The Brothers Bloom and Where the Wild Things Are

The Brothers Bloom - Rian Johnson had a lot to live up to for me. His debut film, the unbelievably brilliant Brick, is one of my favorite movies of all time. How can one person possibly surpass that or even live up to it? I don't think The Brothers Bloom surpasses Brick, but it sure doesn't disappoint. Johnson's second film - still clever, still smart as hell, still funny and strange and unique - follows two brothers (Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo) who are con men about to embark on their final mark. Said mark is Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz), an eccentric multi-millionaire hermit who collects hobbies and can do everything from break dance to ride a unicycle while juggling chainsaws. Penelope's entrance in the film is probably one of the best character entrances in recent memory. Along for the ride is Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi) who barely says a word but conveys so much with so little dialogue. This movie is spectacular and not at all disappointing to Brick fans (check out cameos from Brick stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Noah Segan and Nora Zehetner). Johnson has so many great shots in this movie and style too spare. One of my very few complaints may be that the movie almost has too much style but that's hardly something I'm going to dwell on. It's definitely not a case of style over substance, that's too be sure. The substance is most definitely there as well. There are so many con-man movie plot twists and you can tell Johnson is paying homage to the classics. While doing this, and creating a completely original, unique film, he makes his own instant classic. The characters are charming, the actors are all superb, the sets and locations are beautiful and most importantly? Johnson doesn't look down at his audience. He respects the intelligence of the audience and while doing so makes a classy, well told story that manages to entertain from beginning to end. Kudos to Johnson, one of the most interesting and exciting young directors around today.
Grade: A-

Where the Wild Things Are - I had my doubts. How can you possibly take, arguably, the greatest children's book of all time, something that has only a handful of sentences and turn it into a feature length film that can stand on its own while still staying true to the Maurice Sendak book? Well if anyone can do it, it's Spike Jonze. And he pulls it off. The whole movie is pretty damn great but the first five minutes (leading up to the title card) are damn near perfection. We're introduced to our protagonist Max (Max Records, who sets some kind of new bar for child actors with his incredibly moving performance) wearing the wolf costume chasing his dog with a fork. It's chaotic, it's hilarious, it's perfectly done. Max is lonely, of course. He has no friends, no one to play with. After having a fight with his mom (the always enchanting Catherine Keener), he runs away (there are some differences from the book here, but I enjoyed the changes), finds a boat and sails to a far away island inhabited by the wild things. The wild things are voiced by James Gandolfini (temperamental Carol), Catherine O'Hara (sassy Judith), Lauren Ambrose (sweet loner KW), Paul Dano (hilarious Alexander), Forest Whitaker (Judith's love Ira) and Chris Cooper (dependable Douglas) and all of those actors do wonders with the job they have to do. Max becomes king of the wild things and thinks all of his problems are fixed. They aren't, of course, because Where the Wild Things Are is largely a story about being independent and finding a way to fix your faults and grow up. The film is just plain beautiful and a joy to watch. It's funny and touching and fun and sweet and just great. The locations are gorgeous, the hand held camera work is fantastic, the songs from Karen O are just right for the film. Jonze does a great job creating the complex relationships between these people and wild things and that's no small task when half of your cast are nine foot tall muppets. It's refreshing to see a movie that doesn't condescend to children but instead is intelligent and witty. I highly recommend the film and in the words of Max, "Let the wild rumpus start!"
Grade: B+