In its quest for sincerity, AMERICAN HUSTLE and most of its characters too often feel like caricatures, their energy pilfered from superior movies you’ve seen before.

Silver Linings Playbook is smart, finely crafted and emotionally consuming. Codependency has seldom been this sweet.

Boxing movies have been around nearly as long as movies themselves. The sweet science just lends itself to the cinematic treatment: all that physical conflict sets up nicely as a mirror to narrative conflict, and the rising action of the story parallels the intense training and building strength of a fighter preparing for a fight. It’s a visceral, versatile combination that heightens the dramatic impact of any basic story. And in the hands of a skilled director, the controlled violence of the ring can be turned into a bludgeoning ballet of sweat, blood, and chiselled muscle.