This week, Anthony reviews a 2014 Oscar-winning picture and an Oscar-nominated picture.
12 Years a Slave (2013)
Writer: John Ridley
Director: Steve McQueen
Genre: Drama
Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup, Dwight Henry as Uncle Abram, Bryan Batt as Judge Turner, Kelsey Scott as Anne Northup
Rating: R
Grade: A
Solomon Northup was a free man from upstate New York. He was well respected, had a family, and had a good paying job. Unfortunately, slavery still existed and many other people didn’t take well to a free black man. When his family was away, Solomon took a job playing the trumpet for extra money. The job was in Washington DC where racism was prominent. Little did he know he was tricked by a couple of con artists. They stowed him away with other free black people until they were beaten enough to not say they were free. After, they were sold into slavery and became slaves. Solomon went through pain, heartache, and despair. He went through more hardships in 12 years than any person should in a lifetime. Towards the end of his time as a slave, all hope was lost and we may never see his family again.
“12 Years a Slave” is a brilliant movie. It depicts all of the horrors people had to endure in slavery. The story of Solomon Northup is told beautiful in this Academy Award winner for best picture of the year. It is a must see for everyone. The acting is phenomenal, but the cinematography is even better depicting the time period perfectly. At times, some scenes are very graphic making it hard to watch and there is a lot of cursing all throughout the movie. Nevertheless, it is one of the best films made about the hardships of slavery and deserves the award for best picture. Sit back and watch the triumphant story of Solomon Northup and how a free black man endured 12 years a slave.
American Hustle (2013)
Writers: Eric Warren Singer & David O. Russell
Director: David O. Russell
Genre: Drama/Crime
Stars: Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld, Bradley Cooper as Richie DiMaso, Amy Adams as Sydney Prosser, Jennifer Lawrence as Rosalyn Rosenfeld
Rating: R
Grade: B+
Irving Rosenfeld had a very satisfying life. He had a beautiful wife and child, a very seductive assistant, and a very successful business conning people out of thousands of dollars. Everything was great until a wild FBI agent, Richie, caught him and forced Irving to use his expertise. He wanted to catch white collar criminals. He forced Irving and Sydney to help him take down one of the most powerful criminals and a person too unreachable by the FBI, the mayor of New Jersey. Irving needed to devise a plan for his biggest con ever. He needed to deceive the FBI, a group of politicians, the mayor, and the mafia in order to save his life.
“American Hustle” was nominated for best picture in this year’s Academy Awards and rightfully so. The movie had a fantastic cast top to bottom full with stars who put on a fantastic performance all around. In addition, the script is very unique and is very similar to a Scorsese film with narration over various scenes. It mixes a good amount of humor in an otherwise serious film. Viewers get sucked into the story with its various plot twists. The movie tends to get a little confusing at parts but the narrations try to clear up anything questionable. All and all, “American Hustle” is a must see. Enjoy as Christian Bale attempts to pull off the biggest con imaginable to a wide variety of characters.
Movies to Watch:
Academy Award Winners: “Frozen,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Gravity”
Academy Award Nominations: “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Captain Phillips,” “Star Trek Into Darkness”
Anthony Micalizzi is a second-year student majoring in history. He can be reached at AM787857@wcupa.edu.