Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day

Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
09/11/09

Troy Duffy finally did it? After the fiasco that was Boondock Saints and his life, he finally got his long awaited sequel made and ready to distribute. Fiasco? Have you seen this film, Overnight:

Basically Troy Duffy sold the script with little to no experience in the industry. Made a million dollars then started spending, abandoning friends he considered leeches and drinking a ton. At the same time, the studios faith in the film and Duffy began to sour. Instead of instilling confidence, Troy Duffy lashed out at producers and studio execs, likening himself to the next John Woo or Tarantino. All in all the film barely got made, was never released in theaters and Duffy had to sell his rights to the movie just to get a distributor to release it strait to DVD. Meaning as popular as it got, he never made a dime.

This is why the first film went strait to DVD, but also why it became a cult classic among college aged guys across the country. It wasn’t a movie forced down their throats, it was a film they happened upon or were referred to by a friend. And they loved it.

Boondock is action movie porn and directorial masturbation, but it works. It appeals to the masses, while having the feel of an indie film. It’s super quotable, just mention needing a rope to any guy between 19 and 30, and see what they say. Gratuitous violence in the name of God has a soft spot in my heart, and every guy wants to be a vigilante at some point in their life.

But, the sequel:

All Saints Day, which features the majority of the original cast (Except Willem Defoe) could go either way. Either it will try too hard to be the first movie, and not reach a full potential. Or, it will try too hard to be a different film, and abandon the fans that have made the, now, franchise popular. I guess there is a third option, and that is that it will completely dominate. I’m not holding my breath, but I’m sure one of my hundreds of friends that consider the first Boondock Saints one of the best movies ever made will get me into the theater to see it. October 30, 2009.

Art & Copy – Advertising Porn

Art & Copy – Advertising Porn
08/19/09

As if Creatives weren’t full enough of ourselves, heres this:

Should be fun to see, especially with how dark the directors other films have been. I like to see the ugly underbelly of my industry.

Or is our face that’s the most ugly?

Tron? Tron.

Tron? Tron.
07/30/09

Are you getting tired of remakes and sequals of classic movies for purposes of ridiculous monetary gain from a new generation?

Yeah, me neither.

All I know is that people are watching them. If there was a protest to be made about remakes, reimaginings or gapped sequals then it would have to be made at the theaters, or more, at Walmart on Blu-ray and DVD sales. Until these flicks stop earning enough to close the U.S. deficit in 5 years, were in for a lot more where this came from.

To Tron Legacy’s defense however, this should be awesome. New story. Talented actor (Bridges), who doesn’t usually go for cash grabs. Amazing graphics. And hopefully, finally, a unforced use of this new-fangled 3D technology that IMAX keeps trying to pull over on me, and my $15 cash money.

Let me know what you think, here or on Facebook. I’m always ready to listen.

Bruno

Bruno
04/21/09

Sacha Baron Cohen as Bruno. ‘Nough said.

This long anticipated and hyped movie is the last of the staple characters from The Ali G Show that has yet to be outed (so to speak). If the show is any kind of bench mark, the movie will be hilarious, disturbing… and eye opening as to how homophobic most people are.

Check out the trailer, if you are over 17 years of age of course.

JCVD

JCVD
04/20/09

So next time I make it out to a DVD rental place or a Red Box that is carrying this I’m gonna get it.

JCVD (Jean Claude Van Damme) is a fictional-ish biopic turn documentary about the actor’s downtrodden life and career, and the extremes he is driven to in desperate times.

I am not sure how this is going to be, but my Creative Director and a trustworthy film lover David Johnson, saw it and was super impressed. Acting, directing, soundtrack and the general screenplay is apparently really good. Not just better than expected, but a genuinely decent film.

Here is a teaser scene featuring the real JCVD confronted with the reality that he wasn’t even cast in a movie about himself:

I’m going to pick it up really soon, and I’ll comment as to what I thought. Let me know if you have seen, want to or think I’ll be wasting my hard earned $3.

Fun work

Martin Luther King Tribute
06/1/10

I wanted to attempt this style  in February, and being Black History Month I chose the Rev. as my muse.

His face is made up of the words of his epic Lincoln Memorial “I have a dream…” speech.

Take a look. I am having it framed as I type.

Smoking Goat Branding
04/1/10

I like beer.

Beer high in flavor, alcohol and price. I brew at home, but wouldn’t consider myself very good at this point. I’m working on it.

We have friends in Louisiana who I would consider really good. I designed some branding for their forthcoming brewery down there.

The Smoking Goat will hopefully be amazing, especially if I get some good beer out of the deal.

Have a look. Then drink a beer and have a look again. Continue this process until the logo looks awesome.

New Poster
02/4/10

This is a poster I made for my buddy Dustin.

A classic quote from him as we drove by Effingham, IL’s infamous and huge cross.

I thought it would look good in his new apartment.

Sheltered Perceptions
01/6/10

I recently got the chance to work on a project for the Humane Society. Given the fact that every time I walk into an animal shelter I have to be talked down from taking home every animal in the place, I was happy to help in anyway I could.

With the majority of pet buying in the United States coming from breeders, mall pet shops and unfortunately mills, animal shelters (specifically the Humane Society) are left overflowing with pets that need loving homes. They are running into a perception problem however, and many misconceptions about shelter pets are accepted as fact, and often repeated as such.

To get past this, we decided to take the problem head on, and address the most common misconceptions individually.

Here is where we landed:

Lauren and Dan sit’n in a tree…
01/5/10

My good friend Lauren is getting married in July, and though I am extremely jealous of her fiance Dan (don’t tell my wife), I made their save the date cards.

I use VistaPrint to print these types of things. Though the quality suffers, and the rumor is that they are destroying local community printers nationwide, for the price they can’t be beat. Check them out next time you want to customize your own holiday card or invitation.

Here’s how Lauren’s STDs turned out: