Ragnarok | Gåten Ragnarok (2013)

Checked this one out from the library with the intent of using it for Norwegian practice. Had a bit of trouble in the beginning; couldn't understand a single word anybody was saying. ("Are they... are they speaking a dialect that I'm unfamiliar with?" I asked myself. No, that was not the case At All.) Which just goes to show that I have been terribly neglecting audio comprehension. Luckily, I had less trouble as the film went on....

As for Gåten Ragnarok itself, when I pulled it off the shelf, I thought, "This looks kind of silly". And it is, indeed, kind of silly.

The premise: An archaeologist believes that carvings in the animal-head posts of the Oseberg burial ship hold the key to an even bigger treasure. His colleague turns up clues that lead them to Finnmark, and to the border between Norway and Russia, where they discover an ancient secret that might be more trouble than it's worth.
( Spoilers )

This isn't exactly a remarkable film, but it's good fun if you want to turn your brain off, don't mind some slightly imperfect pacing, enjoy broad interpretations of Norse mythology, and can excuse some dubious archaeology. Nothing groundbreaking here - it might remind you of Hollywood films of this type. But the setting makes it a little bit novel. And of course, if you like gratuitous beautiful landscape shots, it has a few of those. I'm starting to think that the Norwegian film industry is required by law to include pretty nature shots in every movie that is released.

Would I recommend this one? Only if somebody is looking for something in its specific niche.

Would I watch it again? ... You know what, I might. It's not awful; it's just deeply silly.

Misc ☆☆☆

A few things:

+ Due to a quirk of scheduling, I had both Friday and the holiday Monday off. Hooray for an extra-long four-day weekend. :D

+ Both of my FTH projects are now typed up and ready for editing. I'm hoping to have them both completely done by the end of September. We'll see what happens...! One of them ended up closer to 10k than the required 5k, whoops. (At least the recipient will probably be pleased? xD)

+ Toward the end of this upcoming week, I'll be going to a wedding in Calgary with my parents. Will I survive the 8-hour roadtrip? Will I manage to fool people into thinking I'm a normal human being for a few days? Only time will tell.

+ I found an old clock radio in the basement, and swapped it out for the alarm clock I had in my room. Yes, excellent decision! I can now listen to the radio without having my computer on. :D Excellent plan, considering the thing throws heat, which isn't great in the summer. And... I really need to reduce the amount that I have screens up, for my own sake. Now, if I only could figure out a safe place to put my laptop when it's turned off... It doesn't fit into my desk drawers, so this will need further investigation. ;)