Hitmen in Movies

There's a long, solid tradition of professional killers being these cool, slick characters in movies. Often you'd want to be a Chili Palmer or Martin Blank beccause they were just so fun. Professional killing must be great fun. Professional criminals are equally awesome.

So it's with great joy that The Matador, the new film featuring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear, feels gritty and real. In the movie, Brosnan plays a professional killer at the end of his career. He has no friends, family or even place of residence. Instead, Brosnan's character floats from hotel to hotel for his next job. He is a loud, obnoxious drunkard who is desperately lonely and on the verge of an anxiety attack. Insert Greg Kinnear as a sweet, innocent family man who befriends Brosnan, and you have a comedy with some interesting introspective moments.

They've failed to promote The Matador all that well, so I feel like I should do my part. It's a great film in the midst of the crappy studio release dumping ground of January. Go see it.

Underworld: Evolution was also great. I'm not sure what the plot was, or even anything about the characters, but Kate Beckinsale in a tight leather suit (and then in one scene not in that suit) was well worth it. There were also explosions.