Last year was not good for posts. This year should be different.
I've engaged myself in the 100 Movies challenge - I plan to watch 100 movies in 2014 that I have never seen before. They won't all be new, because I'm not made of money, but I'm looking at this much the way I looked at my reading habits two years ago. The year I decided to only read books I've never read before, I read a bunch of stuff I never would have and it revitalized the way I look for things to read. I re-watch a lot of the same movies, which isn't a bad thing, but it limits my exposure to new stuff and keeps me from watching all the things on my Netflix queue that "I'm totally going to watch someday." That day is now!
Before we embark on this journey together, I should mention a few things I saw that I haven't told you about.
I've engaged myself in the 100 Movies challenge - I plan to watch 100 movies in 2014 that I have never seen before. They won't all be new, because I'm not made of money, but I'm looking at this much the way I looked at my reading habits two years ago. The year I decided to only read books I've never read before, I read a bunch of stuff I never would have and it revitalized the way I look for things to read. I re-watch a lot of the same movies, which isn't a bad thing, but it limits my exposure to new stuff and keeps me from watching all the things on my Netflix queue that "I'm totally going to watch someday." That day is now!
Before we embark on this journey together, I should mention a few things I saw that I haven't told you about.
The Hobbit
I was going to wait to review The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug until I saw it again, because I went to a late show and MAY have slept through a bit of the beginning. But I don't actually think I'll have a chance to see it again, so: my overwhelming opinion of this movie is that while it's still too long, it's an improvement on An Unexpected Journey in every way. You may recall I got a bit whiny when I reviewed the first Hobbit movie, because it was too long and paced poorly and tonally weird and a whole bunch of other stuff, but mostly because I expected better of Peter Jackson. Desolation is slightly shorter, composed better, moves more efficiently, and has better side characters than Journey. Every addition to the source material makes it better (including Tauriel, the lady elf and new queen of my life).
It also feels very much like the filmmakers have a better grasp on how they're combining their different material - the Necromancer storyline fits better with the dwarves' journey this time around (which, granted, is partially due to the fact that The Hobbit as a book gets steadily darker - but it still works better than moving between troll snot and high council meetings).
I STILL don't think it needs to be three movies, but I'm glad they're at least getting better as they go.
American Hustle
You guys. YOU GUYS. This movie was so good. I'm having trouble formulating a coherent review because I just want to tell you to go see it, but I'll try my best.
I love movies that respect their audience, and this one definitely does. The writing is so smart, which is particularly evident in the way it uses humor - none of the jokes are slammed in your face, and if you're not paying attention you might miss them, and they never detract from the seriousness of the subject matter. But this movie is FUNNY. It's also a great con film, and as everyone knows, the best part of a con movie is the reveal...which American Hustle TOTALLY nails.
It's also incredibly well-acted - the story, which deals with a pair of con artists (Christian Bale and Amy Adams) who get in trouble with an FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) and agree to help him trap a politician (Jeremy Renner) in exchange for amnesty, is a completely serious, heavy story. And the actors never detract from that. But they are the reason the film goes from gut wrenching to wildly funny in the span of a few moments, without lessening the effect of either. Bale and Adams particularly have crazy chemistry with each other that makes them compelling to watch.
You know who else was compelling to watch? Jennifer Friggin' Lawrence. I am continually astounded that Lawrence is as good as she is considering how (comparatively) little experience she has - at this point, she has made four huge movies, and delivered critically acclaimed performances in three of them (she's excellent in Hunger Games, but that's not winning awards any time soon). The way she plays Rosalyn, Bale's disaffected housewife who is dumber than a sack of rocks, is so pitch-perfect that she completely steals every scene she's in.
I love movies that respect their audience, and this one definitely does. The writing is so smart, which is particularly evident in the way it uses humor - none of the jokes are slammed in your face, and if you're not paying attention you might miss them, and they never detract from the seriousness of the subject matter. But this movie is FUNNY. It's also a great con film, and as everyone knows, the best part of a con movie is the reveal...which American Hustle TOTALLY nails.
It's also incredibly well-acted - the story, which deals with a pair of con artists (Christian Bale and Amy Adams) who get in trouble with an FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) and agree to help him trap a politician (Jeremy Renner) in exchange for amnesty, is a completely serious, heavy story. And the actors never detract from that. But they are the reason the film goes from gut wrenching to wildly funny in the span of a few moments, without lessening the effect of either. Bale and Adams particularly have crazy chemistry with each other that makes them compelling to watch.
You know who else was compelling to watch? Jennifer Friggin' Lawrence. I am continually astounded that Lawrence is as good as she is considering how (comparatively) little experience she has - at this point, she has made four huge movies, and delivered critically acclaimed performances in three of them (she's excellent in Hunger Games, but that's not winning awards any time soon). The way she plays Rosalyn, Bale's disaffected housewife who is dumber than a sack of rocks, is so pitch-perfect that she completely steals every scene she's in.
Lest I wax fondly about this movie for 1200 more words, I leave you with this, Jennifer Lawrence singing Live and Let Die in full mobster housewife regalia.
