Con-men films are often at times uninteresting and predictable. This is not one of those films. The Brothers Bloom is Rian Johnson’s follow up to his incredible directorial debut Brick, he has now crafted a welcome entry in the con-man genre and its for sure one of the year’s most delightful films.
The Brothers Bloom follows the con-men duo brothers Bloom (Adrein Brody) and Stephen (Mark Ruffalo). After pulling countless amounts of tricks in their life, Bloom wants to retire. After he runs off to live a new life, Stephen eventually catches up with him offering him one last con. After accepting, Bloom finds himself battling the love he has for the mark of the con, the wealthy and beautiful Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz). Soon we see Bloom pulled into a con game, that may or may not be the perfect con.
2008 was a great summer for the movies. Good entertainment was had, and not just dumb popcorn movies for once. We got The Dark Knight, Wall-E, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, and Pineapple Express. This summer is even going to be better. Although the start was a bit shaky with Wolverine, Star Trek kicks it off right this weekend. Here are the top 15 stand out films this summer:
15- Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen
Release Date- June 24th
Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen will inevitably offer no more then a lot of explosions and CGI, but with robots. While the first film wasn’t a landmark of any kind, and mostly dumb, it was fun none-the-less. The 147 minute running time for the new one is a bit bothersome, but long running times are fine when the story calls for it. My only question is do we really need to see robots fighting for that long? Its a Michael Bay movie, there will only be good action, nothing more. Even the length of the first movie was a problem, the last thirty minutes turned into nothing but repetitive action. Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen will without a doubt be a fun action movie, even if it extends its welcome.
American Violet is based on the true story of Dee Roberts who is a single mom who struggles to make ends meet in a small Texas town. When the cops arrest her in a drug sweep, she insists on her innocence. Refusing a plea bargain that would allow her to avoid jail time, Roberts decides stands up against a corrupt law enforcement and judicial system. The film stars Nicole Beharie (The Express), Tim Blake Nelson (O’ Brother Where Art Thou), Xzibit (Gridiron Gang), Will Patton (Remember the Titans), and Michael O’Keef (Michael Clayton). Anyway, I was lucky enough to have a sit down with the film’s star Nicole Beharie and the writer/producer Bill Haney. Here’s the result:
How did you get attached?
Nicole Beharie: That’s weird (laughs), I auditioned for the part. I got like a stack of scripts from my agency and I read a whole bunch of them, and quite frankly some of them were garbage. This one I was just moved by enough so that I actually had a dream about it. So I called my agency and asked if I could go in for the part, and when I went in I was moved by Bill and Tim, and what they said about there investment and how they had actually been to the town and they’ve been working on it for like six years. So I knew I wanted to have a part in this regardless if I played the main character or whoever. I wanted to have a part in it, because I thought it was important and then from there I got the part (laughs) which is kind of amazing.
Summit has released a new trailer for Rian Johnson’s The Brothers Bloom, his next film after the 2006 indie sensation Brick. It stars Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz and Adrien Brody. Check it out below or in HD on YouTube:
Plot: The Brothers Bloom (Brody and Ruffalo) are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they’ve decided to take on one last job – showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.
Remember that time when you were sitting around talking movies with a few friends, and then suddenly that movie comes into the dialogue? You know, that movie. It’s the movie that the rest of your cohorts begin to laud or defame as either a “cinematic milestone” or “hugely overrated,” while you sit there, clueless, and soak up their opinions because you’re supposed to have seen it. Well no worries, we’ve all got that movie, if not more, and what follows is a dedication to those movie buffs who are a bit too proud to admit that they’re not as up on the coveted classic film canon as most would expect. On the other hand, you could just be one of many average film goers who couldn’t care less what movie snobs said if you hadn’t seen a film, and that’s just peachy too.
In no particular order:
Citizen Kane (1941): First off, I’ll admit that this film’s presence on this list is entirely dependent on the kind of film goer you are. One might not lie about having seen this film if attending (or having attended) film school, or any film class for that matter, simply because there’s an extremely high probability that they’ll wind up seeing it in that environment at some point or another. However, given the film’s legendary status among most other movie buffs, there also exists a rather high probability that anyone who hasn’t seen it wouldn’t like to admit otherwise.
I’m willing to bet money you can’t find a person that agrees with all the Best Picture wins in the last 10 years, even 5 years. Everyone has favorite films each year that don’t win, let alone get recognized (see Children of Men, The Third Man, Vertigo). Then there are films fortunate enough to get nominated but couldn’t secure a win. These are not snubs in all cases, sometimes the winners are well deserved (see The Godfather Part II, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and No Country For Old Men). Here are the Top 25 Best Picture Nominees That Didn’t Win:
25. There Will Be Blood (2007) (nominated) - No Country For Old Men (winner)
Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of an Upton Sinclair novel about a greedy oil prospector does more than just retell the story. It paints a sprawling, vivid image with much credit going to Daniel Day-Lewis and his flawless performance.
UPDATE: The list below was written in January of 2009. I suggest checking out our new list, 65 Must See Movies of 2010. Click the image below to see:
So 2008 is over, come on, it’s time to move on. Here are 50 great reasons to go to the theater this year:
January
My Bloody Valentine 3-D (Jan 16th)
Synopsis: After surviving a fatal accident that claimed the lives of five of men in a mine shaft, Harry Warden performed a horrific killing spree on Valentines night in the town of Harmony, killing 22 people before he was shot to death.
Why You Should See It: Early screening reports have said there is more sex, limbs, and buckets of blood than one can handle. The 3-D gimmick is the only reason this is on my list. If implemented right it should be a great time at the movies.
Cool Hand Luke Butch Cassidy and the Sundance KidNewman – rebel with cause Young Newman
After over 50 years on the silver screen, beloved actor Paul Newman died at the age of 83. Giving us such iconic roles as Luke Jackson from “Cool Hand Luke” and Butch Cassidy from “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” Newman brought an emotional depth to the “Hollywood leading man,” picking up where predecessors, like Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant, left off. Breaking into the public eye with his performance as criminal-turned-boxer Rocky Graziano in Robert Wise’s biopic “Somebody Up There Likes Me,” Newman sported his tortured charisma and attracted the attention of Hollywood big shots. The young actor followed up the breakout role playing one of the Twentieth-Century’s great conflicted heroes, that of Brick from Tennesee Williams’ “Cat On a Hot Tin Roof.” Newman garnered his first Oscar nom for the role (Best Actor), earning 9 more nominations (and one win for “The Color of Money”) throughout his film career. Newman soon became the “leading man of leading man,” defining, and redefining, the term, playing naive poolhand Eddie Felson in “The Hustler,” the cocky farmer’s son Hud Bannon in “Hud” and conflicted playboy Lew Harper in “Harper” within five years of eachother. All of these roles, classic in their own right, came together in Luke Jackson, perhaps Newman’s great character and most impressive performance.
PAUL NEWMAN ESSENTIALS
- The Hustler (1961) - Hud (1963) - Cool Hand Luke (1967) - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - The Sting (1973) - Slap Shot (1977) - The Verdict (1982) - The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) - Road to Perdition (2002) - Empire Falls (2005)
