What I’m watching: a new summer film from Netflix

Date: 8/18/2020

What I’m watching: a new summer film from Netflix

The Power Project

I was on vacation last week, and in-between hours exploring films made in the early years of the 1930s – these are known as Pre-Codes – I watched the new Netflix release “Project Power.”

What has impressed me about most of the recent Netflix productions is the fact they are of theatrical quality in terms of production value. Although I love quite dearly many films that were shot for the “direct-to-video” market back in the 1990s for the VHS era, they were usually low-budget offerings that might have not found a theatrical audience.

“The Power Project” must have had a considerable budget. It features two well-known and popular actors – Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt – plenty of special effects and some intense action sequences.

With the pandemic keeping theaters closed – although supposedly on Aug. 21 there should be some local ones reopening – a film such as “The Power Project” is a typical summer release.

The film is set now or in the immediate future. A new drug is available on the street. It gives the user five minutes of a power or it kills you. Every time you take it, you get the same power, although it is clear there are lingering side effects.

Set in New Orleans, Dominique Fishback plays Robin, a high school student trying to raise money for her sick mother. The new “Power” pill is a bestseller and one of her customers is a New Orleans police officer Frank Shaver (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who uses the drug to give him five minutes of invulnerability.

Robin’s path intersects with Art (Jaimie Foxx) a former Army officer and early test subject for the drug. He tells her the people developing the drug are using pushers to sell the drug to unsuspecting users who are the new guinea pigs.

Art is searching for his daughter who has been abducted by the scientists – it seems she was born with powers that she received through her father.

I hesitate to call this a superhero movie. In my mind it’s a science fiction film and it’s a good one. The core of the film, though, rests on the performances of the three leads. Fishback is very good as Robin, while Foxx and Gordon-Levitt remind us of their range. Both of their characters are very devoted to Robin and this show of humanity adds to the film’s depth.

Pop some corn and grab a soda before you settle down with this film. 

Also on Netflix: Unsolved Mysteries, Connected

Here are two new takes on old TV series. “Unsolved Mysteries” is a remake of the long-running show of the same name that featured Robert Stack as the host.

In the new version, each segment is produced as a one-hour documentary. I’ve seen several and they are well produced, but I have to say, quite profoundly sad.

Each show is about an unsolved murder and the pain the survivors have is palpable. I almost feel I’ve intruded into their grief.

Of course, the idea is to raise awareness of each case so that perhaps someone would step forward with information that would advance a solution.

I hope it works.

In 1978 The BBC produced a 10-part TV series featured science writer James Burke called “Connections.” In each episode Burke drew lines between elements of society and science that showed how we are inter-connected in ways that are not apparent. It was a fascinating show.

The new six-show series is hosted by Latif Nasser who is the director of research for the show Radiolab. He’s an affable science fan and his shows are just as accomplished and entertaining as Burke’s.

I love this stuff and you should give it a chance.