American Hustle

Continuing to play catch-up, here's my review of Oscar hopeful: American Hustle.

Based off the ABSCAM operation and set during the late 1970's and early 1980's, Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) is a low level con artist working with his girlfriend Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams). After both are caught in a scam by FBI Agent Richie DiMaso, (Bradley Cooper) Irving and Sydney reluctantly work for Richie to bring down various politicians including the mayor of Camden, New Jersey, Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner).

Due to the complexity of the undercover operation, not all parts go smoothly. Irving's unpredictable wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) complicates matters as a potential love triangle forms between Irving, Richie and Sydney. As the operation progresses, Irving and Carmine start to become friends and Richie wants the operation to grow in size in an effort to take down more and more corrupt politicians. The size of the operation begins spiral out of control and all parties involved begin to struggle to keep everything in order.

The plot is not as complex as it sounds, but it is more of a foundation for what truly makes this film entertaining: the performances. Even as I felt this was my favorite film of the year, I understand that American Hustle is not a great film. The plot falls by the wayside in favor of letting you enjoy the performances and the fun that the actors and director, David O. Russell are having.

The fun that the actors and crew are having does not take you out of the film. Instead the film brings you in and provides you with one of the best comedies of the year. Everything from the bad wigs, to bad accents and the way the characters handle the complicated scam that is presented in this film as a fun, but not overly-complicated 2 hour film. Even the title card that starts the movie, really sets the tone for how serious the film handles the ABSCAM plot that the film is based on. American Hustle tries really hard to entertain you, and based off what David O. Russell and the cast offer, I feel the film succeeds on that level.

The one weak link in the film for me, personally was Jeremy Renner. Everyone else in the film felt like they were on the same page, but with his character everything felt off and out of place and ultimately felt that Jeremy Renner was miscast as Mayor Polito. As the film progresses towards its conclusion, there is a scene where Irving and Carmine confront each other in Carmine's house. Carmine asks Irving if he is lying to him; at which time I felt bad for the character itself, but not by the performance delivered by Jeremy Renner.

I know there's been a lot of hate and backlash towards the film lately, but as just an enjoyable piece of cinema with overall good performances, it's hard to not rank American Hustle near the top of the best films list of 2013.

8.3/10

The 85th Annual Academy Awards: Nominations & Thoughts

So the nominations for the 85th Annual Academy Awards have been released, and like usual with me, there are more snubs than joyous feelings. Even with the solid slate of really good Hollywood films, judging by the nominations, this feels like it might be another film where the Academy goes for smaller films.

Yes, Lincoln did get the most nominations out of every film, but other films that should have scored some nominations didn't. Ben Affleck lost out on what seemed to be a sure thing directing nomination for Argo along with John Goodman for supporting actor. Alan Arkin was fun in Argo, but John Goodman, out of all the supporting actors, felt like he should have secured a nomination.

Not surprisingly, The Master was only nominated for acting categories. As a film that polarizes every viewer, I am at least glad the Academy still offered nominations to Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams.

Robert De Niro and his return to being an Oscar contender in Silver Linings Playbook. It is always a welcome sight when a veteran actor comes out of the doldrums of awful films and returns with a solid performance.

Samuel L. Jackson's turn as a house slave in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained missed a nomination, which I feel might be the biggest snub of the year. His role and performance were damn good and a shame that it was overlooked. Also overlooked was a directing nomination for Quentin Tarantino. This is not as surprising, but still a snub.

Also missing was Kathryn Bigelow's directing nomination for Zero Dark Thirty. For a film that has been in the press a lot and getting a lot of critical love, this feels more like a political move than providing the correct nominee. Politics at the Oscars? Who knew!

And Tom Hooper didn't get nominated for Les Miserables. He must only get nominated when David Fincher does, so he can steal away David Fincher's Oscar. (Sorry, sore spot for me.)

So anyway, below are all the nominations for the 85th Annual Academy Awards. From what was nominated, I now think that Lincoln is the obvious front runner. The Academy hasn't shown Steven Spielberg love in a while, and this might be his year again. Beyond that, it seems small movies again run wild throughout the nominees, which can be a good thing. It just feels like some films that could have had a chance to compete with Lincoln (Zero Dark Thirty and Argo come specifically to mind) have lost a lot of steam with the nominations that were announced.

We will find out, though, on February 24th, when Seth MacFarlane hosts the Oscar ceremony.


Performance by an actor in a leading role
*   Bradley Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook"
*   Daniel Day-Lewis in "Lincoln"
*   Hugh Jackman in "Les Miserables"
*   Joaquin Phoenix in "The Master"
*   Denzel Washington in "Flight"


Performance by an actor in a supporting role
*   Alan Arkin in "Argo"
*   Robert De Niro in "Silver Linings Playbook"
*   Philip Seymour Hoffman in "The Master"
*   Tommy Lee Jones in "Lincoln"
*   Christoph Waltz in "Django Unchained"


Performance by an actress in a leading role
*   Jessica Chastain in "Zero Dark Thirty"
*   Jennifer Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook"
*   Emmanuelle Riva in "Amour"
*   Quvenzhané Wallis in "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
*   Naomi Watts in "The Impossible"


Performance by an actress in a supporting role
*   Amy Adams in "The Master"
*   Sally Field in "Lincoln"
*   Anne Hathaway in "Les Miserables"
*   Helen Hunt in "The Sessions"
*   Jacki Weaver in "Silver Linings Playbook"


Best animated feature film of the year
*   "Brave" Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
*   "Frankenweenie" Tim Burton
*   "ParaNorman" Sam Fell and Chris Butler
*   "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" Peter Lord
*   "Wreck-It Ralph" Rich Moore


Achievement in cinematography
*   "Anna Karenina" Seamus McGarvey
*   "Django Unchained" Robert Richardson
*   "Life of Pi" Claudio Miranda
*   "Lincoln" Janusz Kaminski
*   "Skyfall" Roger Deakins


Achievement in costume design
*   "Anna Karenina" Jacqueline Durran
*   "Les Miserables" Paco Delgado
*   "Lincoln" Joanna Johnston
*   "Mirror Mirror" Eiko Ishioka
*   "Snow White and the Huntsman" Colleen Atwood


Achievement in directing
*   "Amour" Michael Haneke
*   "Beasts of the Southern Wild" Benh Zeitlin
*   "Life of Pi" Ang Lee
*   "Lincoln" Steven Spielberg
*   "Silver Linings Playbook" David O. Russell


Best documentary feature
*   "5 Broken Cameras"
Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
*   "The Gatekeepers"
Nominees to be determined
*   "How to Survive a Plague"
Nominees to be determined
*   "The Invisible War"
Nominees to be determined
*   "Searching for Sugar Man"
Nominees to be determined


Best documentary short subject
*   "Inocente"
Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine
*   "Kings Point"
Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider
*   "Mondays at Racine"
Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan
*   "Open Heart"
Kief Davidson and Cori Shepherd Stern
*   "Redemption"
Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill


Achievement in film editing
*   "Argo" William Goldenberg
*   "Life of Pi" Tim Squyres
*   "Lincoln" Michael Kahn
*   "Silver Linings Playbook" Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers
*   "Zero Dark Thirty" Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg


Best foreign language film of the year
*   "Amour" Austria
*   "Kon-Tiki" Norway
*   "No" Chile
*   "A Royal Affair" Denmark
*   "War Witch" Canada


Achievement in makeup and hairstyling
*   "Hitchcock"
Howard Berger, Peter Montagna and Martin Samuel
*   "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Peter Swords King, Rick Findlater and Tami Lane
*   "Les Miserables"
Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell


Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
*   "Anna Karenina" Dario Marianelli
*   "Argo" Alexandre Desplat
*   "Life of Pi" Mychael Danna
*   "Lincoln" John Williams
*   "Skyfall" Thomas Newman


Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
*   "Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice"
Music and Lyric by J. Ralph
*   "Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from "Ted"
Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane
*   "Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi"
Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri
*   "Skyfall" from "Skyfall"
Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth
*   "Suddenly" from "Les Miserables"
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil


Best motion picture of the year
*   "Amour" Nominees to be determined
*   "Argo" Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers
*   "Beasts of the Southern Wild" Dan Janvey, Josh Penn and Michael Gottwald, Producers
*   "Django Unchained" Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin and Pilar Savone, Producers
*   "Les Miserables" Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward and Cameron Mackintosh, Producers
*   "Life of Pi" Gil Netter, Ang Lee and David Womark, Producers
*   "Lincoln" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
*   "Silver Linings Playbook" Donna Gigliotti, Bruce Cohen and Jonathan Gordon, Producers
*   "Zero Dark Thirty" Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow and Megan Ellison, Producers


Achievement in production design
*   "Anna Karenina"
Production Design: Sarah Greenwood; Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
*   "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Production Design: Dan Hennah; Set Decoration: Ra Vincent and Simon Bright
*   "Les Miserables"
Production Design: Eve Stewart; Set Decoration: Anna Lynch-Robinson
*   "Life of Pi"
Production Design: David Gropman; Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
*   "Lincoln"
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson


Best animated short film
*   "Adam and Dog" Minkyu Lee
*   "Fresh Guacamole" PES
*   "Head over Heels" Timothy Reckart and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly
*   "Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare"" David Silverman
*   "Paperman" John Kahrs


Best live action short film
*   "Asad" Bryan Buckley and Mino Jarjoura
*   "Buzkashi Boys" Sam French and Ariel Nasr
*   "Curfew" Shawn Christensen
*   "Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)" Tom Van Avermaet and Ellen De Waele
*   "Henry" Yan England


Achievement in sound editing
*   "Argo" Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn
*   "Django Unchained" Wylie Stateman
*   "Life of Pi" Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton
*   "Skyfall" Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers
*   "Zero Dark Thirty" Paul N.J. Ottosson


Achievement in sound mixing
*   "Argo"
John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff and Jose Antonio Garcia
*   "Les Miserables"
Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes
*   "Life of Pi"
Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin
*   "Lincoln"
Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Ronald Judkins
*   "Skyfall"
Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell and Stuart Wilson


Achievement in visual effects
*   "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey"
Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton and R. Christopher White
*   "Life of Pi"
Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott
*   "Marvel's The Avengers"
Janek Sirrs, Jeff White, Guy Williams and Dan Sudick
*   "Prometheus"
Richard Stammers, Trevor Wood, Charley Henley and Martin Hill
*   "Snow White and the Huntsman"
Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, Philip Brennan, Neil Corbould and Michael Dawson


Adapted screenplay
*   "Argo" Screenplay by Chris Terrio
*   "Beasts of the Southern Wild" Screenplay by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
*   "Life of Pi" Screenplay by David Magee
*   "Lincoln" Screenplay by Tony Kushner
*   "Silver Linings Playbook" Screenplay by David O. Russell


Original screenplay
*   "Amour" Written by Michael Haneke
*   "Django Unchained" Written by Quentin Tarantino
*   "Flight" Written by John Gatins
*   "Moonrise Kingdom" Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
*   "Zero Dark Thirty" Written by Mark Boal

The Master

P.T. Anderson returns from a 5 year hiatus and is beginning to emerge into the next Terence Malick.

Set in 1950, alcoholic World War II veteran and sufferer of PTSD, Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) is having trouble adjusting to a normal life. After a series of menial jobs that he cannot adjust to, he drunkenly staggers onto a yacht occupied by Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and his wife Peggy (Amy Adams).

Lancaster takes a liking to Freddie after a series of psychological questions which Lancaster describes as "Processing", he makes Freddie his protege within his movement called: The Cause. Lancaster and his followers continue to spread the word of The Cause with Freddie in tow, but Freddie's alcoholic and violent behavior draw the ire of certain member of The Cause; Peggy included.

Eventually Freddie's frustration within The Cause, which he struggles to believe in, and Lancaster's charismatic personality clash over how to deal with and spread The Cause.

A lot has been made as to whether this film is an attack on Scientology. P.T. Anderson has already stated that Scientology inspired The Cause in this film. There are obvious similarities between Scientology and The Cause including the type of leader and the beliefs between both religions. This should not be the major point to see this film, though, as not one word is spoken about Scientology itself.

The reason I feel this is P.T. Anderson becoming Terence Malick is that this film really lacks any semblance of a plot. The film is pushed forward initially by Freddie joining and viewing The Cause, then by Lancaster Dodd who battles with members of The Cause over whether Freddie is helping or hindering their plan. That is really all there is for a plot, besides that, the film focuses on scenery and the performances.

Speaking of the performances, there should be no doubt that Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman will get nominated for an Academy Award. Joaquin's Freddie Quell has the more showy role. His face shows wear and his walk showcases pain. Freddie has frequent violent outbursts and Joaquin goes full bore into this role.

On the other hand, you have the more nuanced, and in my opinion, better performance, by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Lancaster Dodd is very subtle, and very controlling of his followers of The Cause. There is a scene about halfway into the film where Lancaster is challenged by an outsider about his beliefs. This is an amazing scene and shows all you need to know about his character. He is stoic, charismatic and persuasive, but also has flaws and when he is pushed, cracks in his foundation show. An amazing scene and a really good performance.

This is a film all about performances and has nothing in a way to do with story. As that is, the acting is some of the best of the year along with some gorgeous cinematography and P.T. Anderson does a great job directing all the actors. This is a really well-made character piece that is very light on story.

8.1/10