Spring Break
Brothers Bloom: Boys will be boys
Alexia Lang
Issue date: 6/1/09 Section: Culture
One asset is the phenomenal cinematography captured as the group travels from Athens to Prague to Mexico to St. Petersburg on their grand adventure.
Throughout, Johnson experiments with some unique camera shots, but somehow he makes them work in this artsy flick.
On the downside, the naivety of the characters (and their apparent obliviousness to it) borders on annoying. Stephen seems to have no concept of the fact that his cons can hurt people, Bloom is a grown man who can't seem to get a spine until it's too late, Penelope goes around handing out millions like they are 25-cent packs of gum and Bang Bang seems to be the all-knowing one and yet she doesn't say a word.
This film is fun - there is no disputing that. And Johnson, who received the Sundance Film Festival's Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision for his first feature film "Brick," as well as many other awards, gets my vote for creativity.
Laugh a little, cry a little and nod to that sense of adventure hidden within us all. You know you want to see this movie.
Grade: A-
One-on-one with the director
During a world tour promoting "The Brothers Bloom," Writer and Director Rian Johnson sat down with U-News to discuss the creative processes behind his new film.
Although this is only Johnson's second film to be released for the big screen, making films is not a newly-found passion. The graduate of USC's School of Cinema-Television has been entranced by the film-making process since seventh grade when he began making short films with his buddies.
He said he thinks he has found success because he is doing what he loves and he gives it his all.
"I would tell film students to just keep at it and don't give up on your dreams," Johnson said. "I spent my life walking around with a video camera."
Johnson said he doesn't think he will ever assume he has "arrived." He said his passion is learning more about how to be good at what he does and every film is a learning experience.
alang@unews.com
Throughout, Johnson experiments with some unique camera shots, but somehow he makes them work in this artsy flick.
On the downside, the naivety of the characters (and their apparent obliviousness to it) borders on annoying. Stephen seems to have no concept of the fact that his cons can hurt people, Bloom is a grown man who can't seem to get a spine until it's too late, Penelope goes around handing out millions like they are 25-cent packs of gum and Bang Bang seems to be the all-knowing one and yet she doesn't say a word.
This film is fun - there is no disputing that. And Johnson, who received the Sundance Film Festival's Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision for his first feature film "Brick," as well as many other awards, gets my vote for creativity.
Laugh a little, cry a little and nod to that sense of adventure hidden within us all. You know you want to see this movie.
Grade: A-
One-on-one with the director
During a world tour promoting "The Brothers Bloom," Writer and Director Rian Johnson sat down with U-News to discuss the creative processes behind his new film.
Although this is only Johnson's second film to be released for the big screen, making films is not a newly-found passion. The graduate of USC's School of Cinema-Television has been entranced by the film-making process since seventh grade when he began making short films with his buddies.
He said he thinks he has found success because he is doing what he loves and he gives it his all.
"I would tell film students to just keep at it and don't give up on your dreams," Johnson said. "I spent my life walking around with a video camera."
Johnson said he doesn't think he will ever assume he has "arrived." He said his passion is learning more about how to be good at what he does and every film is a learning experience.
alang@unews.com
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