Uma Thurman returns to the action genre in Netflix's The Old Guard 2
From the vengeful Bride in Kill Bill to the enigmatic Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction, Uma Thurman has carved an indelible niche in cinematic history, particularly within the action genre. Her collaborations with acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino not only solidified her status as a pop culture icon but also showcased her remarkable ability to blend intense physicality with dramatic depth.
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After a 21-year hiatus from the action genre, Thurman makes a highly anticipated return in The Old Guard 2, which is now streaming on Netflix. In this eagerly awaited sequel, Andy (Charlize Theron) and her team of immortal warriors face a new enemy, Discord (Thurman), one of the oldest immortals who threatens their existence along with the rest of the world. Directed by Victoria Mahoney, the film also stars KiKi Layne, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Henry Golding, Vân Veronica Ngô, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli.
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This comeback, which Thurman charmingly described as 'tickling her pink,' sees her embracing the challenge of new physically demanding roles. The Boston-born actor is celebrated for injecting humanity into even her most dangerous characters – a trait she consciously brought to the 'tortured and twisted' antagonist Discord. In this exciting new phase of her career, she has a newfound sense of calm, a tranquility she confesses she'd never experienced before. Her return isn't just a nostalgic echo of past glories, it's also a reminder of her enduring talent.
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I was excited. I wish I had had more time to practice. It just tickled me pink having kind of not doing any rehashing of my Kill Bill moments and then just tossing them to Charlize. in this finale of her great action epic work. So, it really was fun. And it was kind of perfect because it was challenging, and it was exciting. And, also, she had all the heavy lifting, and I got to see her incredible working style. It was really wonderful.
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Director Victoria Mahoney said that you became a vital part of shaping Discord's arc and preventing this from being a tropey antagonist. What did you wanna bring to Discord?
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I wanted to bring to Discord the same thing I always try to bring to characters, which is humanity. She's kind of tortured and twisted and dangerous, but she's coming at it from a slightly broken but passionate once-human heart. What I liked about the first film is that all of the characters were really quite relatable, less so the villain. And I thought in this case that she would be serving the piece best if she was more relatable as a sort of tortured human.
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Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Julian McMahon, actor who appeared in 'Fantastic Four' films and TV show 'Charmed,' has died
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — Julian McMahon, an Australia-born actor who performed in two 'Fantastic Four' films and appeared in TV shows such as 'Charmed,' 'Nip/Tuck' and 'Profiler,' has died, his wife said in a statement. McMahon, 56, died peacefully this week after a battle with cancer, Kelly McMahon said in a statement provided to The Associated Press by his Beverly Hills, California-based publicist. 'Julian loved life,' the statement said. 'He loved his family. He loved his friends He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible.' McMahon played Dr. Doom in the films 'Fantastic Four' in 2005 and 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,' which came out two years later. Along with 'Charmed,' 'Nip/Tuck,' and 'Profiler,' he also had roles in the TV shows 'Home and Away,' 'FBI: Most Wanted' and 'Another World,' according to IMDB. Actress Alyssa Milano, who appeared with McMahon on 'Charmed,' mourned his death on social media, saying 'Julian was more than my TV husband.' 'Julian McMahon was magic,' Milano said. 'That smile. That laugh. That talent. That presence. He walked into a room and lit it up — not just with charisma, but with kindness. With mischief. With soulful understanding.'
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Calgary Stampede, July 5: Shania Twain at Dome tonight
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Country star Shania Twain performs at the Saddledome in Calgary during her Queen of Me tour Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Dean Pilling/Postmedia file Today marks the only arena show as part of the Calgary Stampede's concert series, with country music superstar Shania Twain taking to the stage. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Calgary Herald ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Opening for her at the Saddledome will be Calgary-born singer Devon Cole, who's currently living in Los Angeles and working on an album. Read on for everything you need to know to make the most of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. Your weekday lunchtime roundup of curated links, news highlights, analysis and features. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again Country star Shania Twain performs at the Saddledome in Calgary during her Queen of Me tour Tuesday, May 9, 2023. Dean Pilling/Postmedia Well, this is as big as it gets this year at the Calgary Stampede. The lone Saddledome concert will kick off the weekend in a suitably spectacular manner as Shania Twain brings her stadium show to the masses. It's been a few years since Twain's two-night stop to tour her most recent release, 2023's self-affirming Queen of Me. In the meantime, Twain finished yet another Las Vegas residency earlier this year that allowed her rev up the flash and spectacle. Make sure you get there early to see Calgary-born signer Devin Cole, a Twain super-fan and inventive purveyor of feminist anthems herself. She will be making her stadium debut. When/Where: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at the Saddledome Hailey Benedict performs on stage during day three of the Country Thunder Music Festival at The Confluence (formerly Fort Calgary) Sunday, August 18, 2024. Dean Pilling/Postmedia While the Calgary Stampede often puts a spotlight on up-and-coming locals on their various stages, it can probably safely be argued that St. Albert country singer Hailey Benedict has safely graduated from that phase in her career. It was more than 10 years ago when she picked up the Fan's Choice Award in Red Deer during the Country Music Alberta Awards. She was 11. In 2023, she was co-hosting the awards. In 2024, she offered a spirited mainstage set at Country Thunder. Her newest single, the steel guitar-sweetened ballad Carl Dean — named after Dolly Parton's husband — is an affectionate ode to unconditional love. When/Where: Saturday, 9:30 p.m. at Nashville North Pancakes fill the griddles at the Makami College Stampede breakfast on July 6, 2024. Gavin Young/Postmedia file Westside Recreation Centre, 2000 69th St. S.W.: 9 to 11 a.m. Cavalry FC Regional Field House, 125 Field House Dr. E., Aldersyde: 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. This advertisement has not loaded yet. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Seton YMCA, 4995 Market St. S.E.: 9 to 11 a.m. CrossIron Mills, 261055 CrossIron Blvd, Rocky View County: 9 to 11 a.m. Calgary-born pop singer-songwriter Devon Cole will open for Shania Twain at the Saddledome on July 5. Supplied Singer Devon Cole, who was born and raised in Calgary, will be opening for her musical hero, Shania Twain, at the superstar's Stampede concert at the Saddledome tonight. She is currently writing songs for her debut full-length album. All in all, it seems as if things are well in hand. But while Cole's rapid ascension may seem overnight, she says there were bumps in the road. 'My favourite quote is that it takes 10 years to become an overnight success,' she says. 'I think in the first five years that I've been doing this – I started releasing music in 2020 – the biggest learning has been this sense of confidence I have now and to trust my gut. Because I was trusting it in the beginning and I kind of fell out of touch with my gut, and I'm rebuilding that relationship.' Shelby Boisjoli-Meged competes in breakaway roping at the Calgary Stampede rodeo on Friday, July 4, 2025. Photo by Darren Makowichuk / Postmedia Day 1 of the 2025 Calgary Stampede rodeo welcomed the stars of breakaway roping to the main stage. And the brightest in the much-ballyhooed debut was a hometown cowgirl. Shelby Boisjoli-Meged, of Langdon, Alta., was all smiles after winning Friday's event and forever etching her name in the rodeo's record books. 'I didn't really think about (making history),' said the smiling Boisjoli-Meged. 'But that is really cool to think about. And in terms of just having an event here … yeah … it's extra special for me. 'This is my hometown rodeo.' The Heritage Park entry makes it way down 9th Avenue during the Calgary Stampede Parade on Friday, July 4, 2025. Gavin Young/Postmedia Can't help it, sorry, but over three decades of watching the Calgary Stampede Parade I've not just been entertained every year, but often deeply moved. It's so purely, utterly, sweetly, cornily Canadian. That means more than ever in this first Stampede of the Donald Trump era. All of Canada was on proud display Friday — First Nations, dozens of ethnic Canadian groups, the Flames, the military, the veterans — together in one long, serpentine display of pride and goodwill. Stampede may bring an uptick in measles cases, say health experts, as large numbers of people gather in indoor and outdoor photo Calgary has largely evaded the brunt of the province's measles outbreak, but experts say an uptick in cases is likely as the city hosts the annual Stampede festivities. Organizers expect over 1.3 million people to visit the Stampede this year, locally, nationally and from around the world. Experts have long warned that measles is an especially infectious disease as the virus is airborne and can spread both indoors and outdoors. The virus can remain in the air for up to two hours after an infected person has left the space and those infected may only show symptoms days after they have contracted virus. 'One of the advantages of Stampede is that it brings a lot of us together to celebrate and have a good time,' said infectious disease specialist Dr. Craig Jenne. 'But unfortunately, that advantage is also something viruses can leverage to travel or transmit to perhaps part of the provinces that haven't yet seen cases.' Andie Johnston at the Calgary Stampede with a simple western look. Photo supplied A career as an influencer means Calgary-based TikToker Andie Johnston gets to combine two of her biggest passions: western fashion and her hometown. The Calgary Stampede, naturally, is her time to shine. 'I always wanted to work with fashion my entire life,' Johnston said. 'I also just really love Calgary. I adore this city.' Though not all of her content is specific to Calgary, for the weeks leading up to and during the Stampede, her videos are centered around western fashion — including her impressive collection of cowboy boots. Harry the Horse celebrated his 40th birthday at the start of the Grandstand Show at the Calgary Stampede on Thursday, July 3, 2025. Brent Calver/Postmedia The Calgary Stampede's most well-known steed, Harry the Horse, is celebrating his 40th anniversary with the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. Harry the Horse debuted as the official mascot of the Stampede on March 14, 1985, at the Rodeo Royal, after replacing Jim Dandy and his horse, Nellie. Since his establishment four decades ago, Harry has secured a soft spot in Calgarians' hearts, said Bob Ell, current chair of the Stampede promotion committee. Artist Cherisse Mia was photographed at the Calgary Stampede's Art Showcase on Thursday, July 3, 2025. Gavin Young/Postmedia Roughly 12 years ago, Cherisse Mia decided she was going dedicate herself to art. Her children had grown up, so the self-taught Calgary artist committed herself to her practice full-time. She treated it as if she were taking art in university, buying all the books and supplies, and taking inspiration from artists such as early 20th-century Russian abstract painter Wassily Kandisnky and Austrian symbolist artist Gustav Klimt. She also made hundreds of sketches and set out to find her voice through trial and error. 'I started teaching myself full-time, just dived head on,' Mia says in an interview from her booth at the Western Oasis Art Show at the BMO Centre. 'I did painting every day for three years.' In 2017, she applied to get in to the Western Oasis Art Show, the annual Calgary Stampede gathering of dozens of artists. She didn't get in, so she opted to set up a booth on Stephen Avenue near the Calgary Convention Centre, which had a street market set up during the Stampede. 'I had to put up my booth and take it down every single day for the entire time,' Mia says. She caught the attention of someone who worked at the convention centre, who gave her a window to display her art. She eventually sold pieces to the centre. In 2018, Mia was accepted into the Stampede art show and has attended every year since. Jared Parsonage rides Ranhan during the Calgary Stampede rodeo on Friday, July 4, 2025. Photo by Darren Makowichuk / Postmedia When Jared Parsonage emerged as the top bull rider at the Calgary Stampede rodeo in 2023, he proclaimed that the third time was a charm. Having finished second in 2019 and third in 2022, Parsonage had extra motivation to finally capture the $50,000 prize and championship bronze statue. Now, he's on the hunt for more as one of 10 bull riders competing in Pool A from Friday to Saturday looking to lock down one of three coveted Championship Sunday spots on July 13. As the fourth competitor out of the chutes on Friday, Parsonage posted a respectable score of 81 points atop Ranhan to put him in second spot. He then watched on as Utah's Hayes Weight surpassed him with an 83-point performance on Smoke Show before Idaho's Tristen Hutchings had the ride of the afternoon and the best score of 88.5 on Alberta Prime Devil's Advocate. Visitors pass by the Yahoo sign on Family Day at the Calgary Stampede, Sunday July 7, 2024. Gavin Young/Postmedia From how to get to Stampede Park, when you can save money, highlights from the rodeo infield, where to dance up a storm and how to fill your belly, we have you covered with our ultimate Calgary Stampede visitor's guide. Ready to watch this year's Calgary Stampede Rodeo? This primer will help, whether you're a rodeo newbie or veteran. Pictured, Dawson Hay rides One More Reason during the Saddle Bronc event at day nine of the Calgary Stampede Rodeo in Calgary in 2023. Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia. The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth begins Friday at GMC Stadium, and with it comes the world's largest outdoor rodeo. The Calgary Stampede Rodeo features 210 of the globe's top cowboys and cowgirls competing for a prize purse of $2.17 million in 2025. Get the lowdown in the ins and out of the rodeo. Jason Glass cheers as he heads to the win and the overall championship in Heat 9 of the Rangeland Derby chuckwagon races at the Calgary Stampede on July 14, 2024. Mike Drew/Postmedia Chuckwagon historian and commentator Billy Melville said although the sport has been around for more than a century, the objective has always remained the same. 'Even though it's gone through a number of changes, there are three underlying principles that have guided the chuckwagon races since Day 1,' said Melville, who loves talking about the sport his grandfather, Orville Strandquist, excelled in at as both a driver and an outrider for seven decades up until the 1990s. 'A chuckwagon race does three things. Number one is that it tests the skill of the driver; number two is that it tests the skill of the outriders; and number three, it demonstrates the speed of the team. It's really no more complicated than that.' Country star Shania Twain will perform at the Saddledome on July 5. Dean Pilling/Postmedia While the Calgary Stampede is not likely to lose its boastful moniker 'The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth,' organizers of the 10-day spectacle have been taking great effort in recent years to add to its branding to emphasize there is more than a rodeo happening at Stampede Park. It is also being sold as 'The Greatest Music Festival in the West,' a testament to the eclectic music programming that takes over four venues on the Stampede grounds. More than 100 acts, including many that can be seen with the price of admission, will be playing over 10 days. The Calgary Stampede fireworks on July 13, 2023. Photo by Darren Makowichuk / Postmedia Where else can you watch fireworks 10 days in a row? Calgary has the special privilege of a spectacular nighttime show starting at around 11 p.m. from July 4 to 13 while the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth takes over the city. Want to know where you can best see the fireworks? Here are the four best spots to take in the Stampede fireworks from around the city. While not free, this option gets you the best possible view. The fireworks shoot off right after the Grandstand show ends and you can get the best close-up view while on the Midway or right outside the rodeo grounds. This spot has the best free vantage point. It is right across the river from the Stampede grounds in the community of Ramsey. Scotsman's Hill a very popular spot for fireworks viewing so show up early to find a spot to park and sit. Getting dropped off by a generous family member or a ride-share or taxi is a great option. A little farther north from Scotsman's Hill is Tom Campbell's Hill Natural Park. Near the Calgary Zoo, this spot still is close enough to give a great view of the fireworks. There is a parking lot on the north side of the park and is an 11-minute walk from the Calgary Zoo CTrain parking lot. The Max Bell Centre, on the edge of Albert Park and Radisson Heights, offers good views of the Stampede fireworks and a large parking lot.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Guns, grooms and gastropods
Maria Reva's debut novel gets rolling with a charming story of malacology (the study of snails) and ends with a country thrown into chaos by war. Along the way, the Ukraine-born, Vancouver-based Reva explores romance tourism, climate change, artifice and propaganda, her own self-doubt and much more in her wildly inventive, brilliant first full-length novel. Reva's debut book, 2020's Good Citizens Need Not Fear, was a collection of linked stories of residents in a dilapidated, near-forgotten apartment building in 1970s Ukraine. The book was shortlisted for the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and won the 2022 Kobzar Literary Award for the best book whose themes highlight the Ukrainian-Canadian experience. (In the interest of disclosure, this reviewer was one of the jurors of the prize.) Efrem Lukatsky / Associated Press photo In the darkly funny Endling, whose title comes from the term for the last of a species before extinction, Reva once again takes readers to Ukraine, albeit in more modern times — on the eve of Russia's 2022 invasion. We meet Yeva, a struggling conservationist living in a camper van converted into a mobile lab, tracking down rare snails in Ukraine in the hopes of getting them to mate — to prevent them from becoming endlings. Yeva's desperate to find a mate for her rare snail Lefty, afraid he will become the next endling in the face of the growing impact of climate change. To help keep her malacological endeavours afloat, Yeva works in the bridal tourism industry, which sees mainly wealthy men travel from all corners of the globe in the hopes of finding a Ukrainian bride. It's here she meets Nastia and Sol, sisters also working the bachelors, but with more nefarious motives. Sol and Nastia's mother was a feminist activist who deplored the industry, once famously flashing Vladimir Putin during a visit by the Russian leader to Hanover, and has since gone missing. Her daughters plan on bringing down the marriage-tourism industry by holding a group of bachelors hostage until their demands are met — and, they hope, their mother will see their actions and reappear from wherever it is she went. The sisters convince Yeva to employ her mobile lab in the heist; a dozen men are lured into (and locked in) the camper van with the promise of a special evening with budding brides — which, of course, never comes to pass. It's all setting up to be a quirky, darkly funny story of looking for love, be it for snails, men or otherwise. Then Russia invades Ukraine at the end of Part I, some 100 pages into Endling — and Reva calls a time out on the narrative before everything goes completely sideways. The book's brief middle section, Part II, sees Reva (or an autofictionalized version of Reva) enter the novel, ruminating in the first person on the struggles of her writing process, and about writing about Ukraine when a real-life war has broken out. We see increasingly frustrated emails between the author and publishers, a meandering grant application for the book and more. Anya Chibis photo Maria Reva 'Now that Russia is conducting a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the central conflict woven into the delicate fabric of my novel, namely the influx of Western suitors into Ukraine, has been subjugated — or ripped apart, to keep with the metaphor — by a far more violent and destructive narrative,' Reva writes in the grant application about her 'novel (postnovel? yet-to-be-defined entity?).' We're then given a brisk, neat-and-tidy ending to the novel, a list of (real) acknowledgments and a (real) note about the author and the type face — all of which you'd typically find at the close of a book. Which is all fine and dandy — except there's 200 or so pages, giving the reader a hint there's plenty more to come. While such an authorial interjection in the middle of a book could be off-putting or clumsy in the hands of some authors, Reva navigates the move brilliantly before plunging the reader back into the action. It's a brief, insightful respite from what's to come — a third act brimming with intensity and anxiety. Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. In Part III we rejoin the group as Russia's invasion of Ukraine begins in earnest, with the trio women trying to figure out what to do with the kidnapped bachelors now that war has broken out. After unsuccessfully trying to offload the kidnapped bachelors, the mobile lab with Yeva, Nastia, Sol and the gang heads south to the real-life (and now war-ravaged) port city of Kherson, where Yeva may have finally found a mate for Lefty and where the grandfather of Masha, the romance tourism owner, lives. Masha offers Sol and Nastia a deal — get her grandfather out, and she'll provide information on the whereabouts of their mother. Endling Venturing into one of the most dangerous sections of war-torn Ukraine brings the women and their captives in close contact with gunfire and all manner of danger, including the shooting of a scene for a Russian propaganda piece about the liberation of Ukraine. As Yeva locates the acacia tree where Lefty's potential mate might be found, the country and its people are being pushed toward becoming endlings themselves. Reva masterfully ramps up the tension and danger page by page in the latter half of Endling. Despite her anxiety in her interlude/interjection about the book in the novel's middle section, she masterfully brings together seemingly disparate threads by the book's end, never sacrificing humour along the way. Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press literary editor. Ben SigurdsonLiterary editor, drinks writer Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press's literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben. In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press's editing team before being posted online or published in print. It's part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
