Scattered Frames: Wolves hustlin’ in Osage County
Hello friends! Welcome to the second edition of Scattered Frames. This week I present three of the main pictures of the 2014 award season, which also happen to be three of the films I was most anticipating. They (mostly) delivered. Here’s what I thought:
The Wolf of Wall Street: Despite being generally engrossing, even the most interesting stories are a bit difficult to sit through for three hours; some trimming would’ve worked wonders. Still, it’s a joy to watch that cast in action: Matthew McConaughey shines in a brief part, and Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie are noteworthy in pivotal roles. This is Leo’s movie through and through, however, and he displays some of his finest work in this film. That scene where he crawls to his car while high on quaaludes had me crying with laughter. 4/5
American Hustle: Not a bad movie by any means, but definitely a disappointing one. The music is nice, the costumes are terrific and the cleavages are hypnotic but they’re all trapped in a slow and uneventful narrative that never seems to pick up. So overrated except for the performances, which totally warrant the praise. While I had a couple of issues with Jennifer Lawrence’s performance -she seemed ideal one second, completely miscast the next- her, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner are all award-worthy. 3/5
August: Osage County This over-the-top account of an extremely dysfunctional family reunion is not the most dynamic of films, but the acting is so good you won’t mind that the action rarely leaves this Oklahoma house. Everyone in the sprawling cast is expectedly solid, but it’s oh-so-hard to keep your eyes away from Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep as they spew Tracy Letts’s biting dialog back and forth. The bickering is sublime. 4.5/5
Great post Fernando. Three fantastic films for me. I was impressed with them all. Still to write-up my Wolf and August reviews yet though.
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Looking forward to them!
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Great stuff. I really need to get myself to the cinema soon and see some of these!
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Thank you. Hope you catch them soon.
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“The cleavage was hypnotic” – hahahahaha!
Great reviews. That quaaludes scene was epic!
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Thank you. They really were hypnotic. As Christian Bale’s belly and Cooper’s hair. Agree on the ‘ludes scene being epic.
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Great work. Agreed on Hustle and Wolf. (Though I think Lawrence’s performance never less than amazing.) I like August:Osage County less than you do, but I agree on the dialogue and actors. I just think the director holds the film back.
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I thought she was pretty damn good, but I didn’t buy her in certain moments.
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Glad you enjoyed Wolf so much. Sorry you didn’t enjoy Hustle…my mother actually felt the same way, and I thought she was nuts. As for Osage I’ll have to see it.
Envoyé de mon iPhone
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Ergo, you think I’M nuts, right? haha
Hope you see A:OC soon.
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Yeah you’re nuts on a lot of movies though so I can forgive you.
Recently, I’ve seen The Hunt, Blackfish, and We’re the Millers. Seen any of those?
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LOL 😉
And no, haven’t seen either of those. Can’t say I’m keen on Millers, but definitely will check out the other two.
I’m watching “Her” in a few minutes 🙂
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Good readin’ my friend.
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Thanks a lot! 🙂
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Hey, glad you enjoyed Osage County, I thought that was quite brilliant myself. The bickering is sublime indeed, but nice to see Benedict Cumberbatch in a very unlikely role, even a small one, amongst such a star-studded female cast. I like Hustle a bit more than you, and WOWS much less but still I think these three are memorable films in their own right.
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Yes, he was very good in that small role. Always a pleasure seeing him. I thought his character and Chris Cooper’s were very sweet amidst all the hate from most of the women.
And yes, our views on Hustle and Wolf are different but I agree that all are memorable.
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Really fun post man, esp. the title! Clever! I’m glad we are on the same page with American Hustle — performances were unarguably amazing but the best thing about it since the story let me down. Wolf was simply amazing and I would give it a 5, but I see where you’re at on that one too. As far as Osage County goes, ummm…pass. Lol. 🙂
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Thanks 😉 Glad you liked it!
Very nice to see we agree on Hustle, seems like we’re in the minority, eh?
I didn’t rate Wolf higher because of its length but it’s definitely a very good film.
Oh, no love for Osage County? It was my favorite of the bunch. Great dialog (I’m loving Tracy Letts) and acting!
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Aw.. you loved August Osage County way more than I did. And I’m glad you don’t like Hustle either.. or I should say, love it. It’s rather boring…
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I seem to have loved Osage County more than everybody else! Maybe it’s due to my undying love for Meryl Streep.
Yeah, didn’t love it. It really was boring. I was not expecting that, to be honest.
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Nice reviews. I think American Hustle does have some issues (it’s a bit plodding in the middle) but the performances are great, particularly on Bale’s and Renner’s part.
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Yeah, I wonder why nobody is talking about Renner. He was as good as his castmates.
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I haven’t gotten around to seeing August Osange County. Didn’t particularly grab me and am content to just see it on blu-ray. I had similar issues as you with The Wolf of Wall Street. Completely agree on American Hustle, I was really disappointed by it, especially in comparison to how much I liked Silver Linings Playbook.
Nice work as always Fernando.
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Thanks, man! Glad we’re mostly in agreement. And yeah, Hustle doesn’t hold a candle to SLP.
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You’re right about American Hustle – I liked (not loved) the acting, the 1970s feel was terrific, but the narrative lacked a certain something and didn’t really grip me as it should. I haven’t seen the other two, but definitely looking forward to Osage, it looks great!
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Yeah, Hustle wasn’t at all exciting. Bummer, really 😦
Hope you see Osage soon. I thought it was pretty good.
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I saw Osage today, really liked it!
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Glad you did! 🙂
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