Amsterdam

Can't see why there are so many negative reviews unless it's right wing trolls or the typical american cluelessness about the country's past (and present) and painfully limited attention span. GREAT cast. You have to be patient with films like this and I'm sorry that that's enough to turn off so many people. The editing is a bit rough at times but not enough to warrant the negativity.

Now I have to meet the required character count so feel free to ignore the rest of this review and GIVE THIS MOVIE A CHANCE! I'd watch these actors in almost anything so I was happy the indifference to this film turned out to be unjustified.

I could not decide if I liked this movie as I was watching it. I knew it was unique with fully loaded star power and great performances but the pacing and story had me scratching my head and even bored at times. I kept checking how much longer the movie had (HBOMax) more than a few times but didn't give up on it. I'm glad I stayed with it. It's a 2 1/2 hour movie but when I finally reached the two hour mark all of a sudden the two previous hours I invested paid off. The story came together quickly and had a surprisingly satisfying ending. This movie is definitely not for everyone. It requires a lot of patience and your full attention but I found it a worthwhile endeavor. Much of it is based on real events. A who's who of A-list actors throughout giving solid performances. Critics panned this movie unfairly in my opinion. What Director Russell created was no easy task. Beautifully filmed with many memorable scenes. I would definitely recommend watching it.

This movie is a bit long at over 2 hours but is written, acted, and directed in a style that is interesting all the way. There is quirkiness, sometimes it reminded me of Wes Anderson's movies, like "The Grand Budapest Hotel." The character played by Christian Bale, a disheveled doctor who lost an eye in the war, reminded us of Peter Faulk's 1970s TV series Columbo in his mannerisms and his quest to find out facts.

While this is almost entirely a fictional story it is loosely based on something that was called "The Business Plot." Roosevelt was newly elected and a group of businessmen didn't like the direction things were headed. So they hatched a plan to overthrow the President.

But very little of the running time is actually devoted to that, most of it has the three main characters, accused of murdering a woman by pushing her into the street to be run over by a delivery truck, working to prove their innocence and to focus in on the real bad actors.

My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library, a totally interesting and entertaining take on the times.

This is a great movie, especially important given how pre-fascist history is repeating itself in 2025. It begins, like most conspiracies, with the curtains drawn on the hidden plot, but that plot becomes very real and terrifying as the movie progresses. Bale, Robbie and Washington are all perfectly cast, and DeNiro is right at home as the linchpin of the story.

As a period drama (1918 and 1933), Amsterdam is extremely effective in describing the era between the two world wars. Costumes and music are well chosen. Especially intriguing, and somewhat horrifying. Is the depiction of cosmetic surgery to hide war wounds.

Highly recommended: although I fear too many conservatives won't want to believe these same dangers are at our doorstep again.

A quirky genre-bending caper with a political bent seems right up David O. Russell's alley. Unfortunately, this movie just never gels. At all. It feels like 10 different movies with 10 different casts, even if those casts are flat out jaw-dropping. I enjoyed some of those movies more than others (e.g. The farcical scenes when Russell pretended to be Wes Anderson), but every time I started getting interested in a plot or enjoying a performance, the whole thing swerved. And more often than not it served right off the road.

Also, was Bale doing a Peter Falk impersonation? I kept waiting for him to light a cigar and say, "Just one more thing..."