Latest Rian Johnson flick at the Little Theater

By Nathan Norton
Western Herald

The Western Film Society has made it their mission to bring Western Michigan University students the best in independent, under-the-radar, or just plain under-appreciated movies since 2003. From films as popular as “Napoleon Dynamite” to movies as pleasingly peculiar as “A Scanner Darkly,” WFS brings the kinds of movies students want to see to their very own on-campus silver screen.

This weekend, another great movie, “The Brothers Bloom,” will be shown at WMU’s Little Theater on the corner of Oakland Drive and Oliver Lane Oct. 2-4.

From Rian Johnson, the writer/director who brought us the refreshingly original, if not a bit unsettling, “Brick,” comes this jaunty 2008 film about two comical con-artist brothers.
Adrien Brody (“The Pianist,” “The Darjeeling Limited”) and Mark Ruffalo (“Collateral,” “Zodiac”) play swindling siblings about to embark on their very last con — an attempt to dupe an oddball heiress played by Rachel Weisz (“The Mummy,” “The Mummy Returns”).
Bloom (Brody) wants to quit his and Stephen’s (Ruffalo) business of hoodwinkery, but when he falls for the heiress (Weisz), things become complicated.

Don’t expect a gritty, film-noir movie set against a refreshingly out-of-place backdrop like Rian Johnson’s first flick. Instead, “The Brothers Bloom” is a light-hearted surprise. In his sophomore effort, Johnson throws his morose methodology to the wayside and shows his versatility as a filmmaker.

The film has the writer/director’s fingerprints all over it. It’s clearly the same style of filmmaking, but instead of traveling down a dark alley shuffling sullenly, we find ourselves skipping merrily down a different street.

“I loved “Brick,” so it’ll be cool to see what [Rian Johnson] does with a romantic comedy like this,” said recent WMU graduate Virginia Gordon. “I’m looking forward to seeing it.”

For those who loved “Brick’s” nasty, underbelly taste, “The Brothers Bloom” just might miss the boat.

However, for viewers who prefer a fluffier film with less cocaine and more big-grinned chuckles, this film may be the perfect pick-me-up for any grey week.

Tickets are $5 ($3 with a valid student ID).
Show times for Friday and Saturday are 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Show times for Sunday are 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.

For more information, call the WFS movie line at (269) 387-8221.

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Posted by heraldstaff on Sep 30 2009. Filed under Weekend Scene. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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