The Old Guard

The Old Guard

I will watch anything Charlize Theron is in: a perfume commercial,  as a one armed truck driver (Mad Max Fury Road), as an assassin with bad hair (Atomic Blond), as an overweight serial killer (Monster), even having sex with Seth Rogen, yuk (Long Shot). Since Charlize was in this movie I watched it. I was lost, I had no idea what was going on. My befuddlement is age related. I did not know the movie was based on a comic book of the same name. If you are over the age of thirty I recommend you to the  summary plot in Wikipedia. The Old Guard is  a band of immortal mercenaries. They do not age, their wounds heal and they can not be killed. They never say how old are but drop hints like the Crusades (one and two). One deficit of the movie their immortality is not explained.

Charlize leads of a group of three male mercenaries. A young female marine joins their ranks when she discovers she is immortal after a terrorist cuts her throat. Here too there is no backstory how she became immortal. The plot is not complicated, good guys fighting bad guys. To demonstrate their  indestructibility there is a lot of shooting, I mean a lot. They have Deadpool like regeneration with bullets popping out of their faces. There is a subplot concerning their immortality which makes it more interesting than just a shoot-m-up.

The villain in this movie is a pharmaceutical CEO who has nefarious plans for the immortals. This movie must have been made before the current pandemic because once vilified pharama CEOs are now our saviors. God help us.

Comic movies do not require much acting, but this film has some serious players. Charlize Thorn is an Oscar winner for Monster. Chiwetel Ejiofor may not be familiar to American audiences but he is an excellent British actor (see Pretty Dirty Things). The female marine is played by Kiki Layne. I do not know her work but she received very good reviews for her part in If Beale Street Could Talk.

If you have Netflix the movie is included in your package. Should you see this movie?  Sure, it beats dusting.

p.s. From the last scene, there will be a sequel.

Dr. Strange

Dr. Strange

The recent crop of super hero movies has been disappointing, especially for DC. This sentient is well founded but you will be sorely remised if you skip Dr. Strange. If not the best 2016 super hero film it is right up there. The script is well written and all plot twists are comprehensible. The end does get a bit weird, a small deficit compared to the whole.

Benedict Cumberbatch is wonderful as Dr. Strange. He plays it straight showing vulnerability undermining supreme confidence. He is a renowned neurosurgeon who finds himself in the Himalayas seeking guidance (God forbid I say why). Tilda Swinton “The Ancient One “is his sensei of dark arts. Her que bald head lends credibility to the mysticism she projects. Her solemnity and tranquil confidence underlie formidable superpowers and dark secrets. As with all “grasshoppers” (Google Kung Fu 1970’s TV show) Strange gets the crap beat out of him until he masters the mysterious arts.

The villain is Mads Mikkelsen (The guy with the bleeding eye in Casino Royal). Mads is currently the go to villain, it must be that warm Nordic blood. His face glows with vengeance through sinister eyes. He is a master of the black arts and Dr. Strange’s foe. The battle scenes are epic and fit the fantastic realm of the story.

Racheal McAdams is Dr. Strange’s girlfriend in the physical world. She to is a surgeon working in the same hospital. She is always a delight to see but her role here is minimal. She is in some important scenes and her repartee with Strange provides some levity. Another character is played by Chiwetel Ejiofor who is an ally of Strange and a fellow master. There are many other characters and they all work well together making for a smoothly cohesive film. The director’s vision comes through.

The big star of the movie is the special effects, they are fantastic. The film liberally took concepts from Chris Nolan’s “Inception” with the folding cities. The scenes here are more complex and extreme; Escher would have been very impressed. There were many fight scenes and none boring. I think the special effects will be at least Oscar nominated. As proof of how good the film was I did not fall asleep, at least I think I did not.

If you think I am over selling this film, I am not. Given the elections we need a little magic to make someone go” POOF!!!”.

12 Years a Slave

This is a great and brutal movie. The whippings, lynchings, chains and rapes are all true. The story is based on the protagonist’s, Solomon Northup, own writings of his ordeal as a kidnapped freeman sold into slavery. To some extent we are familiar with slavery but the graphic depictions of cruelty and dehumanization are shocking. A comparable modern situation would be the Nazi concentration camps.

All the components of this film make it a great story. The lead and supporting actors were essential to the film. The two pillars of this movie are Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender. Ejiofor is the slave, Solomon Northup, and Fassbender the slave owner Edwin Epps.

Ejiofor transitions from the bewilderment of being kidnapped to subcoming to the reality of being a slave and assuming a new persona. Even in his subjugation he hopes to gain his freedom. The strongest lashes do not break his will. Ejiofor’s acting is visceral; Solomon’s pain etches Ejiofor’s face.

Michael Fassbender is brilliant. His acting arch is formitable. His characters span from Dr. Jung in A Dangerous Method, to Magnito in the X Men movies to a sex addict in Shame. As Edwin Epps he is a sadistic psychopath who indulges in cruelty and degradation.  Epps has a singular dislike for Solomon and beats him at every opportunity. Fassbender acting was intense with sweat pouring down his face and veins popping on his neck from screaming at his slaves. He is frightingly convincing in his role.

There are other excellent performances. Paul Dano, as John Tibeats an overseer, plays his usual understated role. What belies his passive façade is a meanness based on jealousy and revenge. Solomon is a target of his ire. Dano gives a sheepishly cowardly performance.

Paul Giamatti is the dapper slave trader. His approach to selling slaves is akin to a stud bull auction. He shows the white teeth of the slaves and slaps the males on the chest as if beating a taut drum. He is totally dispassionate in his negations and has no computation to split families for the best return. He is as repulsive as he is well dressed.

Brad Pitt makes a brief appearance. In the story his character is very important, but his air time is humblingly short.

There are other wonderful actors such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Alfe Woodward. The script was focused and even the brief flashbacks worked. This is a tough graphic movie but the acting and the story make it worth seeing.