Wednesday 2 December 2015

Thurday Movie Picks: Con Artists

Don't forget to check out what Wandering Through the Shelves picked, the blog that started Thursday Movie Picks. 

I do love a good con-man film. Usually a con-man is a hated character in a film unless they are swindling 'bad guys' out of their money or something more valuable. 


Catch Me If You Can 
I first saw this film at the cinema as my friend had a massive crush on Leonardo DiCaprio, in fact she still does. At the time I just liked the film, enjoyed it for what it was but over time, knowledge and learning under my belt, this film is actually brilliant. It's a biopic of sorts as Frank Abagnale is a real person and he really did fly around the world pretending to be a pilot with a commercial airline. It's a sad story but after a while, Frank just wants to escape the charade he's kept up. He's technically a con-man but he's also humanised so you can understand some of his actions. The film also has the best opening credits.

Brothers Bloom
I loved Rian Johnson's first film, Brick, that I thought I'd have a look at his 'con-man film'. It's a slow paced film after the first half when it gets rather complicated with a few false ends but the first half was great fun. The Brothers, Bloom and Stephen are con-men through and through, complete with a small crew. But Bloom wants out so its all about the final score.  A great cast and some great looking locations, the script is a tad predictable but does exactly what it says on the tin.

Heartbreakers 
I hated this film the first time I saw it mostly because I hated Jennifer Love Hewitt, but upon second viewing, its actually very entertaining. It's another, con artist duo, doing 'the last con' together. This time its a mother-daughter team who swindle wealthy men out of their money. With sunshine, fake Russian accents, an obvious love story and Sigourney Weaver doing comedy, as I said its entertaining.