The Brothers Bloom

A very entertaining movie!

"The Brothers Bloom" is a the story of two mischievous siblings and their odd companion Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi) who who are expert at conning people around the world. Bloom (Adrien Brody) is frustrated that his life has been written for him by his older brother Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and decides he wants to quit to live his own life. Stephen convinces Bloom to join one last swindle on the eccentric millionaire Penelope (Rachel Weisz). What ensues is a comical, romantic, around-the-world adventure where I was constantly engaged trying to figure out what was scripted and what was 'real'.

Good acting, outstanding script, subtle themes and a quirky but memorable musical score render this movie one of my personal favorites!

The Lives of Others

Surprisingly amazing.

The Lives of Others takes place in 1984 East Germany and tells the story of "Operation Lazlo", a surveillance effort led by Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Muehe) to collect evidence against the highly regarded and otherwise state trusted playwright Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and his girlfriend, the talented actress Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck). This is the debut feature-length film by director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Acting, be it on or off-stage, is a recurring theme in the film. Von Donnersmark also explores concepts such as motive and existence in subtle ways. Acting, photography and music are good, however directing truly stands out thanks to a story-line that keeps you engaged until the very end.

3 Idiots

Very entertaining!

"3 Idiots" is a Bollywood hit about three engineering students from very different backgrounds who meet at one of the finest engineering colleges in India. In a atemporal fashion, the movie tells of their friendship in school, their relationship (mostly their run-ins) with the strict director and what happens to each of them after graduation.

Unlike more traditional Bollywood films, "3 Idiots" is short (at 2 1/2 hrs) and has less musical scenes. The acting and dialog are both very funny, even for those who are not very familiar with Indian culture like myself. Filming took place throughout India and there are very beautiful mountain scenes. I found some the songs in the film to be catchy!

Inglourious Basterds

Tarantino's film delivers quite an epicurean delight!

Inglouriuos Basterds develops two independent story lines and their convergence in German occupied France during World War II. Led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), the "Basterds" is a highly feared guerilla of Jewish-Americans who go about killing and scalping Nazis. Shosanna Dreyfus, a.k.a. Emmanuelle Mimieux, (Mélanie Laurent) is a young cinema owner in Paris who finds herself in the middle of an opportunity to avenge the brutal killing of her family by SS Colonel Hans Landa's (Cristoph Waltz) men. Their stories meet on the premiere night of "Nation's Pride", a state-sponsored German war film.

The film has rich dialog, superb acting, outstanding photography and a top-notch musical soundtrack. The movie kept me on my toes and also made me laugh many times.