Cool News
Massawyrm smokes the BOONDOCK SAINTS too, I mean 2!
Hey folks, Harry here with the oh so envious of Moriarty's corner situation... Massawyrm. Watch the weasel dance for the position. It's sad though, he just doesn't have Moriarty's nose for the grind ya know? Damn that hits the spot. Well, enough of the BEHIND scenes here at AICN, and on to Massawyrm's behind the scenes low-down on the BOONDOCK SAINTS 2, something that we've all... been, um... dying to hear about... ummm, yeah... heheheheheh
Hola all. Everyone’s favorite Chain-smoking, Dr. Pepper Swilling, Indie schilling, Saint-in-Training here with some very exciting news for some of us indie fans and a heads up for the rest of you. I am very proud to announce that Boondock Saints 2 is in pre-production.
Now, if you’re out there wondering right now what the hell a Boondock Saint is and why you should even be reading a story about a sequel to a movie you never saw then you need to do something right now. Step away from the computer, get out your phone book, call every Blockbuster in your area and find one that has a copy of Boondock Saints in stock. Then you need to go rent it. Trust me on this. Boondock Saints is the greatest direct-to-video film ever put out, a film so good it SHOULD HAVE had a theatrical release. But it didn’t.
I know what you’re thinking out there, the same thing I thought when it was first recommended to me. “How good can it be if it went direct to video? Direct to Video is for movies the studios pretty much wouldn’t take a crap on, let alone put some juice behind to put in theatres. They are not fit for the screen.” Well, folks, this is one of the rare exceptions.
After seeing Boondock Saints I was baffled. My roommate at the time and I just stared at each other, excited about how cool the movie we’d just saw had been, and wondered at the top of our lungs about how on God’s green earth this hadn’t gone to theatres. I continued to wonder that for years, until just recently when I’d been put in touch with Troy Duffy, the writer/director of Boondock Saints and I just couldn’t resist asking him. In fact it was the very first thing I asked him.
“One word, ‘Columbine’.” He told me. “We had our screenings for the industry right in the thick of it. I think we all remember the relentless clips from “Basketball Diaries” and the “Matrix” bombarding us on the news every day. Clinton was also threatening to form a judiciary committee to look into violent films. Anything with violence was being held back. Anything with “youthful” violence was being buried. The “Trench Coat Mafia” aspect of Columbine was even seen as a parallel to some of the wardrobe in Boondock. While our screenings were always packed, no one was coming forward to buy the film for theatrical release. Finally, one of the acquisitions people pulled me aside and told me that Boondocks had been blacklisted due to the pressures the industry was receiving from the Columbine incident.”
Yeah, if that’s not talkback fodder, I don’t know what is. I, probably like the rest of you, had thought that the fallout over Columbine was pretty weak – a lot of talk, some mud slung at Marilyn Manson and video games that resulted in higher security measures at high schools and nothing more. Our arts were safe. We didn’t see any casualties. Well, apparently we were wrong. Boondock Saints took a bullet, but it wasn’t ready to die.
“I released it with the help of Blockbuster and at some of my own expense in three theaters outside of L.A. and two way outside of Boston. But with no “press machine” behind it, we were pretty much relying on walk-ins. So, not much there, I’m afraid. As for the film festivals, we played in Palm Springs, no awards. We screened in Cannes for foreign sales and we were rejected at Sundance. The highlight of our festival ride was the Tokyo International Film Festival. 2000 screaming, Japanese fans gave us a standing ovation. We also screened it at the German Fantasy Film Festival where it was well received again. Blockbuster saved our asses in North America. They pumped Boondocks because they had faith in the movie. Just recently we were informed that it was the largest grossing, straight to video success in Blockbuster’s history.”
Blockbuster released Boondock Saints as one of their ‘Blockbuster exclusives’, a collection of independent and made-specifically-for-Blockbuster releases that usually aren’t all that great. A few gems squeaked through, like the Jeremy Irons/Dominique Swain “Lolita”, but these were few and far between and Boondock Saints ruled them all. But chalk one up in the win column for Big Blue. Supporting this film was definitely a cool, ballsy move for them.
Recently Boondock Saints got itself a full on DVD release and the results were fantastic. I asked Troy how it was selling. “Extremely well. The new Fox DVD has all the bells and whistles the fans have been waiting for. It’s top rated on the net and at one point BDS was #2 on Amazon.com right behind “Harry Potter”. Toshiba released a DVD in Japan about a year ago, which went to number one it’s first day out and held the spot for over a solid month. The new Fox DVD just hit Japan last week. I guess they underestimated the demand. It went to #1 and sold out of stock in one day. I guess people are beginning to ask themselves, “Why is this little film topping charts five years later?” Why? “Cult”, baby. The coolest word in film.”
So enough with the history lesson already, What is Boondock Saints? Well, it’s the story of the MacManus brothers, a pair of good Irish boys who believe they’ve seen a vision and have been told to act as Boston’s avenging angels, cleaning up the streets and ridding the earth of its most despicable scum bags. Norman Reedus (Blade II, Deuces Wild, 8mm) and Sean Patrick Flanery (Suicide Kings, Powder, The Young Indiana Jones) play Connor and Murphy, the two fun loving lads bent on cleaning up their hometown. Hot on their trail is brilliant FBI investigator Paul Smecker, played by none other than Willem Dafoe (Yes, that Willem Dafoe). When the boys take out a few goons too many, the local mob gets nervous and calls in an infamous killing machine known only as ‘Il Duce’ played by an obsessed Billy Connolly (in a role that will make you forget he ever took over for Howard Hessman on “Head of the Class”) to wipe them out.
Boondock Saints is a balls out, cool as hell crime film with some of the most original shoot out/crime investigation sequences filmed in years. There’s shit here you ain’t seen before and some things you have - but never like this.
Troy and I talked about the cult status of the film. “Time after time you hear the same story. One guy sees it and makes ten of his friends watch it. It was all word of mouth. We started up a web site two months ago, www.theboondocksaints.com. Kids just found it by accident and now it’s growing exponentially just like the film. I guess you could say it’s doing “unexpectedly well”. There are guys (check the website if you don’t believe me) who have tattooed Connor and Murphy’s tats on themselves (Veritas, Aequitas – “truth” and “justice” respectively). We posted their pics and bios. Ain’t no fan like a Boondock fan. Boondock fans got this attitude like “Fuck you if you don’t know”. I think they actually prefer people not to. They have taken this movie personally and I have taken their same attitude.” Yeah, it was the same story for me too. I went out and bought a previously viewed copy of it and have passed it around to all my buddies. I’ve seen the film dozens of times and whenever I’m discussing underground or indie film with someone, the Saints are bound to come up.
So again, if you haven’t seen it, find it, watch it, relish it. Hopefully you will find the love for the boys that many of us have found.
So what’s up with Boondock Saints 2? Well let me tell you. The working title is “Boondock Saints II: The Second Coming” and will be the further adventures (so to speak) of the MacManus Brothers. “After Sean, Norm and Billy read it, we spoke several times. They are very excited to Rock-n-Roll on this and it was nice to swap “Boondock Stories” with them.” Alright, so the big three are back. I had to know. What about Dafoe? After all the Spider-man hoopla and Willem being deluged with material, would he have the chance or will to return?
“I spoke with him three or four times the week after “Spider Man” had it’s record breaking opening. He was frazzled from work and only a few days from opening a play in London. There were scheduling conflicts, other offers and it couldn’t be worked out. I cried about it for a while but soon I realized what I had to do. I had to go back in, take him out and make the story even better. Hard work but I did it. Willem and I will catch each other on something else down the line.”
Now I know many of you BDS fans are reacting the same way I first reacted when I heard that. “What? Fuck. Shit. No.” But let it sink in for a second. Let’s think about this. A few moments after I heard that Dafoe wouldn’t be returning I began to realize that he didn’t NEED to return. Of all the characters in Boondock Saints, he was the one that had achieved a fully realized character arc. His story was done, anything else would simply be after-thought. The Saints, well they still have more left to them, questions about what was next for them and how they would react in more complex situations. Paul Smecker didn’t have that kind of a future.
So who would step in? Who was going to bring new life to the Saints? “There are two new roles that I am very excited about. Romeo (29yrs) is a Hispanic American who has an instant bond with the brothers. He has all the makings of a new Saint. I like Clifton Collins Jr. for this (Franky Flowers in Traffic, Last Castle, Tigerland, Replacement Killers, and starred opposite Samuel L. Jackson in “187”). He’s been a buddy of mine for a long time and is an outstanding talent. I also believe he’s got all the right charm to portray a wild ass like Romeo. The second is Eunice Bloom (30yrs) a FBI agent with a bi-polar disorder that feeds into her crime solving ability. I like a young actress named Marley Shelton for this. There are times when you just get a feeling on someone. I got the feeling with her.”
Okay, now I’ve heard buzz about this film for about 6 months now, little tidbits here and there about the goings-ons with the pre-production of BDS2. I didn’t have much and I was waiting on some conformation on various points before I opened my big yap on this, but this was something that was kept away from me. Clifton Collins Jr. As many of you may know, I’m a big fan of his and got the chance to hang with him in LA when I lucked upon him on Roger Avary’s “Rules of Attraction” set. I occasionally chat with Cliff about his upcoming projects but this, this he kept from me. And man did I get excited when I heard this. I cannot wait to see Cliffy kick some ass, shotgun style. Oh, let this happen, please let this happen.
Now, no one is definitely signed yet, as they are in the final phases of negotiations, but everyone is interested. That’s a good, good thing. I’m liking his casting choices and the direction he’s headed, and as soon as I can get my grubby, nicotine yellowed hands on this script, you bet your ass I’m gonna dive in and give you guys the heads up.
Now the current plans are to shoot this fall or this winter up in Toronto. Most of the movie takes place in Boston again, but Toronto is where they shot the first time so they’ll be faking Bean Town once more. There’s also a sequence to take place in Ireland and Duffy’s working out the logistics on that one.
So now the big question on all of your minds: is this going to be another Direct to Video film or are we talking movie screens this time? “That has been the real breath of fresh air here. Our financiers are adamant about the film being released theatrically this time. It was written in such a way that you don’t have to have seen the first one in order to understand the second. The Boondock Saints is classified as a “Cult” hit. In my opinion what this is, is a film Hollywood missed. They didn’t get it. However when a film like this hits the public…boom. Boondock never did “well” it always did “unexpectedly well”. I hope this time we get a better shot.”
Well folks, you can bet your britches that as this film develops I will be here to lay it on you. So until next time, friends,
Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em. I know I will.
Massawyrm
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Yeah, while I was working at a summer camp in the US, someone brought it back from the videostore as something to watch - and it was fucking awesome. We were all sitting there wondering why we had never seen it, laughing at the ingenious shootouts (both the strip-joint and the hanging from the ceiling) amazed that Young Indy could do such a thing - when Billy turned up. Oh Fucking Yes. We only saw him from the back to begin with and I murmurmed to the British contigent that the figure resembled Billy - and when Il Duce looked up - "fried gold". I don't think Americans understand with just what high respect the Big Yin holds in the UK. And his shoot-out outside the house was fucking excellent. I can't find the film anywhere in the UK, and I'm seriously worried about a sequel - I just hope it doesn't diminish the film.
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BLOODY HELL! Some good news to kick off the day. What a great little film the first one is - there's plenty of room for a sequel and there's no need for Defoe to come back - Glad Big Yin's interested - should make more of a chemistry between him and his sons this time round.
Should be good - could be great! Here's hoping -
Awwww yeah, this sounds class. Never heard of it before. Does anybody know if it's available in Europe at all or more specifically Ireland? If anyone's seen this over let me know. Must check out all mental sounding shit of this sort...
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Oh yeah, this guy is totally right about this movie. BOONDOCK SAINTS was an accidental rental for me (the wrong movie was in the wrong case) but I still decided to watch it. Boy, am I glad I didn't end up with LITTLE NICKY that night. This movie rocks, go check it out!
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At the above-mentioned Fantasy FilmFest. "Well received", that
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The first movie was an accidental rental for me too...what, is someone going around swapping Boondock Saint videos to increase public knowledge? Whatever...I'm glad I got it, as it quickly became one of my favorite films, and just as the report said, I turned as many people on to the movie as I possibly could. I hope the sequel can live up to the original.
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..the first one kicked ass big time.
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Wow...I did the same thing; once I saw this, I showed it to like 5 buddies, and they all liked it and told others about it, which is in turn how I found out about it. That's weird how many people are digging this movie. It's always more fun loving a movie when it's juuuust under the radar enough that you still feel like it's "your" movie. Or something. At my part time job, me and some other losers amaze everyone with our knowledge of they prayer they recite in this movie. "THERE WAS A FIREFIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!"
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After watching this film I couldn't help but think of Patrick Flannery as Casey in Preacher. (Is it Casey I can't remember but I mean the Irish vampire bloke) Although I wasn't to sure about the accents, he certainly looked the part. And I have to say I was pretty shocked at Dafoe's disguise near teh end. Bleugh!
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What do violent movies have to do with Columbine?
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I can't understand why people rate this film so highly. It rips off just about everything before it. The killers recite a prayer before offing the bad guys (somewhat like Jules from Pulp Fiction), the supposedly original telling of the shoot outs features Dafoe investigating the crimescene retelling the scene and appearing in the flashbacks himself (can you say "Clockers" which even Spike Lee admits was cadged from "The Boston Strangler"), someone accidently blows away an innocent byustander with an automatic (Pulp Fiction again, this time it's a cat) other than that nearly every shoot out is shot in slow motion and features at least one character leaping around with two pistols (do I even need to say?) - Billy Connolly has a _very_ "Hannibal Lecterish" introduction. There's lots of stupid stuff showing appalling lack of thought and research. For example, prison guards on the cellblock floor do NOT carry guns (what happens when there's a riot, huh?). In a scene where the brothers are injured, they squirt ammonia on large splashes of blood to destroy evidence, but if you're hit by a bullet, there would be specks of blood splattered for metres, you'd spend all day cleaning it all up, and one spot is enough for forensics. The plot is basically this: the brothers kill some gangsters, Dafoe investigates, they kill more gangsters, dafoe invastigates, they kill more gangsters, a Hitman tries to kill them, dafoe investigates, dafoe joins up with them, the hitman joins up with them, together they kill more gangsters. eerr... the end. If that sounds to you like a great movie plot (and to plenty it will) then obviously this is the movie for you, but really it is, in a word: shite.
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I've seen bumcock taints and i have to be honest - it was not good at all. I'm not a "hater" and I don't just flame movies - even ones I did't enjoy - but the original was not good. The premis didn't entirely suck - but the movie did. And I LOVE Willim - however - between the camera angles and other overstylized junk in the film it looks like he's simply mugging for the camera like a kid in a college film school project - and yes - I've seen some of them.
If the movie was forgetable I could understand this move - but I can recall the loud noise of this film's sucking with the same clarity that I remember some "scenes" from my first trip to tiland. only a true shill could "get exited" about this film -
Jul 24, 2002 9:26:12 AM CDT
The real reason Boondock Saints went straight to video is...
by cutter's way
It's a POS Johnny-Come-Lately 4th rate Tarantino rip-off. Slightly better than 3000 Miles to Graceland. Slightly. Nice to see Billy Connelly get some work, though.
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Woo hoo, he's the guy that Willem DaFoe makes out with when he shows up in the dress. Hi Mike. This flick was good for DTV, but Dafoe palyed the role like his first name was Daffy. I always thought he was the weak link. The good thing about it was the two leads - totally unapologetic, warped and interesting. The scene with the toilet is the best thing about the movie. Very original. I don't think it borrowed as heavily from Pulp Fiction as the other TB did, because it has a moral centre. The ending was a little fucking dumb though.
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I saw it in theaters during its brief run (it was open for like a weekend) and it sucked. The only good thing about it was WD and he's not even going to be in part two. What's the point? More crap for the "cult" of tasteless fans who are dumb enough to get roped in by this junk? Whatever.
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..This whole town is Pope-tacular. The Pope is here (Just keep saying Pope - that's a funny word when you think about what it's describing) and on Friday they're closing Universtiy Ave (big street) and having what can only be described as Pope-a-palooza, with bands (Slayer?) and a performance of the Pope-play - a play the Pope wrote like three years ago. This indeed is an intriguing slice of life. Pope, pope, pope, pope....
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This isnt available in the UK, it's on one of the poxy SKY movie channels every other month at a real late time
PLZ, PLZ, PLZ, PLZ can some fecker release it over here.
Damn fine film, Defoe's best role -
sorry about the duplic post. faking enter key.
hehe, lol, its a pope a palooza alright, they are kids everywhere man, its nuts. Everyone is taking this WYD so seriously...
Sucks to live by the beaches right now...
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i remember renting it with my wife and my brother-in-law, about a year or 2 ago....I thought it was incredible, but they just didn't get it, and ended up actually talking to each other towards the end...i had to tell them both to keep quiet ...man i hate when people ruin a good movie experience by chit chatting.....anyhow i think it was an incredible flick with a lot of heart and balls.......just DON'T ruin it with a crappy sequel....if you're gonna do a second part, MAKE IT WORTHY!!!!...just look at all the Highlander movies and see what i mean....a truely original and excellent 1st movie, followed by 3 or 4 shitty ones.........
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I'm amazed, actually stunned, that anyone can find anything redemable in BS. There is a reason why nobodies like me or you will ever get to come of the street and make a movie. We don't know dick about it! And neither does Duffy...i guess you could argue that his original idea was a lot less comic-booked and a lot more coherent and that the WhineSteins took control away from him. You may be right - alot of this film seems like it was directed and edited by a fat, concert promoter from long island. Really, really tasteless stuff that should be buried.
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In the not so great state of Texas, students were actually arrested during that time frame for listening to Korn and dressing differently. Over a dozen students in Freeport, TX were handcuffed, taken to jail and told they needed to behave when then governor George W. Bush was planning on attending a school function. There was never any proof or indication that the students had done or were planning to do anything wrong. What's more wild than that is that the court system actually sided with the Principal who had it done and the Sheriff's department because 'in these dangerous times' extreme actions are necessary. This was not only decided on a local level, but BACKED by the 5th Circuit in New Orleans. This is only ONE incident at our country over-reacting post-Columbine. You probably think the reaction is weak because all you watch is Tom Brokaw for news.
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dammit, fumar, ya stole my favourite line! (well, either that or dafoe smacking away his male sex partner - who just wants a cuddle - with a disgusted "faggot!" actually, any of dafoe's queeny lines are fucking funny). 'boondocks' isn't the second coming or nothin', but it's got some inventive direction and good performances - check it out by all means, just don't expect something of 'pulp fiction--style quality. it is, however, one of the better tarantino knockoffs of recent times, and dafoe's bloody brilliant in it.
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dammit, fumar, ya stole my favourite line! (well, either that or dafoe smacking away his male sex partner - who just wants a cuddle - with a disgusted "faggot!" actually, any of dafoe's queeny lines are fucking funny). 'boondocks' isn't the second coming or nothin', but it's got some inventive direction and good performances - check it out by all means, just don't expect something of 'pulp fiction'-style quality. it is, however, one of the better tarantino knockoffs of recent times, and dafoe's bloody brilliant in it.
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sorry 'bout that.
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...but I thought it was just a solid straight-to-tape movie, not some great revelation. I watch a lot of straight-to-video actioners and yeah, "Boondock Saints" was well-made and had some kinetic action to it, but it was certainly not something that could've done all that well theatrically as it just wasn't that great. I think the problem with anything "decent" on the straight-to-tape walls makes people go, "hey, this could've made it theatrically!" - and then it gets over-hyped like it's some great movie. I think "Ed Gein" is one of the few straight-to-video movies that could've made a couple of bucks in limited release. "Boondock Saints" would've gotten lost, so having Blockbuster actually spend some money (there were slicks in the windows of a lot of Blockbusters for this one) and make a big deal out of it hitting video (like they tried to do with "The Runner"), gave it more exposure than if it had played one theater in L.A. and then hit video three years later unannounced like most everything else.
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Boondock is a phenomal piece of filmmaking. Any idiot who chalks it off as a rip off of a number of other moies is 1. obviously ignorant, 2. oblivious to the actual film, 3. most probably in a vacant haze of bong smoke while typing their vitrolic posts. Few movies ever manage to make such things as are seen in Boondock feel and seem original. Nor do other films manage to blend action, comedy, and drama so deftly into such an engrossing tapestry of filmmaking that is so well highlighted by exceptional performances. Don't like the film? Fine, shut the hell up, because your ignorant, N'Sync loving doltish opinions are no longer valid. This movie raises valid and interesting points (such as the ineffectualness if the courts, the oft-times stupidity of certian police, and the need for something more in a system that doesn't work), all told in an interesting an new way. If you really insist on beliving that this film either "copied" or "stole" ideas and other concepts from other movies, you are wrong, dead wrong. Styles can be similar, but there are only so many ways you can do anything in film, and good filmmakers have always in some ways resembled other filmmakers, further, no one I'm aware of could be so spot on stylistically perfect, and so sure and good in their choices of handling scenes and performances as this filmmaker was. It is a great piece of cinema, and anyone with true appreciation for a good film should see it, and own it. The DVD rocks.
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Jul 24, 2002 10:48:20 AM CDT
University is pretty wide - its unusual to close an artery into
by weedymcsmokey
Living in the beaches has pretty much sucked all summer - garbage now Christian Youth. Uh, bring back the garbage.
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Apparently there's a fanbase, and I don't want to stoke a pile of flames here. But I rented Boondock Saints a while back. Whining "Columbine" is a nice facile excuse, but the reality is, it's just not a good movie. Certainly not worth an $8 showing, which would have pissed me off. It's ugly, dull and derivative. Shallow and mean-spirited, but not in the good way. The black comedy that cropped up occasionally, seemed shoe-horned in from a different movie, and flat. The "action" was often interestingly staged, but almost in a sterile "I've got a great idea for an action scene" intellectual-exercise-for-freshman-filmmakers sense. Add copious slow-motion, and you've got your basic squib-porn for those who have no patience for context. Hey, I love violent movies, but even the most bullet-riddled HK actioner has more than JUST the violence going for it to pull me into the movie (well, sometimes). The "heroes" are entirely unlikeable, despite their glorification, especially at the end. Christ, "saints" isn't even meant to be ironic, you get the feeling. At no point did I (even mentally) pump my fist and say, "Yeah! Vigilantism! Aw RIGHT!" and the fact that the filmmaker wanted me to is fucking ridiculous. Plot "twists" and "character development scenes" felt like uninterested exercises serving only to progress to the next shot of gunplay with nifty camera moves. Basically, the whole thing is far too stylized and stupidly far-fetched to be engrossing on a verisimilitude level, and far too self-righteous and self-conscious and self-serving to be enjoyed as a guilty pleasure. There's clever, and there's "I'm CLEVER!" and BDS is the too much the latter. As for what this guy did with great actors... With characters that probably seemed "cool" on the page but ultimately silly in the flesh (I'm thinking brilliant "flamboyant" detective by day, self-hating homosexual by night here), all the first-timer could do was spin someone like Defoe into full honey-baked ham mode. Sorry, Willem, you were just taking direction. Look, when he called Defoe about the sequel (the week after Spider-Man opened! Jesus!) first he said he was exhausted, then he said he was too busy; what does he have to say next for this director to get the point, that he's washing his hair, doing laundry? Defoe doesn't want in, and after his recent resurgence who could blame him. ...I know I've been bashing the shit out of this, but chalk a lot of it up to still needing my coffee this morning, and remembering disappointment at what something COULD have been. I don't think the direcor's untalented, he had some great and interesting ideas, it's just that BDS had rookie effort all over it. Too slick, too empty--interesting ideas do not a whole film make. That's what was so frustrating by the end, was that I could see this could be a filmmaker to watch for in the future. I was genuinely curious to see what he could do next with that experience behind him, and perhaps a better budget, photographer, editor to help him out (though who knows, maybe they had him totally propped up in BDS). But the fact that he personally can't move past his own freshman failure (in fact wallows in post-Columbine martyrdom, still howling about its unfair burial and the cowardice of distributers, yadda yadda yadda) and even wants to do the same movie all over again--which trust me, that's all a "BDS2" would and could be--that's just sad and disappointing. Thank your fanbase, but don't become one of them. Move on, man; come up with a new idea, or direct a stranger's script or something.
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Jul 24, 2002 11:02:13 AM CDT
So it's NOT a movie about that comic strip that's like "
by rev_skarekroe
Nuts. sk
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I saw it in the Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge Mass back in 1999. It wasn'y a private screen either (yes, I know the fimmakers were from boston).
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He's not the worst writer but I can't stand his opening paragraphs to his reviews. Also, Boondock Saints was absolute crap. Nothing more than a post- Pulp Fiction knock-off. A gun accidentally goes off and blows up a cat? Kind of like that scene in Pulp Fiction where the gun accidentally goes off and blows up that guys head.
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I bought this DVD blindly because one of my friends told me how cool he thought it was -- and, well, it was cheap, and it did have Willem Dafoe. The first and only time I ever make a DVD purchase on something as whimsical as that. I could see potential in this movie, and the director could eventually make some darn good films, but this just showed way too much inexperience on the part of everyone involved. The directing (at times), the cinematography, the editing, the acting, the atrocious yellow credits and subtitles (I seriously don't think they could have created credits any uglier if they had wanted to) -- all of it screams, STRAIGHT TO VIDEO! And the plot of this film is an utter mess ... I finished watching it and wondered to myself, "Kind of amusing, occasionally funny dialogue...but what on earth was the point of it all? Why shouldn't I just watch Pulp Fiction again instead of give this movie my time?" I sold it to a friend for five bucks. Certainly not the worst thing I had ever seen. The movie did have heart and some interesting gimmicks...a sequel can only be an improvement.
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Still, the only way I can see a sequel working is if it's a full-on, balls-to-the-bricks action flick.
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Hey, you should write all of your reviews before coffee. Essentially, that's the film. You just blew Wyrms' right outta the water. I couldn't agree more. Goddamn it, I'm a professional writer (not the good way) and I couldn't have expressed my opinion better. So, fuck you.
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Of course, alot of people like Snatch too. I am so sick of these crappy, self conscious Lock, Stock retreads.
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Someone recommended this movie to me so I checked it out and it had to be one of the worst movies I've ever rented. There is a reason that I don't trust Harry or most reviewers on this sites opinion and this film is a perfect example why. The characterization is weak, the plot tries to deal with issues but in a half ass way, but the action scenes are kick ass!! The movie is all style over substance, and the style is one of gratuitous violence. And I hate to break it to you blood loving faboys, but anyone whose seen the gun cult movies of John Woo could make gratuitous violence look cool. Its not really a high art. Boondock Saints is the kind of movie a thirteen year old boy would make right down to what a thirteen year old boy would think a homosexual would act like. There is a reason it didn't make it to theaters because no woman or man over the age of thirty would have gone to go see it.
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Wait a minute, let me get this straight...first WB actually casts two great actors to play Batman and Superman in the upcoming VS movie, and now Blockbuster actually did something RIGHT?!?! WTF is going on here? Maybe Blockbuster just redeemed themselves for only releasing the edited version of "Requim for a Dream"- either way though, i'm still sticking to my trusty Netflix......
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You say THE BOONDOCK SAINTS is not available in the UK? I live in Ireland, I have a VHS copy it's released on Cinema Club. Try www.blackstar.com
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...In the good way, heh. Not quitting the day job yet, but me too. As for that "review" (christ, don't even say that's "good writing") we're just on the same wavelength is all, and on BDS that's not so wide a frequency. Well, remember what The Good Doctor Thompson sez, "Writing's like sex, it's only fun for the amateurs." But gracias. Fucker.
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to the poster who said BS is a lock stock and 2 smoking barrels retread, check this, Boondock was written, filmed and edited before lockstock was even shown anywhere, get your facts straight.
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The Boondock Saints was an awesome, intensely well acted and directed film and it served as an extremely impressive, excellent freshman effort. Anyone who thinks Duffy did a bad job really needs to examine the first films of many of today's greatest directors, foreign and domestic. Duffy did an amazing job especially considering how little funding he had to work with. I would like to establish that I'm speaking about the American DVD release which clocked in at 110 mins... not the Canadian mess of a movie which was only 97 mins... the longer cut allowed for extensive reediting and the subsequent addition of key scenes... trust me... most films are either saved or destroyed in the editing room. The cast was nothing short of spectacular... Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus (the brothers really had an impressive onscreen connection), Willem Dafoe (an openly gay FBI agent gaining the trust and respect of Irish Catholic Boston detectives!), Billy Connolly AND David Della Rocco (both of whom nearly stole the show!) all combined to flesh out first-time director Troy Duffy's modern day fable/cautionary tale of (perhaps dangerously?) devote religious intent, urban vigilantism (hey... ever since Paul Kersey, the Executioner, Dirty Harry and/or Frank Castle blazed their way into the heart and soul of the American pop-culture scene, there have been many among us who would and will, from time to time, find ourselves wishing for a quicker, more devastatingly... permanent system of justice... all the more common in today's world), coming to America and the subsequent examination of the American Dream turned into a nightmare, the cost of truth, justice, redemption, and family loyalty. If you haven't seen the 110. min. cut, you really have not seen the best version of this film. I urge you to at least view this version before attacking this vastly underrated cinematic experiment. Like most of the best Independent/Cult films, I'm certainly not all that surprised by the undue amount of flaming this film has received thus far. Sadly, most of the movie going public would rather see Men In Black 3, 4, 5, etc... than something more unique and much less Hollywood. ('Cult' means simply that most people either won't or can't 'get' this very socially funny/very politically serious (and thank God... VERY GLEEFULLY POLITICALLY INCORRECT... sorry, but if you were even slightly offended by the 'lesbian' scene or the 'Black' and 'Hispanic' joke then you'd probably be best served by immediately going out and buying yourself a sense of humor... and that's coming from a Hispanic... and I laughed my ass off at all of the politically incorrect jokes) film's intent. "Boondock Saints" is an art house film constructed via cult cinema and postmodern story structure technique ("Pulp Fiction", "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", "El Mariachi", "Donnie Darko"). For those of you who bitch and moan saying that it borrows too much from other films... Well, I personally like John Woo, Robert Rodriguez & Quentin Tarantino ("City On Fire" anyone???... c'mon folks, let's at least be honest enough to admit that Quentin 'borrowed' a hell of a lot more from this film for his brilliant "Reservoir Dogs", which I loved, by the way, than Duffy borrowed from any other film). So, for the last time people... nothing is original... everything is all in the presentation of an idea... so can we please stop bitching and moaning about who copied off of whom? The Boondock Saints was better than half of the crap that Hollywood churned out that year. The soundtrack alone was breathtaking. I, for one, loved the film and I have all the faith in the world that Duffy will be able to pull off a great sequel. Hell, just the fact that I'll be able to sit back and view the McManus brothers in the theater... where they should be viewed, is enough to make me happy. Oh, by the way, I might be preaching to the converted (no pun intended!) but to all the 'smaller films/anti-Hollywood crap' fans out there who like their films to be a bit deeper than most... please do not miss out on this season's latest brilliant, fantastic "best-film-most-people-have-never-seen" "Donnie Darko".
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Boondock Saints sucked total ass! This was the worst movie. As a matter of fact, some Blockbuster employee recomended it to me, and when I was back in there again I used that very same tape to beat the bitchass video store clerk smile off his Viacom face.
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Pretty sad to have to browbeat someone because they don't share your opinion of a movie.
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This is cool news.
I really loved the first half of the first one but I think they went too far actaully.
And why would Dafoe be it the sequel?
Emph (my first talback post, be gentle) -
...I had the unfortunate 'pleasure' of watching Boondock in a room full of stoned fratboys. What is it about these 'ironic' tongue in cheek machismo shoot em ups that turn every boy in the room with a grade school mentality into a giggling fucking moron with a hard on. Guns and jokes. fucksakes. Give me something with some imagintion instead please.
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I saw BDS on video in August of 2000 in Portugal. I enjoyed the movie, and when I got back to the US, spent the last two years looking for it. Only available through BB, they would only sell pre-viewed copies, or would order a new one for you for $99! I finally found a copy in another video store in Denver this past February and snatched it up. BB took a chance with BDS, but it certainly milked it for all its worth. ***** I accept that there are people out there who didn't like BDS. That's fine. But you're wasting bandwidth ranting against it, and calling me dumb, infantile, and unsophisticated for liking it. In that case, FUCK THE HELL OFF, YOU TROLLING SHITEATERS!!! Realize, this film has been successful enough in straight-to-video with only word-of-mouth to advertise it that Hollywood is ordering a sequel for theatrical release. Apparently, THERE ARE A LOT OF US WHO LIKE THE MOVIE!!! Do us a favor, take another bong hit and go bugger yourself. AD out
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While there were elements of The Boondock Saints that were outstanding, particularly the writing, the directing of this film is so terrible that it borders on laughable. Make no question, if this movie had ANY theatrical legs, it would have been shelved for a while and brought back after Columbine had died down. Hollywood execs are smart and callous enough to know that the sensitivity to this type of film would die down in less than 18 months, more likely 12, and would have brought the movie back had it any chance of doing enough business to justify its theatrical release. But the directing is so amateurish, the sense of character and pace so terribly administered at times that it is truly horrific. In his credit I will say he did manage, on more than a couple of occassions, to really nail a scene, and to get some great visuals. But overall, the directing dragged this film down from a smart, action-driven film to borderline unwatchable home movie. If this movie, as written, were handled by a more talented director, I guarantee it wouldn't have gone straight to video. It would've grossed enough to cover its budget and make enough profit to have already seen the sequel made.
Das Goof -
That is awesome news! I "discovered" the Boondock Saints when I worked at Blockbuster a few years ago, then I found out that almost everybody I knew had seen/wanted to see the movie. Also, is it just me or does Harry seem to be poking a little fun at us Boondock geeks in his intro to the article? I don't think so, upon first reading that was what I thought; but that just doesn't sound like Harry.
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Actually Hecubus, what's truly sad is that some people just can't seem to let others express their joy over a particular film without having to flame the movie. If you didn't like, get or understand "Boondock Saints" fine. It doesn't really matter to any of us who did. I myself don't care for movies like "Scooby Doo", but that doesn't mean that I feel obligated to go to any 'Scooby' related boards (because of my freedom of speech) and call people who may have enjoyed the movie rude names or critic their taste in film.) Or to put it another way... we might disagree on certain films, but what can possibly be gained by proclaiming other people's favorite films to be shit? Adults in this situation will agree to respect other people's opinions even if they are differing, and thereby simply just agree to disagree.
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I stopped by a local Blockbuster a few months back. They had a table full of movies with no covers for $2.99 with two dollars off. I found this to be the perfect opportunity to play catch-up on movies I hadn't seen. One of those movies was "The Boondock Saints". I had seen the preview for the film years before and thought it looked terrific. But like the guy said it was not just straight to video, it was straight to Blockbuster. I thought to myself "How good could this be?"
The answer "Damn good!" This is a gem of a straight to video film. It's right up there with "Phoenix" with Ray Liotta. "Boondocks" has action sequences that top anything you can find in a Seagal, Van Damme, Stallone, or Arnie flick. The action is all simply cool.
The acting is solid but Dafoe takes the cake. His performance borders on campy and pushes it right to the edge when get slips into a dress. Both hilarious and disturbing at the same time.
The sequel erks me without Dafoe there but it hopefully it will lead people into watching the orginal before picking up the sequel.
Now that I have a video copy, next stop, FOX DVD Oh ya!!! -
I mean it was okay, but nothing to jizz your pants over or make a sequel to.
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I love that line from Boondock Saints. and WHAT THE FUCK IS THE NEW ANIMATION?!
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and boondock saints was ok... if you like one joke that gets told over and over and over ad infinitum
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Jul 24, 2002 10:55:17 PM CDT
I hope they release both in theaters, the first one 3 weeks befo
by thematarife
This was such a fking cool movie. They better give both the theater treatment they deserve.
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The only reason I cared about this movie was the big deal when Duffy was supposed to sell it to Miramax as writer/director and his band was gonna do the music and he was gonna have casting approval and then Weinstein was gonna buy the kid the bar he worked at. And he was all of 25. They won this huge bidding war. Then the Weinsteins wanted Pitt and Damon to play the roles and Duffy balked. Which is weird. I mean it's not like they wanted Prinze jr. and Lillard. Those guys are solid actors. They dropped the deal. Then nothing. Then Lions Gate picked it up after it got made. Then an AICN review. Then nothing. Finally, my brother calls me one Thursday afternoon from L.A. and says "guess what opens tommorow in some crappy theatre for like a week?" I said call me the minute you get out. I gotta know what this kid has got. The answer was "Not much." A few weeks later it was at Blockbuster. Really, it was silly. Dafoe as the girl. Toilet Fu (as Joe Bob would call it), gratitous pornstar cameos, lazy introductory sub headings, and a very lumpy, poorly paced script. Not exactly Point Blank. I noticed it got a cult following. It's a shame. This empty piece of faux cool (with admitedly one or two bright spots) catches on enough and they are gonna make another one. I guess the only really good news is movies may have a life just going to the video shelf. That does bode well. But honestly most of them deserve to be there. For a truely stylish crime movie watch The Salton Sea. It was unfairly buried.
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I feel bad for this guy. He was just some dude tending bar at a place called "Sloans" in Los Angeles (on Melrose) who had never written anything before. Except for songs for his band "The Brood." Anyway, he borrows some screenplays, studies the format, and cranks one out himself. Not only does it sell, but the studio that bought it (I can't remember who-Miramax maybe?) buys the bar, making him part owner, and signs his band to a recording contract. For whatever reason, it all went to shit. I thought Boondocks was cool and i look forward to Part 2. Good luck Duffy.
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"Finely woven Tapestry?" "raises valid points"? Wasn't the issue of pretentiousness brought up in the original artical. And you accuse ME of hitting the bong! I didn't think it would be long before someone tried "the film tackles serious issues about crime and the law blah blah blah" but really that's just such a load of fatuous crap - the Jerry Springer Show has deeper insights into society's maladies. Maybe there is a serious film to be made about urban vigilanteism and the failure of the courts, but this sure aint it. Duffy's interests in the ethics and morality of fighting crime beyond the law are as deep as a puddle, and mainly used to cover his arse when people through accusations of gratuitousness at him. This film is populated with comedy stereotype gangsters, including Ron Jeremy of all people as a lowlife hood, where a couple of orphan lads can wipe out a dozen heavily armed russian mobsters sort of by accident, and climaxes with a Gay FBI agent in drag sneaking into the mafia HQ. Oh, sure, this film CERTAINLY has serious issues on its mind. Anyway, Duffy LOVES violence and slaughter, that's why he films it in such adoring slow motion, with all that pounding rock music to accompany it. I'm not fooled by half a dozen monologues of sanctimonious preaching by pretty boys and the odd judicious use of a few Volkswagon ad' classical music tracks... ...dude! Doesn't make it art, leaves it as it found it. Shite.
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What is the point of remaking this?
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This movie tried much too hard to be cool but it ended up being lame. The whole opening sequence made no sense at all. Why did they walk up in the middle of a mass. Part II is a waste of time and money.
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Badass! The only problem I have with the article is
"Troy and I talked about the cult status of the film. -
Such as the bit when Dafoe proclaims that the massacre wasn't the work of professionals, but of someone who had watched too many action flicks. Or is that too subtle for flamers? AD out
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Don't you hate it when people tell you that you don't like a film because you don't get it? What a bunch of wankers. Well, you tell me I don't like a film because I don't get it to stroke your own self-pretentious ego. Give me a break. Listen, I don't like Boondock Saints because it was very poorly put together film. It was laughably bad at times. Granted, I thought the concept was cool. Cool enough to rent the thing. I thought there were genuinely brilliant moments in the film. Enough to not demand my money back. But, get your head out of your asses. Don't give me that I don't like it because I don't get it. The film wasn't that deep, folks. If you think it's deep, then, frankly, something's wrong. The directing was insanely amateurish, trying way too hard through most of the film, trying to rely on too many cliche-ish gimmicks. The script was choppy, and it obviously didn't come off half as cool on screen as the director thought it would. Hense a few very laughable scenes. Come on, I mean, whimsical dialog aside... The film needs to work on some level before intellegent dialog can actually be seen as intellegent. Now, this is not a critique of anyone's taste, nor is it an attack on anyone's film standards. If you like the film, fine, you like the film. But don't come around with that if you don't like it you obviously don't get it routine for those of us who don't like it. I know at least for me, got it, I still didn't like it. I thought BS was a terrible movie. It had potential but it didn't carry through, falling way short of decent. That's my opinion, and I'm sticking with it.
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All the other multitudinous problems aside (sloppy directing, shallow performances, terrible editing, mediocre cinematography, a script that comes off like something Kevin Smith wrote on a weekend of wanton drug abuse)...the real nail in the coffin of this movie is the yellow credits at the beginning and then the little yellow letters that pop up to identify different characters. I already mentioned this, but I just had to mention it again. You know, for emphasis. The instant I saw those cheesy yellow letters, I began to curse myself for throwing away fifteen dollars and wondering how to get my money back. I mean, sure, they are just credits, but we're talking about what might be the ugliest credits of all time. Such an abomination in front of Citizen Kane would lead to many conflicted emotions about that masterpiece. Okay, I'm not being completely serious. But I still hate those credits.
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Not only is Boondock Saints the absolute nadir of post-Taratinoism, it is practically the definition of bad filmaking. The very definition of style over substance, BDS' plot hinges (hinges!) on one absurd plot twist after another (B.C.'s their father? Come on...) while subjecting me to jaring tonal shifts ranging from, I guess, "comedy" to "drama". This film made me want to claw my eyes out. Troy Duffy you own me $3.49 and two hours of my fucking life back.
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Jul 25, 2002 2:45:57 PM CDT
when Dafoe proclaims that the massacre wasn't the work of pr
by palmer eldritch
"Or is that too subtle for flamers" WHAT!!!! For Fucks sake, is that whatpasses for _ subtle_ these days, Slap in the face, wink to the audience gags like that. what have we come to? "Drop The Bomb Kill, Them All! the Horror, the Horror!"
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The Bond series long ago became nothing more than an excuse for various directors to take a shot at making a bland action/spy movie.
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Of course Duffy took some from Tarantino in making BS. This genre is filled with thieves that take from other movies; that's what makes them cool, because its all recycled cool movie-making. If your argument is un-originality, then your a FUCKING MORON!!! Why, because its all been done before! The least we can hope for is cool little variations that try to take a different approach to the genre.
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Boondock Saints was released in Theatres here in South Africa.It didn't exactly set the box office alight but it did okay.Even so long after its release the movie always seems to come up whenever people start talking about their favourite films.It definetly is the kind of movie that benifits from word of mouth.It is very violent and they swear ALL the time-so if you don't like that kind of thing leave it.
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That was sarcasm aimed at trolls who simply decry the movie as stupid, or some similar defamation that irked me at the time. I've read your posts, and you have legit and well-voiced reasons for not liking the movie. I respect that. I have no patience, however, for people who pounce on topics and individuals for not sharing the same ideals, opinions and tastes. I was done with that kind of thinking before I got to high school... 15 years ago. And if I suggest or allude to someone not liking something because they "didn't get it" (wording I never use), I am not criticizing their intelligence but referring to it not speaking to them on an emotional or personal level. This movie resonated with me, and apparently many others. It's not wrong for us to defend it. AD out
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Couldn't have said it better myself. Though I do think the script isn't that bad - it just didn't have enough rewrites. good idea very poorly executed. as for the lovers...go ahead and love it. and enjoy your sequel. i'll be out seeing quality indie films.
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Man, as I look at the negative posts on this Board I can definitely feel the presence of a bunch of anal out-of-work frustrated film students!! Maybe that's why your out of work since you can't figure out what good really is with out being told by your professor, or main stream Hollywood. This movie appeals to people that work for a living, not some Art student lackey who rented this on the way back from dropping off their Professors dry cleaning. This movie has a very huge cult following and has pissed off allot of you Art pussies because an Unknown (with out any formal training) wrote a killer screen play and was able to actually get it on film. The Guy only had a 6 million dollar budget, I've seen some REALLY bad stuff come out of Hollywood with 10 times that amount and Art school accolades out the ass !! I'd really like too see a sample of the movies you Art punks like, I bet its got some real winners. *(snickers)*
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When one spells a surname with " Mac" it is indicitive of a person of Scottish heritage, however, when one spells a surname with " Mc " it is indicitive of a person of Irish deliniation. I should think that one would be correct in spelling our beloved brothers' surname " McMannus ", not " Mac Mannus ". No harm, No foul, No hard feelings, and, no matter how you spell their name, they KICK ASS !!!
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well, i realize that i am about... 6 months late? but after reading all this shit, i knew i had to post.
i have to say that boondock saints is definately my favorite movie of the month (/past few monthes), and while some of you bds hating dbags are just retarded 12-year olds trying to piss someone off because you hate life, for those of you that actually didn't like the movie: what are you comparing it to? no, seriously, there arent really any good movies out there. i'll give you pulp-fiction, resevoir dogs, snatch and fight club (maybe a few others that i'm just not thinking of now), but what out there is better than boondock saints for you even to compare it to? also, all this comic book comparing shit? what the fuck is that? i see how you could think of it that way, but the really big difference is that boondock saints could actually happen while comic books simply cannot. that is also why this movie is "deep" (as someone was saying it was not), this movie - similar to pulp fiction - makes you think about all the fucked up shit that could be.
for whoever it was complaing about this movie just being a copy of other greats, (the whole cat being shot and the person being shot in P.F. ... you are retarded) as someone already said: that is one of its better qualities. also, it is original in that i personally have never heard of anymovie to even attempt to take this look at the world in the way it does. i.e. a group of religious finatics realizing that they should kill the evil of the world. for those of you that thought that "il duce" being their dad was kind of stretching the plot, i felt that that was the point. i mean, that god had set it up that way (it was destined to be that way).
well, i could probably bitch a lot more, but i wont. i will say that i am looking forward to the sequal, as long as whats his name (the director) doesn't add it to the long ass list of sequals that suck. good luck whats your name.
p.s. donnie darko (spelling?) sucked a lot, lots of interesting ideas but not much... point in watching? i wasn't a fan. -
OK Im as big a fan as they get. I watch the movie at least once a week. But When the FUCK is the second going to come out! Im dieing here shit!
Guido -
in 2002 they were going to make it? It still hasn't come out.
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I'm going to see the original #BoondockSaints in (city and theater here) #boondocksaints on March 11th - http://bit.ly/BoondockTickets
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