Latest news with #TheFraternity
Tom's Guide
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
Netflix just added one of the most deliriously entertaining action-thriller movies ever made — and I'm not ashamed how much I love it
When I discovered that Netflix was becoming the new streaming home for 'Wanted' this week, I was going to declare it one of 'ultimate guilty pleasure' watches, but on reflection, I'm not even slightly sorry about adoring this loud-and-brash action-thriller movie that plays out like a graphic novel come to life. This is a movie where elite assassin in training Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) can curve bullets around corners, shoot the wings off a common household fly and smack his smarmy best friend (played by Chris Pratt) in the face with a keyboard, only for the cascading keys to spell out 'f**k you' in midair (the second 'u' is represented by one of the guy's teeth). It's awesome! Released in 2008, and inspired by the comic book series of the same name by Mark Millar, it's punky, garish, immature and absolutely packed with cinematic style. The stacked cast list also includes Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman and rap artist Common. There was talk of a sequel around release in the late 2000s, which sadly never materialized, but that's OK because 'Wanted' remains one of the most endlessly rewatchable movies I've ever seen. And now that it's on Netflix, you're going to want to drop everything and get on board for this nonstop wild ride. Wesley Gibson (McAvoy) is stuck in a rut — working a dead-end office job, being cheated on by his girlfriend and suffering from regular panic attacks. He seems like a complete no-hoper until he learns that his estranged father has been murdered, and the person responsible for killing his dad now has Wesley in his crosshairs. Discovering he possesses unique and very lethal abilities, Wesley joins an underground society of assassins known as The Fraternity. Trained by the underground group's expert leaders, Fox (Jolie) and Mr. Sloan (Freeman), Wesley's life takes an unexpected turn, and he soon becomes the ruthless killer he was born to be. But as he adjusts to (and starts to enjoy) his new life as an expert assassin, he also uncovers a deeper conspiracy. The term 'like a comic book come to life' gets thrown around a lot — most recently with 'Superman' — but 'Wanted' truly does feel like the pages of a graphic novel have been converted to film. This is not a world of gritty action or grounded set-piece moments; it's the stuff of youthful wish fulfillment. In 'Wanted,' everything is heightened. The bullets fly regularly and with serious ferocity, and to add even more excitement to the mix, they curve in midair to make physically impossible trick shots possible. Every movie of mayhem is a complete joy, and oozes with flair and slick style. There's no doubt that the movie's extremely juvenile attitude will alienate some viewers, but this isn't a movie concerned with offending. It's nonstop immaturity all the way through, and it asks you to get on board with that or shut up and go watch something else. It's the type of movie that shows not one, but two, middle fingers to anybody who calls it 'a bit over the top.' I can't even pretend there's deeper substance beyond the gleeful violence and the screenplay laced with profanity. 'Wanted' certainly isn't deep, but it's seriously good fun nevertheless. And if you can embrace the chaos, it offers nonstop thrills that will have you fist pumping through sheer excitement. While none of its A-listers are exactly challenged with the material, McAvoy, Jolie and Freeman make for a solid trio of leads, and each member of The Fraternity is given their moment to shine. Or in McAvoy's case, their moment to stop being a loser and start kicking some butt. "Wanted" doesn't gently cross over the line into overkill; it speeds in a supercharged sports car across it, laughing all the way to its next target. 'Wanted' is one of those movies that I turn to when I want completely mindless entertainment, and that's certainly no criticism. It knows exactly what it is, and it plays to its intended audience near perfectly. So, if you're after cinematic escapism that will have you grinning like a child from the drop, look no further. Just don't let any actual children watch with you. Seriously, this is one ultra-violent and very crude action-thriller movie. Looking for more Netflix watches? Here's a guide to everything new being added to the streaming service in July 2025, as well as a roundup of all the new to Netflix movies with 90% or higher on Rotten Tomatoes, for subscribers looking to watch a critically acclaimed effort. Watch "Wanted" on Netflix now
Boston Globe
14-06-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
When MLK studied in Boston, he joined a Black fraternity. A plaque will highlight this hidden history.
This milestone in King's life will be memorialized in a plaque unveiling ceremony at the very spot in Boston where the civil rights icon joined Alpha Phi Alpha. Located at 14 Wabon St. in Grove Hall, the memorial will build upon ongoing efforts to make Boston a larger part of the Kings' legacy, and, hopefully, remind passersby of the rich 'It's our jobs as Black folk to chronicle our history,' said Advertisement The ceremony will take place on June 18, the 72nd wedding anniversary of King and Coretta Scott King. It's the latest in a citywide effort to cement the Kings' presence in Boston. Advertisement Last year, Clennon King and a collection of community members secured a headstone for of Music student who introduced the couple. In 2023, another memorial commemorating the young couple's The Fraternity hopefuls on bid day 1952 for the Sigma Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity at Boston University. John H. Bustamante is in the first row left and Martin Luther King Jr. in in the front row on the right. Bustamante Family But Clennon King said the forthcoming memorial will orient King's legacy away from downtown Boston, and back towards the heart of Boston's Black community. He cut his teeth as a minister at the historic Twelfth Baptist Church that was then on Shawmut Avenue. He satiated his cravings for home-cooked meals here. He lived here. '[King] was baptized out of that neighborhood,' said Clennon King, who is not related to the civil rights leader. However, his father, C. B. King, represented the Rev. King during the Albany Movement, a yearlong civil rights campaign in the small Georgia city. The Grove Hall neighborhood that 14 Wabon St. lies in is steeped in local significance. Years after King resettled back south, this corridor of Boston became the site of a The house itself also encapsulates a long gone chapter in Boston history, which Lauren B. Martin considers deeply personal. It was the family home of her father, Advertisement 'Those kinds of spirits and memories linger in that space,' Martin said. King arrived in Boston in 1951 to study theology at Boston University, and settled in a city remarkably different from his beloved Atlanta. He found community among the churches, restaurants, and businesses inhabited by Black folks in Roxbury and the South End, but the Black population was smaller. At this point, King was not a household name, Clennon King said. 'He was just a number, just another student.' The plaque also underscores the legacy of Alpha Phi Alpha and the National Pan-hellenic Council, or When you look back at photos of King, he was surrounded by Divine Nine giants. Andrew Young is an Alpha. The Rev. Ralph Abernathy was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. Coretta Scott King later became an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., the country's first Black sorority. 'Everything [King] did was to leave a legacy for his children and the people around him,' Asirifi said. 'You don't seek an organization like Alpha if you don't want to be a part of a larger community.' King attended an Alpha recruitment mixer on nearby Ruthven Street, at his future line brother's grandparents' home. They crossed through the fraternity's Sigma Chapter at Baron H. Martin's home. Advertisement Dues card for Martin Luther King Jr.'s Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity membership. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. As a doctoral student, King was older than his line brothers and became a big brother figure for some. 'My dad never said it, but you could tell from his voice how much he admired [King],' said Myra Hemingway, the daughter of There is at least one moment in writing that details King's experiences as a pledge. In a 2018 Globe interview, Baron H. Martin recalled bringing the young Alpha pledges to his Wabon Street house to paint a fence. King refused. 'He pointed out that he was a minister ... and he wouldn't do it,' the late judge recalled. Not wanting to be bested by the pledge, Martin disciplined King the way many frats historically have. He grabbed his wooden paddle. 'I hit him so hard — one smack [on the behind]," Martin recalled. 'You can't do that anymore.' Related : MLK's seven line brothers formed lasting legacies in their own right. Herman Hemingway, at the top left in the phot, opened his own law practice and, under Mayor Kevin White, served as founding director for the city's Office of Human Rights. He is memorialized at Hemingway had paved his own way, so much so that Myra, his daughter, said he didn't fully acknowledge his title as MLK's line brother until people behind the civil rights leader's monument in Washington, D.C. began reaching out for interviews. Herman died in 2020, so Myra considers the upcoming memorial as bittersweet. Advertisement 'He really loved his fraternity and the support they gave him through the brotherhood over the years meant so much to him,' Myra said. 'It's hard that he's not here, but in spirit, I know he's looking down and smiling.' The Grove Hall residence where King became an Alpha is a hotbed of not only Black Boston history, but also rampant change. No matter who lives on the block, the people at the center of the forthcoming plaque hope the stories of the people who once frequented the area are a permanent part of the block's story. 'Things are going to change, people are going to change neighborhoods,' Lauren B. Martin said. 'But hopefully these markers gives the new neighborhood a reference and an understanding of how we're all related.' Tiana Woodard can be reached at
