At the Movies: capsule reviews of ‘Gentlemen Broncos’ and other films this week

Capsule Reviews: ‘Gentlemen Broncos’ and others

Capsule reviews of films opening this week:

“Boondock Saints: All Saints Day” — The original 1999 “Boondock Saints” was a ridiculously over-the-top action film about a pair of Irish-American twins (Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus) who set out with guns, recklessness and boozy bravado to rid Boston of criminals and mafia. The film, hardly seen in theaters, became a minor cult classic on DVD. Writer-director Troy Duffy has returned with exactly the same vigilante shlock he produced a decade ago. Because it revels so thoroughly in drinking, fighting and Catholicism, “Boondock Saints” has been called “Irishspoitation.” Like its predecessor, “All Saints Day” laments a society full of red-tape and a culture dominated by the “self-help, 12-step generation.” This comes across less like “Taxi Driver,” and more like what Travis Bickle might have made if someone gave him a camera. Far more interesting is the story behind Duffy and “Boondock Saints,” which is Hollywood legend. For that, rent the fascinating 2003 documentary “Overnight.” R for bloody violence, language and some nudity. 117 minutes. Half a star out of four.

— Jake Coyle, AP Entertainment Writer

“Gentlemen Broncos” — This latest comedy from the makers of indie sensation “Napoleon Dynamite” is so weird, so off, so simply wrong that even freakish nerd Napoleon would have a hard time lending it his catch word, “Sweet.” The husband-and-wife team of director Jared Hess and co-writer Jerusha Hess, who followed “Napoleon Dynamite” with basically the same movie in “Nacho Libre,” strain to mine another misfit story in like vein. Michael Angarano stars as an aspiring sci-fi writer whose story is stolen by his literary hero (Jemaine Clement). Clement is the lone highlight by virtue of being occasionally funny and not completely off-putting like the rest of the cast, which includes Jennifer Coolidge, Sam Rockwell, Mike White, Halley Feiffer and Hector Jimenez. The filmmakers wallow in such gags as explosive reptile defecation, gonad theft and projectile vomiting, delivering a chaotic, infuriating mess that will challenge the most-devoted of the “Napoleon Dynamite” faithful. PG-13 for some crude humor. 90 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

— David Germain, AP Movie Writer

“House of the Devil” — Filmmaker Ti West’s homage to low-rental 1980s horror scores points for restraint and attention to detail but defaults when the mortgage comes due with a bloody, pointless, uninspired climax. Newcomer Jocelin Donahue stars as a college sophomore on a baby sitting job for a creepy couple (Tom Noonan and Mary Woronov) who have devilish plans for her on the night of a lunar eclipse. The movie is 90 percent setup, some of it acutely observed and starkly evocative of the decade in which it’s set, yet much of it as dull and forgettable as the big-hair ’80s. At the end, when up jumps the devil and his followers at last, West’s moderation vanishes in an instant, the movie collapsing into noisy, splotchy, gory mayhem, clumsily stitched together and obscured by strobe-light effects. For mood, it’s a faithful flashback, but the movie’s about as scary as something you saw again and again way back when. R for some bloody violence. Running time: 93 minutes. Two stars out of four.

— David Germain, AP Movie Writer