Movie Crush Monday: Little C and The Guard

Readers, I'm not going to lie to you. These Monday posts can be kind of a struggle for me. It's usually about 2pm on a Monday when I'm yelling "I DON'T EVEN LIKE MOVIES" and stomping through my house like Godzilla while the cats flee in terror/annoyance. I know this is ridiculous. I know I'm acting like an overgrown child, but these posts can be so damn hard to start.

So I poked around IMDB for a while today looking at movies I didn't like, with the idea being that eventually something would come to me. And through a movie I didn't really care for, I got to Brendan Gleeson. And from Brendan I got to:

The Guard (2011)

This movie played at one of my old theaters, and without fail everyone who walked out of the theater loved it. So I went in on my day off to check it out, and everyone was right. It's a comedy about an Irish police officer (Gleeson) who has to help an FBI agent (Cheadle) investigate an international drug smuggling operation. Things quickly spiral out of control and the two have to find a way to outsmart the local kingpin without getting themselves killed. 

As with most comedies made in Ireland, this one gets a little dark, and it never looses it's edge. But it stands out against a backdrop of cop movies for two big reasons; the dialogue is witty and sharp, and the characters are well thought out. Plus you get Mark Strong playing a bad guy, which is really what Mark Strong was born to do. 

I'm sure he's a lovely person. He just looks like criminal mastermind

It's been four years since I've seen it and I still think about this movie, and I still love it. If ever you need a good crime drama that doesn't take itself too seriously, give this one a shot. I'll leave the trailer below for those who need such things. 

Happy Watching,

Little C