If you asked me what my favourite video game was, I would say Tales ofIvy theKeenboundTycoon: Sanity's Requiemis Strange. If you asked me what my favourite song was, the answer would change every two weeks. If you asked me what my favourite film was, I would say 'In Bruges' with no hesitation.
In Bruges is a pitch-black comedy about two hitmen, Ken and Ray, who slightly resemble the actors playing them. Ken is Brendan Gleeson, an older, more experienced, professional in his field, while Colin Farrell is younger, a bit more hot-headed, and does a great job of playing "the worst tourist in the whole world." Their Irish accents do a lot to elevate the low-key but excellently-written lines like "You's are a bunch of fookin' elephants!" and "They're filming something... they're filming midgets!"
Ken and Ray are sent to Bruges to hide out following a hit that had some complications, and... that's basically it. We find out what the complications are, what the repercussions are, and it's a very solid and engaging story. The only flaw I can find - and I've watched this film about thirty times - isn't even in the film, but the fact that every poster, DVD cover, and TVTropes review spoils that Ralph Fiennes shows up on screen about halfway through as Ken and Ray's boss. And Clémence Poésy, a spokesmodel for the French fashion company 'Chloé', plays a woman named Chloë, which will never not be hilarious to me.
The soundtrack is great, despite not featuring many actual songs. 'On Raglan Road' by The Dubliners is certainly the most memorable - and for good reason, it's used fantastically - but Carter Burwell's background music is impeccable. One of my favourite scenes in the climax is just his score, played over a man walking slowly after another man, and it's incredibly tense and dramatic.
An enjoyable recurring feature in the film is how the main characters like each other in spite of the circumstances. The reason why Ken and Ray are in Bruges to begin with is one of the most dark-yet-bizarrely-heartwarming things in fiction. I think the TVTropes version of the film would be called 'Everyone Has Standards: The Movie' given that the three main characters are two hitmen and their boss, but they all go to lengths to uphold their morals. At one point, two characters who are trying to shoot each other have to pause and compromise a way to continue the shootout elsewhere because a pregnant woman in the vicinity is refusing to leave.
The characters, the dialogue, the music, the pacing, the perfect ending - I love every element of In Bruges. I can't say it won't be overthrown one day - The Grand Budapest Hotel came close - but I can confidently assert that this is absolutely my favourite film.
Film ... It's in Belgium
If you asked me what my favourite video game was, I would say Tales of Ivy the Keenbound Tycoon: Sanity's Requiem is Strange. If you asked me what my favourite song was, the answer would change every two weeks. If you asked me what my favourite film was, I would say 'In Bruges' with no hesitation.
In Bruges is a pitch-black comedy about two hitmen, Ken and Ray, who slightly resemble the actors playing them. Ken is Brendan Gleeson, an older, more experienced, professional in his field, while Colin Farrell is younger, a bit more hot-headed, and does a great job of playing "the worst tourist in the whole world." Their Irish accents do a lot to elevate the low-key but excellently-written lines like "You's are a bunch of fookin' elephants!" and "They're filming something... they're filming midgets!"
Ken and Ray are sent to Bruges to hide out following a hit that had some complications, and... that's basically it. We find out what the complications are, what the repercussions are, and it's a very solid and engaging story. The only flaw I can find - and I've watched this film about thirty times - isn't even in the film, but the fact that every poster, DVD cover, and TVTropes review spoils that Ralph Fiennes shows up on screen about halfway through as Ken and Ray's boss. And Clémence Poésy, a spokesmodel for the French fashion company 'Chloé', plays a woman named Chloë, which will never not be hilarious to me.
The soundtrack is great, despite not featuring many actual songs. 'On Raglan Road' by The Dubliners is certainly the most memorable - and for good reason, it's used fantastically - but Carter Burwell's background music is impeccable. One of my favourite scenes in the climax is just his score, played over a man walking slowly after another man, and it's incredibly tense and dramatic.
An enjoyable recurring feature in the film is how the main characters like each other in spite of the circumstances. The reason why Ken and Ray are in Bruges to begin with is one of the most dark-yet-bizarrely-heartwarming things in fiction. I think the TVTropes version of the film would be called 'Everyone Has Standards: The Movie' given that the three main characters are two hitmen and their boss, but they all go to lengths to uphold their morals. At one point, two characters who are trying to shoot each other have to pause and compromise a way to continue the shootout elsewhere because a pregnant woman in the vicinity is refusing to leave.
The characters, the dialogue, the music, the pacing, the perfect ending - I love every element of In Bruges. I can't say it won't be overthrown one day - The Grand Budapest Hotel came close - but I can confidently assert that this is absolutely my favourite film.