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Visitors Review

dromasca 2013-05-22 02:54:03

some fun is missing from this con story

'The Brothers Bloom' could be the ultimate con story and a very funfilm. It somehow fails on both missions without being a film lackingquality and some nice moments.The two brothers in the center of the story are world experts incheating. They stage elaborate cons, their victims are rich people, sothey do not and we do not feel to guilty about their tricks Theprincipal moral aspect they have to deal with is that by playing rolesas a profession they risk to lose their identity and when real feelingsinterfere relative to their victims they risk professional failure.When the younger brother Bloom (Adrien Brody) falls for the rich widow(Rachel Weisz) who proves to have talents of her own for ticks andcrafts, it is clear that things will get complicated. The whole storyplays on several layers of deception, and this is what the authors ofthe story built the whole film upon. The problem is that they are toomany layers, and too many apparent and possible endings for this story,so that at the end when the real final happens the viewers will notcarry or will refuse to get involved, fearing that it's another conending.We are left with exquisite acting. Adrien Brody plays on the tragic andpathetic register all along the film, maybe a little bit too patheticto be totally genuine. His melancholic look spreads all over the movie,but as we know his cabotine sadness is also a professional trick we endby asking ourselves at any moment whether it is totally genuine. RachelWeisz is beautiful and sophisticated and has good chemistry with Brody.The acting revelation is however Mark Ruffalo as the older, rough butdeeply caring brother. He is touching and he does look sincere if thereis such thing as a sincere crook, and gives credibility to the slightlyincredible ending. Rinko Kikuchi completes the quartet in the almostcompletely speechless role of the con men assistant, kind of Japanesefemale Q (as in the Bond movies).The film has a lot of literary and musical references that can bewatched and liked if you know the nuances. It's many good pieces arehowever enveloped in a story that tries to be too sophisticated. Asomehow more easier touch in directing and perhaps a simplified storyline could have made of this film the really fun film we expected.

sydfrog 2013-05-21 09:06:30

Hal Ashby and Wes Anderson influence?

I really loved this movie, and overall it was original and made animpression all it's own. However, with that being said, did anyonenotice some strong influence from the films of Wes Anderson and HalAshby? The style of camera-work, the eccentricities, the hodge podge oftime periods, and the soundtrack/score reminded me of films like"Rushmore," "The Royal Tenenbaums," "Harold & Maude," and "The LastDetail." I mean, there was even a Cat Stevens song used, for crying outloud! The director sites Peter Bogdanovich and John Huston...I can seeBogdanovich, for the "period piece" elements, but not really the JohnHuston influence at all.

DICK STEEL 2013-05-18 15:11:53

A Nutshell Review: The Brothers Bloom

I'm quite the sucker for films with con jobs, or about con-men goingabout designing elaborate ruses to rip off their mark, and then ridingoff into the sunset with their ill gotten gains. Films such asConfidence starring Ed Burns (and also Rachel Weisz) and Matchstick Menwith Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell never fail to entertain me each timeI watch them, and I'd want to add The Brothers Bloom to that list aswell.Written and directed by Rian Johnson, whose only film credit so far isthe excellent Brick, with The Brothers Bloom he proves that he's not aone hit hack job, and continues to showcase his very creative, visualeye for beautiful images, and possession of a very keen storytellingsense in elevating a story about 2 con-men into fairy tale proportions.Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody play the titular brothers Stephen andBloom, who together with mute-by-choice Japanese sidekick Bang Bang(Rinko Kikuchi) who's anything but quiet, take on the world asconfidence tricksters, milking the rich for some of their spare changeby entering their lives, setting up the game plan, executing it to atee, then disappearing, more often than not with Death roped in so thatthey could get away scot free. The prologue is most memorable andstylishly presented, setting the stage in which these two orphan boyswould eventually find their calling in the world, and shape theircharacters.And characters are what you must credit Johnson with, creating twobrothers who are as different as the left and ride lobe of the brain.In Stephen he has crated the mastermind, the brains behind themulti-step con game each so succinctly written as one-liners that theyare also used as inter-titles to logically slice the film intochapters. To Stephen, the end will justify any means, and he's quitethe stone cold one with genuine affections only for his brother Bloom,looking out for him as they defend themselves from the harsh realitiesof the world.In Stephen's con stories does Bloom come alive, being the intimatelyemphatic actor and becoming the catalyst for the duo's grand scheme ofthings. Adrien Brody brings about a lot of sensitivity to the role,being the timid of the brothers, yearning to live a richer, morefulfilling life than one which is based on deceit and always a puppetof his brother's script, manipulated to such an extent that calls forbetrayal of trust, and an incident from childhood that forever hauntshis memory (that introductory sequence is incredibly sassy too).Undoubtedly it leaves them both with plenty of money, but materialismcannot satisfy the itch for a more meaningful life, and thus hiscontemplation of quitting, to Stephen's despair.The excellent character pieces also extend to the main wildcard in thestory, that of Rachel Weisz's Penelope, a rich heiress stuck in her ownfour walls, spending time collecting hobbies and an innate array ofskills, with no plans for the future and just living for the moment. Inboth Penelope and Bloom, they find an instant connection, being hermitsin a cave, and now with each other, finding it all the more worthwhileto emerge from their shells. This story is also of their tale ofgrowing up together and finding common connection, between themselvesand the world. It also becomes a romantic movie for a little while,with Penelope's infectious enthusiasm being rubbed off and onto Bloom,that bit of optimism dousing out the negativity constantly felt by thelatter, and get you in the mood to cheer both of them on as well.One cannot review the film without making mention the productionvalues. Eastern Europe provided much of the picturesque backdrop onwhich the story got told, jet-setting from one locale to another, whilethe costumes and suits used in the film, primarily in black and/orwhite, were simply gorgeously designed, that you'd do a double take athow pretty they look (or is it because the stars have the charisma tocarry them off).The Brothers Bloom is an aesthetically gorgeous movie, and one thatshouldn't be missed for its wonderful cast and tightly woven and wittystoryline. In fact I enjoyed it so much, that it ranks amongst myfavourites of the year. A pity that it's only screening at one hall inSingapore, so make it a point to experience a film that's wildlyexceptional from the current crop of stale summer blockbusters.

zoranov 2013-05-18 00:58:09

It starts great, and then... It hits you. This actually is corny and really, really bad.

The beginning of the movie was stunning. We laughed, we admired theincredibly clever and original postmodern intrigue, basically, we wereso incredibly eager to see the story get going and develop into abeautiful show of wit and twists. God, oh, God, what a disappointmentfollowed! I have never written a comment here, because in each andevery movie, regardless of how bad it was, I realized there wassomething that might appeal to a certain number of viewers, so, hey,who am I to say? But with The Brothers Bloom there is such a crappytrap, that I cannot just sit and do nothing, as other hundreds ofpeople are misled into watching it by the great cast and the amazingplot! It's boring as hell, if you take apart the ever changinglocations. But even the locations are cheap and unbearably corny,unless you're in love with Europe and have never been out of the US orJapan, the characters are shallow and have no real personality...Basically, it all resumes to a horrible script. I know nothing of thedirector and writer of the movie, I read he's a cool guy. But honestly,he should find a professional script writer, cause he sure as hell hasno idea about a dialog. Of course, there are also some good things,cause otherwise there wouldn't be so many people writing how the movieis the best - nice humor, every now and then, but never from dialog,which is really sad, and the amazing Rachel Weisz, she could actperfectly in the worst movie, I start to think. In conclusion, if youare in for a Saturday flick and don't mind pretentious screenplaysthat, ultimately, are very kitsch, go for it. If you expect to see anamazing adventure/romance movie with a clever plot, you'll regret everymoment after minute 20 of the movie.

brocksilvey 2013-05-12 00:44:58

Good Times with the Brothers Bloom

A surprisingly entertaining caper film starring Adrien Brody and MarkRuffalo as con-artist brothers. I say surprising because this filmseemed to die a quick death upon release. But it's certainly worth awatch on DVD.Rachel Weisz and Rinko Kikuchi round out the female portion of the castas a love interest and a sort of girl Friday, respectively. It's aself-consciously clever and cute movie, but the quirkiness is managedwell and I wasn't ever annoyed by it. I might have been if the samematerial had been in the hands of a different director.Oscar winner Maximilian Schell also makes a few brief appearances as asinister figure from the brothers' past.Grade: A-

2013-05-11 08:45:06

the price was outrageous

This review is from: The Brothers Bloom (DVD) I love the movie just not the price. the movie was impossible to find when i bought this [or so I thought]. About a week after it arrived I went to a Dollar General. I had been looking through the movies trying to find something new to watch when I found the Brother's Bloom. The Price of that copy was $4.50. I was really upset with this buy, but I can't complain a lot becuase this movie was almost worth it...

Lawson 2013-05-11 14:43:54

If only it had been 30 minutes shorter

Ugh, what a pity. I so wanted to love this movie but it was 30 minutestoo long. If it had ended at the 90-minute mark, I would've given it a10 I think, but the last half-hour sent the otherwise lightheartedmovie in a dark, incongruous direction that brought my high to a low. Brothers Bloom is a con men movie with delightfully quirky charactersacted with joy by Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo and Rinko Kikuchi, thoughthe highlight was Rachel Weisz.I liked Rachel Weisz when I first saw her in the first two Mummymovies, but then I didn't think she was all that in The ConstantGardener and that her Oscar should've gone to Amy Adams for Junebuginstead, and I kinda built up a resentment towards her. So it was withgreat surprise that I found her utterly endearing in her role of anaive heiress and that her character is one of the most charming I'veseen in quite a while. She's probably the only reason I'd watch thismovie again.

2013-05-11 03:25:09

Let's hear it for the Brothers Bloom!

This review is from: Brothers Bloom [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) One of the best stories ever written.Not sure buying it on blue-ray was necessary, but wanted the very best experience while watching this over and over.The seller took normal time to deliver.. not a big deal as I recall it was cheap.

Amber 2013-05-07 13:53:02

The Brothers Bloom Review

This film was an unexpected surprise. This film was amazing and very enjoyable. I thought that the plot was imaginative and pleasing. Unlike other con/heist films I've seen before. This film has a little bit of action, comedy and drama all thrown in. The unfolding of the story really keeps to looking for what is coming next. The film moves fast enough to keep your attention but not so fast that you miss what's happening. Defiantly an original film. I was very impressed by the entire cast. Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody were fantastic. Rachel Weisz brings a certain innocents and curiosity to the character, which was wonderful. I would have to say that Adrien Brody's performance was my favorite in the film. Brody takes the character to another level. Making the character very likable. Mark Ruffalo played the part perfectly. I couldn't see anyone else in this role. He is cocky yet charming. He makes you love the character but at the same you just want to slap him in the head for putting his brother through these con's. Overall I thought the writing and acting was fantastic. I would watch this film again and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good con/heist film.

2013-05-06 16:19:26

Thoroughly enjoyed this comic romp

This review is from: The Brothers Bloom (DVD) The con men get out-conned! or do they? This is a really enjoyable comedy with Rachel Weisz and Adrein Brody. There are so many really cute, funny situations in this movie that'll keep you laughing (and crying) throughout. Rachel Weisz is wonderful and performs in her usual top quality fashion. She is so cute, adorable and funny in this movie and is beautifully complemented by the performance of Adrien Brody. I highly recommend this one.

zetes 2013-05-02 09:51:42

It may be a disappointing follow-up to Brick, but it's pretty decent itself

Rian Johnson has the claim, I think, of the best debut of the currentdecade with his masterpiece Brick, which mixed the genres of film noirwith high school drama with a ridiculous success rate. It's one of themore daring pictures made in the last 10 years. For his sophomorefeature, he explores another genre, the con picture; he doesn't go toofar out in the genre, but instead opted to make it as quirky aspossible. That's a recipe for disaster. Luckily, the film doesn't screwthings up totally. Unfortunately, the results aren't especiallyexciting, either. Mark Ruffalo and Adrian Brody star as brothers andlifelong conmen. Ruffalo is the elder and the creator of their schemes.He creates the cons as if he were a Russian novelist, as Brody tellsus, and writes himself, his brother and their mark as characters. Thetwo of them, along with their assistant Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi) havecurrently set eyes on a rich, shut-in heiress, Rachel Weisz, who wantsnothing more than an exotic adventure. The Brothers Bloom will give oneto her, while they relieve her of a couple million dollars. Brody fallsin love with Weisz, but that's pretty much exactly as Ruffalo haswritten it. The movie is fun, and its quirkiness doesn't usually gettoo obnoxious. But there are several miscalculations or bits ofsloppiness along the way. Especially true is the character of DiamondDog (Maximilian Schell), who was the Brothers' Fagan. They betrayed himand now is after revenge. Strangely, though, the prologue of the movieis told at the beginning, and it does not involve this characterwhatsoever. He always seems forced into the story (the climax revolvesaround him). The acting is in general good. Ruffalo doesn't quite fit,I didn't think. He worked surprisingly good as a hotshot policedetective in Zodiac, but for some reason, I could never quite accepthim as a master conman. Brody, I think, comes across as too much of asadsack much of the time. Weisz is exceptional. I think the film couldhave characterized her a bit better. She does somewhat come off as amanic pixie dreamgirl, so she could use a little more meat. But shedoes as much as she can with the material, and there are several sceneswhere she does a tremendous amount of subtle acting with her face.Rinko Kikuchi pretty much steals the movie, though, as the semi-muteexplosives expert. A lot of the technical aspects are quite brilliant.The costumes especially are great. The score and cinematography arealso very good. I think I might like this better if I had seen it in abetter theater. The art-house where I saw it is quite behind the times.

Enchorde 2013-05-02 01:52:35

Really good con artist movie

Recap: The brothers Bloom, Stephen and Bloom, are master con-men. Sincechildhood they have conned people out of their money by taking them onsome mysterious adventure. Now, Bloom wants out, but agrees to do alast con. A rich but seemingly bored heiress is their target, and thetheft of mysterious book in Prague their tale. But Bloom grows attachedto their mark, Penelope, and the feelings seem mutual. Suddenly truthand tale mix and everyone has problems to tell what is true or not.Comments: A really nice movie with a little odd twist. In these conartist movies the audience is usually in on the con, and the suspenseis usually on some weak link in the plan that must come through. But inthe Brothers Bloom it is a little bit different, and refreshing.Because one of the con men themselves, Bloom, is not sure of what isreal or what is fake, we can't get any more clues either. We, just asBloom, must put the pieces together for ourselves. Quite a intriguingconcept.It is well acted. There are four lead characters, apart from Stephenand Bloom also Bang Bang, a Japanese explosive experts that help themand Penelope, their mark. And what's nice is that all character hasmuch more than one level to them. They hide something, or don't tellall at least, and the actors and actresses show this perfectly.Especially Penelope (Rachel Weisz) manage to radiate innocence and atthe same time be surprisingly adept to the brothers criminal ways.There seem to be so much more to tell about her, I wouldn't actuallymind a sequel that used her a little more.Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody have some nice report between them. Atongue in cheek way about them about how to proceed best with the con.But also Rinko Kikuchi acts very well as the explosive expert that seemto have taken a vow of silence (except while singing karaoke ofcourse). Kikuchi bears watching in the future as she has shown to be agreat talent already (i.e. Babel). I hope she finds her way into moremovies that is accessible in the west.The Brothers Bloom is a good piece of craftsmanship in the con genre.Fans of the genre is almost certain to enjoy it. I wonder whatwriter/director Rian Johnson will be up to next. I hope he putsomething together soon, as he seem to have nice ideas and capable torealize them well.7/10

Jonas Vandenabeele 2013-04-24 21:41:54

Good movie, but they somehow sometimes tried too hard.

I thought TBB was a good movie, not what I expected though. Overall Ithink it deserves the 7 out of 10.My 'problem' with the movie is that they sometimes tried to hard tomake the plot mysterious and twisting and turning. I also get theimpression that there are too many ideas in the screenplay, good ideasthough but i think they overdid it near the end. Also the con in the story wasn't always that credible - as far as confilms are very credible - The con(plot) was too self-evident to reallyamaze me at times... Like Stephen could really predict every singlemove.Still it was a good plot and a good movie in general. Good characters,good actors, not the corny end I feared but not the end I hoped to seethough.In the end I do advise you to go see it for yourself and make up yourown mind, it's certainly not a waste of time or money.

Joe the MOVIE Man 2013-04-24 14:24:22

Brothers eh

What would you expect from a low budget movie. A few laughs and a bit surprized. All in all a good build up for the movie and the romance part could have been edited and made the chick more like she was going to take over the business. Good rental but make sure you're ready for some lite naps.

2013-04-19 23:10:42

JWVHIII

This review is from: Brothers Bloom [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Not my cup of tea. The characters were too strange for me to develop any interest or empathy. The flashforward/flash-back technique was week and way overdone. There were several character developments that when introduced were never developed. Charate motivation was muddled so badly that the acting was off. But then I stray... The movie was never engrossing for the viewer. Those who directed this malfiesance know how they screwed up by now or are as self delsional as the charaters they guide on screen.

hfeldst 2013-04-19 16:18:30

Bloom is off the rose

Adrian Brody and Mark Ruffalo star as con artist brothers in this low key quirky comedy. The basic idea is a familiar one, one brother wants out and the other convinces him to do one last con. Their final mark is a wealthy young woman played by Rachel Weisz. Rinko Kikuchi as co-stars as "Bang Bang", an almost silent accomplice to the brothers. Of course things do not go as planned and Ms. Weisz becomes the most interesting character in the film. Just who is conning whom becomes the central plot, along with exploring the strained relationship between the brothers. The film takes us on a world tour from New Jersey to Greece with many other exotic stops along the way. There is a certain charm to the story as it unfolds with a fairytale-like quality. Mr.. Ruffalo, Ms. Kikcuchi and Ms. Weisz are all fun to watch, especially Ms. Weisz, who seems to be really enjoying herself. Mr. Brody on the other hand plays his usual brooding self and is rather a bore. The highlight of the film is the opening sequence depicting the brothers as youngsters perpetrating their first con on the neighborhood kids, narrated by Ricky Jay. I would have really enjoyed the film more if it had contiuned from that point on rather than 25 years later.

2013-04-11 05:17:46

Especially for fans of Brick and Wes Anderson

This review is from: Brothers Bloom [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Fantastic movie.If you're a fan of Brick, you'll probably be a fan of whatever this director does. So this movie is for you.If you're a Wes Anderson fan, you'll love this movie, because it seems to take its inspiration from many of the same things Anderson takes inspiration from. It's like one of his movies, done by someone else.

mjollnir 2013-04-10 20:14:47

All Lovely Things Must Have An Ending.

'The Brothers Bloom' is a lovely thing indeed, excellently photographed, delightful to watch, clever in its construction, deft with its sleight-of-hand, beautifully acted (especially by Rachel Weisz, who deserves the Oscar nomination that is never given out for movies of this genre).'Bloom' is easily the best motion picture so far released this year...save for one (rather vital) element: writer/director Rian Johnson doesn't know how - both as writer and/or director - to end his own screenplay. The fact that the ending is complicated is not the problem. It's fine for caper movies, based on confidence games, to end in moral ambiguity, puzzlement and complexity. The problem is this: it ends with a thud. A duulll thud. Without going into detail (can't do that without giving way too much away), things are resolved in a fashion that just leaves you thoroughly dissatisfied, intellectually, emotionally...and visually. The audience is placed in a position of just not being able to willingly suspend their disbelief any more and leave the theater with a feeling of "Is that all there is?"Johnson may have been actually trying for something like that effect...but if he wanted existential angst that might trigger interest and discussion, he needed to find another way to get there.'The Brothers Bloom' is another one of those potentially great pictures that's instead going to disappear from the radar real fast...

2013-04-07 10:19:30

Quirky Melancholy Blend...

Got the movie because of the cast. Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo any one of them is watchable but all three together was a must see in my book.A story of con men brothers who grew up perfecting the con game and crafting the perfect story. Well, one brother anyway. Ruffalo writes the scripts and Brody fumbles through more and more complicated plots hating the game and detesting himself for playing it. With the promise of an end in sight they agree to one more con before parting ways.The con involves an eccentric little rich girl (Weisz) who apparently has a stable full of the identical car because as she crashes one another is delivered in its place. After crashing said car into Bloom (Brody) she becomes intrigued by him and his story. She is a very talented self-taught woman with a thirst for adventure. This new con, new script doesn't quite end up the way it was intended to end.Great acting. The cast must have had a blast. And this is a quirky almost whimsical film with an old fashioned feel. It reminded me of Pushing Daisies if you had an opportunity to ever watch that little television gem. Weisz has a few interesting scenes, one a little embarrassing that puts it in the "not for kids" category. (Think the diner scene in Harry and Sally but on a train.) Though kids would probably not be real interested in the slower pace of the film, so that might be a moot point.Be warned. As charming as this campy quirky adventure is, the pervasive thick vein of melancholy almost chokes it at times. Bloom grows so embittered he is willing to chew his leg off to escape the trap he's in. Enter his brother who loves Bloom enough to write the ultimate script.

Avalanche_647 2013-04-07 00:52:45

Silly Hats

The first thing I asked myself when I walked out of the theater was:"What's with the silly hats?". It was of course afterwards that Irealized that this question, however the most pertinent, was far fromthe only one I would ask myself that night.In fact, going trough all those questions, I came to realize that "TheBrothers Bloom" did not make one iota of sense to me. And, what'sworse, I wanted to make no further effort at all to try and understandthe movie better - which is rather uncommon for me.throughout it's labyrinthian plot, this "conmovie" from beginning toend seems to be trying only one thing: to con it's way out of any formof explanation. In stead, the plot just keeps wiggling and wurming it'sway to the most unsatisfying and enigmatic conclusion I saw in years.