Review: American Hustle

Image courtesy of Columbia Pictures.

Some will argue that David O. Russell's "American Hustle" is, at best, a sleekly-shot and terrifically performed 1970s-set caper and nothing more. And while it's true that the film looks great and the cast is solid right down to the minor roles, I believe that Russell's latest, which is his best in 14 years, is also a wickedly clever take on the idea of American reinvention and the lengths to which people will go to survive, no matter how much conning - of themselves and others - is involved.

The film, set in 1978, is a fictional tale tangled up in the Abscam corruption investigation that netted a handful of U.S. Congress members, a senator, Philadelphia City Council members and a member of the New Jersey state Senate.

Christian Bale, donning a terrible combover, a pot belly and some unforgettably tacky '70s threads, plays Irving Rosenfeld, a brilliant con man who falls in love at first sight with Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), a young woman with a past she wants to erase who becomes a willing pupil to Irving's schemes and scams. They first meet at a pool party where they bond over a love for Duke Ellington's "Jeep's Blues."

Irving and Sydney, who goes by the alter ego Lady Edith Greensly when she's on the take, mostly steal from desperate people unable to obtain legitimate bank loans. Unfortunately for them, one of their marks is an FBI agent, Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), who then forces them to set up larger scams in an attempt to catch bigger fish - in this case, several politicians, some mobsters and fellow grifters.

Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), the well-liked mayor of Camden (based on Angelo Errichetti, who was arrested in the Abscam busts), finds himself ensnared in the trap set by Irving, DiMaso and Sydney. One of the film's most fascinating relationships is that between Irving and Carmine. Irving recognizes Carmine as a kindred spirit, of sorts, with good intentions whose back-door dealings are done not for personal gain, but rather to help the people he represents. He's a good guy who is, unfortunately, caught up in a crooked system and you can see Irving's pain in knowing that his new pal will take a fall.

The wild card in the mix is Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), Irving's dumb-as-a-fox wife who, in many ways, is a better con artist than her husband. Their marriage may be loveless, but Irving refuses to flee with Sydney because Rosalyn's son, whom Irving has adopted, is close to his heart.

On the one hand, "American Hustle" is a crime drama and a '70s period piece that has taken some inspiration from Martin Scorsese, from the fast-talking characters to the shots that swoop in on the characters to make dramatic gestures, as well as Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights," from its comedic-before-the-storm style of storytelling to its soundtrack, which includes everything from Steely Dan and Todd Rundgren to Donna Summer and the Bee Gees.

On the other, "Hustle" fits in perfectly with Russell's other films - "Three Kings," "Silver Linings Playbook" and "The Fighter" - about characters who dream big - but occasionally against the voice of reason - and attempt to make their goals a reality, despite often ridiculously overwhelming odds.

The director is one of the best at working with actors and his ensemble here, which is comprised of a handful of thespians with whom he worked on his previous two films, is spectacular. Bale always brings the goods, but he is especially impressive here, displaying a level of humanism and humor rarely seen in his characters. Cooper brings an often hilarious mania to his obsessive FBI agent and Lawrence is a scene stealer as the conniving and not quite as dumb as she seems Rosalyn. And for a guy caught up in a corruption investigation, Renner is particularly sympathetic as Polito. Adams, perhaps, has the trickiest role of all as a woman pretending to be a whole other person and then moving back and forth between these two characters, depending on with whom she is dealing.

As Irving tells us late in the film, the story of survival is an ongoing one. "American Hustle" slyly observes how we all fool ourselves and others to make a road toward a better life, disguise our true selves to protect our vulnerability or reinvent ourselves many times over. On top of that, it's a showcase of great performances and writing, a whole lot of fun and one of the year's best.

Review: Out of the Furnace

Image courtesy of Relativity Media.

Scott Cooper's "Out of the Furnace" is a gritty crime drama that seemingly draws inspiration from the working class setting of a film like "The Deer Hunter" and the violence and drug addiction amid midwestern economic despair of "Winter's Bone." But while the film may not be as strong as either of those aforementioned movies and is unable to bring to fruition its ultimate ambitions, the picture at least provides some significant dramatic tension and is carried by the performances of its cast.

In the film, an excellent Christian Bale, tattooed and haggard, plays Russell Baze, a good-hearted mill worker in Pennsylvania who aims to keep an eye on his wayward brother Rodney (Casey Affleck), who has returned from Iraq deeply scarred and gets involved in a brutal fight club led by a particularly reprehensible man named Harlan DeGroat (Woody Harrelson at his creepiest), whom we first meet as he attacks a woman in his car, forcing a hot dog down her throat.

But a terrible twist of fate results in Russell landing several years in prison and then returning home to find that his girlfriend (Zoe Saldana) has taken up with a local cop (Forest Whitaker), while Rodney has gotten deeper into debt and mixed up with DeGroat's gang.

In terms of story, "Out of the Furnace" pretty much goes where you'd expect, although the fate of one character just over halfway through the film genuinely shocked me. And the film's ambitions, which attempt to connect the dots between Affleck's psychologically stunted war veteran, the economic plight of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey communities depicted in the movie and the eventual turning to criminal behavior for the Baze brothers, don't quite pay off.

That being said, Cooper - who directed 2009's solid "Crazy Heart" - delivers the goods otherwise. As a crime drama, the picture remains riveting throughout, creating a sense of tension that rarely lets up. And the cast, which also includes Sam Shepard and Willem Dafoe, is all-around solid. "Out of the Furnace" may not quite live up to Cooper's debut, but it's certainly worth a look.

Review: Inside Llewyn Davis

Image courtesy of CBS Films.

If the title "Almost Famous" hadn't already been taken, Joel and Ethan Coen could have surely used it for "Inside Llewyn Davis," their haunting, hilarious and melancholic new film.

While the titular fictional troubadour, who is played by Oscar Isaac and based somewhat on pre-Dylan era singer Dave Van Ronk, may not exactly be scrounging for his next meal, he's frequently in need of a couch while navigating the scene of 1960s folk music in the Village. Davis is sort of a lovable lout, a guy who's more talented than this peers, many of whom use gimmicks to sell their acts, but he's unable to catch a break.

The Coens' film follows a week in the life of Davis as he surfs from apartment to apartment and then off to Chicago, where he attempts to land a gig or contract with The Gate of Horn's Bud Grossman (played by F. Murray Abraham and based on Albert Grossman, who put together Peter, Paul and Mary) and back again. Similar to the much-beleaguered Larry Gopnik, of the Coens' brilliant 2009 film "A Serious Man," Davis faces trial after trial of Job-like proportions before settling into his fate. The film also bears thematic resemblance to the Coens' "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" in its Homeric references.

Much like many of the Coens' other films, "Inside Llewyn Davis" tells the tale of a man bound for failure, not because he is untalented, but because the cosmos has seemingly conspired against him or, hell, because life's just unfair like that.

As I've mentioned, Davis is no angel. He shows up unexpected at the homes of his Village - and, in one case, Upper East Side - pals with the intention of crashing at their homes, but eventually ends up insulting them. He has impregnated one friend, Jean (an acerbically funny Carey Mulligan, who is part of a duo/couple with a surprisingly straight-laced Justin Timberlake) and it's mentioned that he previously knocked up another young woman. He even has a go-to doctor for abortions. Davis is also not particularly polite when commenting on other performers, which likely stems from the fact that he's a greater talent, but has less commercial appeal than his fellow folk singers.

In one of the film's best plot threads, Davis accidentally allows the cat one of his friends escape. The fate of this animal, who is appropriately named Ulysses, and Davis's are intertwined during their odyssey through the streets of New York and Chicago. It's particularly heartbreaking when Davis betrays his feline friend during a later sequence.

As always, the Coens have a terrific line-up of character actors in relatively minor roles, including Sylvia Kauders as a batty secretary, John Goodman as a heroine-addicted jazz musician who accompanies Llewyn on his voyage to Chicago, Garrett Hedlund poking fun at his role as Neal Cassady in last year's "On the Road" as Goodman's valet, Johnny Five, Ethan Phillips and Robin Bartlett as Davis' Upper East Side friends, the Gorfeins, Adam Driver as a wanna-be cowboy-styled singer named Al Cody, Stark Sands as an overly sincere soldier-turned-folk singer and Abraham as Grossman.

And while the film is certainly downbeat and a bit of a heartbreaker, it features some of the funniest sequences in the Coens' canon, including an early visit by Llewyn to his manager and the recording of a novelty hit known as "Please Mr. Kennedy."

One of the more fascinating elements of the directors' period pieces is that they capture the look and mood of an era without overindulging in the reference of landmark incidents, although one particular person of interest pops up during the film's final scenes. Their latest picture, which is set in 1961, is lovely to look at - thanks to some great work by cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel - despite that rain or snow continuously batter our hero and, overall, the film has a visually gloomy style.

Some might argue that "Inside Llewyn Davis" is a smaller film for the Coens and does not go for the grandeur of a "No Country for Old Men," but I'd say that it thematically fits in with their overall body of work and is just as much of a major work as "A Serious Man" or "Barton Fink." It's a film that is often lovely, funny, sad, brooding and, on occasion, flat-out bizarre.

Davis may continue to gig at The Gaslight, singing his sad interpretations of "Hang Me (Oh Hang Me)" and "The Death of Queen Jane" or he may just throw in the towel and return to the Merchant Marines, where we are told he first drifted. Toward the finale when Llewyn literally receives the final blow of his particularly grueling week, it is hinted that he may have been at the right place at the wrong time, burning out before folk music had its grand revival thanks to Dylan, Joan Baez and several others. Davis, similar to the Coens, believes in art for art's sake, regardless of whether it's financially viable or connects with a wide audience. Lord knows, he's paid his dues, tangled up in blue.

The Lists: Best TV Shows

The Wire. Image courtesy of HBO.

The first of my all-time lists is my favorite television shows. Unlike the medium of film, which has been producing great works of art for nearly a century, TV has come into its own as a great art form in recent years. The past decade has been referred to by many as the "golden age of TV."

So, it should come as no surprise that many of my favorite TV shows were on the air during the 21st century. Below, I have listed my top 25 television shows as well as five great made-for-TV films or miniseries.

However, it should be noted that there are a number of shows considered great that I have not yet seen. Those include: "Homeland," "The Good Wife," "Six Feet Under," "Deadwood," "Boardwalk Empire," "The Walking Dead," "The Killing," "Game of Thrones" and "Justified." I'll eventually get around to these shows and, once I do, I'll add them to the list if I believe they deserve a spot.

In the meantime, my favorite miniseries or TV movies include:
5. I, Claudius (1976, Herbert Wise)
4. No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005, Martin Scorsese)
3. Mildred Pierce (2011, Todd Haynes)
2. Duel (1971, Steven Spielberg)
1. Angels in America (2003, Mike Nichols)

And my top 25 TV shows are:
25. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-2011, Larry David)
24. Sex and the City (1998-2004, Darren Star)
23. Masterpiece Theater (1971-present, Frank Gillard and Christopher Sarson)
22. M.A.S.H. (1972-1983, Larry Gelbart)
21. The Jeffersons (1975-1985, Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernie West)
20. Sanford and Son (1972-1977, Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin)
19. Angel (1999-2004, Joss Whedon)
18. Once and Again (1999-2002, Marshall Hershkovitz and Edward Zwick)
17. The X Files (1993-2002, Chris Carter)
16. The Simpsons ((1989-present, Matt Groening)
15. Saturday Night Live (1975-present, Lorne Michaels)
14. The Cosby Show (1984-1992, Bill Cosby, Ed Weinberger and Michael Leeson)
13. South Park (1997-present, Trey Parker and Matt Stone)
12. Seinfeld (1989-1998, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David)
11. The Twilight Zone (1959-1964, Rod Serling)
10. The Wonder Years (1988-1993, Carol Black and Neal Marlens)
  9. House of Cards (U.S. version) (2013-present, Beau Willimon)
  8. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003, Joss Whedon)
  7. The Americans (2013-present, Joe Weisberg)
  6. True Detective (2014-present, Nic Pizzolatto)
  5. Twin Peaks (1990-1991, David Lynch and Mark Frost)
  4. Breaking Bad (2008-2013, Vince Gilligan)
  3. Mad Men (2007-2015, Matthew Weiner)
  2. The Sopranos (1999-2007, David Chase)
  1. The Wire (2002-2008, David Simon)

Coming Soon: The Lists

Image courtesy of indiemusicfilter.com.

More than a few people in the various critical spheres doth protest too much when it comes to lists, notifying you that they hate them or that they are a necessary evil, but seemingly have no problem offering up their own when pressed.

In the past, I've included my best of the year lists on this site, but never any all-encompassing ones. So, this month I'm going all out. Why not, right? During the next four weeks, I'm going to post four lists - two massive, one medium sized and another relatively short. My hope is that they will provoke some discussion or that I'll get an email or two lambasting me for my negligibility for excluding a particular work. I'm hoping that my readers - or, perhaps just, reader (thanks, Mom) - will have something to say.

First will be my list of the 20 greatest TV shows, which will be followed by the top 500 albums (primarily confined from the 1950s to the present and listed in order) and, then, a non-numbered list of some of my favorite pieces of writing (that is, novels, plays, poems and maybe a nonfiction title or two). That last list will be lacking some major titles, so I'll make mention of any considered great works that I have yet to read.

Last will be my movie list, which will be a little different from the others. For one, it'll probably include more than 1,000 titles. Secondly, it's not numbered and will not be a "favorites" list in the usual sense. Rather, it's a list I'd provide someone if they asked me to give them the names of all the titles I thought they should see to have a well-rounded film education. It'll include some obvious choices, many personal favorites, a number of films that I might not necessarily love but are significant and some obscure titles. This list will be broken down by decade.

And, of course, around the last weekend of the year, I'll get to my best of 2013 list, which comes a bit later this year as a number of extremely well-regarded - and potentially promising - films are getting released at the last minute. If you'd like to send your own list (of any sort), you can post them in the comment section on this site or email them to nathanduke2001@yahoo.com.

Review: Oldboy

Image courtesy of FilmDistrict.

Spike Lee's remake of Chan-wook Park's "Oldboy," which is itself an adaptation of Nobuaki Minegeshi's manga, is far from being a bad film, but it has little reason to exist.

I'm generally wary of remakes. But while I liked Park's gruesome 2003 film, I'm not as beholden to it as some. So, while I can't say that the film necessarily needed to be remade, I was curious to see what Lee would do with the material.

Strangely, the director has pretty much made a scene-for-scene remake with the exception of a lack of live squid eating and a slightly different ending.

But this is not to say that this new version is without its pleasures, if that's the right word. Lee manages to nearly up the ante during the insane hammer attack sequence that was so memorable from Park's original. And another scene during which Josh Brolin's Joe Doucett fends off a couple of football players is shocking and out of the blue.

Then, on the other hand, there are some drawbacks. For starters, the opening scenes establish Doucett as a douchebag to an over-the-top extent. And the portrayals of film's villains, especially the mysterious figure at its center played by Sharlto Copley, verge on the ludicrous.

For those unaware of the story, "Oldboy" follows the tale of a lout who is imprisoned in a hotel room for two decades by an unknown figure whom he slighted years before. Upon release, he aims to track down his kidnapper and enact revenge. Of course, there are plot twists galore, one of which is rather grim.

Similar to Park's original, I was a bit let down by the eventual explanation of why Doucett has been imprisoned. I preferred both films as Kafka-esque exercises, rather than bloody revenge fantasies.

Lee's "Oldboy" impresses visually and the cast does its best with the material, but it is ultimately an average remake of a good - but, perhaps, not great - cult film.

Review: Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

Image courtesy of The Weinstein Company

Justin Chadwick's "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" fits into the genre that could be called the Respectful, Reverent Biopic, but it's a solid example of such a film.

While this film, which chronicles the South African leader's early days as an attorney to his election as the president of his nation following 27 years of imprisonment, does not exactly break ground for its genre, it is wonderfully acted, often beautiful to look at and well-scripted.

Idris Elba ("The Wire") bares little resemblance to Nelson Mandela, but he disappears into the role all the same, painting a portrait of a complex man. And - similar to the biopic of Ray Charles - the movie takes a warts-and-all approach, showing not just Mandela's suffering at the hands of his oppressors and valiant work on behalf of his people, but also extramarital activities and political compromises.

Equally good is Naomie Harris as Winnie Mandela, who eventually turns to guerilla tactics as her husband gradually begins the process of trying to unite South Africa by forgiving the oppressive government that imprisoned him.

In terms of a biopic, "Mandela" follows the standard route that we might expect of such a film, from the titular figure's early days as a lawyer to his involvement with the African National Congress, his arrest and trial, the decades spent in a tiny jail cell and, eventually, his release and rise to power. In other words, there are not too many surprises here.

On the other hand, the material is handled well and the film deftly injects documentary footage into its narrative. Also, the characters have a sense of depth due to the solid work by the cast and the picture manages to stir emotions and righteous anger without beating the audience over the head. "Mandela" may not be on the level of a towering achievement such as Spike Lee's "Malcolm X," but it's certainly worth seeing.