Posts tagged Sydney
“American Hustle” Shows Never Con a Con Artist
Dec 28th
“Never Con a Con Artist”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
American Hustle is so good that don’t be surprised if during some awards ceremony it sweeps an award in all the major categories.
In fact, it is so good that Robert De Niro appears in it as an important character and doesn’t even get listed in the credits.
However, appearing both in the movie and in the credits are Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Jennifer Lawrence, and most if not all of them are going to come out winners during the next awards season.
The movie is based on one of the most stunning scandals and sting operations in the late Seventies, and it begins with a title that says, “Some of this actually happened.”
We are introduced to Irving, who is a con artist with such an elaborate comb-over that he not only combs his long hair over, but also glues it to his bald scalp.
Irving says, “I learned how to survive when I was a kid,” and we see how he broke the law in order to send more customers to his father’s business.
As an adult, however, and even though he owns some legitimate businesses, Irving prefers to make most of his money by charging people a nonrefundable $5,000 fee in order to get them a loan, but then he never comes back with the loan.
Irving’s partner in crime and in love is Sydney, a woman whose dream was to become anyone other than who she was, and her role in the scam is to pretend to be British royalty with bank connections.
Unfortunately, one man they try to con turns out to be Richie, who is an FBI agent with dreams of exposing and bringing down dirty politicians, and when he reveals himself to Irving and Sydney, he promises not to arrest them if they will help him in his own sting operation, which eventually involves a New Jersey mayor who wants to relaunch the casino industry in Atlantic City, a sheik who might provide the money, and mobsters from Miami who might provide the connections.
So, can you see how those involved in the operation might be in over their heads, especially when they are still keeping secrets from each other?
And all this time Irving has been married.
American Hustle is a truly enjoyable comedy.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
American Hustle – Movie Trailer
Dec 22nd
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.
“I Love You, Man” Overlook the Major Flaw
Apr 8th
Overlook the Major Flaw
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
I LOVE YOU, MAN is a very funny movie about a pleasant-enough man who intentionally tries to meet some men he can become close friends with.
Well, one, actually, and herein lies the major flaw in the story.
You see, Peter, played by Paul Rudd, has just gotten engaged to his girlfriend, Zooey, played by Rashida Jones, and it becomes clear that Peter doesn’t have any male friends, much less anyone he can ask to be his best man.
In fact, at a dinner with Peter’s parents, his mother, played by Jane Curtin, tells Zooey, “Peter always connected more with women.”
So, everybody and his brother try to fix Peter up with some men whom he can become friends with and maybe find a best man.
Naturally, the meetings are very funny, and naturally Peter doesn’t meet anyone he would like to become friends with, which means still no best man.
Peter is a real-estate agent, and his biggest project is to sell the house owned by Lou Ferrigno, the actor who played The Incredible Hulk on television.
So, Peter holds an open house for prospective buyers, and a man who shows up strictly for the food and perhaps to meet some recently divorced women is Sydney Fife, played by Jason Segel.
Peter and Sydney get to talking, and they exchange business cards.
Later, Peter decides to call Sydney, but he is so nervous that he rehearses what he is going to say, and when Sydney isn’t home, the message that Peter leaves is as funny as the rest of the movie.
However, they finally connect, agree to get together, and the rest, as they say, is what makes this movie worth seeing.
They share similar interests in music, they jam together, and Sydney gets Peter to open up more, although Peter tries too hard in practically everything he does, which is all the more funny.
And, of course, there are problems.
And, or course, they are overcome.
Now, the major flaw in the story is that I was being literal when I said “everybody and his brother,” because Peter does have a brother and you might wonder why Peter doesn’t ask him to be best man.
I LOVE YOU, MAN asks you to overlook this major flaw, enjoy the movie, and stay for the closing credits.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”