Hot DVD pick: Viggo TOTALLY nude!
(Getty Images) The best part of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, including the insuferrably long final installment was, of course, the smokin' hot Viggo Mortenson. His turn as a reformed hoodlum trying to outrun his past in "The History of Violence" showed he could be sexy outside of Middle Earth too. But it's his portrayal as a driver for the Russian mob in "Eastern Promises" that finally gives us what we want - an extended scene of Viggo , butt naked, fighting two thugs in a sauna.
And we're not talking just a flash here and there of Viggo's package; it's the full monty, my friend, front and back. The scene is intensely violent, and you find yourself a bit distracted thinking, "wow, I can't believe he's doing this!", kind of like Halle Berry in "Monster's Ball" and Sascha Baron-Cohen and the fat guy in "Borat". But of the three movies, I would argue that Viggo's nakedness in "Eastern Promises" is not only the hottest (duh) but the most germane to the script. Halle's was to prove what a "brave" actress she is, and "Borat" was obviously for laughs.
With all the attention that "No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" are receiving, "Eastern Promises", and Viggo's performance in it, are not getting the attention they deserve. The movie is amazing, if you can get past Naomi Watts on a way-too-big-for-her motorcycle. Mortenson's portrayal of a intense man of unknown convictions is fascinating. I do have a bit of an issue with the whole played-out plot device of a possibly gay, and therefore, emasculated heir-to-the-throne story line, but even that cliche is well done and if you just go with it it doesn't ruin the movie. Definitely rent this movie before you watch the Oscars, or at least watch the sauna scene, and you'll find yourself rooting for one hot underdog.
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