An American Hustle

AMERICAN HUSTLE:+++: 2013: DRM:  Ok, so this is the first movie to get three +++ denoting that it is JAM packed full of notable actors and actresses.  Jennifer Lawrence probably stands out and she should.  She shows, again, just how versatile she can be.  She keeps taking these roles and nailing them.  Just stay away Jack Nicholson, she already pushed you away...




Seriously though, this movie had an excellent cast!


A Star Studded Cast

In addition, Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale round out the crew. The movie itself was an interesting, often times over-complicated view of the 70s,.  I watched it after hearing many rave reviews about it but I was skeptical.  I feared that this movie would be plagued by the ever popular, "too long" syndrome.  Don't get me wrong, it was afflicted, but some how or another, it kept you watching.  Even if you had to take a few breaks in between.


Can we say, bathroom break??

The character development was on the par of over kill.  You basically knew everything that you wanted to know about each character and more just for measure.  This was awesome, finally someone is listening!  There wasn't a moment when you questioned what motivation characters had in their delivery. Well done on that part, but could it have been more efficient?  At times you think so, but then the movie delivers another one of it's many side twists.  I call them side twists because they are so many intertwined in the movie and together, they comprise the last big one..


What's going to happen now, who the heck knows?

It's not like some of the characters are so ridiculous that they do such outlandish stunts like ridicule themselves completely just for the sake of making a point.. oh what, they do that.  See below:


Yes that is "Face" from the A TEAM in curlers....

I would be completely remiss if I didn't spend a moment on Jennifer Lawrence and her outrageous performance which was nothing short of impressive.  OK, her accent tinged a few times, but overall, it was on point and her demeanor was spot on.  She is really quite talented and no accolades that were brought her way were unbecoming.  She is the real deal.  A rated actress there are none better right now.  Period.


JL can do no wrong apparently..


Burn burn burn..

Did I like the movie?  Sure, I liked it.  It's going to win Academy Awards and Oscars.  Christian Bale and Cooper were surprisingly refreshing and have shown themselves to be versatile actors.  The politician who was Hawekeye in Avengers was decent, nothing special.  I didn't like him in the role personally.  

I thought the most redeeming part of the movie were Christian Bales relationships with his wife and his mistress.  This was the part of the movie that really demonstrated excellent story telling.  Above all else this movie is a :::86%

Jennifer Lawrence stars in The House at the End of the Street

House at the End of the Street:  2012: -+: HRR:  Jennifer Lawrence performed well in this movie and she kept me somewhat interested.  This is a psychological, horror, murder-mystery (enough descriptors?) that delivers a good scare/ anticipation, but has times where the viewer is confused for too long.  I agree that there should be a great buildup to the twist, but at times, the writing and direction just contradict themselves because the character motivations don’t correspond at the same times.

The best way to describe this is that at times the foreshadowing DISPROVES the timeline and development of the plot.  This is a minor, but ultimately, damaging element.  It doesn’t make the movie unwatchable though, so keep reading.

Watch this movie if you are a fan of Jennifer Lawrence who of course starred in the Hunger Games.  Her acting style is understated but has a certain quality to it.  I want to see more.  She looks pretty in this movie, but again, has that look that she has the mumps with her big cheek bones and puffy face.  LOL, just kidding, she’s gorgeous and has some “titillating” parts.  As stated, there is an excellent twist in this movie, but perhaps takes too long to reach the moment of “Gestalt” or eruption.  Until then, it’s a sort of guy meets girl, girl likes guy, mom doesn’t like guy, then..well, I won’t spoil it for you!

Stand out scenes are definitely when the twist is unfolded, when you realize that the girl downstairs is abducted, when Jennifer locks him up downstairs, and when she gets totally ape shit on him.  Not the best movie, but certainly not the worst in terms of thriller/ horror.  Again, it’s a Jennifer Lawrence fan boy movie and at that, it’s a good one.  I’ll admit, I like her so:::81%