In Bruges

Last night, I had the rare evening at home and was able to settle in and watch a movie. I chose In Bruges, mostly because I really like Colin Farrell (despite what people might say about him) and I tend to love European films. Plus, it was nominated for some kind of Oscar, so I thought it had to be good. Let me tell you, rent this movie. It is phenomenal. Funny, contrite, disrespectful, mean, violent, bizarre, fascinating - all of these things and more. There are two hitmen, Ray and Ken, played by Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, who are sent to Bruges in Belgium, a beautiful medieval city with a small town feel. They are told to wait there for their next assignment, Ray feeling trapped and bored to death and Ken taking the opportunity to sightsee and catch up on culture. The film is both funny and serious, and it reminded me of what Quentin Tarantino tries to do (with the black humor and super violence) but I thought this film did it way better. For one, the violence did not feel like porn, the characters are ones you and identify with and they show their humanity in a way that I've never seen Tarantino's characters do. Farrell was amazing as this child-like, kinda dumb "new" hitman and Gleeson was phenomenal as his "mentor". Ralph Feinnes comes into play and he's hysterical, even though I still can't figure out why his name is pronounced "Raiph". The ending is interesting and ties into a painting the hitmen see while sightseeing around Bruges. And the "extras" on the DVD are really funny and interesting. Altogether, an A+ for this movie.