The Kilkenny Observer Friday 04 March 2022
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The historical drama series everyone is buzzing about
5
to watch right now on Netflix
Mudbound from 2017 gives you a historical look at class struggle through the lens of a Black veteran and a white veteran who both still have one foot stuck in World War II. Dealing with PTSD and racism in the Mississippi Delta, with a cast that includes Garrett Hedlund and Jason Mitchell, Mudbound’s tempest will rivet you to the spot.
Netflix having debuted its spinoff/sequel of the History Channel’s wildly popular Vikings, fans of the franchise can judge for themselves whether this new series (titled Vikings: Valhalla, set more than 100 years after the original) meets the high bar of the original Vikings. The series certainly looks ambitious enough. Vikings: Valhalla is set in the early 11th century. And it “chronicles the heroic adventures of some of the most famous Vikings” who ever lived. Including legendary explorer Leif Eriksson (Sam Corlett), his fiery sister Freydis Eriksdotter (Frida Gustavsson), and the ambitious Nordic prince Harald
Sigurdsson (Leo Suter). As tensions between the Vikings and the English royals reach a bloody breaking point and as the Vikings themselves clash over their conflicting Christian and pagan beliefs, these three Vikings begin an epic journey that will take them across oceans and through battlefields, from Kattegat to England and beyond, as they fight for survival and glory. Executive producer Morgan O’Sullivan was also an executive producer on the predecessor series. He apparently approached Vikings: Valhalla showrunner Jeb Stuart about this new show three years ago. Along with Vikings creator and writer Michael Hirst
(who write 89 episodes of the original series), they laid out a plan for doing something new. Something that wouldn’t be just another season of the original series. “In a strange way — if you take massive violence out of the equation — the Vikings embody some of the elements that we still most want for ourselves,” Stuart said. “They were great explorers. They were often very inquisitive and open to learning ... Women could not only divorce their husbands, they could also rule kingdoms and own property. If you could earn it, you could take what you wanted from life. “It’s a timeless story. Our characters are dealing with
relationships and issues that are just as relevant today as they were a thousand years ago.” Because of that, he continued, such stories “will always excite and captivate us.” Over at Rotten Tomatoes, the series has come out pretty strong, right out of the gate. As of the time of this writing, the show has a 100 percent critics score. That’s thanks to praise like this, from The Hollywood Reporter: “Even if Valhalla never quite reaches the heights of the Vikings mothership, the show it settles into becoming is pretty strong and satisfying on its own.”
Catastrophe back for fourth season THE fourth season of Catastrophe is coming to Amazon Prime Video this month. The show focuses on a couple — played by series creators Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney — who got together after a onenight stand turned into a pregnancy. They now live in London and grapple with marital issues, job demands and kids. Coming in March: MARCH 1 A Sky Full of Stars for a Roof (E per tetto un cielo di stelle) (1968) A Woman Possessed (1958) Abduction (2017) Amelia’s 25th (2013)
American Beauty (1999) Baba Yaga (1973) Basic Instinct 2 (2006) Big Night (1996) Black Cat (Gatto nero) (1981) Black Sheep (1996) Boomerang (1992) Carpool (1996) City of the Living Dead (Paura nella città dei morti viventi) (1980) Death at a Funeral (2007) Deep Red (Profondo rosso) (1975) Double Jeopardy (1999) Dude, Where’s My Dog?! (2014) Enter the Invincible Hero (Heugpyobigaeg) (1977) From Beneath (2012) Jig (2011) Karl Rove, I Love You (2007)
MARCH 8 Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (No profanar el sueño de los muertos) (1974) Major Payne (1995) A Man Called Blade (Mannaja) (1977) Nacho Libre (2006) Overkill (1987) P.O.E.: Project of Evil (2012) Prison Girls (1972) Rambo III (1988) Ride Out for Revenge (1957) Setup (2011) So Young So Bad (1950) Still Waiting... (2009) Tapeheads (1988) The American (2010) The Apple (1980) The Bank Job (2008) The Chumscrubber (2005)
The Crazies (1973) The Dead and the Damned (2011) The Mighty Quinn (1989) UFO (2018) Us and the Game Industry (2014) Valerie (1957) Vice Squad (1982) Waiting... (2005) You Did This to Me (2016) Boston Legal (Seasons 1- 5) Little House on the Prairie (Seasons 1-9) The Practice (Seasons 1- 9) The Unit (Seasons 1-4) Costume Quest, Prime Original Series (Season 1) MARCH 10 Middle Men (2009)
More than a decade after her previous film, Bright Star, extraordinary filmmaker Jane Campion has unfolded the director’s chair again to oversee The Power of the Dog (she wrote the script too). The 2021 movie centres on Phil Burbank, a rancher who uses the power of toxic masculinity to have his way, mocking his brother for falling in love. What happens when Phil starts to feel the same ridiculous sensitivities? The Power of the Dog is a mesmeric exercise in the subtle shifts of emotion and power in relationships, emotion that doesn’t feel subtle at all within each character. Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunst help bring Campion’s masterful vision to life. Oscar buzz is in the air.
Tom Hanks in a 2020 Western directed by Jason Bourne’s Paul Greengrass. Enjoy Hanks going full Mandalorian single dad mode as Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a Civil War veteran who discovers a young girl years after she was captured by Native Americans as a baby. In between helping to return her to her family, he does his usual job of traveling to towns and reading newspapers for a small fee. Don’t expect high-octane action: This road movie is fuelled more by character development and the beautiful views. Still, you’ll want to settle in for a comforting ride with pure sympathetic Hanks at the steering wheel.
The Coen Brothers kick up the western dust with an 2018 anthology film that gives you six vignettes all set on the American frontier. One of them is about the titular Buster Scruggs, a chipper singing cowboy who casually sets off a shoot-up in a cantina. But there’s a dark twist that keeps you on your toes. Sewing the rest of its stories together with a constant black humor, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a Coen Brothers winner.
Vampires vs. the Bronx is a unique comedy-horror in more ways than one. Set in the New York borough of the Bronx, the 2020 movie follows young Miguel Martinez, a big-hearted kid helping to raise money for his struggling local bodega before it’s forced to sell. But it’s not just new designer clothing stores threatening to move in: Creepy pale neck-chompers are eating up people and their properties. A commentary on gentrification with goofy charm, twists and thrills, Vampires vs. the Bronx is a fresh, entertaining spin on the genre.
