The Punisher of The One With The Dude Who Beat Up Rocky!

So last week all my friends were subject to punishment! Well here's the second installment as promised. You might ask why am I reviewing what must essentially be the same movie, but here's where you are wrong. This movie was made in 1989 and was not a origin story as most of our latest comic book movies seem to think they must be. This movie take place 5 years after the gangland "execution" of Frank Castle and his family, leaving only Frank alive, only no one knows this. Thus begins a systematic hunting and killing of every major crime boss and his lackeys. This leaves the city ripe for the Yakuza...yes I said Yakuza...to move in and attempt a coup. Frank is content to allow the two sides to battle it out and then pick off the winners, until the Yakuza take it one step too far. But, sorry can't tell you more...you know the rules...this is not the spoilerific episode.

 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this film! It is full of such 80's trash, sleaze, and "violence" it's hilarious. If you watch close there are very few on screen kills compared to the two later versions of this film, not to say that there aren't a lot. I feel this has a lot to do with the character development of the Punisher thru the 80's, 90's, and 2000's. When this particular Punisher was popular...he didn't always kill. In fact he had "mercy bullets" which did not kill the victim, he spent a lot of time blowing up things, and not a lot of on panel killing. Then comes the 90's...comics have to get grittier to compete with titles like Spawn, and Youngblood....hence the Thomas Jane version..this was more brutal and dark. If you question that, watch the family death scene in the first 30 minutes and then we'll talk. Then comes the 2000's, violence and dystopia was the order of the day. Heroes were killed left and right along with villains, granted they usually came back to life....it was in the 2000...2001 to be specific that Marvel came out with the Max line and you guessed it Punisher was one of it's main titles...this is what gave us that craptastic piece of crap that was "Punisher: War Zone"  Don't get me wrong ...love the Max line of comics..hated the movie.  My recommendation is to go out ...dig thru your bargain bins, check you second hand stores, but get you a copy of this. If you love cheesy 80's action this is the movie for you...c'mon Doplh Lundgren AND Louis Gossett Jr, and tons of stuff blowing up...oh and did I mention samurai and ninjas!!!!!



 

 

THE PUNISHER (1989)

Written by: Boaz Yakin

Directed by: Mark Goldblatt

Starring : Dolph Lundgren, Louis Gossett Jr.

Rated: R

Runtime: 89 minutes





 

 



The Punisher or The One With The Dude Who Looks Like The Dude From Highlander

Frank Castle is a simple man. He has a loving wife and son, nice house in the suburbs, a great job, and he kills people. Ok well there is a little more to it than that. Frank works undercover bringing some of the biggest and worst criminals down, however on his last op something goes terribly wrong. Turns out that the youngest son of the biggest crime lord, Howard Saint, gets killed in Frank's last operation. This drives Saint into a revenge that rivals a "Godfather-esque" massacre, having Castle's entire family slaughtered, culminating in him witnessing the death of his wife and son. Being left for dead , Castle is rescued and nursed back to health by the local "shaman". Thus begins the life of the "Punisher". Castle devises a plan to systematically take down Saint and ruin everything he loves. Perfect family movie huh?!

I have loved the Punisher since I was a kid, ever since he was hired by the Jackal to kill Spiderman. Here you have a guy with no powers, just tons of training, guts, guns and attitude...this is also a guy who has gone toe to toe with the Hulk. Needless to say when this movie was announced I had some trepidations. You have to remember at this point Marvel was kind of hit or miss with it movies, I know we are all trying to forget what was that thing call Daredevil. When I heard Travolta was playing the big baddie I was afraid we were headed in the same direction. I was very pleased though, I thought Thomas Jane was a perfect match for this role. He is tortured, broody, intelligent, and had just the right bit of dry wit. Travolta was Travolta..over the top, and at times almost comedic. Don't get me wrong I loved this film, this is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. I completely recommend you check this one out, but a word of warning...do not go in looking for in-depth story and character development. You get some of that but this movie is for the action junkie in us...go out, find this , watch it, and justice will be served.

STAY TUNED KIDDIES MORE PUNISHER FUN COMING SOON.

THE PUNISHER (2004)

Written by: Johnathan Hensleigh and Michael France

Directed by: Johnathan Hensleigh

Rating: R

Runtime : 124 minutes





Hardware or The End of Society As Narrated By Iggy Pop

By the 21st century most of Earth has been transformed into a nuclear wasteland, the few survivors herded together in slums. Sounds like most post-apocalyptic films right? There is a slight twist in this one though, you have to add just a bit of flavor of Terminator. The movie starts with Mo, played by Dylan McDermott, returning home to see his girlfriend during the "Christmas Cease Fire". On the way he stops a nomad who is selling odds and ends and electronic trinkets, Mo buys a metallic skull along with a few other mechanical "do-dads" to take to his girlfriend, Jill, who is a sculptor. Needless to say the "do-dads" and the skull are off the remains of a military project for a "soldier/killer" robot, which reactivates itself and puts itself back together, wherein mayhem ensues and people die. I would divulge more but this is not a "spoilerific" episode

If you love the apocalypse you should add this one to your viewing list. There really is not anything new or different here from what you have seen with others in this genre, but despite that, this one does not fail to entertain. It has everything you could hope for in "killer robot hunting humans in a post-apocalyptic world" movie, including Iggy Pop narrating in the background for you. That's right you get the "Godfather of Punk" along with everything else, so don't be a Stooge (see what I did there), go out and find this movie!

HARDWARE
Written by: Steve MacManus, Kevin O'Neill, and Richard Stanley
Directed by: Richard Stanley
Starring: Dylan McDermott, Stacey Travis and Iggy Pop
Rating: R
Runtime: 94 minutes

Last Kind Words or Something's Not Quite Right in Kentucky!

I recently decided I would go down that rabbit hole that is called Netflix and watch some of the lesser known horror films. I told myself I would sit through them no matter how good or bad they were, after a few movies this led me to "Last Kind Words".  This movie focuses on Eli and his family, who are forced to move to the backwoods of Kentucky, to work on a farm, due to the latest economic downturns. Eli soon finds himself drawn to explore the woods that grow at the back of the farm, where  he meets Amanda. Eli ends up spending more and more time away from chores, and spending that time with Amanda. Little by little he finds that the farm, the woods and Amanda are all tied together with a dark secret.

Sometimes going off the beaten path does deliver true gems and this film is one of those. This is not one of your big budget horror movies, nor was it backed by the big studios. Unlike some other independent films, where the acting can be spotty and the cinematography may not be up to snuff, this film does not have those problems. The acting is spot on and it is beautifully shot, blending just the right amount of light and dark, giving you a great taste of human nature, both love and darkness. For an independent film, hell for a film period, I HIGHLY recommend this one, this one truly made an impression on me.

 



LAST KIND WORDS
Written by: Kevin Barker and Amy Riherd Miller
Directed by: Kevin Barker
Starring: Brad Dourif, Spencer Daniels, Alexia Fast, Marianne Hagan, and Sarah Steele
Rating: NR
Runtime: 87 minutes