Harry:
An Uzi? I’m not from South Central Los Angeles. I didn’t come here to shoot twenty black ten year olds in a drive-by. I want a normal gun for a normal person.
The hardest part of this article was picking just one quote from what is an amazingly, amazingly funny and well-written script. I haven’t seen Milk yet (it’s in the queue) but it better make Shakespeare look like a retarded child on methamphetamine drawing pictures on mommy’s fridge with “cat crayons” from the litterbox to have ganked the Oscar from this flick. It’s really, really well done.
Up front: I love Apatow-style humor. Superbad warms my heart in special ways, and I’m pissing glass to see Funny People. That being said, there’s something wonderful about how In Bruges meanders and wanders and takes us on a ride with the characters and is so damned funny without the usual humoristic styles we’re usually taking in at the theater from the Rogens and the Ceras (or the pretentously “Look how funny and cute I am when I say witty things” movies like Juno. Ugh). In Bruges draws almost all of the laughs through dialogue. There’s no over-acting, and little physical comedy, just really entertaining characters and words.
Now other than Phone Booth, I can’t think of a movie I’ve really enjoyed Colin Farrell in. I’m sure there are others, but they don’t stand out enough in my mind for me to remember, but here, he does a great job as a Ray, a not-too-sharp, almost childlike fellow dragged along with Ken, played by that-one-dude-with-the-notched-club-from-Gangs of New York (just kidding, his name is Brendan Gleeson), to Bruges, which Ken lloves and Ray hates. Farrell’s big caterpillar eyebrows are the main attraction, but the expressions his face is capible of as a result make me wonder if anyone else could have made this role play the same.
Plus, the movie predominantly contains a little person. He also wears a schoolboy outfit at one point.
The less you know about In Bruges going in, the better, but it is most assuredly worth your time. The landscapes are gorgeous, the story is playful but heartfelt and sort of sad, and the dialogue just runs the table. Give it a watch.
Also, the little person may or may not get karate chopped. I’m just sayin.
Big caterpillar eyebrows FTW! Harley has been hyping this film up to me for months (And I believe that he claimed this as his favorite film of 2008, if I recall correctly) and I’ve just never got around to watching it. But I saw it at Hollywood Video the other day for $5 so I think I might just pick it up for keepsies!
Ok… I totally convinced the bf to get this movie when it first hit dvd and OMG! It’s great! I love it! I love the quirk, I love the off the cuff humor and as an actor, I love the dialogue and see Colin Farrell do so well. (PS: I loved him in The Recruit)
Wonderful movie… an as far as Milk goes… the dialogue does not trump… In Bruges FTW
Yep, great film.
i have had the movie sitting on my coffee table for like the last 5 months, but hadn’t watched it. i saw you all reviewed and knew it was time. i watched it tonight and really enjoyed it.
you’re right, the dialog works well and just creates a strange, funny story. i really did laugh out loud at a lot of points, which you don’t expect in a movie about two hitmen.
should it have won over milk? probably not. that becomes a fairly interesting discussion if you see the Times of Harvey Milk, the documentary that the film milk relied heavily on. but, milk tells the story in a great manner, even if it seems like its source material at times.
Don’t forget Ralph Fiennes. He kicks some ass in this here film.
This is an incredibly entertaining film. Colin Farrell, dare I say it, is superb. I can think of very few things that he has been in aside from this film and Ballykissangel that I would ever sit through ever, or again.
The torture that was Phone Booth must make water boarding seem like nothing more than a day at the beach with lots of mist blowing in ones face.
Also, there is nothing wrong with having furry caterpillars for eyebrows.
I didn’t want that furry caterpillar bit to come off as a derogatory comment. I know some fine folks who have similar brows (cough cough Brodie cough).
And hey, Phone Booth was entertaining, damnit. The smartest thing they did in that film was make it short. Super-good decision making. Plus, it has Jack Bauer!
If Redbox has this it’s gettin’ rented. Hard.
i just watched this last weekend, it was a really good suprise. It was really random and ended up being one of the better movies i have seen in a while. I didnt expect much but the dialogue made this movie. The crazy situations they got into made for some great entertainment.