Carlo Bianchino Movies
This is an adaptation of a popular, violent Marvel Comics series about a character who's a frontier-style vigilante in modern-day urban America. Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Castle, once a crusading police officer whose family was murdered by a car bomb planted by the Mob. Believed to be killed in the explosion, Castle has gone underground, building a subterranean lair in the sewer system and vengefully assassinating various criminals, wracking up an impressive body count of 125 slain in five years. Castle's former partner, Jake Berkowitz (Louis Gossett, Jr.) rightly suspects that he knows the true identity of the motorcycle-riding avenger dubbed "the Punisher." Meanwhile, Castle's bloody campaign has had the intended effect of weakening organized crime, creating an opportunity to consolidate power for the ambitious Gianni Franco (Jeroen Krabbe), the man responsible for the Castle family hit. Sensing an opportunity to muscle in on new lucrative turf, foreign competitors threaten Franco's empire. When the Japanese yakuza has the crime boss' innocent son kidnapped, Castle finds himself in the ironic position of helping a man he'd like to kill. Filmed in Australia, this low-budget action thriller did not get a theatrical release in the U.S., instead going directly to video. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dolph Lundgren, Louis Gossett, Jr., (more)
- 1988
- R
Certain films were clearly made before their time, others, such as this one, delve into a genre obviously well past its heyday. In this story, Ross is a young Australian man who has decided to drop out of his everyday life in order to come to grips with himself in the surfing scene. As he is leaving in his car for the coast, he has a confrontation with a gang of crazed bikers which leaves one of the nutso lads' bikes on the scrap-heap. This does not sit well with them, and they vow revenge. While the bikers prepare to track him down and make him pay for his violation of their integrity, Ross is on the beaches finding himself. Had the surfing footage been more exciting, or the bikers been more believably menacing, viewers might have forgiven the filmmakers for taking another pass at the "surfers vs. bikers" theme. Instead, reviewers noted that unintended laughter punctuated the screenings they attended. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Phelps, Vince Martin, (more)
Adapted from Umberto Eco's best-selling novel, director Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose is a 14th century murder-mystery thriller starring Sean Connery as a Sherlock Holmes-esque Franciscan monk called William of Baskerville. When a murder occurs at a secluded Benedictine Abbey, William is called in to investigate. As he and his apprentice, Adson von Melk (Christian Slater), delve deeper and deeper into the case, more dead bodies begin to turn up. Eventually, Bernardo Gui, an inquisitor played by F. Murray Abraham gets involved, but he may not have the best intentions. Sean Connery's performance earned him the award for Best Actor at the 1988 British Academy Awards. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham, (more)
