Paul Constant, Author at The Source

Because They Needed the Monet

Christian Bale leads a smarmy Scorsese riff into the gaudy 1970s

Paul ConstantDecember 19, 2013January 4, 2023

Christian Bale has transformed himself in all sorts of ways, but his turn as Irving Rosenfeld is something else again. It’s such a striking transformation that the camera can’t tear away from Bale’s body throughout the opening scene of American Hustle. His pasty beer gut juts forward proudly, suggesting chronic constipation. We watch him construct […]

Culture

A Replacement for Breaking Bad

Statham and Franco light up a quasi-parodic action flick

Paul ConstantDecember 12, 2013February 13, 2025

Watch the trailer for Homefront, and you won’t quite be able to tell if it’s parody or not. You’ve got Jason Statham starring, of course, as a tough guy with a history. In this case, he’s a cop who used to wear a really bad wig and go undercover with biker gangs. Statham is seen […]

Culture

Mostly Pain

Pain & Gain: Michael Bay makes a Coen Bros. movie

Paul ConstantApril 25, 2013August 16, 2023

SOMEWHERE OUT THERE in an alternate universe, I like to think that the Coen brothers directed Pain & Gain. It’s a premise that seems ideal for them: the true story of a team of lunkheaded Florida bodybuilders who decide to kidnap a wealthy deli owner and hold him hostage until he agrees to sign over […]

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