Some flicks

I have managed to watch several movies in the past week or so. In no particular order

The Bank Job:

With the last few movies Jason Statham has been in, I figured this was going to be an "action" flick. I was wrong. Definitely falls into the "caper" category. A well written, well acted story "based on true events". This was much closer to Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels than The Transporter.

The Mist:

A fairly decent film version of what is probably my favorite Stephen King story. The ending is different than the original source. Of course one could say it has an ending, unlike what King wrote. The novella had the protagonists driving off into the mist and never tells you what happened. The movie goes past the end of King's story and shows what happens next. Besides that, it was very faithful to the source material-keeping the focus on the characters and how, when faced with a terrifying crisis, people can become just as horrible as the monsters that they fear.

In Bruges:

This was a pleasant surprise. It may seem odd using the word "pleasant" describing a movie about hit men hiding out after a botched job that resulted in the death of a child in a church, but this movie refuses to go where you expect it. At times it is very funny and at times it is very intense and fairly gruesome.

I have always liked Brendon Gleeson and it is nice seeing him in a much larger roll than what he typically does. He isn't a side player here and he is great.

This is England:

A semi autobiographical film about a fatherless 10(ish) year old boy in 1983 England. Picked on constantly at school he falls in with the only group that show him any kindness-the local skinheads. All is well until the gang's racist leader is released from Prison and resumes control. If you can get through the thick accents this is well worth seeing.