# Is David O Russell the New Scorsese?



## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

I watched "American Hustle" on a recent plane trip, and I was very impressed. When a film gets great reviews, the actual viewing of it can be a little disappointing. However, AH lived up to all expectations. Smart (The mobster lawyer swtcheroo), funny ("The Science Oven", "The Ice Fishing Story", "Manic FBI agent Demasi impersonating his boss after the big bust"), profane, serious, and alive. Adjectives that I typically associate with Martin Scorsese films. AH is going to increase in stature as time goes by. What a great film. I was blown away.


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## WouldaShoulda (Aug 5, 2009)

Sounds like a movie I'd like.

And my wife would hate!!


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## Snow Hill Pond (Aug 10, 2011)

WouldaShoulda said:


> Sounds like a movie I'd like.
> 
> And my wife would hate!!


Same here. However, the film is very impressive. It's structure and style are very comparable to Goodfellas, but I wouldn't call it derivative. More a homage. The use of music, the cold start to the story, the editing, the voice-overs, all reminded me of Goodfellas. De Niro has a bit part in the movie. Louis CK is a discovery. Renner is great and Bale is fearless. I would have been happy to watch the movie as a slice-of-life, but the story actually converges to tie up all of the loose ends, inexplicably.

For those of us who remember the 70s as a wasted decade, this movie actually may make us nostaligic for those times. On second thought, no. But it does look back to that time fondly and sincerely. For example, yes, women did go around braless, and men did perm their hair.

I've not seen "12 Years a Slave", but it must be fantastic if it beat out AH for best picture Oscar. AH is one of the best movies that I've ever seen.


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