E Y E W A N N A B E

Irish Rican here -

With the bad Cop Out theatrical trailer now a distant memory (hopefully), Warner Bros. has shared the new Cop Out one sheet.

Feels good to see Bruce Willis in John McClaine form and the great tagline 'Rock Out With Your Glock Out.' Once again I can't help feel that Warner Bros. still missed the mark on this. Thoughts?

Ryan "Irish Rican" McLelland here -

I found BOONDOCK SAINTS a couple years after it had hit on video. When I was serving in the military the pilots who flew at night used to watch it incessantly before going off to fly in the helicopters and for some reason I always would walk in during Willam Dafoe's drag scene. This scene never made me want to actually sit down and watch the film. But something stuck with the pilots and the film, even calling themselves 'The Bastardos' after a throwaway line in the movie. One night they forced me to sit down and watch it and I was instantly hooked. Since then I've watched the movie once a month for the next six years.

There seems to be two very different camps for BOONDOCK SAINTS: the ones who hate the movie with pure disgust vs. the ones who love the movie and scream about it to the heavens. Sure there are some who think the movie to be 'okay' but those are the people who are few and far between.

Then there's director/writer Troy Duffy himself who has had his share of controversy over the years. Duffy landed the infamous movie deal with Harvey Weinstein and Miramax only to see everything he worked for get pissed away. He never got the bar bought for him, he never made the movie with Miramax, even after BOONDOCK got made it never found its way to theaters, and his group The Brood (renamed The Boondock Saints) saw their CD flop - even though it was a damn good debut album.

THE BOONDOCK SAINTS has been dying for a sequel. Any fan of the film, like myself, knows that the end of the film sets up the McManus brothers to become the vengeful eye of Boston. As cult classics go the original film is a monster success - especially when you think in terms of the sequel actually being made AND released in theaters nationwide. Troy will now have his day with Boondock up on the big screen - finally have the time to sink or swim with his creation. Will his sequel hold up ten years after the first film was made?

For those who aren't aware of the plot the Saints (Sean Patrick Flannery, Norman Reedus) are living the quiet life with their father (uber-killer and ultimate kickass artist Billy Connolly) in Ireland. When a copycat killer strikes a priest down in the same manner the Saints had done in their crime spree years earlier, it draws the duo right back into action. The city of Boston is left to wonder whether it is a copycat or the real thing - much to the chagrin of the three police officers who helped the Saints kill a mob boss in a court room.
If you want the full plot go see the fucking movie. If you want to know does the sequel hold up or disappoint - I'm glad to say the sequel does not disappoint. The sequel improves on everything that made the first film great. It's one hell of a non-stop thrill ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very last frame (which is a great last frame at that). You don't even need to see the first film to enjoy this movie which is fantastic. It can make fans of the first film happy while being coherent enough for anyone who has yet to see Boondock 1.

The Good? Clifton Collins Jr. has been in about seventy-six films this year and he's been great in every single one. There's no change here. Playing the new saint, a Mexican named Romeo, Collins brings the needed comic relief but also owns this new role. He fits so perfectly into this world that it kind of pisses me off that he wasn't in the first film. Julie Benz (the hottie from Dexter) plays hottie FBI agent Eunice Bloom - who is delicious eye-candy throughout the film. Benz replaces Willam Dafoe's character and unfortunately she is given a bit less to do in this film. When she is on-screen she surely is fun to watch. Nearly everyone comes back from the first film - even Rocco (David Della Rocco) appears in a flashback.

The Indifferent? Judd Nelson and Peter Fonda. They are in the film but are really just secondary characters. You don't care about them and simply hope the Saints come in to kill them.

The bad? There is A LOT of plot in this film. How can that be 'bad'? While not technically bad, the add-on of stuff that could have been kept until a third movie was added in. Of course there might not be a third movie so Troy Duffy probably felt he needed to pack it all in now. This causes the film to slow down at times but luckily it picks right up soon.

The fact that this film got made is amazing in itself. The fact that this film then looks amazing, sounds even better, with impeccable acting, and a phenomenal story is sort of like bringing a Playboy model as your date to the prom then getting laid afterwards with her and her twin sister. The film just doesn't satisfy fans but will certainly be a welcome start for a whole new film career for Duffy. It certainly is the action movie of the year and I'm hard-pressed to think of anything that comes close to All Saints Day. Fans of the first film will love All Saints Day and the haters may finally like the franchise for the first time. Now all we can hope for is a trilogy.

With the score being performed Friday and Saturday night at Radio City Music Hall (I'll be there Friday!) - I did a quick interview with composer Howard Shore about the performance.  Check it out over at AICN by clicking here!

The Irish Rican Reports From The ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA Stage Show!! + A Mini-Chat With Rob McElhenney & Glenn Howerton!!

So my contest went live over at AICN.  Wanna win two tickets to see the live LOTR performance at Radio City Music Hall in October  CLICKER RIGHT HERE to find out the details to enter!!!

Back this week to look at Arcana TPB 'The Fro'.

Back with just one review this week but it is a GREAT review!  I take a look at the wonderful H.C. Noel web comic Tara Normal - click here to read the review!

SLOW WEEK HERE - was home sick Wednesday and Thursday - did watch a SLEW of movies though (including Reno 911: Miami, Star Wars Episode 3, 8 Mile, Bobby, Minority Report, Bobby, and the Wing Chun TV series).

Going to see Moon tonight...or head home to just relax more.

So it was a slow week because of it - but I did get in a review over at AICN covering the first two American Flagg TPBs.  Check it out by clicking here!

Finally back with some new reviews this week at AICN: check out what I think of Impaler and Return from Wonderland.

So what happens when a reviewer gets reviewed?  Usually the results aren't that pretty ESPECIALLY when the reviewer is one of my own breatern.  Well Professor reviewed the all new Philly #1 over at AICN today and ... well ...the review was glowing.  He states he went in thinking he was going to hate this book (all thanks to me crappy writing) but came out digging the crap out of it.  

A choice quote?

The bottom line on the comic is that it made me laugh, and I mean that in a good way. This thing is pure subversive snark and a fun little distraction from the way too serious Big Two. I mean, the idea of a drunk super-hero telling his secret origin to the bartender to get more free beer is just a funny idea and then to have the bartender disbelieve the story? Priceless.

You can check out the review by clicking right here!

And you can order Philly #1 (along with Philly Volume 1 #1 and Wise Intelligence books) by clicking here!