Every Sunday, Gill delves into his archive of over 800 movie reviews and randomly selects three for your enjoyment! Here are this week’s…
Street Trash
Quite possibly the most depraved film ever made, Street Trash lives up to its name and then some! Featuring some of the most grotesque, repulsive, utterly horrific activity ever committed to celluloid, this movie is not for the weak of stomach. Don’t come expecting much of a plot, either, as the film plays more like a few days in the lives of the most godawful human beings on the planet than a coherent, consistent narrative. What it lacks in plot, though, it makes up for in shock value, and features some of the best scenes of people melting into gorey puddles that I have ever seen. If you love b-movies and grindhouse cinema, then Street Trash is a must-see. Any movie that features a game of catch with a severed penis is not to be missed, if only for the sheer audacity of it all!
4 out of 5
9
Incredibly detailed animation and a dark, bleak, post-apocalyptic style save 9 from mediocrity, but the bland dialogue, 1-dimensional characters, and tacked-on ending drag it down dangerously close to an unenjoyable level. The nine puppet-people, while gorgeous and amazing to look at, are given barely any character development at all beyond their obvious stereotypes. In fact, except for 1, 5 and 9, many of the characters only get two or three lines. A damn shame, because watching this movie, you can tell that director Shane Acker has clearly spent a long time developing the world of the film and the design of the little sack-men characters. The evil machine creatures, as well, are incredible and a joy to watch, but unfortunately the final plot revelation doesn’t make a lot of sense when you go through the events of the film and apply it to them. Still, the concept, ideas (largely underexplored) and design of this movie are all worth a viewing. Too bad, though. This could have been so much more.
3 out of 5
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
Troy Duffy’s follow-up to his cult smash hit debut The Boondock Saints doesn’t disappoint! While it does feel overall like a retread of its predecessor, the joy of seeing the Saints back in another adventure after a decade is enough to make you look past the flaws of the film. And there really aren’t that many major flaws to speak of – like I said, the biggest problem that the movie suffers from is that it doesn’t try out much new material. In fact, the timing on some of the scenes is practically identical to the first film (we’re approaching the one hour mark, time for a fight scene involving rope!). All that being said, I did feel that the production values were a bit better this time around, and you can tell that Duffy has grown a bit as a filmmaker. There’s more Billy Connolly, which is great because he was the best thing about the first movie, and you’re given some insight into the characters’ backstories, but the true stand-out of the film is Clifton Collins Jr. as Romeo, the insane Mexican outlaw. He embodies the character so perfectly that I found myself grinning wide every time he was on screen. It’s not perfect, but The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day will give the fans exactly what they want: guns, action, quirky detective work, all kinds of Irish-y goodness, and the Saints themselves, cracking wise and shooting up the place.
3.25 out of 5
See you next Sunday for three more thrilling short reviews!