Most overrated film of 2013

Rating: 5/10 (26 February 2014)

I was really expecting a lot given all the hype. Wow, what an overrated movie. A lot of talented actors does not a good movie make.
First, the story itself is not all that interesting. You got this mayor in Camden, NJ who wants to invest in Atlantic City's casinos. Not really sure why he had to be from Camden as opposed to Atlantic City, but OK. Anyway, you end up with corruption, etc. but the whole thing looks to be engineered by the FBI. In the middle is a sleazy financier running a one-man one-woman what looks to be a Ponzi scheme. Why anyone would invest money with this guy I don't know, but I suppose it's barely possible.
Next, as uninteresting as the story was, you have a really weak script. The whole movie feels like going from scene to scene. It's disjointed and some scenes are way over the top. For example, in one scene Bradley Cooper starts screaming for no apparent reason, Amy Adams smack him with a picture frame for no apparent reason, and out of nowhere Christian Bale shows up with a gun. Another one: FBI guys partying like frat boys which felt 100% out of place.
Direction was generally OK except for the camera tilting to show Bradley Cooper's and Robert De Niro's hands when they were talking. Felt like something out of film school.
A little surprise at the end, but nothing memorable.