"The Brothers Grimsby" Is Downright Painful

The Brothers Grimsby 

Rated R

Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Strong, Rebel Wilson, Isla Fisher,

Directed by Louis Leterier

The Story:

Nobby (Cohen) and his little brother Sebastian (Strong) were orphaned growing up, and separated by adoption. Nobby has always been waiting to find his long lost brother, and when the two are finally reunited, he actually blows Sebastian's cover as a top MI6 agent, and now Sebastian is wanted for murder. The brothers have to stay alive and clear their names before their reunion is short-lived.

You know those trailers where you think you probably saw all the good parts already?

Well, if you saw the trailer for The Brothers Grimsby, you were pretty much correct.

As this was my first Sacha Baron Cohen movie, I cannot compare it against his previous offerings to decide if this is along the same lines as those films.

It's enough to make me realize that I'm not Cohen's target audience though.

There are glimpses of a smart, Bond-style parody, and getting Leterier to direct an action-comedy was likely a wise choice.

However, the few smart gags that happen are surrounded by a dozen crude jokes with little or no humourous value in them, whatsoever.

Which is a shame, because it wastes a pretty good cast.

That Isla Fisher chose this over Now You See Me 2, time to fire your agent.

And Mark Strong tries to save the movie by being just plain awesome, but it's too little, too late.

I can't, in any good consciousness, recommend this movie.

I will give it bonus points for thankfully being shorter than most movies.

Do yourself a favor, and go watch Kingsman instead.

Final Grade: D+

Now That's A Spy Movie! "Kingsman: The Secret Service"

Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

Rated R

Starring Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Michael Caine, Samuel L. Jackson,

Written and Directed by Matthew Vaughn

The Story:

An underground spy network needs to recruit their newest member when one of their own perishes. Harry Hart (Firth) chooses Eggsy (Egerton), the son of the man who saved Hart's life years earlier. Eggsy is very rough around the edges, and not the gentleman spy that typically serves as a Kingsman, but Hart has high hopes. As the process of choosing the newest member moves forward, so does a credible threat from a multi-billionaire (Jackson) with nefarious plan to extinguish much of society.

I thought the film looked pretty good from the trailer.

It exceeded any and all expectations that I had, and will wind up on my Best of the Year list when all is said and done.

This one even gets a nod from the Mrs. as she not only watched it the first night, she sat through it again the next night when the kids moaned about having missed it.

That tells you the film must be pretty good.

And I have an extremely odd taste in what can be considered a family movie!

:)

Thoroughly British, utterly enjoyable, it's an updated take on the spy game that takes a lot of Bond and adds a dash of Bourne and spits out a wonderfully fresh and fun look at the world's 3rd oldest profession.

Give or take.

An amazing cast that has a blast with the material they are given is on display from the very opening of the film. If you think Colin Firth is only a dramatic or comedic actor, get ready for a revelation of Colin Firth: Action Star!

Seriously, he pulls if off in a way that defies any expectations you have of him.

Samuel L. Jackson appears to be having a blast as the villain of the film, and is both frighteningly evil and hilariously funny at the same time.

That said, hats off to Taron Egerton who gets to carry much of the film when Firth and Jackson aren't doing their things.

The franchise, should they choose to turn this into one, is his to enjoy for the next decade or more.

Vaughn, who notoriously stays away from writing or directing sequels to his work, is actually onboard for at least a second chapter of Kingsman.

Works for me!

Final Grade: A-