American Hustle (2013)

“Did you ever have to find a way to survive and you knew your choices were bad, *but* you had to survive?” – Irving Rosenfeld

Number of Times Seen – 1 (1 Jan 2014)

Brief Synopsis – A con man and his girlfriend are forced to help the FBI in a sting to weed out political corruption in Atlantic City in the late 1970’s

My Take on it – I had expected this movie to be better based on all the hype it has gotten, so I was slightly disappointed.

That being said, the acting here is superb. Christian Bale is unrecognizable, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams all show how great they are here that you can tell that all 4 of them have long careers ahead of them.

The plot and storyline are good, but throughout the whole time I was watching it, I felt that something was missing.  I cant really put my finger on what it is, but even now, more than 24 hours later, something is “off”.

The caption at the beginning says that “Some of this actually happened”, so already from the start we know that it is a complete fictionalization surrounding true events.

Never-the-less, this is a very good movie, just not as great as the number of nominations it has received this year would make you think.

It is rumored that since Christian Bale gained 40 pounds for the role, Robert DeNiro didn’t recognize him when they were on set together.  He totally transforms himself for this role and proves once again how amazing an actor he can be.

Who would think that Irving Rosenfeld and Batman were both played by the same person?

Bottom Line – Superb acting and an above average story make for an interesting movie, but something is still missing. Recommended!

Rating – Globe Worthy

_______________________________________

Check out my *updated* movie stats here

To see my reviews of all Oscar Best Picture Winners click here