RK's vision

Boondock Saints Movie Review

121rk — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:44:30 +0000

Boondock Saints review: by Richard Kluz

“And shepherds we shall be, For Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee And teeming with souls shall it ever be. In Nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.” This short prayer is said in Troy Duffy’s masterpiece, The Boondock Saints, which is about two brothers, Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) McManus that decide to rid the scum off the streets of Boston while avoiding being tracked down by the FBI.

The story starts off when the brothers accidentally kill members of the Russian mafia in self defense. The scene itself is genius and pristine in content and emotion. Courage makes a connection with religion showing emotion like no other. While being handcuffed to a toilet, Connor sees his brother get pulled out of the slummy apartment that contains nothing more then two beds, two crucifixes and a bathroom. Murphy is taken out of the room like Jesus being taken by the Romans after Judas’ betrayal. However, even being chained down cannot stop Connor’s love for his brother, as he pulls the toilet straight from the floor and his hands bled like Jesus’ hands after being nailed to the cross. The amount of emotion Troy Duffy put into this scene leaves a lasting impression. This scene is the building block for the whole movie and an introduction to a war on evil by good, with good being the victor. Connor looks down from the rooftop and sees his brother on his knees with a gun in his face. He carefully aims at his target and drops the toilet on the head of the mafia member and jumps down into the trash-can nearby. Murphy then picks up the lid and bashes the other thug’s head in. Knowing what they have done, they decide to turn themselves in, an instead of being called murderers, they are called heroes.

While sleeping in the jail cell, Connor and Murphy are awakened, as if from a nightmare, but it is at this moment they realize their destiny. They realize that God has given them a mission to punish evil men and bring good to a world full of corruption. Using a beeper that they took from the mob member, they use it to track down a meeting of the Russian mafia. The brothers feel this is a great opportunity to start their “crusade.” They arrive fully loaded with guns and even rope, according to Connor “Charlie Bronson’s always got rope. Yeah. He’s got a lot of rope strapped around him in the movies, and they always end up using it.” And they did. They fell through a vent and while dangling by that rope they shot up an entire Russian crime syndicate. Which was much easier then they thought it would be. Shortly after, Rocco (David Della Rocco), a close friend of theirs and a delivery man for the Italian mafia walks in and they play a trick on him taking him hostage. He was also there to do a “hit” for the mafia and walking in he saw that the job was already done. The brothers explained to him what they were doing which greatly caught Rocco’s attention, causing him to join in on their killing spree for God. Rocco is very excited and gives out a under boss of the Yakavetta crime family. He decides to go and take care of this sinner at a local strip club the under boss visits. As the days go by, bodies are being counted, and FBI Agent Smecker is still hot on the tail.

One thing Smecker realizes is that on every killing there are pennies left covering the eyes of the ones killed. This symbolism refers to Greek mythology on how the deceased always have to pay a toll to the boat keeper to get them across the river Styx in the afterlife. Smecker started to realize that these aren’t just random killing but killings with a purpose. After time, his obsession and fascination with the case begins to drive him mad, at one point, leading him to want to join the brothers in their vigilante justice. Duffy connects all the scenes in a flawless manner and makes the movie quite understandable and gripping to the audience. Honestly, I got more and more interested in what was going to happen by the minute, and the film never ceased to hold my attention. It kept me on my feet and focused, waiting impatiently for what was going to come.

The information of the killing of the under boss gets to Papa Joe (Carlo Rota), the boss of the Yakavetta family. He is disturbed by what happened and decides to hire a contract-killer who was recently released after having been locked away for numerous murders. Duce (Billy Connolly) is the best of the best and slick as a ghost, he kills with precision and loves what he does as long as it never involves women or children. Instead of showing Duce as a younger man who embodies the look of a serial killer, he decides to make him look like a grandfather who would be taking care of his grandson or granddaughter, instead of hunting for possible threats to the Italian mob. Well, Duce ambushes the brothers and Rocco’s finger gets shot off and later found by the FBI agent who is growing more and more furious with the fact that he doesn’t know who is doing all this killing. He himself takes the finger for testing and unravels the mystery that has been haunting him for so long. He remembers seeing Rocco bringing clothes into the precinct for the brothers and after running tests sees that the finger is in fact his. He goes on a drinking binge and consults a priest to find out what he should do. He is caught up in a dilemma: Which law is greater; The law of God and morality or the law of human justice and punishment of crime? He goes with the first, and decides he will help the brothers continue their divine massacre.

They later break into the Yakavetta mansion, with the help of Smecker and are caught by the mafia thugs. Rocco is killed by Papa Joe to intimidate the brothers, and out of no where Duce shows up. He hears the brothers recite the family prayer and he completes it, revealing his true identity, the brothers’ long-lost father.

Duffy made a wise decisions in choosing this to hold the reunion in this scene. As the brothers are on their knees crying over the death of their friend, the Duce sees the man that he was suppose to kill, dead, and hears the boys reciting the family prayer once again. At this point all of the different emotions clash. You feel anger, sadness, and a desire for revenge, and see the blood mixing with the tears, to make outstanding detail and make the audience feel as if they were the Saints themselves.

Later Papa Joe is at trial, he is being tried for the crimes he committed and things are looking good for him. However, with the help of Agent Smecker and local police officers, Duce and the McManus brothers come in and bring him to his knees to receive a retributive penance that will cleanse the sinner. “Do not kill. Do not rape. Do not steal. These are principles which every man of every faith can embrace. These are not polite suggestions, these are codes of behavior, and those of you that ignore them will pay the dearest cost. There are varying degrees of evil. We urge you lesser forms of filth, not to push the bounds and cross over, into true corruption, into our domain. For if you do, one day you will look behind you and you will see we three, and on that day you will reap it. And we will send you to whatever God you wish.” They end with this speech as Papa Joe screams for his goons to help him. All three of the McManus clan ,come up and with two pistols and a shotgun pointed at Papa Joe’s head they end their prayer, and fire all at once, forever banishing him into an eternity of flame. This scene alone was inspiring, and send a rush of goose bumps running throughout one’s body. While the speech was being recited, the viewer does not only understand the meaning but feels it as well, it becomes part of you. It shows the victory of good over evil and shows there is always a punishment waiting for those who have sinned and have never been caught and judged by their actions.

According to Maurice Broaddus, an environmental toxicologist by day and a horror writer by night, written on hollywoodjesus.com , “Boondock Saints

is a smart, funny, non-stop action, though a little over-the-top. Nonetheless, it is a fun romp of a movie, thick with testosterone fantasy.” I agree with him totally and feel as if Boondock Saints was a maxed out adrenaline rush that kept you on your feet, wanting more, and seeing raw genius in its purest form. This movie was a classic and I recommend it to everyone.

Works Cited Page

Broaddus, Maurice. “Reviews by Maurice Broaddus- Boondock Saints (1999)” 6 May 2005

<http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/comments/maurice/2005/05/boondock-saints- 1999.html>

Works Cited Page

Broaddus, Maurice. “Reviews by Maurice Broaddus- Boondock Saints (1999)” 6 May 2005

<http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/comments/maurice/2005/05/boondock-saints- 1999.html>

2. http://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/5/MPW-2860

3. http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o306/bettencourtd/BoondockSaintsPrayer2.jpg

4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKzM8xsQ5-U&feature=related

Unit 3 Peer review draft

121rk — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:16:09 +0000

121rk-peer review draft

Unit 3 Discovery Draft

121rk — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:02:00 +0000

boondock-saints-review-unit-3-discovery-draft

Invention Activities and post

121rk — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:31:34 +0000

Invention Activities by Richard Kluz

Listing Subjects:

Culture- Movies that I had in mind: Donnie Darko, Equlibrium, Gone is Sixty Seconds, Clockwork Orange, Gladiator, Snatch, The Football Factory, American History X or Greenstreet Hooligans.

Choosing a subject: I will be doing one of the movies listed above. All the movies listed, I am very familiar with and will most definitely provide an effective critical review.

Knowledge on topic: I am interested in these movies because they are all great and have many different characteristics within them that could make a great review and pull people to watch these movies for themselves. When it comes to movies, I love to praise and criticize and in all of these movies I could find some flaw but also some great aspects.

Familiarizing yourself with the topic: I am quite familiar with these movies because I have watched all of them, at least twice and have them all so in case I am unclear about something I can always look back.

Identifying and Understanding readers: Since I will be writing a film review, I hope that my readers will take the time to actually view the film and make arguments for it also. If they haven’t seen the film I will be doing then I suggest they do.

Standards on judging topic: The movies that are listed are among my favorites. I will be writing the review to get others’ opinions on the movie and see if anyone has counter-reviews.

Reasons: The movies that are listed, I am very familiar with and can provide an argument for any scene in the movie so I believe that I will be able to provide a great review.

How my thesis statement will be comprised: Depending on the movie, I will formulate my thesis based on a specific scene that shows suspense and grabs the viewer to see the film.

Post: I have decided that for Unit 3 I will be doing a Critical review of a movie. I have a list of movies that I have chosen and at this point I have narrowed most of them down to a few selected winners. Since the movie i will be doing is one of my favorites I will be most likely praising it, however no movie is perfect and I will find flaw in which ever one I do. My purpose actually is to get people to see the movie, provide their own arguments for it and see what they basically have to say. I hope everyone enjoys it and gives both positive and negative feedback so I can see what is my strong point in writing and also where I have to work on.

Critique of the ending of “There will be Blood”

121rk — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 22:27:03 +0000

After reading Orr’s critique of the ending of “There will be Blood”, I have formulated my own thought based on his ideas. The movie itself was a masterpiece. I loved every second of it and felt the emotion, the action and the step-by-step story going into the conclusion. The conclusion, however, was one that I did not expect and to tell you the truth, I wasn’t that satisfied with it. I agree with Orr, that the whole movie was great and it definately deserves praise, awards and fame. This movie was quite genious in explaining the internal battle between capitalism and christianity and the external battle between the conpetitions held in capitalist money-making. Throughout the film, you feel and see the swith of Daniel Plainview from a man of once high morals and perseverance to one with greed, exess perseverance and lack of care not only for himself but for the world around him. “I hate everyone”, well we all got to see that in the film. For a movie like this, the ending was unsatisfactory. A great movie, deserves a great ending but the ending contained shows lack of information, childly gestures which destroy the seriousness of the situation between Eli and Daniel. I also think that the ending could of maybe contained a bit more information with what happens to H.W. Plainview, which is a character that played a significant role in the film. Simply telling him that he is “an orphan” a “bastard from the basket” and having him walk off with no more participation in the film left me unsatisfied. Overall the film is a masterpiece and a work of art, but the ending could have been way better.

“There will be Blood” my review

121rk — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:06:48 +0000

After watching the first half of “There will be Blood” I am greatly satisfied and I see where Orr was relating to in his review, well this is mine. This movie is unlike all other movies which have came out and has a story line like none other. The story is based on historical events and shows the persiut of the American dream in a pure and pristine fashion. After the first couple of moments in the movie, with nothing even said, you see a man, breaking away the surface of the earth, with only one thing in mind. You see him, you see emotion and perseverance as the miner breaks through the earth with his pickaxe, knowing that nothing will stop him untill he gets what he has most strongly been searching for. An accident happens, a leg is broken but the mineral is obtained and that is all that matters. The shift from gold to oil happens quickly and it creates personalities within people. It shapes them, it turns them into zombies, hungry for the black substance underneath the earth which keeps them satisfied and their hunger controlled. Blood is spilled and lives are lost but in a dog-eat-dog world, people will have to somehow get rich at the expense of others and if suffering is a price to pay then so be it. The more oil is obtained, the more is craved because once you feel the power of wealth it seduces you, you need more. When Daniel Plainview (the main character), sees an oppurtunity to gain riches through oil, he graps it and does everything to make sure he gets it. His love for his son, is replaced by the love for oil and you see the shift as the movie goes on. In Daniel Plainview, oil is what runs through his veins and his heart is black as the substance itself. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the American dream and beleive me there will be blood…

unusual event?! gotta be more careful…

121rk — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 04:56:09 +0000

There are certain things in the world that have to be checked reguraly and taken care of like a mother takes care of a baby. You have to check your oil and transmission in your car, you have to check the gas in your home, and other regular things in a persons life. However, certain things have to be really watched, for example a Nucleur Powerplant. A simple mistake in of these facilities can leave thousands dead and another couple of thousands with radiation poisoning. For example in Chernobyl, Ukraine a nuclear reactor had a meltdown and had about 336,000 people evacuated from the city. Over 4000 people died and many more left poisoned. Thie city is now empty due to the radiation still there. Well in Waterford, Conneticut the Nucleur powerplant had an “unusual event” About 1000 gallons from the cooling systen ran into the 500,000 gallons refueling water tank. The leak was stopped but some of the radioactive gas went into the atmosphere but with low amounts. If the leak wouldnt have been stopped, the outcome could of been worse. Places like these should be check reguraly to prevent future catastrophe! However, alot of people open their eyes when the catastrophe actually happens. It is places like those that responsibility is a priority for the well being of much more that yourself…

accident in Greenpoint

121rk — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:39:52 +0000

In my neighborhood, Greenpoint there is usually nothing going on. I listen to the news and I never about anything happening in my neighborhood, but when something does happen, it is definately out of the ordinary. Greenpoint, itself is filled with alot of industrial territory and very close to certain bodies of water, for example the East River and the Newtown creek. They are literally 20 minutes walking distance from each other. Well, at 3:30 AM, on one of our industrial streets that leads down straight to the Newtown creek, a car came smashing through a fence into the body of water. It was kind of weird at first hearing this because in Greenpoint usually nothing happens. It also made me wonder what drove the person to drive through a fence which has a steel baricade in front of it, straight into one of the most dirtiest, filthiest bodies of “water” in NY. At the accident there were also no signs of braking, which is another part that made me wonder to myself. One man was left killed while the other one survived and is in stable condition. Was this just an accident or is there a darker truth behind the happening? So far investigations dont know but as a resident of Greenpoint, I cant wait to find out.

response to Scott’s review

121rk — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:22:15 +0000

After watching “Good Night, Good Luck” there are a few things that I have noticed and also a few things that made me think a different way in response to the movie. Overall Scott presents a strong argument and gives a great review of the movie. He gives his readers a basic opinion on the movies and also shapes his factual information of the movie by his opinion, which I beleive he shouldnt have done. He could of organized his review in a way that he first provides facts on the movie and gives his reader a knowledge of the movie without adding his personal views on it. He should of added his opinions towards the end of the review. He provides a strong argument in the review and also expresses his views on the movie in a way that will pull people to watch it, which I beleive was a positive aspect in the review. Lastly, I beleive that Scott could have started his review with something else. I think that he should of used maybe a part of Edward Murrow’s speech in the beggining of his review to add some more information of the main character and also use that as a “pull” to see the movie. But, overall the review was great and it contained the function a review should have.

Movie Response post- “Equilibrium”

121rk — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:33:37 +0000

This movie is comprised of elements from two totally different styles. It combines a story line of a novel with action from one of the greatest movies ever made. The story line is based on the novel “1984″ and the effects in the movie and action sequences are that of the Matrix, and when you combine the two it makes a mindblowing movie. I actually suggest everyone would read “1984″ and watch the Matrix and then see Equlibrium. It will be much easier to understand. When you take two great elements and turn them into one, the outcome has to be great and it trully was with this movie. Its based on a man who lives in a society when emotions are prohibited and feeling is what they call a “sence offence”. A specific pill is taken to prevent people from feeling but after a while he stops taking it causing him to become more human with human emotions. He joins a revolution to defeat the government and bring back society to the way it was. In the movie the main character is an agent who actually works for the special police of the government so he knows how to destroy it from the inside. However his task is hard, and there is alot of opposition. The action sequences, and special affects have alot of Matrix qualities. The movie is as badass as it gets. When you watch it you definately wont regret it and the movie actually makes you think into the future and ponder to yourself how society may be like years from now. I highly recommend this movie and beleive it will leave a positive sign on each and every one of its viewers.

Below is the theatrical trailer: