“Amsterdam” — Read Along
“Each one of us is given a tapestry, our own opera”.
Fancy a conspiratorial tale in the company of a quirky, off-kilter Christian Bale, Margot Robbie as a nurse, John David Washington and Chris Rock as war veterans and Taylor Swift without a microphone? How about Mike Myers somewhat reprising his role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglorious Basterds”, Rami Malek’s chameleon like acting prowess to the fore once more and Robert De Niro arriving halfway through to herald the greatest conspiracy never told?
Directed by David O Russell (Three Kings, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle) here’s the opening to my spoiler free review of “Amsterdam” originally penned and published on 31st December 2022:
Three cinema trips ago, and in the second week of October of a year that is ending just hours away from when I pen these brief words of appreciation, I was leaving my local cinema in the company of my beautiful son when I happened upon the poster for Amsterdam and immediately remarked to all within earshot: this will be a stunner of a film. As is so often proved correct within my own particular one-eyed kingdom, I was indeed right, and director David O Russell’s tenth big screen cinematic affair was a conspiratorial treat. Not as accomplished perhaps as his 1999 epic Three Kings or Silver Linings Playbook over a decade later or my particular favourite in his cinematic cannon, 2013’s American Hustle, but I loved Amsterdam for a multitude of reasons and hopefully for differing and surprising reasons than your own.
Returning for just a moment to that film poster and my proclamation of its coming greatness as a film as my son and I ambled away from Halloween Ends in early October, whilst he was nonplussed by my soothsaying future review the cinema’s “Greeter” wasn’t as she confessed (a) she’d seen and loved an advance copy of the film and (b) she’d already bagged the poster I was referring to as she too liked it and as a perk of the job, she can buy any unreserved film posters for a knockdown price. I was of course envious as I’m a childish film fan at heart and am so often taken in by a good poster and so it was, finally, on 29th December in a year finishing in a mere few hours from now, that I watched Amsterdam expectantly awaiting a gem of a film that didn’t arrive but which was replaced by something wholly surprisingly and unexpectedly different.
Since seeing the film poster in early October I’d seen not a trailer nor a sneak peak or any written reviews whatsoever. I still haven’t. I watched this film without even the most basic of a premise or blurb which, according to The Matrix Movie Bible at www.imdb.com proclaims Amsterdam to be:
“In the 1930s, three friends witness a murder, are framed for it, and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history”.
Had I known this before time I would of course have been expecting the obvious real-life conspiracy being laid out before us and with the introduction of Robert De Niro in his notable cameo role, however it was even more pleasing for your humble narrator to call out this conspiracy ahead of cinematic time, way before the introduction of De Niro and way before those closing credits that rather soured the ending to an otherwise brilliantly engaging film.
Go see the credits for yourself. It’s all there for a one eye wishing to see.
But rather remarkably, arguably the greatest untold and unsaid conspiracy of all time is laid out within this gem of a film and should you be unaware of General Smedley Butler, his book “War is a Racket”, the request placed upon him to lead a Fascist revolution in the United States of America exactly a century ago or his multitude of revealing quotes attributed to him later in life, treat yourself to a real conspiracy in a world absent of them according to our Overlords in charge of the all seeing eye.
Hopefully with an appetite whetted for more, please allow me to present to you the following:
(1) My original spoiler free review of “Amsterdam”
(2) My Youtube channel and my reading of my own review!
(3) My Rumble channel video should be out of love for all things Youtube
(4) A link to volume 1 of my 7 volumes of “Essential Film Reviews Collection”, all volumes free to read should you have an Amazon Kindle “Unlimited” package.
Original Review of "Amsterdam"
My Youtube reading of "Amsterdam"
My Rumble reading of "Amsterdam"
"The Essential Film Reviews Collection" - Vol.1
Now dear reader you have a multitude of choices and essentially whether you wish to read my much longer and fuller spoiler free review of a wonderful film, “Read Along” with me via the Youtube or Rumble channel recordings, delve into my 7 volumes of oh so essential film reviews collection or disappear merrily on your way to pastures new within our collective electrical and digital Matrix. The videos are simply just me, a one-shot deal, no editing or fancy graphics and your humble narrator surrounded by the madness of Salvador Dali, a collection of my books with my own self-published books on promotional display and just me being me and playing awkwardly for the camera!
Thanks for reading. If you like the premise of this absurd idea, then you might also enjoy:
"Children of Men" - Read Along