The Northman (2022) - Movie Review

After two certified winners with The VVitch and The Lighthouse, writer/director Robert Eggers has cracked his artistic ambitions wide open with his latest. Shedding his New England aesthetics like a snakeskin, he now sets the stage for an epic historical revenge myth, co-written by himself and Icelandic scribe Sjón and itself based on the Scandinavian legend of Amleth. Yes, for the classics nerds amongst my readership, this is the same legend that inspired fellow classics nerd William Shakespeare in the creation of Hamlet. This film is the culmination of just about every storytelling idea and mood Eggers has been chipping away at over his career thus far, and what results from that is a production that redefines the word ‘visceral’.

The Burnt Orange Heresy (2020) - Movie Review

Looks like the déjà vu train is still in service, only now we’ve gone from things I’d much rather not fixate on to something actually worth remembering. Specifically, we’re dealing with a slice of art-world satire wrapped up in genre thrills, much like last year’s Velvet Buzzsaw. However, while the two carry a certain similarity in tone, their respective approaches to the art world are somewhat different. Where Buzzsaw was informed by the perspective of the artist and largely stayed with it, even when focusing on other characters, The Burnt Orange Heresy is more intently trained on the role of the art critic… and why it’s really not worth taking all that seriously.