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Martin McDonagh’s 2005 Oscar-winning live-action short was a dark comedy filled with biting dialogue. His 2008 feature film debut is a dark comedy filled with biting dialogue. The former playwright, now screenwriter, has followed the old adage — write what you know. And he knows black humor. This witty crime comedy mixes dark laughs with real drama. McDonagh flips and twists the story, keeping the audience gripped. But he does so with ingenious moral conundrums that build one on the other. Hitmen may be killers, but it doesn’t mean they don’t have consciences.

After a job gone wrong, hitmen Ray (Colin Farrell, ALEXANDER) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson, GANGS OF NEW YORK) are sent away to Bruges, Belgium to hang low until their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes, THE ENGLISH PATIENT) calls. Ken embraces the opportunity to sightsee in the most well preserved medieval city in Europe. However, Ray couldn’t be more displeased with the boring tourist trap. A film being shot in town piques Ray’s interest, because it features a dwarf named Jimmy (Jordan Prentice, HOWARD THE DUCK) and brings him in contact with the beautiful Chloe (Clemence Poesy, HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE), a local drug dealer. The botched job weighs heavy on Ray’s soul and Ken’s faith will be shaken along the way as well.

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This Weekend’s Film Festival tackles life and death. To be or not to be that’s the question. The inspiration for this week’s lineup is Oscar-winning Best Picture NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, which also topped by Top 25 for 2007. Now this ponderous topic doesn’t have to be painful, and the five films in this week’s lineup are as captivating as they are thoughtful. From what lies for us after death to the death of a loved one to the randomness of the Grim Reaper’s visit, these films tackle the age-old topic that dwells in both art and entertainment.

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