Outlander

Not to be confused with the 1981 classic with Sean Connery "Outland", this story takes place a few thousand years earlier. In fact, this story takes place in what is now Norway in 700 and change A.D. Basically a group of Vikings meets a guy from the future who crash-lands his ship on earth with a stowaway in the form of a bio-luminescent dragon.

James Caviezel plays the uber-tough ET. John Hurt and Ron Perlman play warring kings and are totally convincing. Well done guys. Jack Huston plays a king wannabe and romantic competition for the space traveler. Sophia Myles is that love interest and tougher than nails daughter of the reigning king. See the story developing?

There is a thin spot in the plot that is never really cleared up, but it does not really matter. Why was this space traveler transporting the bodies of his dead family someone other than where he lived, and what caused his ship to crash? Did the stowaway cause the damage that lead to the crash? Perhaps, but that is never made clear.

With an R-rating for violence and some gore, this movie could easily have been PG-13. I'm guessing some lobbying was done to get the R-rating in the hopes of more ticket sales.

Watch this movie with someone who likes dragon movies.

Mister Foe

First let me say that this movie is not for everyone. But I liked it. A lot. Part of the reason is I liked this is the Scottish humor just under the surface. Very dark. Another reason I liked this was the supernatural performance of relative newcomer Jamie Bell. Was he really possessed? His character was surely haunted enough.

Other faces you will surely recognize include Ciarán Hinds and Claire Forlani but someone you may not be so familiar with is Sophia Myles. She is another reason to enjoy this movie. Maurice Roëves even has a charming role here as a career hotel dishwasher. He too is a very pleasant surprise.

The plot is not really as complicated as most the summaries suggest. You have a teenage boy who is distraught over the death of his mother. He is convinced his father's girlfriend committed the murder. He runs away from home and is forced to find a job to survive in the big city. He meets a woman who looks just like his mother and he falls in love. This trouble young man is finally able to make peace with all his relationships. No, I'm not giving anything away there. He is also a Voyeur, which plays prominently in the plot, but is really just a second tier story feature.

And as with so many well-done independent projects, this movie has a fantastically eclectic soundtrack with music by many Scottish artists you'll love once you've heard them.

If you can make it past the first 40 minutes of this movie, which I admit are pretty disturbing, you will be richly rewarded with a funny, tasteful ending. And I've seen way too many movies I can't say that about.

Watch this movie with someone who can handle the nudity and the psychotic teen angst.