The Vig and I

Mr. Mortensen (Viggo, VM, The Vig - The Vig? I ask you!) is doing much better than I expected. Good for him. Apparently VM has taken over the Toronto Film Festival with the release of three films.

My best hope at the moment is his performance in The Road. I'm really looking forward to seeing the film. The stills look so gritty and intense. They bring back that Ranger character (The Lord of the Rings) I love so much. If, as rumor has it, he may be up for another Oscar nomination, I hope it's for The Road and I hope he gets the nod and the prize. As a western dude he looks wooden. Of course I haven't seen Appaloosa yet, but from the previews he looks a bit of a board. What do I know? I've only watched a million movies in my life.

He's a damn good looking guy and does a great impersonation of a 100-year-old ranger and an ex-con (A History of Violence). I haven't liked him too much in his other movies, except the one with Kirk Douglas (A Perfect Murder). I liked the stills of him as a romantic Spanish swashbuckler.

My opinion is definitely skewed by his performance in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (which was my first exposure to VM) where he did a great job in a part that was made for him. And if it wasn't made for him, he sure made it look that way. VM may prefer directors that give him his head, but Peter Jackson's direction developed a his acting in a way that has no comparison to other roles VM has played.

The fashionable VM! He gets nothing but accolades these days. He has worked hard and long to get them. However, I persist in my view that his acting is over rated. He is a talented artist, able to express himself in music, poetry and art and various combinations thereof. I do wish him well. I just think he could do so much better if he were to settle down and focus on something. My plan would be the life of an itinerant poet, like Homer, only wilder and more diverse. Or maybe acting roles as complex esoteric characters which could bring out his natural depth.

Ah, well. It's not my life is it?