The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009)

This is the hugely anticipated sequel ten years in the making to the original ‘The Boondock Saints’ a film that screened in only five cinemas for one week in 1999 but later became a cult hit and was rescreened in 2006.

The film has the same director and a lot of the actors from the first film return including Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Billy Connolly, Willem Defoe and more.

A priest is murdered and the Boondock Saints Connor (Flanery) and Murphy (Reedus) are framed. They come out of hiding to seek vengence. Eunice Bloom (Julie Benz) is the head detective on the case, she’s smart, sassy and has it all figured out. Could the saints be in trouble?

This is a great movie. Its stylistically very comical at times, with a hilarious cheesy playout of their plan of attack. Super cheesy and super fun.

Benz was interesting as Eunice Bloom, I think the character needed time to grow on you, though I’m not sure this was entirely the fault of Benz. Its difficult to replace Willem Defoe, whos character was excellent!

Especially enjoyable on St Patricks Day with a Caffrey’s Irish Ale or settle for a Guiness.

Invader ZIM (2001)

After angering the rulers of his home world Irk, Zim is sent on a secret mission to earth. Where the annoyed rulers of Irk known as ‘the tallests’ (because they are the tallest) hope to never hear from him again. Zim has no comprehension that his banishment is due to him destroying his own planet in Operation Impending Doom 1. Zim is excited and determined to succeed in destroying Earth and returning home a hero.

Accompanied by GIR a malfunctioning SIR Unit (Standard-Issue Information Retrieval Unit) who isn’t much help Zim enrols in a school where he is instantly recognised and outed as an alien by Dib a child obsessed with the paranormal. Luckily for Zim no one believes Dib and the two become arch rivals.

This show is like a cartoon black comedy, its dark and could be too dark for young children. I think it would be great for 13 year olds and older. It was funny and very entertaining. Invader Zim was created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez the guy behind JTHM (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac), I Feel Sick and Fillerbunny. JTHM and Squee being my personal faves.

Suckily Invader Zim, was canceled with only 27 half-hour episodes due to its dark tone and violence despite its good ratings. Vasquez called working with thousands of people at Nickelodeon instead of by himself, “absolute misery”.

Even worse is that despite the merch making lots of $$$ Vasquez doesn’t see a dime as all rights to Invader Zim merch is owned solely by Nickelodeon.

Invader Zim won an Emmy, an Annie, and the award for Best Title Sequence at the 2001 World Animation Celebration awards. It also garnered seven other nominations. Due to the continued fan base and above average DVD sales since cancellation Invader Zim has been labelled a cult hit.

Top Ten Movie Buff Movies

The Big Lebowski
Pulp Fiction
Donny Darko
True Love and Chaos
Adaptation
American Beauty
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
Fight Club
The Matrix
Blade Runner

Cowboy Beebop

Living in the future Spike and Jet are bounty hunters, though perhaps not very good ones.  They live in the fringes of space and society, catch a lot of bad
guys but never seem to get paid.  Features a kick arse jazz soundtrack music buffs will approve of. This is one of the best anime shows i’ve ever seen.