Les Anges noirs

This one is hard to watch. The serious tone of the story line, the edgy dual performance by John Leguizamo, and the dark Christian perspective will not win this work any fans in the Bible-Belt, for sure, but they also factor into the equation of elements adding together to make the viewer cringe and pull back not only from the story, but from the characters. By the time you decide whose side you're on, the movie is over and you're left feeling empty and incomplete from the experience. This is, without a doubt, John Leguizamo's "the Libertine," in that it may well be his best performance ever, and maybe 12 people will see it. I cannot say this film is fabulous, but I will say that John Leguizamo purely shines, so if you're a fan of his work, do yourself a favor and redbox this (at least), but if not, you may want to try "What's the Worst that Could Happen?" instead, wherein he costars with Martin Lawrence and Danny DiVito.

All in all? This is one of those dark obscure pools of goodness whose appreciation calls for a genre-fan, or a fan of the principal actor, to really enjoy the work. Otherwise, you may be disappointed.

I love John Leguizamo, so for me, it rates a 7.6/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Barely Watchable and Almost Average Movie that is a Jumble of Laments on Religion, Revenge, Retribution, Loss, and other Such Things. The Cringe Factor is Close at hand and the Intrigue Waivers while the Sporadic Violence is just there.

What must have at first seemed a Challenge for Leguizamo seems Unattainable as Each Twin is Underplayed as to Their Respective Good/Damaged Characters. The rest of the Cast is Hit and Miss and the Plot, when it doesn't Veer off Course, is Interesting Enough to Maintain some Mild Musings as to Motive and Hidden Realities.

Overall it is not a Complete Failure but doesn't Amount to Much after all is Said and Done. In Fact, the Ending may be the Weakest Part in this Weak Film, although there are some other Vapid Sub-Plots that might also be a Contender.

Harvey Keitel is his usual great self in this crime/action/thick-with-religious-fervor film about vigilante justice and highly motivated detectives trying tangle in the perps. The problem with this movie, in my humble opinion, is the less-than-coherent script, which falls short in its efforts to utilize underdeveloped characters and poorly directed scenes that do not seem aligned with the primary storyline.

Rotten Tomatoes correctly ascribes only 13% rating to a movie that tries too hard to unscramble some broken eggs. It's mainly the principal female lead working with Keitel. Few things in life are less attractive than a key character smoking a cigarette. It's totally unnecessary, so shame on the director/writer for making this a necessary part. Yuck. Movies need to END this disgusting habit, period.

When one watches a Frank Reyes film, one knows the movie will be entertaining and there will be plenty of action. Reyes is a disciple of John Singleton. One watches his films for entertainment and for escapism, nothing more. Thirteen years after her father was slain, and now a New York City homicide detective, she (the lead actress) sets out to discover the truth behind the gruesome murder. The movie has a kind of religious theme and is a psychological thriller with a nice arc from start to finish. Great acting from John Leguizamo, Harvey Keitel and Wanda De Jesus, who is a "regular" from Reyes films. Don't analyze every frame, just take it for what it is and sit back and enjoy the film.

In the flatfooted psycho-religio thriller "The Ministers," John Leguizamo plays Scripture-spouting twin brothers - one with a scarred face for purposes of differentiation - who've made it their life's mission to gun down those responsible for the deaths of their parents and brother, leaving religious tracts with the bodies as calling cards. Florencia Lozano plays a beautiful cop from the Bronx whose father, also a cop, was dispatched by the hood-and-mask-wearing boys years earlier for reasons that aren't entirely revealed till the end.

This Avenging Angel scenario has pretty much been done to death at this point, and "The Ministers" brings nothing new or interesting to the genre. Franc. Reyes is responsible not only for the contrived, melodramatic screenplay and lackluster, pedestrian direction, but also for eliciting some of the worst performances of their careers out of Leguizamo and that crusty, battle-scarred stalwart, Harvey Keitel, as a veteran cop with a secret. After all, with material this lame, it's rather hard to lay too much of the blame at the feet of the actors.