In my days of movie reviewing, I’ve always found it quite easy to come up with content and material to describe how wonderful a movie is. This is one of those rare instances where I am at a loss. To get right to the point, In Bruges was such a shockingly decent movie that it was like a jab from a blind man, you don’t expect it, and neither of you see it coming.

Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell are two hired killers hiding away in a safe house in Bruges, which is a medieval tourist town in Belgium. Farrell has comedic chops I was unaware of and hits his marks and lines like a surgeon. Just his expressions floored me every time, because he lets you know as soon as he steps off the train. . . He fucking hates Bruges. Brendan Gleeson graces us as the father- like figure setting up most of the wonderfully dark and seedy humor that Farrell unleashes. It’s as if he pitches them just for Farrell to slam out of the park. Gleeson is not a household name, but you know him as Hamish from Braveheart, Mad Eye Moody from Harry Potter, Gangs of New York, Kingdom of Heaven, his resume is impressively expansive but he’s not the bad boy of Hollywood Colin Farrell is. We also have Ralph Fiennes as the boss of both these men with a dangerous secret about Farrell. Now with all these characters and random encounters with a sexy heroine dealer, skinheads, a cocaine blowing dwarf, and asshole Americans, it is the witty banter and sad back story that is the driving force behind this movie. And I can’t say enough. I have marked out unexpectedly over this flick.

Now besides the fact that this is a character driven movie I can’t say much more plot wise without spoiling plot twists and, well, the whole end sequence. Farrell is nearly suicidal over his first hit gone terribly wrong and often breaks into sad but also hilarious bouts of crying. And that is the recipe for this movie. Hilarity mixed with a dark sadness that makes it both an incredibly poignant comedy and a kind of cool “Snatch” like action film. To see this movie you must invest in both the good and the bad of what you will receive. . . Expect bad things in a funny way and you will be well prepared.

Check the trailer out. If it was the end of the year already it would be on my list. Think Kiss Kiss Bang Bang or Grosse Pointe Blank and it should give you the theme. This is the best movie out right now that you’ve never heard of. If it’s out near you, (Still in limited release) check it out. For the Negative Nancy’s out there all riled up over too good of a review, sometimes movies are made to fit a certain genre of person. And this was right up my alley; I hope more people get a chance to visit “fucking Bruges”.