Showing posts with label Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Show all posts

Monday, June 27, 2016

Gods of Egypt: too self-indulgent for my taste


Plot:
In an alternative Egypt, the world is flat and gods live among mortal humans. The Egyptian gods are distinguished from humans by their greater height, golden blood, and ability to transform into animal-headed deity forms.

Bek (Brenton Thwaites), a mortal thief with little faith in gods and their good will towards mortals, with his love Zaya (Courtney Eaton) are attending the coronation of Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), lord of the air, by his father, the abdicating King of Egypt Osiris (Bryan Brown). Horus is shown getting ready for his coronation as his love Hathor (Élodie Yung) surprises him. Horus hints at marriage and they discuss Hathor's protection bracelet made of the stars which Horus gave to her to protect and save her from her previous role as a guide to dead souls in the underworld.

  
However, during the ceremony Osiris is killed by his jealous brother Set (Gerard Butler), god of the desert, who seizes the throne and declares a new regime where the dead will have to pay with riches to pass into the afterlife. Horus is stripped of his eyes, which are the source of his power, and almost killed. Hathor pleads with Set to spare him and he is instead exiled. Hathor becomes an enslaved mistress to Set.

A year later Bek has been working as a slave building monuments, while Zaya is now under the ownership of the chief architect Urshu (Rufus Sewell). Believing that Horus is the only one who can defeat Set, she gives Bek the floorplans to Set's treasure vault. Bek is able to steal back one of Horus' eyes . However, Urshu finds out about their theft and kills Zaya as the couple flee.

 
Bek takes her body to the blind Horus and makes a bargain: Horus agrees to bringing Zaya back from the dead for his eye and Bek will share his knowledge about Set's pyramid.


Later, they are traveling to Ra's (Geoffrey Rush) divine vessel above the Earth. Horus is unable to convince Ra to grant him his power in full or to intervene and defeat Set himself, as Ra is both neutral about their conflict and daily at war with an enormous shadow beast, Apophis, that threatens to devour the world. Nevertheless, Horus obtains divine waters from Ra's vessel, which can be used at Set's pyramid to extinguish the desert thirst and weaken him gravely. Ra tells Horus that his weakness is the result of him not fulfilling his destiny, which Horus believes means avenging his parents' deaths.

Set asks Hathor to take him to the underworld which he next desires to conquer, but she refuses and manages to escape. Eventually, Hathor finds Bek and Horus. Horus at first doesn't trust her, as she is Set's mistress who had blinded him, while she tries to convince him that Set is her enemy as well. When they tell her of their plan regarding Set's pyramid, she warns them of a guardian sphinx who will kill anyone not wise enough to solve a riddle. The group then heads to the library of Thoth (Chadwick Boseman) the god of wisdom, recruiting him to solve the riddle.


Arriving at Set's shrine, they overcome its traps, including the sphinx, to reach the source of Set's power. But before they can pour the divine water in, Set traps them and reveals Horus' deception to Bek: that he is unable to bring Zaya back from the dead. Set destroys their flask of divine water and kills Thoth by taking his brain, but Horus is able to save Hathor and Bek.

Horus admits before the enraged Bek to caring more about his revenge than the mortals. Hathor feels guilt for not exposing the deception, and as the goddess of love helps the doomed lovers. She sacrifices her own safety for Zaya's payment into the afterlife, by giving Bek the protective bracelet which stops the underworld souls from overwhelming her and calling Anubis to take him to Zaya. Therefore, she lets herself be dragged to the underworld, while Horus realizes that he still loves her.

Having obtained Thoth's brain, Osiris's heart, one of Horus's eyes and wings from Nephthys (Emma Booth), Set has them combined with himself. Set travels to Ra, appealing to his father for approval and asking why Osiris was favored, while he was denied leadership and children. Ra claims that all of Set's prior maltreatment were tests preparing Set for his true role, the honor and burden of taking Ra's place as the defender of the world aboard his solar barge fighting against the demon Apophis. Set is dismayed to hear his destiny is to be alone above the planet until he dies, and refuses. He wants to destroy the afterlife so that he can be immortal. Ra tries to fight him, but cannot, as Set has taken the powers of the other gods. He then stabs Ra, taking his fiery spear of power, and casts him off the boat, freeing Apophis to consume both the mortal and underworld realms.



Bek finds Zaya who refuses Hathor's gift as she doesn't want an afterlife without Bek, but then Apophis attacks and the gate to the afterlife is closed. Bek returns to the mortal world where Horus is amazed that Bek still wants to help take down Set, but Bek tells him it was Zaya who told him to, as she still has faith in Horus.


Horus climbs up the outer wall of an obelisk Set is standing on and attempts to battle him, but is heavily outmatched. Bek ascends on the inside and joins the battle removing Horus's stolen eye from Set's armor, being wounded in the process. As Bek slides toward the edge of the obelisk, he throws the eye toward Horus who must choose to catch it or save Bek instead. Horus reaches for Bek and apologizes for all he has put him through. As they plummet toward the ground, Horus finds that he now has the power to transform into his divine form, and he catches Bek and flies him to safety. Horus realizes that it wasn't the recovery of his eye or revenge that was his destiny, it was the protection of his people that he needed to fight for. Now Horus has the strength for battling Set, and he gains the obelisk and kills him. After the battle and Set's death, he then finds Ra wounded and floating in space and returns his spear to him, allowing Ra to once again repel Apophis.

As Horus returns to Bek, a child holds out his other eye which she has found, while people cheer him. But Horus's joy turns to sadness as he arrives to find Bek dying. Horus carries him to Osiris's tomb and lays him beside Zaya. Ra, his grandfather, arrives and offers to bestow any power on him to repay Horus for his life and Egypt's survival, but all Horus wants is bringing Bek and Zaya back to life. The other gods are also revived and have their attributes restored. Horus is crowned king by Thoth and declares the afterlife will be for those who do good in the world. Bek is made chief advisor, and he gives Horus back Hathor's bracelet, letting Horus leave to rescue her from the underworld.


Review:
i rather dislike some of the plots. i mean, it was too convenient at times when the Horus-Bek pair triumphed against their adversaries. plus the villain looks decent, not too menacing yet is too detestable in action. nampak muka Set baik je, tau tak!

but Zaya and Hathor both are beautiful, i grant you guys that. as for Ra, the premise of his power is so laughable. how can he be the omnipotent when he couldn't even banish Apophis for good? in the words of Hulk, "puny god!"


i mean, Hollywood has been making movies about Gods and Demigods, be it Greek, Egyptian and whatnot, still, the Gods of their imagination put on screen are full of weakness and sometimes depravities. how ever can we worship that?

think about that. surely there must be the Greatest Power that exist to create us mere mortals and He must be free of all weakness that we have. Because if there is a sign of weakness, of being in need of something, there is no reason for him to be worshiped, for that is no god indeed. and the issue of many gods.. how can that be? i mean, as shown in this movie, too many gods will lead to instability and fighting. there must be only one God, and He is just as well as omnipotent, free from any weaknesses, worthy to be worshiped by all that He creates. nothing at all like Ra or Zeus, for that matter.

Friday, April 11, 2014

Game of Thrones: how i wish I have the ability to time travel!




Tell me, if you GoT fans could have an ability, i think most would have voted to time travel. desperately. into the future where they finished the Series Finale!

one trivial fact:

There isn't one umbrella moniker, but various fans dub themselves the Brotherhood Without Banners, the Bookwalkers (viewers of the TV series who have read the books), the Unsullied (viewers of the TV series who have not read the books), and the GRRuMblers (fans who wish George R.R. Martin would write faster)

and i bet, "Bannermen" sounds nice too!

anyway, i'm lamenting the fact that Season 4 is here and boy, to wait for the next episode each week is a torture worth of Ramsay Snow! first episode was up last week. and i couldn't help but be mesmerised with Prince Oberyn Martell. hensem giler. peyh. i literally swooned :grins:


i can't figure out what is it about him that draws me in. but i do, get drawn in. more so when hungertv made this video of Pedro Pascal with Lena Headey. :swoons:

oh well, two sleeps away from the second episode. can't wait!


it's such a surprise to know and learn to like Jaime. I hope, and really hope that he and Brianne end up together.



Cersei's rejection is so expected. i'll be rooting when Jaime crumples her request for champion soon. love the hair, Jaime!!


Ser Jorah is a sight for a sore eyes though Dany is falling for Dario. btw, how do they explain the switch from golden haired Dario to a darker-haired man? Braavosi kah?


 


and Shae, i have this suspicion that Tywin orchestrated her into Tyrion's life. don't you think so to? and Tyrion, o Tyrion, i'll be counting days until Sansa falls in love with you, as it should have been, wife to man whose heart is really gold.


yup, two sleeps away!

Ser Jorah Mormont

Tyrion Lannister

Joffrey Baratheon



Cersei Baratheon




Bran Stark

Jaime Lannister

Ygritte






Tormund
Jon Snow

Friday, March 14, 2014

Game of Thrones: an update up to Season 2, Episode 3


Yup.. I'm far from done. currently am at episode 3, Season 2. the intrigue is killing me, but for a moment i could take a reprieve as it mainly focused on the Greyjoys plotting.

In Season 2, Robb Stark (Richard Madden) evolves into a man worth following, a man fit to be the King of the North. and Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) finds out that being a Khaleesi is not easy even though you had 3 dragons by your side.

Renly Baratheon (Gethin Anthony) has risen to be a King claimant of the Iron Throne with the backing of House of Tyrell. I concurred with Lady Stark's observation: though his army is the largest and he personifies a King who is both gracious and kind to his subjects, his army are boys of flowers, unfit for the horrifying battles of war. We were also introduced to Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer), his bride in name only. First look of her betrays the hint of intelligence and scheming wit worthy of Queen Regent Cersei (Lena Headey).

i think, of all the characters, i despised the leery Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) so much. i mean, he makes my skin crawl every time he appears on the screen. and that makes me able to hit PAUSE in order to focus on my tasks.

i guess once you are hooked to GoT, it's hard to turn away. but I'm going to try anyway, at least for a while. and yes, Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) remains as my favourite character. Tywin Lannister played brilliantly by Charles Dance is an epitome of a strong leader yet he has no strong inclination to rule either. in a way, that trait is similar to Ned Stark, they both don't want to be a king.

we also find out that Jon is affected by fire, unlike Daenerys who establishes the fact that she is the Unburnt. Further reading of Song of Ice and Fire, there are 3 person in the Prophecy read by Prince Rhaegar which are perhaps the last hope of mankind. and Targaryen heirs currently are Daenerys and Aegon. Is is too much to hope that Rhaegar was Jon's father all along? I mean, reading on, i get this feeling that Rhaegar perhaps understood the Prophecy means he has to steal away Lyanna Stark and all that. because it sets into motion of the remaining Targaryen fleeing from Westeros, finding the dragons which otherwise will remain a fossil etcetera etcetera.

which brings to my conclusion today, sometimes the pheonix has to die and burn for it to be reborn much stronger than before..


and i admit, Ned Stark shall be dearly missed. his time on screen might be brief but Sean Bean portrayed a man with much valor and loyalty to what is right, regardless how hard it is to swallow..





Sunday, March 2, 2014

Game of Thrones: you had me at the first fall of Snow





i got hooked into Game of Thrones last weekend, and currently up to the fourth episode of Season One. no wonder the series never got pass the Censorship Board: nudity, gory killings, sex, greed, lust and human depravities simply mixed in the superb, complex stories told.



i admit, i was first attracted to the story by Jon Snow, played by Kit Harington. his back story is solid, his pain draws and quarters my heart out for him.




and Bran Stark, played by Isaac Hempstead-Wright sealed the deal. I'm officially en route the GoT fandom :D

wise words, Tyrion, wise words..


i was fascinated by Tyrion too. Peter Dinklage was superb in playing the character, subjecting us to a person of many layers: intelligent, calculating, kind, susceptible and depraved in all manners a man can be. his deep, manly voice is a sonnet on summer days to me :grin:



there is Arya Stark  (Maisie Williams) too. misunderstood, strong and willful sister that Jon Snow adored.. she's different from Sansa (Sophie Turner), her elder sister in terms of poise and feminine charms. but she does more than earn her mettle in fighting skills.



Ned Stark (Sean Bean) is a man of honour. he is much admired for his principles and keeping the oaths he's taken. I wonder why did Ned Stark hid the truth about Jon Snow's parentage.. perhaps it was to save him instead, who might turn out to be the Targaryen's heir, after all. oh my, that is just one sample of the intrigues that GoT abundantly supplies, and torments us all the same..

Lady Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) portrays a very strong character, suitable as Lord of Winterfell's wife and the mother of his children. It was a pity that she merely tolerates Jon Snow, but who could blame her, he was a reminder of her husband's infidelity..

spot on, i guess


it is remarkable that Jon lives with much love for Catelyn's children, despite her unloving care. Robb (Richard Madden), her firstborn despite her coldness for Jon, does maintain a loving, respectful relationship with Jon.



as for Cersei Lannister, played by Lena Headey, is easily the one to hate. her vindictive, cruel streak and manipulating ways, the mere presence made me repulse her. which actually shows how good LH is. i mean, i completely erased my feelings of admiration for Queen Gorgo in 300.

 


And Jaime Lannister played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, is it just me or he just reminds me of Prince Charming in Shrek 2? the exact replica, i tell you! their son, Joffrey is what you may expect an incestuous by-product of Jaime and Cersei may be: cruel, self-important bully. Some even described him as a strong-willed child with a vicious temper and an unchecked sadistic streak.



Petyr Baelish, is one of the most memorable vermin in GoT, a person who can make your skin crawl in his presence. his past with Catelyn is one of the reasons Ned Stark can't stand him. yup, i love to hate his machinations and plots, the unseeing hands that cunningly drive the dagger onto your back with a charming smile reaching his eyes. that's how good Aidan Gillen is.



last and not least, i shipped Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa). man, that's how a woman wins her husband, no matter how uncivilized he might be. haha. but i guess, she does love him.



anyway, thanks for this illustrated Guide, i'm able to see the things much clearly :)


  
Oh dear, winter is INDEED coming..