David O. Russell, he who gave us
Silver Linings Playbook and
The Fighter, brings back the 70's in this entertaining and yet insightful movie into the underbelly of the American dream, corruption, crass materialism and narcissism. Kinda stomping the same ground as
The Wolf of Wall Street, just with 70's fashion, hair and decadence. Let's dig in ...
Like The Wolf of Wall Street, American Hustle is based on a true story, although most of the character's names have been changed and some situations modified for dramatic and story purposes. Yet half the insanity that takes place in this film really happened - well, you'd expect some level of insanity when the FBI blackmail con-men to work for them. The results are mind boggling.
The film has a nice crime caper feel ala
Oceans movies, with just a touch of mob/gangster feel ala
Casino and human drama. There's a little for everyone - laughter, love and great themes. Amazingly no gun shoot-outs and car chases which is a welcome relief - and so is the cast.
Bradley Cooper is building an impressive body of work lately. If you think of
Limitless,The Place Beyond the Pines and Silver Linings Playbook (no, The Hangover don't count in my books) he's flexing his acting muscles more and more.
His turn in American Hustle as the ambitious FBI officer with curls plays off his charms and shows that he can make some of the most anti-sympathetic character's loveable.
Jeremy Renner, who is wasted in most movies like Avengers and
Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol, gets a chance - like in the
Hurt Locker - to show that he is an actor's actor. Creating a Jacob Zuma type of politician, who we want to root for in spite of his corrupt tendencies (that's if you are in that camp that actually believes in politicians).
A lot has been said about Jennifer Lawrence who is basically channeling a heftier Sharon Stone of Casino in American Hustle but this movie belongs to Amy Adams and Christian Bale.
Bale has established himself as a tour de force in various movies such as
The Fighter (which he won an Oscar for),
The Machinist and as a little kid in Spielberg's
Empire of the Sun.
He and Amy Adams, who always plays the girl next door in romantic comedies, are the heart of this film. They have chemistry and know how to emote, Amy really shows that she can play sexy, desperate, conniving and sweet and innocent.
It's the relationship between these characters that hold it together, where the good guys no longer look like the good guys and the bad guys seem to behaving more like the good guys should behave. What better place to show the effects of corruption and blind ambition than in interpersonal relationships.
The movie set in the Post Nixon years where corruption is the norm. The film asks a lot of questions about law enforcement and the people behind it. Questions about what happens when society is all about crass materialism. Questions that are plaguing us in the Post Thabo Mbeki years and the years of the Zuma. If a society is so caught up with success, what are we willing to do to get that success and what are we willing to sacrifice for it?
As far as the Oscars goes, I thought the poor movie would at least get something for hair and make-up. Although the movie is funny and insightful, it does not have the same punch or gravitas as The Wolf of Wall Street per se but it's still a cool way to pass two hours.
O. Russell will continue to make better and better films, his star is one that's still on the rise. Oh, look out for a classic cameo appearance from one of Hollywood's mob legends in this one.
Rating: ****junk **almost bearable ***now we cooking ****almost perfect *****classic
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Trailer Watch The GrandmasterWell, for all you 70's and 80's kids who grew up watching Kung Fu movies, you're going to love this. Another retelling of the man who trained Bruce Lee Yip Man story who's been famously played before by Donnie Yen. This time it gets an arty farty touch over. This looks good too, the cinematography looks brilliant. Can't wait.
Transformers 4: Age of ExtinctionHonestly this looks dumb and stupid but will probably make a lot of money. The world is forced to bear witness to another Michael Bay Transformers movie, this time with Dino-bots; ""those can't seriously be Dinosaur Robots? ( i hear you ask) ,Yep they are!! This is how trashy cinema can get. New human cast same old robots minus Optimus's nemeses who bit the bullet in the last one ... haai here it is: