American Hustle

Cinema's new directorial darling, David O. Russell, drops us smack dab into the middle of the 1970's with musical accompaniment that would make Cameron Crowe jealous. The costumes are pitch perfect as the opening scene finds Christian Bale meticulously applying a ridiculous toupee and pinning his combover into place in a painstakingly detailed process. The end result is about the same as the movie, an amazing process and an ironically tacky ending.

Bale for my money is one of the best, and he doesn't disappoint as Irving Rosenfeld. He's a New York grifter who you just can't help but feel a little compassionate for. That's the brilliance of Bale. He's so authentic, even as a scumbag that you care for his character a little. In this case it adds to the story blurring the lines between right and wrong, good and bad. Amy Adams is Sydney Prosser, the love of his life. Kindred spirits and similar scruples, they are a harmless Bonnie and Clyde, until they are caught by shady FBI agent DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). He lives with his mom and desperately wants to be a big time crime fighter. His heart is in the right place, but his motives and methods make him a bit of a loose cannon. His tightly permed hair and cheap suits do his character justice as he shows yet another quality acting performance. Jeremy Renner, Louis CK, and Robert DeNiro all turn in great supporting roles, but the most talked about and probably most volatile is Jennifer Lawrence as Bale's estranged wife, Rosalyn. They share a son and a sort of dysfunctional family dynamic that is endearing. There's no abuse, but there's a lot of frustration and misunderstanding, but it's cute in the way that David O. Russell made mental illness cute in Silver Linings Playbook. If that makes any sense.

American Hustle is a comedy at heart, but it tries to do too much. Mostly based on a true story, as disclaimed at the beginning, we get the sense that this is going to be a major corruption scandal, and the resolution is mostly satisfying, but in retrospect, it's a bit of a lightweight story. No real plot twists, no double crossing, and DeNiro was only in one scene (which he owned), which could have been a much more special role. The film hits style and period right on the nose, and you feel like you're in the 1970's from the get-go, but it just sort of fizzles.

The point of this film is to put an amazing ensemble cast together during the "it" period (1970's) for cinema right now. Argo struck gold with it last year, and the costume, makeup, and set designers must be loving the resurgence of the era. I wouldn't be surprised if American Hustle out-hustles some of the other films for Oscar gold. Lawrence and Bale have rarely if ever been better, Cooper is in his element, Adams is stunning, and Renner plays out of type, which is refreshing, as his character Carmine Polito, the mayor of Camden, NJ is very likable for a bit of a goombah. Don't count the commas in that last sentence please.

Amy Adams will get a Best Actress nomination and Jennifer Lawrence will get a Best Supporting Actress nomination. These are the two sure things, but there are a lot of other possibilities. That's the great thing about the O. Russell phenomenon. He creates ripe characters and has found his muses (this cast is basically a combination of The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook). He evokes great performances and is gaining a reputation as an Oscar magnet. Although I don't personally think it's the best film of the year (Captain Phillips, Gravity) it might be more audience-friendly than the gritty 12 Years a Slave, which is sitting on top of the field right now. The Academy loved Argo, and this has the same vibe, but without the suspense or tension.

The film doesn't really do it for me, and it's because of the ending. I'm not going to give anything away, but I found Bale and Adams to be very likable criminals, and Cooper to be a bit of a loser as a cop. Maybe that's the rub as it's not a typical heist flick, but there isn't enough action for my money. Put these great actors and actresses in a room and see what happens is a more accurate description. Perhaps if the humorous element was removed, and some danger was injected it would have been a bit more fulfilling.

In any case, it's a fun film full of nomination potential, and O. Russell has truly found his niche with a third straight base hit. Not a homerun, and not quite as good as Silver Linings Playbook, but good enough. See it for the acting. See it for Bale's toupee and belly. See it for Lawrence's ranting breakdowns, see it for Cooper's ridiculous perm, and see it for Adams' plunging dressline. Don't expect a great story though. 7/10.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Hours 13-15 of Peter Jackson's 18 hour Tolkien homage take us into the lair of Smaug, the fire-breathing dragon who is guarding the Arkenstone, the gem that can restore unity to the Dwarf tribes, and give them the power to take back their homeland. Meanwhile, the evil Sauron prepares to take over all of Middle Earth and spread darkness throughout the land.

Once again, the fate of Middle Earth depends on the courage of a simple Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. Surrounded by Elves, Dwarves, Wizards, Orcs, Goblins, and a handful of men, he continues his quest to find a sacred gem, running into peril over and over, and ironically being the one who saves the day repeatedly. He is becoming more of a hero and a fighter than I remember from the book, but then again, Peter Jackson has taken a handful of liberties in his retelling of the story.

The most noticeable liberty being the addition of Tauriel, a lowly yet incredibly attractive elf warrior (Evangeline Lilly) who desperately loves the son of the Elf King Thranduil (Lee Pace), but will forever live unrequited because of their class differences. The son of the King, Legolas (Orlando Bloom), makes a reappearance after being a fan favorite in the first three LOTR films, and he has a decidedly bitter attitude. I couldn't tell if that was intentional, or if the point was to show his combat prowess. Either way, it was strange to see him over ten years older, playing a character many years younger. A bit out of place, but I'm sure it appeased the masses of fans. The Dwarves are again led by the selfish and prideful Thorin Oakenshield, who is thrust into the film's lead role, and loses a lot of his luster as his actions are often cold and without thought of the safety of his men (or entire towns or villages). He of course has the opportunity to redeem himself in the final act, hours 16-18, but I left the theatre kind of hoping that he would get burned up by Smaug.

Speaking of Smaug. Voiced by the unmistakable Benedict Cumberbatch, the visuals are amazing. It's somewhere between and hour and a half and two hours into the movie when we finally get to see him, and he is a spectacular feat of computer generated magic. He toys with Bilbo in a wonderful conversation that is the antithesis of Bilbo's showdown with the harmless Gollum (who I kind of missed this time around). The dragon steals the show, as is the intent. The first half of the film just builds to the inevitable and although there is some action, there's only so much excitement that follows a band of Dwarves and a Hobbit. Smaug is incredible. If there were an award for "Best Dragon", he would win it for sure. But there's not, so...

One parallel story follows Gandalf and his wanderlust around Middle Earth as he leaves abruptly to answer one of life's ponderous questions. He is of course put in harms way, and has to battle with his magic to escape. A second story and seemingly unnecessary finds a simmering love growing between a young Dwarf, and Tauriel. It's odd and out of place, but I guess every action epic needs a love story of some sort, and no offense, but Hobbit women are pretty frumpy. And yet a third storyline follows a new character, Bard the bargeman (the bowman, played by Luke Evans) as we get to see the lake town that seems a terrible place to live. Cold, wet, and literally built on water. What is this, Venice? Of course, next winter's act three (or six if you're splitting hairs), The Hobbit: There and Back Again, will find the humans of Laketown battling Smaug, aided only by Dwarves, Elves, and one small, but courageous Hobbit. Oh Bilbo, you are so adventurous.

What I like about Jackson's storytelling is that he establishes parallel storylines so that it is possible for him to escape dull moments quickly and easily, and skip to some more engaging action sequences with the others. He builds action slowly. Almost too slowly in many cases, but his attention to detail in setting, characters, and the world in which they live is remarkable. Twenty or thirty years from now, the six Lord of the Rings films will be remembered as a cinematic achievement second only to the Avatar quadrilogy (just you wait - parts 2, 3, and 4 will revolutionize cinema). Much like Star Wars was supposed to before the disappointing Phantom Menace, Peter Jackson has created five (let's be honest, how could he possibly screw up part 6?) incredibly consistent and high quality films. He is the master of this genre, and how can he possibly move on to other projects after this?

I love these films, but to be honest, I'm getting pretty tired of them. Blasphemy you say, but I've hit a point where it's just not giving me anything I haven't seen before. For the big finale, I would love to see something shocking, or out of character for Jackson. What we will probably get though, is an hour long farewell to our Hobbit family, and a long, drawn out closure to the entire story. It's going to be fitting however it ends up, and I'll be the first in line for the epic last chapter. It will hold a place in cinematic history to be sure, but that's for the whole collection, not The Hobbit part 2. 7/10 for nostalgia and Smaug.