Movie-A-Day #50: Boondock Saints

[Stout]

All I can say about this movie is it's fun, fun fun. Also, it has a very innovative script, some wonderful acting, and the best/most disturbing Willem Dafoe character you've ever seen!

Fraternal twins Conner (Flanery - SUICIDE KINGS) and Murphey (Reedus - GOSSIP) MacMannus are on a mission from God to rid Boston of crime.

However, instead of signing up for the police force, these hard-drinking Irish-American brothers take the law into their own hands a la Charles Bronson in DEATH WISH.

Heralded as saints by the city's beleaguered residents, the brothers also attract the attention of Paul Smecker (Dafoe - EXISTENZ), the openly gay FBI special agent assigned to investigate the spate of killings amongst the ranks of the Russian mafia.

First-time director Duffy pulls out all the breaks in this inventive, action-packed thriller sure to please fans of HARD BOILED and RESERVOIR DOGS.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Originally posted by Stout
All I can say about this movie is it's fun, fun fun. Also, it has a very innovative script, some wonderful acting, and the best/most disturbing Willem Dafoe character you've ever seen!

Fraternal twins Conner (Flanery - SUICIDE KINGS) and Murphey (Reedus - GOSSIP) MacMannus are on a mission from God to rid Boston of crime.

However, instead of signing up for the police force, these hard-drinking Irish-American brothers take the law into their own hands a la Charles Bronson in DEATH WISH.

Heralded as saints by the city's beleaguered residents, the brothers also attract the attention of Paul Smecker (Dafoe - EXISTENZ), the openly gay FBI special agent assigned to investigate the spate of killings amongst the ranks of the Russian mafia.

First-time director Duffy pulls out all the breaks in this inventive, action-packed thriller sure to please fans of HARD BOILED and RESERVOIR DOGS.

I've heard this a great flick.

And since you (or whoever created this review) say that fans of HARD BOILED would like this flick, I'm all over this one!

 

[mdamien13]

Love this movie! One of those ones that, a lot like Suicide Kings, has really made it via word of mouth (which, IMO, is the sign of a good movie). Great performances, especially by Sean Patrick Flannery (who I'd always thought was nothing more than a prettyboy). The sequel is coming out soon.

I want to know if the director told Willem Dafoe to ham it up or if he just went for it. I just can't see a director saying "Gee, Willem, I'm just not feeling it so far".

"There was a FIREFIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!!"

 

[Stout]

Re: Re: Movie-A-Day #50: Boondock Saints

Originally posted by Krangthebrain
And since you (or whoever created this review) say that fans of HARD BOILED would like this flick, I'm all over this one!

I know. I apologize for the (mostly) Yahoo review, but I am in the midst of a tough stretch in my Masters program in Shakespeare, WHILE a conference of some of the most famous Shakespearean names is going on...I slept from 7 am to noon today, that's how much stuff I have to do.

I'll do better for the next one, I promise.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Haven't seen this one in awhile, but I remember liking it a ton. Definitely going to grab the dvd someday. Good choice.

 

[Chaplin]

As Stout probably knows, I was never too enthusiastic about this movie. I probably need to see it again, but I thought it was boring, and I really despised the two leads. Willem Dafoe is great in anything he does, which helps.

 

[Stout]

While I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, there was no doubt in my mind that there WAS no movie w/out Willem Dafoe.

 

[Bada0Bing]

I just watched it. I had a blast watching this one and I'll definitely rewatch it again someday. I loved how the gun battles where filmed, the slow-mo, music, angles, all of it.

I'm so glad they didn't include the token love interest that more often than not slow down these types of movies.

Whatever happened to Troy Duffy (director)? He does one movie, which kicks ass, and then calls it quits?

Wiki story (long):

Spoiler

Duffy moved to Los Angeles in his twenties to pursue a music career with his band, The Brood. While looking for gigs, he took work at a local bar where he wrote the script for the motion picture The Boondock Saints during his break periods.[1] The script, which was heavily influenced by the wake of post Quentin Tarantino films, featured two brothers in Boston dedicated to the killing of Mafia thugs. He successfully marketed the film to Harvey Weinstein of Miramax Films who bought the screenplay for US$300,000 with the intention of filming the movie on a $15,000,000 budget (it was eventually made for approximately $7 million). However they eventually dropped the project, leaving Duffy without prospects.[2]

Still believing himself to be a hot commodity, Duffy convinced agents at the William Morris Agency to help him market the film to other studios, and it was eventually picked up by a small company who offered to produce the film for less than half of Miramax's original budget. Desperate to get the project rolling and convinced that it would eventually prove a major success, thus giving him an upper hand over the people that had previously panned him, Duffy took the deal, shooting the film over several weeks on location. After shooting, the film was "shopped" at the Cannes film festival in the hopes of finding a distributor.

After months of sitting on the shelf, the film was picked up by a small studio for theatrical release - it was shown in five theaters in the United States, and for a period of only seven days.

Duffy's infamy was cemented in the documentary Overnight, which he initially authorized and endorsed. In Overnight, Duffy's self-absorbed, destructive ego takes over, as he betrays friends and family members.

Duffy's story is also featured in an episode of E's Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

Through word of mouth The Boondock Saints DVD went on to gross over $6,000,000 in sales, of which Duffy received nothing due to the structure of the contract he signed with the distribution company.

He is currently pursuing a sequel to The Boondock Saints.

It now seems that Duffy has gotten the rights to make the film and is currently in production.

The whole cast is returning except for Willem Dafoe.

 

[azsouthendzone]

terrible movie, bad acting all around, boring plot

 

[Bada0Bing]

terrible movie, bad acting all around, boring plot

I can understand someone calling it terrible and poorly acted, but boring?

 

[azsouthendzone]

I can understand someone calling it terrible and poorly acted, but boring?

the story was all over the map and that, coupled with the bad acting ant it being terrible, makes it boring, although Boston is a great town. there is a doc about the guy who wrote that movie and how his life unravels..thats a decent flick

 

[Bada0Bing]

the story was all over the map and that, coupled with the bad acting ant it being terrible, makes it boring, although Boston is a great town. there is a doc about the guy who wrote that movie and how his life unravels..thats a decent flick

I thought the "bad" acting was fitting though, since the movie is way over the top anyway. I read about that documentary on Wiki, I'll have to check out.

 

[Renz]

Terrible movie, bad acting all around, boring plot.

Have to agree. I fell asleep two different times during this.

When watching Dafoe's performance I was reminded of Richard Dreyfus's character in The Goodbye Girl when he has to play a flamingly gay Richard III. I bet Dafoe cringes every time he thinks about this movie.

 

[MigratingOsprey]

Love this movie! One of those ones that, a lot like Suicide Kings, has really made it via word of mouth (which, IMO, is the sign of a good movie).

funny you mention that many years ago .... i hadn't seen either so my buddy lent me both of them ... I watched suicide kings earlier this summer and really enjoyed it ... just go to Boondock Saints while on my flight to Hartford a couple weeks ago

entertaining and fast moving ... although I didn't like it as much as suicide kings and am not sure if I really loved the movie at all

defoe was awesome though and some of the scenes were pretty cool how you'd see the scene and then they'd relive what happened

 

[Jersey Girl]

This movie has been on my list for a while. Maybe I will check it out tonight or this weekend.