‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ Huffs And Puffs And Blows Away Its Competition (Movie Review)
At last, after months of teasing trailers, I was able to sit in on a pre-screening of my most anticipated movie of the year, Wolf of Wall Street. As expected, it did not let me down. I had 3 hours of pure enjoyment. That’s right, I said 3 hours!!! Even without popcorn! Martin Scorsese has truly outdone himself with this film. Clocking in at an impressive 179 minutes, Wolf of Wall Street has set a record as Mr. Scorsese’s longest fictional film by beating out Casino by a mere one minute. Wolf is, in my opinion, by far the director’s most exciting film in years. Second runner up would be The Departed. How this film did not get a NC-17 rating is beyond me. Scorsese has pushed the boundaries of R rating to the absolute limits with a combination of drugs, strippers, sex, depravity and oh so much more. Not that I am complaining about that, because in no way am I. So do I have your attention yet?? Ok, I cannot wait any longer to dive into this brilliant film. Continue reading ‘‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ Huffs And Puffs And Blows Away Its Competition (Movie Review)’
I remember the first time I saw Bradley Cooper on the hit ABC television show Alias opposite Jennifer Garner circa 2001 I proclaimed out loud that this cat is going to be a big star. My ex at the time scoffed at me and said whatever. She never believed in me. Therefore, that’s why she’s an ex. LOL. But seriously, was I right or was I right? He’s gone on to be such a huge star in highly successful films as The Hangover series, the immaculate conception known as Silver Linings Playbook and now everyone’s favorite foul mouthed raccoon in next year’s Guardian of the Galaxy. However, I digress about my love for Bradley Cooper. I’ll admit that I got a little off the subject of why we are gathered here today. But I can’t help it! I want to scream it from the tallest trees. My boy Bradley Cooper is a new movie and best of all, he’s sporting tight curls in this 70’s retro feature. Of course I’m talking about Columbia Pictures’ American Hustle, once upon a time known as American Bullsh1t (that little factoid makes me love the flick without even seeing it). Now you want to know more, right?! Great! I have an itch I want to scratch. Let’s get talking! 
I have recently had discussions about comedy sequels with some friends. They are not easy to pull off, which is obvious just due to the fact that it is hard to name more than a couple comedy sequels offhand that really match up to the original film. For all the fun I had and continue to have with Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, it is not necessarily a film that screamed for a sequel. A modest success at the time, which (as many comedies do) found a lot more success on home video, Anchorman is the kind of weird and endlessly quotable movie that hits just the right beats for a lot of people. Now the stars were able to finally align, as all the…stars were able to get back together for another madcap comedy adventure based around a team of doofuses that like reading the news together. The results will no doubt vary for many, but I laughed a lot during this film.
Despite this second installment of The Hobbit films being a grand adventure, with lots of excitement and visuals, at this point I think I know what the inherent problem is with this second Tolkien trilogy. For all the fun this movie wants its audience to have, no one in these films seems to be having much fun. Save for some one-liners from the various dwarfs, whose names I don’t know, almost everyone is gruff and serious all the time. I am not saying everyone should be laughing and smiling, but it comes down to the stakes at hand, and compared to the apocalyptic nature of The Lord of the Rings, the plot of the Hobbit films is about as serious as making it to a relative’s BBQ on time. Given how thin some of these characters are, spending nine hours with this story could be aided by a bit more charm to go with the heaps of CGI. With that being said, The Desolation of Smaug is a lot of the same, with the adventure starting midway through, allowing for less setup. There are plenty of thrills, action, and neat visuals to be found, but I am curious if the next chapter will make this unexpected trilogy something worth being turned into three separate films.
A lot of times I see films that seem to ooze a lot of cool and pizazz, regardless of substance, from directors I enjoy. My go-to example of this tends to be Steven Soderbergh and Ocean’s Eleven. What helps is how that film and others like it also have a collection of actors turning in really solid work, even in the midst of a story that is more about having a fun time. American Hustle, from director David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter, Three Kings), has this kind of vibe. It loosely bases a story around true events, but is really more of a fun ride, filled with the styles of the 70s and a Scorsese-like drive to be a sexy, violent, and often funny piece of entertainment.
It is not as though I am completely averse to movies with intentions of having good-natured stories or ones that thrive on inevitably sweet and heart-warming outcomes, but sometimes a premise and those involved can give you that idea and sway your interest elsewhere. I have not seen Mary Poppins in many years and do not exactly hold the film in high esteem, because of that, so a film from the director of The Blind Side, produced by Disney, which involves telling a story about the making of Mary Poppins and Walt Disney’s personal involvement seems like it could go a very specific way. Fortunately, while the film has its share saccharine moments, there is also a more personal story here, with darker elements here, which focuses on an opportunity allowing for a character to move on with their life. Some terrific performances really aid the film as well, let alone choices in how the film decides to depict Disney. All of this turned the film into a favorable one for me.
Here we are once again. It’s the same place we were last year. It’s the cold month of December so it must be coincidentally time for the newest entry in The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) saga…err I mean The Hobbit saga. And low and behold…IT IS! Whether it’s a bad omen or not, the second picture in the epic fantasy series, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, is opening on none other than on Black Friday. No, I don’t mean that Black Friday where all the ridiculous sales happen (although this year I think Thanksgiving Day sales were much more generous), but that special day when our favorite serial killer Jason Voorhees looms, Friday the 13th! And I’ll make this promise to you. My review below will not be as long as every LOTR infused butt numbing experience you ever had. No sir! Or no ma’am! I promise to keep my babbling to a minimum, but just in case let’s get a move on it. We have lots to discuss here. We have a dragon to slay, elves, dwarves and orcs to feud with and possibly even a certain hobbit to toast. Ladies and gentlemen…this is second installment in the three-part film series set to conclude with There and Back Again next summer…may I introduce The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug… 
Once again and without disappointment, the Coen brothers showcase their talent for delivering an impeccably honest journey of life affirmation as told by Inside Llewyn Davis. Just as important, and equally as impressive, is T Bone Burnett’s contribution to the soundtrack. The film travels the same avenue as O Brother, Where Art Thou in that it delivers a cynical laugh on the account of a less than well off character trying to navigate his way through the crap shoot that is life. Full set folk ballads are interspersed throughout the film which convey the ever present Coen trademark of melancholy beauty. 
Seeing so many good actors in a film like Out of the Furnace, which does not suggest a huge budget was in place or that there was a long, labored production (I hear the shooting schedule was about a month), gives me the idea that a lot of people responded to the script and those involved with it. While the film does not manage to live up to the high caliber of acting on display, overall, there is certainly a decent enough dramatic story here, with choices that separate it from others. Choice actually becomes a key theme in the film, which allows the viewer to accept what happens when men make good choices, as well as when they make bad ones.
At times it can be hard to elaborate on why regard can be put so high on certain films. Without tip-toeing around it, I think Inside Llewyn Davis is an incredibly well-made, well-acted, fantastically strange film that receives the highest rating from me, because I do not know what could be made different to have it be even better. It is in no way a film that is accessible to everyone, which pretty much comes with the territory when discussing the majority of films from the Coen Brothers, but that matters little to how I received the film. The film I watched was highly entertaining for a myriad of reasons that stem from the realms of both comedy and drama, when it comes to hitting just below the surface of what this film is, but also has plenty more to consider, as you go deeper into it. Often times I find myself attempting to find problems with a film that I am really enjoying in an effort to be more constructive in a critique of it later on. Inside Llewyn Davis did not even push me to that direction, which may have been due to my fondness of creative directors being very successful at producing the film they wanted to make or because of how absorbed I was by all the great music.
When I first saw the trailer for 2013 action thriller Homefront I thought that “could” be a good one considering in my book Jason Statham films are usually hit or miss. It has a great cast to roast and boast about with the likes of James Franco, Winona Ryder and Kate Bosworth, but perhaps one of the greatest assets it had going for it, again in my opinion only, was the fact that it was penned by none other than Rocky Balboa himself, Sylvester Stallone. Now I have to admit, I wasn’t completely sold on it until WSB reviewer Aaron Neuwirth got an early screening of it over at the Open Road offices last week and later exclaimed his enthusiastic love for it on our WSB chatline. That’s when I knew that I could not pass an early screening of this upcoming Thanksgiving feature up. Gobble, gobble. Let’s talk some Homefront! 
