Fans of Alexander Skarsgard love him for his role as Eric Northman from the HBO series True Blood. Take his performance in that series, multiply it by ten, and you have his performance as Amleth in The Northman. A truly epic film, Skarsgard is the key to the The Northman’s triumph.

Beyond Skarsgard as Amleth, the remaining cast of The Northman is unparalleled and grand. Nicole Kidman is Queen Gudrun, Claes Bang is Fjolnir the Brotherless, Ethan Hawke is King Aurvandil War-Raven, Anya Taylor-Joy is Olga of the Birch Forest, Björk is Seeress, and Willem Dafoe is Heimir the Fool.

The Northman follows the Viking era tale of Amleth, whose father, King Aurvandil, is killed by Fjolnir while Amleth is just a boy. Amleth becomes a slave in several different countries, but his life focus remains the same—to avenge his father’s death by killing Fjolnir and by freeing Fjolnir’s slaves. Those slaves include Amleth’s love, Olga. It becomes clear that Amleth is not afraid to die to accomplish these tasks.

The director of The Northman, Robert Eggers, is known for thrillers with unexpected shocking moments that turn into exquisite works of art. The Northman can almost feel overwhelming at times. The faded cinematography of the cold mountains and the dangerous storms, interspersed with moments of terror, make for an immersive and exhilarating cinematic experience.

 The Northman is simply phenomenal. The acting—especially Skarsgard’s—is spellbinding, and Eggers has taken his direction to new heights. It is a virtual Viking era rollercoaster ride that is not to be missed. Four stars for The Northman.

Despite its connection to the immensely popular Harry Potter films, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is barely average, and doesn’t even approach the magical excitement of the Harry Potter films.

This third installment in the Fantastic Beasts franchise continues the journey of Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne. The evil dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald, played by Madds Mikkelsen, is doing what he can to take control of the wizarding world. Scamander puts together his team of magic superheroes to overcome the evil that Gellert is advancing on the wizarding world. Jude Law plays the beloved Albus Dumbledore.

The acting in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is decent, and that is its strongest selling point. Director David Yates also has an eye for visual brilliance, and the storyline got marginally better as the film progressed. But structurally it is just a mess. There are too many unexplained, silly moments, and the magical vibe just never materializes. Unfortunately, the previous two Fantastic Beasts films were no better.

Don’t get me wrong—Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is not a terrible movie, and I’m sure some will appreciate or maybe even love it. I just found it, again, only average. It actually left me wondering whether they possibly rushed the filmmaking, which would explain a lot. Just two and a half stars for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

I believe that director Michael Bay took Transformers a little too far, that he overdid that franchise. And I was concerned that his latest movie, Ambulance, would be just another explosive Transformers style movie. But Ambulance is actually a suspenseful, high-octane chase thriller and it’s one of Michael Bay’s better films.

The two actors behind this excellent film are Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Put those two in a film about a heist gone wrong and you have the makings of a daring thrill ride, which is just how I would describe Ambulance.

Ambulance takes place in Los Angeles. Adoptive brothers Danny (Gyllenhaal) and Will (Mateen II) plan a bank heist to help Will’s wife out of financial problems. Danny has a criminal background and lots of money for a well-funded heist, but things don’t go as planned. Their crew makes some critical mistakes, and the bank they rob ends up being swarmed by a SWAT team. Danny and Will initially escape on foot, and then they hijack an ambulance, hence the name of the film. What Danny and Will don’t initially realize is that in the back of the ambulance is a critically wounded person and a paramedic, Cam Thompson, played by Eiza Gonzalez. With intense media coverage, the fleeing ambulance drama comes to a boiling point.

I found myself amazed by the performances of Gyllenhaal and Mateen II as Danny and Will. Danny is totally focused on their escape and sees himself as a criminal mastermind, despite getting he and his brother in an incredibly sticky situation. Will is focused too, but his focus is just on making it home.

Ambulance is definitely one of Michael Bay’s best films in a while. I loved the whole experience. It felt like an amusement park ride mixed with a human version of Tetris. It is a heist film taken to new heights. Three and a half stars for Ambulance.