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DVD American Hustle
 Run time: 138 min Rating: 7.4 Genres: Crime | Drama Director: David O. Russell Writers: Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper |
| Storyline A fictional film set in the alluring world of one of the most stunning scandals to rock our nation, American Hustle tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), who along with his equally cunning and seductive British partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that’s as dangerous as it is enchanting. Jeremy Renner is Carmine Polito, the passionate, volatile, New Jersey political operator caught between the con-artists and Feds. Irving’s unpredictable wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) could be the one to pull the thread that brings the entire world crashing down. Written by Sony Pictures Entertainment |
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| Plot Keywords: scam, fbi agent, mafia, con artist, mobster | |
| Details: Country: USA Release Date: 1 January 2014 (UK) |
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| Box Office Budget: $40,000,000 (estimated) Opening Weekend: $740,455 (USA) (13 December 2013) Gross: $150,117,807 (USA) (4 April 2014) |
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4 comments
With a current user rating of 8.3 and with ten – yes, 10 – ratings of 100 from the critics, I feel crazy not liking this movie. Critic Richard Roeper writes that "I can't imagine anyone who loves movies not loving THIS movie."
I wanted to leave the theater and do something else after 45 minutes. No one else felt this?
When flipping through a friend's screen writing book recently, I read that the most important thing a movie has to do is have a main character that the audience sympathizes with, a main character that the audience roots for. Even in a complex case – such as the protagonist of August Wilson's wonderful play "Fences", whom we both detest and sympathize with – the audience must be drawn into actually caring about the main character.
This film didn't have a protagonist (that's not a fault – Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" doesn't either), but still I could not have cared less about any character in this film. What was very strange, and a little unsettling, to me was that I felt this immediately, within the first five minutes of the film.
Another thing you'll learn from screen writing books is that amateur screenwriters use too much dialogue. This movie is a classic case in amateurish, dialogue-heavy scenes. Constant, ceaseless dialogue really bogged down the film for me. This film didn't have a single bone of subtlety in its entire body. Dialogue, dialogue, dialogue.
I saw in one of the trailers that this is a comedy – really!? I chuckled twice, and one of the occasions was in the film's first 30 seconds. There were several jokes that not a single person in the movie theater laughed at.
So, in summary, I guess I'm the only person in the world who didn't care for this one. Contrary to Mr. Roeper's assertion at the beginning of this review, I love movies but I strongly disliked this one. My favorite movie is Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon" – so maybe that explains it.
jacobnunnally.blogspot.com
Despite it's stellar cast and great production creds, "American Hustle" is little more than a sinners-with-a-heart of gold story. YAWN!!! It plays like a particularly sad Woody Allen movie without the jokes. The film is definitely not a comedy, though Jennifer Lawrence provides not only the best character but most of the few laughs the film has.
Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner are particularly effective in their parts. Bradley Cooper does a solid job with the most complex character in the film. Amy Adams is fine, but not award worthy for a change.
Watch "The Grifters" if you want a devilishly clever con-film, because it is 1,000,000 times better.
Honestly, the NY Film Critics Assn. must have gotten a con-sized pay off for calling this the best film of the year. Is it awful? No. But neither is it memorable. Fun soundtrack, great costumes, hair/make-up and photography can't make up for a plot which is dull and characters who are so uninteresting.
First of all David O. Russell is one of my favorite directors. I've enjoyed his films and absolutely loved "The Fighter" and "Flirting with Disaster". This film also boasts an incredibly talented cast including Christian Vale, Jeremy Renner and Amy Adams.
The problem is with the story, the film's pacing and length. Of course if I was enjoying the film the length would not be an issue. The film did not hold my interest and I was bored for most of it. I read that most of it is improvised, and I think this lead to it feeling very fragmented and disjointed. My mind drifted often and I checked my watch many, many times. What should have been a compelling, interesting movie was turned into a bore fest with several funny moments.
I am surprised at the overall extremely positive reviews and will watch it again when it is on cable but expect my reaction to be the same.
I went into this movie with the highest of expectations simply because I did these type of gangster, conman, dramatic type of movies. However, about 20 minutes in I was waiting and waiting for that big climax, the first killing, the twist, etc etc. However, I was left empty and unfulfilled throughout the entire movie.
This movie was advertised and promo'd as a serious crime, corrupt drama and it came across as a comedy moreso than a drama. It was difficult to take Bale and Cooper seriously, and the only time I really felt connected to the movie that I thought I was going to see was when Deniro hit the screen. He gave the movie a little bit of credibility, however it was short lived.
The story is fictional enough, and it kept somewhat interested, however it was too long and should have been shaven back a good 20-30 minutes. It was difficult to follow Bale's character because you could barely understand a thing he's saying. I understand that's his character, however it doesn't add any clarity to the story. It just makes it that much more confusing to understand.
The acting was nothing to write home about. I enjoyed Lawrence's performance, however I enjoyed her comedy and humor, and that was just disappointing as I didn't want to laugh in this movie. I wanted to take it seriously and I wanted to see more crime, killing and drama. It didn't deliver this unfortunately.
Anyways, if you go to see this movie, just don't expect to see a top quality, Scorcese type of crime / drama, because this isn't it. It's a weak attempt at trying to copy movies such as Goodfellas, The Town, Italian Job and Oceans Eleven.
It does have a sweet sound track, but that's not enough to save this one.