i have to admit i kinda dozed off a couple of times.  not that the film was boring, it was just really late.  and it did kinda start out like a straight to dvd movie.  in fact, i’m kinda surprised it wasn’t straight to dvd.  i think because the boonedock saints is such a popular cult kinda thing that sold a gazillion dvd’s, they thought they’d give it a shot on the big screen.

they shoulda just let it go to dvd.

i was dozing so i very well might have missed a few things but i just didn’t think they story was particularly compelling.  i mean, what else should there be?  a priest is killed in boston and made to look like the saints did it.  so they, the saints, find out about it and roll up out of the irish back country and take a boat ride to america with the soul intention of kicking ass.

and kick ass they do.  so i don’t know what i’m complaining about.

they chick that plays dexter’s girlfriend on dexter, is the main female character.  and boy, she’s real easy on the eyes.  me likes her as a red head.  me likes the red heads.   julie benz is her name.

the macmanus brothers are played again by sean patrick flanery and norman reedus with billy connolly reprises his roll as pappa.

fans will enjoy it.  there are some cool lines and some nice homages to the first film that fans will really enjoy.  people that arent’ familiar with the first film might not get all the jokes but if you havn’t seen the first one, it’s not like you won’t be able to follow the story.

as it is, there are several movies i’d recommend over this one unless you are just a big saints fan.  then by all means go see it.  i’m just saying i’m not gonna rush out and add it to my dvd collection.  it is in no way comparable to boonedock saints.

two jacked up russian mobster out of five.

Soundtracks, we all have our favorites and some of us refuse to acknowledge their existence all together. I, on the other hand, have a good relationship with soundtracks, depending on the movie/television show/web series it comes from. These are pretty good choices that I just happen to own, interested? Read on.

#A – Girl Interrupted.My first glimpse into WILCO, a lovely little band that may see a bit on the pretentious side but really have some amazing songs. One of those bands that make you love every song, sound, word, vibe. They start off this semi-depressing group of misfit songs that work well with the movie of the same description. Title works fantastic with the motif of this album, “How to Fight Loneliness”, this first glimpse was not the end of my relationship with Wilco, they are still alive in my soul to this day. This album also has one of the greatest bands and one of my favorite songs from them, Jefferson Airplane with “Comin’ Back to Me”, such a beautiful song, really beautiful is the one perfect word to explain this song, and most of their music as a whole. Other artists include, Aretha Franklin, The Band, The Mamas & The Papas. Take a listen why don’t you?

#B – The Craft.

Witches who just so happen to be a bunch of bitches, makes for a great soundtrack, well its more of a sentimental one for me with a couple good songs that make me reminiscent of the first viewing of the movie. Great pop song with Letters to Cleo’s “Dangerous Type” and some heavy grungy hate music with Sponge’s “All This and Nothing” and a surprisingly good song by Our Lady Peace with “Tomorrow Never Knows”, (you can tell I’m obviously not their #1 fan). A not so good cover of a Harry Nilsson song, Tripping Daisy’s “Jump into the Fire”, I’d rather” they have put the original but they never asked my opinion on the subject. Some other good jams, like Spacehog’s ”Horror” & Love Spit Love’s “How Soon Is Now”, but the gem is Matthew Sweet’s “Dark Secrets” which made me want to own it to begin with, it pleases the ear gods for sure.

#C – Jawbreaker

Yes, pranks that turn deadly mixed with pretty girls who look nothing like the regular high school student, proves great for a rockin’ soundtrack. (Plus, Julie Benz, a young vampire on BTVS, classic). Songs to get you pumped and sent back into the 90’s like a whirlwind. I’ll start of with the favorites, The Friggs ”Bad Word for a Good Thing”, those Frigg girls can belt and rock, plus rock while never becoming famous, some hardcore girl power going on with that song. The icing on the cake? Imperial Teen’s “Yoo Hoo”, again the reason I even wanted the album in the first place, an amazing jam with the most intoxicating sound, voice is prime on this one. Ending it out with one of the most depressing songs I’ve ever heard in my life, The Transisters “Flow”, its beautiful and sad and painful, if I ever needed to be heartbroken with a theme song, this is it. Having a bad breakup? Lost a person close to you? Listen UP.

#D – The Wedding Singer

Get ready for some 80’s! This soundtrack has the “good shit” from the 1980’s, and its a double disc-er! Unfortunately I only have one half the album but that’s alright by me.  The half I have has bands like, Billy Idol, David Bowie, New Order, Musical Youth, Elvis Costello, The Thompson Twins, The Police, Culture Club, The Psychedelic Furs, and so on. If your in an 80’s mood, then stick the sucker in and enjoy your weird flashback that ensues.

yeah, tricked you. I know its not a song, but Buscemi rocks.

#E – Garden State.

We’ve got some good ones on here folks. Of course their is the “what lead me to own it” song, which we’ll begin with. Frou Frou’s ”Let Go”, a very graceful sound and is a basic recap of the movie itself. Jump in, what are you waiting for? Date Natalie Portman, Zach Braff, just DO IT! But any who, next up is another great jam, that I didn’t come in contact until long after I had the Cd, but when a friend of mine did it in a talent show, another song full of beauty, Bonnie Somerville’s “Winding Road”, pretty voice meets pretty sound, good good. The entire beginning of this Cd gets me in a crazy odd mood, I used to listen to it on my Ipod walking through the halls of high school, very surreal. First, Cold Play’s “Don’t Panic”, and No, I am not a cold play fan or freak, its the only song I dig, so get over it. Following it, is The Shins with “Caring is Creepy”, great sound, goes right through to the bone. And after that? Zero 7’s “In the Waiting Line”, one of the other songs I am in love with on this soundtrack, a main reason you might as well just go out and get it right now.

#F – Once More With Feeling – BTVS

A musical episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer belongs on this list, if not dominating it. Joss Whedon, the entity himself, wrote the songs, music, all of it. Which would be good reason for me to love it so, and I do. Its addictive to the highest extent. These actors, just people, who yes, famous, but normal; not singers, (well not all of them, James Marsters, Amber Benson, & Tony Head), just people, made beautiful music together. I probably listen to it at lease a couple times a week. I don’t think I would have the power to actually say out loud, or type, my favorite song from this album. I’ll just go through most of them for you to decide.

So, we start with Buffy complaining shes lost her mojo for her job, we can all sing a long as the demons agree with her and she diss’s the gentleman in distress.

Then you’ve got a group jam with the gang, which turns ugly with Anya, the demon, yelling about bunnies, and ending with a who-even-gives-a-crap attitude brought along by sad-sap Buffy.

A song about Mustard being removed from clothing.

A lesbian love song between the 2 most believable, non-skanked-out-for-the-sake-of-MALES-everywhere lesbians on television ever, and probably will always be. You just gotta love Willow & Tara, for ever, and ever, and so on.

Then we have the couple, demon and construction worker, Anya & Xander, talking about the things they can’t stand about each other that they could never say out loud, without song of course, which leads towards the end with Anya “dancing crazy!”. You have to love a song  that has a line about penis diseases, classy.

One of great writers of the show finds herself singing about a ticket she’s getting for parking in front of a hydrant, which has become one of my favorites to sing in the car.

Then the addictive song of Spike, the whiny love ridden fool song, he even admits he’d be Buffy’s slave, talk about being whipped. Just let him rest in peace, Buffy. Just let him be buried and go get Angel to sooth the pain. Sorry…

Next, a snippet of dawn’s voice before she gets kidnapped, pretty voice while its lasts.

Pretty Ballet instrumental leads to the dancing demon, Sweet, singing out with his great deep man singing voice trying to hit on 15 year old Dawn, Hawt.

A big hit in my car sing-a-long, the Giles song, sad but upbeat and lovely, he doesn’t want to leave Buffy, but needs to, sweet slow-mo scene with some kick-ass dodging of sharp things while pulling off some gymnastic moves, go SMG.

Here we have 2 songs emerge which is a high on the list for me, putting together the two amazing voices of Tony Head and Amber Benson, wonderful actors and brilliant singers. Such a beautiful addition to the already amazing track listing.

Up next, everyone joins in while wanting to walk through the fire, another great song, with some awesome lines, “things are turning out so dark”, “No, I’ll save her then I’ll kill her!” &  “I think this line mostly filer”. The best part is when the scooby gang chimes in and does their little part, is the slayer too far gone to care?

Then us listeners get something to sing about, a glittering world, and a dancing almost-to-her-death Buffy ending with dropping the heaven bombshell.

And to help finish it off, sweet rubs it in all our faces that things didn’t quite go our way with the whole dancing thing, that lead to the death thing, and the “aw we all have so many secrets!” thing.

Ending with the cast leaving confused, not knowing where to go from there. And a big sloppy wet one from Buffy & Spike, which I wish i could scrub from my brain.

If you’ve never see the episode, watch it. If you’ve never heard the soundtrack, listen to it. You’ll have to track it down like I did, since the boyfriend and I bought the only 2 copies in our area. Plus, if your REALLY lucky, like me, you’ll get to take a trip to Indianapolis and watch actors act out the episode, sing the songs, and dance the dances, an amazing experience, especially on the night before Halloween.

#G – Dr. Horrible’s Sing-a-Long Blog

How shocking, right? Another Joss choice, you get my love yet? Do you? Do You? Well you’ll figure it out eventually. Now, this sound track is Uh-Maze-Ing, seriously. NPH (For the less hip folks, Neil Patrick Harris) really shows us the talent that Doogie never really did, he sings, and he sings well. Fantastically well to be exact. He’s a villain looking for his big villainy break, to belong to the big-bad’s club, that’s of course ran by a horse, derr. Then we have the love interest, with a killer voice, no other than the beautiful Felicia Day, (who if you don’t watch the guild, START, I’ll explain more later), the helpless-helping-homeless-home-giving goddess that the villain is head-over-heels in love with. But in walks the bad guy, wait no, the GOOD guy. He just happens to be a prick, with a picture of a hammer on his chest. But he is played by no other than the mystical, magical, stud-man-guy Nathan Fillion. The guy crushes of the world surround this guy, which makes it easy for your Felicia, “Penny”, to fall for instead. (sad). So with this comes amazingly catchy songs that, yet AGAIN, Whedon is responsible for, also making it a family affair adding brothers and a sister-in-law. This is another Cd that is found being played in my car multiple times within a week. You’ve GOT to get this soundtrack, like now, LEAVE, GO!

#H – Pick of Destiny

Okay, Tenacious D is the best band EVER. Maybe this statement is not something you would agree with, and if it isn’t, stop lying. Seriously you know the truth, they probably ARE the greatest band EVER, why you ask? Because they have it ALL. What other band can use curse words like poetry, I mean really, “Mother Fucker” never sounded so good. If you haven’t had the chance to gander at the power that is the D, its time my friends. My passion for the D is forever deep, I was hooked the first time I heard them, saw them, and inevitably fell for them. “The Pick Of Destiny” is a movie and an album, and both are glorious. Watching Jack Black and Kyle Gas for 93 minutes straight has to be an experience, and sir, it was. But, the soundtrack that came along? GODLIKE, truly amazing music, which is not surprising from this duo. Another album i could not possibly begin the misery of deciding the best song on it, so you will have to venture out on your own and taste the taste that is TENACIOUS D.

be blown away by Rage Cage & Jables, KG & JB.

#I – Nashville

Great movie, wonderful soundtrack. Robert Altman is an amazing director and he did an amazing job on all the movies I’ve seen of his. They always have crazy relationships, and madness masked in innocence and he didn’t shy away from that with this one. Country singers, singing and crawling in drama filled situations; if you get a chance make sure to check this one out, i have a feeling you’ll be pleased if your in anyway cool, or hip, or happenin’ in the way I am. So rent it, steal it, borrow it, either way watch it, and make sure you listen to the songs you hear, it won’t be hard. I’ve leave you with a video of my favorite song from the movie that happens to be a great part of the film. Watch and aw.

So that’s it for now, I might come back and surprise you with more amazing songs that go with amazing movies/tv shows/web series, or I wont, don’t hold your breath. I leave you with a thought… Come back and see me, I mean read me, sometime.

sas

It’s Friday.  I am in need of a little eye candy.

Mrow!

Julie Benz.  You either know her from Dexter or Buffy/Angel (6 eps for Buffy/20 eps for Angel as “Darla”).  She’s been in a bunch of other stuff, (you can check her out on IMDB for a full list of TV appearances) and I’m half tempted to check out Boondock Saints 2 because she plays Special Agent Eunice Bloom.  I can’t find the link, but there’s a video clip of her online doing an interview about the role and they show a scene in the film where she’s a.) a bitch and b.) a real gun slinger.  Totally hot.  Something about a chick with a gun.

Speaking of a chick with a gun…

Detective Rush

Kathryn Morris.  FYI, I only like her up to Season 4.  After that she loses about 40 lbs and looks really sickly and thin and less attractive.  Kinda like she’d turn to pink dust if you hugged her too hard.  Still, she could haul me in for questioning any time!

Speaking of coppers…

On the Left...

No, not the angry cougar on the right hand side.  The hottie on the left.  That’s Liz White portraying Annie Cartwright on the UK version (and clearly the superior version) of “Life on Mars”.  She’s not technically a cop, she’s a WPC.  It’s about all women could do via the police force in the 70’s in Britain.  Great show, check it out.  Don’t go by the TERRIBLE Americanized version.  (And let’s get one thing clear, I have no qualms with cougars.  Hot ones, anyway.  Cougars need love too.  Hot cougars.)

Speaking of British Babes…

Detective Alex Drake

This is Keeley Hawes (voice of Lara Croft in the Tomb Raider video games).  She’s Detective Alex Drake in the “Life on Mars” spin-off, “Ashes to Ashes” which takes place in the ’80s.  There are some really great photos of her she did when she was younger in bondage and various stages of undress.  I’d post em, but I’m at work.  Maybe later.  Anyway…fantastic actress and not hard to look at either.  Another great series out of the UK.

Clearly, I have a thing for powerful women.

Julie Benz

Lançado directamente para video no mesmo ano em que saiu o Scary Movie, Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th, é talvez desconhecido para muitos. Seguindo o mesmo formato do filme anteriormente mencionado, este pedaço de fita tenta retratar, em forma de paródia,  filmes famosos como Scream, Friday the 13th, I Know What You Did Last Summer e Shrek. A meu ver, está melhor conseguido que Scary Movie e ainda por cima têm melhores motivos para ser visionado. De John Blanchard, com Aimee Graham, Chris Palermo, Kim Greist, Harley Cross, Simon Rex, Coolio, Danny Strong, Julie Benz, Majandra Delfino, Steven Anthony Lawrence, Tiffani Thiessen, Martin Diggs, Tom Arnold, Mink Stole e Rose Marie.

Caloiro tu vais lamber a minha............ gata. É de raça tigre siberiano

El mes pasado les comentaba que la hermosa Julie Benz (Rita) estaría actuando en una secuela para el cine, y hace un par de días finalmente se estrenó la película que cuenta la historia de los hermanos MacManus, antiguos justicieros que regresan de Irlanda a Boston para vengar la muerte de su querido cura (¿?). Los hermanos, luego de hacer justicia en la ciudad, tienen a Benz detrás de ellos.

A continuación les dejo algunas fotos de la rubia en la premiere de su nueva película:

Este estupido comentario no contiene spoilers, sin embrago da algunas pistas sobre la cronologia de la pelicula.

Ser la sexta parte de una película no es fácil, ser la sexta parte de Saw es una responsabilidad muy grande, responsabilidad de la que esta película victoriosa. Y es que a pesar de sus fallas, esta película recupera la escencia que se notaba algo perdida desde la cuarta parte y cierra casi perfectamente un ciclo en la saga. Se podría decir que es similar a Saw III (para mi, la mejor) en el aspecto de cerrar círculos y despejar dudas que pudieron haber quedado abiertas incluso desde antes de que Jigsaw pusiera a prueba su primer victima.

Los flashbacks son muchos en cantidad, pero todos son importantes dentro de la saga. Ya sea para entender como la obra de Jigsaw fue tomando forma y entender que desde un principio su obra es un concepto que estallo con la muerte de su hijo y se retorció con su enfermedad. O para mostrarnos la relación entre personajes que creíamos que no la tenían, una relación de odio, desconfianza, celos o indiferencia que hay entre los protagonistas.

El tema de las trampas, estas se desarrollan dentro de la línea argumental “principal”, son mas moralistas que en las películas anteriores y al involucrar a mas de una persona en peligro de muerte se muestra la competencia entre ellas, llegando a matar o dejar morir para salvar la propia vida y la voluntad de vivir se convierte en un constante grito de suplica por no ser la siguiente victima del juego.

El enfrentamiento entre los jugadores convierte al asesino en una especie de testigo, obligando a que ellos tomen la decisión y hagan el sacrificio final para poder vivir, una de las bases de la fiolosofia de Jigsaw.

En conclusión esta película cierra perfectamente la segunda trilogía y podría decirse que cierra completamente la obra de Jigsaw.  Incluso a tal grado de que el, podría dejar de ser el protagonista absoluto de las siguientes secuelas.

Para mi, se lleva los 9 pezones.

]]> http://cinedirecto.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/me-parece-que-se-lo-que-gritasteis-el-ultimo-viernes-13/ Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:35:14 +0000 mickymousse http://cinedirecto.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/me-parece-que-se-lo-que-gritasteis-el-ultimo-viernes-13/ http://billythepuppet.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/el-juego-del-miedo-6-de-estreno-en-monterrey/ Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:02:48 +0000 billythepuppet http://billythepuppet.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/el-juego-del-miedo-6-de-estreno-en-monterrey/

A escasas 3 semanas (nótese el sarcasmo) de que “El Juego Del Miedo 6” fuera estrenada en solamente parte de la republica mexicana, mañana viernes 13 de noviembre por fin llegara a los cines de Monterrey. El estreno ya es oficial, pues asi esta anunciada en las paginas de Cinepolis y MMCinemas para esa fecha.

Así que a partir de este fin de semana podremos disfrutar de las nuevas trampas y los giros de tuerca de la película que cierra la segunda trilogía de la saga.

¿Lo bueno de este viernes 13? Aparte del ya comentado (y muy excitante) estreno de Saw VI; es que “Los Abrazos Rotos” también podrá verse desde este fin de semana en los cines de todo México.

Today I’ve got some pictures of knee-high and over the knee boots for you – the special thing about them is that they are made by the probably most established brand.

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There are quite a lot of new boots by Mr Louboutin this year, for more check the online stores!

Not sure what Julie Benz is wearing but at least she covers her feet with some very sexy high heel suede boots. She is a sexy woman that typically does a nice job dressing her tight and right body but this time she didn’t do a great job. However, she did slide into some very sexy high heel boots that helps distract from the rather ugly dress as she appeared for the Boondock Saints II All Saints Day premiere in Hollywood.

Writer/Director Troy Duffy has had ten years to develop a sequel to Boondock Saints and this is what we get? Either the moderate success of the first film has gone to his head or he’s secretly teamed up with the Wayans brothers, because All Saints Day comes across as more of a spoof than a sequel to an action-packed, dramatic and even endearing original. The only thing All Saints Day preserves of its predecessor is the frequency of bullets flying. Forget the mob, the MacManus brothers should be more worried about Duffy ruining their reputation.

Click here to read more.

Source: IMDB

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If you haven’t seen “Dexter” on Showtime, you’re missing some quality television viewing. I am not one to sit and watch a lot of tv, but this show has successfully pinned me to my couch for weeks now as my wife & I watch seasons 1-3. We are midway through the 3rd season and the show keeps drawing me in…and tehre are several reasons for that….

10. I believe in the death penalty.
I’ll just leave it at that.

9. Jimmy Smits
He was great in “NYPD Blue” and in the 3rd season of “Dexter” he has been awesome as the one friend that Dexter has who truly understands what he stands for. I don’t know where his plotline is going yet (I’m only 7 episodes in), but I am enjoying his role right now.

8. Jennifer Carpenter
She really IS Dexter’s wife, but on the show she plays his sister and she is one of the best things about the show. She comes across as intelligent & strong, but she has many moments where she is working hard to keep herself composed. All that AND she’s good-looking…

7. The whole cast is awesome!
From the now gone Sgt. James  Doakes to the recently implemented  Detective Quinn, every actor or actress on this show has a defined role and they all make good use of it. My personal favorite? Forensic expert Vince Masuka…who is ALWAYS good for a few awesome explicit jabs.

6. My wife & I BOTH love it!
So our nightly “Dexter” fix is something we do together. And as long as she doesn’t get any ideas from it, it’s a nice way to end the day.

5. The Ice Truck Killer
Best plotline EVER. I was completely blown away by season 1 and I doubt I will ever see anything like it again.

4. Julie Benz is SMOKIN’ hot!
Even my wife agrees with me…with every passing episode she gets even better looking. Seriously…the BEST looking woman on television right now.

3. Michael C. Hall
As the title character, Hall plays Dexter close to the hip. He’s aloof but personable. He’s opinionated but not overbearing. He has direction but it wavers from time to time. He plays Dexter as he should play Dexter…as a man with a hidden agenda. And Hall makes this character one you can believe in…even if he IS hacking people up and stuffing them into trash bags.

2. The writing
Even with the “Harry” storyline growing a little thin (Harry is Dexter’s deceased father who taught him how to hunt & kill his victims), the writers of the show have managed intriguing plot twists and have turned up the heat every season on Dexter, making him squirm when he needs it and letting him breath at just the right time. I’ve enjoyed all the complications of his life and it has made for some very intriguing television.

1. He’s like me
I think the main reason I enjoy watching this show is because a lot of times, except for the homicidal tendencies, I “get” Dexter. He’s a man on his own. He doesn’t really identify with a lot of people. He is inward. He doesn’t like to be bothered with the drama of others. He goes about his life doing his thing and not regretting it. He isn’t trying to fit in and he doesn’t make excuses when he doesn’t. I like that about a person. And I like that about Dexter. He’s not the kind of person that is gonna go out of his way to fit in. Dexter doesn’t see life as a contest…and being the most popular doesn’t interest him. He is trying to keep his life, his ego & id in check and make sure that the people who mean the most to him don’t get hurt. It’s the best part of his character…and he (and this show) is awesome!

Saw V è un film horror del 2008 diretto da David Hackl,[1] quinto capitolo della saga di Saw. Il film ha debuttato negli USA in prima mondiale il 24 ottobre 2008[2] ed è uscito nelle sale italiane il 5 dicembre 2008.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Horror | Thriller | David Hackl | Tobin Bell | Scott Patterson | Costas Mandylor | Julie Benz

Luego de la sorpresa al final de la semana pasada, la cadena Showtime presentó rápidamente los adelantos del quinto episodio de la cuarta temporada de Dexter, llamado Dirty Harry.

Los recientes eventos llevan a Dexter (Michael C. Hall) a comenzar su propia investigación del Trinity killer. Sus motivaciones ahora son personales, y el tiempo es esencial. Pero a medida que se acerca, Dexter descubre que Trinity es un monstruo totalmente diferente.

Al mismo tiempo, Debra se culpa si misma por eventos que estaban fuera de su control y aleja a todos sus seres queridos. A medida que LaGuerta y Batista siguen el caso de Vacation Murderers, Batista piensa que puede utilizar la relación de Quinn con la reportera a su favor.

Finalmente, cuando Rita (Julie Benz) descubre el secreto que Dexter esta manteniendo, ella comienza a pensar lo poco que conoce sobre su esposo.

La temporada 4 de Dexter se presenta los domingos por Showtime.

Julie Benz

The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day
Die MacManus Brüder sind zurück und haben nun Unterstützung von ihrem Dad. Um dem ganzen Trubel (aus dem ersten Film) zu entfliehen, hat sich die wieder vereinte Familie in Irland versteckt. Als jedoch ein befreundeter Priester umgebracht wird, starten sie den obligatorischen Rachefeldzug. Das reicht mir an Story – der erste Teil war schon erstklassige Unterhaltung, der neue Trailer sieht genauso vielversprechend aus. Am 30. Oktober geht es los!

Mehr Infos: zelluloid.de | imdb.com

Sherlock Holmes
Guy Ritchies neuester Film ist eine doch recht freie Adaption des bekannten britischen Detektivs Sherlock Holmes von Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Die Hauptrolle übernimmt Robert “Iron Man” Downey Jr. und Watson wird von Jude Law gespielt. Mit dem ursprünglichen Material wird der Film nicht mehr viel zu tun haben aber der Trailer verspricht durchaus einen spaßigen Kinoabend. Release in Deutschland ist erst im Januar (internationaler Start ist Dezember).

Mehr Infos: zelluloid.de | imdb.com

 Fans of Troy Duffy’s cult classic waited 10 years for the sequel, and it doesn’t disappoint. I can guarantee you this, if you liked the first one you’ll like the second one. That being said, it doesn’t exactly have the same goodness as the first. But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a good shoot’em up, action-revenge story that fufills everything a fanboy desires: inside jokes, fidelity to the concept and inside jokes.

There is very little bad about the film, but there is a fair amount that is mediocre. All Saints Day, is essentially a remodel of the original, paralleling the concept right down to the excentric and intelligent FBI detective, except this time it’s a women…and she’s hot.

Eunice Bloom, played averagely by Julie Benz (Dexter and Punisher War Zone), swoops in to the crime scene of a murdered priest, executed in such a fashion to make everyone believe it was done by the Saints. But the Saints have gone on the lamb in Ireland, but when they hear about the murdered priest they feel called out and return to Boston to continue their “virtuous” revenge killings.

Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus, reprise their rolls as the McMannus twins and Bill Connolly comes back as their father; all of whom more than live up to their characters. But the duo’s hilariously convoluted means of going about their crusade is interrupted by Clifford Collins Jr as the replacement for the beloved, but departed, Rocko, from the first installment, as the semi-dumb/emotional third wheel. Collins Jr overacting brings some normally great scenes down, not that he ruins the film, but just doesn’t live up to his predecessor.

This is the same problem that Julie Benz faces when trying to replace the incomparable Willem Defoe. But to Benz’s credit, it wasn’t all her fault. Duffy created Eunice Bloom as the protege of William Smecker (Defoe), and as such tries to carry over Smeckers oddities into Bloom; but it falls short. These character problems though are overcome by strong perfomances by the established characters and by Peter Fonda, who plays Billy Connolly’s archenemies in a revealing back story drama that rounds out the McMannus family and how the Saints carry on the family tradition of bloody vengeance.

There is a great twist in this film, that definitely leaves the door open for a third film without requiring one. All in All it’s a solid B action movie, but an over the top A fanboy movie. And given the mountain of challenges that Troy Duffy had to make this film, both legal and creative, you’d have to say it’s a pretty good effort on his part.

Starring Julie Benz, Clifton Collins Jr., Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Judd Nelson, Peter Fonda, Billy Connolly, David Della Rocco, Bob Marley, Sweeney MacArthur, and directed by Troy Duffy. (trailer for this film is on the trailers page of this site.)

Boondocks Saints II: All Saints Day opens in select theaters. Find the theater near you with the link!

Interesting Production Aside - The sequel for this cult classic began it’s journey in 2002 after Boondock Saints had picked up a strong college following of the limited theater release. Duffy reportedly had secured twice the budget for a sequel, a release date was announced for September 2005 but due to funding problems it never materialized.

After a legal battle with the owning studio, Duffy was able to secure the appropriate funding and rights to make the sequel: All Saints Day. But William Dafoe would be unable to rejoin the cast as Agent Smecker, resulting in the casting of Julie Benz as his protege.  

As the sequel gained popular momentum at the 2009 comic-con, a trailer was demanded; but due to some promotional errors a trailer wasn’t released until September, leading some fans to question whether their would be a nation wide release.

Cool Screening Note

Last night I was fortunate enough to be at the first screening of the film here in Boston. Troy Duffy, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Bob Marley and Billy Connelly were at the screening and did a short Q and A afterwards. Most of the questions were the standard, “what was your favorite part”, but Duffy look some of those questions and formulated some curious responses.

The most interesting thing that resulted from this conversation was the above discussed production issues. But he did have some insightes into the difficulty in creating a sequel to the cult classic.

Duffy talked heavily about the fear that the production team felt about potentially disappointing the fan base. After all it was the fan base that took the 6 million dollar indie and made it into a cult classic, Duffy remarked (I’m paraphrasing here). He further discussed how fear gave way to focus and enjoyment of the project and he thought the common fear/stakes took the production to a higher level.

It was obvious to me that Duffy was incredibly nervous about this film reception. Although, he was certainly preaching to the choir with the audience, which was heavily made up of fan boys, who could not have not loved the movie.

Because you love it.