Isaac's Film Reviews

Everyone hustles to survive. Full, spoiler-free review by Isaac Handelman Watching the pieces of American Hustle fall into place is almost as smooth as watching the pieces of one of Irving Rosenfeld’s masterful cons come together to one glorious outcome. Rarely do I come across films that are so difficult to criticize. Remarkably acted, slickly directed, and chock full of smart drama and laughs, this is surely one of 2013’s finest cinematic offerings -- if not its very best. Though it positions Christian Bale as its star, American Hustle is, in truth, an ensemble act; incidentally, what’s arguably most impressive in this film (keeping in mind that’s it’s chock full of impressive elements) is its cast. The film centers on Irving Rosenfeld (Bale), a master con man, and his lover/partner-in-crime, Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), who partner with a man named Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) to take down corrupt politicians. I won’t divulge the specifics of Hustle ’s narrative, be

Burgundy and company visit the Big Apple Full review by Isaac Handelman Before you buy a ticket to Anchorman 2 , you should ask yourself two questions. First, “Have I seen the first Anchorman ?” and second, “Do I want to see more of that?” If you answer “no” to either of these questions, then this long-awaited sequel to the 2004 comedy hit is not for you. If you can answer yes to both, then Anchorman 2 should provide you with an amusing two hours at the movies. The film picks up well after the events of the first Anchorman , with Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) happily married to Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), and reading the news in New York. Soon, Burgundy’s marriage goes on the rocks, and he’s offered the opportunity to join an ambitious new 24-hour news project called GNN. So, Ron sets out to get his old news team back together, which consists of Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), and Champ Kind (David Koechner). The group must adjust to the

Welcome improvements and sophomore stumbles Full review by Isaac Handelman The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug suffers from most of the issues you’d expect out of the middle chapter in a trilogy; namely, it’s got no real beginning, and no real end. The film starts and ends, well, in the middle. And if you don’t go into The Desolation of Smaug fully accepting this fact, odds are you will come away from the proceedings wholly unsatisfied. In fact, it’s difficult to come out of The Desolation of Smaug feeling totally satisfied no matter what your mindset what going in. That’s the point. We’re smack dab in the middle portion, along for the ride in a nearly-three-hour interim. Thankfully, this near-three-hours interim also happens to be solidly entertaining. The Desolation of Smaug doesn’t have the excitement of the beginning to a new trilogy going for it as An Unexpected Journey did, nor does it have the virtue of being the epic grand finale, as There And Back Again will next Dece

Thawed. Full review by Isaac Handelman Many parallels can be drawn between Disney's latest entry in their animated canon, Frozen , and the studio's 2010 offering, Tangled : both center on quirky female protagonists, both are fresh takes on classic fairy tales, both feature some sort of large four-legged mammal as comic relief; heck, the two films even both posses bi-syllabic, single-word adjectives for titles. Perhaps these similarities are by sheer coincidence, but they nonetheless caused me to hold Frozen up to the high standard of its predecessor -- a standard that the film ultimately fails to live up to. It's not a bad film per se, but Frozen too often feels as if it's missing that spark of ingenuity that made Tangled such an entertaining ride. In Frozen, Princess Anna takes center stage, voiced well by Kristen Bell. Anna sets out on a quest to find her runaway sister, Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel), whose mystical ice powers have covered the kingdom in an eternal

I'm still betting on you. Full review by Isaac Handelman Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy appeals to an extraordinarily wide audience, across all ages and both genders. As an indirect result, the film adaptations of The Hunger Games trilogy need worry about only appealing to a very slim audience; those who read the book. The Hunger Games films are not successful for their appeal outside of the literary fanbase. The films are successful because the literary fanbase of The Hunger Games is flat out enormous. The majority of those who pay to watch The Hunger Games: Catching Fire have either read, or are in the company of a person who has read, its source novel. As such, the filmmakers behind Catching Fire hold in their hands both a virtue, and a vice. Their virtue is that they only must worry about appealing to those who are familiar with their source material. Their vice is that the sort of rabid fanbase possessed by The Hunger Games trilogy demands a faithful recreation o