“This place is rubbish.”

That’s one of the countless insults uttered by Colin Farrell against the poor town of Bruges in the violent crime comedy, In Bruges.

Two assassins, Ray (Farrell) and Ken (played by Brenden Gleeson), get stuck in the town of Bruges, in Belgium, as they await further instructions from their ringleader, Harry, who is played fantastically by Ralph Fiennes.

The two men think they are being hidden away following a botched assassination attempt, but they slowly come to realize that they may be in Bruges on another job.

While in Bruges, Farrell is beside himself with boredom, yet Gleeson is all about seeing the sights, the architecture and history of the town. Ferrell would rather be anywhere else in the WORLD but Bruges and doesn’t hold back on the insults and comments.

“If I’d grown up on a farm and was retarded, Bruges might impress me, but I didn’t, so it doesn’t.”

In Bruges has some very violent, graphic and bloody scenes, but it’s also one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a long time. If you are a fan of the movies Snatch, or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, you will probably enjoy this film immensely. It has that same Irish sense of humor, that accent which I find so appealing.

I watched it with a group of about six people and the entire row burst out laughing on too many occasions to count. Ferrell is brilliantly funny and gives a startling good performance as a guy torn apart by a mistake he made on a previous job. He see-saws between killer and repentant soul with such conviction you cannot help but feel for the guy.

It’s not exactly like the Guy Ritchie movies I mentioned above, which feature multiple storylines, but writer/director Martin McDonagh weaves his own plot that comes together in beautiful fashion at the end.

The one thing I enjoyed about the film was not knowing Fiennes was in it until he slams a phone down and breaks it into a million pieces. You don’t see him for the first half of the movie, but his presence later on is superb and a far cry from the work he’s done in the English Patient, Harry Potter and The Constant Gardner.

Gleeson himself is also very good here in a supporting role and the rapport he has with Ferrell is perfect.

Once again I seem to agree with the tastes of Richard Roeper, who has called it his favorite film of the year so far. I have to agree. While I loved The Bank Job a great deal, this had an added element of humor which takes it to another level.

And if you do see the film and want to read a cool little theory I found on it, check out this thread on IMDB…it casts an interesting light on what perhaps we could have been seeing and not even have realized it.

In Bruges is currently out in limited release, so we had to travel a bit to see it. No clue when it is going wide, or if it ever will. But if you can, check it out.

Mike’s Rating: 9 out of 10

The The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus went on hiatus after Ledger’s unexpected death on January 22 and many believed there would be no way to complete the film. The film, however, had just shot weeks of live-action in London and Gilliam was about to embark on several weeks of bluescreen work in Canada when the death occurred. It seems that Ledger actually completed all of his “realistic” scenes in the film and all that was left was the “fantastical” which opened the door to the solution for finishing the film.

The decision to use three separate actors to replace Ledger was done partly due to scheduling issues and was made possible because of the fantastical nature of the story, in which characters pass from contemporary London through a magic mirror into parallel worlds of the imagination. Depp, Farrell and Law will all play physically transformed versions of Ledger’s character when he passes into the other worlds.

In a statement, producers William Vince, Amy Gilliam and Samuel Hadida said: “Since the format of the story allows for the preservation of his entire performance, at no point will Heath’s work be modified or altered through the use of digital technology. Each of the parts played by Johnny, Colin and Jude is representative of the many aspects of the character that Heath was playing.”

Gilliam said, “I am grateful to Johnny, Colin and Jude for coming onboard, and to everyone else who has made it possible for us to finish the film.”

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus also stars Christopher Plummer, Verne Troyer, Andrew Garfield, Lily Cole and Tom Waits.

Heath Ledger’s final role in director Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus will be seen by the public after all. After weeks of speculation and rumors, a solution has been found that will allow the film to be finished in a way that works for both the film and the memory of Heath Ledger.

AICN is reporting that Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell will pay tribute to Heath Ledger by filling in the remainder of Ledger’s performance in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

How can this be?

Well, the Faustian story of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus centers on the boisterous Dr. Parnassus (played by Christopher Plummer), a 1,000-years-old performer who offers audience members a chance to enter fantastical worlds of imagination (via a magical mirror) in a race with the devil for the life of his daughter. If audience members make a righteous choice, their soul is awarded to Parnassus. If they make a heinous one, their soul belongs to the devil.

Ledger was playing a mysterious outsider who embarks on his own quest through parallel worlds to save the girl. Reportedly, Ledger’s character falls through the “magical mirror” in the film. The filmmakers will thus use the “magical mirror” device as an opportunity to change the look of the character and interchange between the four actors.

If done well, and I have no reason to think it will not be, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus could be an incredible and fitting send off for Ledger and a class act on the part of the actors and filmmakers involved.