Seven Psychopaths

Rude, raucous, and gleefully violent, Martin McDonagh's sophomoric (in every sense) follow-up to In Bruges is childishly over-the-top but also enjoyable (even though you might feel a bit of queasiness while laughing). At the center of the messy plot is Marty (Colin Farrell), an alcoholic screenwriter with a monumental case of writer's block—all he has is the title: Seven Psychopaths. His wacky buddy, Billy (Sam Rockwell), ostensibly lends a hand by placing a classified ad calling for ex-psychos to come forth and tell their stories. But Billy has troubles of his own: he's collaborating with Hans (Christopher Walken) in a scam that involves kidnapping dogs and returning them to their owners in hopes of a tidy reward. Unfortunately, Billy takes the beloved Shih Tzu of a deranged mob boss (Woody Harrelson) who will stop at nothing to get his pooch back. Lots of blood is spilled during the ensuing mayhem, punctuated by McDonagh's stock-in-trade—dialogue filled with comically existential reveries, slick soul-searching, and pop-cultural riffs. An enjoyable—albeit gruesome—lark of a film, this is recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a "making-of" featurette (3 min.), the character featurettes "Colin Farrell is Marty" (2 min.) and "Woody Harrelson is Charlie" (2 min.), "Crazy Locations" (2 min.), a "Seven Psychocats" spoof trailer (2 min.), the brief clip song “Layers,” and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an entertaining film.] (F. Swietek)