Posts tagged kids
“The Brothers Bloom” Not the Perfect Con
Jun 3rd
Not the Perfect Con
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
THE BROTHERS BLOOM is one of those movies that feel better to talk about than to actually see.
By that, I mean that it has very good ingredients, but when they are all mixed together, you can end up feeling cheated, because you didn’t enjoy it as much as you thought you would.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson, whose first film was the much- acclaimed 2006 BRICK, this film is about two brothers who have been con artists all their lives.
The film begins when they are kids after they have been through 38 foster homes and Stephen devises a con designed to allow his younger brother Bloom to get the girl in school that he pines for.
The plan doesn’t end the way they had hoped it would, but that doesn’t stop them, as we see 25 years later in Berlin and the conclusion of their most recent con.
Stephen, now played by Mark Ruffalo, and Bloom, now played by Adrian Brody, are successful, but Bloom wants out of the game and tells his brother, “I want an unwritten life.”
Bloom says he is going to take off where Stephen and their colleague, an Oriental woman named Bang Bang, can never find him.
Well, naturally, they can, and three months later Stephen and Bang Bang show up in Montenegro, where Bloom is living. Stephen outlines what he says will be their last con together, and the mark is Penelope Stamp, played by Rachel Weisz, even though their rule has always been “No women.”
Penelope lives alone in the largest private estate on the East Coast of America and is incredibly rich, and at this point you will probably guess the ending, but you would be only half right.
Stephen has designed an elaborate step to get Bloom to meet Penelope, and to say that it doesn’t go exactly as planned would be the understatement of all understatements.
However, the first part of the con works, and Penelope accompanies them on a steamer to Greece, and at this point you might conclude that the only ones being conned are the audience.
We are told that the perfect con is the one in which everyone involved gets just the thing they wanted.
THE BROTHERS BLOOM is not the perfect con, because the audience doesn’t get the enjoyment they wanted.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“The Pink Panther 2” Dumbed Down Even More
Feb 11th
Dumbed Down Even More
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
THE PINK PANTHER 2 is the most recent version of an Inspector Clouseau movie that started in 1964 with Peter Sellers in the lead role, the second with Steve Martin as the bumbling French detective, and hopefully it will be the last one.
The 2006 THE PINK PANTHER with Martin attempting a silly French accent was bad enough, but this one is even worse.
Hollywood has not only run out of ideas, stories, and characters, but it has also run out of titles.
It has run out of actors, too, it appears, because John Cleese has replaced Kevin Kline as Chief Inspector Dreyfus, but that still isn’t enough to make you bother to see this unfunny waste of time.
The premise is that a master criminal named The Tornado has stolen the Magna Carta from Great Britain, the Emperor’s Sword from Japan, and the Shroud of Turin from Italy. An international “dream team” of detectives has been formed, and the world’s greatest detective is chosen to lead it.
That would be the Inspector Clouseau, but only for comedic reasons.
Except in this movie.
Watching the opening titles, you might ask, “Is this the best thing in the movie?” And the answer is “Yes.”
Another question you might ask is, “What is Lily Tomlin doing in this movie?” She plays Mrs. Berenger without making any attempt at a French accent, good or bad, and she is supposed to teach Clouseau how to be more politically correct in his attitude and comments.
In actuality, however, all she does is interrupt the plot, which isn’t going anywhere anyway.
In fact, there are too many subplots having nothing to do with catching The Tornado, which just distract from the main plot, which is to catch The Tornado, expecially after the Pink Panther diamond goes missing.
However, when you dumb down Inspector Clouseau, what are you left with? Absolutely nothing.
The ending is ridiculous, and the whole movie is ridiculous.
In fact, the movie is so boring that at one point I didn’t even feel like watching any more of it.
Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards, the director of the good Pink Panther movies, are undoubtedly rolling over in their graves.
THE PINK PANTHER 2 has been dumbed down even more than the 2006 version with Steve Martin, and let us hope that this is the last one.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
The Pink Panther 2 – Movie Trailer
Feb 6th
Steve Martin returns to the role made famous by Peter Sellers in this high-concept sequel to the 2006 comedy hit The Pink Panther. The world’s most valuable treasures are being stolen. The legendary Pink Panther Diamond is the latest to disappear, and Chief Inspector Dreyfus (John Cleese taking over acting duties from Kevin Kline) is assembling a team of international experts and detectives to track down the thief and recover the missing artifacts. The latest addition to the crack team is Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Martin), the intrepid yet awkward French detective who always seems to get his man. Jean Reno and Emily Mortimer reprise their roles as Clouseau’s partner, Ponton, and love interest, Nicole, respectively, with Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Yuki Matsuzaki, and the Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai rounding out the team that will travel from Paris to Rome in search of the priceless gem.