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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/38158/full/38158/the-con-brothers-raimi-returns-to-fright-sheckys-back/ <br /><br /> <b>The con brothers, Raimi returns to fright, Shecky’s back…</b> <br /> Thursday, May 28, 2009 | by nate bloom <br /><br /><h2>The con brothers</h2> <p>Writer/director Rian Johnson had an indie hit in 2005 with “Brick,” a detective story about a California high school student (<strong>Joseph Gordon-Levitt</strong>) who takes it upon himself to find the cause of death of his girlfriend, who was involved with drug users and dealers.</p> <p>“Brick” was reminiscent of classic 1940s film noir, while Johnson’s new flick that opens Friday, May 29, “The Brothers Bloom,” is more “sunny” and comedic. Again, crime is involved—but the rogue characters are drawn in a light, farcical way.</p> <p>The film’s rogues, the Bloom brothers, are described as the world’s best con men. They also have confusing names — one brother (Mark Ruffalo) is called Stephen Bloom. The other, played by <strong>Adrien Brody</strong>, 36, is simply called Bloom. Brody won the 2002 Best Actor Oscar for his work in “The Pianist.”</p> <p>The characters’ names, by the way, are an uncredited tribute to the main characters in James Joyce’s “Ulysses,” Stephen Dedalus and the “half Jewish” Leopold Bloom. The Bloom brothers are identified as Jewish in the flick, but nothing is really made of that fact.</p> <p>The brothers specialize in swindling the rich. They hope their last con job will be their greatest — taking a pile from Penelope (Oscar-winner <strong>Rachel Weisz</strong>, 39), an eccentric heiress. They concoct an elaborate scheme that has Penelope and the brothers traveling around the world and having many thrilling adventures. Bloom (Brody) finds himself falling in love with Penelope and tries, in a way, to warn her off. But she doesn’t take the hint and Bloom comes to realize that Stephen may have set up a very dangerous con.</p> <p> </p> <h2>Raimi returns to fright</h2> <p>Director-writer <strong>Sam Raimi</strong>, 49, is now most famous as the director of the “Spider-Man” trilogy. But his roots are in horror (“The Evil Dead” series), and he returns to that genre with “Drag Me to Hell,” an original tale of a young woman’s quest to break an evil curse. The movie opens Friday, May 29.</p> <p>Alison Lohman plays Christine, an ambitious bank loan officer with a charming boyfriend (Justin Long). She hopes to impress her tough boss (<strong>David Paymer</strong>, 54) by refusing a loan extension to an old woman who begs Christine for help. The woman puts a curse on Christine. The curse turns Christine’s life into a nightmare and her only hope is a gifted psychic can help her.</p> <p>Raimi, by the way, has been married since 1993 to <strong>Gillian Dania Greene</strong> and they have five kids. Gillian is the daughter of the late actor Lorne Greene, of “Bonanza” fame, and the late <strong>Nancy Deal Greene</strong>, a political activist. Both are buried in a Los Angeles Jewish cemetery near the grave of <strong>Michael Landon</strong>, who played Lorne’s son on “Bonanza.” Michael’s first wife was Jewish and he adopted her son, Mark (a child of a previous marriage). <strong>Mark Landon</strong> died earlier this month at age 60.</p> <p> </p> <h2>Shecky’s back</h2> <p>Comedian <strong>Shecky Greene</strong>, now 83, was a legend in Las Vegas. He first played the town in 1953 and by the early ’60s was packing them in and drawing down a six-figure salary.</p> <p>But things went south for Shecky in the late ’70s. He threw most of his money away gambling, drank too much and went through a tough divorce. Suffering from depression and anxiety attacks, he left Vegas in 1981 and returned for two limited engagements in the 1990s. Now, after getting his bearings again with some Florida club dates, he returned to Vegas for a three-show gig at the Suncoast Casino Showroom two weeks ago.</p> <p>Greene said the state of the stock market — and his portfolio — had a lot to do with his decision to return to a town that has some good, and many bad, memories for him.</p> <p><br />Columnist  <strong>Nate Bloom</strong>, an Oaklander, can be reached at <a href="mailto:middleoftheroad1@aol.com">middleoftheroad1@aol.com</a>.</p>

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