User reviews

I genuinely had no idea of what to expect in this movie when I started it as I just pulled it from a pile of movies to watch, but I walked away positively surprised and satisfied. It was a really good movie. "OK", you might think. "So how come there are so many negative comments here then?" Have I lost my marbles or am I saying that all the negative reviews are wrong? Well, of course not. In fact, I understand some think this film was a turkey but I will get to that later. But first, as you may have guessed already, I thought it was brilliant and quite refreshing. I'll even be as bold in saying that they hardly make movies like this any more (and I can say that against the background that this review is written in 2020, 11 years after the film premiered). I found the film well scripted, excellently cast and the filming locations were selected and captured perfectly. In case it wasn't already obvious, making movies is an expensive business and the selection of filming locations have a massive impact on the overall cost of the film hence why so many films try to film outside the LA, California and US in particular. You want to use relatable environments so that the audience can connect to the culture, life and events that the director tries to convey in the film. And far too often we see movies filmed in low(er)-cost countries such as Romania, Serbia, Czech Republic etc and they just feel, well, cheap. Not here though ! Here they did this masterfully and every shot perfectly captured the soul of each location the way the director wanted it to be experienced by the audience. The trio in the leading cast (Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo) exuded confidence and realism and they truly lifted this intricate plot and made the story feel alive. Rinko Kikuchi's character, on the other hand, felt underdeveloped and could have been worked on more to add more depth to the story and this is probably my only negative feedback.....but, this is my opinion. And after all, a movie is the Director's work of art and it is not for me to tell him how he should express his own vision. But why did I say in the beginning of my review that I understand why some rate this film a turkey? The long and short version is that movie audiences have been spoon-fed crap movies for decades. Formulaic action/comedy/romantic dramas that certainly entertains while you're in front of the screen but are as forgettable as they are hollow. So after decades on an unhealthy diet of rubbish, the standards have now been set at such a level that the average consumer no longer expect that the entertainment value in watching a movie should be more than a fleeting encounter or not just 90 minutes of killing time. I know that this will be hard for some to swallow but that's the raw truth. Watch this film while not expecting the standard fast-paced action, tear-dripping dramas and mindless one-liners but expect instead honest acting, good scripting and quality movie making and you'll find that there is great lasting entertainment value in this film.

The Brothers Bloom unwinds the story of two confidence men, an Asian sidekick and their rich but isolated mark. The Brothers Bloom is a charming off kilter dramedy about love.

Bloom (Adrien Brody) and his brother Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) work as confidence men with their explosive sidekick Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi). Tired of the life, Bloom tells his brother he's done. His brother talks him into one final con against Penelope Stamp (Rachael Weisz.) Penelope is a rich, eccentric shut-in who has yet to live. They take advantage of her loneliness in a scam meant to satisfy her need for adventure.

Rian Johnson sees the world in The Brothers Bloom the way an archer fish sees bugs. The archer fish hunts bugs above the water's surface by shooting water at the bug from below the water line. When looking up from underneath everything looks like it is one place but actually is in a slightly different place because water refracts light, changing the view for the submerged. The archer fish has to see things slightly cockeyed in order to get the archery right. Rian Johnson took a slightly crooked approach to get the cinematic physics just right.

Penelope Stamp is the Robin Hood of cinematic archer fish. Everything about her life, her development, and her emotions are delightfully off balance. She isn't brilliant but she had dedicated herself to learning how to do many strange and obscure things. It wasn't good enough for Rian Johnson to make Penelope interested in pinhole cameras (a camera made by putting a piece of photo paper in a light-tight container and poking a pin hole in it to expose the paper), it had to be a pin hole camera made of a watermelon. Johnson made sure Penelope is beautiful, but by casting Weisz, made her an interesting beauty.

It isn't just the nature of the characters, but also how they talk. Johnson commits so fully to this strange-ified world, that dialogue that would warrant a call to the loony bin in real life, seems natural in the world created in The Brothers Bloom.

The downside to making the characters fit so naturally in their world is jokes or emotions that might resonate deeply in our world sometimes fall a little flat in The Brothers Bloom. There are no gut busting jokes but occasionally the audience finds themselves chuckling. Cheeks will not be soaked in tears, but occasionally a frog may find way into the throats of the viewers.

The Brothers Bloom is an endearing quirk-filled film sure to whisk the audience away on a flying crime filled love carpet.

It's a very clever story with lots of good humour and great characters. It's very well written and the acting is great by everyone involved. The music is almost like another character because it tells the story as much as anyone in it.

I can see it not being for everyone but I would suggest anyone to at least give it a try. You may just be surprised.

What a wonderful surprise: Yesterday my sister calls me and tells me that there's a new film by the director of Brick, playing at the Mill Valley Film Festival. "I'm there!"

Even before we get in the theater, I know we're in for a different experience. A pair of toughs with metal detectors wave us down for hidden cameras and demand we turn our cell phones off. I'm surprised we didn't have to take our shoes off. Endgame Entertainment certainly doesn't want any leaks.

Once inside, the director, Rian Johnson, shows up just before the show starts, fresh off a flight from Abu Dhabi no less. He gives a short interview with Mark Fishkin (long time director of the festival), coming off as a very charming, self-effacing, funny and unpretentious fellow. I like him immediately. Hollywood has not corrupted him (yet).

Like Tarantino, Johnson has closely studied films and makes constant references and nods to The Classics, especially from the 40s and 50s. Unlike Tarantino, Johnson writes more original stories and has good taste and far gentler sensibilities. Obvious influences include: Wes Anderson, The Cohen Bros, Billy Wilder, John Huston.

The film itself? Instant classic. It's got all the elements you could want in a Hollywood-style movie: Charming characters, plot twists, tons of gags, an incredibly beautiful leading lady, sumptuous sets and locations, and an overall sense "gee-whiz-isn't-this-fun!"

And it's classy, too. It doesn't resort to needless, sensationalist sex and violence. The writer respects and honors the audience's intelligence, a all-too-rare occurrence these days.

You could tell that the actors had a blast with the sometimes subtle, sometimes slap-stick script, relishing their characters' quirks and foibles.

Overall, Brothers Bloom almost manages perfection. It's one fault lies in the resolution, the last 5 minutes where it's tone abruptly changes for darker. Without giving anything away, I feel that it was too heavy-handed, considering the generally light and wacky spirit that had predominated. The rest of the audience seemed to feel the same way, given the hushed mood as the credits rolled. If the producers have an alternate ending up their sleeves, I suggest they use it, even it has to be somewhat ambiguous.

Otherwise, I'm happy to contribute to the positive buzz. I really think Brothers Bloom could be a huge hit, even a timeless classic.

While the complete polar opposite of Brick, Johnson left the Dashiell Hammett prose and instead decided to delve into Wes Anderson territory. His The Brothers Bloom is a smart, witty adventure that takes some unexpected turns on its journey, never lets a detail fall into obscurity, and shows that if nothing else, he is a high caliber storyteller that should be around for a long time, not rehashing the same thing over and over again, but churning out refreshingly new and unique yarns to entertain and enlighten.

This tale is about a duo of con men—the best in the world—who reunite to do one last job. The younger, Bloom, has been playing the roles written by Stephen since they were children, always embodying the character so easily because it allowed him to be that which was not himself. After having fallen in love with too many marks, only to watch as they swindled and left them out to dry, Bloom is ready to quit and goes into self-imposed exile for three years until his partner finds him and rounds him up for one last big score. That score involves an eccentric shut-in, a woman who has never left her mansion and collects hobbies in order to entertain herself. A master with a deck of cards, juggler extraordinaire, harp player, and ping-pong champ, amongst other activities, there is little she does not know. This epileptic photographer is anxious to go off on an adventure and opening up to the Brothers Bloom is her perfect opportunity to do so, and their best chance at an easy million dollars.

What the men did not account for was her inexhaustible sense of enthusiasm and uncanny knack for the con game. Getting herself out of situations that the brothers can't even fathom and catching on to things so quickly, it's as though the mark becomes the professional, however, that is exactly Stephen's plan. She is a woman of intelligence, beauty, and unique without compare. Penelope is exactly the girl that Bloom has been looking for, but of course, she is discovered in one of Stephen's stories, accessible only until they must cut her loose. Yet, here comes the first "what if" of the film. What if our orchestrator has concocted this all for Bloom, a con on a grand scale in order to give him the life he always wanted? Bloom does say that Penelope feels just like one of Stephen's characters, but as he says in his defense, "the day I con you, is the day I die." We can only hope those words don't become prophetically true.

Johnson weaves an intricate shell game for his characters to roam through, crossing paths, discovering secrets, telling lies, and possibly conning each other. No one truly can tell what's real because not only are they unsure themselves, they know that every one of them has the potential to make-up an elaborate scheme to confuse and manipulate. Ruffalo is the true artist at this game, crudely drawing up a plan of attack in brainstorm bubble trees, thinly veiling his tales with inside jokes that a woman like Penelope (Weisz) is well-informed enough to see through, yet too naïve to put together. Straight from the start, a childhood narrated by Ricky Jay, these boys have gotten what they wanted and planned to perfection. Trained by the nefarious Diamond Dog, the men, (Brody portraying the other, Bloom), have eclipsed their master and took the world by storm. Along with their pyrotechnics guru Bang Bang, (Rinko Kikuchi) and a select cast of regular actors (Robbie Coltrane as the Belgian and a great string of cameos in a bar scene early on with Nora Zehetner, Noah Segan, and a blink-and-you'll-miss-him Joseph Gordon Levitt all showing some Brick love), the boys always get what they want. Ultimately attempting to create the perfect con—so well planned out and airtight that it happens all by itself—this con becomes reality and everyone gets exactly what they wanted.

The Brothers Bloom is told in a storybook fashion with bright colors and in-focus frames. Johnson jam-packs each composition with detail upon detail, never shying away from having an important plot point occur in the background, behind a conversation or action by our leads at the forefront. Most times they are jokes, lending some levity to the situation, one that becomes ever more dark as the charade goes along; unexpectedly dark, yet perfectly so. His use of humor infuses a heart into the proceedings and a true bond and relationship between Stephen and Bloom, two men that learn to hate each other at the end of a job, but always come to the others help when needed at the start. You must be diligent to the environment surrounding our actors, as it is just as much playing a role as they, helping a truly bold and intricate story be disguised as a simple one. Very slight on first appearance, it is the fact that it's so well told that makes it seem simpler than it really is. Without any bloated superfluities or weakly handled tangents, this tightly woven tapestry lives on its own at a breakneck speed, culminating with a spectacular final twist, an end that had been building up right from the start in that bourgeois playground during the boys' foster home placement. The Brothers Bloom look out for each other and never let the other down, no matter what damage it may cause to themselves. In the end, they do it all for their brother, anything they can to make the other's life a success.

Rachel's role, Penelope, in The Brothers Bloom is far from her Oscar-winning effort in The Constant Gardener, but she elevates her role putting herself on par with Tessa Quale. Weisz steals the show here in a fun, energetic, elaborate tale, The Brothers Bloom.

You'll be bouncing out of you seats watching this film. The script is absolutely hilarious, the director moves fast keeping the material alive, and the performances are classy and strong, but what guides The Brothers Bloom (besides Weisz, of course) is the explosive editing. It's hyperactive, but not obnoxious. It's cool , fun and hip.

Like I've stated before, Weisz steals the show. Her character Penelope is one of the most memorable and well-written characters in recent memory and Weisz is up to the challenge of taking on that role. She's the most interesting character so you immediately take a liking to her. She's so adorable as the bright, lovely character, but the great thing about her performance is underneath all that lies great sorrow.

The rest of the performances aren't too shabby either. Adrien Brody is very good and convincing but it over-towered, by the other more colorful characters. Mark Ruffalo is charming and a ridiculous ball of fun. Rinko Kikuchi has almost no lines, but still gets big laughs.

There are dazzling visuals including some gorgeous costumes and set designs. This is a very funny film. Top that with the amount of energy and entertainment throughout, you're in a for a fantastic thrill ride. Not to mention the glorious performances, especially form the magnificent Rachel Weisz. A delightful thrill ride and the best comedy of 2009; 9

I watched Rian Johnson's BRICK [2005] years ago and think it is a little bit overrated at that time, after watching this one, I feel quite satisfied with my judgement.

On the cover of the DVD it is written: A gorgeous, elaborate, beautifully shot, well-acted con movie of the highest order. I agree with most of it except the highest order part. In year 2008, what could we expect from a con man story? My only wishful thinking is that it would not be too banal. With Rian wrote his own script, maybe I am too harsh on it, however, I do love the first part of the film, then it arrived the worries, I was for fear that the bathos would come eventually.

Luckily the chemistry among four main characters are convincing, especially Rachel Weisz, she could literally light the screen and elevate the level of a film (another excellent example is AGORA [2009]) by her performance. Adrien and Rinko are stereotyped (sensitive man and mute girl respectively), especially the former, I do feel sympathy for Adrien's future career (PREDATORS [2010] is truly a great choice). As for Mark Ruffalo, I think he is a chameleon in Hollywood nowadays, and I wish he will take some evil roles, which will be very watchable with his innocent appearance.

I cannot say the script is corny but it's just OK, the problem lies in the imbalance of comedy and drama, which creates some uneasiness in the latter part. The trick is when one gets used with pitfalls, like Bloom in the film and the audience, one gets tired easily and just lost interest in the final "dramatic" ending, like death is always the only way to solve every problem. Another problem is that the intentional omission of several important clues (i.e. the plan with diamond dog, how Penelope manage to steal the book, etc.).

The cinematography is the highlight of the film, which saved it from anything but a potboiler, clearly it is not a masterpiece, but since it is a product of Hollywood leitmotivs, I would say it is enjoyable to watch it (at least for the first hour) and one word to Mr. Johnson, it is easy for a person to act smart, but it is not easy for a film.

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I have to say , this movie was certainly a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the crap that has been coming out of the big production houses.

If your looking for a different movie all together , with a good story line , great acting and lovely music score ( composed by Nathan Johnson , its perfectly matches the essence being portrayed in the movie) , this is it.

Adrien Brody , Mark Ruffalo and Rachel Weiz are just amazing through out the movie . The chemistry between Brody and Ruffalo is certainly a high light of the movie , they don't look like brothers but throughout the movie you hardly notice. Rachel Weiz is as always amazing. Love her character.

Of course i cannot go away without mentioning Rinko Kikuchi as Bang Bang ,hardly any dialogues in the movie apart from a few one liners ,including "FUCK ME " ( you cannot miss it :P ) she definitely steals the show as the quirky mysterious sidekick .

I am writing this right after watching the movie so my rating as of now is definitely 9, a must watch if your tired of the usual movies hitting the screens.

Recommended.

This film is about two brothers executing the ultimate scheme to con a rich attractive woman.

I never thought a Rachel Weisz movie could be dull and senseless as this, but "The Brothers Bloom" really takes that trophy. The plot is dull, and it fails to engage me at all. The pacing is so slow, that I felt so bored after the first twenty minutes. They could have at least cut fifteen minutes of that and not affected the story. It's just far too long, with so many uninteresting and unimportant scenes in between the useful scenes. I feel so sorry for Rinko Kikuchi's character, as she is delegated to a replaceable prop, which actually could be deleted entirely without affecting the story.

As a con movie it is too slow and winding, as a romantic comedy it lacks the uplifting factor. In short, "The Brothers Bloom" is a dull mess.

I love how Adrian Brody is in this and Poker Face which is also about cons in the first episode and the series is by Rian Johnson. A fairly goofy crafty chain of events, slightly awkward and plenty of entertainment Rachel Weiz is a goofball genius in this! Such great writing/directing from Rian as always I enjoy all his projects except his Star Wars:Last Jedi was pretty bad. Impressive how Rachel spent a month to learn the trick she did and I'm sure the unicycle must've been tough too she's quite talented. The Brothers Bloom is a great entertaining action comedy with some indie vibes mashed in well it's awesome!

This film is a self-indulgent bore. I'm not sure what it wants to be, beyond that. Is it a comedy? But then it would need to have at least one laugh in it somewhere. There seemed to be things which were supposed to be funny to the writer, but just weren't to the audience. Is it a crime drama? But then it would need to be remotely believable. Surely someone writing a movie about con artistry would acknowledge that much. But I didn't buy any of it. Is it a mystery? But then it wouldn't be so predictable. Is it a thoughtful meditation on some theme? Maybe. But I just couldn't get interested in it. It's too cutesy and "oh look at me" for that.

On top of it, the leads are two of the most annoying "actors" in Hollywood today. One of these two per film is one thing, but both of them? I couldn't get into the characters, because I kept seeing Mark and Adrian, Mark and Adrian. Ugh.

Anyway, 6/10 because I didn't feel totally insulted. Brick was insulting. This one I feel was a genuine attempt at making a film, that just failed miserably. Dare I hope for better with the next one?

I really liked the visual style of this movie and how it doesn't take itself seriously in a good way. It's a bright con film about two brothers that are good at what they do since a very young age, but the younger brother wants out. So his older brother convinces him to join him for one last con, with his assistant Bang Bang which fits her quite accurately. This isn't a serious or one of those dark movies about a con, so in another words it will leave a smile on your face. Plus I sort of cared what happens to the characters since they are mostly likable and has charisma, and found the scenario especially the visual style of this movie to be intriguing. It has a bit of the bromance, but mostly it's a romantic comedy with smugglers and should not be taken seriously in a good way of course. This movie really does have heart and a sense of adventure. Now I enjoyed Rian Johnson's past film "Brick" and I enjoyed this one as well, not as cool as "Brick" is, but still enjoyable. Especially how the main con, needs some fake cons to go with it along with it's witty plot. It isn't a waste of time or money to see this film. By the end of the film, with it's great ending I have to give this a...

8.2/10

Rian Johnson's debut feature 'Brick' was appealingly offbeat. It applied the style of film noir to an American high school, with the always-interesting and audacious young actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the young private eye. However intricate -- perhaps contrived -- the action was in Brick there was a constant sense of something being discovered that was already "there." There's much to like about Rian Johnson's sophomore effort, an imaginative, character-based caper movie called The Brothers Bloom. But it sags in the middle because, for all its charm, it feels like an artificial construct from first to last. Sometimes it just gets a little too clever for its own good.

In a jaunty opening prologue, the brothers are shown as cute little tykes in dark suits and bowler hats being rejected by one foster family after another due to their misbehavior, which early on drifts into larceny. They con a group of well-off schoolchildren into paying them for the privilege of entering a magical cave, and though they get caught and have to return the money, they profit from a kickback deal with a dry cleaning establishment because the kids get coated with mud in the cave. This whole sequence has a nice nostalgic-movie-flashback look, though the idea that children's clothing goes to the dry cleaners is far-fetched.

Brothers Bloom follows the "one last job" premise. Jumping ahead to the present, we find the brothers have become thirty-something veterans of many jointly executed con jobs. Mastermind Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) lures back disenchanted younger brother Bloom (Adrien Brody) for an absolutely final, this-is-it caper involving ransom to be paid by a lonely, bored, very rich young woman called Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz).

Johnson used his budget on explosions and locations and elaborate stagings of things. There are quick run-throughs of earlier cons, and in a brief speeded- up sequence the film shows us Penelope's dazzling accomplishment level at her various "hobbies." To while away her time she has mastered ping pong, half a dozen musical instruments, martial arts, tumbling, juggling, pinhole cameras, and so on. For some reason she can't drive worth a damn and keeps wrecking a stream of new yellow Lamborghinis. As the last one crashes, a truck is already driving up to deliver the replacement. Johnson is reveling in a budget that allows him to wreck Lamborghinis, but most of all delighting in the artificiality of the movie game.

Bloom and Penelope meet cute when the brothers arrange for her to run him over with her current yellow Lamborghini. Once ensnared she's further lured into an elaborate gambit that takes them from New Jersey to Prague to the Mediterranean to Mexico and back. The trick is they make her think she's in on the con, not aware that she's the one being fleeced. Wouldn't you know it though, Bloom falls for her and that gums up the works.

Wiesz, who is English, really gets into her role and enjoys not only seeming totally American but alternately remote and childishly enthusiastic, as the character of the spoiled, inexperienced Penelope requires. She's so good even when she's jumping for joy it doesn't feel overdone.

One of the greatest pleasures of a movie that comes to seem increasingly over-elaborate and self-involved is observing Adrien Brody's tall, lean, fashion model body enveloped in a succession of immaculately tailored suits. He may have signed up for this movie expecting something on the level of his previous project, Wes Anderson's ingenious, stylish 'Darjeeling Limited' where he was one of several eccentric brothers. Brody has an appealing, soulful presence. He does the soulful sad thing very well, but isn't capable of striking many other notes, which may explain why his soulful-sad wasting-away walk-through in Roman Polanski's The Pianist got him an Academy Award, but he's not lived up to the expectations that triumph aroused. The Pianist may be his one great role; but I like watching him model beautiful clothes.

Ruffalo is a funny kind of brother for Bloom, since he's always rumpled-looking. The best suits are wasted on him. So is the role of a con mastermind, because he is best at playing weak people. His high point may have been the no-account brother in Kenneth Lonergan's 'You Can Count on Me.' He's an energetic, supple actor who can do more different roles than Brody, but he somehow lacks the wiliness and energy of an ingenious grifter.

The film has an fanciful Sixties flavor, and is adorned with eccentric characters. The Curator (Robbie Coltrane) is book expert who's Belgian (or may not be), Diamond Dog (Maximillian Schell) is an old mentor, and Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi) is a nearly mute Asian pal whose specialty is nitroglycerin. Banig Bang's explosions get out of hand, though again as with the car crashes it's hard to tell if this serves the plot or is simply Johnson playing around with his bigger budget.

Apart from the pleasure of Brody's outfits and how well he wears them there is further eye candy in the film's intense color, especially its rich reds and blacks.

With its intricate plot replete with classic Hollywood and also literary overtones, Brothers Bloom might profit from re-watchings, if you'd care to sit through the movie again. I wouldn't, because Johnson doesn't' get the fundamental aspects of con jobs right. Watch Stephen Frears' classic 'The Grifters 'to see what I mean. You've got to have actors who project meanness, energy and smarts (Angelica Houston and John Cusack fill the bill; Brody and Ruffalo don't). And you've got to convey a sense or real mystery and danger; this mostly doesn't. It's only when the real starts to overwhelm the make-believe that Johnson's pervasive sense of romance takes hold and the real purpose of Stephen's contrivances -- to make his brother happy -- becomes touching.

I'dreally like to give this zero stars. Or less.

One of the most frustrating movies I have ever sat through. This film was awful. My granddaughter thought it was about little children because of the children in the beginning of the film, and the contrived "artful" dialog and camera work. Motivation is non-existent. The characters find lots of stage business to do on camera. Quirky music abounds. There is even a three legged cat that is supposed to get laughs. I like bright colors in color films and they are bright in this one. There are some things to look at. The grass is very green and the sky perfectly blue. If there are clouds in the heavens you can be sure that they will be cotton-puffy and very white. The con artists play cons on each other. But there is a subplot.An older brother has a lesson for the younger brother. He's been writing his brother's life since they were little. He wants his little brother to write his own life. So he tricks him. And then tricks him again. This is not the Socratic Method. The writer-director thinks that Spelling Ryan "Rian" is creative. That's the level of creativity that this movie aspires to.There's an Asian character who has no place in the move, but then none of the charactoers have any place in the movie.

The actors must have been conned into playing in this movie.

This may be my first review of a movie for IMDb. Can't remember if it is or it isn't but the point is I don't normally feel compelled to write about movies on this website. I had the pleasure of seeing this movie in advance at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles this February. I had not yet seen Rian Johnson's previous film Brick, so going in I had no biased opinion about the director or any expectations about what I was going to see. Basically what I saw was a movie that had a great story to tell. And it knew it, so it acted accordingly. I don't think going into detail about the events in the movie will do anyone any good, so I'll stick to a vague approach here. The movie has a similar vibe to Wes Anderson's work, but only in a purely superficial sense. The plot is of the "caper" mold and concerns two sibling con men and their virtually mute sidekick on a quest to trick rich people out of a lot of money. The actors are all first rate. Adrien Brody is essentially the lead, but Mark Ruffalo and Rinko Kikuchi round out the main group of characters. That is, until we meet the real star of this movie. Rachel Weisz has always been great in everything I've seen her in, but she commands the screen in this movie like I've never seen before. I'd put her on an early shortlist for Best Supporting Actress at next year's Oscars. Ultimately this movie made such a strong impression on me because of how well her character worked for me and the strong chemistry she had with Adrien Brody. I strongly recommend you avoid details about this movie in order to get swept up by this wonderful story, like I did. This is a must-see.

So I watched the Brothers Bloom from 2008, so was it good I say ehhh. It is indy fare and not touted as a "good film" but still got good reviews from most sources. I say this movie could have been good but embraced one plot twist too many. The whole point of the movie was one big complicated grift, but I say they took it too far. It was very well acted, including a very silent character named "Bang, Bang". There were also some very charming funny moments including the crash scores by the judges (If you ever see it you will know what I mean). But in the end I was left feeling exhausted keeping up with everything. Stream line the plot and get back to me Hollywood.

The Brothers Bloom is a well-made film, that shows that this director certainly has a lot of talent, but like his first film, Brick, this film is all a great big (quirky) exercise in style over substance.

Everything stays on the surface. The plot is so complicated and muddled that after awhile, you simply stop caring. None of the steps in the cons are ever explained, or even hinted at, beforehand, none are particularly clear while they're being pulled off, and certainly none are touched upon after they've been completed. I was given so little chance to invest in the movie emotionally, that by the end, I felt nothing. Sometimes a film can try and do too much, without landing any one thing with enough punch to have an affect.

This film is like the lovely young model, who is pleasing to look at for awhile, until you realize there's not much depth beneath the surface.

For a great con-man film, done by a master filmmaker, check out Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men.