o'russell's ABSCAM movie AMERICAN HUSTLE

it's funny to think about how actors in 2013 making a '70s crime caper are like actors in the '70s making a '30s crime caper.

which kinda makes this The Sting.

which itself was super influenced by the 1890s nostalgia of the 1920s/30s

am hustle also felt like a tribute to 90s movies about the 70s - the dueling narrations was very casino

In the 1890s view of the 1970s, they would've still been listening to the Harold Melvin version.

in the 1980s view of the 1970s they should've been listening to The Communards

It probably helped that I saw this a day after Scorsese’s meltdown--far from seeming hysterical, it’s Bresson by compariso--but I liked this fine. Don’t think it’s better than Boogie Nights, but that’s a 10 for me, and this is a solid 7 or 8.

I’ll go back now and read everybody else’s comments (which I always only skim lightly until I get out to see a film). I did sense nobody was that impressed by Christian Bale. The most interesting performances for me were by him, Adams, and De Niro. I thought Bale really disappeared into the character and slogged along movingly. Adams is really good, and while I wouldn’t say that De Niro does anything different than he did in Casino or Goodfellas, with the extra 15 or 20 years, and the director’s good sense to keep him in reserve, he makes for an absolutely perfect Lee Strasberg.

I'd give the music a 7 or 8 too. Steely Dan and Chicago early on are great, then basically nothing for a good half-hour, then a lot. If you hate the director-as-DJ, you’ll appreciate the break and roll your eyes at the rest. Inspired: “10538 Overture.” Wasted: “I Saw the Light.” (What is the point of using something that can barely be heard? Was it a trade-off involving soundtrack licensing? I don’t get it.) Weird: “White Rabbit” in another language. Liked it, though.

De Niro's best work since Wag the Dog, agreed.

Underscored by seeing the trailer for his Stallone thing right beforehand. Good god.

Enjoyed this. Good female leads, obv. My gf noted that it failed the Bechdel test, but that it made that seem more like a problem with the test than with the movie.

It's really a relationship movie. Woody Allen with a Scorsese comb-over.

the women talked about nail polish; bechdel test passed.

I don't have much to add to what's already been said but Michael Peña was kind of wasted in this which is too bad because he's always great.

Overall it felt like a silly movie with some good to amazing acting.

Some other music I thought worked well: "Evil Ways," Bee Gees, Elton. "I Feel Love," too--obvious, yes, but at least it was loud and Russell let it play for a minute. Harold Melvin instead of Thelma Houston was strange--maybe licensing, because the hit version is so much more famous (much better, too, I think). "Delilah" was a) perfect for that group of people and in that context, but b) I don't think it's a very good song, so veracity notwithstanding I wished he'd gone with something else (has "It's Not Unusual" ever been in a movie? that's waiting there for anyone with the good sense to use it). "Live and Let Die" was...funny. And you get to hear the double preposition.

I don't get the resemblance to Boogie Nights aside from lol period and the marketing. It's slightly more obvious that the movie has nothing to say in this case.

As far as movies where celebs wear funky threads to AM gold go, anchorman 2 was not only funnier but arguably more politically conscious and definitely more self aware about utilizing cliches in the third act. Admittedly less likely to get trophies, MTV aside.

Will Ferrell way more engaging a clown than Christian bale

Will take Jennifer Lawrence over Christina Applegate as the ex who demands to be reckoned with, though. Preferred Meagan good to Amy Adams as the sexy coworker in the love triangle.

It felt like a mishmash of Boogie Nights/Scorsese/Tarantino. The party scene where Bale meets Adams, that was staged very similarly to the "Spill a Wine" scene in Boogie Nights (with Chicago subbing for Eric Burdon). The principals walking along in slow-motion underneath the credits is like the credit sequence in Reservoir Dogs (with Steely Dan subbing for George Baker). Anyone who has no patience for such stuff anymore won't be impressed. I have infinite patience with that kind of thing.

otm

the total way less than the sum of its parts, but so many great parts

i didn't see any.

The end?

and there was a scene shot from a car trunk, how thrilling

Croups you say tons of awful contrarian stuff but this: Preferred Meagan good to Amy Adams as the sexy coworker in the love triangle. takes the cake. Even if you prefer Anchorman 2, Meagan Good was awful in it, and Amy Adams was easily the best part of American Hustle.

wow i hadn't considered that, here's your cake back

It's slightly more obvious that the movie has nothing to say in this case.

Haven't given this much thought; I don't mean to be anti-intellectual, just being honest, but I only sometimes spend time on this if a film first engages me at the level of performances, direction, and story. And then I may or may not go forward from there. Some of my favourite films of the last 15 years--Zodiac, No Country for Old Men, Boogie Nights, The Virgin Suicides--I've got my own version of what they're trying to say. Sometimes--Rushmore comes to mind--I'm not sure that they have anything to say. That's fine--I don't need it. And when films like The Tree of Life or The Master come up short at the level of engagement, what they have to say won't make me like them better.

American Hustle is definitely trying to say something, but like tipsy says above, I responded more to the Bale-Adams relationship than any statements about identity, America (yikes), or whatever.

"if you want to send a message, use aol instant messenger" - samuel goldwyn

lol old people

That's funny--I was actually thinking about Nat Hentoff's famous Bob Dylan interview, slocki:

Well, anyway, second of all, you've got to respect other people's right to also have a message themselves. Myself, what I'm going to do is rent Town Hall and put about 30 Western Union boys on the bill. I mean, then there'll really be some messages. People will be able to come and hear more messages than they've ever heard before in their life.

Yeah I don't think it's even trying to be a political film. There's the overall sense that everyone's on the make or on the take, but that seems more like general human behavior than anything specific to a place or time. It's more about the web of relationships, loyalties, jealousies, and how all of those affect everyone's individual actions. Not that that's inherently profound -- it's a deliberately light movie, maybe deliberately slight too. But I was entertained.

http://variety.com/2013/film/awards/how-american-hustle-conned-the-critics-1200963635/

That’s why last year’s “Silver Linings Playbook” was such a delight:

stopped reading

Yeah, I never saw that one or the boxing one before that. I've only seen Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees and Flirting with Disaster. Never saw Spanking the Monkey, either, come to think of it. Maybe if I had seen Silver Linings and the boxing one I would have liked this one less?

I should re-watch Three Kings. Loved it at the time.

Hmm, wonder why Marky Mark didn't make it into this one? He's in three of the others. The director clearly inspires some loyalty.

I loved three kings when it came out, but between my reaction to everything he's done since and my experience reassessing other clas of 1999 films I'm afraid to look.

That’s why last year’s “Silver Linings Playbook” was such a delight:

stopped reading

― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, December 28, 2013 2:03 PM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i didn't stop reading but i definitely stopped caring after that point

actually this bit induced vomiting:

A few years back, a video of Russell sparring with actress Lily Tomlin on the set of “I Heart Huckabees” hit the Web, in which Tomlin complained about how difficult it was to deliver a performance when the director kept changing his mind. The video left the impression that Russell was difficult to work with, while his oeuvre, beginning with the semi-autobiographical incest comedy “Spanking the Monkey” and the no-less-dysfunctional family portrait “Flirting With Disaster,” hinted that the director himself might be mentally unwell, the way certain impressionistic paintings — by Goya, Van Gogh or Munch — give viewers the sense of being trapped inside the head of a crazy person.

typical Variety insider bullshit. Who the fuck cares?

On the bright side, he didn't say "helmer" anywhere.

Hmm, wonder why Marky Mark didn't make it into this one? He's in three of the others. The director clearly inspires some loyalty.

― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, December 28, 2013 6:27 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

they had a falling out over Silver Linings Playbook, DOR wanted wahlberg to be in it for scale and MW was like fuck that, so he was replaced with bradley cooper (boooo), looks like they still havent made up - which is a pity bc they brought out the best in each other imo

otoh it frees MW to work with James Gray.

I can't really get past the fact that this 70s period piece has the word "Hustle" in its title, not to mention the word "American," and all those costume shop getups in all the promos.

Oh yeah why was Louis CK's boss doing a Christopher Walken voice the whole time? That was odd.

orig title was American Bullshit, which fits by me

Morbs OTM re: Bale doing DeNiro in a film where DeNiro appears. Great set and costume design, J Lawrence looked lush and acted circles around Amy Adams but this was an annoying bore.

which is a pity bc they brought out the best in each other imo

― Hungry4Ass, Saturday, December 28, 2013 8:48 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah this is a national tragedy

this movie is kinda bad tho

yes, Calum Marsh has the right idea:

"Comparing this even unfavorably to Scorsese is too high a compliment. This isn't second-rate Goodfellas; it's second-rate The Cooler."

wow this was crap. i've given up on david o. russell.

This was fucking awful. Felt less alone when Calum tweeted shortly after I watched it.

It is a really shitty movie, Bradshaw's 4 star review is a stinker. Made even worse by that annoying trait of fake bald characters - just hire a bald actor ffs.