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Movies / On DVD / In Bruges
In Bruges

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In Bruges (2008)

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Reviews Counted:151

Fresh:121

Rotten:30

Average Rating:7/10

Consensus: Featuring witty dialogue and deft performances In Bruges is an effective mix of dark comedy and crime thriller elements.

Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] for strong bloody violence, pervasive language and some drug use.

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:07-03-2008

Synopsis: Mr. McDonagh makes his feature directorial debut on the film, from his own original screenplay. His plays (which include The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Pillowman) have brought him two... Mr. McDonagh makes his feature directorial debut on the film, from his own original screenplay. His plays (which include The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Pillowman) have brought him two Olivier Awards and four Tony Award nominations. He wrote and directed Six Shooter, starring Brendan Gleeson, which earned him the 2006 Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Film. In Bruges was filmed on location; Bruges (pronounced "broozh"), the most well-preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium, is a welcoming destination for travelers from all over the world. But for hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), it could be their final destination; a difficult job has resulted in the pair being ordered right before Christmas by their London boss Harry (two-time Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) to go and cool their heels in the storybook Flemish city for a couple of weeks. Very much out of place amidst the gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, the two hit men fill their days living the lives of tourists. Ray, still haunted by the bloodshed in London, hates the place, while Ken, even as he keeps a fatherly eye on Ray's often profanely funny exploits, finds his mind and soul being expanded by the beauty and serenity of the city. But the longer they stay waiting for Harry's call, the more surreal their experience becomes, as they find themselves in weird encounters with locals, tourists, violent medieval art, a dwarf American actor (Jordan Prentice) shooting a European art film, Dutch prostitutes, and a potential romance for Ray in the form of Chloë (Clémence Poésy), who may have some dark secrets of her own. And when the call from Harry does finally come, Ken and Ray's vacation becomes a life-and-death struggle of darkly comic proportions and surprisingly emotional consequences. --© Focus Features [More]

Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clemence Poesy

Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clemence Poesy, Jordan Prentice, Jérémie Rénier

Director: Martin McDonagh

Director: Martin McDonagh
Screenwriter: Martin McDonagh
Producer: Graham Broadbent, Peter Czernin
Composer: Carter Burwell
Studio: Focus Features

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Reviews for In Bruges

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81 - 100 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Visually stunning photography of the silent byways and crannies of the ancient medieval city of Bruges frames a story of guilt and honor played out by wonderfully demented hit men.

Full Review Source: Monsters and Critics | comment Comment
02/09/08
Ron Wilkinson
Ron Wilkinson
Monsters and Critics

In Bruges is the first movie by the celebrated Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, who also wrote the script. It's an electrifyingly funny take on the Euro-gangster flick.

Full Review Source: MTV | comment Comment
02/08/08
Kurt Loder
Kurt Loder
MTV

The first great film of 2008... Finally, an original hitman drama.

Full Review Source: Can Magazine | comment Comment
02/08/08
Fred Topel
Fred Topel
Can Magazine

It is easily one of the best debut feature films in recent memory. The notion of a pair of hit men cooling their heels as they're forced to play tourist in a picture-postcard town is clever enough. But as the story unspools, it grows more intriguing.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
02/08/08
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today

The film is a trifle, but a darkly entertaining one.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
02/08/08
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

A rude and riotous laugher.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
02/08/08
Peter Howell
Peter Howell
Toronto Star

Nothing is new about In Bruges, and yet writer-director Martin McDonagh makes it seem fresh.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
02/08/08
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Overplotted, choppy, and contrived, it nonetheless has a curious vitality that makes you wonder where McDonagh will go next.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
02/08/08
Dana Stevens
Dana Stevens
Slate

A kind of eccentric, wisecracking Waiting for Godot that shifts gears into a bloody, unpredictable action spectacle that never loses its heart.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
02/08/08
Mark Rahner
Mark Rahner
Seattle Times

In Bruges is not a great movie, but there's no mistaking that it's the product of a great talent.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
02/08/08
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle

Disappointingly strip-mines the very fatigued comic hit-man genre to diminishing returns.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
02/08/08
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post

There are good moments laced through the severely uneven In Bruges, but the best reason for seeing it is Bruges itself.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
02/08/08
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News

If you could hoist a film on your shoulders and parade it through the theater for adulation and hoorays, the new British crime comedy In Bruges would be the one.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
02/08/08
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

In Bruges manages to toy with cliché while avoiding it entirely.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/08/08
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Gleeson and Farrell have a fine, natural chemistry, so it's a shame when circumstances change and rob the film of its greatest asset, especially when that charm is replaced by silly shoot-outs that leave the audience stranded in an unintended purgatory.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
02/08/08
Glenn Whipp
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News

While [director McDonagh] proves less skilled at managing a plot-driven narrative, sensational performances from all involved -- Farrell, dangerous and dim, hasn't been this natural in ages -- more than shoulder the burden.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
02/08/08
Kevin Williamson
Kevin Williamson
Jam! Movies

It feels contrived -- often clever and sometimes funny but always self-conscious, one of those indie flicks where the damn quirkiness is plastered on and right in your face. It's like an architect making the gargoyles the centrepiece of his church.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
02/08/08
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail

A brutal and at times amusing excursion.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
02/08/08
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post

[Director McDonagh's] seesawing between slapstick and horror comes across as opportunistic because ultimately he cannot place the lives of these men in a credible moral context.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
02/08/08
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

The movie gradually deepens from odd-couple comedy into Catholic-themed drama, but it remains marvelously funny throughout.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/08/08
J. R. Jones
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
 
 
81 - 100 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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Latest News for In Bruges

December 14, 2008: Boston Film Critics Honor Slumdog, WALL-E
The hardware won't be handed out until February 8, but the winners of this year's Boston Society of Film Critics Awards have been announced -- and they're all listed right here. More...

December 11, 2008: Golden Globe Nominations Announced
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November 07, 2008: UK Critics Consensus: Was W. Wicked? Is Pride & Glory Proud and Glorious?
This week in the UK cinemas we have Oliver Stones latest presidential dissection, the George W. Bush biopic W. with Josh Brolin in the title role. Also out is Pride & Glory, a... More...

August 15, 2008: Movie Spots: Brooding, tense, allegorical, quirky, tragic and unbelievably funny, In Bruges may be the most intelligent, introspective and bizarre gangster thriller in quite some time, perhaps ever. Opens in new window
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