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Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher, a review by Danae Cassandra

Avengers Confidential: Black Widow and Punisher
Year of Release: 2014
Directed By:  Kenichi Shimizu
Starring: Jennifer Carpenter, Brian Bloom, John Eric Bentley, Grant George
Genre: Action, Animation

Overview:
After interfering with a top secret mission, THE PUNISHER is taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D. AGENT and AVENGER, BLACK WIDOW.  At the orders of Director Nick Fury, Punisher and Black Widow are sent on a mission to stop LEVIATHAN, a global terrorist organization, that plans to sell stolen S.H.I.E.L.D. technology to the highest bidder.  Now, the vigilante and spy must work together to prevent this technology from falling into the wrong hands.  The fate of the world, and of the AVENGERS, hangs in the balance.

My Thoughts:
It's a pretty standard comic story, and makes for a pretty decent superhero tale. It's made by the same folks who did Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore, and has much of the same look and style. I liked the character designs, the animation was quite good - except for a few closeups of Natasha's face, where they didn't get the expressions right, and the big battle scene at the end where the CGI was super-fracking-obvious.  If you liked Technovore then you'll like this - and if you haven't see it, do you like anime style?  Normally I'd say if you enjoy superhero fare then you'd enjoy this, but the style is very anime, so if you don't like that style then don't watch this or Technovore.  Also this is a bit violent for the younger set - this is definitely aimed at teen and up.

However, the most interesting thing to me was the (subtle?) critique of traditional romantic tropes. Natasha has a love interest here who didn't feel worthy because she was strong and powerful and he wasn't. So he set out to change that about himself. It's a problem we see in comics (and paranormal romance) regularly - how to write a romantic story for a strong, powerful, independent female character. Inevitably we get either the female character pretends to be less than she is, or she has to go out with someone who is a bigger BAMF than she is (in which case she loses independence), or he occupies a weaker position and the story ends tragically. We are only just beginning to see partnering of these women with men who can hold their own with them without the ladies giving anything up (Wonder Woman/Superman). Or, here, Punisher - no there's no romance between Frank and Natasha, but Frank doesn't treat her any differently because she's a woman. He treats her as an equal, and she is shown to match him. And that's good to see no matter what.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3/5

(From Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher on June 7th, 2014)

Night and the City, a review by GSyren

Night and the City (5-035673-006153)

United Kingdom 1950 | Released 2007-10-15 on DVD from BFI (British Film Institute), Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

92 minutes | Aspect ratio 1.37:1 | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo

Directed by Jules Dassin and starring Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers, Hugh Marlowe, Francis L. Sullivan

Richard Widmark delivers an indelible performance as Harry Fabian, a small-time American nightclub tout and desperate dreamer who tries to worm his way into the wrestling rackets of post-war London. In his path lie the formidable obstacles posed by a vengeful club owner Phil Nosseross (Francis Sullivan) and the racketeer Kristo (Herbert Lom). The club owner's sultry wife (Googie Withers) schemes with him, and a long-suffering girlfriend (Gene Tierney) does her best to save Harry from himself. Like many a noir hero before him, Harry thinks he can outrun his fate. He's wrong. Jules Dassin, under suspicion in Hollywood for his political beliefs, made the film at great speed, shooting night scenes in a London still shattered and skeletal from wartime bombings. Adapted from the lowlife novel by Gerald Kersh, Night and the City is a baroque masterpiece of corruption, paranoia and doom.

My thoughts about Night and the City:

It's always fun to see films shot on location in London. Although there is not a lot of it that I recognize in this film. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. The film itself is very good. It's an interesting story, and I always liked Richard Widmark. Hugh Marlowe seems a bit wasted. Not sure why they would cast such a well known actor in such a nothing role. But other than that, the casting is really good. One would never guess that wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko had no previous acting experience. Herbert Lom looks really menacing, a far cry from his later Chief Inspector Dreyfus character. But there are also a lot of great characters in smaller roles. I really liked the uncredited Maureen Delaney as Anna O'Leary late in the film, for example. Apart from some old Hammer films, I haven't seen a lot of British film noir. But this is an excellent example of the genre, directed by the great Jules Dassin. I always thought that Dassin was a Frenchman. His name sounds French, and his best known film - Rififi - is French. It wasn't until I started reading about this film that I realized that Dassin was in fact a US citizen, born in Connecticut. But this is really Widmark's film. He was a great actor, and he really shines here. I wish Dassin would have had the opportunity to use him in other films, too. They make a great combination. And they make a very good film. Highly recommended.

I rate this title

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on March 30th, 2015)

Charmed Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

"Animal Pragmatisrn"
Original Airdate: February 10, 2000
When Phoebe's friends use a book of spells to turn animals into men, Phoebe's attempt to reverse the spell goes horribly wrong.

My Thoughts:
This episode is nothing more then a done for fun Valentines Day episode. And yes it is a fun episode. I did like how they got around normal people pulling off a spell that only a witch could do.

"Pardon My Past"
Original Airdate: February 17, 2000
Phoebe risks her life by travelling back in time in order to reverse the past in which she was seduced by an immortal warlock to give into the dark side of her power.

My Thoughts:
This was a good episode... another one where we are reminded that Phoebe could turn either good or evil.

"Give Me A Sign"
Original Airdate: February 24, 2000
When criminal mastermind Bane Jessup (Antonio Sabato, Jr.) narrowly escapes an attack by a powerful demon, he kidnaps Prue and forces her to use her powers to save him.

My Thoughts:
Nothing really special about this episode. Bane is back... no big deal to me... I didn't care for him the first time. Piper stress over if she should be with Dan or Leo.

"Murphy's Luck"
Original Airdate: March 30, 2000
When Prue rescues a woman who has been driven to attempt suicide by a Darklighter, she finds herself his next tormented victim.

My thoughts:
This is a good episode... but not great. Prue goes hunting for a job as a photographer. Saves girl being tormented by a Darklighter... Darklighter turns his wrath on Prue.  The only really big thing for this episode is not only does Piper make up her mind who she wants to be with... but Leo becomes a whitelighter once again.

(From Charmed Marathon on March 2nd, 2008)