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First viewing for me of this David O. Russell directed romantic comedy. Bradley Cooper is Pat, who has just got out of rehab for violently thrashing is ex-wife’s lover, who he found cavorting in the shower with her. A bi-polar disorder sufferer, he has lost everything and is forced to move into his parent’s (played by Robert De Niro & Jackie Weaver) home. Pat is obsessed with getting back with his wife Nikki, even though she has filed a restraining order on him. He believes obsessively in the power of positive thinking, and does his best to clean up his act in the hopes of winning her back. During a dinner with successful friend Ronnie (John Ortiz) and his wife Veronica (Julia Stiles), Pat is introduced to Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), Veronica’s sister. Tiffany is also a bit of an off-kilter kooky personality, having flipped when her husband passed away suddenly. There is an immediate attraction between the two of them, but they don’t initially recognize it. They seem eerily able to read each other right from the start though, despite having a much poorer handle on themselves. Tiffany tries to seduce Pat awkwardly, but when he proves immune to her charms she decides to offer a deal. She will get a message to his ex if he will help her with a project she is working on (to help her get through her grief). This proves to be a mechanism for them to connect.
I enjoyed this film. As with the other O. Russell movies I’ve seen (American Hustle, Joy) it has dysfunctional families, quirky & manic characters, great performances, snappy dialogue & a lot of heart. O. Russell seems to thrive in American suburbia. Lawrence and Cooper are outstanding as the couple at the centre of it all. He sells Pat’s hysterical self delusion perfectly, and she embodies Tiffany’s sassy, rambunctious persona to a tee. The film wouldn’t have worked if these two hadn’t stepped up and nailed it. De Niro as obsessive compulsive bookie father, Weaver as steady as a rock wife & Chris Tucker (in a rare appearance these days) as Pat’s best friend and fellow hospital patient are all brilliant as well.
I still prefer American Hustle, but this is a good film worth checking out.
I knew from that opening scene with Bale's hair issue that it was going to be a pretty fun film.
Agreed.
Still yet too watch the new Mummy though heard it's not great, I liked the Brendan Fraser Mummy films they were daft but fun.
Rambo (4) had the perfect ending for John Rambo, finally returning home.
That is how I see it. Daft, but fun.
The first two films good escapism I wonder what ever happened to the Director Stephen Sommers, he seemed to vanish after G.I. JOE I like his daft old school take.
I see Russell called "O. Russell" a lot. Who else gets called by the initial of middle name + surname? It's a weird combo. Why not just "Russell"?
Anyway...
I also prefer AH. I enjoyed it more on second viewing than the first, and loved by the third.
I also liked SLP a lot - I need to see what a re-watch will do there.
Russell had a pretty amazing streak going there with that trio of movies (The Fighter-SLP-AH), all the critical acclaim and the awards attention. I wonder if the latter two had even happened if the first one hadn't, and he was pretty lucky to get the job on that one. He hadn't directed a movie in several years before The Fighter, and he had a questionable reputation, which I imagine had complicated matters for him. If Aronosfsky hadn't gotten tired of waiting for the film's financing to be sorted, or if Wahlberg hadn't then eventually suggested Russell, or if Bale had said no after meeting him, Russell wouldn't have gotten that job, and things might have gone differently later on as well.
Joy was much worse received by both critics and the industry and continued problems with reputation have re-surfaced. It's interesting to see how the next projects will go. He writes interesting characters - including for women, which is rare with most male directors, so one sort of hopes for the best (not just regarding his future work, but also regarding his behavior in general).
Just reading that makes me want to re-watch... Must... resist...
A cracking disc from Arrow Video this is very much a film of the 60s and at times can be a bit confused and confusing but overall a damn good watch and it's just so nice to see a great b&w widescreen transfer. Full of bullets and sex this is quite a progressive film and at the time the naughty bits were hidden by black lines or arrows, thankfully there is none of that and it is all quite tasteful really. I think it is great that Arrow are bringing these films out as there would be very little opportunity to see them otherwise.
Next up…Yasuharu Hasebe's Massacre Gun (1967), released just a few months after BTK, also in glorious monochrome, and also starring Jo Shishido.
"Edited: Just ordered To Live And Die In LA It's a Arrow release nice."
That's a great release, @Fire_and_Ice_Returns . The gritty LA locations really pop out on the BD. Check out the ridiculous alternate ending. It's hilariously bad!
Very good.
I'm not aware of the backstory on The Fighter and actually haven't viewed that film, but on the strength of his later efforts and your recommendation I'm compelled to seek it out. I do like his style, I must say. All very entertaining and meaningful films.
Yes, Joy didn't get quite the same critical acclaim, but I really liked that one as well mainly because of Lawrence's performance.
Great stuff I have never seen the film though I'll look out for the alternate ending, I had a look at other Arrow releases I think I will be buying quite a few.
Excellent modern Noir one of my favourite films in the genre, very messed up film with excellent performances and incredible atmosphere.
Meant to be some kind of realistic horror/psychological thriller. The first hour is really boring, the last half hour is really unpleasant. I cannot recommend this.
Seen some good reviews for this and I can see why.
A black guy is taken by his white girlfriend to meet her wealthy parents and stay at their home for the weekend. The parents are overly friendly and seem embarrassed by their black servants. But all is not what it seems....
Great little thriller that's both gripping and funny.
A lot of people refer to him as O. Russell, though, so I didn't mean my criticism towards you specifically doing it, but a general comment on it. If one is using the "whole" name, then having the "O." makes sense, because that's how he uses it, and how he is known. But the last name is Russell, so if one leaves out "David" then the "O." should go, too. :)
In short (well, not that short, ehem) The Fighter is one of those movies that had a hard time getting financing and all, and actors and directors came and went when it didn't get started. Wahlberg was trying to get it made for years. He basically offered the role of the other brother to Bale - their kids went to the same pre-school or something. (Matt Damon, who was one of the earlier actors for the role later said that the right actor definitely played the role. That seems to be general view as well.) By then Aronosfsky was leaving the project, and went on to do The Wrestler instead. Wahlberg had been discussing the project with Russell, whom he obviously had worked with before (I'd recommend The Three Kings, too, btw). Eventually asked if he'd be interested in directing it, and since Bale was already on board and committed to the role, and basically the co-lead (though in typical Oscar fashion campaigned as "supporting" - he didn't campaign as anything himself), he got to meet Russell for approval. The director basically auditioned to him. Wahlberg left them to it, and returned to find them in lively discussion. (There was some talk in the trio's Charlie Rose interview that he hadn't expected Russell to cheat on him on a first date... ;) ) Bale was willing to go with Russell, told so right away to Wahlberg, who hugged him, and on they went with the movie together. Russell could surely be seen as a risky option at that point in his career, but Bale seems to like taking risks and going on adventures anyway, so he wouldn't have minded that part, and apparently liked Russell's ideas regarding the movie. Possibly to everyone's surprise the movie was a success and a critical and awards darling, gave Bale and Melissa Leo their Oscars (and lots of other awards), and re-launched Russell's career that had been in a slump.
Yes, Lawrence was fine in Joy- though in that movie (unlike in American Hustle, IMO) I actually thought she was too young. While she got mostly good notes from it, the rest of the movie (unlike Russell's previous three) didn't.
I agree. A lot of people just hate Russell's movies in general, but since you don't...
Oh... Well, those are two entirely different types of movies, completely different types of stories, from two completely different types of directors (and personalities) who work in very different ways.
However, they feature what I consider to be some of Bale's best performances. Both also feature lots of other great performances. Particularly (for me) Melissa Leo, Amy Adams, Jack McGee (The Fighter), Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Zoe Saldana, Willem Dafoe (Out Of The Furnace). - And the latter has Sam Shepard, RIP.
The former is... well, very much a Russell movie about colourful real life people (who were involved, especially the two brothers... as were their home town folks), and with cinematography from Hoyte van Hoytema in case you care about that side. The latter is a dark look at relentless fate (based on someone Cooper knows) on individual level as well as a look at a town when jobs in manufacture get moved abroad, and young men return home from war abroad. A great score, I think. You may need different states of mind for those movies, just saying... But I hope you like them when you get around to them.
It was fascinating to learn about how the earlier film finally got made. I wasn't aware about any of that. Your explanation has made me want to see it as soon as possible. Three Kings is another one I've been planning to get to at some point as well.
How films get made, and who (and how) end up in roles and directing them and all is fascinating to me in general. - I mean, if Craig hadn't worked with Mendes on Road To Perdition (and Craig needed to have blue eyes for that role more than he did for Bond), then we wouldn't have Skyfall or Spectre as they are, and would not have some of the people cast (like Naomie Harris... and also might not have her if Danny Boyle had given a negative report to Mendes), and would have something very different instead, no idea what. If Wally Pfister had given a negative report on Bale to Nolan, Bale's career might look very different now. If Nicole Kidman hadn't been injured before Panic Room, she'd be the lead there instead of Jodie Foster. If people who said no to some jobs had said yes (or vice versa), the movies would be different. If somebody hadn't been too busy to take a certain job then some other, eventually even long-term collaboration wouldn't have happened, and sometimes stuff happens or doesn't happen, because a schedule on something else somebody is committed to gets changed. And so on.
Maybe I should have said a bit more about OOTF as well then, so here goes (just skip if I'm tiring you already :) ). Cooper had never even met Bale, but wrote it with him in mind anyway, sent it to him and told him he wouldn't do it if the actor said no, which Bale (understandably) didn't take seriously. This was after months and months doing TDKR, so Bale just wanted time off and did indeed say no. Cooper said he was heartbroken, but what can you do. Things might have stayed that way, and there would be no movie, nor the friendship.
Bale couldn't stop thinking about the story, though, and later contacted Cooper to wish him well with the movie and all, but Cooper told him "I'm not doing it, you said no," which was a bit of a wtf-you-were-serious? moment... (also how-to-make an-actor-feel-guilty-and-obligated-to-reverse-a-decision, I suppose :D ) aaand so they ended up doing it after all. Both the director and a producer said that once they had Bale ("an actors' magnet"), the rest of the cast (and it's a great cast) just came. Interestingly, Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio are also among the producers on that.
And (as you know) last year Cooper and Bale shot Hostiles (I think this time Cooper got a yes before he was even done with the script), also with a great cast, btw, and Cooper is generally great with actors. Needless to say I'm looking forward to that movie, too.
Cooper's movies - especially the last two - have been pretty bleak. If you can appreciate and enjoy that, you may really like them. Or then you might hate them. Even in that case I still don't think you could hate the performances. Seriously, everyone is good, and they seem to love working with him. --- And btw, I can't remember if you've seen Crazy Heart or Black Mass and what you thought of them if you have.
Yes, I could tell that Out of the Furnace looked a bit bleak, and that has kept me away from it to date as it's not really my thing. However, given the backstory, I'm keen to watch it now. Woody is always great so that's an added impetus.
It's so true about these word of mouth recommendations and comments influencing casting choices. It's a tight knit industry after all, and I've noticed a lot of top directors like to work with their favourites once they've had a positive experience with them on a film (not that I'm all that keen on this mind you because I'd like to see big name directors work with more stars in general).
(Strange as it may seem, it's also on some level forever connected to Ratatouille in my mind, thanks to Casey Affleck bringing it up in an interview, to the confusion and amusement of his colleagues, director, the moderator and the audience... - Hmm, I love Ratatouille myself as well, I should buy it...)
I also like Woody a lot. An excellent actor.
People liking to work with those they've had good experiences with previously makes a whole lotta sense from the human point of view (why wouldn't anyone want to work with people they like) as well as from the creative point of view, at least up to a point. Most (all?) people do it. However, taking risks with new people is also a good thing both to directors and actors, that keeps things fresh. Avoiding risks isn't the best idea in creative jobs, and working too much with the same people can make things too safe and comfortable for new and exciting ideas. So ultimately it's about balance - but what the right balance is can seem different from different perspectives, so it's never too simple.
At least that's what I think, obviously I don't actually know, being just an observer.
Watching this I never knew where it was going next, but eventually it turned into something severely messed up and disturbing. I feel mentally violated. Never want to see this again.
When it was first released I watched roughly an hour and switched it off as was bored, I have heard the film goes off somewhere else.