Movie Review: GRUDGE MATCH

GRUDGE MATCH
Director: Peter Segal
Starring: Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Kevin Hart, Alan Arkin, Kim Basinger, Jon Bernthal

So let me get this straight. Instead of watching Rocky or Raging Bull, I decided to watch Grudge Match which is basically Rocky Balboa vs. Jake LaMotta with Grumpy Old Men thrown in there for some very forced laughs. In their glory days, Henry "Razor" Sharp (Stallone) and Billy "The Kid" McDonnen (De Niro) were two of the biggest boxers who battled each other for the prize title. Razor won one of the battles and Kid won the other battle. Before they could fight in the rubber match, Razor announced his retirement and a bitter feud was started between the two of them.

Thirty years pass and the guys have moved on from the sport each living their own lives in their new business ventures. Sports promoter Dante Slate Jr. (Hart) sees an opportunity he cannot pass up. He offers the former boxers $15,000 each to take part in making a video game putting the two rivals together. Razor only agrees if he does not have to face Kid while filming. What would the movie be if that actually happened. Kid shows up to the filming earlier than expected and antagonizes Razor for old time's sake. Punches are thrown and their idiotic reunion is all captured by the production crew who all instantly put it online. The video goes viral and becomes a HUGE HIT! Offers come rolling in for an actual grudge match putting these two rivals back in the ring for the first time in decades. They are both past their prime physically so Razor hires his old trainer (Arkin) and Kid asks his son (Bernthal) to get him back in shape. Razor's old flame Sally (Basinger) shows up and complicates things a bit further.

Let me just reiterate that there are three Oscar winners, one nominee, and Kevin Hart that all agreed to be in this movie. Now I expect Kevin Hart to do this type of movie. The role is very much his style and brand of comedy. He has a few other movies coming out soon where he plays similar types of roles. Do I expect a little more from De Niro, Stallone, Arkin, and Basinger? Yes. That is not to say that they should only be doing heavy material. There is something so cheesy and gimmicky about this reunion premise. There is no hiding the fact it's a Rocky vs Raging Bull story. I am just surprised someone had the audacity to even pitch them this premise. De Niro and Stallone have both starred together in 1997's Cop Land, which was pretty good if memory serves correctly. I probably would not even have that big of a problem with the film if it was written better. The script goes from trying so hard to pump out the laughs that it is working in overdrive trying to make sure Alan Arkin's lines end in a punchline. Other times, it gets so lazy that any sort of twist or slightly dramatic moment is purely recycled from other movies that we have seen before, some of them you see coming a mile away. Kim Basinger has some pretty doozy lines that were laughable for the wrong reasons.

I do not know if it would have worked as a serious drama or if comedy was the better route to take. Since this is a reunion type of movie, they could have spent more time focusing on the past instead of treating it like a gimmick and joke. There are fun shots of a young Stallone and De Niro, but I think we could have used more of that. Maybe some cameos or supporting characters for Talia Shire or Cathy Moriarty? I think Jon Bernthal is the best part of the movie. There was something sweet about the son story line for Kid. I actually think the film had potential. There would be a good moment or scene where I was thinking that the film was picking up in quality and then it took three steps back. I just do not know what the point of the movie was. Was it the pure marketing ploy of putting two actors from legendary boxing movies back in the ring? If that was the sole reason, then I guess they succeeded. I think it is best to just go pop in the blu-rays of Rocky and Raging Bull and give them a fresh watch.

RATING: ** (2 out of 5 stars)

Movie Review: AMERICAN HUSTLE

AMERICAN HUSTLE
Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K., Jack Huston, Michael Peña, Robert DeNiro

Sometimes it is the most random choices and tidbits that catch my eye that lead me to believe I will really love the movie. The use of the vintage Columbia Pictures studio logo and the phrase "Some of this actually happened" hit just the right spot even though I am sure most people will gloss right over them. I do not know too many folks that take an interest in studio logos. While Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) runs a chain of drying cleaning stores and a glass business, his real income comes as a con-artist selling forged artwork to prospective dealers. At a pool party he meets Sydney Prosser (Adams), a former stripper looking to reinvent herself. She is impressed and turned on by his confidence, not by his horrible comb-over and gut. She decides to join him in his con schemes by posing as the British "Lady Edith Greensley". Their new work partnership turns into a budding romance despite the fact that he is still married to Rosalyn (Lawrence) and has a son with her.

Irving's side business skyrockets with the help of Sydney, aka "Lady Edith". Their illegal work becomes the target of FBI Agent Richie DiMaso (Cooper). After their arrest for fraud and impersonation, he offers them a deal for their freedom in exchange for their help in arresting four other con artists on their most wanted list. They all get in a bit over their head with their attempt at bringing down New Jersey Mayor Carmine Polito (Renner) who is looking for extra funds to rebuild Atlantic City full of casinos. Polito's connections to the mafia make it difficult for their attempt at trapping him.

Director David O. Russell is known for being far more concerned about the characters than the actual plot. After watching American Hustle, that is quite evident. Russell also co-wrote the screenplay with Eric Singer and their characters are what stand out over any portion of the plot. Make sure to pay attention to the various character voice-overs as Russell and Singer use that device to explain side characters that pop up and connect the dots for the audience as to what is happening in the scheme. Their characters are over-the-top with their big personalities and the specific look for each one of them. Russell makes it quite clear how important each of these characters are. He spends his opening scene with Bale turning his messy hair into the perfect comb-over. Cooper is scene in hair curlers waiting for his perm to set. The whole design aesthetic is showy and obvious, but works for their approach to this story.

Russell and Singer have given their actors great material to work with and are catered toward the actors playing them. Bale and Adams both worked for Russell in The Fighter, while Cooper and Lawrence shined in his Silver Linings Playbook. Bale and Lawrence have both won the coveted Oscar for their work under his direction. Could any of these four receive some Oscar gold this time around? Lawrence has the biggest chance due to her category. She is as fierce and funny as always with a character we have not seen her play before. She makes it look so effortless as her New Jersey housewife is executed flawlessly. Apparently she has been watching "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" as research to go between sassy, fierce, dim-witted, and crazy. Lawrence may be getting all of the buzz for the movie, but Amy Adams has been given the role of her career. We normally see her in supporting roles, but she is able to come front and center here as Bale's counterpart. Even though she works all the time, she now has a role that knows how to use her in a new light. There are so many different angles and dimensions as she has to morph between Sydney/Lady Edith and how she really is living a lie to herself. It is the meatiest and edgiest performance we have seen from her. I still stand that she should have won the Oscar for The Fighter over Melissa Leo. Lawrence and Adams have a big cat fight in the bathroom and is one of the best scenes in the film. Christian Bale proves yet again why he is one of the best actors working today. He is one hell of a chameleon. Some may object to his Method style approach to his characters, but I applaud it as it always seems to work for him. Yes, that is his real hair and gut as he gained quite a bit of weight for his role. Call me crazy, but there are times where I thought Bale was channeling his inner DeNiro. Some of his mannerisms and gestures were very reminiscent as if he was playing the DeNiro type of character here. Coincidentally, DeNiro has a cameo sized role here which seems like an homage to the DeNiro characters we have seen in the past. He is even given the funny glasses and goofy hair like everyone else has been given to amply their character's looks.

David O. Russell's latest offering is a one hell of a fun ride. The story is loosely based on the ABSCAM operation in the 1970s and 1980s. He has taken more of a comedic angle to telling this story over say a dark, gritty, or violent nature. The characters are all these larger than life caricatures instead of being realistic approaches to their real life counterparts. I for one have no problem with his approach. If you are expecting something different, you may be thrown off. Russell makes good use out of using the music of the times as it is prominently featured throughout the movie. Elton John, The Bee Gees, and Paul McCartney are just some of the artists cranked to full volume to drive home the era. If you can go along for the ride and try not to compare it to other films or directors, you are bound to have a fun and exciting time. It made my Top 10 of the year!

RATING: ***** (5 out of 5 stars)

Movie Trailer: AMERICAN HUSTLE

AMERICAN HUSTLE
Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams, Robert DeNiro, Jeremy Renner

Oh, the hair! The costume design! I already love the look and tone of this 1970s con artist story. Russell’s previous film Silver Linings Playbook was one of my favorite films of 2012. The film’s leads are all veterans of working with David O. Russell and Bale and Lawrence have both won Oscars for their work in The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, respectively. Russell was interviewed on “Good Morning America” and was excited by the fact that his actors are playing all new characters that they have never had a chance to play before. With the Christmas release, it is bound to be another Oscar contender in numerous categories. The film is a fictional story based on the sting operation known as “Abscam”.

Here is the official press synopsis:

“A fictional film set in the alluring world of one of the most stunning scandals to rock our nation, American Hustle tells the story of brilliant con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), who along with his equally cunning and seductive British 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. Like David O. Russell’s previous films, American Hustle defies genre, hinging on raw emotion, and life and death stakes.”

What are your first impressions?

Release Date: December 25, 2013

THE 19th ANNUAL SAG AWARD NOMINATIONS

THE 19th ANNUAL SAG AWARD NOMINATIONS

The Screen Actors Guild Award Nominations have been announced! They are usually the strongest indicators of who will be nominated for an Oscar. The SAG winners often times walk away with the coveted Oscar as well. There are always exceptions to that as well. There are only a couple of surprises here. Javier Bardem and Nicole Kidman received nominations beating out the likes of Matthew McConaughey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Adams, or Jacki Weaver. No actors from Django Unchained received any recognition. The cast of Zero Dark Thirty was not recognized even though Jessica Chastain received a Best Actress nomination.

I’ve added links to my reviews of any of the movies I have seen thus far. Make sure to check out my Oscar Watch 2013 page for the latest updates leading up to the announcement of the nominations and through Oscar Day!

Best Performance By a Cast in a Motion Picture
ARGO
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
LES MISERABLES
LINCOLN
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

Outstanding Performance by in Actor in a Leading Role
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables
Denzel Washington, Flight

Outstanding Performance by in Actress in a Leading Role
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Outstanding Performance by in Actor in a Supporting Role
Alan Arkin, Argo
Javier Bardem, Skyfall
Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Outstanding Performance by in Actress in a Supporting Role
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Who are you excited to see nominated? Any of these surprised for you?

The SAG Awards air on TBS and TNT on January 27, 2012

Movie Review: SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Director/Writer: David O. Russell
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert DeNiro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker

You know those movies that you go in not knowing much about it, but you come out blown away? For me, that movie is Silver Linings Playbook, the latest from David O. Russell. Pat Solitano (Cooper) has been released from a psychiatry facility. His mother Dolores (Weaver) picks him and his friend Danny (Tucker) up and brings him back to their house. Pat comes back to realize his life is not the same as it was before the incident happened. He no longer has his job as a teacher and is determined to get his wife back. His traditional Philadelphia Eagles loving OCD dad Pat Sr. (DeNiro) is not even aware that he was released early.

Pat seems a little clueless about his mental state of being diagnosed as bipolar. He thinks he has it all together and it will be no time before he gets his wife back. I have no idea why he would want her back. She is a fellow teacher, and he goes about reading the books on her syllabus as a way to win her back. He is also running to get in shape again. He cannot seem to shake his short temper and anger management. Even the ending of "A Farewell to Arms" sets him over the edge.

During a dinner with his wife's sister (Julia Stiles), he meets Tiffany (Lawrence). She is a firecracker along the same lines as Pat. She has a history of baggage having previously been married and a reputation of being crazy and a slut. Their friendship blooms the more they interact and challenge each other. Pat helps Tiffany enter a dance competition in exchange for her helping him reach out to his wife.

I always thought Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence were good actors, but even I did not expect them to be so fantastic and sharp in this movie. Cooper has finally found a movie that can show off his skills as a serious actor. I think we all came to acknowledge that he was just the good looking sexy guy that can either play the "bro" type character in The Hangover or Wedding Crashers or star in action movies like The A-Team or Limitless. Pat Solitano is an adventurous departure for him. Cooper knows how to play him with truth and conviction without playing just bipolar stereotypes. Along with Cooper, you can expect Jennifer Lawrence to anticipate another early morning call on Oscar nomination day. At the ripe age of 22 she can hold her own against likes of Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver. She shows off the multitude of dimensions to Tiffany to prove that she is more than the flawed crazy slut she is scapegoated to be. She should have no troubles proving that she is capable of playing more characters than Katniss Everdeen and Mystique.

Silver Linings Playbook is the perfect example of a movie that seems pretty simple and full of standard rom-com fair on the outside, but in the inside it packs a wallop of a punch and takes you by surprise. The relationship between Pat and Pat Sr. is just as important to the story as the one between Pat and Tiffany. David O. Russell directed and wrote the movie based on the novel of the same name by Matthew Quick. He has cast a superb ensemble of actors that play outside their comfort zones, but are perfect at playing these characters. Even though I do not know anyone in my life quite like any of them, they were all believable and relatable. I always enjoy watching a movie that is a great character study, especially when you have two actors at the top of their game. I would expect multiple Oscar nominations especially in the acting categories. It will definitely have a spot on my Top 10 of 2012 list.

RATING: ***** (5 out of 5 stars)