Television Reviews

Vikings: The Real Warriors Miniseries

BBC Home Entertainment

Street: 03.11

Vikings: The Real Warriors is not to be confused with the sexy pseudo-factual series Vikings. The Real Warriors is a three part docu-series hosted by Neil Oliver, whose Scottish accent is wonderfully soothing and comprehensible. The episodes trace the journey of vikings as they invade and conquer kingdoms from Russia, Scandinavia, the Baltics and even parts of the Middle East. Oliver tells the story of how the vikings evolve from traveling tribes and rampagers into farmers, kings and Christians. It is definitely a visual show, as Oliver travels to museums and describes relics and their uses. For a documentary mini-series, it’s wonderfully attention-holding and each episode is only an hour long. Vikings: The Real Warriors is the closest you will get to a guided viking tour around Europe, but will definitely inspire the wanderlust in history buffs. –Rebecca Frost

20 Ft Below: The Darkness Descending

Vertical Entertainment

Street: 03.18

I love Danny Trejo (Machete, Con Air) as much as the next guy, but damn it all if I wouldn’t love to see him branch out a bit. Why can’t he show up in some Wes Anderson flick as a lovable, bumbling professor, or why hasn’t Noah Baumbach cast him as Greta Gerwig’s long lost stepbrother. Nope, it’s always the one-line spewing, badass Mexican for Mr. Trejo, and this film with a long-ass title is no different. In 20 ft Below, etc., etc., Trejo plays the leader of a gang that lives beneath the streets of New York City. The story follows Chelsea (Kinga Phillips) as she documents the harsh realities of the people below the streets. The film is not horrible, especially considering the obvious lack of budget, but it does suffer from a few things. Aside from the nonstop clichés, the most noticeable problem is the boring choice for set and lighting. I understand that it’s underground and gritty, but that doesn’t mean you have to light the film with a single flood light for the entire run time. With all of that said, Redemption’s 90-minute run time combined with serviceable acting makes it a decent distraction. –Blake Leszczynski