American Hustle (2013)

Had high hopes for Hustle but it slid short. Enclosed the essential elements; excluded effective energy. Jennifer's jarring, Amy Adams' alright, Cooper's crazed and capable, but Bale's the best bit.

Given the talent, we had high expectations for this (can I be honest?) piece of crap. An hour into the film, we were still waiting for the story. It never came. This is a comedy? We didn't laugh once. Epic fail.

Christian Bale gives a fine performance as a con man who bites off more than he can chew in this complicated con flick. A good script with an ending I did not see coming. Cudos to Jennifer Lawrence who did a great job as his crazed wifed. Now go turn on your science oven!

Entertaining and well acted, but given the talent involved, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. After an excellent first half, the story begins to lose focus leading to an ending that isn't entirely satisfying. Still very good, but not one of O'Russell's best.

First movie where Russell really wins me over as a great director and writer. Man, was this a fun watch, spurred on by its performances. Hearing it called a "faux-cese" (ripping off Scorcese) is funny with Wolf of Wall Street out now too, but it all works like a charm.