The Brothers Bloom (2009)

I liked the performances by all of the actors but I loved Rian Johnson's directing. His other movie, Brick, is one of my favorite movies of the past decade and, while this isn't as good, it's still a fun watch.

Brothers Stephen and Bloom (Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody) have had a very troubled life. They grew up jumping from foster home to foster home before eventually striking out on their own after discovering the amazing world of confidence men. Conning their way through life, Bloom hates how Stephen is always mapping his life and constantly tries to quit the business, only to be pulled back in. As these movies go, it's time for one last score. With their silent partner Bang Bang (Babel's Rinko Kikuchi), they decide on the loner millionaire Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz). The con being that they are convincing her to commit a different con. Her ambition and the brothers pasts soon come to be too much to handle.

This movie made not have had the greatest of resolutions, but it was a fun ride. It was basically a mix of The Sting with a little bit of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels thrown in. The humor came from Bang Bang's perfectly-timed facial expressions and Penelope's love for collecting hobbies...and I did write that correctly. It's very noir-ish, so that could throw some people off but I enjoyed it.

Cadillac Records (2008)

I liked this movie for one real reason, and that was the acting. Jeffrey Wright is fantastic, per usual, and the movie got great performances out of everyone involved, including Beyonce. But the movie seemed a little off to me, too.

Adrien Brody plays Leonard Chess, a young man, son of an immigrant worker, who wants to move to a big city and open a club. Eventually, this gives him the idea to start a record label and discover some talent. Among them Muddy Waters (Wright), Chuck Berry (Mos Def), and Etta James (Knowles). A few drinks, pills and Payolas later, Chess Records met the beginning of the end.

The reason it seemed off is for two reasons. One, I know someone who worked at Chess and said the movie is about 30% correct (20% of it being that these people actually existed). The other reason is that it moved way too fast for its own good. But the performances make up for it, at least a little.