#VeronicaNgo

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Old Guard (2020)

The Old Guard features cool action scenes and pretty good performances. All that’s missing is some imagination. Much more that could’ve been done with its premise but the missed potential's not enough for me to discourage you from seeing it.

For centuries, mercenaries Andy (Charlize Theron), Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), and Nicky (Luca Marinelli) have helped those they could. As immortals who heal from any wound, they jump into conflict until they realize someone has learned their secret. This couldn’t have come at a worse time. They’ve just discovered another like them, an American marine named Nile Freeman (Kiki Layne).

All of these movies with immortals and still, we hear the same old song. “There’s no point loving anyone because you’ll outlive them”. “The world has stopped caring, so have I.” “The world/people never change.” You'd think Andy would be a little less grim. She’s literally lived through the emancipation of slaves, and the women’s suffragette movement. Despite having three friends to hang out with - immortal friends she CAN form a lasting bond with - she's wallowing in her misery. You could do so much with the time they've been given but all they’ve learned to do is kill people more efficiently. You’d think at least one of them would’ve squirreled away enough money to cure cancer or solve world hunger by now but this is not that kind of movie. It’s about not one, but FOUR Wolverines mowing their way through legions of baddies until they have a kill count higher than WWII. Fair enough. Charlize Theron is more than capable of delivering when it comes to stunts.

To give the movie credit, there are some innovations here and there. The quartet are immortal but still feel pain. They know first-hand there are things far worse than death. Such a fate may await them. With the help of former CIA operative Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), pharmaceutical executive Steven Merrick (Harry Melling) is getting dangerously close to the group. Bad news for them. Either he has the best benefits package of any company in the history of ever, or he’s turned his staff into fanatics. No one bats an eye when they’re told they’ll be vivisecting people alive - without anesthetics. Even when faced with piles of dead co-workers, his goons eagerly jump into the fray. I know we’re not supposed to think about it too much. They’re just supposed to be blocks our heroes dispatch in creative ways but can’t we have cool action and a smart story?

Try not to focus too much on the missed opportunities. There’s good stuff here. For instance, two of the 5 immortals are in a gay relationship. It’s treated like it’s no big deal but it will be to certain audiences, particularly if this spawns a franchise. Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli have good chemistry. Their characters’ love makes you care about them. And then they get to pay their assailants back with violence. That’s pretty cool. (September 24, 2020)

[hahuyhoang]

An illustration to demonstrate how my Vietnamese superhero should look like in action. I won first place in the contest btw and they’re saying they will use my design for the live action film. Let’s hope so. #splendidriver #hahuyhoang #conceptart #character #characterdesign #studio68 #costume #costumedesign #vinaman #ngothanhvan #veronicango #film #superhero #vietnam #vietnamese #art #artist #artistsoninstagram #instaart #artstagram #illustration #illustrator #lacthanlinhvuong https://www.instagram.com/p/CIR9PDGjQ6I/?igshid=hexekcb7fll7

[yanarchy072]

・ ・ #staysafe #socialdistancing #withコロナ #newnormal ・ #おうち時間 #おうち映画 #netflixoriginal #彼らの戦いに終わりはない ・ オールド・ガード観た。 スッゲーおもしろかった！ 今を全て網羅しているストーリーがとても共感できた。 続きもありそうだなあ。 ・ #オールドガード #theoldguard #ginaprincebythewood #gregrucka #leandrofernandez ・ #シャーリーズセロン #charlizetheron #kikilayne #marwankenzari #lucamarinelli #veronicango ・ #グラフィックノベル #graphicnovel ・ #ネットフリックス #netflix #映画 #movie #ビバムビ #instamovie #moviestagram #instagood #instapic https://www.instagram.com/p/CCeHN72ACkY/?igshid=17r96ak5zzd39

[geekbroll]

Sometimes, when things get bad, when lesser heroes just won’t cut it, you call Rose Tico and her team. From left to right: Electro-Wave Human Tackle, Paige Tico, Squirrely, Fozzy Bear, Rose Tico #starwars #starwarslastjedi #lastjedi #lastjediisawesome #rosetico #paigetico #veronicango #fozzybear #toei #kamenrider #muppets #disneytoys #disneystarwars #maskedrider #kellymarietran #thelastjedi #soloisawesome #squirrely #yurikomisaki #fuckoffnazis #cartoons #cartooncharacters #disney #waltdisney #electrowavehumantackle #tokuatsu #toku (at Portland, Oregon) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt-7TlkAQef/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1c085bd3pnvb0

[saintworksart]

Topps Star Wars The Last Jedi Series 2 Art Cards. #topps #art #cards #starwars #starwarsart #matthewhirons #copicmarkers #artcard #paigetico #veronicango #disney #saintworksart #sketch #drawing (at Indianapolis, Indiana)

[carmelography]

Paige se surte de ropa hipster en Barrio Alameda. El uniforme de la Resistencia no va con todo #paigetico #veronicango #starwars #ticosisters #starwarsthelastjedi #thelastjedi #losultimosjedi #cdmx #toyphotography #toy #toys #actionfigures #hasbro #ciudaddemexico #mexicocity #barrioalameda (at Barrio Alameda)

[doomonfilm]

Review : Da 5 Bloods (2020)

In Netflix’s ever-continuing quest to take over the world of film, they made a number of bold, attention-capturing deals with A-list, legendary talent.  One of the names that immediately jumped out at me was Spike Lee, and when his first film under the deal, Da 5 Bloods, was announced, I was immediately interested.  While it wouldn’t be his first film centered around war, it would be his first foray into the world of Vietnam, a conflict that has fascinated me since my youth.  With 2020 wrapping up, I decided it was time to play catch-up in terms of my film viewing, and Da 5 Bloods was at the top of my list. 

Paul (Delroy Lindo), Otis (Clarke Peters), Eddie (Norm Lewis) and Melvin (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) are former members of Da 5 Bloods, a squad of Black US 1st Infantry Division soldiers that included their fallen comrade, “Stormin’” Norman (Chadwick Boseman).  The surviving members return to Ho Chi Minh City decades later and enlist the help of Vietnamese jungle guide Vinh (Johnny Trí Nguyễn) to help recover Norman’s body and return it home.  In reality, however, the Bloods have returned to Vietnam for a different reason : to recover and smuggle a large sum of gold discovered in a CIA plane crash during a tour of duty.  The plan was to recover the gold, which was buried near Norman’s body, and get it smuggled out of the country with the help of Desroche (Jean Reno), a French businessman connected to Otis’ former Vietnamese lover, Tiên (Lê Y Lan).  Plans are complicated when Paul’s son David (Jonathan Majors) uncovers the secret of the gold and makes a surprise trip to Vietnam to force his way into the scheme.  With literal and emotional baggage in tow, the group wanders into the jungle to hopefully recover their fallen brother and the stolen gold.

I would certainly hate to disparage Spike Lee in any way, shape or form, but it’s no secret that his films of the last decade or so have been the recipient of mixed to negative reviews.  Da 5 Bloods not only marks a return to form, but in many ways, it shows a new sense of life and love for creativity, not to mention an evolution in his long-established style.  Lee has always been a very immersive filmmaker, and the intensity of a subject matter like Vietnam gives him a rich set of ingredients to mix and match, resulting in some of the most wonderfully nuanced subtext he has ever presented in his career.  Aspects of family strife and secrets, political stances as a front for personal turmoil, war as a mechanism for fracturing human connection and growth, capitalism as a moral line drawn in the sand and so much more is laid out in the course of the narrative, and where another filmmaker (and even at a point in his career, Lee himself) would have presented a jumbled and schizophrenic mish-mash of these ideas, Lee finds a wonderful balance and harmony between how all of these elements are not only examined, but how they impact one another and the actions of the characters we are following.

Lee has always been strong in the realm of including educational aspects into his film, and while many of his inclusions in this film come off as footnotes or parentheticals that pop off of main conversations, it works in a very weird way.  It is not necessarily even jarring when Lee flashes to footage or images depicting the historical information espoused by the characters.  It is also surprising (and somewhat refreshing) that a film about the Black experience in Vietman does not contain any White American soldiers, as many films of this nature tend to do.  The main participants of the events presented to us are Black Americans, the Vietnamese and the French, with Paul Walter Hauser’s portrayal of Simon being the lone exception.

It’s the technical aspects of this film where Lee shows the largest growth.  The way that Lee alternates between aspect ratios is a subtle but immediate indicator of both era and mind-state to the viewer, with frame serving as Vietnam flashbacks, extreme scope as the modern world of Ho Chi Minh City, and widescreen engulfing the entire frame with the Vietnamese jungle.  There are moments of shocking and graphic violence connected to the war aspects of this film, and they are presented with enough flare to rock our sense of comfort, but not so gratuitously that it shocks us out of our connection to the story.  The soundtrack is extremely strong, with the deep dives into Marvin Gaye’s eternal classic album What’s Going On? helping to perfectly punctuate most every emotional and historical beat presented.  The colors of Ho Chi Minh City are rich, deeply contrasted and pop out of the screen to an almost hypnotic measure, which makes the jolting jumps to the jungle much punchier.  The cinematography, stunt work on the battle aspects and the gunplay are all stellar, with professional and assured editing driving the experience home.

Sadly, Da 5 Bloods would be the last film released prior to the sudden and shocking death of Chadwick Boseman from complications connected to colon cancer.  Boseman continued acting right up until his death (with Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom posthumously serving as the final film of his career), and while his performance in Da 5 Bloods is powerful, hindsight allows us to see that he was certainly deep in the grips of his battle with his health.  Despite this massive obstacle, his role served as the central grounding force of the film, with all of the comradery, education and drive originating from his presence within the narrative.  His calm and focused intensity offset the rage and emotion of his fellow Bloods, while his heart and soul helped inspire them in turn.  For one of his final roles, Boseman could not have picked a more appropriate and inspiring presence to occupy the screen with.  

Delroy Lindo does some powerful work in this film by bringing the sense of a man with massive demons that haunt him and feeding us a certain sense of what those demons may entail, only to turn all that we think we know on its head as he comes undone.  The cast of Jonathan Majors as his son is brilliant, as his similar build and unique profile match the intensity that is presented (both parallel to and in contrast of) Lindo.  Clarke Peters carries the weight of time with him, allowing himself to be an open receptor to all that life brings his way, and very much acting as an audience surrogate immersed into a harrowing situation while attempting to keep an anchor that tethers him to the ‘world’.  Norm Lewis gives a nuance, complex performance full of optimism that masks deep pain, while Isiah Whitlock Jr. approaches things with an ‘it is what it is’ attitude.  Johnny Trí Nguyễn and Mélanie Thierry present voices of reason and alternative points of view, while Paul Walter Hauser and Jasper Pääkkönen bring voices of doubt and resentment to the table in alternate extremes.  Jean Reno and his opportunistic, self-gratifying approach play an odd mirror of Donald Trump in an absurdist manner (in my opinion).  Lê Y Lan and Sandy Hương Phạm represent light emerging from a darkness of the past, and bring a wonderful sense of loving and support to a film that thrives on fractured dynamics.  Veronica Ngo is memorable as Hanoi Hannah as she directly voices the reasons why Black troops struggle in the face of war while also echoing the infamous performance of Lynne Thigpen in The Warriors. 

With 2020 being such an odd year in terms of the way film has been presented to us, it’s been an interesting process in trying to wrap up the year.  One thing I do know for sure, despite whether I continue my practice of ranking the top films of the year or simply decide to just group films in terms of quality, Da 5 Bloods will stand near the top regardless.  Hopefully it can garner Lee another late career award in 2021, but whether or not it manages to make that happen, I am almost certain that it will stand as a testament to the longevity and talent of Spike Lee. 

[mrr080t0]

Intense Vietnamese Martial Arts. #MrR080T0watches2020 #Furie #HaiPhuong #VeronicaNgo #NgôThanhVân #ngothanhvan #vietnamesemovie #martialarts #martialartsmovies #martialartsmovie #martialartsfilm https://www.instagram.com/p/CHO3045Jbxn/?igshid=1qjhe6l0weh6v

[fcsyndicate]

#VeronicaNgo is a former gangster pulled back into the old life to find her missing daughter in the #Raid-style Vietnamese action thriller, #Furie! Read more in the link in our bio. #cannes2018

[abinden]

I had meant to get things done tonight. Instead I have a doodle of Paige Tico... what just happened? #pencilart #pencilsketch #sketch #sketchart #sketchoftheday #artoftheday #instaart #paigetico #paigeticostarwars #veronicango #starwars #doodle #fanart #starwarsfanart #artistsofintagram #artist

[marcelo2506]

#365PeliculasYLibros #Película 83: #Bright #USA #EEUU #2017 #Género: #Acción #Fantasy #SciFi #CienciaFiccion #UrbanFantasy #Dirección: #DavidAyer #Cast: #WillSmith  #JoelEdgerton #NoomiRapace #ÉdgarRamírez #LucyFry #VeronicaNgo #AlexMeraz  #HappyAnderson #Reseña La película narra la historia de dos policías particulares: Daryl Ward, un ser humano, y Nick Jakoby, un orco. Ambos policías empezarán una aventura donde tendrán que proteger a una elfa y custodiar una varita mágica que los llevará a enfrentarse a un mal que podría cambiar el mundo tal y como lo conocemos. La peli está ambientada en una Tierra alternativa, integrando elementos y criaturas fantásticas en un hipotético presente donde conviven todo este tipos de seres. Una películas más...pero que de una u otra forma logra su objetivo de entretener. Disponible en #Netflix #Movie #Instamovie

[cherrygeek]

The Princess premieres July 1st on Hulu

The Princess doesn't need a hero to save her this July 1st #thePrincess #JoeyKing #LeVanKiet #DominicCooper #OlgaKurylenko #VeronicaNgo #BenLustig #JakeThornton #NealHMoritz #TobyJaffe #DerekKolstad #GuyRiedel #Hulu #Star+ #Disney+ #20thCenturyStudios

She doesn’t need a hero to save her I never wanted a hero I’ve always wanted the princess to save herself the new action movie ‘The Princess’ is the kickass action movie that hits my sweet spot. Period dress, evil villains, and a Joey King play a princess who will save herself.  Have you seen the trailer for ‘The Princess’ a fairy tale girl power action movie? I didn’t know I wanted this movie…

[carmelography]

Paige Tico tours the city one last time before embarking on a mission against the First Order #paigetico #veronicango #starwars #starwarsVIII #starwarsthelastjedi #losultimosjedi #laguerradelasgalaxias #actionfigures #toyphotography #toys #toy #puebla #centrodepuebla #zocalodepuebla #turibuspuebla (at Puebla, Mexico)

[carmelography]

The Tico sisters enjoying some time together #paigetico #veronicango #rosestarwars #rose #rosetico #kellymarietran #starwars #starwarsVIII #starwarsthelastjedi #losultimosjedi #laguerradelasgalaxias #actionfigures #toyphotography #toys #toy #puebla (at Puebla, Mexico)

[carmelography]

Paige busca a sus compañeros en el stand de Hasbro #paigetico #veronicango #starwars #ticosisters #starwarsthelastjedi #thelastjedi #losultimosjedi #toyphotography #actionfigures #toys #toy #hasbro #mexicocity #ciudaddemexico #cdmx #centrocitibanamex #lamole #lamole2019 #hasbro (at La Mole) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv7gr1TheSK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=y07xkd6godgf

[carmelography]

Paige Tico estuvo aprendiendo a jugar Magic. La estrategia necesaria para el juego le va a servir en la Resistencia #paigetico #veronicango #starwars #ticosisters #starwarsthelastjedi #thelastjedi #losultimosjedi #toyphotography #actionfigures #toys #toy #hasbro #mexicocity #ciudaddemexico #cdmx #centrocitibanamex #wizardsofthecoast #lamole #magicthegathering #mtg #mtgarena #tcg #hasbro #lamole2019 #mtglatam (at La Mole) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv7geSDh2Ti/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wxqd2z3w6jlz