In the Picture: The Characters from "American Hustle"

“American Hustle” is a movie filled with interesting characters. Seductive, sleezy, crazy, sly, beautiful, you name it. So this movie is perfect for my item “In the Picture”. Here are the characters from “American Hustle”.

Irving Rosenfeld

Played by: Christian Bale

Irving Rosenfeld is a con artist. He is married and has adopted his wife’s son Danny. Even though he once loved his wife, his heart lies with Sydney.

Sydney Prosser

Played by: Amy Adams

Sydney Prosser is also a con artist and she works together with Irving. Sydney has improved Irving’s scams. She loves Irving, even though he isn’t the best looking man. Sydney is smart and she can be seductive to get what she wants. She also tries to manipulate Richie, distancing herself from Irving.

Richie DiMaso

Played by: Bradley Cooper

Richie is an FBI agent and catches Irving and Sydney in a loan scam. He offers to release them if Irving can line up for additional arrests. Richie starts working with Irving and Sydney and get a bit overeager.

Rosalyn Rosenfeld

Played by: Jennifer Lawrence

Rosalyn is Irving’s wife. She doesn’t work and is a bit crazy. Rosalyn has threatened Irving to tell everything to the cops if he ever left her. She know Irving has a thing for Sydney, but believes he would never leave her for Sydney.

Mayor Carmine Polito

Played by: Jeremy Renner

Carmine Polito is the Mayor and he befriends Irving. What he doesn’t know is that he’s being set up by him, Sydney and Richie. Carmine is a real family man and has never done anything to hurt his family.

 

 

Favorite Character: Carmine Polito

Me & 3 Amy Adams Movies

I’ve come to love Amy Adams over the years. She is so vibrant on the screen, you just can’t go around her. Adams has actually grown out to be one of my favourite actresses. Here are the three movies I picked and what I think of them.

Trouble with the Curve

Genre: Drama

Year: 2012

Director: Robert Lorenz

Cast: Clint Eastwoord, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake, John Goodman, Robert Patrick, Matthew Lillard, Bob Gunton

Description: Gus (Clint Eastwood) is a baseball scout. The team he works for thinks he should retire. He asks them to let him do one more scouting job to prove himself. His friend, Pete (John Goodman), asks Gus’ estranged daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams), if she could go with him to make sure he's okay as his eyes are failing.

Opninion: It could have been a lot better, but what I loved the most is the father/ daughter relationship between Eastwood and Adam’s characters.

Favorite character: Mickey (Amy Adams)

Most memorable quote: “I know I'm as blind as a slab of concrete, but I'm not helpless. I'll put a bullet in my head when that happens.” –Gus-

Best scene: The scene where Micky and Gus are showing off the new player, who can throw a curveball.

American Hustle

Genre: Drama/ Crime

Year: 2013

Director: David O. Russell

Cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, Alessandro Nivola, Louis C.K., Robert De Niro

Description: Con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and his seductive partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) are forced to work for wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). He pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia.

Opinion: Good story and great acting by especially Bale, Adams and Renner. Nice job on making it look like the actual ‘70s.

Favorite character: Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner)

Most memorable quote: “You're nothing to me until you're everything.” –Sydney Prosser-

Best scene: Irving and Sydney dance to Duke Ellington.

Julie & Julia

Genre: Comedy

Year: 2009

Director: Nora Ephron

Cast: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Chris Messina, Stanley Tucci, Jane Lynch

Description: Julia Child's (Meryl Streep) story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's (Amy Adams) 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child's first book.

Opinion: The perfect movie for foodies, dont watch it if you haven't eaten yet. Although Amy Adams is a bit overshadowed by Meryl Streep, both ladies are great in their roles.

Favorite character: Paul Child (Stanley Tucci)

Most memorable quote: “These damn things are as hot as a stiff cock!” –Julia Child-

Best scene: Julia Childs hears that her book will be published.

Favorite of the 3: “American Hustle”

DVD Collection Update (17)

Ten new ones in my collection. So pleased with them and some lukcy breaks as well. Here they are.

 

First I got a movíe I've been wanting to see it since I saw its trailer. It never played in our theaters, but when it was released on DVD I immediately bought it. And I loved "Nebraska", especially Bruce Dern. He's just great.

"Philomena" is also a movie I've been waiting to see and it also didn't disappoint me. Judi Dench is so good and together with Steve Coogan she forms an amazing duo.

This is just amazing!!! "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is a true art piece. Wes Anderson has become one of my favorite directors.

Finally my country released it! The second part of season 13 of my most beloved show "CSI". That great episode, where Sara is suspected of murder, is on this. I think that's a great episode. And the one where Neal McDonough guest stars, is also awesome.

This was the Lucky break. I bumped into it, knowing I really forgot about this comedy series. "The IT Crowd" is so hilarious, I watched the entire series in just three days. Don't you just love Moss and Roy?

Finally saw it yesterday. I think I expected more, but it was still an amazing movie. I especially liked Amy Adams and Christian Bale. Great performance by Jeremy Renner too.

I'm craving to see "Jurassic World" but because I have to wait for that, I decided to still that hunger by getting "The Lost World: Jurassic Park". Off course not as great as the first, but I love this as well. I just love dinosaurs!

Don't know if "Premium Rush" is any good, but I bought it because of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Yeah, guilty!

"Julie & Julia" is such a feel good film, it makes me smile. I like both Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in their roles, but also Stanley Tucci (who I wish I knew in real life). And all that delicious food....

Last I got season 6 and 7 of "Waking the Dead". Only two more to go and my collection is complete.

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 95: American Hustle

Director: David O. Russell

Genre: Drama/ Crime

Runtime: 132 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, Louis C.K., Alessandro Nivola, Robert De Niro

Description: Con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and his seductive partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) are forced to work for wild FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). He pushes them into a world of Jersey powerbrokers and mafia.

Review: This film by David O. Russell is full of crown jewels: rags and riches, beauties and beasts, charm and crime. All set in the sumptuous seventies and with a bit of slapstick. And then the great cast: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner. “American Hustle” is filled with sexiness, scams and talent.

“American Hustle” grabs the audience, like Sydney Prosser gets her men. Together with Irving Rosenfeld she misleads people into making big investments. But then they are caught in the act by FBI agent Richie DiMaso. They are forced to work together.

The story is narrated by various characters, but as a viewer your attention is easily drawn to Irving Rosenfeld. Christian Bale is impressive in his role, with his beer belly and strange hairdo, he shows us again how he can get lost in a role. Amy Adams is very provocative in her role as Sydney Prosser and I enjoyed her performance. Together they are the ‘beauty and the beast’ of crime. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, who stole the show and your hearts in Russell’s previous film “Silver Linings Playbook”, aren’t as impressive. They are not bad, but they are standing in the shadows of Bale and Adams. Jeremy Renner on the other hand, as mayor Carmine Polito, is excellent.

This film succeeds and pictures the seventees very well. “American Hustle” is a movie with a great cast, interesting story and some wonderful acting by especially Bale, Adams and Renner.

Rating: 4/ 5

Oscar Predictions 2014

I'm going to predict the winners for this years Oscars again. I have no idea! I'm super excited about Ellen Degeneres hosting, she amakes me laugh. Here is my list of who should and would win.

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Should Win: "12 Years a Slave"
Would Win: "American Hustle"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Should Win: Bruce Dern for "Nebraska" (actually Tom Hanks for "Captain Phillips", but no nomination!
Would Win: Matthew McConaughey for "Dallas Buyers Club"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Should Win: Amy Adams for "American Hustle"
Would Win: Cate Blanchett for "Blue Jasmin"

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Should Win: Michael Fassbender for "12 Years a Slave"
Would Win: Jared Leto for "Dallas Buyers Club"

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Should Win: Lupita Nyong'o for "12 Years a Slave"
Would Win: Lupita Nyong'o for "12 Years a Slave"

Best Achievement in Directing
Should Win: Alexander Payne for "Nebraska"
Would Win: Alfonso Cuarón for "Gravity"

Movie Trailer Sunday (99)

Here are this weeks trailers.

American Hustle
Description: 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. Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner) is 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.
Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner
Trailer: Trailer "American Hustle"
Comment: Threen of my favorite, being Bale, Adams and Lawrence, are in this. I want to see it!

Lone Survivor
Description: Four Navy SEALs are on an ill-fated covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative when they are ambushed by enemy forces in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan
Director: Peter Berg
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsh, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch, Eric Bana
Trailer: Trailer "Lone Survivor"

Jayne Mansfield's Car
Description: A look at three generations of fathers and sons in the South during the tumultuous '60s. It follows the family's heartfelt and sometimes hilarious struggles with long-held resentments, secrets, the memories of war, and how life, death and loss shaped them all.
Director: Billy Bob Thornton
Starring: Kevin Bacon, Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton, John Hurt, Shawnee Smith, Ray Stevenson, Robert Patrick, Frances O'Connor, Katherine LaNasa
Trailer: Trailer "Jayne Mansfield's Car"
Comment: Great cast, looks good.

Bad Milo
Description: Duncan's (Ken Marino) life is a real pain in the ass. Tormented by a manipulative, crooked boss (Patrick Warburton), a nagging mother (Mary Kay Place), a deadbeat new age dad (Stephen Root), and a sweet, yet pressuring, wife (Gillian Jacobs), his mounting stress starts to trigger an insufferable gastrointestinal reaction. Out of ideas and at the end of his rope, Duncan seeks the help of a hypnotherapist (Peter Stormare), who helps him discover the root of his unusual stomach pain: a pintsized demon living in his intestine that, triggered by excessive anxiety, forces its way out and slaughters the people who have angered him. Out of fear that his intestinal gremlin may target its wrath on the wrong person, Duncan attempts to befriend it, naming it Milo and indulging it to keep its seemingly insatiable appetite at bay.
Director: Jacob Vaughn
Starring: Ken Marino, Gillian Jacobs, Patrick Warburton, Mary Kay Place, Stephen Root, Peter Stormare
Trailer: Trailer "Bad Milo"
Comment: This looks weirdly hilarious!

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Description: Walter Mitty is a day-dreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker (Kristen Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.
Director: Ben Stiller
Starring: Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Sean Penn, Shirley MacClaine, Kathryn Hahn
Trailer: Trailer "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"
Comment: Kind of a strange movie I think, but somehow I'm drawn to it.