Lessons from an Old Marvel Movie

Frank Castle found himself a man out of time by December 2008. Seven months prior, Iron Man took a similarly second-tier comic character and irrevocably changed superhero cinema thanks to Robert Downey Jr.’s knack for snarky one-liners and ne'er-do-well empathy. The Dark Knight followed suit that July when it tapped into the zeitgeist with its thinly veiled Bush-Obama-Bin Laden allegory and the media frenzy around the untimely death of Heath Ledger. The climate should have been right for Punisher: War Zone during its holiday release. But, it was dead on arrival, grossing just under $9 million dollars–a quarter of its modestly successful 2004 predecessor starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta. 

As news poured in about the almost-assassination of President Trump last weekend as well as the Right’s newfound adeptness at cancel culture, an early Marvel misfire may seem far removed from our social media-fueled polarization. But few films have proven so prescient, so opposed to the manufactured optimism of the Obama coalition that they manage to speak directly to the erosion of our common culture in ways audiences still aren’t quite able to handle. 

Directed by Lexi Alexander, the sequel follows Castle (the late Ray Stevenson as Jane’s replacement) with his bloodlust unabated as he sets out to cleanse all corners of NYC from the mob’s unchallenged control. After an unhinged mafia dinner massacre that opens the film, Castle tussles with low-level mobster Billy “The Beaut” Russotti (Dominic West), who meets his seeming demise in a glass crusher before resurrecting himself as Jigsaw–the physical manifestation of all the evils The Punisher has deluded himself into believing he’d quelled. 

While the film blew through multiplexes in less than two weeks, constructing an anatomy of its failure proves difficult amid the era’s sociocultural milieu. Two months after War Zone’s release, Liam Neeson’s actioner Taken became a rare $100+ million January hit that showed audience interest in vigilante film had only grown in the months since the release of the biggest Batman outing in movie history. Between Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, Marvel was on the upswing. As The Dark Knight and outrage over its Best Picture snub proved, audiences had a newfound taste for comic book bleakness that would play out in the light vs. dark, Marvel-DC factions over the next decade.

🗺️ Ogles on the Campaign Trail Last Friday, Andy Ogles visited the Women’s Club of Nashville and, as we reported earlier this week, relayed some details he’d heard about an Iranian hitman at large on American soil, plus the unsettling fact that over four hundred illegal aliens with ties to ISIS had made their way across the southern border. “The real number is closer to six hundred,” the congressman said, before condemning the willful ignorance of the Democratic party. “They are manufacturing a crisis.”

Beyond sharing the brutal realities of Biden’s border policy, Ogles spoke about what he’s accomplished since his election to the  US House of Representatives. As of last week, the congressman has filed 131 pieces of legislation, 49 of which passed through the House—a record-breaking feat for a first-term representative, he claims. 

Over the past two years, Ogles has served on the House Financial Services Committee, joined the House Freedom Caucus, and was named chairman of the House Counterterrorism Caucus.

Yesterday, the Pamphleteer shared the first half of our District 5 Q&A with Councilmember Courtney Johnson (which you can check out here). Keep a look out for our conversation with Ogles next week.

⛳️ Country Clubbers Tim Burchett offered his two cents on the transformation of the GOP under Trump’s leadership and how the selection of J.D. Vance as vice president indicates a shift in a conversation with the Epoch Times yesterday. “When JD said something negative about Wall Street, I could just hear the country club Republicans looking for another party,” Burchett told the paper.

🚔 Justice is Served Two illegal immigrants, Ulises Martinez and Adrian Diaz, have been arrested in connection to the death of Smokin’ Thighs owner Matt Carney. The duo drove into the restaurant’s rear parking lot on Wedgewood with the intention of stealing tools from the back of Carney’s truck. Carney confronted the men, attempting to prevent them from leaving the parking lot. He ended up on the hood of their truck for his trouble, and was slung into the street as they fled. As it turned out, Martinez was also wanted on an outstanding auto theft warrant.

🎙️ Moving On Last night, after three days of spirited speeches, Trump took the stage at the Republican National Convention, offering his vision of America in the aftermath of the attempt on his life. As the Democratic Party falls into disarray and rumors swirl about whether or not Joe Biden will drop out of the race, conversations about Trump’s cabinet appointments have started to intensify. Punchbowl News reports that Bill Haggerty, Marsha Blackburn, and Mark Green are all being considered for positions within the administration:Haggerty as a candidate as a potential Treasury secretary, Blackburn as Commerce secretary, and Green as head of the Department of Homeland Security. Were Blackburn or Haggerty to accept positions, Governor Bill Lee would be in charge of appointing their successors.

DEVELOPMENT

• Developer makes latest buy at Lincoln Tech site on east side (Post)

THE BEST FISH SANDWICH IN AMERICA

With the recent news that the land under Bolton’s Spicy Chicken and Fish has been sold to developers, I figured I better get out to East Nashville and eat what is inarguably the best fish sandwich in America.

Bolton’s, if you don’t already know, is one of the OG Nashville hot chicken shacks, one of only two, along with Prince’s, to survive from the days before the Nashville Hot Chicken-pocalypse. Unlike Prince’s, however, Bolton’s still has their nearly original shack, seen above, while Prince’s was fully modernized and suburbanized after their old character-filled location burned down in 2018.

THINGS TO DO

View our calendar for the week here and our weekly film rundown here.

📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.

🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.

👨🏻‍🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide and yearly festival guide.

TONIGHT

🎸 Moses Wilson @ Dee's Lounge, 9p, $10, Info

🎸 Swamp Dogg @ Grimey's, 5p, Info

🎸 Jason Scott & The High Heat @ The Basement, 7p, $12.85, Info

🎸 Alabama @ Bridgestone Arena, 7p, $42+, Info

🪕 The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12p, Free, Info

🍀 Live Irish Music @ McNamara’s Irish Pub, 6p, Free, Info

🎸 Kelley’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

✹ WEEKLY FILM RUNDOWN: July 19-25

The latest releases and special screenings hitting Music City this week. For a complete list of upcoming releases, check out our 2024 Film Guide.

Twisters If anyone can make us forget the chemistry between Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt and the maniacal joy of Philip Seymour Hoffman in the 1996 storm-chaser blockbuster, it’s man of the hour, Glen Powell. Starring as the dudebro who just may be able to harness the power of the tornado alongside an enviable ensemble cast of Young Hollywood heavyweights like Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos, Kiernan Shipka, and Sasha Lane, Hollywood’s newest leading man looks to replicate the summer movie magic he helped bring to Top Gun: Maverick two years back. Throw in Minari director Lee Isaac Chung fresh from his well-deserved Oscar attention and equipped with his knack for rural local color, and our most-anticipated blockbuster of midsummer could also be one of the year’s best.

Crumb Catcher Two newlyweds hope their honeymoon will help gloss over their faltering relationship, but an inventor of a useless gadget intends to make them a captive audience in the biggest left-field surprise of the summer. Read our rave review here. Now playing at AMC Thoroughbred 20.

Seven Samurai Akira Kurosawa’s epic about a band of warriors protecting a village from bandits influenced everything from The Magnificent Seven to Star Wars. Celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Japanese classic with a new 4K restoration. Now playing at The Belcourt.

How to Come Alive with Norman Mailer The 20th Century’s bad boy of American letters gets the documentary treatment in a film that has full access to the Mailer estate archives and promises to lean into the nuance of the author’s tumultuous life. Now playing at The Belcourt