2007, Gareth Lewis (Also known as Assassins in Love for you American types who like to rename movies) -- Netflix
Yes, ever since Band of Brothers I have been a big fan of Damian Lewis (brother of the director, BTW) especially those vehicles since he returned home. It's a shame he couldn't put his american accent to more work but Life just never hit it off with people. He will be back this fall with Homeland, a series that I can only guess tries to put the Dept of Homeland Security in a good light. Its intentions will probably fail as miserably as the show. But I will watch it for his charming smile and wit.
And I guess that is why he made such a good killer for hire (with heart of ... dough?) in The Baker; yes, another assassin movie. This time we mix it into an even more light-hearted comedy and even a bit of romcom. But weirdly enough, and I guess its something the british are able to do, but its done a hell of a lot more successfully than Killers was. For one, he actually seems to be a likeable character and our first intro (albeit failed) to him is letting someone off the hook, as long as they run away and give up their life of crime. Letting someone off the hook is not what his bossess have in mind for contracts so now he is on the run. And he runs away to an abandoned bakery in a small village, to think about what he should do next.
Of course, the setup is obvious and comes with its own set of misunderstandings and dilemmas, the least being that a man who has been killing for a decade or more doesn't know the first thing about baking. Toss into that mix the usual british countryside filled with ecentrics and plain weirdos and someone who just likes to blow up sheep. Oh and did I mention Jaime Lannister is also an assassin who has a crush on the baker? Hijinx ensue, quirky cute british style, for some giggles and quite a few smiles. Funny, how I am able to forgive a british comedy for just weak laughs and more smiles but wouldn't give an american one an inch on that.
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