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Capone enjoys the sweet con of THE BROTHERS BLOOM!!!
Hey, folks. Capone in Chicago here.
Movies about "the big con" are so tough to get right, nearly impossible in my estimation. For many years after seeing THE STING, I didn't think any filmmaker could ever make a decent film about con artists, let along a better one that that masterpiece. But then David Mamet's HOUSE OF GAMES came along, and I actually had to watch that one three times just to make certain my initial reactions were sound. Mamet combined a low-key, but still wildly interesting bit of trickery and combined it with dialogue that like it was written by aliens who had managed to capture human speech patterns to perfection without filtering that knowledge through a screenwriting/playwriting class. I treasure both of those films, as well as the other films in Mamet's con collection, including THE SPANISH PRISONER. But so few of these kinds of films work because you're always looking for the old switcheroo. Still, every so often, a stray film bursts through and surprises. Look at the phenomenal Argentina film NINE QUEENS; hell, you could even look to Tony Gilroy's DUPLICITY from a few weeks ago. Or you find works like THE GRIFTERS or MATCHSTICK MEN, which don't feature particularly great cons, but the characters are so interesting that it makes up for any shortcomings in the story. Then we have OCEAN'S ELEVEN, TWELVE, and THIRTEEN, which kind of exits in a glam world of their own.
What writer-director Rian Johnson has done with his second film THE BROTHERS BLOOM (after the astonishing high school noir BRICK) has created a world both the con and the characters are equally fascinating, so much so that you're not always sure where one ends and the other begins. Is Adrian Brody's Bloom really all that interesting a guy, or is that part of a character that he must play to pull off a major con concocted and sketched out by his brother Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) to rip off insanely rich heiress Penelope (Rachel Weisz, who has never been better)? Johnson doesn't just want to make a bait-and-switch heist film, or a great character study movie (he does both, by the way), but he also wants to comment on the practice of being someone you are not all the time. When I first saw the film, I thought it was his sly way of poking fun at actors who often say they lose themselves in a role. Well, what if that's true? What if Bloom gets so involved in the false lives he's portraying that he completely forgets what it's like to live an unscripted life? Or does such a life even exist?
As much fun and adventure as these three seem to have pulling off cons together all over the world (with the help of a mute Japanese explosives expert named Bang Bang (Oscar-nominee Rinko Kikuchi from BABEL). As if THE BROTHERS BLOOM weren't enough of a good thing, the film also is a melancholy love story between Bloom and Penelope. Weisz plays Penelope as a woman without much of an identity either. She is a collector of other people's hobbies. She discovers a new hobby, learns it, perfects it, grows bored with it, and moves on. She lives in the castle-like mansion that seems more like a prison for a woman who seems capable of passion but rarely lets it free. Her character manages to be funny and sad at the same time, and I spent most of the film not only wanted to stare at her constantly but also give her a big hug.
But much like BRICK, what impressed me most about THE BROTHERS BLOOM was the writing. Taking absolutely nothing away from Johnson's mood-inspiring visuals, but this script feels like it took years to write and more years to polish and perfect. While the dialogue is completely different than the Chandler-esque style of BRICK, Johnson has crafted a work that is at various times breezy, emotional, tricky, passionate, terrifying and funny--sometimes all in the same scene. Brody's performance as Bloom seems ripped from Russian literature, filtered through a Marx Brothers movie. As the film progresses, the con aimed at Penelope closes in, but we assume that Bloom's feelings for her will overtake the brothers' plan to steal her money. And thus the drama kicks in and keeps us guessing long past the point where we think we've figured it out. Key supporting performances from Robbie Coltrane and Maximilian Schell just make a great experience even better, without feeling like stunt casting. Schell is particularly stellar and reminds us that he can still be one menacing son of a bitch when he wants to be. In case you couldn't tell, I loved this movie because it does something that few films in any given year accomplish--it took me to a place and told a story that I have never been to or seen before on the big screen. It sounds so simple, yet so few filmmakers make it happen. The day Johnson shows the slightly signs of being derivative will indeed be a sad day for movie lovers. Until that day--and that day may never come--we'll just have to endure unique and stunning works of art like THE BROTHERS BLOOM.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
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One of the most underrated movies I've seen. Looking forward to seeing this.
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...but it sure smells good!
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Hell Yea!!
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It has received really negative ratings from trustworthy critics. I like brick too, but just because the producers or directors or writers of the movie were willing to give you the time of day doesn't
mean you owe them a glowing write up. Aicn writers are either gullible and/or industry tools.
You have been pushing the brothers bloom on this site since rumors of it first emerged and you're still doing it despite the fact generally mediocre reception, the same way you have done with dozens of other films where the creators bring you on board, send you a poster, condescend to give you a poster. This is why your site has lost all credibility.
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. . . til they saw the trailer and TV ads? It looks like yet another hipster indi flick that looks way too Wes Anderson-inspired. I bet there's a whimsical poster out there for it in the style of a childlike illustration. Brick is the only positive thought I have going into this.
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Looks like that to me.
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Seriously, if you've already accepted the opinions of reviews you've read before coming here, why are you even bothering to read this one, and then post your worthless thoughts in it? If some assclown staff writer for the BrokeBack Daily has already said this film is "dern wacky" and you've taken that as the final verdict, then why exactly are you even here?
On the other hand, the first umpteen minutes of the movie are online, and there about 5 different trailers available. Why not look at those and form your OWN opinion? Ever consider the possibility that of all the on-set visits that AICN gets for movies, that some of those movies might actually be good?
I've loved everything I've seen and heard about this movie and cannot wait for its wide release. The fact that AICN got heaps of access to it doesn't automatically predispose me to hate it.
Maybe this just isn't the site for you. Stick to BrokeBack Daily - they gots coupons on the back page for Casey's General store - 10% off peperroni pizza with a purchase of 5 gallons of premium gasoline. SHOOO WEEEE!
you moron. -
I'm not particularly excited for this, even though i generally like the work of Weisz, Brody and ... the other guy, you know, from Zodiac. But i have to agree it looks very Wes Anderson inspired and i didn't think Brick was THAT awesome to be honest. It had great parts, but a lot of it was pretty silly as well. What with the kid from Mars Attacks being the drug kindpin and so on. I'll catch this when it's available for download.
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I agree with those who have pointed out that it looks, feels like a Wes Anderson flick - too fixated on look and mood and way more pleased with itself than it ought to be. It isn't enough to be clever or culturally astute. One of the reason's Brick was so well received was it was though highly stylized and cleverly scripted, it never veered from the real focus - the plot.
Plotless indies are a plague - especially this bullshit "mumblecore" movement. -
Good work fella - thats one of the better slag-offs i've heard recently :)
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What films fall under the "mumblecore" movement?
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of course the real meat of the film isn't going to be found is these formula bastards.
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It would be nice if someone would actually proof-read these articles before they are posted. The sentence fragments, typos, and mistakes seriously detracted from what seemed like a relatively interesting review.
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Yes it had a Wes Anderson sensibility, in that Wes Anderson gets a great deal of his stylistic sensibilities from other directors. Brothers Bloom was a smart funny touching movie. I didn't like Brick, but i look forward to Rian's next movie.
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So I let my friend and his wife borrow my copy of The Spanish Prisoner. A few days later I got it back. "What did you think?" I asked. "That was the dumbest movie ever," he said. "Steve Martin just kept giving the guy stuff and was all nice to him all the time. We shut it off like halfway through, it was so stupid." Unbelieveable.
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which critics are giving negative reviews? all i've read is good ones.
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May 22, 2009 12:03:24 PM CDT
This looks like great fun! Remember Dirty Rotten Scoundrels?
by doctorzoidberg
Great for a summertime laugh.
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I agree that Anderson gets a great deal of his stylistic sensibilities from other directors. I am a big fan of his work. What i can't stand is when directors get their stylistic sensibilities exclusively from him. Why would i watch a Wes Anderson movie not made by Wes Anderson? Anyways, i haven't seen enough of this to really judge if it is really the way it's presented in the trailer, so time will tell...
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A wonderful, underrated film.
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netflix that!!!
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check out rotten tomatoes -
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/brothers_bloom/?critic=creamcrop
It is running a 45% or something for the cream of the crop. The worst review I've seen was in Time Out New York (whose reviewers usually like this kind of movie) who gave it 1 out of 5 stars. I doubt it is that bad, but the consensus so far has been mediocre at best. I live in NYC so I don't know if it is in general release yet. -
The movie actually looks pretty decent from the little I've seen in trailers and the little I've heard of it. There is one problem, however. Who the hell decided that Brick was a great film? I know Ebert loved it and critics fell all over themselves trying to hug it, but it really wasn;t that good. Original? Yes, but gimmicky. I don't mind gimmicks like the dialogue of Brick and they serve to enhance a well written story. That is the problem I have with Brick. I thought the story was lousy, therefore, the dialogue came off as gimmicky to me. Am I in the minority here? As far as con movies go, I can't remember the title but there was a decent one a few years ago with John C. Reilly and Diego Luna, and I always considered the Color of Money to be a con movie. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is about as good as it gets with Comedy con movies. The Spanish Prisoner is much better than the well beaten path plot of House of Games. Anyway, that's my two cents
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Some people just can't dig his writing, but I think most of Mamet's movies are. Glen Gary Glen Ross is classic - but then people tend to agree on that one. Spartan's dialogue was very cool.
Homicide, a very little known Mamet flick (I rarely meet someone who has seen this and it never seems to come up on cable) is brilliant, understated and devastating in the final act.
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would it really pain this site so much to get a copy editor? It normally doesn't bother me so much, but this otherwise well-written and cogent review of a movie I'm really looking forward to is just so riddled with misspellings and grammatical mistakes that it just about made my eyes bleed.
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Dude - I love your responses; you are a true dumbass - first "Brokeback Daily"? WTF are you talking about? I mentioned in a previous post (when I was still looking forward to this movie) that "Time Out New York" - not "Out" - gave it one star; is this where your confusion comes from or are you saying New York City is gay? Or are you just saying that people who don't agree with you are gay? Or people who live in small towns (Casey's General Store?) are gay? I'm really not clear what you are trying to get at with all that.
Also - as I've mentioned, I really liked brick, and was sucked in by Harry's hype on this, but the reviews suck, and the clips, which I've checked out, don't really do it for me. Looks like, as someone else pointed out, Darjeeling Ltd. - rambling stylistized mess. Most of the critics I've read (again, check out rotten tomatoes - USA Today loved it, so perhaps you will too) seem to support this appraisal.
I think you are seeing the same sophomore slump that hits many cool young film makers - they get too clever for their own good and create a big mess on their second attempt.
Also, I check out aicn because occasionally, there are a few talkbackers who have interesting ideas - AllyKatD for one. But Harry and Co. are owned and operated by whatever franchise bought them their last beer. Further, their obsession w/ super heroes and sci fi and fantasy crap is tiresome. That is why I again encourage people to check out nukethefridge and twitch and suggest any other sites with broader interests than thor, harry potter, etc.
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Baghead and Hannah Takes the Stairs (and another one called something like the "the comfy chair" or something) are the few that I've seen. I only recently read about it as a "movement" but basically, it is this group of ultra low budget indie flicks that use a bunch of improvised scripting and not much plotting. Some people are really into them but they aren't my thing. IFC has produced a couple.
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Was done by the same guys who did Baghead, if memory serves.
And it had some of the most painfully realistic-sounding arguments I've ever seen in a movie. Not what you'd call a cool movie, though. -
harry cried at the crystal skull?
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May 22, 2009 5:08:51 PM CDT
Whilst it looks like great fun, bad ratings thus far on RT
by doctorzoidberg
So sad, my wife actually thought the trailer looked good, and we might have agreed on a movie for once.
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One of the greatest tv-shows about con artists.
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All of these films open wide on 5/29. A triple feature awaits. Hopefully they won't suck.
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Think for yourselves, monkeys!
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Up, Drag Me To Hell, Brothers Bloom, Land of the Lost, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Transformers 2:Robots Still Have to Urinate, Public Enemies, Harry Potter 6, District 9, Inglorious Bastards (I can spell), and Final Destination 4 (in 3-D!!!).
Yet most of those movies I intend to see don't have me psyched or jazzed or even remotely excited. It's like Hollywood said "fuck it" and just dumped shit into theaters.
I mean more so than usual. -
I'm not paid by AICN, the studios, or anyone else. I saw BB at Fantastic Fest last year, and I loved it.
You want to talk about how AICN writers are shills, go read Harry's review of Terminator Salvation or the various reviews of Wolverine, which I believe bought a lot of AICN ad space. Your complaints are bullshit. -
wasn't that a remake of 9 queens or am i mistaken. cant be fucked to go imdb. confidential was decent enough. i do like a good con/grifter film. remember loving 9 queens when it came out
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and my brother said it was wank
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May 22, 2009 6:56:50 PM CDT
AICN is still trying to fist fuck us with this?!
by dannyglovers_dickblood
Pathetic.
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Glad you had a nice night at the movies. You'll note, I didn't suggest that everyone here is under the spell of the industry, just those designated to post their reviews on a daily basis. The facts are these - the movie received poor reviews on average. The fact that Harry didn't like Terminator 9 I suspect has more to do with the studio not inviting him to some exclusive interview w/ McG or something. He didn't like Wolverine - well, didn't everyone hate that movie? See, as I've mentioned before, they can't push a movie after it has been universally dismissed, but they try. And it is really less about pushing the movie after the fact (although, that remains a problem on this site as well) but more the way they push it before hand. Harry and company have been advertising BB since it was first rumored, and they continue to do so despite the fact that the majority of reviewers have deemed it a failure. Like I said - glad you had a good time, but that doesn't change the fact that this site tends to obsess over movies for which it has received special access - exclusive interviews, on set visits, free action figures, etc. I'm advocating everyone find sites that are divested of industry biases - that is all. It seems to me that this site once covered more foreign films, edgier domestic and independent releases. I liked that site. The one that gleefully hosts clips sponsored by pizza hut, not so much.
Lets try and keep this positive and let me ask you this - when it comes to movies, are there any other sites you check out on a regular basis that haven't been totally coopted by the movie industry? I can and have named a few that appear to have maintained their objectivity - if only because they don't seem to have the traffic.
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Harry subsists on crap - if someone at the studio gives him a bigger fork, he'll sob for it.
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So you spend a ton of energy to slag the writers of this site off for blindly showing affection to the highest bidder, yet you are blindly writing off a film before you've even seen it? I'm sorry man, but anything you can say that's a pretty backwards way to act. FYI, Brothers Bloom is a GREAT movie, and you missed the boat cause you decided to be thick.
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Wes Anderson with Paul W.S. Anderson? Because I seriously don't get the hate. Maybe he doesn't tell stories everyone gets, but at least he doesn't make trash.
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SCOOP OUT MY FUCKING GRAY MATTER WITH MY DEAD GRANDMOTHERS LONG RAZOR-LIKE FINGERNAILS.
OVERRATED PURE FUCKING NONSENSE DRIVEL MASQUERADING AS ORIGINAL.
HOW FITTING THEN THAT CAPONE FROM THE CUMDUMPSTER CITY KNOWN AS CHICAGO WOULD LOVE THIS. -
PURE. FUCKING. HACK.
THERE'S NOTHING WORSE THAN ALL THE FUCKTARD TOOLS THAT JUMP ON THE MAMET BANDWAGON AND HANG ON FOR DEAR LIFE. OMFG.
THE SPANISH FUCKING FLY PRISONER WAS EASILY ONE OF THE WORST FILMS OF THE 90'S. CAMPBELL SCOTT SHOULD HAVE KILLED HIMSELF YEARS EARLIER. -
I have said I have not seen the movie. I have said that I liked brick. I have said that I looked forward to this movie. I have said that this movie received (on average) crap reviews and, more importantly, really poor reviews from well established reviewers who don't have a script awaiting review at some studio or vip invites to advanced openings. All of these things are true.
Someone was complaining that I used Time Out New York as an example of a really poor review. The thing about Time Out is, they don't get to review movies (even though we get advanced releases here in NYC) on opening weekend if the studio thinks the movie isn't going to do well. They also tend to be pretty fair in their assessments. So, no, I won't be seeing BB on the big screen if Time Out gives it 1 out of 5 stars (I think Blart Mall Cop did better). Why waste my money.
I have also said that this is an example of aicn pumping up a movie for months and months in advance simply because they were, for whatever reason, invested in the success of the movie - in most cases, I think it is because the site puts too much value on the interest a particular studio or film maker shows in the site, rather than the other way around.
I don't really spend much energy writing these posts, btw, but I do like getting my point across and making it clear. There are many cool movies and movie related sites out there you guys could be spending you time on - broadening your horizons. You might want to check some of them out - you might catch something, other than the latest casting news on Thor, or the latest poster from the latest Harry Potter movie, or the latest clip from pizza hut that you might really enjoy.
What I would like is to see more original and well written movies free of propaganda from hacks.
Wouldn't we all? Sure we would.
Have a nice day. ;) -
Wes Anderson had loads of potential starting out and nothing he has made since has lived up to it. That has always been my impression. I liked him better when he had a smaller budget to work with. Still love bottlerocket, but the rest of it is style over substance, imho.
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I don't know that all caps helps you get your point across any better, but to each his own. Mamet has been writing brilliant and crap scripts for decades. Spanish Prisoner wasn't a favorite of mine either, however, it is hard to deny the greatness of Glenngary Glen Ross or, as I mentioned earlier, Homicide or Heist. He has also done many script cleanups (like his work on wag the dog or the untouchables) that rarely go noticed. But as your post implies, opinions are like assh*les.
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Titbag - of all the people to trash, you're trashing Mamet? The man wrote Glengarry Glen Ross and State and Main. Think before you type.
cant_stop_yawning - WHY do you put so much faith in certain critics, whether or not they're "respected"? It's very unlikely that any two people are going to have the same taste in film, and even an educated critic's first reaction isn't necessarily the best one. Have you seen any of the trailers? Anything of the film? I agree with you in loving Brick. MY reason, moreso than the still-great pulpy noir story, is the writing. The man can WRITE. If I take my impression of Brick and weigh it against the opinions of men, my own personal impression is going to win out.
Doesn't it call into question the validity of a critic if Rian Johnson's second movie gets a lower score than PAUL BLART? Have you thought about it from that perspective, at least? -
...on Rotten Tomatoes? Includes the likes of Rex Reed and Claudia Puig. I'll take that with a grain of salt.
Also, it's at 52% (which still isn't great). Honestly, Claudia Puig giving this movie the thumbs-up worries me more than anything. I'm still excited as fuck to see it. -
And not to mention boring. I lost track of what was going on in the last half because...well to put it bluntly it was some stupid shit. Needlessly contrived and self-referential. I will give it its first third however, when things were amusing. This looks like an Anderson-aping. From the atrocious cutesy V.O.ed flashback montage shit to the barebones of the cinematography...all scream Wes Anderson. I'll pass on this one...and the next needless "cute" indie flick as well.
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...you've never seen a noir film or read a Chandler novel, have you? You would have gotten what Johnson was going for, then. Besides, calling names of a movie with that kind of script...wow. Just wow.
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It isn't just the bad reviews - though I trust those reviewers in general more than the others. Even most of the "good" reviews sound qualified or half-hearted - aside from Puig's which was glowing as you noted. That alone seems like enough to dismiss it.
Still, I'm sure I'll catch it eventually on cable or dvd, but I can't muster excitement. Hope I'm wrong. -
Sorry if my opinion makes your balls recoil. But I have actually seen a good amount of noir flicks. I got every-beat he was going for. Doesn't change that I thought it was shit. Just because it's a homage (check that...a homage in highschool, that's where the genius part comes in I guess) doesn't make it automatically a good film.
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Unlike what Capone's review indicates, a lot of the switcharoo is it really a con when is the carpet gonna get yanked out stuff is annoying and played out (until the climax), but I've never seen performances this good gotten from these actors, and the movie has incredible fun at times with these characters. The writing is great at times, except for some of the more mundane overarching is it all a con stuff which apparently is mandatory in these type of movies, but the dialogue, characters, and the concept of all life as player's writing their cons, some just shittily, were all pretty sweet. The Darjeeling / Wes Anderson comparisons are seriously only because they both have Adrian Brody and some of the trailers show a bit too much Brody mopy face, but no one who has actually watched the movie would think it a hipstah Anderson clone, and Brody is much better here and has a range to play and humor too.
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The official site has the movie's pre credit sequence and it looks pretts much as predicted. While the general theme seems interesting the style smells of wanna be Anderson. A bit of Amélie as well. From the smug narrator, the quick cut closeups of documents to the handwritten titles it all reeks of a self conscious "let's be hip" attitude, that's the definition of style over substance.
Don't get me wrong, i think this will be fun to watch, but nobody is breaking any new ground here. -
I can lend no credence to anything Capone says in this review based purely on one quote. "it took me to a place and told a story that I have never been to or seen before on the big screen." You see, this is an impossible feat. If there were still places to go on film that were unchartered, surely the studios wouldn't beat us over the head with reboots, remakes, and sequels to reboots and remakes. Surely, we wouldn't be on the cusp of seeing every minor character that has ever appeared in one cell of a comic book given his own movie. Right? I think Capone's full of shit and I will sit here impatiently waiting for my goddamned remake of Citizen Kane with stunning action from McG, bitches!! Nothing's sacred, I want Uwe Boll's new vision of the Godfather and the visionary director of 300 to offer me up some slo-mo shots of Russell Brand behind the curtain in the The Wizard of Oz
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May 23, 2009 7:02:29 AM CDT
also, it took you 3 times to understand House of Games?
by cant_stop_yawning2
Really?
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Ben a slow couple of days here. How about some more reports from Cannes? Or a dedicated Terminator talkback? Anything
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This is the kind of thing I've been bitching about all over this site - Cannes is going on and we're getting the latest updates on harry potter, a half dozen reviews of terminator and harry's giddy anticipation of some dipshit king kong amusement park ride. Who is the target audience here?
There is something either dickish or cowardly or both about the fact that none of these designated reviewers ever really respond to the criticisms leveled against them or the site in these talkbacks. -
Come on...all I did was state my incredulity that you didn't like Brick. I still can't wrap my head around WHY you didn't like it. What was it about it? Writing? Acting? Is it just not the type of movie you like?
I'm not trying to insult you, so I'd appreciate the same consideration. -
I can see why a supposedly 'hip/alt' movie site (though it stopped being that YEARS ago) wouldn't report on the usual things at Cannes, but yeah, I'm sure we can all find out the latest on Harry Potter and T4 somewhere else.
I remember Moriarty answering criticism in the TBs, and I'm fairly sure I remember others doing the same. They just don't do it often, and rarely something that we would all like the answer to. -
You forgot to mention the greatest comedy con game remake(Betime Stories) ever! Do I need to get out the genital clamp?
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he's so boring. I've never liked the guy. He must've started using large amounts of crack if people have grown fond of watching him in a movie.
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... a Thai hooker's meatflaps. A miscast Redford, a ridiculous and unimaginative 'scam'.... I mean, they basically build a hollywood set and populate it with con artists who agree to scam Robert Shaw, the most dangerous gangster in the U.S. for...free? Out of the kindness of their hearts? Or are they working on spec? I love Newman and Redford, Shaw is badass, and the music is classic, but the story is fucking retarded.
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...just for writing The Verdict, one of Lumet's best movies and one of Paul Newman's best performances.
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I know a lot of you guys like it, and that is cool, but man did that film annoy me.
What got me was you had all these kids acting hardboiled like they stepped out of a Dashiell Hammett/Raymond Chandler story, but the thing is YOU ARE A BUNCH OF HIGH SCHOOL KIDS. You haven't earned the right to be hardboiled yet. You haven't been double-crossed, stepped on, dealt with a corrupt city, had your heart broke/partner killer, or any of that yet. I just felt like "what a bunch of posers." It was as if Alan Parker decided to make “Bugsy Malone” as a serious film.
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she can poo on my face and i would ask for more please...seriously,shes that hot
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Best movie of the year so far.
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Unless you generally agree entirely with all the boring masses. Rotten Tomatoes doesn't work for NICHE films at alll it's only good for broad, general appeal. In other words, bad dumbed-down Hollywood derivative crap. I enjoyed BRICK, though I'm guessing just as many people hated it as loved it. (And I'm sure it would have scored terribly on Rotten Tomatoes.) Can't wait to see this one (which I'm doing tomorrow night).
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May 26, 2009 12:58:25 PM CDT
Shiat! Am I the ONLY one who thought this flick was not very go
by guy grand
I was thoroughly bored by "The Brothers Bloom." And no, I'm not some novice in the heist caper / con world of movies. I've been loving them ever since seeing "The Hot Rock" when it came out on the big screen. The watermark here is "The Sting." "The Brothers Bloom" isn't even a con movie really. Seriously, all they do is convince Rachel Weisz to write million dollar checks for some completely convoluted (yet very simplistic) plan, and she simply JUST GIVES AWAY THE MONEY. There's no elaborate twists, there's no "oh-shit-I-didn't-see-that-coming" con. It was cuddly-cute Wes Anderson stuff peddled with overly-stylistic costume/period trappings in modern day settings. I totally disagree with Capone...the writing / dialogue sucked and was overly-precious and pretentious. The visual gags were the only moments of real humor and entertainment. An almost-complete waste of time.
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I wouldn't put this anywhere near House of Games or even Heist. Like a lot of con films it trips over itself trying to be too clever when simplicity is what makes a great con. Still, it was an enjoyable film, uneven in tone at times, but solid characters throughout.
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Johnson is 2 for 2.
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