Happy New Year, everyone! Just thought I'd start off 2014 by posting a quick review of David O. Russell's latest flick. While it didn't impress me as much as last year's Silver Linings Playbook (also directed by Russell) did, American Hustle is still an entertaining film. How could it not be when you have Christian Bale and Jeremy Renner squaring off against Bradley Cooper (and Robert De Niro, briefly), and Amy Adams is just a heartbeat away from getting into a catfight with Jennifer Lawrence? This is a great ensemble cast that you have here...but it's Christian Bale and Amy Adams who steal the show. Lawrence almost has the same sultry persona that won her an Oscar for Playbook last February, but Adams conveys more of a wild side with the way that she interacts with Bale and Cooper in the movie. Well that, and Adams is scantily clad for 95% of the film.
Story-wise, American Hustle is your typical con artist flick that is on the same level as the Ocean's Eleven trilogy, as well as Danny Boyle's recent movie, Trance. It's the star power brought by Bale (sporting a beer belly and an elaborate comb-over here) and his fellow Oscar winners/nominees that make Hustle a formidable film. I wouldn't be surprised if Bale is up for Best Actor and Adams for Best Actress in this year's Academy Awards, with Cooper and Lawrence (most likely Lawrence) getting similar nods in the Best Supporting categories. We'll find out come January 16...when the nominations are officially announced by the Academy. And in case you're wondering if American Hustle is based on a true story, some of it actually happened. That is all.
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