Kick Ass 2 - Abandons its attempt at "reality" much sooner than the first movie, which serves the overall work better. Even so, it is less evenly paced and presented, but it is still fun to watch a-dork-able characters trade one-liners. Hit Girl is the star again, and Dave/Kick Ass -- as well as his newly super-hero'd friends -- are oddly sidelined. There's setup for a sequel, but I kind of wish they'd just add 40 minutes or more to this film to resolve minor, existing questions.
In Bruges - I'd heard this was a dark comedy. I heard correctly. I will end up watching this again just to see how much lovely setup and callback there is in it. I really enjoyed this movie from a dialog and structure standpoint. Somewhat painful to watch as things start to fall apart, but impossible to look away. Great acting from Gleeson and Fiennes, though that shouldn't be surprising. I'd always felt Colin Farrell was overrated, but here he is very believable as a charming but dimwitted and short-tempered screw-up, at odds with his own guilt and frequently mistaken self-righteousness.
