Amsterdam

David O Russell returns with another star-studded outing,with Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and Robert De Niro among the A-list cast. Loosely based on real events, the rather convoluted plot concerns doctor and First World War veteran Burt Berendsen (Bale), who gets caught up in a murder investigation in 1930s New York City. The film has some great moments and amusing running gags, and is best when focusing on the friendship between Burt and his buddies, Valerie Voze (Robbie) and Harold Woodsman (John David Washington), who first met in the titular city. But the murder plot is muddled and difficult to follow, with the glut of big-name stars serving as a distraction that prevents the narrative from building momentum. It's an intermittently entertaining but rather frustrating film that could have benefited from a little more focus.