American Hustle is not a bad film. It's surprisingly quite enjoyable. But just like the fact that Jeremy Renner is in this film, it's awfully forgettable. The best thing to happen to this film is that it didn't win any Oscars. Just as Silver Linings Playbook displayed a change in David O'Russell's career, American Hustle brings him even further away from the I Heart Huckabee's and Three Kings high that he had over a decade ago.
Without a doubt, the only reason to watch Spring Breakers is to see James Franco chew scenery. This is saying a heck of a lot given the amount of skin that's on display here as well. It's a visually interesting film, but unfortunately like the girls who inhabit the film, there's nothing to it. Maybe that's the point. There is one great tracking shot in this film though. Other than that, here is the thirty seconds of Spring Breakers worth watching:
3. World War Z
Unlike the other films on this list, World War Z isn't exactly loved by the critics. This is one of the most appallingly entertaining films in the past few years (Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 takes the crown though). Brad Pitt's hair rules the show, but other cinematic atrocities include the sudden ejection of his wife when the army thinks Mr Pitt is dead from a ship, and the great 'sigh' that Pitt does at an 'emotional' point in the film. It's easy to hate on World War Z because it's simply so damn stupid, but unlike the other films on this list, it's not as if they were trying to begin with.
The best thing about this film is that it gave the world the phrase 'two time Oscar nominee Jackie Weaver'. I do not like Jennifer Lawrence at all. The number one argument between my wife and I occurs on a weekly basis and it is always about how undeserving Jennifer Lawrence is of a nomination for Winter's Bone. Obviously the Academy must have fallen in love with whatever golden turds Jennifer Lawrence dispenses (yes, Jennifer Lawrence shits too, she's not exempt from diarrhea) to reward her for such an over the top performance as her 'mentally disturbed' dancing queen. Especially over the greater performances given that year.
I always look forward to a new Tarantino film. Who doesn't? I walked out of Django Unchained thinking it was brilliant. Over the top, topical and challenging. It contained the majority of the things required for a good Tarantino film. Then time occurred. And time is not kind. Django Unchained is a turgid film to watch. It's a painful film to watch. It's painful in knowing that Christoph Waltz won a second Oscar for a character which was not a stretch from his Inglourious Basterds character. It's painful knowing he won over the much more deserving Phillip Seymour Hoffman (who gave his career best performance in The Master).
Above all though, it's also painful to see a Tarantino film without Sally Menke as the editor. It would be like watching a Martin Scorsese film without Thelma Schoonmaker as the editor. Or The Coen Brothers not editing their own films. There's a flow to Tarantino's films that Menke created. This is desperately lacking with Django Unchained. Django feels too long - and at 180 minutes, it is. A great editor understands the language of the film and the beats that the director was working towards. Menke brought this to Tarantino's films. She helped bring the brilliance to his films. It's going to be interesting to see how his films progress from here.
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