A troubled teen (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) escapes prison after being framed for a crime and tries to save a pair of warring races from a common enemy. Other voices include Chris Kattan, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anne Bancroft, Val Kilmer, Malcolm McDowell, Louis Gosset Jr, Burt Reynolds, and Kelly Ripa.
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Ethan Hawke and Mark Ruffalo star as longtime friends working for a crime boss (Brian Goodman) in South Boston. Brienne De Beau, Angela Featherstone, Jay Giannone, and Donnie Wahlberg also star. Check out the official site. The film opens exclusively in New York and Los Angeles on Friday. Larger trailer available in Full Diagnosis.
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Michelle Williams stars as Wendy, a young drifter on her way to Alaska who gets caught shoplifting in Oregon and becomes separated from her dog Lucy. Will Patton, Will Oldham, Wally Dalton, and John Robinson also star. Check out the official site. The film opens in limited release in select cities on Wednesday. Larger trailer available in the Full Diagnosis.
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Punisher: War Zone is the third attempt to bring the Marvel character to life in a live-action film. It’s the best Punisher film yet, of course that’s kind of like being the coma patient with the strongest pulse. The bar may not be set that high but Frank Castle still finds a way to impale himself on it. Move over Hancock, you are no longer the worst comic book movie of the year.
Let’s start with the good, shall we? Ray Steveson is the third, and best cast, actor to take on the role of Frank Castle. In this latest version Frank is a former military officer whose family was gunned down when they witnessed a mob hit. Only Frank survived. Now, as the Punisher, Castle hunts down all members of organized crime in his never-ending quest for vengeance.
The latest name of his hitlist (Dominic West) gets himself thrown in a big vat-like glass recycler (Joker, anyone?) and is reborn as the tattered faced Jigsaw.
When the film plays it straight it works okay, although the scenes where the Punisher takes down rooms (or buildings) full of baddies who stand around waiting for him to first kill the guy next to him before taking action gets a bid old. I also liked the conflict within Frank over accidentally widowing the wife of an undercover agent (Julie Benz). There are pieces here which in better hands could have given us a halfway decent film.
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“That mother fucker!”
The film, written and directed by Darnell Martin, tells the tale of Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) and the creation, tribulations, and successes of Chess Records which boasted now legendary artists Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Little Walter (Columbus Short), Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer), Howlin’ Wolf (Eamonn Walker), Chuck Berry (Mos Def), and Etta James (Beyonce Knowles), all of whom are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Given these figures you might expect something more than your basic paint-by-number music biopic. If so, like me, you’ll be disappointed.
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