassionate, original and innovative, mature despite the age and still sooo silly sometimes... like BIG silly!... So true for the people at the age of changes...I love it when people say, for instance, one harsh thing, but they tell you a completely different story with their eyes, or smile. Self-irony never ceases to amuse me and it's usually the mark of the true modesty. I like the complex individuals, capable of a large array of contradictory feelings and thoughts, with subtle nuances and shades of grey. Average is boring. Juno tries so hard to like and do what the 'different' people like and do, to be like them, and so unconsciously she is at times very close to become just another sheep in the herd. But she's 'genuine original' and that's what saves her for entering that other herd (the 'different' ones), what makes her a real individual. She is deep, brilliant and wonderful beneath the quite common flat and sarcastic mask. Ellen Page really understands the character she plays. She expresses everything with such a light and masterful touch and pulls you into the character's interior world so naturally – nothing less than acting masterpiece. At the end of the movie I felt as if Juno was a real woman (maybe a bit underage) – moreover, my dream girl – and restored my hope for humanity:) One of the best teen characters. And this makes Juno one of the best teen movies I've ever seen. And so that you know - I watch 2-3 movies a day, carefully making a drastic selection (there are only 24 hours out there...) Unfortunately, the plot itself, the ideas, are not that great or deep, despite the (somewhat) originality, so I wouldn't quite rate it as a masterpiece. However, it's one of those awesome movies I'd love to watch again over time, even if just for the acting and the characters.It's a portrait, after all, and as with any good painting, I can't just hang it on a wall and forget about it.

I've read some comments about Niki et Flo - they said it was a masterpiece - so I decided to see it myself. In my opinion, there are other much better Romanian movies out there, coming from Lucian Pintilie, this one being far from what I've been expecting before watching it.

Rebengiuc is one of my favorites Romanian actors and he didn't disappointed me. The plot is subtle and the ending surprisingly at first, but at a second thought credible and logical. The homemade recordings poured through the entire movie by the authors make sense too and they are naturally embedded there. It's all about seeing and hearing the man next to you, about how expected are the unexpected happenings when you decide to pay attention to details. They put you into the real life masterfully.

The story starts with a ceremonial burial, a man who died in a stupid accident. But this man was the son of someone, the husband of someone, the brother of someone; after his death the others still exist, this event is not the end of everything. And the life passes, every character continue to exist and each one has his own way of carrying it on. Eventually, we find ourselves focused on his father, Niki, and his father's friend - Flo - and the relationship between them. The events seem to be minor, there are some annoyances between those two guys and I was tempted to consider them boring, small talks amongst friends, old and grumpy, but friends. The director misguided us as the life itself does it always when it comes to consider the guy next door. But eventually the events turn out unexpectedly, the movie is over and that's it! Now, after the shock, you'll start to reconsider everything, try to understand how and why. And every little thing in the movie suddenly has got another meaning, now you understand that sometimes, deeply inside, into somebody's soul, under certain circumstances, something terrible could evolve and rich a breakpoint, and now you start to ask yourself how could you have been so blind, how could it happened without you never noticing anything unusual. This is great, indeed, about this movie!

On the other hand, you have to attend some sort of patience training before seeing the movie, in order to be able to reach the ending. There are so many boring senselessly prolonged moments that could have been skipped for the best, that I'm wondering (and I'm asking): how about about a 30 minutes version of that release?

I use to take a second and a third look to certain movies, but this is NOT one of them, for sure! I know, they have tried to have you put, for the grand finale. Then again, there are some other much painless meanings to insert you into the stillness before the storm, I'm sure! It's a shame, in my opinion, to start working on such a great idea and to fail completely like this.