29 Ağustos 2005 Pazartesi

Still More Quickie Reviews

Crash: [R] This skewed look at race in America is intended as a wry commentary on the American obsession with race that goes beyond the usual extremes of blatant racism and complete color-blindness. It even goes beyond the usual polarity of black versus white that most cinema of this type deals with. It covers all colors and all stereotypes. And it does so with humanity and tenderness. That is the good side. The bad side is that it is unrelenting in its bleak outlook. The good guys are mess up, the few folks who make a good choice do so accidentally or with highly-mixed motives. This is not a movie to see if you are already depressed, as it will drive you into the ground. But if you are up to it, it is a fascinating interweaving of characters, stories, and philosophical consideration of the problems of race in America.

The Punisher: [R] The Punisher is arguably Marvel's first foray into a complete anti-hero, and is therefore also arguably the character that pushed comics from the light-and-fluffy era of the 70s, into the dark and gritty era that began in the 90s and is still going strong. The Punisher's story is dark and cruel - his family was killed by criminals - so he is dedicated to not only bring criminals to justice, but also to torture them in the process to bring a dark justice to the streets. Frankly, my opinion has always been that the character is at least as bad as those he hunts. Marvel's newest cinematic take on the character is not as dark as the Punisher of the comics. But it is hardly as bright as any of the recent comic-book movies (though, of course, Sin City makes it look positively cheerful) and there is a sense of hopelessness of this story. There are some good scenes in this film - you can't miss the popsicle scene - but overall, this is one you can afford to miss. That being said, it was moderately popular, and they are talking about a Punisher 2, already. So this is not their last chance to get it right.

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