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Date: 7/22/2020
On Netflix: ‘The Old Guard’
If you are eager to see a new superhero film, “The Old Guard” should take care of your viewing needs.
Even though no one has any idea when the new “Wonder Woman” film will be released – the latest date is in October – Charlize Theron’s character is in the same vein and is a worthy addition to the pantheon of superheroes.
Theron plays Andy, short for Andromache of Scythia, the leader of a shadowy group of three other warriors. All of these people are immortal. They are all centuries old and have no idea how they became immortal or why. Nor do they understand why or when the immortality stops.
Until then, they can’t be killed. They can appear to die but then they come back and quickly heal.
Throughout the centuries they have fought to help people and make things better. Now in 2020, Andy has lost her faith in what they do. She believes that no matter how they have interceded it has not made a difference.
Someone, though, has a different opinion. The head of a pharmaceutical giant has learned of their existence and believes if he can get his hands on them, his researchers can figure out what makes them immortal and come up with cures for various ailments.
Complicating matters is the emergence of a new immortal, Nile (KiKi Layne), a Marine serving in Afghanistan and who comes back to life after having her throat cut. Andy kidnaps/saves her when it is clear the military wants to lock her up for study.
It is through the Nile character that more of the back-story of the quartet is revealed.
Although Theron has had a variety of roles, she has seemingly settled into being an action hero and she is very, very good at it. Andy is a fascinating multi-dimensional character and Theron handles the drama as well as she does the action.
I liked how director Gina Prince-Bythewood staged the action sequences and how there was the opportunity for the actors to flesh out their characters. I also liked how they have come to terms with their immortality. They are clearly weary but still adhere to the purpose that binds them together.
The movie is based on a graphic novel of the same name by Gregory Ruka and now I’m interested to getting a copy.
There is some bloodletting that is fairly graphic and a few curse words. If this had been released in theaters, it would have straddled the lien between PG-13 and R, as ratings go.
On demand streaming platforms: ‘Sunset Boulevard’
Paramount is releasing to on-demand platforms the classic 1950 Billy Wilder-directed Hollywood drama, “Sunset Boulevard,” a legendary film noir.
It is a movie I showed regularly in my film class and it holds up beautifully despite its age.
Gloria Swanson, the most prominent star of the silent era, stars as Norma Desmond, a great silent film star now in retirement but yearning for a comeback. William Holden is Joe, the young screenwriter who accidentally meets Desmond when he is hiding from creditors. He sees an opportunity to lay low for a while, while Desmond has other plans on her mind.
Despite the fact there was the risk of some people thinking Swanson was essentially playing herself, she wasn’t. Wilder however threw knowledgeable film fans for a loop with the casting of Erich Von Stroheim as her butler, a former husband and director. Von Stroheim had directed Swanson in the film “Queen Kelly,” (1928-1929) a legendary train wreck of a film that didn’t receive theatrical release in this country. It helped seal Von Stroheim’s reputation as an impossible person with whom to work and did not help Swanson’s career, either.
What makes all of this even more intriguing is in one scene, Desmond shows one of her films to Joe and it’s “Queen Kelly.”
This film was meta before there was meta.
“Sunset Boulevard” was among the first films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry and is in the top 20 of the AFI’s Greatest American Films of All Time.
Check out your favorite on-demand service and enjoy a classic.