One’s a deadly MI6 agent. The other’s a football hooligan with a mod Lloyd Christmas haircut. Together, they’re The Brothers Grimsby, opening Friday and inspiring this week’s 24 Frames gallery: the best and worst movie brothers!
In a dual role, Tom Hardy plays real-life gangsters Reggie and Ronnie Kray (one an ambitious businessman, the other bloodthirsty and decadent) who dominated London in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Avengers Year: 2012
Tomatometer: 92%
Thor and Loki’s fraternal squabbling is the most destructive, reaching from Valhalla to our personal pale blue dot, and spilling across several movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Adaptation Year: 2002
Tomatometer: 91%
In another featured dual role, Nicolas Cage plays screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, suffering artiste, and his twin (completely made-up) brother, also a screenwriter of marginal talent but greater success.
Boyz N The Hood Year: 1991
Tomatometer: 98%
Ricky and Doughboy (Morris Chestnut and Ice Cube, along with Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Tre) in John Singleton’s groundbreaking L.A. drama.
Twins Year: 1988
Tomatometer: 34%
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito play two bros separated at birth and incredibly this isn’t the weirdest movie the Arnie/Danny alliance had conceived.
The Boondock Saints Year: 1999
Tomatometer: 20%
Derided by critics but obviously an audience cult favorite, two lowly brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus) hit the big time when the mob and FBI descend on Boston.
Stuck On You Year: 2003
Tomatometer: 61%
Playing somewhat against type, Matt Damon is a shy loser and Greg Kinnear is a theatrical Lothario — the two halves together make up one cojoined twin this Farrelly brothers comedy.
Step Brothers Year: 2008
Tomatometer: 55%
Two manchildren (Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly) forced together in the same house learn to put aside their differences in the pursuit of more room for activities.
Warrior Year: 2011
Tomatometer: 82%
Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton play estranged siblings who come to terms with life inside and outside the ring after fate positions them to fight each other in a big MMA bout.
The Royal Tenenbaums Year: 2002
Tomatometer: 80%
Brotherhood is a recurring motif in Wes Anderson movies (Bottle Rocket, The Darjeeling Limited), best seen through Chas and Richie in familial comedy epic, The Royal Tenenbaums.
The Blues Brothers Year: 1980
Tomatometer: 85%
The tunes and wrecked cars pile up in this SNL sketch turned comedy film gold, starring Dan Aykroyd and and the late John Belushi as two musicians on a mission from God to save their childhood orphanage.
The Godfather Year: 1972
Tomatometer: 99%
In a movie all about family, it’s the fractious relationship of Sonny (James Caan) and tragic hero Michael (Al Pacino) that sets things into motion. Just when you thought you were out…
The Brothers McMullen Year: 1995
Tomatometer: 91%
In one of the finer examples of the American 90s independent scene, three brothers (Edward Burns, Mike McGlone, Jack Mulcahy) return to their family home to get life sorted out after their father passes away and their mother announces she’s returning to Ireland to live with her old flame.
On the Waterfront Year: 1954
Tomatometer: 98%
In this iconic moment, Terry (Marlon Brando) says to his brother (Rod Steiger) over a fixed fight: “I coulda been a contender.”
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape Year: 1993
Tomatometer: 89%
In the beginning of his long road to an Oscar win, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a disabled teen to his older brother (Johnny Depp).
Napoleon Dynamite Year: 2004
Tomatometer: 71%
What’s a show of reflexes between two close brothers such as Napoleon and Kip?
Rudo y Cursi Year: 2009
Tomatometer: 73%
No, Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna didn’t play brothers in Y Tu Mama Tambien just, ahem, close friends. They did play the part in Rudo y Cursi, rising soccer athletes in a Narco-ruled society.
Dead Ringers Year: 1988
Tomatometer: 83%
In yet another featured dual role, Jeremy Irons play depraved twin gynecologists whose bonds are tested both body (this being David Cronenberg film) and soul.
Raging Bull Year: 1980
Tomatometer: 97%
Destruction and redemption pull at each other with equal force between pugilist Jake LaMotta (Robert DeNiro) and his brother/manager Joey (Joe Pesci).
The Newton Boys Year: 1998
Tomatometer: 62%
Richard Linklater directs Matthew McConaughey, Skeet Ulrich, Ethan Hawke, and Vincent D’Onofrio as the Newton Gang, a band of brothers who held up banks and trains in the early 20th century.
Big Night Year: 1996
Tomatometer: 96%
Two restauranter brothers (Stanely Tucci, Tony Shalhoub) put all their eggs in one basket to save their ailing eatery over a high-profile evening.
Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
Year: 2007
Tomatometer: 88%
Ethan Hawke gets badgered into a plan by Philip Seymour Hoffman to rob their parents’ modest jewelry store.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Year: 2014
Tomatometer: 21%
Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo, all who share ancestral ooze.
Super Mario Bros. Year: 1990
Tomatometer: 15%
Proving nothing brings people together like family or horrible filmmaking experiences, John Leguizamo revealed in his memoir he and Bob Hoskins (portraying video games’ most famous brothers) drank a lot of scotch to get through desecrating the Nintendo franchise.
