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Vikings vs. Aliens! Capone finds OUTLANDER just outlandish enough to be goofy fun!!!
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
Where the hell did this movie come from? That was pretty much my reaction when the invite to a screening of OUTLANDER dropped in my Inbox recently. Apparently, it came from the 2008 Cannes Film Festival last May and has been slowly creeping its way across the world toward the U.S. sine then. The film features real actors, clearly had some sort of budget, and has a story just wacky enough to pique my interest. Space man? Vikings? Killer alien creatures? Sign my ass up! Let's not get crazy, though. This movie is not a unbridled success, but it is a decent attempt to take an idea that sounds utterly ridiculous on paper and turn it into something somewhat thrilling. Outlander doesn't spare us all sorts of gruesome violence, superior hammy performances (with Ron Perlman and John Hurt in the cast, you'll get nothing less), and an almost unlimited supply of debauchery as only Hollywood Vikings can supply.
Director and co-writer Howard McCain (probably best known now as the scriptwriter of the current draft of Brett Ratner's CONAN film) tells the story of Kainan (James Caviezel), an outer space man whose ship crash lands in a small lake in Norway. He is the sole survivor of the crash, which was caused by an alien beast known as a Moorwen sneaking on board and killing the rest of the crew. Using convenient technology that allow him to speak Viking (which sounds surprisingly like American-accented English), Kainan is captured by a tribe of Vikings living in the area. They think that he has massacred a nearby village, when it fact it was the Moorwen. We learn that the Moorwen also murdered Kainan's family back on his home planet (there's a part of me that wishes they'd just made Kainan a time-traveling human from the distant future after an alien attack of some sort). Eventually both the off-worlder (or "Outlander," as the Vikings call him) and the Vikings get their shit together and agree to slay the Moorwen together.
Although Kainan drums up some pretty great traps to capture and kill the giant, near-invisible-at-dark Moorwen, it takes a fusing together of parts of his ship with Viking-style weapons to make swords and spears that will actually match the deadly creature. Plus, there's Hurt as Rothgar, the rather impish king of this particular Viking sect; the lovely Sophia Myles as Freya, his tough-as-nails daughter who wants to fight as much as she'd like to find a husband worthy of her; Jack Huston as Wulfric, the heir apparent to the crown and Freya's bed; and Perlman as Gunnar, the leader of another tribe of Viking warriors. The names alone scored points with me. But the funny thing is, the pacing of the film is solid, the attacks are nasty and loaded with suspense, and the conceit of melding alien monsters with Norseman is just goofy enough to work. There's a lot of Viking screaming (think 300, but with pelts rather than loincloths) and chest puffing, and that gets old after a while, but I'll admit I kind of got sucked into this nutty adventure tale. Caviezel does a workman's job of playing his character straight and conveying a sense of desperation and knowing that sold me on a lot going on in this film that I otherwise might not have been able to forgive. As I said, there's nothing great about this OUTLANDER, but if you're in the mood for big, dopey fun that actually has a concept I'm fairly certain you've never seen before, you might like to try this one on for size. It certainly surprised the hell out of me how much of it worked.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
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+ Expand All
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for OUTLAAAAAAANDEEEER!
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...I'll see it!
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Too bad it didn't up the craziness a bit.
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Sorry, fellow geeks. I ain't buying it.
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I can't hear you Yack (or see your post because I'm typing this wiht meyh eysewse clososed_.
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Jan 23, 2009 7:16:30 AM CST
This looks like it meets the qualifications of
by grammaton cleric binks
a great popcorn flick. Vikings, aliens, John Hurt, and Ron Perlman. Great actors, and a decent sci-fi plot. I have high hopes for this.
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Is there any other kind?
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Yes.There's Leprechaunian accented English. (Thank you Warwick)There's Ozzy Osbournian accented English. (Damn you Ozzy)
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He fights aliens, demons, Nazis and even folklore creatures. Is there nothing Ron Perlman won't fight? I'd like to see Ron Perlman take on Godzilla or maybe that big monster from Clash Of The Titans.Perlm Perlman, you're my hero.
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I have no idea where that came from.
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Or perhaps that's his Viking name.
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http://tinyurl.com/c7g777
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Alien monster versus Vikings!! YES!!!!!!!
Waltz with Bashir my ass.
Moorwen will crush all! Then kick the crap our of Cloverfield monster!!! BOO YA! -
Wa-a-y under the radar and likely to be loads more fun than the big hitters.Wolverine, I'm looking at you!
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Perlman would win, but I guess it would be a cool fight anyway. (Jason statham as villain in Hellboy 3?)
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i don't get it, none of the actors embarass themselves here....all they had to do was advertise "hellboy's hurt and perlman'...did playing jesus taint Jim? every sneak review of this was happy with it, i just don't understand while some movies get put in the freezer like this one.
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Count me in.
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It has been done several times before. 1974's "ODIN WATCH" tells a story about a band of Viking warriors who fight an alien monstr capable of changing it's shape. In 1987, the film "Sea of Terror" told a story about Vikings on a long boat fighting a sea creature. It is only at the end of the movie do we find out that the sea monster was an alien creature. Finally, the a little known 1993 movie "Thor's Hammer" told the tale of a Viking youth who is given Mjöllnir by Thor himself to fight an alien creature who is wiping out entire Norse villages. Actually, that as all bullshit. This really is a new, direct to DVD concept.
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I saw this was somewhat in the area and was debating about making the trek. But you sold me! I love this goofy kind of stuff.
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yet something like Outlander doesn't have mass appeal, or can't be marketed well enough to garner a sleeper hit? Am I missing something here?
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...needs boobies.
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Trailer looks like awesome, campy fun. Love the Beowulf update angle.
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if you give Ron Pearlman a chance, he can make most things cool. Anyone else hopes it doesn't fall into the same fate as Mutant Chronicles? I saw it a few months back, and would have to say it was somewhat good.
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Do not be disrespecting this, bitches. The CoC is watching you
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I like Jim Caviezel. Too bad he doesn't get better roles... He's a good actor. He made Thin Red Line a better film.
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It's not THAT original an idea.
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Jan 23, 2009 9:30:34 AM CST
Capone-- would you have liked it more if Paris Hilton....
by dannyglovers_dickblood
....was in it? What about Paul Rudd?
Obviously you have no interest in truly cool movies so this review is equivalent to reading the back of shampoo when I take a dump just because there is nothing else in the bathroom. -
Uhhhh maybe you should read the site once in awhile instead of asking for donations. Mori had a very good TB pushing for an Outlander release about 6 months back. Oh how I miss those days of Moriarty. He was someone who actually gave a fuck about decent films.
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Just curious...
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This film is gonna bomb.
On a more upbeat note, it actually looks like a fun concept. Hopefully it makes its way into theaters around Boston. -
But where the heck is it playing? Arrrgh!!!
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The 13th Warrior. Foreign dude=alien dude. Check. Cultural misunderstandings=alien blamed for what he didn't do. Check. Everyone unites to fight a common foe=vikings and alien get together to take on the monster. Neanderthal (or whatever it was in 13th)=alien. Check. Foreign dude goes back even though people wouldn't mind if he stayed=alien will likely want to go back and yet would have no problem staying and starting a family (and breeding with humans 'cause we're all the same no matter what planet we're from!). Check. Wow, what a totally original idea! Cast for this one might its saving grace and execution of the idea COULD make it interesting, but really this sounds like something I'll catch late at night on TNT with half the film edited out to protect me from sex and violence.
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...but I don't know if the cinema is the best place for it.Alien Jesus and a bunch of Vikings Vs some sort of alien beastie seems like something best enjoyed at home with a few beers.
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I'm hoping that Everyman picks this up so I can drink in the cinema.
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Its not playing anywhere near me.
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How did that one get made?
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Keebler elves.
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I want to see this but is there distribution for it? And if so when is its release date? Anybody know?
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...is NOT Brett Ratner's project. He'd been considering the director's job recently, but that seems to have fallen through, thank fuck. Conan was in the works long before the Rat had anything to do with it. Word is they're now once again shopping for a director. And actually, when it did seem like he was going to do it, he was interested in the script by the first team brought on board to write: Donnelly and Oppenheimer. Blackman and McCain -- who seem to have been working on a separate script altogether -- were never mentioned in conjunction with Ratner.
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not in plot, but in the way a really great B-movie seems to have landed a director who cares and the cash to make a respectable cast and production. Happens pretty rarely, and when it does, it always sneaks through theaters without anyone knowing what happened. Even the filmmakers usually seem genuinely surprised they got away with it. Someone also brought up "Reign of Fire" yup, same thing there. Now, these kinds of things don't always WORK, but I'm always glad to see this kind of weirdo genre fare taken seriously enough that it feels unique and crafted with passion.
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Jesus and Hellboy, together at last, and I can't fucking see it? Fuck you, universe!
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I forgot about that.You go, Ron Perlman. Fight everything that comes within reach of you whether it's pokemon, drunk wrestlers or big cocks. Fight them all with your Ron Perlman fists!
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first, for letting me in to two of your advanced screenings this summer. Hellboy 2 was a riot. And thanks as well for reviewing this movie. Talk about marketing black holes. Wasn't there another Talk Back about this back in July? and then...nothing. According to boxofficemojo, it's only opening in 81 theaters today. What a travesty. High concept low budget sci fi with a cast like this is not easy to come by.
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I think it's time for this. Bourne 4 with Ron Perlman please.
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in The Name of the Rose...and loses. Great death scene though.
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It seems like past decades had a handful of great b-movie/cult films, but there hasn't been many of worth in the last decade or so. Donnie Darko is the only one that comes to mind. Hopefully this joins the ranks of the b-movie pantheon.
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Will have to check it out.
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those idiot reindeer-dinosaur-spirits in "The Last Winter." That shit was so fucking stupid it made me want to vomit in protest. But the rest of the movie was pretty OK.
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movies like this Valkyrie, 300, Troy, or Gladiator. It's for an international audience. The most money is made in the US so it's going to be in english. If they want it done in english let them do it. Sure Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto were great but it doesn't work for everything.
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Saw this. Funilly enough the alien language spoken in the beginning is old norwegian, sounds alot like icelandic.
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Where the hell is this flick playing??? There is no L.A. area showings, and if its not playing here where is it playing BumFvckEgypt???
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who also worked on both Garfield's, Narnia and most recently Speed Racer.
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Fucking Brothers W.
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It is an exact copy of The Thirteenth Warrior, with space Jesus substituted for the Arab courtier, and the monster from the movie Relic substituted for the tribe of Neanderthals. But it turns out those changes were essential to turn 13th Warrior into an entertaining movie.
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Saw this last night (In my part of the world, it's only playing on one screen in 1 theatre, and I live in a top 30 north american market, so you'll have to hunt to see it.)
I was expecting some sci-fi channel Saturday night piece of crap, but this is a big step up. Art direction on the creature is very well done. Pacing of the movie is spot-on. And, the movie doesn't fall into the usual "monster movie" cliche's (comes close a couple times, then veers in a different direction, which I liked.)
The film stock is crap, and the "brand new" print we saw already had breaks and rough reel transitions, but I would expect as much from a B-movie (done deliberately?) Definitely deserves a wider release. Hunt it down if it's playing in your area. -
This movie doesn't fall into the trap of RoF, which is the unbelievably easy ending. I liked RoF up until that point, but the ending left me going meh. I'm considering seeing Outlander again with my teenage boys today. That's how much I liked it.
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thanx for ruining my day.
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It's only playing in one theater. I'd be willing to bet it's gone by the end of the week. I may buy a ticket for this and then sneak into the new Underworld after. Good times.
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Interesting. I'll have to check it out.
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Now that's a cinematic fight I want to see. And I like *Reign of Fire*. I even bought it on Blu-ray for $10.
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This movie was fucking awesome. You know all those movies you've seen that just didn't deliver. Well this did and what more could you ask for?
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