Review CLVII - The Boondock Saints

Review 157
The Boondock Saints (1999)

Happy new year everyone! I wonder when it gets too late to say that. I mean, we're over a week into it already. Since I had (almost) a week off from work, I spent my time going out and relaxing before school started again. It's just a great time all around (please find the sarcasm in my voice). But I digress - we're here to review a film, no? Today we're gonna review Troy Duffy's The Boondock Saints starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Willem Dafoe, and David Della Rocco. I mean, I've watched The Boondocks, so I might as well go with the saints of the boondocks, right? ... Yeah, that was a piss-poor joke. On to the review!

After Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy MacManus (Norman Reedus) kill two Russian mobsters in self-defense after a Saint Patrick's brawl, they're hailed as heroes. Soon they take their violent antics to the street to become the unknown vigilantes Boston has always wanted. Meanwhile, FBI Agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe) is on the case to figure out who these new killers are, all while Italian errand boy for the mafia Rocco (David Della Rocco) tries to stay alive.

In Poultrygeist, Ron Jeremy's cameo appearance showed just how shit the film was going to be, but thankfully The Boondock Saints is not bad. It's not a masterpiece by any means, but I had a great amount of fun out of this one. The Boondock Saints keeps it going with a crazed FBI agent along with the funny trio. It's like Death Wish without the strong message and Charles Bronson (I also recommend this movie if you haven't seen it).

I'm not sure I have much else to say about this one, guys. It's quirky, it's funny, but it's got the vigilante, Catholic drive. I really liked the acting from Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus, and David Della Rocco definitely gave me a good laugh as Rocco. But damn, Willem Dafoe definitely steals the show. I really loved his character and the acting. If all gay men were portrayed like this, I'd be fine with it. His glazed eyes as he relives a crime scene is just great. Sigh... Honestly, I'd re-watch the film just for him. That's not to say the vigilante trio didn't do a great job - they had pretty comical bits themselves - but in my eyes, Willem Dafoe really had me captivated.

So how about the vigilante theme? Death Wish really presented this fantastically, and I remember discussing with my boyfriend about the prominent theme. Having gone through the judicial system personally, as well as having been a true crime fanatic, I think we can all agree that justice isn't always served. Not to mention the regulations put in place in some countries (including mine) which limits self-defensive options, making it impossible to fend for yourself if ever you're in a less-than-ideal situation. Then you have cases where people are condemned for self-defense - I mean, really. In Death Wish, the crime takes place in New York where firearm ownership is extremely difficult. Is it any wonder the city is ridden with crime? Yeah, I'm weighing into the right to bare arms, second amendment of the United States of America. And yes, as a person living outside of the country, and in a country where firearms in the general public are feared upon, I think you should be able to defend yourself with a weapon, including a firearm. Seriously, if I'm packing heat, I don't think people are going to mess with me. People shouldn't be stupid, but if you're in the firearm community, I'm gonna assume that generally you aren't trying to blow yourself up, so you'll follow regulations. Now, obviously the USA is not the only one packing, but since it's such a big debate there, I thought I'd way in.

So how do I feel about vigilantism? One hundred percent there. That's why the second amendment exists in the first place - so the government listens to you, not the other way around. I'm not saying I'd go out and kill a man tomorrow, but let's fight smartly, shall we? Can we agree that some of the people in this film are complete scum? Can we agree that the court is not always going to benefit the right? It's not black and white, no issue is, but we can agree that judgements will be served, however your faith takes it.

Whew, that was a lot of opinionated dribble. Let's wrap this up. The Boondock Saints is a very fun film, filled with violent craziness. Willem Dafoe is awesome. I recommend it whole-heartedly. Have a good night!

Review CXXXVI - Drop Dead Gorgeous

Review 136
Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)

Hello everyone. June has really flown by, hasn't it? I kept meaning to write a review, but then life got in the way. Plus it's been nice outside and I recently joined a class for the summer, so I haven't been home most evenings. Today, unexpectedly, I was home earlier than usual with nothing to do, so I decided I'd finally sit down and review Michael Patrick Jann's Drop Dead Gorgeous starring Kirsten Dunst, Denise Richards (never thought I'd see her face again after Starship Troopers), Ellen Barkin, Allison Janney, and Kirstie Alley. Honestly, I encourage you guys to check out the cast - it's filled with a ton familiar faces who I hadn't seen, well, since the nineties. And others you may recognise now.

Mount Rose, Minnesota is holding its annual beauty pageant in order to have their town represented in the state and, hopefully, national beauty pageant. A documentary crew follows around the contestants who range from overly creepy to down-right sadistic, with one face, Amber Atkins (Kirsten Dunst), hoping to win in order to follow in the steps of Diane Sawyer and her mom (Ellen Barkin).

With such a low rating, I thought this film would be horrendous. I mean, a friend recommended it to me saying he thought it was hilarious, but still, I've been wronged before. In fact, Drop Dead Gorgeous is actually pretty legit. Now, I think it's a dark comedy aimed at the female crowd given the subject matter, that is, I don't see a guy watching this and being particularly amused, but it definitely had some great jokes. The humour really was dark at times. One of my favourites was when the girl adopted by the Japanese family (watch the film to get it) is honouring the United States for their "nuclear arsenal". Honestly, I was impressed with that one. And there are others, trust me.

I honestly don't know if I have much else to say about the film given that I had low standards for it and the jokes were actually not bad. The acting was fine, and I thought Denise Richards and Kirsten Dunst did great jobs. I mean, I suppose I could talk about the subject matter, but I think the film speaks for itself on everything. The only issue I had is that the film is supposed to be filmed like a documentary, but it really wasn't in that style at all. It gave an excuse for characters to talk to the camera, but don't half-ass the documentary style, please.

Drop Dead Gorgeous is a nice little dark film dealing with a normally pleasant and all-fake event, a beauty pageant. It's not superb film-making and the non-documentary-style bothered me, but given my little expectations, it came out okay. Would recommend for the morbid girl in your life.

Review CXXXIV - Office Space

Review 134
Office Space (1999)

There are some films you watch once and vow to never watch them again, and there are others that you could watch dozens of times. Apart from my holiday viewing of Withnail & I which you all know about, I always catch myself watching Mike Judge's Office Space starring Ron Livingston, David Herman, Ajay Naidu, and Jennifer Aniston, every few years. I remember my friend showing it to me back in elementary school, the meaning probably completely lost on me. But somehow its comedic-yet-tragic tone stuck with me, as years later in high school, I watched it again. I think I watched it again at some point in my post-graduate studies, but after searching for something to watch, I suggested that my boyfriend and I check out the beloved classic. In the end, he confused it with Falling Down, which I never saw, but apparently he had seen it anyway... Roll the tape!

Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) hates his job - seriously. His bosses, particular Bill Lumbergh (Gary Cole), are atrocious, the job is demotivating, and he is reduced to a rat in a cage. His attempts at following the norm fail, but after visiting a hypnotherapist who proceeds to die midway through a hypnosis, Peter comes up with a plan. Following his colleagues, Michael Bolton (David Herman) and Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu), they plan to steal the plot of Superman III by taking money no one will miss.

I mean, already you know that I like Office Space since I've watched it over and over again. The reality is, the film isn't historic, the film isn't a masterpiece, but I think that's what makes it so great. The movie really shows the life of a man who can't just accept his shitty working conditions. He can't accept that companies will fire dozens, hundreds, thousands of employees just to raise a stock. Bref, he can't live the way modern society exists today. Companies used to care about their employees, and they used to legitimately care about the well being of their workers. Now, given our throw-away culture, it is not surprising to see how a company (or any job, really) will attempt to put more work on a reduced number of workers in order to save bucks in the long run. I'm new to the job force, but from others around me, it is not always the case, but it definitely happens. And I see this as such an important message - we're raised to work, not to enjoy life. Of course work is a necessity; I would never advocate sitting on your ass and doing nothing because that isn't healthy. But some people don't fit that mold, and honestly, I wouldn't want to work a desk top with TPS reports... Honestly, eff software engineers, hehe (my boyfriend is a software engineer, so I'm actually not hating).

So while Office Space resorts to a clear message, it is still fun. You still get laughs out of it. The film is really not stupendous - the acting is usually mediocre and kind of... weird - but its message is clear and I still find myself returning to it. Check it out - if only for the crazed loner (Stephen Root) and awesome neighbour (Diedrich Bader).

Review XIV - Audition

Review XIV
Audition (1999)

I have a few films I want to watch from Miike Takashi. I already reviewed Ichi the Killer, and since I wasn't that impressed, I decided to check out another horror film of Miike Takashi's, Audition. It stars Ishibashi Ryo, Shiina Eihi, Kunimura Jun, and Miyuki Matsuda.

Aoyama Shigeharu (Ishibashi Ryo) is a lonely widower whose wife died of an illness many years previously. His son (Miyuki Matsuda) encourages him to get re-married, and Yoshikawa Yasuhisa (Kunimura Jun), Aoyama's friend, decides to help him out by holding fake auditions for a film so Aoyama can choose the right woman for him. Aoyama soon falls for one girl in particular, Yamazaki Asami (Shiina Eihi), but not everything is what it seems...

I liked this film. It wasn't amazing, but it was a lot better than Ichi the Killer. It had an interesting, and sad, story to it. Also, it didn't only rely on gore to shock you. In fact, spoiler, the gore was only right at the end of the film. Otherwise, Yamazaki's life is what shocks the viewer. It brought in some strange psychological elements to it, but it was done decently. It was a strange film, but it had a human touch to it, and I liked that. Also, I don't find it so much as horror as it is suspenseful. I mean, you're horrified by what happens, but it's more a thriller. At least, to me it is.

I'd give the film seven point five stars on ten. It was an interesting thriller, and you actually felt for the characters. There was a reason for why the characters acted the way they did, and it had a good story to it. Still, it wasn't anything extraordinary. If you like suspenseful films, with a touch of horror and gore, check it out.

Pirate Bay torrent