American Hustle:
Initially titled "American Bullshit", this David O. Russell film features many actors from him previous works, such as Christian Bale (The Fighter), Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), and Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook). Newcomers include Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Louis C.K. in a small supporting role. Robert De Niro (also from SLP) makes an uncredited cameo, and Michael Pena and Jack Huston also appear. Bale did his usually physical transformation for this role, once again proving he's not just a talented actor, he's a chameleon who disappears into his roles. This time, he went the opposite direction from his role in The Machinist, instead of losing a ton of weight, he gained some to get the pot-belly needed to portray con man Irving Rosenfeld, who is based on a real con man. The story follows Irving, who must work with an FBI agent, his mistress, and his air-headed and erratic wife to set up an elaborate scheme to set up corrupt politicians, include the good-natured mayor of Camden, New Jersey. The cast are incredible, and the standouts have to be Bale, Lawrence, and Renner. I really felt bad for Renner, as he is manipulated by the other characters, especially Bale, who actually begins to warm up to Renner, making the eventual outcome of their relationship (which I won't give away) pretty tragic. I really enjoyed the soundtrack, it's filled with classic 70's tunes, such as "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John, and even some stuff by Duke Ellington. Danny Elfman did some original music for the film as well. David O. Russell once again proves he can make an effective comedy-drama. His screenplay (which he co-wrote with Eric Warren Singer) is excellent, the dialogue is sharp and witty, and the characters are funny and feel very real. American Hustle is an entertaining and fun crime comedy that will make you both laugh out loud but also tear up a bit. 4/5 stars.
The Wolf of Wall Street:
Martin Scorsese's latest movie not only runs 3 hours long, but broke the record for uses of the word "fuck" in a movie. Based on the real, sometimes insane, story of Jordan Belfort, the film follows Belfort on his crazy, sex-filled, drug-fueled journey as he climbs the Wall Street ladder through illegal means. Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, and Jonah Hill star, and Matthew McConaughey, Jon Bernthal, Rob Reiner, Jean Dujardin, Jon Favreau, and Kyle Chandler appear in supporting roles. Director Spike Jonze makes an uncredited cameo, and the real Jordan Belfort also appears briefly. DiCaprio is fantastic as the womanizing, coke and pill-addicted, alcoholic, and sometimes insane titular character, the "wolf of Wall Street", who gets his tons of money through illegal scams. Despite all his faults, you can't help but feel bad for him as his seemingly perfect life falls to pieces around him. Hill plays his unpredictable and equally shameless friend Donnie, who is as crude and fucked-up as a person can be, but you love him. I couldn't get enough of him! He's so funny and insane and stupid. Margot Robbie doesn't actually do that much in the film except: 1) be hot, 2) be Leo's wife. However, when the movie called for it, she did a great job capturing the emotions of a woman who slowly realizes what a shitty person her husband is becoming. The movie, while being a bit excessive and graphic, is actually a pretty funny and enjoyable, with lots of dark humor and some poignant drama. Despite the movie being pretty damn good and surprisingly well-written and funny, it's sometimes hard to relate to these people, who sometimes can be very disgusting and despicable and corrupt and seemingly irredeemable. Also, Scorsese really pushed the boundaries on this one. Not so much on the sex and drugs and language, but that, too. But I'm talking about the time length. The movie is exactly 3 hours long, and although I was able to be entertained for that amount of time, many movie-goers have short attention spans, and may not be willing to sit through a 3-hour comedy-drama, even one filled with sex, drugs, and crime. However, I enjoyed The Wolf of Wall Street a good deal, and definitely recommend it if you're in the mood for something long, wild, and hilarious. 4/5 stars.
(Images: Wikipedia)
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