It's fantastic and features some of the most rich and compelling dialogue of the year by far. The exchanges between the actors in some scenes are just dynamite. Overall, it's just an incredibly well-made movie - great costumes and production design, a great soundtrack and strong editing, etc. David O. Russell proves once again that he is one of the best at drawing out incredible performances from his cast members. This movie very easily deserves four Oscar nominations for its performances (and possibly wins). Christian Bale is brilliant and completely disappears into this role - and I found it interesting that he was arguably one of the more sympathetic characters. Bradley Cooper was absolutely incredible, especially as the movie goes on. A climactic scene between him, Adams and eventually Bale is one of the best movie moments of the year largely due to his performance. He convincingly sold this character's downslide and had some great, hilarious one-liners as well. Amy Adams seriously deserves another Oscar nomination for this performance and I'd argue that in a less competitive year she would have been an easy frontrunner. She's sexy and funny when she needs to be but also an expected powerhouse in the more dramatic moments. It's arguably one of the most complex and difficult roles in the film. And of course Jennifer Lawrence, who I truly believe deserves to win another Oscar for this movie. The whole thing is literally elevated when her character first appears and never lets up from that point forward. This is an instantly iconic and quotable performance that's equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking. She steals every one of the scenes she is in amongst her older co-stars and is just incredible here. The movie works best when it is focused on these four actors who to the script and direction's credit are given A LOT to work with. Jeremy Renner is quite good as well and I felt for his character, but it's easily the least showy role of the five leads. The other standout in the cast who has to be mentioned is Louis C.K., whose scenes with Cooper are perfect and are among the funniest moments in the movie. It's just an all around excellent feature and should certainly play well into the holiday season as it's totally mainstream-accessible as well. A

I would argue with this being placed in the Comedy categories at the Globes though. It has its fair share of funny moments, but at heart this is at best a dramedy. It's not some mad-cap Ocean's Eleven style caper as some of the early reviews would have you believe. It walks a tricky line between both genres though so I can understand why they're doing it. I guess seeing Wolf of Wall Street a few days earlier affected my opinion because IMO that movie is DEFINITELY a comedy and plays for laughs more often than not.

russell wants to be scorsese so badly it's painful

So what?

I would have no problem with Russell becoming a slightly less talented Scorsese.

it's much more than slightly

H8R

this does have the best cameo of the year tho

I want a science oven, and the Ice Fishing story are hands down some of the best jokes all year in any movie.

I liked it. Oscar worthy? Not really, no. David O. Russell does a good job making the movie entertaining from start to finish but I was just enjoying it not at the level I thought I would. I didn't really find the movie funny either. Cast is good. Entertaining flick but not memorable.

Yeah this is no comedy though it has funny moments.

I loved it. It's unfair to compare it to a Scorcese film because let's face it, how many films can live up to Goodfellas.

The main leads are all on top form. Ads in particular is brilliant. Russell nails the 70s look and feel and continues his winning streak. This will probably win an Oscar for best screenplay.

Loved the cameos. Especially that key one later in the field. And love how Terrance Winter managed to bring over a couple of Boardwalk Empire alum.

Grade : A

Yeah this is no comedy though it has funny moments.

I loved it. It's unfair to compare it to a Scorcese film because let's face it, how many films can live up to Goodfellas.

The main leads are all on top form. Ads in particular is brilliant. Russell nails the 70s look and feel and continues his winning streak. This will probably win an Oscar for best screenplay.

Loved the cameos. Especially that key one later in the field. And love how Terrance Winter managed to bring over a couple of Boardwalk Empire alum.

Grade : A

American Hustle can best be described as anarchic. It feels like the screenplay was thrown out of the window to make way for the over the top acting, the flashy costumes, and an abundance of cleavage. That doesn't mean that there is no narrative, but it certainly does get a little confusing in parts. Yet I just really loved this whole crazy thing. David O. Russell directs this with so much style that it almost feels like the screen is about to explode. Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper are great, yet it's the women who steal the show. Jennifer Lawrence gives an electrifying performance. You're never quite sure if it's great, or awful acting, but honestly, that doesn't matter. She is like fire. Amy Adams is best in show, creating a character whose intentions are unpredictable, but she is human and believable, and her British accent is hilarious. This film is just a hell of a ride. A

amy adams is awful [in this]

[according to you]

Who ain't gonna dig a 70's conman flick?!?

Lots 'o fun steeped in retro costume and set design.

Amy Adams absolutely and totally deserves this year's Academy Award for best actress - - a mind glowingly great performance!


10 out of 5.

toldja so

David O. Russell still hasn't topped his back-to-back masterpieces of Three Kings & I Heart Huckabees, but he remains one of the most talented comedic directors working today.

I'm also a big fan of Flirting with Disaster. Underrated flick.

This was my most anticipated movie of the year for quite sometime and I actually couldn't have been more disappointed in it. It was good, but it's incredibly overrated. The performances are good with the standout being Bradley Cooper, who is showing that he is one of the best actors working today. Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence were also both very good. Amy Adams was good but her performance isn't worthy of any kind of nominations. It was entertaining but I didn't find it to be particularly funny and I also found it kind of confusing in spots. Good, not great but I am really disappointed.

7/10

American Hustle, a fictionalized chronicle of an FBI sting operation which laid several major politicos low before raising ethical questions regarding entrapment, is a colorful and engaging yarn with top-flight performances. It is also a tad superficial. There is not a great deal in which to invest beyond the pure, simple jolts of adrenaline and humor, often at the expense of late-'70s fashion and hairstyles, and this is a shame because the storyline motions toward more intricate concerns, from the potential for self-invention and revision in America to the way ambition and greed can poison nobility. The direction, courtesy of one-time art-house madman turned studio friendly prestige director David O. Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter), is almost too finessed, too cool. The ever circling and darting camera is emblematic of a film which is always on the go, always broad, always switched "on," resulting in a pleasant retro romp which slips in one ear and out the other rather faster than intended. It is closer in depth and impact to Ocean's Thirteen than the '90s Martin Scorsese films to which it aspires. In fact, I imagine most viewers will remember the boobs and the comic comb-overs more than any of the central friendships, romances, or rivalries.

Russell lets his A-list cast run as wild as they care to with largely satisfying results, from Christian Bale's convincing transformation into a portly, Bronx bred con artist trying to outwit the law to the downright invaluable turn by a scene-stealing Jennifer Lawrence as his spitfire of a wife. The various performances, each its own high-wire contraption and around a thousand miles beyond the border of subtle, almost threaten to bump into one another and tip the enterprise on its side, but they never do.

B

One strain of this film I found particularly unconvincing: the idea Irving (Christian Bale) has a growing admiration for Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner). Bale and Renner share a couple nice moments, but the climactic voice-over in which Irving says the loss of the burgeoning friendship is among the worst regrets of his life lands with a resounding thud.

I bought it.

Indeed.

It's a really slight film in dire need of some depth. In the end, it doesn't really say much and lacks substance. A pretty forgettable experience in all honesty.

Does in no way deserve a BP nom.

B/B-

I actually found that to be the best part of the whole film. Bale only ever went after the worst or down on their luck people that had it coming. Renner's character was a genuinely good person from Bale's neighborhood trying to help the people. I think Renner is going to get overlooked here, but he is actually my favorite role in the whole film. Just great performances all around.

I agree Jeremy Renner is very strong here. He shines with a low-key, sturdy role while the rest go insane.

Amy Adams' performance is the least successful, in my opinion. Maybe because so many of her lines are delivered in the grating posh British accent.