American Hustle

2 out of 4 stars

In the late Nineteen Seventies,  when Watergate was still fresh in the minds of the American public, several politicians were indicted for accepting bribes from fake businessmen in the FBI-led sting operation known as Abscam. In David O’ Russell’s new film, American Hustle follows the Abscam operation from the lives of those involved in the big sting; Irving Rosenfeld, a two-bit con artist with a complex toupee (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser, his sexy siren of a partner (Amy Adams) who both collaborate with a renegade FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) to bring down Camden, New Jersey mayor, Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner).  Mixed into the fray of deception and corruption is Rosenfeld’s loose cannon wife, Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence). No film prior to American Hustle has uncovered the Abscam scandal, and as intriguing the events are portrayed on screen, the film is nothing more than a shameless remake of Martin Scorsese’s Casino mixed with the screwball comedic antics of Frank Oz’s Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
 

O’Russell doesn’t just tip his hat to Scorsese and his elaborate style of storytelling and cinematography; he falls flat on his knees kissing Scorese’s feet as if they belonged to the Pope. At first, you’re pulled into the comedic dialogue between Bale and Cooper in the beginning of the film, but the narration mixed with the off the wall actions by the protagonists turns the film from a lively look at the world of corruption and charlatans into a stale, one-off piece of dinner theatre. Having said that, the actors are not to be sullied; if anything, the cast should be praised as they soldiers through the dilapidated debris.
 

Christian Bale manages to bring the charm and swagger as Rosenfeld, a con-artist with a bark worse than his bite with a grizzled voice that doesn’t evoke Batman, but more of Al Pacino during his Scent of a Woman and Heat period. Amy Adams is always a pleasure to watch on screen, but her high points come during the film’s third act as her character’s vulnerability surfaces over her seductive ethos. Bradley Cooper has a ball as FBI agent, Richie DiMaso, but his hubris and cowboy-like presence in the film’s finale becomes more of a parody of Serpico or Donnie Brasco without the dramatic presence of Pacino or Depp. Jennifer Lawrence is on her A-game as Rosealyn when she works the room at cocktail parties, yet she goes off the deep end one too many times when confronting Irving in the bedroom or Amy Adams in a public restroom.                                                                                              

Ironically, the only straight-shooter in the acting ensemble is Jeremy Renner as the naïve and corrupt Carmine Polito, who is loosely based off of Abscam target and former mayor of Camden, Angelo Errichetti. The chemistry between Renner and Bale is what holds the film together leading to an emotional rendezvous at the film’s climax. Louis C.K., who plays DiMaso’s supervisor, is brilliantly funny and unforgettable as he tries to reign in DiMaso from going over his head. There’s one cameo in the film that remains nameless, but his presence as a heavy-hitting casino racketeer is a calm sigh of relief from the hectic energy revolving around the film.
 

Originally perceived as a stylish, stranger-than-fiction drama in the tradition of Argo or Charlie Wilson’s War, American Hustle is a hit-or-miss film that doesn’t give the same level of satisfying results as the aforementioned films. In short, a two-hour and twenty minute film about the Abscam crisis may sound appealing, but its results make you feel scammed.                                                                        

        

Peter O'Toole 1932-2013

Peter O’ Toole, one of the most revered and iconic actors of both the stage and screen, died at age of 81 at his home in London on Saturday. In a career that has spanned over 5 decades and earned him 8 Academy Award nominations, O’Toole started off as a classically trained actor at the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts (RADA) before making his film debut as T.E. Lawrence, the flamboyant British officer who led the Arab rebellion against the Turks during World War I, in David Lean’s 1962 classic “Lawrence of Arabia.”  When asked about O’Toole’s portrayal as Lawrence, Noel Coward famously said, “If he were any prettier, he would have been called Florence of Arabia.”           
                                                                                   
Not only did O’Toole make a name for himself channeling characters from Shakespeare, Chekov, and Beckett on stage in London’s West End or on Broadway, but was an infamous hellraiser whenever there was alcohol in the room. During the later stages of his life, he would go on talk shows and conger up anecdotes about sitting at the pub with fellow hellraising actors like Richard Burton, Richard Harris, and Michael Caine. O’Toole chronicled his life on and off stage in his two volume memoir, “Loitering With Intent.” His excess didn’t deter him from playing a bevy of eccentric characters, from a paranoid schizophrenic aristocrat who believes he is God in The Ruling Class to drunken movie star Alan Swann in My Favorite Year.                                  
                                                                                                                                             
Despite a dry spell of acting opportunities in the Eighties and Nineties, O’Toole received rave reviews in London for his one-man show, “Jeffery Bernard is Unwell” and received the Academy Award’s Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 2003. In 2007, he earned his eighth Oscar nomination as an aging actor infatuated with a twenty something woman in Venus and provided the voice of food critic Anton Ego in Disney’s Ratatouille. He is survived by his ex-wife, actress Sian Phillips, and his two children, Kate and Lorcan.                        
                                                                                                                                  When asked about his acting technique, O’Toole said, “Any good actor will tell you that the common denominator is private study for months, if necessary, so every nuance, every phrase is considered and thought out well in advance.” Those piercing blue eyes and charming expressions have made their place in film history as much as the brooding of Marlon Brando or the bravado of Jack Nicholson. Peter O’ Toole was not just an actor, he was a legend and his career will not be forgotten since legends never die.  

Inside Llewyn Davis

4 out of 4 Stars

There are very few films that capture the folk music scene of the early Nineteen-Sixties, unless you count ten minutes of Todd Haynes’ I’m Not There or Christopher Guest’s mockumentary, A Mighty Wind. Inside Llewyn Davis, the new film by the Coen Brothers, is a funny and harrowing look at a struggling musician yearning for fame and survival. Loosely based on the lives of folk musicians like Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan, the Coen Brothers make you feel the freezing snow on MacDougal Street in New York City, or the loneliness at an all-night diner in the Midwest leading to a mind-twisting third act that will stick to you for days like the selection of music performed throughout the film.                                                              

A session musician and a regular act at the Gaslight Cafe, Llewyn Davis (Oscar Issac) goes on an odyssey of self-realization with his guitar and a friend’s cat from the smoke-filled coffee shops of Greenwich Village to the clubs of Chicago and sleeping on the couches of other struggling folk musicians. Many eye-popping surprises comes Llewyn’s way, such as an unexpected pregnancy from his best friend’s girlfriend (a shrill and funny Carey Mulligan) to sharing a two day car ride with a strung out, extroverted jazz musician from a bygone era (a hilariously creepy John Goodman) being driven around by a monosyllabic poet (Garrett Hedlund). Llewyn’s sister tries to get him to put the guitar down and be a nine-to-five worker, but he is determined to disconnect with the normalcy of settling down and go in a direction that is unknown. Does he find a road to walk on, or is he simply moving in circles?                                              

Oscar Issac is astonishing as Llewyn Davis; the 33 year old actor and budding musician delivers a performance that will render you speechless; from his deadpan humor, bouts of self-destruction, and musical performances that will move you as he emphasizes the internal struggles in his life. His performance is reminiscent to David Carridine’s portrayal of Woody Guthrie in Bound For Glory mixed with the dark humor and wit of the Coen Brothers’ dialogue. If you haven’t already, check out Another Day/Another Time, the concert documentary produced by the Coens which features performances by Oscar Issac and Marcus Mumford and other revered musicians of the past and present. Carey Mulligan is hilarious as Jean, Llewyn’s one-night stand and aspiring folk musician. Her roasting of Llewyn on a Washington Square bench is enough to leave you in stitches.                                                                                                                                             

In addition to Issac and Mulligan’s performances, the rest of the cast strike a few chords. John Goodman, in his fifth collaboration with the Coens, is funny and haunting as Roland Turner, a jazz musician whose life on the road has taken its toll to the point of walking around on two canes. Justin Timberlake as Jim, Jean’s boyfriend, is a pleasure to hear him working in the studio sessions with the reluctant Llewyn. Garret Hedlund has the presence of Martin Sheen in Badlands and the suspenseful silence of Peter Stormare from Fargo.                                                                                                                                                       

If you are expecting some musical rags to riches story or hedonistic look at musicians backstage, rent The Doors. Inside Llewyn Davis cuts away from cliches from other music movies with the Coens sharp wit and thought-provoking tale of the life of the struggling musician blended with T-Bone Burnett’s expertise as musical supervisor by providing a soundtrack of incredible gems from the folk era. Inside Llewyn Davis is nothing short of another masterpiece in the canon of films by Joel and Ethan Coen, who manage to still provoke and move film-goers for almost thirty years.     

Nebraska

3 1/2 out of 4 Stars

Nebraska is a dark, yet heartfelt, comedy about the conflicts of aging and father-son relationships. Directed by Alexander Payne (About Schmidt, Sideways), the film stars Bruce Dern as Woody Grant, a beer-swigging octogenarian on the edge of dementia and deafness who tries to go from Montana to Nebraska to claim a million-dollar prize, which he thinks is real. After Woody's multiple attempts of trying to walk to Nebraska and wandering away from his nagging wife (Jane Squibb), Woody's son, David (Will Forte), drives him to Nebraska to claim his prize. Along the way to Nebraska, David gets to know the father he never really knew apart from his alcoholism.

Bruce Dern has been on screen for almost fifty years and has delivered memorable performances in films as diverse as Hitchcock's Marnie, Hal Ashby's Coming Home, and Patty Jenkins' Monster. Dern's portrayal of Woody Grant is, without a doubt, one of his finest performances in the last 35 years. His performance is not as extroverted and intense as his previous roles, but he portrays Grant in the same fashion as he did when he played Jason Staebler in The King of Marvin Gardens; a man with big dreams that break away from rationality and reality. Funny and moving, Dern's performance will leave you in tears.

Will Forte gives a stunning performance as David Grant. Known for his hilarious shtick on Saturday Night Live, Forte forgoes the extroverted comedic side and successfully manages to deliver a dramatic performance that delivers subtle laughs, but with so much heart and warmth. Jane Squibb is amazing and hilarious as Kate, Woody's long-suffering wife, who tries to look after him as he slowly fades from reality. Squibb, who is usually underused in films like About Schmidt and Scent of a Woman, manages to give a towering performance with so much spry and humor.

Among other members of the superb cast, Bob Odenkirk, reeling from the success as the corrupt Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad, adds to the humor as David's older brother with an ego the size of a Midwestern corn field. Also, Stacy Keach oozes with snake-like charm and greed as Ed, Woody's former business partner, who wants a piece of Woody's prize money like the rest of Woody's relatives.

Alexander Payne is no stranger in looking at dysfunctional families with humor and poignancy in films like About Schmidt and The Decemberists. Payne succeeds in crafting Bob Nelson's story into a riveting yarn about the follies of aging and the flaws of the American Dream. Payne beautifully filmed Nebraska in black and white to encapsulate the sense of loneliness Woody and Dave share, as well as the starkness of small-town America as Bogdonovich did in The Last Picture Show. Some may think the revival of black and white films is pretentious, but I beg to differ. With an incredible cast under the command of Alexander Payne, Nebraska is a riveting and moving film.

12 Years A Slave

4 out of 4 Stars

There are two parts of life; surviving and living. For Solomon Northup, he had experienced both parts of life with immense pain and pride, which is expressed in Steve McQueen’s new film, 12 Years a Slave. From 1841 to 1853, Northup witnessed hell incarnate as a slave in the Antebellum South. Based on Northup’s memoir, the one-time father, intellectual and resident of Saratoga Springs, New York was sold into the slave trade through two charlatans posing as entertainers requesting Northup’s talents on the violin.                                                                                                                                                                                          

Solomon’s life of respect and independence ends when he is chained up and sold under the name of Platt into the hands of two plantation owners, one soft and one sadistic. Under the control of the somewhat benevolent Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), Solomon’s work is praised until his backwoods and moronic lackey (Paul Dano) tries to murder Solomon. As a result, he is shipped off to work for the masochistic Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender) and his vindictive wife (Sarah Paulson). The Epps’ unflinching violence inflicted upon Solomon and his fellow captors makes your stomach churn until the final act of the film occurs leaving you holding back tears of sorrow and joy.                                                             
        
In the past five years, Steve McQueen burst onto the film scene with his chilling portrait of the Irish hunger strikes in Hunger and his intense look at sex addiction in Shame. With only a few films under his belt, McQueen has managed to capture the energy and rhythm of the human condition with the eye of a painter. As 12 Years a Slave is his third film, it is proof positive that he is one of the most revered and phenomenal filmmakers of the last decade as Paul Thomas Anderson was a decade ago. Beyond the intense visuals of violence that mirror that of Pasolini’s Salo-minus the body mutilation and coprophagia- the imagery of the plantations and South are as vibrant as a Gainsborough painting, which emphasize the beauty and evil of the world. Next to McQueen’s direction, his longtime cinematographer Sean Bobbitt captures the pathos of pre-Civil War South as John Toll captured the beauty and violence in Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. Adding emphasis to the majestic quality of the film and its subject matter is Hans Zimmer’s experimental score that pales in comparison to his work on his previous film soundtracks.                         
                                                                                                                                                    
Chiwetel Ejiofor gives an astonishing and mesmerizing performance as Solomon Northup. The pain he endures is unbearable to watch, but his quest for optimism and freedom leaves you cheering for him from the beginning to the end. Michael Fassbender gives an over-the-top and sadistic performance as Epps. His obsession with power through an intense sexual relationship with one of his slaves and violent outbursts mirror Sean Penn’s performance in Casualties of War. Lupita Nyong’o’s performance as Epps’ forced mistress is harrowing as she endures a gauntlet of pain as shown in an unforgettable scene involving a whipping post.                                           
                                                                                                                   
 For the brief time they are on screen Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch and Brad Pitt manage to stretch out every minute to be memorable. Dano’s performance as a redneck field hand is like watching Eli Sunday’s (his character in There Will Be Blood) distant relative in control. Cumberbatch is subtle in his sympathy and sheer denial over purchasing Solomon is exemplified in a scene between him and Solomon in the hall of his house. Not to give too much away regarding Brad Pitt’s performance, but his performance is almost allegorical to a certain figure in the Bible who was a carpenter, and I am not just talking about his facial hair.                           
                                                                                                                                              
12 Years a Slave is not a movie for the faint of heart or to those expecting a sequel to Django Unchained, it is a visual and emotionally-draining masterpiece that pulls no sympathetic punches towards observing one of the bleakest periods in American history, just as McQueen’s Hunger was a stark look at Ireland in the 1980s. 12 Years a Slave is a film that will leave you stunned and shaken by its performances, imagery and story of survival.

Captain Phillips

4 out of 4 stars
On April 8^th, 2009, Captain Richard Phillips and his crew aboard the Maersk Alabama cargo ship were hijacked by Somali pirates in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Phillips was captured in a lifeboat and spent over a week out at sea under the watch of the heavily armed hijackers as they hold Phillips ransom for millions of dollars to be shipped back to their tribes. His rescue and survival are brilliantly captured by the suspenseful eyes of Paul Greengrass in his new movie, Captain Phillips.                                                 
             
A no-nonsense seaman with a New England accent as thick as the film’s suspense, Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) sails along the Horn of Africa as if it were another day at work. Meanwhile, Muse (Barkhad Adbi) and his crew of armed robbers battle against the waves of the Indian Ocean towards the Alabama to steal as much money they can to take them out of their impoverished lives. The stillness of the Alabama in contrast to the Somali-manned speedboats fills the screen with suspense until gunshots ring out and all hell breaks loose.         
                                                                                              
Captain Phillips is not just about a story of survival of a man facing death in the face, it is a film about two people at opposite ends of the moral spectrum trying to make another dollar. For Phillips, its sailing around the world and unloading cargo while Muse blindly volunteers to bring back money by any means necessary. Greengrass brilliantly shows the comparison and contrasts between Phillips going about his monotonous, daily routine and Muse dreaming about being free from Somalia, yet still being a prisoner in its criminal cycle. As Phillips explains that his ship was full of food for starving people in Mombasa, Muse explains how the ships bringing food were destroying the fish they needed to survive.     
      
From the troubles of Northern Ireland in Bloody Sunday to the tragedy and heroism in United 93, Greengrass is no stranger to recreating historical events without pulling any punches or using melodrama to pull at the audience’s heartstrings; his guerilla styled filmmaking and use of intense silence leaves you clutching to the arms of your chair and emotionally drained from the experience. Behind every great director is a  great cinematographer and Barry Ackroyd successfully captures the horror and beauty of the Indian Ocean as he did with the barren landscape of Baghdad in The Hurt Locker. The gritty camera angles and dim lighting are complemented by Henry Jackman’s score, which is reminiscent to his collaboration with James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer on The Dark Knight.                      
   
At the center of the film is Tom Hanks, who gives a stunning and gripping portrayal of Richard Phillips. Hanks is no stranger to capturing the fear and humanity of those in great peril, such as he did in his performance as Jim Lovell in Apollo 13, except the transformation from the calmness he displays at gunpoint and anguish expressed in the last ten minutes of the movie is astonishing. In a long list of iconic performances, Hanks’ performance as Phillips is another notch in his belt. Barkhad Adbi’s portrayal of Muse mirrors that of Pacino’s gun-wielding Sonny in Dog Day Afternoon; naïve, blindly ambitious and self-destructive.                                                                                                                                                                                                   

In the end, you are left shaking and mesmerized by the sheer intensity of Greengrass’ vision of what happened over one week in the Indian Ocean and by the sheer volume of energy and suspense from Hanks and Adbi’s performances.  Captain Phillips is, so far, one of the most memorable films of the year.