Christian Bale
Leading up to the financial meltdown of 2008, this new econo-medy treats the then-imminent crisis like a tsunami about to make landfall, and only a handful of people are standing on the beach to see the water receding from the shore. It didn’t happen overnight, though it sure felt like that to most of us. Suddenly, stock portfolios shriveled […]
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The notorious FBI Abscam operation provides the premise for the stylized, hyperkinetic period piece “American Hustle”. The characters, however, undoubtedly belong to director David O. Russell, who co-wrote with Eric Singer (“The International”) this heavily-fictionalized, often comical account of the sting that took place during the late ’70s – early ’80s. Russell’s star-studded magnum opus, based […]
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I often gripe – probably too much – about films in which the characters are not adequately developed. Such is not the case with “Out of the Furnace”, the new film from director Scott Cooper (“Crazy Heart”), though I suppose it would be hard for a filmmaker to come up empty with the likes of […]
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(This review originally appeared at Reel Film News on July 27, 2012.) Before we start: on behalf of Reel Film News, we would like to offer our sincerest condolences to the victims of the Aurora shooting and their families. I had originally written an overlong piece about the merits of The Dark Knight Rises. There […]
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