CINEmelma: precint 13

In America han dei soldi da spendere.
Non si spiega altrimenti l'acquisto dei diritti dell'ottimo Distretto 13: le brigate della morte diretto nel 76 da John Carpenter, per farci un remake nel 2005.

In questo nuovo Assault on Precinct 13 però del film originale resta ben poco: certo, siamo sempre in un "distretto 13" che deve difendersi da un assedio, ma è tutto il contorno a cambiare. Nell'originale alcune gang rivali si univano per vendicarsi di alcuni poliziotti, qui abbiamo tutto un altro genere di assalitori (che non svelo) e anche le motivazioni sono del tutto diverse.

Detto questo, il remake risulta piuttosto ben riuscito: non troppo lungo, riesce a mantenere la tensione in maniera efficace; la regia è decente e gli attori bravi (cast mica da ridere: Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Byrne, Maria Bello, John Leguizamo e Brian Dennehy).
L'originale aveva, come ovvio, tutta un'altra forza (specie se poi si considera l'epoca), ma di certo questa reinterpretazione ha buoni spunti e garantisce un buon livello di intrattenimento.

Voto: 7+.
Tags: thriller, azione, drammatico, crimine, polizia, distretto, assalto, remake, corruzione, malavita, cecchino, carcerati, festa, capodanno.

Dennehy, Brian

Data di nascita: 9 July 1938
Altezza: 6' 2" (1.88 m)
Coniuge: Jennifer Arnott::(1988 - present) 1 adopted son, Judith Scheff::(1959 - 1974) (divorced) 3 children

Ultimi lavori:

Ratatouille (2007) .... (attached) [attore]
War Eagle (2007) .... Pop [attore]
10th & Wolf (2006) .... Agent Horvath [attore]
Everyone's Hero (2006) .... Babe Ruth (voice) [attore]
"Marco Polo" (2006) (mini) .... Kublai Khan [attore]
The Ultimate Gift (2006) .... Gus [attore]
Welcome to Paradise (2006) .... Bobby Brown [attore]
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) .... Jasper [attore]
The Exonerated (2005) (TV) .... Gary Gauger [attore]
Our Fathers (2005) (TV) .... Father Dominic Spagnolia [attore]

Biografia:
Imposing, barrel chested and now silver haired prolific US actor, well respected on both screen and stage for the best part of 25 years. Dennehy was born in July 1938 in Bridgeport, Conneticut and attended Columbia University, New York City on a football scholarship where he majored in history, before moving onto to Yale to study dramatic arts. First appeared in minor screen roles in films including Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Semi-Tough (1977) and Foul Play (1978) and proved popular with casting directors leading to regular work. However, Dennehy really got himself noticed by movie audiences in the box office hit First Blood (1982) as the bigoted Sheriff determined to run Vietnam veteran John Rambo (played by Sylvester Stallone) out of his town. Dennehy was then quickly escalated to stronger supporting or co-starring roles in films including the Cold War thriller _Gorky Park (1983)_ , as a benevolent alien in Cocoon (1985), a corrupt Sheriff in the western Silverado (1985), a tough but cluey cop in F/X (1986) and a cop turned writer alongside hitman James Woods in Best Seller (1987). Furthermore in 1987, Dennehy turned in one of his finest screen roles as the cancer ridden architect, Stourley Kracklite, in 'Peter Greenaway's superb The Belly of an Architect (1987), for which Dennehy won the Best Actor Award at the 1987 Chicago Film Festival. More strong performances quickly followed, and Dennehy reprised prior roles for Cocoon: The Return (1988) and F/X2 (1991), and then turned in three gripping performances in several telemovies. Firstly, playing a sadistic small town bully who gets his grisly comeuppance in In Broad Daylight (1991) (TV), portraying the brutal murderer John Wayne Gacy in the chilling _"To Catch a Killer" (1992) (mini)_ and thirdly as a corrupt union official in Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992) (TV). In 1993, Dennehy appeared in the role of police Sgt Jack Reed in the telemovie Jack Reed: Badge of Honor (1993) (TV), and reprised the role in four sequels, which saw Dennehy for the first time become involved in co-producing, directing and writing screen productions ! Demand for Dennehy showed no signs of abating, and he has put in further memorable performances in Romeo + Juliet (1996), as bad luck ridden Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (2000) (TV), (which earned Dennehy a Golden Globe Award), popped up in the uneven Spike Lee film She Hate Me (2004) and appears in the remake of Assault on Precinct 13 (2005). The multi-talented Dennehy has also had a rich theatrical career and has appeared both in the United States and internationally in dynamic stage productions including "Death of a Salesman" (for which he picked up the 1999 Best Actor Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award), "A Touch of the Poet", "Long Days Journey into Night" (for which he picked up another Tony Award in 2003) and in Eugene O'Neill's heart wrenching play, "The Iceman Cometh".

Trivia random: While performing "Death Of A Salesman" and "Long Day's Journey into Night" on Broadway, so many of his fans wanted to meet him after his performances that show producers had to hire extra security to keep the crowds in control near the stage door.

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Leguizamo, John

Data di nascita: 22 July 1964
Altezza: 5' 8" (1.73 m)
Coniuge: Justine Maurer::(5 July 2003 - present) 2 children, Yelba Osorio::(27 August 1994 - November 1996) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

The 1 Second Film (2007) .... (associate producer) [produttore]
The Babysitters (2007) .... (producer) [produttore]
"The Kill Pit" (2007) .... [attore]
Love in the Time of Cholera (2007) .... Lorenzo Daza (attached) [attore]
The Ministers (2007) .... [attore]
The Take (2007) .... Felix De La Pena [attore]
Tlatelolco: Mexico 68 (2007) .... Frankie [attore]
A.K.A. (2006) (TV) .... Sean Edison [attore]
The Alibi (2006) .... Hannibal [attore]
The Groomsmen (2006) .... T.C. [attore]

Biografia:
Fast-talking and feisty-looking John Leguizamo has continued to impress movie audiences with his versatility: he can play sensitive and naïve young men, such as Johnny in Hangin' with the Homeboys (1991); cold-blooded killers like Benny Blanco, gunning down reformed gangster Al Pacino in Carlito's Way (1993); a heroic Navy SEAL, stopping aerial terrorists in Executive Decision (1996); and drag queen Chi-Chi Rodriguez in To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995). Arguably, not since ill-fated actor and comedian Freddie Prinze starred in the smash TV series "Chico and the Man" (1974) has a youthful Latino personality had such a powerful impact on critics and fans alike.Born July 22, 1964, in Bogotá, Colombia, Leguizamo was four when his family emigrated to the United States. He was raised in Queens, New York, attended New York University and studied under legendary acting coach Lee Strasberg for only one day before Strasberg passed away. The extroverted Leguizamo started working the comedy club circuit in New York and first appeared in front of the cameras in an episode of "Miami Vice" (1984). His first film appearance was a small part in Mixed Blood (1985), and he had minor roles in Casualties of War (1989) and Die Hard 2 (1990) before playing a liquor store thief who shoots Harrison Ford in Regarding Henry (1991). His career really started to soar after his first-rate performance in the independent film Hangin' with the Homeboys (1991) as a nervous young teenager from the Bronx out for a night in brightly lit Manhattan with his buddies, facing the career choice of staying in a supermarket or heading off to college and finding out that the girl he loves from afar isn't quite what he thought she was.The year 1991 was also memorable for other reasons, as he hit the stage with his show Mambo Mouth (1991) (TV), in which he portrayed seven different Latino characters. The witty and incisive show was a smash hit and won the Obie and Outer Circle Critics Award, and later was filmed for HBO, where it picked up a CableACE Award. He returned to the stage two years later with another satirical production poking fun at Latino stereotypes titled Spic-O-Rama (1993) (TV). It played in Chicago and New York, and won the Drama Desk Award and four CableACE Awards.In 1995 he created and starred in the short-lived TV series "House of Buggin'" (1995), an all-Latino-cast comedy variety show featuring hilarious sketches and comedic routines. The show scored two Emmy nominations and received positive reviews from critics, but it was canceled after only one season. The gifted Leguizamo was still keeping busy in films, with key appearances in Super Mario Bros. (1993), Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Spawn (1997). In 1998 he made his Broadway debut in Freak (1998) (TV), a "demi-semi-quasi-pseudo-autobiographical" one-man show, which was filmed for HBO by Spike Lee.Utilizing his distinctive vocal talents, he next voiced a pesky rat in Doctor Dolittle (1998) before appearing in the dynamic Spike Lee-directed Summer of Sam (1999) as a guilt-ridden womanizer, as the Genie of The Lamp in the exciting Arabian Nights (2000) (TV) and as Henri de Toulouse Lautrec in the visually spectacular Moulin Rouge! (2001). He also voiced Sid in the animated Ice Age (2002), co-starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Collateral Damage (2002) and directed and starred in the boxing film Undefeated (2003) (TV). Afterward, Leguizamo starred in the remake of the John Carpenter hit Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) and George A. Romero's long-awaited fourth "Dead" film, Land of the Dead (2005). There can be no doubt that the remarkably talented Leguizamo has been a breakthrough performer for the Latino community in mainstream Hollywood, in much the same way that Sidney Poitier crashed through celluloid barriers for African-Americans in the early 1960s. Among his many strengths lies his ability to not take his ethnic background too seriously but also to take pride in his Latino heritage. He has opened many doors for his countrymen. A masterly and accomplished performer, movie audiences await Leguizamo's next exciting performance.

Trivia random: His parents encouraged him to maintain his Spanish, sometimes with bribes. They spoke to him in Spanish, but he usually replied in English.
Citazione random: "Because you get to be free. Not that there's a problem with being the leading man, but the leading roles are always tough. It's hard. It's a really hard thing to do right, to get right, and it's not as fun to be the leading man. Being a supporting actor you have no responsibility. You just go there to play and have a really great time. And you have a really great time. You just go home and you enjoy everybody. When I'm the lead in a movie, you don't sleep, you focus on every aspect of the movie and it's a huge responsibility. And there aren't that many great leading parts, either. There are more, better written supporting parts than there are leading parts." - On why he always seems to play supporting roles.

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Bello, Maria (I)

Nome di battesimo: Bello, Maria Elaina
Data di nascita: 18 April 1967
Altezza: 5' 5" (1.65 m)

Ultimi lavori:

Butterfly on a Wheel (2007) .... Abby Warner [attrice]
The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) .... Jocelyn [attrice]
Untitled Alan Ball Project (2007) .... Gail [attrice]
Flicka (2006) .... Nell McLaughlin [attrice]
World Trade Center (2006) .... Donna McLoughlin [attrice]
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) .... Alex [attrice]
The Dark (2005) .... Adèle [attrice]
A History of Violence (2005) .... Edie Stall [attrice]
The Sisters (2005) .... Marcia Prior Glass [attrice]
Thank You for Smoking (2005) .... Polly Bailey [attrice]

Biografia:
Maria Bello was born on 18 April, 1967 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. She went to Villanova University, majoring in political science. She had every intention of becoming a lawyer, but she took an acting class during her senior year, just for fun. She discovered she was very good at it, and she was soon cast in small off-Broadway plays, such as "The Killer Inside Me", "Small Town Gals With Big Problems" and "Urban Planning". She later guest-starred on episodes of "The Commish" (1991), "Nowhere Man" (1995), "Misery Loves Company" (1995) and "Due South" (1994). She got her big break when producers Kenny Lenhart and John J. Sakmar cast her in the spy show "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (1996) as "Mrs. Smith" (they remembered her from her performance in a failed pilot that was a remake of the classic TV series "77 Sunset Strip" (1958)). The show was canceled after eight weeks on the air. Then came a spot on "ER" (1994) as "Dr. Anna Del Amico", in which she guest-starred on the final three episodes of the third season. The show's producers were so impressed with her that they asked her back as a regular on the series.

Trivia random: Invited to join AMPAS in 2006.
Citazione random: "I don't think you understand what levels or what fears until you have a child of your own. I mean, I've never loved someone so much and I've never been so afraid in my life. And the truth is I would kill someone, whoever tried to hurt him. I would. I have no doubt about it."

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Fishburne, Laurence

Data di nascita: 30 July 1961
Altezza: 6' 0½" (1.84 m)
Coniuge: Gina Torres::(20 September 2002 - present), Hajna O. Moss::(1985 - 199?) (divorced) 2 children

Ultimi lavori:

4Chosen (2008) .... Ralph Menar (in negotiations) [attore]
Dirty Harry (2007) (VG) .... Reverend Carlton Gray (voice) [attore]
The Last Full Measure (2007) .... Harold Hunter [attore]
The 2006 Black Movie Awards (2006) (TV) .... [attore]
Akeelah and the Bee (2006) .... (producer) [produttore]
Bobby (2006) .... Edward Robinson [attore]
The Death and Life of Bobby Z (2006) .... Tad Gruzsa [attore]
Five Fingers (2006) .... (producer) [produttore]
Mission: Impossible III (2006) .... Theodore Brassel [attore]
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) .... Marion Bishop [attore]

Biografia:
Critically hailed for his forceful, militant, authoritarian roles, Laurence Fishburne, who is often confused with another tall, gap-toothed, mercurial African-American talent, Samuel L. Jackson, came out of the black theater in New York. Born in Augusta, Georgia on July 30, 1961, Laurence's mother, who taught high school math, transplanted her family to Brooklyn after his parents divorced. At the age of 10, he appeared in his first play, "In My Many Names and Days," at a cramped little theater space in Manhattan. He continued on but managed to avoid the trappings of a child star per se, considering himself more a working child actor at the time. Billing himself as Larry Fishburne during this early phase, he never studied or was trained in the technique of acting.In 1973, at the age of 12, Laurence won a recurring role on the daytime soap "One Life to Live" (1968) that lasted three seasons, and subsequently made his film debut in the ghetto-themed Cornbread, Earl and Me (1975). At 14 Francis Ford Coppola cast him in Apocalypse Now (1979), which filmed for two years in the Phillippines. Laurence didn't work for another year and a half after that long episode. A graduate of Lincoln Square Academy, Coppola was impressed enough with Laurence to hire him again down the line with featured roles in Rumble Fish (1983), The Cotton Club (1984) and Gardens of Stone (1987). Throughout the 1980s he continued to build up his film and TV credit list with featured roles despite little fanfare. A recurring role as Cowboy Curtis on the kiddie show "Pee-wee's Playhouse" (1986) helped him through whatever lean patches there were at the time.With the new decade (1990s) came out-and-out stardom for Laurence. A choice lead in John Singleton's urban tale Boyz n the Hood (1991) catapulted him immediately into the front of the film ranks. Set in L.A.'s turbulent South Central area, his potent role as a morally-minded divorced father who strives to rise above the ignorance and violence of his surroundings, Laurence showed true command and the ability to hold up any film. On stage he would become invariably linked to playwright August Wilson and his 20th Century epic African-American experience after starring for two years as the eruptive ex-con in "Two Training Running." For this powerful, mesmerizing performance, Laurence won nearly every prestigious theater award in the books (Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Theatre World). It was around the time of this career hallmark that he began billing himself as "Laurence" instead of "Larry."More awards and accolades came his way. In addition to an Emmy for the pilot episode of the series "Tribeca," he was nominated for his fine work in the quality mini-movies The Tuskegee Airmen (1995) (TV) and Miss Evers' Boys (1997) (TV). On the larger screen, both Laurence and Angela Bassett were given Oscar nominations for their raw, seething portrayals of rock stars Ike and Tina Turner in the film What's Love Got to Do with It (1993). To his credit, he managed to take an extremely repellent character and make it a sobering and captivating experience. A pulp box-office favorite as well, he originated the role of Morpheus, Keanu Reeves' mentor, in the exceedingly popular futuristic sci-fi The Matrix (1999), best known for its ground-breaking special effects. He wisely returned for its back-to-back sequels.Into the millennium Laurence extended his talents by making his screenwriting and directorial debut in Once in the Life (2000), in which he also starred. The film is based on his own critically-acclaimed play "Riff Raff," which he staged five years earlier. In 1999 he scored a major theater triumph with a multi-racial version of "The Lion in Winter" as Henry II opposite Stockard Channing's Eleanor of Acquitaine.On film, Fishburne has appeared in a variety of interesting roles in not-always-successful films. Never less than compelling, a few of his more notable parts include an urban speed chess player in Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993); a military prisoner in Cadence (1990); a college professor in Singleton's Higher Learning (1995); a CIA operative in Bad Company (1995/I); the title role in Othello (1995) (he was the first black actor to play the part on film); a spaceship rescue team leader in the sci-fi horror Event Horizon (1997); a Depression-era gangster in Hoodlum (1997); a dogged police sergeant in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River (2003); and a spelling bee coach in Akeelah and the Bee (2006).Earning multiple NAACP Image awards for his contribution to the entertainment business, he has two children, Langston and Montana, from his first marriage to actress Hajna O. Moss, who appeared with him in the films Gardens of Stone (1987) and A Rage in Harlem (1991). In September, 2002 he married Cuban-American actress Gina Torres.

Trivia random: He is often mistaken for Samuel L. Jackson and vice versa. According to Jackson, they've stood right next to each other and people still call them by the wrong names.
Citazione random: [On why he didn't read the complete play of "Othello" before acting in the film version in which more than half of the dialogue was cut:] "Why should I read all those words that I'm not going to get to say?"

Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

martedì 12 dicembre 2006

precint 13

Dennehy, Brian

Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

Leguizamo, John

Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

Byrne, Gabriel

Bello, Maria (I)

Hawke, Ethan

Carpenter, John (I)

Fishburne, Laurence

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