Fantastic Mr. Fox

This is an animated film version of Roald Dahl's book of the same name. Of course, in the capable hands of Wes Anderson, this is clearly not aimed at children, even though the dreaded f-word is replaced by the word cussing.

The Mr. Fox in the title was formerly a thief of birds but promised to retire after his wife became pregnant. Life as a newspaper writer, however, does not a happy fox make. Eventually, with the help of the slightly weird Kylie, he breaks his promise and raids not the farms of Boggis, Bunce & Bean.

When the three disgruntled men come after the thieves (and shoot off Mr. Fox' tail), the entire wildlife of the area is effected by the destruction of the habitat. After everyone is initially upset with Mr. Fox, they soon team up to get the humans back by stealing, well, everything.

This leads to all-out war between the animals and the humans and it ends with the animals on the upside. They even steal back the - now detachable - fox tail. The animals move together into the extensive sewer system, that has an exit directly into the Boggis, Bunce & Bean supermarket.

Joy and happiness all around.

Quite entertaining and very weird.

7/10

Inside Man

This bank robbery plays out a little different than is to be expected. A group of would be robbers, dressed in black coveralls, hoods up, face hidden by white cloth and sunglasses, walk into a bank in Manhattan and take everybody (twenty? thirty?) inside hostage. They have everyone strip to their underwear and put on the same outfits they themselves are wearing with black eye masks instead of sunglasses.

The hostages are kept in small groups in different rooms with random people being moved at times from one room to the next, the person joining a group may even be one of the robbers. Very clever, that.

The head of the outfit is one Dalton Russell, who pulls the strings and communicates with law enforcement outside. The police detective designated to save the day is Det. Keith Frazier, whose job is complicated by the arrival of Madeleine White. Ms. White's request are to be met. So says the mayor. She has been hired by the founder of the bank, Arthur Case, to make sure that whatever is in safe deposit box 392 (a box that mysteriously is not listed with the other boxes) is either retrieved or never sees the light of day - whatever the cost.

So both, Frazier and White meet with Russell to discuss terms. Frazier realizes eventually that the robbers are playing for time and not easily fooled by things like bugs hidden in pizza boxes. White learns that Russell has already taken the contents of Case's box - proof that Case made some questionable deals with Nazi Germany while living in Switzerland along with a ring and a stash of diamonds. The diamonds are what the robbers are interested in, not touching and of the money or other valuables inside the bank.

The reason they are playing for time is because they build a cell behind a row of shelves in the supply room. When the police get ready to storm the place, the robbers are one step ahead of them - having sent their own bug into their mobile HQ. The preemptively throw smoke bombs and mix themselves among the hostages, making it impossible for police to prove who was on what side.

What is more, as nothing has been taken and nobody has been injured, the case gets shelved. No harm, no foul, right? Frazier, of course, cannot let got and returns to the bank, where Russell bumps into him. Russell has spent the last few weeks hidden in the cell they have built and now walks out with the diamonds. Frazier is there to execute a court order to open box 392, which has been emptied except for the ring and a note telling him to "follow the ring", which he does - dropping in on the mayor having lunch with White, handing them the number of the Office of War Crime Issues. At home he realizes, that the man he pumped into him dropped a single diamond into his pocket.

Quite interesting and very well cast.

7/10

The Boondock Saints

The MacManus twins, Connor and Murphy (played by Sean Patrick Falnery and Norman Reedus), kill a couple of Russian mob guys in self defense (sort of). After coming into a Boston police station, where the FBI agent Smecker (very passionately portrayed by Willem Defoe) has taken the role of lead investigator, to explain how the mobsters ended up dead they are suddenly celebrated by the media and the public for ridding the world of evil. Being religious Irish boys, they realize that this is what they should be doing - kill off bad guys.

They precede to take out big chunks of the Russian and Italian mob that infested Boston, aided by their hapless friend Rocco (David Della Rocco), who can finger any number of bad guys, having run errands for the don of the Italian side of the operations. Rocco's involvement causes some confusion for law enforcement and Smecker, at first. A lot of the killings look like professional hits (the brothers' talent runs in the family) but there is always some kills that less talented Rocco does, which stumps the investigators.

When at one crime scene Smecker finds Rocco's shot of index finger and realizes who it is he is actually hunting, he keeps the information to himself and starts aiding the crime fighting killers in any way he can. The Don has recruited a mysterious hitman, referred to as Il Duce or The Duke, to take out Rocco, who he initially believes is the only one responsible for taking out his associates.

During the bloody confrontation with the Italians, that Rocco does not survive, The Duke (Billy Connelly) arrives to take out the brothers only to realize that they are his sons he hasn't seen in a long time. The three team up to take out the last standing Italian mobster.

There is quite the cult around this film and the MacManus twins and now I understand why. The film is bloody, funny and quotable.

8/10