The Brothers Bloom

"Is this the bathroom? No, this is camels."

I love it when you go into a movie not knowing what to expect (or not expecting much) and you're pleasantly surprised, or in the case of The Brothers Bloom, completely blown away. This is absolutely my favorite movie that I've seen in a long long while.

Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrian Brody) are two brothers who spent their childhoods in foster care and grew up to be con men. Stephen is the schemer who writes their cons as epic stories. Bloom is the romantic who yearns for "an unscripted life." Bloom quits the con game, until Stephen ropes him back in for one final con - bilking Penelope, a lonely eccentric heiress (Rachel Weisz), out of millions. Bloom falls for Penelope (or does he?) as the con takes several twists and turns, of which even he is ultimately unsure of what is real and what is the con.

The Brothers Bloom is completely charming. It's clever and funny, and just plain entertaining. Adrian Brody is wonderful as Bloom, and I've had mad respect for Mark Rufallo since You Can Count on Me. It has a bit of the feel of a Wes Anderson movie, but not quite as quirky and with more energy. If you get a chance you should absolutely see this movie. I will be looking to buy it when it comes out on dvd in a few weeks, and I can't think of the last movie I actually bought.