I’m a stereotype. Deal with it.
I’ve been in such a reading slump for months, and I’m completely burned out on video games. Thus, I decided that I would watch a lot of movies for the holidays. Why? Because spending two hours of my life watching films with actors that I like will be worth it. Or at least I can finally catch up on what most of The Old Guard fandom has been doing since July.
So. Every day, or really evening, I am watching a different film that has a cast member from The Old Guard cast in it. They don’t have to be the main character, or even have a major role. Just a recognizable role.
I made a list on my phone of a bunch of movies, and made a calendar so that I wouldn’t double up an actor, but I did kinda mess up the back end of the month. Whoops?
As of today (December 6th), I have watched five of the twenty five films. I have twenty more to go, though the final one may be moved to Boxing Day depending on how I feel that evening. I won’t go into spoiler territory of the first five films, but I will give a quick impression.
December 1st, I watched Tutti i santi giorni, or Every Blessed Day, which is one of Luca Marinelli’s earliest movies. I really enjoyed this one, much more than I figured. Guido (Luca’s character) reminded me of a more-well adjusted Spencer Reid of Criminal Minds. But he was soft and loving and cared so much for his girlfriend. It was actually really well done.
December 2nd was The Italian Job, the first film I ever saw Charlize Theron in. This was a Walmart bargain bin find back in 2010, and I used to turn it on when I was studying for background noise. Unfortunately, the movie is just fine. It hasn’t really aged well. There’s nothing that really stand out, except for Edward Norton’s mustache. It just didn’t click that well with me this go around.
December 3rd was reserved for Murder on the Orient Express, which had the lovely Marwan Kenzari in it. I’d never watched an adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel before, and I wasn’t really impressed with this one. It had a stellar cast, but it just didn’t really click with me. I figured out the plot (it’s a who-done-it) by the midpoint in the film. Marwan was great, but his role was really minor (thanks fandom for not telling me that beforehand). But he can smile at me like that any day.
December 4th was another Luca Marinelli film, Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot or They Call Me Jeeg. It’s a tribute film to the anime and manga series Steel Jeeg from Japan. Luca stars as the villain, and he steals all of his scenes. Actually, he managed to make me like his character more than the main character Enzo, who is actually supposed to be the reluctant hero. But Enzo has a scene with his love interest that really turned my stomach, and I just couldn’t care for him anymore. (Also, must characters suffer from Stormtrooper Syndrome in this film, it’s hilarious).
December 5th was my first Matthias Schoenaerts film of this lovely marathon, which is also a rewatch. Far From the Madding Crowd. I’ve talked about it before enough to bore everyone into sleep, but I just love how Matthias steals the show, and yet doesn’t speak much. It’s all in action. Such love.
As for the rest of the month, I have a quick list, broken up by actor. I’ll be totally honest, I’m not watching many by Charlize Theron or KiKi Layne. It has nothing to do with them, it’s just I wasn’t very interested in most of their filmography.
For KiKi, I’ll be watching If Beale Street Could Talk. For Charlize, I’ll be giving Atomic Blonde a try, and rewatching Æon Flux for the first time in years. Of Luca’s films, I’ll be watching Il mondo fino in fondo (if I can find subtitles for it), Una questione privata / Rainbow: A Private Affair, Fabrizio De Andre: Prinipe libero, Ricordi?, and Martin Eden. As for Marwan, I’ll be rewatching Aladdin, and for the first time watching What Happened to Monday, Instinct, and Hartenstraat. Of Matthias’ films, I’ll be watching Disorder, Le Fidèle / Racer and the Jailbird and Rust and Bone, and rewatching The Bigger Splash (Bullhead as well, depending on how I feel). As for Chiwetel, I’ll be watching Doctor Strange and The Martian.
… I think I missed one in there. Oh well, I’ll figure it out another day.
On Christmas, the predictable me will be watching The Old Guard. Because why not. I have so many feelings for this movie it isn’t even funny. I’m privately hoping that we shall soon hear of sequel news, or news of part three of the comics, or just anything really. The fans are ravenous.
Anyway, this is what I’m watching for the next twenty days, provided that I don’t forget and skip a day, which is totally possible, knowing me. I’ve got a Google Doc holding me accountable, so fingers crossed.
Until next time!
