A little slow, but fascinating story....

Rating: 7/10 (6 January 2014)

Overall I did enjoy "American Hustle" and particularly loved how it was filmed (storybook style with flashbacks, etc). The mostly 70's soundtrack was a perfect fit as well. My only gripe would be the movie's pace, which I thought dragged a little at times. Could have been shorter than its 138 minutes.
The acting for the most part was terrific. Christian Bale in particular was fantastic and definitely award-worthy. Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence were very good. Bradley Cooper's performance I thought was a little over-the-top, and Jeremy Renner an odd choice as the Mayor of New Jersey (he was too young, particularly after seeing his children). Robert De Niro's almost unrecognizable cameo was memorable and reminded me (physically) of Laurence Olivier's "Szell" character in "Marathon Man"!
Overall, an entertaining movie and interesting story. The movie started with the words "Some of the following actually happened". I don't remember the actual event which inspired this story, but I'd be interested to learn what in the movie "actually happened"! Might have to do some research....