DEATH OF TRADITIONAL CINEMA

From the trailers, AMERICAN HUSTLE promises to be loud, outrageous, silly, ruthless, stylish, and an undeniable Oscar bait. For all those promises, the film delivers a huge check mark. The film is far from perfect, though we can credit director David O. Russell for crafting a throwback caper that shows us how capers are supposed to look and feel like. (Yes, I am looking at you MONUMENTS MEN!) An elaborate fraud operation is perpetrated by partners-in-crime Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser, using the alias "Lady Edith Greensly" (Amy Adams). The film starts with their whirlwind romance which led to a successful partnership, in the spirit of Bonnie and Clyde, without the killings. Irving and Sydney are perfect together, and the camera loves to frame them in moments of ecstasy during the first half of the film.  Yet all these occur despite the fact that Irving is married to Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), a volatile, loudmouth, and controlling woman ...

LIMITLESS is a fresh, fast, and addicting thrill ride with a decent logical story and a star-making performance by Bradley Cooper. It being a morality tale, there's a moral lesson in the end- not quite what I expected but satisfying enough. There were questions in my mind after watching the film, some plot holes that were left in the dark, but after reflecting for a while, I found the answers in the story itself.  Eddie Morra is a struggling book writer who's hit rock bottom. He's about to get evicted from his apartment, his girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) breaks up with him, and he has a serious case of writer's block.  A chance encounter with his ex brother-in-law introduces Eddie to an underground drug called NZT, which can eventually allow a person to access 100% of his brain. The film then shifts its focus on the drug as it is the sole cause for the fortunes and misfortunes of the film's characters. Even so, the NZT suddenly becomes a main character. Eddie gets r...