American Hustle Film Review

Hustle in to see American Hustle!

Long story short: "A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive British partner, Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia." (Source:IMDB)

American Hustle lays out everything you love about the 70s: great hair, leisure suits, cocaine, and shattered dreams.

The film is built as the 2013 revival of the classic Scorsese gangster pictures like Goodfellas and Casino, but without the gangsters. It has the plot twists, the plethora of pop tunes, the conniving characters, the backstabbings, the high life, the low life, the disgruntled females merciless attached to crooked husbands, the stranded children, and so on. But it's new. Fresh out of the oven. Baked with wonderful performances and tight scriptwriting. And it has characters who inhabit the story and make it their own.

American Hustle is without a shadow of a doubt the best picture that David O. Russel could ever make, and that says a whole lot due to the caliber of excellence already under his belt. Its a sprawling epic of a crime movie that hearkens back to some of the greatest cinematic techniques utilized by Scorsese and Altman. Its a brilliant screenplay of sorts that only increases with cultural flair and dramatic tension with every frame. Its easy to really pin down the plot of the film since this certainly isn't the first time a movie has been made about successful and or unsuccessful con men in the midst of their "crime of the century". But what makes this movie shine the most is its performances, which are without a doubt one of the greatest of the year (12 Years A Slave is a worthy contender) . Also including perhaps the best cameo I've seen -not because of the cameo itself, but because of the meaning of the cameo.
Every single one of them--Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence--deserved their nominations. Bale is subtle and brilliant as Irving, the main conman. He is unappealing and dubious, yet you can't help but like him. His later soft heart towards Jeremy Renner's Carmine is icing on the cake for the dabbling in the gray area. Amy Adams shines, literally at times, as Sydney, Irving's con partner. She is the most volatile and hardest character to read for most of the film. Adams embodies the cocoon that Sydney has created with elegance and fiery deceit. Cooper is entirely convincing as the Richie, the FBI agent whose own ambition proves to be too much. Cooper brings the same electrifying energy he put on display for 'Silver Linings Playbook' (2012), and doesn't miss a beat between howl of laughter of roar of frustration as his plans become convoluted to a maximal degree. Jeremy Renner is also an absolute winner as Carmine, the mayor, despite not receiving an award nod as of yet. Renner is the consummate politician, and you can't help but sympathize with his character (even though you wonder if you should be, 95% of the time). Last, but certainly not least, is Jennifer Lawrence's Rosalyn, Irving's hysterical, deranged wife. The hype around Lawrence's role is well-deserved, she solidified herself among the elite with this role. Each of her scenes brought laughs and anticipation as you awaited what sort of screwball situations her character would stir up next. Standing ovation to all of the cast on this one--you stand far high above the rest. 

 Many viewers claim to be confused and/or bored by the plot. This is a grievous misstep on their part, in my opinion. The brilliance of the plot lies in the thematic mists of the 'gray areas' if you pay close attention.  At the core, this movie is more than just a dazzling spectacle of throwback clothing and crazy hairstyles. It speaks to an era. It speaks to human emotion and ambition. It speaks to the world we live in today. It speaks sometimes with an infectious British accent and sometimes adroitly American. Most importantly, it speaks. Go out and listen to what it has to say (too corny?)

Seen the film? Tell me what you think!

12 Years A Slave Film Review

On Friday 18th i went to London Film Festival premier of Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave. 

Long story short- a random and foolish encounter has led Solomon Northup from living freely in New York to being kidnapped and sold into slavery in

Louisiana, getting handed over to various slave owners. There, Solomon

witnesses numerous acts of cruelty that no man should ever face.

As I stared at the movie screen with full dread, I was reeling back at

certain scenes I had just witnessed. There were good films and

television shows about slavery before, and they had various nuances at

how to tackle slavery. This film is part of said resurgence of the sub-

genre, hot on the heels of “Django Unchained” and “The Butler”. But

while the former relinquishes on Spaghetti Western entertainment more

than attempting to address the issue in a political light as the

latter, Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave” shuts those two up, and

perhaps the entire sub-genre, for good. I doubt any future

slavery-themed film will be as harrowing as this one was.

Steve McQueen is a fearless filmmaker, continuing his streak of

unfiltered brutality within human depths. He frames his actors’ faces

in extreme close-up, the eyes staring into despair, the nostrils fuming

in aggression. Naked flesh are shown not because of erotic content, but

rather because of desperation and futility. Long takes and wide shots

are not uncommon in his films, and here they showcase a plethora of

fantastic scenes and performances that work to discomfort the viewer as

much as possible. McQueen doesn’t just allow the audience to tackle

slavery, he guts the audience and leaves them for the consequences.

This is an extremely uncomfortable film to watch. Beautifully shot

locations are placeholders for unsettling sequences before and after,

contemplated by Hans Zimmer’s poignant and at times horrifying score.

This all works to create a nightmarish time and place where hell walks

on Earth.

Central to all of this is the performance of Chiwetel Ejiofor as

Solomon. Ejiofor showcases that he is a natural force to be reckoned

with in this film, after a decade of mostly supporting characters. He

spaces out in despair as the camera lingers onto him for solid minutes,

not a word spoken. Another sequence shows him mourning the death of a

fellow worker, in which the singing of the surrounding group compels

him and shakes him down to tears. These scenes follow earlier ones

where he is a classy, free man in the upper states, mingling happily

with the crowd and partaking in fanciful music sessions. It is a

tour-de-force performance.

A fine ensemble of established and up-and-coming actors surround

Ejiofor in his limelight - Paul Dano, Paul Giammati, Alfre Woodard,

Sarah Paulson, and Lupita Nyong’o in a heartbreaking performance as an abused slave, even Brad Pitt and Benedict Cumberbatch play somewhat nice guy roles, but none so ferociously as McQueen regular Michael Fassbender as the despicable, sadistic plantation owner Edwin Epps. So excellent and terrifying is Fassbender’s portrayal of such a merciless and barbaric person, that the mere sight of him will either cause audience members unfamiliar to him to flinch.

I was left speechless as the credits rolled. A lesser film would have

added tacked-on sentimentality/exaggeration and politically influenced

claptrap. Not this one. This is a movie to watch as a reminder of how

powerful the human spirit can endeavor, and how lucky all of us have

grown past that dreadful time in history. The full effect of it has not

been felt in movies before, until now.

After it ended everyone in the audience gave Steve McQueen a well deserved standing ovation as he came back onto the stage.
 I had to run off early so i didnt attend the full Q&A because I would have missed the last train home due to the film starting 45 minutes late! I was so upset by that because when he came out before he said how glad he was to be back in London because he had been subjected to the most infuriating stuff while away and he said he would tell us about it after the film.

I rushed off to the tube station and only upon finally sitting down was I able to process what I had just watched. I know it’s released in America this weekend so if you are near a theatre showing it then go immediately.

Managed to get a picture of Steve Mcqueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Lupita Nyong'o (WHO GAVE ME A HUG  ON THE RED CARPET BTW!!!!!) during the Q&A

Seen the movie? Well, what did you think? Leave comments below!

EDIT: the film's official UK release date is 10th January 2014

Prisoners Movie Review

                                         

 Hugh Jackman AND Jake Gyllenhaal in a film? of course i was going to see this film 

Long story short: after a thanksgiving dinner, 2 girls, Anna Dover (Erin Gerasimovich) and Joy Birch (Kyla Drew Simmons) go missing. After no strong leads are found and investigations conducted by Det. Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) proves to be worthless, Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) takes matter into his own hand and is willing to do anything to find his little girl. (see trailer below)

This is possibly Hugh Jackman's best performance. He portrays Keller Dover with such anger and hostility that he holds nothing back and yet never over does it and keeps the realism going throughout. i was surprised, as i have never been much of Jackman fan...'till now. The character of Keller is such a different role to the one we're used to seeing in X-men for example. Lets not forget about Gyllenhaal who, i have always been a fan of since seeing in Brokeback Mountain and Zodiac but i've never seen him quite as epic as with this portrayal of Detective Loki, a man who is so disconnected from his own emotions. TERRENCE HOWARD! i will never forget your name ever again, or refer to you as that 'lightksin guy with the nice eyes that isnt michael ealy', i was unaware how brilliant of an actor he was. Overall, all characters are great and the actors truly make this movie what it is- intense, gripping, gritty & thought provoking.

that being said, the film isnt perfect. It's a bit predictable and includes cliches e.g. the tipping over of the desk & the perfectly timed phone calls

but that's not the worst fault here. Although incredibly paced, i do feel like 2hr 33mins running time for a film like this is unnecessary but amazingly, the film never becomes tedious. The main fault however, is the fact that i was able to figure out the culprit before the characters as this meant that i lost understanding for some of their actions.

Possibly my favourite film of 2013 & in my opinon, the best i've ever seen Jackman and Gyllenhaal.

Frances Rating: 8/10

The Butler Movie Review

Hi guys,

It's been awhile & I know- I am the worlds worst blogger but August was a very busy month for me and sadly, I didn't get to see many movies (booooooo!)

Anyway, I'm back now with a new review for Lee Daniels' The Butler which I had a chance to see whilst I was still in America. Unfortunately, there's no UK release date as of yet.

My anticipation for The Butler began we I saw Oprah’s instagram picture with Terrence Howard. It was epic. I was excited to see what Oprah would bring to the table as an actress.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that."

The film was based on the true story of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) and the progression of his life - first, as young boy working on a cotton farm, then inside the home, and eventually at a fancy hotel. After being discovered by a White House staffer, Cecil was hired as one of the butlers for the president, beginning with Eisenhower and ending with Reagan (though the story does continue to the present times). The film showed both the prevalence of racism and the many people who fought for equality during the civil rights movement. The casting was spot on and I think all of the actors were excellent in their roles, especially Forest Whitaker (duh!). 

Its not all glitter and gold. I do have some queries with this film. Oprah performance in this film was amazing & if she does get an Oscar it will be well deserved but once again, it plays to stereotype of 'the sassy black woman' which I'm just sick and tired of seeing time and time again (remember when Whoopi Goldberg won an Oscar for her role as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost? when the sole purpose of her character was to support the white couple and entertain the audience with her sass? remember?!). Lastly, structurally, that movie was a mess, like a glorified stage play, or was this just me?

Overall, this story was deeply moving and one that I definitely recommend, and i'm so glad that the story wasn't over sentimentalised like 'The Color Purple'.

So, what do you guys think of the film? Feel  free to leave comments below & I promise to update more.