AMERICAN HUSTLE

The cast of American Hustle

AMERICAN HUSTLE (2013). Director: David O. Russell.

"Sometimes all you have in life are fucked-up, poisonous choices."

Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) is a married con artist/loan shark with a really elaborate comb-over who works with his lover, Sydney (Amy Adams), in conning desperate and larcenous people out of their money. They get caught by arrogant, ambitious agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), who tells them they can stay out of jail if they help him in a sting operation. The target for entrapment is Atlantic City mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner of Mission Impossible -- Ghost Protocol), who needs money to bring gambling to AC (this takes place in the late seventies). When Polito begins making deals with gambling experts who happen to be mobsters, such as Victor Tellegio (Robert De Niro), Richie, who begins an affair with Sydney, figures he can bring down even bigger fish than Polito. Realizing they are the ones the gangsters will go after when the whole thing blows up, Irving and Sydney come up with a secret counter-scheme, but will Irving's jealous wife, Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), cause more problems than they can handle? 

American Hustle is an okay movie with some clever moments and a fairly satisfying ending, but it's incredible that it won an Oscar as Best Picture -- all four lead actors won Oscars as well --  proving that studio backing and aggressiveness can and often is more responsible for the garnering of awards than genuine quality. The acting is okay (but never outstanding) for the most part -- one could single out Bale [American Psycho] for his character role -- but the cast members all seem to be exuding personality in a naturalistic manner rather than acting (a common occurrence in modern-day movies). Also the movie is played as a black comedy, which is also typical of many new movies, and has not a single likable character. It also has senseless scenes, such as a girl-on-girl kiss between wife and startled mistress in a ladies room, that seem thrown in for titillation and nothing else. American Hustle also tells an 80 minute story in two and a half hours! It in no way compares to great con man/film noir classics of the past such as Too Late for Tears/Killer Bait.

Verdict: This isn't terrible, but a masterpiece with truly great acting it is not. **1/2.

ROUND UP OF NEW AND RECENT FILMS PART SEVEN

The Joker meets Boy Batman

ROUND UP OF NEW AND RECENT FILMS PART SEVEN.

Joker (2019). Not a "super-hero" film as such, Joker looks at the life of Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and shows how he transformed into Batman's arch-enemy, the clown-faced, maniacal Joker. Essentially this is a slow if absorbing study of a lonely and mentally-unstable outsider with show biz aspirations, a horrible mother, and a childhood full of abuse. Batman is still a child at the time this takes place, and Arthur wrongly imagines that he is Bruce Wayne's half-brother. Made fun of by talk show host and comic Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro), he winds up a guest on the show with predictable results. Arthur is presented as an angry victim with some legitimate grievances, but his being turned into a champion of the poor and downtrodden is utterly ludicrous and just doesn't work. Very well-acted by Phoenix and De Niro, Joker is by no means a bad movie -- although it's not always well-paced -- but Best Picture ...? No. Directed by Todd Phillips, this has an interesting score by Hildur Guanodottir. Unless you're a total geek, you'll probably forget about the movie five minutes after you see it. **3/4.

Downton Abbey (2019) revisits the Crawley family from the very popular TV series and works effectively as an especially long episode. The King and Queen are going to spend the night at the estate, and everyone is thrown into a tizzy, especially the servants, who are told that the King's staff will take over and that even the cook, Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol), will have to temporarily turn in her apron. They aren't going to take that lying down! Meanwhile handsome butler Barrow (Robert James-Collier) is also temporarily shunted aside by retired Carson (Jim Carter), but Barrow finds a like-soul after he's caught in a raid on a gay bar. (Barrow is a much more sympathetic character in this than when he was first introduced.) Violet (Maggie Smith) is appalled that a relative is going to leave her fortune to a maid -- goodness! -- instead of Violet's son, but discovers the reason why. And a sneak thief is stealing various items from the household. One could quibble about certain aspects of the story, but for the most part Downton Abbey is delightful and beautifully acted, with equal parts charm, class and sentiment. Directed by Michael Engler. ***1/4. 

GOODFELLAS

Lorraine Bracco and Ray Liotta

GOODFELLAS (1990). Director: Martin Scorsese.

As a boy Henry Hill (Christopher Serrone) admires the mobsters in the neighborhood who play by their own rules (unlike the "suckers") and goes to work for them. As an adult, Henry (Ray Liotta of The Son of No One) realizes he can only go so far because he is part Irish and not full Italian. In spite of this, he makes lots of money and marries a dead-common but feisty gal named Karen (Lorraine Bracco). Henry reports to Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino) but his main pals and associates are Jimmy (Robert De Niro) and the psychotic Tommy DeVito (Oscar-winning Joe Pesci). Henry risks Paulie's wrath when he goes against his orders and gets into the drug trafficking business ... 

Paul Sorvino

One thing you have to say about Goodfellas: it is not a dull movie and it is very well-acted by the entire cast. Although many mob films seem to glamorize the mafia, only an idiot can look at this movie and envy the gross lives of the characters who may for a time live in beautiful homes and have lots of moola but generally wind up dead or with long, long jail sentences. While I've no doubt much of the film, based on Nicholas Pileggi's Wiseguy (from Hill's recollections) is true, I also wouldn't doubt that Hill made himself out to be "nicer" than other mobsters and did his best to add to the alleged "glory" of his slimy legend. Entering the witness protection program (from which he was later thrown out), he became a minor celebrity for morons.

Robert De Niro

Goodfellas is undeniably entertaining and well-done, but one has to remember that its basic story -- the rise of a young man in the rackets -- is as old as the hills. The film offers an inside look into the stories of repellent low lives, but Goodfellas doesn't really have any more depth than, say, 1961's Portrait of a Mobster. Of course, when the lead character is a reptile like Hill you can hardly expect much humanism. Goodfellas is completely absorbing, but it's also depressing. Scorsese, De Niro, and Pesci all collaborated on Raging Bull ten years earlier.

Verdict: There really is no honor among thieves. ***. 

MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN (1994)

Robert De Niro

MARY SHELLEY'S FRANKENSTEIN (1994). Director: Kenneth Branagh.

Kenneth Branagh [Wallander; Sidetracked] both directed and plays Victor Frankenstein in this version of the venerable story, that -- as expected, regardless of the title -- plays as fast and loose with Mary Shelley as any other Frankenstein movie. Unlike the novel, the film shows us the man who became the basis of the monster, and in a ridiculous scene that borders on travesty, Victor tries to bring Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter of Dark Shadows) back to life! Tom Hulce plays Henry Clerval, with Aidan Quinn as Captain Walton and Ian Holm [Another Woman] as the elder Baron Frankenstein. When I first saw this I was rather appalled by Robert De Niro's performance as the monster, but he seemed a bit better this time around. The actors are all good, but none are great, and the time frame is all wrong. This has a handsome production, but Patrick Doyle's score, while good, is frequently over-dramatic.

Verdict: "Mary Shelley's" Frankenstein this isn't! **1/2.

RIGHTEOUS KILL

De Niro and Pacino

RIGHTEOUS KILL (2008). Director: Jon Avnet.

Homicide detectives Turk (Robert De Niro) and Rooster (Al Pacino) try to discover whoever it is who is murdering sociopaths and low lives. One of the detectives narrates the story in flashback, sort of stripping the film of suspense -- the twist at the end comes a little too late. It's a great idea to combine Al Pacino and Robert De Niro [Raging Bull] in the same movie, as they were in the excellent Heat, but someone should have come up with a workable script. Righteous Kill is far-fetched and may have the members of the audience scratching their heads at the ending. John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg are wasted as younger smart-alec detectives, Brian Dennehy [The Challenger Disaster] has some good moments as the cop boss, and Carla Gugino has a thankless role as a fellow detective who is also sleeping with Turk. Avet also directed 88 Minutes, which is better than this.

Verdict: Poor suspense film. **.

HIDE AND SEEK

HIDE AND SEEK. (2005). Director: John Polson. Screenplay: Ari Schlossberg.

After his wife commits suicide, Robert De Niro takes his young daughter (Dakota Fanning) to a new home in the country where she seems to be beset by figurative or literal demons. She has an imaginary friend named Charlie who's soon up to some dirty tricks – or is he imaginary? The picture holds the attention but doesn't really become gripping or suspenseful until it's nearly over, when the mystery over who and what “Charlie” is and who he'll kill next, begins to give you the willies – and then – the mystery is solved practically the next moment and what results is a prosaic chase. [I won't spoil the film by revealing the revelation; let's just say it's been done before – over and over and over again.] Hide and Seek is well-directed, has a couple of tense moments, and is very well acted by De Niro and Fanning, although the girl's character is perhaps a little too creepy for her to be entirely sympathetic. Amy Irving is written off at the beginning, and Elisabeth (Leaving Las Vegas) Shue has virtually nothing to do as De Niro's friend. Famke Janssen gets a little more screen time as his colleague and former pupil.

Verdict: Okay, but nothing special. **.

RAGING BULL

RAGING BULL (1980). Director: Martin Scorsese.

The unapologetic story of boxer Jake La Motta, who became middle-weight champion of the world for a time but also beat his wife out of almost pathological jealousy and all around was his own worst enemy, winding up doing stale routines in nightclubs in an effort to hold on to his celebrity and make some money. While the film is well-made and well-acted for the most part, Scorsese too often confuses violence with drama, and the film never quite overcomes the fact that its lead character is utterly repellent. Robert De Niro is fine as La Motta, but often he seems more like De Niro than La Motta. Cathy Moriarty and Joe Pesci are also quite good as, respectively, La Motta's wife and brother, whom he accuses of having an affair together. Sometimes Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin's screenplay strains to find serious drama in this story of a moronic lug. Still, while the film isn't really great despite its reputation, it does hold the attention and has some good scenes. Much of the film's atmosphere and power is actually derived from the background music, taken from the work of Italian opera composer Pietro Mascagni (the music comes from Cavalleria rusticana, Silvano and Guglielmo Ratcliff). This really doesn't compare favorably to other films that also deal with brutal environments and characters, such as On the Waterfront.

Verdict: Acclaimed but not for all tastes. ***.