MOVIE REVIEWS
“American Hustle” & “Wolf of Wall Street”
by Doug Young
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See(k)ing double $$
AMERICAN HUSTLE
Starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner,
Louis C.K.; directed by David O. Russell
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle
Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jean Dujardin; directed by Martin Scorsese
Films depicting the lustful greed by those who shadily rig the capitalistic system are like anti-war movies: No matter how hard they try to show the tragic, hollow, self-defeating consequences, they inevitably end up being thrilling, alluring and downright desirous. We all want to be filthy rich, and we can’t help but be enthralled by those who become filthy in the process. Any qualms about their slimily illicit practices evaporate like so many above- water mortgages and become as vicariously appealing as vanquishing an enemy combatant. It’s a battle — an epic struggle to get to the top of the hill without getting destroyed on the way up (or down).
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And (or so it seems according to these two films) to swindle is the American way. It’s all about watching how someone can beat the system, get away with it, and amass millions so as to live a life of
debauchery.
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Think this is just another critical sales/con job? Well, my friend, feast your eyes on these two films! You will be glad you did! For only the cost of a mere movie ticket, you can once again (and again) live the high life — if only for about 3 hours! Oh, and they are as duplicatable as a stack of $100 bills (only such small matters as serial numbers are different). Take a covetous look:
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