Below are Mini Reviews from Cineman Syndicate for two movies opening on May 15, 2009.

THE BROTHERS BLOOM. Con man movies aren't easy to pull off, and writer/director Rian Johnson's stylish attempt doesn't quite cut it. Shooting his terrific cast against striking European backdrops, Johnson appears to be aping Wes Anderson and Hal Ashby, much as he did David Lynch in his debut Brick. Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo play fraternal grifters and Rachel Weisz portrays the mark in their final swindle. As Ruffalo's elder sibling manipulates events, hoping to lift his bro out of an existential funk, the movie's jauntiness leaks away. The more Johnson belabors an analogy between the perfect con and the ideal narrative, the more predictable his plot becomes. (PG-13) FAIR COMEDY-DRAMA. Director - Rian Johnson; Lead - Adrien Brody; Running Time -113 minutes. 

ANGELS & DEMONS. Most of the theological and cinematic hobgoblins that plagued The Da Vinci Code have been banished from this adaptation of Dan Brown's prior novel. A gripping, beat-the-clock thriller set in a resplendent Rome, it has enough ecclesiastical intrigue and ecumenical piety to engage the fallen and the faithful. Harvard symbolist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) aids the Catholic Church when, following the pope's death, an ancient brotherhood called the Illuminati kidnaps four cardinals and threatens to blow Vatican City to smithereens. Can Langdon and a comely Italian scientist decipher the clues in time? The answer lies in an edge-of-your-pew yarn that effectively bridges reason and belief. (PG-13) GOOD THRILLER. Director - Ron Howard; Lead - Tom Hanks; Running Time -138 minutes. 

Capsule reviews by John P. McCarthy (shown in photo)

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