Script + Plot - 6
Characters - 9
Actors - 7
Soundtrack - 8
Visuals + Sounds - 8
Editing + Cinematography - 8
Directing - 6
Effect - 5
Raw Overall Score - 7.125
Personal Overall Score - 6.9
Brief Overall Review: American Hustle is a film with an average script and a brilliant cast that don't know what to do with it, nor how to portray the complex characters designated to them. With a tasteful soundtrack that complements the look and feel of the movie along with the editing style and camera shots, the movie is a visual blockbuster where it is not an entertaining story. The movie is consumed with so much potential to be something great but is unfortunately handled poorly; a fault that remains heavily due to the director following the lack of vision and direction. Is it a comedy or a drama? It tries to be both but fails to be funny or particularly attention grabbing; where there are a few laughs and some emotional scenes, however something always tends to come and undo any small bit of cinematic gold the film has to offer. This film is an experience and a bit of a roller-coaster for the viewer.
Oscar Nod?
Despite this movie being nominated for a few Academy Awards, Artless Reviews will give this movie no Academy Awards in the categories nominated, simply due to better quality opponents in all categories.
The only genres believed to be worth a serious consideration in the instance for this film would go to Best Film Editing and Best Supporting Actor.
Script + Plot - The plot for the movie is as follows: A con man, Irving Rosenfeld, along with his seductive British partner, Sydney Prosser, is forced to work for a wild FBI agent, Richie DiMaso. DiMaso pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia. (via IMDB). The plot for this movie is quite interesting and leaves a lot of scope for brilliant execution, however the script for this film exposes the poorly handled execution. It was a bit tough deciding whether the fault of this film was to do with the script itself or the way the actors delivered it. I came to the conclusion that to an extent it was both, however I believe the script played a significant and important role in the downfall of this film. An average script with unimaginative and quite predictable lines, sometimes this can often be covered up or made up for with the right delivery, however it was not the case for this movie; I give this section a 6.
Characters - The characters were exciting, interesting and well thought-out, whether they were well executed is a different matter. We were presented with characters that could keep a scene entertaining and had back stories that we were made aware of, and explained some of their characteristics. I don't recall any characters that were particularly dismissed in being fleshed out, and although some characters had the habit of going over the top, it didn't hinder the movie but actually added the entertainment effect that was missing in the remaining aspects of the film; a 9 for this category.
Actors - The review of the acting in this film caused me a bit of conflict, something was generally just 'off' about the acting in this film, sometimes it was that the script wasn't working for their part, or that the character just didn't suit the actor, or just that they simply failed to provide a believable performance in certain scenes when they were brilliant in others. Christian Bale's acting was spot on, and he produced the most believable character in the entire movie. Amy Adams was almost brilliant, her hindrance was in the 'British' accent she was given the delight to explore, regardless of if her accent was supposed to sound fake or not, the accent brought down a lot of scenes that could have been amazing had her accent sounded authentic, or had not been there at all. I was thoroughly impressed with Bradley Cooper's work and generally the rest of the cast did their best. All in all there were good performances but unfortunately not always believable performances, and some actors just weren't natural fits for their characters, with that I give this category a 7.
Soundtrack - The soundtrack was one of the few somewhat impressive things in the movie, I thought it enhanced the movie so well and gave what was otherwise a dull movie a bit of life and perspective. The soundtrack for the film definitely offered a unique feel and remained consistent in it's role in the movie. An 8 in this category.
Visuals + Sounds - There isn't much to say regarding the visual and sound effects in this film, nothing particularly stood out, besides the attempt at an authentic late 70s feel and look to the movie, which was better achieved than numerous other films before this one. Another 8 for this category.
Editing + Cinematography - The editors for this movie really spent time threading the scenes together, to create something actually worth seeing, the editing was generally well done in combination with the cinematography. The only slight qualm was in the scenes that were cut after the dialogue for the next scene had already begun. Usually it's standard in movies to have that every now and then, however it felt like it was overdone in this film and not applied quickly enough, it was an interesting way of editing but one that could have worked better if done differently, an 8 for the editing and cinematography aspect.
Directing - The direction for this movie was quite simply lost in all the little details of the film, from the complex characters with the average script, and from the dramatic scenes with the comic intent, it was all a bit of an ungoverned mess in the end. Russell may have gotten too involved with certain details while losing the view of the big picture for this film. A story needs to be well told to create the desired effect, and I'm afraid the directing in this movie did it no justice in presenting something really worthwhile and entertaining. Did this film even have an aim? If so, there was not enough direction to create any effect at all. A 6 for this category.
Effect - Last but not least, the movie had little to no effect regarding the viewer's emotions, feelings or opinions. By the end it seemed to be an average film covered in glamour and deception. The fact that I was displeased with the way the film ended did not help, it didn't feel like the film grew into a story worth telling at the end of the day. Through the process of watching I started out disappointed, but by the second half started to believe that the movie was actually going somewhere, but by the end that hope was lost and gone. The ending was a bit flat and really proved to the viewers that what they had watched was just wasted potential.
Who should watch it?
If you're a fan of Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Jeremy Renner or Bradley Cooper's work, if you're interested in movies from the 70s, or want to watch a film set in the 70s, if you love crime films, if you're interested in watching movies nominated this award season, if you want to see what it takes for a film to be nominated for an Oscar, if you have nothing else to watch really.
Sunday, 26 January 2014
Oscar Nods?
Adding a new little extra section to my reviews for Academy Award Nominated movies where I briefly discuss my opinions on how much a film deserves the awards it is nominated for, these are my opinions and have nothing to do with predictions as well due to the fact that first of all I don't believe that half of the Oscar nominated movies deserve so much recognition in the first place and secondly the critics and the board will decide whatever the hell they decide.
In addition, at the time of writing my opinion it is likely that I have not even viewed half of the remaining nominees alongside the film.
My review for American Hustle shall be published in 5... 4... 3...
In addition, at the time of writing my opinion it is likely that I have not even viewed half of the remaining nominees alongside the film.
My review for American Hustle shall be published in 5... 4... 3...
Review Tonight
Okay, back in the business, the review for American Hustle shall be published in a couple hours, so to be expected by the end of the day.
The next review of The Way, Way Back should be expected later this week, as I promised at least two reviews a month.
Have a good day!
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Reviews Coming Soon 2014
Reviving this blog for the new year.
Expect at least two film reviews per month; this is the absolute minimum I shall guarantee to readers. I apologise again for the past unreliability of posts.
To start the new year the first reviews to be published will be the critically acclaimed Golden Globe nominee 'American Hustle' and the promised review of 'The Way, Way Back'.
Feel free to leave requests for the coming year in the comment section.
Monday, 23 September 2013
Announcement 2
This blog is still to be on hiatus for a while, I am currently experiencing a major life event that has brought on change, don't worry about me, it is a positive change. Due to this change, I will need to settle down into my new lifestyle and get comfortable with it until I know when I will have free time to be able to continue my reviews, it should be maximum a couple of weeks before I resume posting, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm not dead and this blog isn't dead either.
Also I will be changing the way I announce future reviews, it has come to my attention that I often leave a date to when I will post a review and unfortunately I often do not comply, from now on I will only announce what reviews I will be publishing next and not leave an expected date as to avoid disappointment.
Thank you.
Monday, 9 September 2013
Wednesday, 4 September 2013
Pitch Perfect - Review
Script + Plot - 7
Characters - 8
Actors - 8
Soundtrack - 8
Visuals + Sounds - 7
Editing + Cinematography - 7
Directing - 8
Effect - 7
Raw Overall Score - 7.5
Personal Overall Score - 7.2
Brief Overall Review: This quirky musical was very entertaining and is one of those few movies I can watch over and over again. Where this movie could have easily been a cheesy ridiculous mess of a 'chick flick' it was made brilliant by the actors and their ability to turn something perhaps unbelievable and inane into a genuinely interesting story. The cinematography of the movie whilst not anything special did not hinder the movie's progression. By far the most impressive thing in the movie despite the acting abilities was the soundtrack and sound mixing, especially during the acapella sections, they were controlled so well and is probably what distinguished this movie from any other musical primarily aimed at teenagers and/or young adults.
Script + Plot - The plot of the movie is quite simple and basic and to an extent predictable 'like the guy gets the girl, and that kid sees dead people and Darth Vader is Luke's father.' Plot (via IMDb): Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition. However what makes the movie stand out in terms of the storyline is the underlying message, it is much easier to read into if you have ever experienced the situation, personally I am quite a bit like Beca the main character and therefore could understand more easily what she was dealing with. The movie was essentially trying to show that we need people to connect with, whether we like to admit it or not, and at the end of the day you'll get sick of being alone and trying to do things by yourself which is what the lead character Beca was trying to do. The script could easily have been a cheesy mess if not for the actors and the directing, it wasn't as funny or as clever as the writers probably thought but it did okay and it gave a unique and creative spin on the movie so I'll give this a 7.
Characters - The characters were definitely interesting and all different in their own way, and whilst we rarely got the opportunity to really understand some of them and get their background stories, I believe we got a good sample amount and they were entertaining. I loved how the characters were handled by the different actors and really for this movie I feel like the characters and actors go hand in hand because they were all believable as the characters they played and managed to make characters that could be as silly and cheesy as characters from a DCOM into characters that were a bit more real. An 8 for this category.
Actors - I thought the actors were brilliant in this movie, some of my favourite performances include Anna Kendrick who was natural in her role, Rebel Wilson who had great line deliveries, Adam DeVine, Utkarsh Ambudkah, Jinhee Joung and Elizabeth Banks. I can't say that anyone was completely off, now and then some actors weren't particularly believable; for example Skylar Astin did have a few parts where he looked like he was struggling to keep it looking natural, and Brittany Snow sometimes took the perkiness of her character just a little overboard, however I think they all generally performed well, and I praise the casting director for this movie. An 8 again!
Soundtrack - Of course this category is the main event, being a musical naturally the soundtrack makes or breaks the movie. I can say that when I first heard of this film I was not in the least interested and thought that it sounded too much like 'Glee: The Movie'. Either way I watched the trailer and found myself a little more intrigued, and as a huge fan of typical teenage movies I knew that one way or the other I would watch it. I'm glad I did because this was nothing like Glee. Where I personally found Glee's covers somewhat boring and a little unimaginative, Pitch Perfect was the opposite. The sound mixing was great, the world of acapella that was introduced to us seemed exciting, refreshing and I guess even to some extent 'cool'. I loved the mash-ups and remixes as much as anyone else. Another 8.
Visuals + Sounds - The visuals for the movie were good when it came to lightings and colours and the more electrical parts of things. I was a little put off by how the simple act of vomiting was not made to look a bit more realistic, it seemed to me like something that could have been done so easily, but for some reason it was overlooked, it could have worked into the authenticity of the movie, however all in all the visuals were okay, nothing particularly special. The sound effects were decent too but even that could have been handled a little better than it was. A 7 for me.
Editing + Cinematography - I thought the editing was well done, when it comes to musicals editing is also a very important element and usually takes a great deal of work, I thought it was handled quite well. The cinematography was well done too, and although it was nothing spectacular, it did manage to do the film justice. A 7.
Directing - I felt that the movie was well directed and brought the effect that the director was looking for, the message of the movie was conveyed clearly and concisely and I believe that the emotions in each situation was expressed well; the movie came together nicely and was handled expertly. This movie I feel could have turned into a very different thing had we been presented with a different director, Jason Moore made his stamp on the movie, and although I know little to nothing of the book that the movie was adapted from, I am almost sure he was able to capture the emotions underlying the literature and express them whilst still managing to make it his own.
Effect - Like I said previously I found myself relating to Beca's character, I adore it when I can relate to a character in a movie even if it's just one emotion I can share, it usually means the actor is doing a pretty damn good job of expressing that emotion to the point where it feels genuine. I liked that I could relate to her character and also understand the reasons behind her actions and could understand what the movie was about underneath the whole extravagance of the acapella championships. The movie of course gave me a happy feeling at the end just as I feel whenever I watch a teen flick like this, it also taught me a lesson or two about opening up to people. Above all it's a movie that I can watch again and again and again and never get bored and I certainly think that that is an important factor. I'll give the movie a 7 for effect.
Who should watch it?
If like me you're a huge fan of Anna Kendrick's work, or Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Adam DeVine or even Elizabeth Banks, if you enjoy musicals especially modern ones, if you like what people call 'chick flicks' or teenage movies or even just movies situated in colleges, if you like Glee, if you don't like Glee and you want to see more imaginative and exciting covers, if you just want to watch a fun entertaining 'feel good' movie, if you've read Pitch Perfect by Mickey Rapkin, if you're interested in the world of acapella.
Characters - 8
Actors - 8
Soundtrack - 8
Visuals + Sounds - 7
Editing + Cinematography - 7
Directing - 8
Effect - 7
Raw Overall Score - 7.5
Personal Overall Score - 7.2
Brief Overall Review: This quirky musical was very entertaining and is one of those few movies I can watch over and over again. Where this movie could have easily been a cheesy ridiculous mess of a 'chick flick' it was made brilliant by the actors and their ability to turn something perhaps unbelievable and inane into a genuinely interesting story. The cinematography of the movie whilst not anything special did not hinder the movie's progression. By far the most impressive thing in the movie despite the acting abilities was the soundtrack and sound mixing, especially during the acapella sections, they were controlled so well and is probably what distinguished this movie from any other musical primarily aimed at teenagers and/or young adults.
Script + Plot - The plot of the movie is quite simple and basic and to an extent predictable 'like the guy gets the girl, and that kid sees dead people and Darth Vader is Luke's father.' Plot (via IMDb): Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition. However what makes the movie stand out in terms of the storyline is the underlying message, it is much easier to read into if you have ever experienced the situation, personally I am quite a bit like Beca the main character and therefore could understand more easily what she was dealing with. The movie was essentially trying to show that we need people to connect with, whether we like to admit it or not, and at the end of the day you'll get sick of being alone and trying to do things by yourself which is what the lead character Beca was trying to do. The script could easily have been a cheesy mess if not for the actors and the directing, it wasn't as funny or as clever as the writers probably thought but it did okay and it gave a unique and creative spin on the movie so I'll give this a 7.
Characters - The characters were definitely interesting and all different in their own way, and whilst we rarely got the opportunity to really understand some of them and get their background stories, I believe we got a good sample amount and they were entertaining. I loved how the characters were handled by the different actors and really for this movie I feel like the characters and actors go hand in hand because they were all believable as the characters they played and managed to make characters that could be as silly and cheesy as characters from a DCOM into characters that were a bit more real. An 8 for this category.
Actors - I thought the actors were brilliant in this movie, some of my favourite performances include Anna Kendrick who was natural in her role, Rebel Wilson who had great line deliveries, Adam DeVine, Utkarsh Ambudkah, Jinhee Joung and Elizabeth Banks. I can't say that anyone was completely off, now and then some actors weren't particularly believable; for example Skylar Astin did have a few parts where he looked like he was struggling to keep it looking natural, and Brittany Snow sometimes took the perkiness of her character just a little overboard, however I think they all generally performed well, and I praise the casting director for this movie. An 8 again!
Soundtrack - Of course this category is the main event, being a musical naturally the soundtrack makes or breaks the movie. I can say that when I first heard of this film I was not in the least interested and thought that it sounded too much like 'Glee: The Movie'. Either way I watched the trailer and found myself a little more intrigued, and as a huge fan of typical teenage movies I knew that one way or the other I would watch it. I'm glad I did because this was nothing like Glee. Where I personally found Glee's covers somewhat boring and a little unimaginative, Pitch Perfect was the opposite. The sound mixing was great, the world of acapella that was introduced to us seemed exciting, refreshing and I guess even to some extent 'cool'. I loved the mash-ups and remixes as much as anyone else. Another 8.
Visuals + Sounds - The visuals for the movie were good when it came to lightings and colours and the more electrical parts of things. I was a little put off by how the simple act of vomiting was not made to look a bit more realistic, it seemed to me like something that could have been done so easily, but for some reason it was overlooked, it could have worked into the authenticity of the movie, however all in all the visuals were okay, nothing particularly special. The sound effects were decent too but even that could have been handled a little better than it was. A 7 for me.
Editing + Cinematography - I thought the editing was well done, when it comes to musicals editing is also a very important element and usually takes a great deal of work, I thought it was handled quite well. The cinematography was well done too, and although it was nothing spectacular, it did manage to do the film justice. A 7.
Directing - I felt that the movie was well directed and brought the effect that the director was looking for, the message of the movie was conveyed clearly and concisely and I believe that the emotions in each situation was expressed well; the movie came together nicely and was handled expertly. This movie I feel could have turned into a very different thing had we been presented with a different director, Jason Moore made his stamp on the movie, and although I know little to nothing of the book that the movie was adapted from, I am almost sure he was able to capture the emotions underlying the literature and express them whilst still managing to make it his own.
Effect - Like I said previously I found myself relating to Beca's character, I adore it when I can relate to a character in a movie even if it's just one emotion I can share, it usually means the actor is doing a pretty damn good job of expressing that emotion to the point where it feels genuine. I liked that I could relate to her character and also understand the reasons behind her actions and could understand what the movie was about underneath the whole extravagance of the acapella championships. The movie of course gave me a happy feeling at the end just as I feel whenever I watch a teen flick like this, it also taught me a lesson or two about opening up to people. Above all it's a movie that I can watch again and again and again and never get bored and I certainly think that that is an important factor. I'll give the movie a 7 for effect.
Who should watch it?
If like me you're a huge fan of Anna Kendrick's work, or Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Adam DeVine or even Elizabeth Banks, if you enjoy musicals especially modern ones, if you like what people call 'chick flicks' or teenage movies or even just movies situated in colleges, if you like Glee, if you don't like Glee and you want to see more imaginative and exciting covers, if you just want to watch a fun entertaining 'feel good' movie, if you've read Pitch Perfect by Mickey Rapkin, if you're interested in the world of acapella.
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