American Hustle

A retro farce with great costumes that nonetheless unfolds at a sluggish pace and is full of actors showing off unnecessarily. I consider American Hustle far from masterfully directed. On the contrary, at such a slow pace, it is striking that the ambitious plot disintegrates in the tangle of character motivations that got out of hand. But would you do any better if there was a scantily clad Amy Adams prancing around your set? The acting performances are fantastic, however. Christian Bale tries hard, but Jennifer Lawrence turns in the best performance here. Amy Adams is super-hot (let’s be honest – would you be able to restrain yourself in the bathroom scene?) and the icing on the cake is the unexpected Mr. “XY” from Miami in the best mafia role in recent memory. With his appearance, the pace picks up a little. The nomination for best film and director was probably secured by Bale’s necklace. (27/01/2014)

O. Russell annoys me immensely. His films are reminiscent of a showcase of clichés and conventions, and if all this worked well in Fighter, it changed from Silver Linings Playbook to empty glitz covered with an imitation of "something more". However, his mannerist preference for certain techniques and compositions is not even "nicely cheesy" and cool (exciting), but simply emptily self-serving. Completely in line with the never-ending "just enough so that you can't see much" show of Amy Adams's cleavage, which instead of excitement arouses, after a while, an inquisitive feeling about whether she is supposed to attract attention or distract the viewer. An absurdly rich selection of period hits, a showcase of idiotic hairstyles, dysfunctional parallel storylines and narrator voices, carried by Bale, who is already starting to forget that acting means more than periodically gaining and dropping 50 kilos. After The Wolf of Wall Street, this artificial attempt at an epic of deception and hypocrisy, folded into a would-be brazen and contemplative whole, feels even more unappealing. And the last Marty didn't get under my skin much. But at least I still have enough sense to recognize a hoax from the original. [50%] (22/01/2014)

Funny, I never noticed that Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence have such amazingly sexy breasts. And I had no idea that it was their image that must have been the most intrusive to the academics when putting together the Oscar nominations. How else can you explain that this is supposed to be the best film in a year that also gave us the privilege of seeing such cinematic gems as Gravity, Captain Phillips and Prisoners? Perhaps it's stylish in its attempt to mix pop culture dialogue and arthouse retro gangster, perhaps it's superbly acted by a group of stars who parody themselves so nicely with incredible verve (except for Cooper – he plays his standard), and maybe I don't even regret waiting patiently for the expected hectic conclusion, but neither of the aforementioned pluses (not even the boobs) can elevate American Hustle to the level of a film worthy of such Oscar attention. And paradoxically, everything here is visibly focused on material awards – it’s not for nothing that they say that less is sometimes more. 65% (28/02/2014)

Omniscient narrators, stylish slow moments, and a dancing Bradley Cooper as the director's good luck charm. The master David O. Russell has not only mastered the art of pushing actors to unforgettable performances, but has also been conquering the forms of more and more genres. In this cunning mess, he succeeds even better the more superficial and confusing the whole American Hustle seems to other viewers. A tour de force from Amy Adams is just the sweetest cherry on top. (30/01/2014)

The nominations are understandable, but I wouldn't feel like watching it again, and if I did, it would only be because of a few scenes that are worth it mainly thanks to the fantastic performances, the great aesthetics, the costumes, and the uplifting music hits from the 1970s. But it is finely tuned and woe to the viewer who pays attention to the sophisticated character motivations and the great psychology will be satisfied, though not amazed. It's too slow and uneven with countless dull and unnecessary moments, where all that's left is to indulge in the superb visuals, which is not quite okay in a dialogue-driven film. (26/06/2014)