#31-28

31) Seven Psychopaths

Irish playwright Martin McDonagh returns to the screen for the first time since In Bruges. Colin Farrell plays Marty, an Irish screenwriter with a serious case of writer's block until his pal Billy (Sam Rockwell) and Billy's boss Hans (Christopher Walken) conspire to kidnap the dog of prominent thug Charlie (Woody Harrelson). From there, things get bananas and his script idea to write about seven psychopaths unfolds in front of his eyes. The first half was excellent in it's dialogue and self-reflexiveness, but the ending was pretty disappointing.

30) Rentaneko (Rent-a-Cat)

If this movie ever was remade as an American film, it would be a perfect fit for Zooey DeSchanel's quirky self. Sayoko (Mikako Ichikako) is a young woman who lives in a house with upwards of 30 cats, each of whom she has a special bond with; she seems to believe she is destined to be their owner. To pay the bills, she starts up a cat rental business, in which she seeks out lonely people to "rent" her cats for a period of time to keep them company. She wanders down an empty street with a cart full of cats and a megaphone, shouting "rent aaaaaaaaaaaaa neko. Rent aaaaaaaaaaa neko. Neko neko," at anyone who will listen. The cats are of course hilarious, especially Master Umaturu, who rules the roost and gets to reside in a big cushy basket. A fun idea, but after the third cycle or so (leaves house with cats, shouts at people, gets a customer, hears the customer's life story) you kind of hope for more plot. There isn't any.

29) Premium Rush

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Wiley, who is a crazy-ass bike messenger in New York City who lives the fix-gear lifestyle to the fullest, weaving in and out of traffic, breaking plenty of bones, pounding beers in his off-time. One day, he's tasked with being courier on a message from Chinatown that has detective Bobby (Michael Shannon) intrigued and stopping at nothing to retrieve it. Though Shannon's character is obnoxious and cliche', it was better than expected and puts a fun twist on the chase film.

28) Jeff Who Lives at Home

Jeff (Jason Segel) spends his days stoned in a hooded sweatshirt, waiting for a sign to push him into action. A combination of an errand for his mother (Susan Sarandon), a search for a man named Kevin (because someone called his house looking for a Kevin), and a chance encounter with his sister-in-law (Judy Greer) gets him motivated and on the path to his destiny, which includes helping his asshole brother Pat (Ed Helms) catch said sister-in-law cheating. All of the characters are relatively believable, and it is a goofy, and somehow spiritual, comedy.