AMSTERDAM MOVIE REVIEW

Based (loosely, very loosely) on the Business Plot of 1933, David O. Russell’s Amsterdam follows three old friends who come back together through complicated plot devices to clear the names of two of them for a murder they didn’t commit, and figure out who killed someone and why. That’s the most basic way to describe this very not basic movie. Burt (Christian Bale) is a doctor injured from WWI who upon his return learned that the upper crust of medical society has no real interest in treating returning indigent soldiers so he forms his own barely legal practice to help them. Harold (John David Washington) is also a veteran who became close with Burt during the war and now is a lawyer. Valerie (Margot Robbie) was a nurse they met and became instant besties with overseas. The three absconded to Amsterdam to live a life of fun and art until Burt’s responsibilities led him to break the ‘pact’ and return home. Many years later Burt and Harold find themselves taking a case brought by the daughter of their old beloved General who believes he did not die recently of natural causes but was murdered. When she ends up killed right in front of them and the murderer loudly points the finger at them, they end up on the run and trying to figure out what the hell is going on. This leads to them reconnecting with Valerie in an unexpected way and the trio is on the hunt for the killer or killers while trying to avoid prosecution themselves. All this leads to a giant conspiracy (the part actually based on reality, look it up as it will sound awfully familiar), wacky hijinks, and a lot of familiar actors and actresses. Chris, Ben, and Frank certainly don’t get the hate this movie has engendered in some, but aren’t going to overpraise it either. Listen to their review.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE/TRAILER

DIRECTED BY: David O. Russell

STARRING: Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldaña, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Rami Malek, Robert De Niro, Ed Begley Jr., Leland Orser, Tom Irwin, Beth Grant, Colleen Camp, Casey Biggs, Dey Young

 

YOUR REVIEWERS

 

Christopher Lawrence Cox (Founder, Da Boss)

Born in the wilds of northern Virginia, Chris managed to put all of his survival skills to use and barely escaped with his life to Austin Texas in 1992 where ever since he’s dabbled in everything from plumber’s assistant to sandwich maker, from band to bar management. An opportunity to see theatrical release films for free by becoming a critic on a local public access show called “The Reel Deal” turned into a full-time job when Chris and his friends decided to take it to the internet. They built the site Spill.com, adding multiple podcasts and animated features, to no small amount of success. During this time, a fortuitous friendship sprung up between Chris and young Brian Salisbury, who was also a local film critic, and they merged their forces of will, and their laundry list of ideas for shows, to eventually build this community of critics. While Brian eventually followed his heart to a new family, Chris continues on with a cast of colorful folks from all over the country (and a few others). You can also check out Chris in his videocast, along with Martin Thomas and Danni Danger, that One Of Us does with our friends at Bell of Lost Souls: Crossover Event. He also regularly guests on the video game website Rage Select. Follow Chris on Twitter and