Stellan Skarsgård

Andor – Episode 1 / Episode 2

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Andor – Episode 1 / Episode 2
  • IMDb: link
  • IMDb: link

Andor opens on the world of Morlana One (which we’re told is part of the Morlana Corporate Zone, whatever that is) five years before the Battle of Yavin. When we first see him, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) is looking for his sister in a brothel, but the night doesn’t go according to plan leading to Andor reaching out on an old friend (Adria Arjona) in order to make himself scarce. Sadly, he may have misjudged just how much her douchebag of a boyfriend dislikes him (although since everyone on the planet who he apparently owes money and favors to seems to dislike him, maybe he didn’t notice). Meanwhile, a middle-management corporate security lackey with a stick up his ass (Kyle Soller), despite being told to sweep the entire matter under the rug, begins his own investigation into the night’s activities.

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Dune: Part One

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Dune (2021)
  • IMDb: link

More coherent, but less complete, than David Lynch‘s bizarre 1984 film, director Denis Villeneuve‘s adaptation of the first half of Frank Herbert’s Dune is rich and elaborate storytelling. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still Dune, meaning the story is still complex and bizarre, but, despite only giving us half the story, offers a more satisfying movie experience.

Breaking the film into two halves allows this Dune to spend more time with character, worldbuilding, and setting the stage for a hero’s emergence which won’t fully be explored until the next movie. Gone are the emperor, who is referred to but never seen, the odd space traveling creatures of Lynch’s film, the sound-based weapons which will play such a pivotal role in the second-half of the story, and the narration of the emperor’s daughter which helped explain the story and the large gaps necessary for Lynch to fit the entire tale into a single film.

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River – Episode 1

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: River – Episode 1
  • IMDb: link

River - Episode 1 television review

The first episode of the BBC’s six-part mini-series introduces us to Detective Inspector John River (Stellan Skarsgård). Already known as a bit of an odd duck by his coworkers, River is in further distress by the recent murder of his partner Stevie (Nicola Walker) who continues to appear to him (and whom he talks to as if she was still alive). Despite his amazing ability to close cases, River’s erratic behavior has led to mandatory counseling with a department psychiatrist (Georgina Rich) and raised questions about his fitness as a police officer.

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Angels & Demons

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Angels & Demons
  • IMDb: link

Angels & DemonsBased on the novel by Dan Brown, the sequel to The Da Vinci Code code takes Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) to Vatican City where a secret conspiracy threatens the future of Catholicism. Once again teaming him up with another European brunette (Ayelet Zurer), Langdon will race to solve clues, outrun killers and mad men, and expose the truth before it’s too late.

The sequel has many of the same faults as the first film as many of Brown’s twist and reveals (some of which may have worked on the printed page) come of as ridiculous when seen on film. Angels & Demons also lacks the allure of the Grail quest from the first film replacing it with the far-less enthralling layers of papal conspiracy (doesn’t that sound exciting). Ewan McGregor and Stellan Skarsgård also star.

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Our Kind of Traitor

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Our Kind of Traitor
  • IMDb: link

Our Kind of TraitorAs spy stories often do, Our Kind of Traitor opens in Russia. However, for our protagonist things begin far away from Moscow. On vacation with his wife Gail (Naomie Harris), Perry (Ewan McGregor) has a chance encounter with a Russian gangster named Dima (Stellan Skarsgård). One wild night later, Perry is presented with an offer he can’t refuse.

With the murder of his business partner and his entire family in the movie’s opening scene, Dima is desperate for any help he can get. As unlikely a candidate a college poetry professor is, Perry proves to be Dima’s only hope to save himself and his family from meeting the same gruesome fate. Convincing Perry to take a flash drive to MI6 on his return to London proves to be only the first step in getting the professor caught up in the world of the Russian money launderer.

Like many spy novels, Our Kind of Traitor offers various twists and turns including a British agent (Damian Lewis) who lies to get Dima’s information for personal reasons leading to further complications. And like many movies adapted from novels, I’m guessing the book was better.

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