AMERICAN HUSTLE DVD (2013)




SYNOPSIS: American Hustle tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), who along with his equally cunning and seductive partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) is forced to work for a wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia that’s as dangerous as it is enchanting. Jeremy Renner is Carmine Polito,the passionate, volatile, New Jersey political operator caught between the con-artists and Feds. Irving’s unpredictable wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) could be the one to pull the thread that brings the entire world crashing down.

MOVIE REVIEW:

American Hustle was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture but walked home empty handed in the end. Brush aside this little taint; this totally enjoyable flick from the director of Silver Linings Playbook and The Fighter will hook you from start to finish.  

While Tony Leung spent the last reel of Days of Being Wild delicately combing his hair, Christian Bale spent the beginning of the movie adjusting his bad combover. His character Irving Rosenfeld is a smart con artist. Together with his new love and perfect partner-in-crime, Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), the duo is being forced by FBI agent Richard DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) to reel in the nation’s corrupt politicians and mobsters. With their lives and relationship at stake, will Irving and Sydney get out of the situation alive? If yes what is the cost?

O’Russell and Eric Warren Singer gamely crafted a slick, often humorous crime story that exposed both the vulnerability and greediness of mankind. For such a serious subject matter, it’s incredibly fast-paced and filled with a whole lot of colourful, complex characters. A certain Jennifer Lawrence appear as Irving’s neurotic wife and Jeremy Renner as a New Jersey Mayor equipped with an Elvis hairstyle. In actual fact, everyone in the cast is playing against type and yes with very bad hairdo. Mind you, we are talking about Cooper’s outrageous curly-hair that got more attention than his performance. Amy Adam’s often low-cut blouses just garner her additional points, consider that a surprise.    

The screenplay is so unpredictable that it’s hard to guess if Richard DiMaso, the over-achieving agent will even succeed in conning the con artists to help fulfill his ambitious plans. A fake sheik, two million dollars and a terrifying Italian mobster from Miami (a cameo by a rather famous A-lister) are involved in the scheme. But who will go scot-free and who will be reel in by the law?

The tightly wound script is amazing and with the beautiful seventies setting as the backdrop, American Hustle is pure genius. That’s not all, the soundtrack which consists of classics such as Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, Tom Jones’ “Deliah” and “Live and Let Die” adds more magic to an already shining piece of gem. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Visual and audio aspects are serviceable in this no-frills DVD. 

MOVIE RATING:


DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee



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 ABOUT THE MOVIE

Genre: Drama
Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Amy Adams, Louis C.K., Alessandro Nivola, Elisabeth Rohm, Jack Huston, Dawn Olivieri, Thomas Matthews, Michael Pena, Jack Jones, Jay Giannone
Director: David O. Russell
Rating: M18 (Coarse Language)
Year Made: 2013

 SPECIAL FEATURES

- NIL

 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Languages: English
Subtitles: English/Mandarin
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
Running Time: 2 hrs 17 mins
Region Code: 3
Distributor: InnoForm Media