The Boondock Saints is the story of two Irish fraternal twins that set out to kill evil men in Boston. It stylish, funny, and action packed. The twins are played by Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus. There’s also a flaming gay FBI agent hot on their trail played by Willem Dafoe. The twins are bad-ass, and while they may not be the most intelligent of vigilantes, they make up for it in attitude, daring, and style. Though they are killers, they believe themselves to be doing the lord’s work by destroying evil. There is a prayer they say just before they kill their last victim that is quite interesting and memorable. This movie is fun to watch all the way through and the music is pretty good too.
Boondock Saints
Thursday, July 29th, 2010Mirageman
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Mirageman is the story of a young man in Chile who decides to be a Superhero. He has no powers, just some martial arts skills or as the byline says, “just his fists and guts”. The film starts with the hero practicing his martial arts while his history is told from newspaper clippings and photos on his wall. He’s a humble guy and apparently living on just enough money to get by. Later he runs across a chance to use his skills to help someone and dons a mask to do so. His story makes it to the news and his sick brother who immediately starts to improve. It is at this point that the main protagonist of the story decides to be a Superhero.
There’s a lot to like about this movie. It’s clearly low budget but somehow contains all the elements of a great Superhero movie. There’s plenty of comedy as Mirageman learns about the superhero business through trial and error; from who he should trust, what clothing he should wear, to how to get around transportation issues. What really stands out here is the martial arts. This was some of the best fighting choreography I have ever seen outside of a Chinese or Japanese film. There’s no slow motion, just awesome, real-looking fight scenes.
As I said before, this film was made in Chile so it is English dubbed but if you’ve ever watched old martial arts movies of the past then getting through this will be easy. The Superhero movement and action is somewhat similar to the old Spider-Man live action television show. It’s a little cheesy but definitely entertaining and fun to watch. The music is good too. I give this movie a 4 out of 5 marks. Check out the trailer:
Logorama
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010Logorama is an Oscar nominated short film in which every character and pretty much every piece of the landscape is made from some popular logo. It starts off innocently enough but then turns violent with a heavy dose of profanity and other PG-13 elements. I loved it. You will too. You can find out more on the film’s official site and you can watch the entire short below.
Exiled (Fong Juk)
Saturday, June 19th, 2010
Exiled is a Chinese action movie that while taking place in relatively modern times, plays out very much like a Western. In it, a group of old friends are brought together again under interesting circumstances. Two of them arrive to kill one of the others while another two arrive at the same time to protect him. Their friendship endures while they shoot at each other and others shoot at them.
This movie is subtitled but the conversations happen slow enough for them to be easily read without missing anything important in the movie. Some parts of the film play out like a Kung Fu movies with guns instead of hand to hand combat. The personalities of each of the friends are relatively distinct and each is likeable in his own way. There are plenty of action scenes and since there are lots of bullets flying, there is plenty of blood but not to the point of it being gory. The enduring friendship of the main give guys is fun to watch as it plays out amidst the backdrop of bullets, crime, and gang bosses. The movie takes place in Macao, China and has its appropriate comedic and dramatic moments woven into this action piece.
None of the actors were recognizeable to me but everyone seemed to play their part well. This was an enjoyable film. It was directed by Johnny To who I never knew but now have an appreciation for. I easily give this movie a 4 out of 5 marks. Enjoy the trailer below then go rent the movie.
Astro Boy
Friday, June 11th, 2010
Astro Boy has a long history in Anime and Manga and has had multiple occurrences in TV and film. This adaptation seems a more of an American or British feel to it. The story of Astro Boy is sort of like an animated Pinocchio. The 3-D animation in this movie is top notch. It looks great in every scene. The casting was interesting and included quite a few famous actors such as Nicolas Cage, Freddie Highmore, and Kristen Bell, to name a few. The story is heart warming, at times tragic, and contained quite a few comical moments.
This movie didn’t receive a lot of accolades at the box office and I really don’t understand why. It looked great. The story was good and the voice acting was too. Maybe it was the actual death that happened in the film. That did take me back a bit when I saw it. Still, this was a very enjoyable film family film. The main character was charming and easy to feel for. Maybe it was too different from the source material. I am familiar with the Astro Boy character of old but I never followed it very closely. I enjoyed this movie and easily give it a 4 out of 5 marks.