thekingsdom One of those films that tries way too hard to be hip, cool, urban and funny. It achieves none of it. The script was poor, the dialogue very forced and the characters were overdone. The film goes nowhere and wastes a rather good cast. Very bland and not worth watching to be honest.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Perrier's Bounty tries hard to be as pithy and wittily profound as In Bruges, but doesn't quite manage the task. To be fair, Bruges is a masterpiece and a Goliath of a script to aspire too, but this one has its own brand of scrappy crime fun, full of enough beans to keep the viewer jumping for its slight running time. Few films can boast narration provided by the Grim Reaper, and fewer still can say that said Reaper is voiced by Gabriel Byrne. But indeed, Byrne beckons us into this violent fable with his patented tone, both baleful and quaint. The fable in question concerns Michael McCrea (Cillian Murphy) an irresponsible young Irish lad who is seriously bereft of both luck and common sense. He lives in a small town in northern Ireland and owes a hefty loan to local crime lord Darren Perrier (Brendan Gleeson). Because of how tiny the town is, it's pretty easy for Perrier's goons to find and engage him in a road runner goose chase all about the area, forcing him to scoop up his on and off girlfriend (Jodie Whittaker), and head for the hills. He's also joined by his uber eccentric father (Jim Broadbent) who believes that the Grim Reaper has visited him at night and given him the alarming prognosis that he will die the next time he falls asleep. Broadbent is a solid gold asset to any film he's in, and practically spews perfectly timed comic banter non stop. Michael thinks he has a way out of trouble with local petty thief The Mutt (Liam Cunningham, aka Ser Davos Seaworth, also a comedic treasure here), which turns out to be another notch in the belt of bad judgment. Meanwhile, Perrier's crew reels after one of their slain thugs (at Michael's hand) turns out to have been involved in a love affair with another, who now has the wrath of vengeance in his eyes. There's a scene where Gleeson comforts the bereaved hoodlum and seems deeply wounded at the couple's reluctance to tell him of their love. Gleeson assures them he has no issue with homosexuality and wishes they would have shared with him. In the context of hardened criminals out for blood, this kind of exchange is priceless and brings rigid archetypes right down to earth, for maximum hilarity and well earned pathos. The film meanders a bit, but never out ran my attention span, following through with it's story in ways both welcomingly bloody and predictably quirky. It doesn't add up to anything life altering when all is said and done, but damn if the things which are said and are done along the way aren't just pure genre entertainment, inducing chuckles, thrills and nostalgia for other films withing the niche. In the troupe of writers who look up to Guy Ritchie, Quentin Tarantino and Martin McDonough, this scribe is on to something. Keep an eye out for Lord Varys, Roose Bolton and a young Domhall Gleeson too.

Gen Williams Casting and the dynamic between characters can make a movie flop or fly. Perrier's Bounty is smart and funny, though not shatteringly original; many comparisons have been made with the dark and distinctly Irish humour of In Bruges. Inept and slightly rubbish protagonist finds himself, through a perfect demonstration of his ineptitude and rubbishness, pitted against roundly awful rotters and thugs, and beset from all sides by pain and inconvenience, while a funny script and a generous splash of eccentricity and heartwarming romance with a girl way out of our dopey hero's league keep you hoping for a happy ending, however undeserved. This is also, broadly, the setup of True Romance. People like to tell the same stories repeatedly, just like they like to read and watch them over and over again. Not because we expect it to turn out differently; just because we like how some stories feel.Here's Brendon Gleeson back again in an wholly different role to his In Bruges turn, joyous as as solidly horrible gangster Perrier; unkind to animals, worse to people. Cillian Murphy has said before he likes playing characters who are under pressure, and is, as ever, excellent as the ordinary, unlucky bloke by turns incredulous and incandescently cheesed off with the hand life keeps dealing him. And Jim Broadbent - in the wake of Peter O'Toole (may all the gods rest his venerable soul), does anyone mix matter-of-fact and completely barmy better?We know the core actors are great at what they do, and they carry the film along reliably.What's great about this movie is the detail, the gleaming dialogue, and the real story at the heart of this; the father and son, estranged and reunited in ludicrous circumstances, and the family ties slowly revealed to us. Broadbent and Murphy are perfect together, the exasperation of the son pitched brilliantly against the patience and downright bizarreness of the father. Hurrah also for the supporting turn from Brendan Coyle, who's always a joy to watch.Perrier's Bounty isn't a new tale; but it's lyrical, funny, dark, human and absolutely charming.

eric262003 Granted, this movie had its share of moments, but it's still more dependent in the comedy spectrum which is a bit misleading in its billing as an action comedy and the humor might be easier to decipher if you were from the land of the Celtics. "Intermission" helmsman Ian Fitzgibbon exhibits "Perrier's Bounty" is an overall letdown as it merely touches the pinnacles of comedy that "Intermission" displayed in spite of a very pedestrian plot. Cillian Murphy stars as a young bloke who's in a financial predicament as he owes 1000 smackers to a local hoodlum. After several attempts in earning the dough, his neighbor unintentionally murders one of the hoodlum's accomplices. This puts Michael, his neighbor and his father (Jim Broadbent)in a deeper hole as they are now on the run. Sure it sounds like a crime caper with a touch of humor, but it's overall a misnomer. It's just a standard comedy as Perrier (played by Brendan Gleeson)has a few minutes of screen time and his presence is seen during the dying hours of the film. The centerpiece of the film is on the failed relationship between Michael and his father. Some of the humor is quite hilarious, but most of them are staler than age-old bread. It starts to fizzle in the middle, but recovers in the conclusion when the hoodlums become the center of attention. The acting was very impressive overall, though Jim Broadbent's accent was a bit hard to decipher at times. The main scene stealer is Cillian Murphy who really shows his comical talent and Michael was the funniest of the zany bunch.Not a terrible film by far, but just lacks the qualitative humor that "Intermission" possesses. And knowing the ensemble of talented Irish performers, this movie should have been 10x better.