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Today’s quick review: The Brothers Bloom. Bloom and Stephen were once a troublesome pair of brothers in the foster care system. When Stephen noticed that his shy brother was having a hard time getting what he wanted out of life, he began to dream up elaborate cons for Bloom to play a part in. The cons worked: not only did they fool their targets, but they fooled Bloom as well, offering him a fleeting happiness that he could not find otherwise. Thus began the successful careers of the duo of lifelong con artists. Now, as an adult, Bloom (Adrien Brody) finds himself living a life without authenticity. Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) promises him that after one last con, Bloom can walk away from the game forever. Their target is Penelope (Rachel Weisz), a wealthy and charming shut-in who “collects” hobbies and has little in the way of common sense. As their convoluted con takes them all the way around Europe, Bloom begins to fall for Penelope. Soon he must decide whether his feelings are genuine or just another one of Stephen’s cons, and whether the written life can have any meaning.

The Brothers Bloom sets out to explore the boundary between reality and fiction and accomplishes this stunningly. As the con grows more complex, so does the question of how much of it was scripted. Stephen’s clear motive of making his brother happy supports the hypothesis that everything was planned, but there are twists in the con’s execution that even Stephen could not have seen coming. Eventually, the line between written and unwritten blurs to the point where the audience must draw its own conclusions: Has Bloom finally stumbled into an unwritten life or, as Penelope says, “only a badly written one”?

The Brothers Bloom mixes literary themes with light comedy, a dash of drama, and heaps of style to produce a unique gem of a movie. The film has immense replay value. Each viewing reveals a little bit more: unnoticed background gags, extra bits of foreshadowing, or hidden depths to the movie’s themes. The actors fit the tone of the world perfectly and vividly bring the script to life. Adrien Brody plays a sullen, passive Bloom who is gradually drawn out of his shell by Penelope. Rachel Weisz brings a sense of innocence and adventure to Penelope that Bloom badly needs. Behind it all is Stephen, his glib, outgoing brother. Mark Ruffalo plays the part with charm and nuance, a self-interested con man who nonetheless cares deeply for his brother. The trio are accompanied on their adventures by Bang Bang, the brothers’ mute and sarcastic assistant. Rinko Kikuchi does an excellent job with the role, and her peculiar activities and playful jabs at the brothers add yet another layer of subtle comedy to the film.

The execution of the film is just as strong as its acting and writing. The direction emphasizes the light-hearted comedy of the film while deepening its dramatic moments. The camera lingers on the little moments of absurdity that permeate the brothers’ lives, but the consistent tone of the universe allows the movie to be serious when it needs to be. The upbeat jazz soundtrack gives the movie extraordinary flavor. Roaring trumpet, playful clarinet, and rollicking snare drum herald the brothers’ glorious cons, while a sweet theme for piano and harp underscores the movie’s more sentimental moments.

Even the smallest details of the movie add to its style and charm. Bloom pantomimes blowing his brains out, then heads to the roof for some air, where a large piece of graffiti depicts a man with two fingers to his head; his reflection is interrupted by a loud bang as Stephen opens the door to join him on the roof. In another scene, Penelope describes her insulated childhood and how she learned to “cheat” while showing off a card trick, pulling four aces and four queens off a shuffled deck. In yet another scene, Stephen nearly blows the entire con by slipping in a too-cute literary allusion that Penelope catches. Every scene has details like this, layers of symbolism, humor, or coincidence, that make The Brothers Bloom a delight to watch. The brothers are every bit as stylish as con artists should be, yet every bit as fallible as characters in a comedy need to be.

The Brothers Bloom is a phenomenal film with a fun, stylish tone and a deep, rewarding story. However, stylized as it is, the movie is bound to be hit or miss. Those who enjoy its style will delight in all its little details, while those less enamored of it will find the film to be a waste of time. Those looking for just a comedy may also be disappointed by the movie’s dramatic elements. While justified by the story, the more serious moments of the movie do put a damper on the otherwise light-hearted tone. The ambiguities of the plot may be another turnoff. Although the ending is not a cliffhanger, not every question receives a concrete answer, and the audience must supply its own resolution by filling in the gaps.

But for those who like their comedies with a bit of depth, who like their movies with a bit of style, and who enjoy piecing together puzzles, The Brothers Bloom is an excellent choice. The themes about storytelling, the connections between meta-levels of the story, and the subtle gags and symbolism provide ample intellectual meat for the observant viewer, while the wry comedy, upbeat style, and sweet romance provide plenty of sentiment for the heart as well. Give it a watch, and decide for yourself whether there really is such a thing as an unwritten life and whether, in the end, the question really matters. 6.9 out of 10 on IMDB.

Today’s quick review: Primal Fear.  Richard Gere stars as a hotshot defense attorney who takes on the case of an altar boy, played by a young Edward Norton, who is accused of murdering a priest.  The trial unearths a number of secrets in the priest’s life, including shady real estate deals, but Gere is fighting an uphill battle against the physical evidence of the case.  What’s more, his simple, stuttering client is hiding a few secrets of his own.  Primal Fear is an excellent legal drama that goes heavy on plot twists and character development.  The revelations are fast-paced and hard-hitting, alleviating some of the drag typical in legal dramas.  The movie is, to a large degree, still limited by its genre: the case is the beginning and the end of the movie, and the world outside of it is secondary.  Within these boundaries, Primal Fear manages to set up two very compelling main characters.  Edward Norton delivers a jaw-dropping performance as a sweet defendant who is in over his head, while Richard Gere works through all the stages of an arrogant lawyer trying to convince both the jury and himself that his client is innocent.  It should be noted that the details of the case are far less interesting than the way they play out in the trial.  The movie derives its strength from its plot twists and characters, not the substance of the case or the richness of the universe.  Primal Fear is well worth a watch for anyone who enjoys high tension, twisting plotlines and strong acting, even those who normally dislike legal dramas.  When you are looking for something tense and heavy, give Primal Fear a shot.  7.7 out of 10 on IMDB.

Today’s quick review: 2 Guns. Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg star as a pair of criminals whose dealings with a Mexican drug lord lead them to rob a bank. But when the money lands them in hot water, and soon they find themselves hunted by both the drug lord and the U.S. government. 2 Guns is an action comedy that relies on a variant of the buddy formula for its humor. At various points in the movie, Washington and Wahlberg are close friends, rivals, or mortal enemies, but their repartee is always entertaining. Their characters are vivid and dynamic, each prone to petty gamesmanship and self-aggrandizement but competent in a pinch. The actors handle their roles with confidence and charm, and their interactions are the greatest strength of the movie.

The plot has several major twists that keep the action moving. The twists add unpredictability but little in the way of depth: despite its detours, the plot can still be recognized as a fairly typical action movie plot. Likewise the action consists of standard gunplay with only a few unusual moments. Overall, 2 Guns is standard action movie fare with a slightly more intricate plot and a uniquely strong duo of lead characters. Watch when you’re in the mood for an action movie with a little something extra in the humor department. 6.7 out of 10 on IMDB.

Today’s quick review: Push. Chris Evans stars as Nick, a down-on-his-luck telekinetic hiding out in Hong Kong from a government agency called Division that specializes in paranormal research. His life gets thrown into chaos when Cassie, a precognitive girl played by Dakota Fanning, shows up with the claim that their fates are bound together. The reappearance of Chris’s ex-girlfriend, an escapee from Division and the sole survivor of its power-augmentation experiments, sets both Division and a Hong Kong crime family on their trail. The outmatched trio must extricate themselves from an ever-tightening web of precognitive dead ends before they find themselves outwitted and trapped.

Push came out at the beginning of the modern superhero craze and was overshadowed by both the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Jumper the previous year. However, Push is a diamond in the rough, containing both a well-structured world of underground superpowers and one of the most elaborate precognition-based plotlines that has appeared in a movie. Unlike other entries into the genre, Push defines its superpowers rather closely. Each of the ten or so superpowers that appears in the movie falls into a known category and has a colloquial name for its practitioners: Mover, Shade, Stitch, Pusher, etc. Powers are a struggle to master, especially for poor Nick, and misapplication of them can land a person in hot water. But when they are applied correctly, they are glorious. Nearly every main power in Push gets used and abused in all the ways the audience could hope for, from levitating guns to illusory money.

The plot revolves heavily around a precognitive trap that the main characters fall into. As a Watcher, Cassie has reliable but uninformative visions of the future. When she predicts death for Nick and herself, that is what will happen unless they can find a way to change it. However, she is not the only Watcher, and every conscious decision the group makes can be tracked by others. This puts the group in a near-hopeless situation, and their only reprieve is the services of a tracking- and precognition-blocking Shade.

The result is a tense thriller with an exceedingly complicated plot. Just understanding who knows what, what can be changed, and what is predestined requires a good deal of concentration on a first watching. This makes Push somewhat inaccessible at first but quite rewarding for those who are willing to stick it out. Even the small portion of the world shown in the story is rich with color, and the plot forms a very clever puzzle whose pieces are interacting superpowers and competing plans. Push is a tense and creative superpowered thriller…if you can follow it. Watch it if you’re looking for a mentally challenging movie with high stakes and flashy action. 6.1 out of 10 on IMDB.

Today’s quick review: The Boondock Saints. Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus star as a pair of Irish brothers in Boston who take up vigilantism after surviving a violent encounter with a couple of thugs. With the help of their friend, a low-level criminal with inside information, they hunt down and kill the worst members of the mob. While their crusade earns the approval of the public, it also catches the attention of the authorities, and an eccentric FBI forensic specialist played by Willem Dafoe is assigned to their case. As law enforcement closes its noose and the mob gears up for war, the brothers’ journey nears its end.

The Boondock Saints is a clever, engrossing thriller that has earned its reputation as a cult classic. The quality of its direction can be seen in its fight scenes. The fights are shown after the fact, as Dafoe examines the crime scenes to piece together what happened. His reconstructions blend with flashbacks to the actual fights in a highly satisfying cinematic conceit. The violence in the movie hews closer to the crime genre than the action genre. Despite a fair amount of gunplay and a few brutal melee fights, the focus is on the presentation of the fights and their ramifications, not stunts or spectacle.

Appropriately, the movie walks the line between serious and comedic. Violence and high stakes keep the movie gritty and grounded, but the world around the brothers retains a slightly surreal quality to it, from Dafoe’s flamboyant style to the brothers’ amateurish tactics. The brothers’ success is shown as a result of ballsiness and good luck more than planning or good sense, and the intersection between comic book vigilantism and crime movie realism leads to a very unique tone. While the movie shows its low budget in places, the storytelling is phenomenal, and the overall blend of elements is something you won’t find anywhere else. The Boondock Saints is a crime classic with a quirky tone, smart direction, and satisfying action. Give it a watch if any of this sounds appealing to you. 7.9 out of 10 on IMDB.

Today’s quick review: Howl’s Moving Castle. Howl’s Moving Castle is considered one of the best works from Hayao Miyazaki, a famed Japanese animation director whose films are known for their charm, creativity, and attention to detail. Howl’s Moving Castle tells the tale of Sophie, a young and levelheaded hatmaker who runs afoul of a witch and is cursed to become an old woman. Unable to speak of the curse, she goes to seek the aid of the capricious wizard Howl, who lives in a castle that walks about the wilderness on giant mechanical legs. While Howl does not immediately help her, he does let her stay in the castle as his maid, and she becomes part of a small family: Howl’s captive fire demon, his young apprentice, and a helpful turnip-headed scarecrow who followed Sophie to the castle. As she delves deeper into Howl’s life, she finds that the powerful wizard is harboring secrets of his own.

Howl’s Moving Castle is a strange and interesting movie. The magic that permeates it gives the movie a sense of wonder and mystery while allowing Miyazaki’s imagination to frolic on the screen. From a scarecrow hopping along on its post to a door that opens on four different locations to the enormous walking castle itself, the movie is filled with quirky visuals and creative portrayals of magic. At the same time, the centrality of magic to the plot introduces several holes that wouldn’t exist otherwise. The rules of magic are only explained as they are encountered, making it very difficult to predict the effects of characters’ actions. Furthermore, some rules aren’t explained fully, so that the events that do happen are difficult to understand.

The heart of the movie involves the relationship between Howl and Sophie. Sophie brings kindness and responsibility into Howl’s life and sets about cleaning up both his house and his soul with common sense and diligence. Howl, for all his power, has been running from his obligations, and his inability to face them is eating away at him inside. Toss in a curse or three, a kingdom waging a pointless and destructive war using steam-powered airships, and a few magical adversaries, and you’ve got a rich fantasy in the classic Miyazaki style. The aforementioned confusion regarding the rules of magic in the universe undermines a few key moments in the plot, but overall Howl’s Moving Castle is an excellent movie with gorgeous animation, a richly-textured world, and traces of real insight into the human heart. Give it a watch if you’re looking for top-notch animation with a lot of magic. 8.2 out of 10 on IMDB.

Today’s quick review: K-PAX.  Kevin Spacey stars as Prot, a man who appears one day in Grand Central Station, claiming to be an alien from the planet K-PAX.  After a run-in with the police, he is taken to a psychiatric hospital.  There Dr. Powell (Jeff Bridges), a psychiatrist at the hospital, attempts to cure his delusion, only to learn that Prot’s extraordinary claim may have basis in reality.  Despite the somewhat far-fetched premise, K-PAX is a closely personal emotional drama.  Prot brings hope to the patients of the hospital, while Dr. Powell’s interactions with him develop from professional interest to curiosity to deep personal friendship.  But Prot is harboring secrets, and Dr. Powell’s investigation only deepens the mystery.  K-PAX is a subdued, focused, and deftly handled movie.  While uplifting in places, it journeys through the full spectrum of human emotion, from joy and wonder to sorrow and grief, and can be quite heavy at times.  Spacey and Bridges both deliver excellent performances.  The mystery at the heart of the movie is played very well: K-PAX manages to be quality science fiction even when it’s unclear whether it technically qualifies.  Give it a watch if you’re in the mood for a personal drama with a unique premise, strong acting, and a worthwhile mystery.  7.4 out of 10 on IMDB.

Today’s quick review: Ultraviolet. In the future, a draconian government fights with a vampire mob family for control of a boy who could end the vampires once and for all. Violet (Milla Jovovich), a vampire with a conscience, finds herself caught in the middle and must use her enhanced combat abilities to fight her way out. Ultraviolet can best be described as a mid-2000s sci-fi action flick. Just about every aspect of the movie follows directly from this premise. The plot should seem familiar, as it is cobbled together from bits and pieces of other 2000s sci-fi action flicks. The dystopian government and rebellion are lifted from Equilibrium and Aeon Flux, while the trendy sci-fi vampires and the genetic messiah are taken from Underworld. The setting is the bare minimum needed to support the plot: a shiny city lovingly rendered in mid-2000s CGI.

The main draw of Ultraviolet is its action, and while its action does not excel, it does manage to satisfy and even innovate in a few places. Violet’s “hyperdimensional pockets” let her pull weapons and ammo out of thin air, a fun nod to video game inventory systems. The combat is a mixture of swords, guns, and kicks, with plenty of government troops and lesser vampires for Violet to tear her way through. Although it’s nothing to write home about, the action is enough to justify the movie’s existence and make Ultraviolet a serviceable popcorn film. Watch it if you’re in the mood for fun sci-fi action with little plot and dated graphics. Skip it if you’re looking for a deeper or more polished movie in the genre. 4.4 out of 10 on IMDB.

Today’s quick review: The Rescuers Down Under. Cody, a boy living in the Australian outback, finds and befriends a golden eagle, only to be kidnapped by McLeach (George C. Scott), a wicked poacher who wants to know the location of the eagle’s nest. His plight makes it to the ears of the Rescue Aid Society, an international organization of mice based out of New York, who dispatch two of their best agents, Bernard (Bob Newhart) and Bianca (Eva Gabor), to help the boy. Flying out to Australia aboard an albatross (John Candy), Bernard and Bianca face the dangers of the outback and the difficult task of finding the boy in the enormous wilderness.

The Rescuers Down Under is one of Disney’s hidden gems. The sequel to The Rescuers, The Rescuers Down Under shows a marked improvement in production quality in everything from its art to its sound mixing. Though not a musical, it has a gorgeous soundtrack that has stuck with me since childhood. The animation has all the charm and attention to detail that you would expect in a Disney film, but it is dwarfed by the quality of the backgrounds. The painted vistas of the Australian outback, seen in several long shots, are something not seen in any other Disney film. The rest of the art descends gracefully down to the cartoonish style of the main characters, making stops along the way for the graceful, realistic eagle and some of the other non-anthropomorphic wildlife. Though not a musical, the film has an exquisite soundtrack that has stuck with me since childhood. The writing is charming and entertaining but not as strong as Disney’s best. The script, however, is read by a stellar set of voice actors, giving the film life and personality. The world also has an excellent sense of scope, from the elaborate hidden world of the mice, where single-pea soup is served in thimbles, to the vast and sprawling wilds of Australia. While it lacks the musical numbers and intricate script of some of Disney’s more iconic works, the Rescuers Down Under is an enjoyable slice of childhood. Watch it if you’re looking for a Disney fix but feel like you’ve already seen it all. 6.9 out of 10 on IMDB.

Today’s quick review: Real Steel. In the near future, Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), a down-on-his-luck robot boxing operator, discovers that he has a preteen son (Dakota Goyo) that he never wanted. Finding a common interest in robot boxing, the two work together to restore Charlie’s flagging career. Real Steel succeeds on several levels. Hugh Jackman delivers a strong performance as a disinterested father just enough redeeming qualities to make the character likable. Dakota Goyo plays off him well, with the right balance of innocence and jadedness, and their emotional arc is the backbone of the movie. The boxing itself is fast-paced and visceral. The punches are weighty, and the robots feel more than capable of taking and delivering superhuman beatings. The fight locations greatly emphasize the sense of excitement that comes with the matches. From the former lion habitat at an abandoned zoo to a towering atrium lined with spectator-filled balconies, the arenas in Real Steel give the impression that robot boxing is an irrepressible force that crops up wherever there is a place to fight. The story is fairly typical as both a boxing story and a father-son story, but the combination of the two, along with the sci-fi elements and the movie’s capable direction, is more than satisfactory. Overall, Real Steel delivers exactly what it promises: plenty of robot action wrapped around a strong emotional core. Every aspect of it is well-executed, and I strongly recommend giving it a watch. 7.1 out of 10 on IMDB.