Last week I had the opportunity to attend a very-advance screening of next year’s “In Bruges”, which comes out in March.  I knew almost nothing about the film going into it, other than it co-starred Colin Farrell, which is never a good sign for me.  But I fell in love with this dark comedy within the first 5 minutes.  The story follows two hired killers as they lie low in Bruges, Belgium after a particularly high-profile hit.  Ken, played by “That Guy” Brendan Gleeson plays Ken is making the most of this unexpected Belgian holiday, even if Farrell’s Ray is completely bored and itching to return to London.  With no desire to give away the plot, let’s just say that things don’t go according to plan…

Any dark crime comedy has it’s share of hijinx, double crosses, and surprises, and often these can feel formulaic.  The plot of In Bruges seemed fresh and engaging, rarely evoking the “how many times have I seen this before?” sentiment.  If I had to pick one criticism of the film, it was that there were some ShakyCam shots early on that were a bit annoying, but after the first minute or two I stopped noticing.  We were sitting rather close in the theatre, as well, which may have contributed to the discomfort.