An acclaimed playwright, McDonagh made his feature directorial debut with 2008's In Bruges, an underseen gem that has rightfully gained a loyal, passionate audience since.  That film wasn't served well by a pretty bad theatrical trailer that just tried too damn hard to play up the abundant but off-kilter humor.

Seven Psychopaths, meanwhile, is well served by this poppy little number that trots out a lot of exceedingly odd characters, led by Colin Farrell's struggling screenwriter who ends up in danger when his buddies kidnap the beloved Shih-tzu of an emotionally gangster.  The eccentric ensemble get a lot to do here, even a thoroughly bizarre Tom Waits holding a bunny rabbit.  Though there's lots of funny bits, we only get the tiniest sense of the "strong violence, bloody images, pervasive language, sexuality/nudity and some drug use" that the MPAA declares are in the film.  Damn shame.

Obviously, a big thanks to Machinima, which premiered the trailer today. 

Safe to say that any movie wherein Christopher Walken refuses to acquiesce to a guy wielding a huge automatic weapon just because he doesn't feel like it is doing something also.  Also, Tom Waits with that rabbit, that's got to count for a lot.

Farrell, who turned in a career-best performance in In Bruges, is the reasonably sane center here, with Rockwell and Walken in particular going all kinds of playful right next to him.  Woody Harrelson also looks to be having a good time, as do Abbie Cornish, Gabourey Sidibe, Kevin Corrigan, Olga Kurylenko, and Zeljko Ivanek.

Seven Psychopaths arrives on October 12th, and it can't get here soon enough.