1958 - American Hustle

I’ve heard a variety of things about this, and it was on my list to see but I wanted to make sure I caught it in the theatres.  Can I just admit to something out of the gate?  I love Amy Adams.  The intro to their characters (her and Christian Bale) with the duelling V/O as we watch them fall in love (and fall in love with them by proxy) is such an amazing and perfect set-up to get us into this story.  Bale is an amazing anti-hero.  There’s a long portion of the film where you’re not sure if you should be rooting for him or Cooper, and that’s a delightful way to experience a film like this.  The film is hard to describe - it’s essentially about two con artists who get forced to work with the FBI, and then it becomes a cat and mouse game of whose playing who.  The film is full of amazing performances by the previously mentioned, but also Louis CK has a fun little part, and Jennifer Laurence obliterates every single scene she’s in - she’s fantastic and worth all the praise.  

I think this film has been criticized as David O. Russell trying to be Scorcese, but I didn’t care.  I loved the feel of the film, and despite it feeling a bit long by the end, I really enjoyed it.  I love that it doesn’t paint the world as black and white.  The cast is in fine form.  It’s fun, it’s sexy, it’s a film well worth seeing.  It’s not going to change your life or the way you look at the world, but it’ll entertain you - or so I hope.  I liked it a lot and it could very well be my favourite David O. Russell film (though I’ve yet to see The Fighter).  Check it out pre-Oscars if you can!

1832 - What Just Happened?

It's funny, when I was younger I was really obsessed with films about the inside of the industry, especially dark comedies like this that shed it's light upon the underbelly - there was some joy in the mystery of this world - but now I can't imagine myself writing something that's so inside baseball.  I have no complaints about those that do - but it just makes the whole business seem so ridiculously petty - and maybe that's the point.  There's a lot of truth in the insanity that's shown in here, and the actors who play themselves do a pretty great job of leaving their egos at the door.
DeNiro plays a producer who is having the week from hell, dealing with a director who wants to keep his uber-bleak ending for a film about to go to Cannes, and Bruce Willis refusing to shave his beard for an upcoming film.  This sound terribly first world problem-esque - and they are, but I don't think the film is ignorant of that, in fact I think it takes great joy in playing up those of us who just take this shit a little too seriously.
The cast is great and seems to enjoy lampooning us a tinge.  It's not essential viewing by any means, but it's entertaining enough.

1813 - Silver Linings Playbook

I normally don't go heavily into details about new releases, but I feel compelled to do so here, so please if you haven't seen this there will be some spoilers below...

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So let's get it out of the way - there's some really great things about this film.  Jennifer Lawrence is pretty fucking fantastic as is Bradley Cooper - and DeNiro gives a performance we haven't seen in years from him.  The first two thirds of this are a really well layer and performed character drama - and then all of a sudden it takes a hard turn into becoming what felt like something else entirely.  Like it's lead, the film itself was bipolar with how much it shifted from character to plot motivation.  Like their final dance it started off so promising and just hit a wall near the end that left a bad taste in my mouth.  Tonally and structurally it felt like an entirely different film.  I'm not sure I buy that Tiffany fell in love with him or that he'd really earned it - it felt more like a plot device than anything.  I'm actually somewhat surprised at how well received the film is given the ending.  I'm going to have to dive into reviews for it to see if I was just crazy and missed something crucial or if I'm just a jerk for not getting caught up in it all.

Still worth seeing, absolutely, but hopefully erase the hype from your mind first.  My expectations going in were pretty high and that's never fair for any film.

1674 - Limitless

I've never read the source material for this, and while I like Bradley Cooper he isn't a draw for me to see a film - I really liked the idea of the premise and I wanted to see what was done with it. 
It's more or less the story of a charming slacker who is given a miracle drug that unlocks his potential and how he manages to keep going with it.  Neil Burger keeps the film going at a really strong clip and he's very clever in how he visually represents what the world is like on and off this drug.  And now I'm going to get into SPOILER material...

I'm not trying to say that films have to follow tried and true structures, but in stories like this usually the hero has to get what he wants at the end without the aid of his super powers, and for the most part that's not true here - it's a crutch from the beginning of the film and it never stops being one.  The film's end suggests that he's found a way to get off the drug and keep the effects, but because it's an epilogue that's jumped forward a year we have no way of knowing if this is true or of it's just Eddie's way of fucking with DeNiro's character as he tries to box him in.  There's something fun about not knowing, but it kind of makes you feel a bit cheated.  The other big problem with the film is that you're just never really given any reason to root for Eddie - he's a lovable loser, so there's that - and he mentions at one point knowing what he "has to do", but that he needs the money to make that happen - however he's never specific even though we're pretty sure it's about becoming president.  What happens in the final minutes would have been a far more interesting and personal storyline for the film to follow than a corporate merger.  Alas. 
So it's an okay film that has some pretty strong moments.  If you like the premise then chances are you'll probably dig it to some degree - it's far from perfect but it's worth checking out.

1104 - Wag the Dog

It's been awhile since I've watched this film. It was laying out on our table for some reason and I couldn't think of a good reason not to watch it. Hoffman is so amazingly funny in this role as a producer who just wants some goddamn credit for all his hard work. The film makes you laugh, and then worry that this has/is happening. A classic political satire for anyone a bit skeptical of what goes on behind the lines. I'm going to go look for my "Good Ole Shoe" album now.