Notes from a Genius

Film 372 "American Hustle" starring: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Louis C.K. written and directed by: David O. Russell Full disclosure: I love Jennifer Lawrence! I have ever since I saw her in "Winter's Bone" (thanks to my best friend, Sean, for telling me I had to watch the gritty, slightly depressing film). She cannot seem to give anything but her very best in every role (however small, she makes her presence known and significant in each of her films). David O. Russell cannot seem to help but write and direct excellent, gritty, overwrought, spectacles as films. Last year, he came at us with "Silver Linings Playbook" (which I reviewed here in this blog). He's also done: Flirting with Disaster (reviewed in this blog) Three Kings I Heart Huckabees (one of my favorites) The Fighter Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) though is the main focus of Russell's new and surefire award-winni...

Film 368 "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" a film by (written and directed): Guy Ritchie starring: Jason Stratham, Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Steve Mckintosh This is a bit of a reminder that Guy Ritchie used to be great at what he did (after the TV commercials, of course), before he fell in love with and married Madonna. He made this film in 1999, and then he followed it up with another excellent film, starring Brad Pitt (re: "Snatch"). Ritchie is a Londoner and he pays homage to his lovely, yet lower-life peeps in this complex caper-type film that almost plays itself like the best of Tarantino mixed with the comedy of the Marx Brothers. There's violence. There's comedy. The plot seems a bit simple, but I couldn't help but get lost many times as it played out. Eddy (Moran) is a poker play who is bankrolled by 3 of his friends in a high-stakes game with Hatchet Marry (Moriarity), a gambling kingpin. Eddy runs up an enorm...

Film 362 "View From the Top" starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Kelly Preston, Candice Bergen, Mike Myers, Mark Ruffalo, Marc Blucas, Rob Lowe, Stacey Dash, Jon Polito This was actually a surprisingly decent film, I mean, if you know what you're getting: a romantic comedy, at its heart. It's a sweet and innocent film about a bubbly, small-town girl named Donna (Gwyneth Paltrow, looking great as usual, but especially so in a flight attendant's outfit). She has a dream of becoming a flight attendant so that she can escape her dead-end life and not end up like her mother. Along the way she meets some friends who help her and are genuine; she meets some friends who double-cross her. She has a boyfriend who dumps her. She finds a guy who loves her. Sure, it's definitely a silly, sometimes ridiculous movie with gags (Mike Myers shows up as a cross-eyed flight attendant trainer and there's a girl-flight on board a plane), but it also has...

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