Talk about a quiet Halloween weekend. With not one scary movie in sight, all we have is a long-delayed sequel, a tiny indie, and a tribute to a musical icon. Let’s break them down…
1. “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints’ Day” - I always called the original Boondock Saints Tarantino-lite—I wasn’t crazy about it, but it had a bunch of great moments, and actually a pretty fun concept. You had your Irish vigilantes, a cross-dressing Willem Defoe, and the great comedian Billy Connelly as a long-haired, uber-assassin in some zany, inventive action sequences. Not the smartest (or wittiest) crime movie (nothing near my favorites like Snatch or Pulp Fiction), though certainly an enjoyable one. And, man, does this thing have its followers. I think the original was one of the biggest cult hits ever, and I saw tons of people with Boondock Saints posters on their dorm walls. So, for all the fans, the long-promised sequel should be right up your alley. The reviews aren’t strong (much like the first one), though word from the fans who caught early screenings is ecstatic. This new movie finds the McManus brothers, those likeable Irish bad-guy slayers, returning to Boston to find the person framing them for murder. Could be a fun ride, and it’ll definitely be a treat to watch the entire original cast (save for Willem Defoe) return. It’s playing only in the big cities for now, but it should expand in a few weeks time.
2. “Michael Jackson’s ‘This is It’” - I’m not sure how I feel about this. On one part, it might be a fitting tribute; you’ll get to see the King of Pop in his element, prepping his huge comeback show, though one that was sadly not to be. On the other, this reeks of a cash ploy, especially since this behind-the-scenes footage was never meant to be a movie, and was hastily put together and rushed to theaters following Jackson’s death. It probably won’t be a great (or insightful) film; then again, fans might not care, and the reviews are actually pretty strong (my idol, Roger Ebert, gave it the maximum rating of 4 stars). Plus, from what I hear, the peeks inside the creative process are interesting, and it’s good to see Jackson as the talented artist, and not as the man with headline-grabbing issues. Might be worth checking out, especially if you’re an admirer and want to catch Jackson’s final stage hurrah.
3. “Gentlemen Broncos” - I know next to nothing about this movie, save that it’s from the Napoleon Dynamite team, it stars Flight of the Concords’ hilarious Jemaine Clement, and it has a cameo from one of my favorite actors, Sam Rockwell. I like the concept too: Jemaine Clement is a failed sci-fi writer who finally gets some attention…by plagiarizing the stories from his student (played by the talented Michael Angarano, from Sky High, The Forbidden Kingdom, and who was Jack’s son on Will & Grace). I didn’t really like Napoleon Dynamite, though I kind of dug director Jared Hess’ next film, Nacho Libre; still, his brand of low-key humor doesn’t always work, and from the mostly poor reviews, I’m not really itching to see this. Then again, people loved Napoleon Dynamite and hated Nacho Libre, so who knows? It might not be for me, but it could turn out to be another under-the-radar crowd-pleaser.And that’s all we have for this Halloween weekend. Are you guys going to see one of the new releases, or planning to catch up on something older (like Where the Wild Things Are, the awesome Zombieland, or the cool-looking chiller, Paranormal Activity)?
Me? I think I’ll (finally!) catch the Toy Story double feature and hopefully check out Paranormal Activity as well. After all, last year, I watched Shaun of the Dead for Halloween—can’t break the scary-movie tradition now, right?
Clips courtesy of Trailer Addict.
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