Friday, June 19, 2009

When Colin Met Sally

Colin Farrell plays a tormented hitman in Martin McDonagh's In Bruges

Comedies are usually overlooked by the Academy, oftentimes pushed to the sidelines to give way for weepy dramas Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep specialize in. Casualties last year include
Happy-Go-Lucky and In Bruges. In the latter, Colin Farrell delivers the goods, shining in the role of Ray, a hitman wracked with guilt and remorse.

"I killed a little boy!" cries
Ray.

"Then try to do something good," replies Ken (
Brendan Gleeson), his best pal. "You're not going to bring that boy back, but you might save the next one."

"What am I going to be? A doctor?"
answers Ray. "You need exams!"

Sharing Ray's naivete is Poppy (
Happy-Go-Lucky), an overly optimistic school teacher. Played with sparkling charm by Sally Hawkins, we see an idealistic person completely impervious to worries, anxiety, and good old depression. She's a dying breed alright, but Sally Hawkin's earnest acting makes me believe that irrepressibly cheerful people do exist.

"You can't make everyone happy,
Poppy," says Zoe, her best friend.

"There's no harm in trying, is there?" she replie
s.

Poppy (Sally Hawkins), the perennially cheerful school teacher

32 comments:

Raft3r said...

may pelikula pa pala to!

Visual Velocity said...

Bukod dun sa sex tape niya with that model woman, meron pa naman, ehehe.

In fairness to Colin, kagalingan naman siya sa In Bruges. Nanalo siyang best actor sa Golden Globes for that film.

ShatterShards said...

When are these films gonna be screened here sa Pinas? I haven't heard about them, but that could be because I'm too busy with work. hehe

----
Thanks, Andy! Freedom is subjective anyways. But don't try jumping off a cliff (or an office window) just to be free of work. hehe.

Thanks for visiting!

Oman said...

looks like a fun movie. sige, aabangan ko to.

by the way, happy dad's day to ur dad and all the dad in the world.

better late than never. i was so busy and wasted yesterday that i haven't got a time to greet my friends here. hope u had a great day . :)

escape said...

hahaha... saya ata nito. hindi ako updated masyado sa movies ngayon kaya magiging tamabayan ko to. sana dami pang ifeature mo.

Visual Velocity said...

ShatterShards: Oh, I have them all on bootleg. I don't think they'll be screened here in our lovely shores though; no one would watch them, ehehe. I love both films though. =)

PS: I'm at the office right now, staring down our window. =P

Visual Velocity said...

Lawstude: Thanks! Happy Father's Day to your dad also! =) I'm wasted too. I slept late watching Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer last night. It wasn't that good, but I didn't hate it either. I just wish I didn't stay up late watching it. I just arrived at the office; I'm 1 hour late. Ehehe.

the donG: Yeah, do watch In Bruges! It's a "touristy" kind of film. It was shot in Belgium. Daming beauty shots in the film. I think you'll like this one. =)

Raft3r said...

magaling sya sa the recruit
hehe

Visual Velocity said...

Raft3r: Hindi ko pa siya napapanood dun, pero napanood ko siya sa Alexander. Mejo tumaas blood pressure ko sa performance niya dun. He was that bad. Ehehe.

jayclops said...

In Bruges and Happy Go Lucky are two of my favorite films of 2008. When I saw it early May last year, I said no way it's gonna be unnoticed in the screenplay category. After all, it was written by playwright Martin McDonagh, directing for the first time. Colin was fun to watch, and I agree given the right material, he can emerge into something like what he did with Ray. So is with Sally Hawkins. She was so fun to watch, it's such a shame that she has to make way for Angie in the Best Actress roster. I bet your favorite scene was the last confrontation of Poppy and the character of Eddie Marsan.

Visual Velocity said...

jayclops: Yeah, I love the part where Scott pulled Poppy's hair, ehehe. I also love the scene where he kept on saying, "Enraha! Enraha!"

Happy-Go-Lucky is my favorite Mike Leigh film next to Secrets and Lies. It's great that it was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Screenplay category along with In Bruges. I was crushed when Milk won.

You're right, given the right material, Colin delivers. The thing with him is, when he's good, he's really good, but when he's bad, he craps all over the place.

I love Colin in In Bruges. He's also good in A Home at the End of the World.

Panaderos said...

I'll check this movie out. Looks pretty good by the way you described it.

I don't know what it is with the Academy these days. It is lamentable that comedy movies aren't viewed as having the same "gravitas" as dramas. As a general statement, I'm not too happy with the movies coming out of Hollywood these days. They're just way too commercial and trend-oriented for my taste. As a result, I've been watching more indie movies and also ones from Europe and Asia.

Visual Velocity said...

Panaderos: I like indies too better than commercial movies. Our local indie scene is doing really well. I hope you get to watch Jay and Yanggaw.

People are ranting about Transformers. I haven't seen it yet, but based on people's reactions, I don't think I ever will. Ehehe.

jayclops said...

I watched Transformers last night. I can't believe I actually lined up before entering the cinema. I dozed off twice while watching the movie. I can't remember the whole thing except nonstop explosions and Shia's incessant stammering.

Visual Velocity said...

jayclops: You're the second person who told me he fell asleep watching the Transformers. My officemate had the very same experience. Something's very wrong with that film. I'm very curious about Megan Fox though. I haven't seen her act yet. How was she?

An Optimus Prime decoy is parked near our office. The producers placed it there to attract moviegoers. Bastards.

jayclops said...

Megan Fox doesn't need to act. She just needs to show off her cleavage and booty to get us guys going, at least. But alas, the robots get in the way!

Visual Velocity said...

jayclops: Ahaha, true, true. I haven't read a positive review of Transformers yet. People seem to hate it, except of course, SM. Went to Megamall today; parang Cybertron. Transformers posters are posted everywhere and there's this Transformers shindig in the ground floor. Tapos yung cinemas nila, halos Transformers lahat. Ehehe.

jayclops said...

same here in Davao. it's actually ridiculous. but never commercially ridiculous though considering the crap people always take nowadays, or as always? hahaha

Visual Velocity said...

jayclops: Life will be meaningless without crap. We need people like Michael Bay in our lives. Joke. Ehehe.

Thor Bee said...

Andy: So OT. You and your censored blog entries. What happened to Am story? Hay naku. :p

Visual Velocity said...

Thor Bee: It got censored by the MTRCB. Those scumbags, ehehehe. =p

Were you able to read it?

Thor Bee said...

@Andy: No nga eh. Saw the preview on my feed and when I had time to read it, kaput! :( The intro immediately drew me in; liking the flavor of your writing in vignettes. Publish! Publish! Publish! Hehehe.

Visual Velocity said...

Thor Bee: It was online for about 2 hours, but then the abominable MTRCB stepped in. Party poopers, ehehehe.

Anonymous said...

i am always surprised when a movie features a preschool teacher LOL

Visual Velocity said...

prinsesamusang: Hindi mo naitatanong, preschool teacher ako by night. Ehehe, joke. =p

Raft3r said...

ang tagal kong nawala
eto pa din
hehe
andy, new post na
it's july!

kamusta?

Visual Velocity said...

Raft3r: Maligayang pagbabalik! Kamusta road trip niyo? Hindi naman kayo naligaw? Ehehehe.

Ito, okay naman ako. Ngarag pa rin sa trabaho.

Jerick said...

subukan nga panuorin yung both movies.

Raft3r said...

naligaw? ako? ako pa! nyahaha. oo, medyo lang. hehe

Visual Velocity said...

Raft3r: Parang gusto ko maniwala pero hindi ko magawa. Ehehehe! =p

John Ahmer said...

Hindi ko alam tong movie na to hehe

Visual Velocity said...

w.a.i.t.: They're both indie films. =)