The Brothers Bloom

To cast Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo as brothers is a casting faux pas. And let’s not even mention the fact that neither of these gentlemen is ideal for comedy. Rachel Weisz salvages a lot, giving the film some necessary freshness. The movie has a setting like that of the charismatic crime flick Entrapment, and an image of the “hat” madness of 1998’s The Avengers. It’s not as clever and ahead of the audience as it would like to be, but that’s alright because it doesn’t take itself all that seriously. The Brothers Bloom is another forgettable chill-out movie in which I wouldn’t invest if I were a producer. (22/10/2009)

I understand that Rachel and Adrien wanted to see the sights of Prague, but did they really have to sign up for a movie where even brain-dead viewers are always ten steps ahead of the characters? The result isn’t improved by the vain attempt at copying the poetry of Wes Anderson. It falls very short in terms of poetry and atmosphere (these show through in just a couple of scenes and is these that suggest that if the whole movie had been that good, it would have made up for the unfortunate screenplay) and it is just weird and stupid. Really weird and very stupid. Not to mention the killing length of it, considering nothing happens for the whole last half hour. (29/09/2009)

I didn't enjoy this one very much. Adrien Brody is an actor nobody cares much about anymore, and Mark Ruffalo is only making money thanks to the Hulk in the MCU. So I don't find this duo very funny, and it's more of a crime story about two con-artist brothers. Nothing much interesting happens in the film, it's not smart or even very entertaining let alone funny. The only thing worth mentioning was the strange reclusive Rachel Weisz, who was great. 45% (11/09/2018)

I like well-executed absurd dramas, and this was initially developing as one of such theatrical dramas, albeit in a cinematic and grander form. Unfortunately, in the second half, the film loses its momentum because it tries too hard to have a story and evoke emotions. Up until then, it was very well played out. Suddenly, even the absurdity disappeared, which was a pity. (26/03/2014)