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Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Many reviewers have praised this movie but compared it unfavourably to In Bruges. In my opinion, this is the funnier of the two and is the kind of film you can watch again and again to pick up on lines you may have missed first time round. It's so well crafted every word moves the story further, there is no padding and wicked humour is found in the grimmest of places.Maybe that's is why I love it more each time I watch it. There is such a lot to admire and every detail seems carefully thought out. The whole cast are good but Gleeson is absolutely superb.I like British/Irish films and put this on par with Snatch or Death at a Funeral (British version!) in its style of mordant humour.

The cold attitude, black comedy and relaxed way of Sergeant Gerry Boyle is very likable on film anyway, I think his counterpart FBI agent Wendell Everett finds it a bit strange and annoying :)Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle makes a great team in this film, they do get on each others nerves, but are both very likable and funny. The film has the same easy going attitude, it strides along slowly and have some bumps here and there, but it all fits in and plays out very well at the end.This is highly entertaining, British black comedy, great in so many ways :)

To paraphrase The Guard's FBI Agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle), this movie is either really motherf****n' smart, or really motherf****n' dumb. Having laughed my way throughout the majority of it, my feet are firmly in the former camp, with Brendan Gleeson's towering performance and writer/director John Michael McDonagh's extremely witty script make this one of the most under-appreciated movies of 2011. It is, on the surface, a simple fish out of water story crossed with a mismatched buddy comedy. But with a self awareness that brings to mind Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), The Guard often feels like it's more intelligent than it's letting on, similar in many ways to it's morally shady protagonist.Gerry Boyle (Gleeson) is not your everyday Garda (Gaelic for 'policeman') . As he expressionlessly watches a car load of weed- toking yoofs crash and die, he helps himself to the insides of their pockets and finds some acid, which he promptly swallows without thinking twice. He cares about his terminally ill mother, so we know he's at least not all bad. His laid-back attitude to law enforcement is threatened by the arrival of the eager Aidan McBride (Rory Keenan) from Dublin, as well as a murder that may point to the work of an occult serial killer. There's also more drugs on the streets than ever before, but Gerry enjoys those almost as much as he enjoys his hookers.If the witty yet crass dialogue spouting from this grumpy collections of Irishmen sounds somewhat familiar, then this is probably because John Michael's brother Martin McDonagh penned and directed In Bruges (2008), which also starred Gleeson. In my opinion, The Guard is better and certainly funnier. Most of the humour stems from Gerry himself and the way he plays with the characters he interacts with as much as the audience themselves. With the news that international drug traffickers are heading to Connemara to make a multi-million (or billion, no-one seems to know) dollar deal, FBI Agent Everett arrives to brief the guard's on the situation. When the dealers appear on the projector as Liam Cunningham and Mark Strong, Gerry's response is "But I thought all drug-dealers were black?".It may seem somewhat bad taste humour, but the way Gleeson delivers his lines, and the reaction by Cheadle (who plays the straight-man extremely well), make for comedy gold. Gerry is everything Everett despises - bigoted, ignorant - but the loathing changes to curiosity as he witnesses Gerry do some good police work and appears to be the only one who cares. Is he putting on an act to catch people off- guard? Is he really an idiot with a natural instinct for detective work? Or is he a bit both? I can forgive it's formulaic shoot-out ending for suspicion that it may be mocking the type of films it's emulating. After all, this is a fish-out-of-water-story where the main character verbally acknowledges that he's in a fish-out-of- water story. I'm sticking with really motherf****n' smart.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Let me begin by saying if you are easily offended - this movie is not for you. Secondly, the first 20 minutes are a little painful as they setup Boyle's character. The movie is great and comes together really well by the end. If you're having a night in, pour yourself a tall glass of milk and grab a few brownies. This wont disappoint and its nice to see the likable, non- Hollywood (bulging arms, 6-pack, model face) protagonist ... no spoilers here :)The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any. –Alice Walker