The Wolf of Wall Street Roars with Ferocity

The Wolf of Wall Street (4 1/2 out of 5 Stars)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese (The Departed, Goodfellas)

Written by: Terrence Winter (Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos)

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, and Jonah Hill 

This film is going to be a mixed bag for people, most people want a moral to a story, or a "lesson learned."  The lesson learned in this film is that people are selfish, and within out society they are willing to lie, cheat, and steal to get snort and sleep with whoever they want.  Not exactly a good lesson.  If you are expecting these characters, and director Martin Scorsese to coddle you into making you feel like everything will turn out fine then go see a Disney flick.

Wall Street centers on the real life, Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) a broker who is taught by a mentor played briefly by Matthew McCounaughey to pull a fugazi, namely steal from his clients.  The economic crisis in 1987 sends Jordan back to the bottom, where he must climb, or well claw his way back into the game.  While searching for a job he stumbles upon a small firm in Long Island that uses pink sheets selling penny stocks to the less financially solvent people.  While those around him fail to gain the big sales, Jordan dreams big in order to take the fifty percent commission, and boy can he sell

As his own person wealth begins to rise he meets Donnie (Hill).  Donnie questions Jordan on his fancy car, and on his bank statement.  In one of the most memorable moments of the film Donnie asks Jordan to prove he made 72 grand in one month, and he will quit his job, and work for him.  Soon Donnie is on a pay phone quitting his job, and the bond between best friends begins, and as their friendship grows, their goals of running their own con through their firm Stratton Oakmont begins.

This film is above conning the audience, this is proof as Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio have worked together on five films starting with Gangs of New York, then The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, and now this picture.  With every film they get bolder and magnetism on the screen grows, this is their best work together.

Leonardo DiCaprio pulls off another "Gatsby-like" role with Jordan, but within this film the material is much stronger, and the range of his performance is so damn convincing.  Jordan could and maybe should be described as a terrible person, but like the real life person many were drawn into his world, and you feel the same way about DiCaprio's performance.  DiCaprio speechifies, he has the command of his stock troops, or even when he's lying to the people he "loves" there is something so raw, and brutal about this performance.

Martin Scorsese adds to the decadence of his Jordan's surroundings with one of the most visually sumptuous looking films.  A lot of the credit should also go to cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Amorres Perros) who does a fantastic job highlighting the orgy (sometimes literally) of goods from mansions and yachts to sex crazed parties. 

Martin Scorsese's last film, Hugo, was also visually stunning, but these films are like night and day.  Scorsese uses the sharp wit from Terence Winter's script to help highlight this dark world with brutal honesty.  Leo is a funny guy, but Jonah Hill steals the show with comedy in this film, the guy is just funny; he knows how to deliver a line of sarcasm and humor with perfection.  Hill is a scene stealer.  The same can be said for Margot Robbie who bursts onto the screen the same way blonde bombshell Cathy Moriarty did in Raging Bull.  Robbie does not always deliver the laughs, but she draws you in, and eventually as she loses herself and Jordan you get the intensity you want from her character, this is what Jennifer Lawrence should have delivered in American Hustle.

Martin Scorsese pushes the limits; he tells a darker, braver story about a group of guys who con the pants off Wall Street.  Using Winter's brilliant script Scorsese's tale blends humor to show just how ridiculous the world of white collar crime has become, and some of the earliest stories from people stealing from the poor and keeping for themselves.  Scorsese does not clean up the story, he shines a bright spot light on just how nasty these men were, and that even in the end the they still try to sell themselves and other people their bull shit.  In the hands of a lesser team this could have gone badly, but with Scorsese and Leo they pull off another great work of art.

A Tribute to Great Film: Taxi Driver (1976)

Let's get the cliche out of the way, "You talkin' to me.You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talkin' to? You talkin' to me? Well I'm the only one here. Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?"  This phrase has not only been uttered in Taxi Driver, but has become one of the most widely reused phrases in other films and television series.  The American Film Institute (AFI) placed this quote at number 10 on their list AFI's 100 years of movies...100 quotes list.  At this point DeNiro had already won an Oscar for The Godfather Part II, but this film put him and director Martin Scorsese on the map, in a big way.

Taxi Driver follows Travis Bickle a war veteran (marines) in a post Vietnam era; he battles the night as he drives people around listening to their problems and seeing the darkness within humanity in New York City.  Bickle is a lonely and depressed man, even with an honorable discharge from Vietnam his thoughts haunt him.  Travis becomes a taxi driver in order to battle his insomnia and dark and depressing thoughts.  Something within this character hits a breaking point, and soon his thoughts become angrier, and the complexity of the character and the world emerges.

This is one of the best films of all time, and there are so many layers to explore within Travis, and the characters within the film, that I could write more than you may want to read.  One of my favorite interaction in the film is between Travis and Senator Charles Palantine who is running for President.  Palantine is a side character who represents the political structure of the time, these men who have ideals running for office in which, but like Travis people often do not know what they stand for, or the major issues of the moment.  Palantine represents the disconnect.  The scene I love is when Palantine happens to end up in Travis' taxi, and Travis explain how he is going to get everyone to vote for him.  Palantine asks as voter what are the major issues on people's minds, what could he do to get more votes.  Bickle talks about his disgust with the crime, and making the dangerous streets go away.  Palantine gives the typical vague answer of a modern day politician, and the violence ensues.

The 1970s provided some of the best films ever, and its mainly because of of their realistic dark tones, which portrayed the darkness within the current societal structure.  Taxi Driver fits within this canon, the darkness of the city life in New York at the time, with violence, drugs, prostitution, corruption. and so on.  The late 1970s also brought to life the dark ramifications for Vietnam veterans, even good men like Bickle who were honorably discharged, returned with what Dexter Morgan deems a "dark passenger" filling their mind with the thoughts of the experiences from war, and coming back to see that even back home evil did not disappear.

The film says so much about society, but it's all just a great film.  This was the film that put Martin Scorsese on the map, I know Mean Streets came first, but this was his first film to get critical and public attention.  Martin Scorsese's career was set in motion because of this film, the dark realistic undertones, mixed with vibrancy of using New York City helped make Taxi Driver this into a masterpiece.  Ironically Scorsese was not nominated for Best Director for this film (a crime), but he and the film did win the Palm d'Ore (Best Picture) at the Cannes Film Festival.

Paul Schraeder who wrote the script, was also ignored by the Academy, but his work on this film created one of the most complex characters and films.  Over the years Schraeder has written many screenplays, including Raging Bull, American Gigiolo, and Affliction, but has never received an Oscar nomination.  With that said Schraeder's work on this film did a great job laying the ground work for the team of Scorsese and DeNiro to bring Travis Bickle to life.

The performances in this film, even the brief ones, are so great and complex, but nothing compares to DeNiro.  DeNiro is Travis Bickle, this man who as as Betsy (Cybil Shepherd) stated full of complexities.  Bickle is out of the loop, he doesn't know not to take a woman on a date to an adult move theatre or about music.  There is an innocence to this dark man, or an innocence he is striving toward.  DeNiro transformation throughout the film, and his evolution with his character is some of the most brilliant acting I have seen on screen.  DeNiro may not have been the first person who transformed to fit the role, but he made that method a part of character development within film, effecting film and its development in a powerful way.

While this film certainly centers on DeNiro's character, the other players within the film are also terrific.  Jodie Foster is the best supporting performance; she is great a young prostitute, she probably should have won the Supporting Actress Oscar, this was her first Oscar nomination, and deserved.   Peter Boyle plays the older and wiser driver named Wizard, then is Cybil Shepherd as Betsy, Albert Brooks, and Harvey Keitel.

At the end of the day Taxi Driver was a progressive film,  from one of the greatest film makers of all time, Scorsese.  People were not ready for raw honesty of this film, especially the Academy, it only received four nominations including Picture, Actor, Supporting Actress, and one for it's Score, one of the most memorable scores ever in a film.  Taxi Driver is one of the best films ever made from the the editing, the cinematography,  this film has all the right pieces in place.  The late, great Roger Ebert was the biggest champion of this film during its release stating "Every time I see it, it works; I am drawn into Travis' underworld of alienation, loneliness, haplessness and anger."  Taxi Driver is about being alone, and the ultimate angry and betrayal, which comes from this state, what a fantastic film.

Hugo Shines and Reminds Audiences Where the Beauty of Film Came from and Where it Should be Going

Hugo (4 1/2 out 5 Stars)

Directed by: Martin Scorsese (Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, The Departed)

Written by: John Logan (The Aviator, Gladiator)

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Ben Kinglsey, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sascha Baron Cohen, and Christopher Lee

Imagine a world where renowned director Martin Scorsese directs a beautifully moving family film.  Looking at the four films mentioned above, and knowing his other films Hugo is a different pace for the director.  The result is one of the most beautifully moving stories about a boy who loses his father works in the clocks at a train station in Paris, and embarks on one of the greatest adventures, and these things all connect with the birth of cinema.  There is not much more to ask for.

Hugo starts with our young hero, Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) wandering through clocks winding them, and making sure they work properly.  In the train station he sneaks up to the toy shop and attempts to steal a wind-up toy.  In his effort to steal the toy he is caught by the shop owner (Ben Kingsley) and his notebook and things are confiscated by the shop owner.  This interaction sets up the whole premise of the film where Hugo meets a young girl; her name is Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz).  Isabelle  is the goddaughter to the shop owner , whom she lovingly refers to him as Papa George.  As two young children come together they embark on adventure that connects an automaton that Hugo's father was working with Papa George.  The result is an adventure into the birth of cinema.

Martin Scorsese has moved away from the traditional style of film he directs and he transports viewers into a beautiful world.  As a viewer you can tell that Scorsese loves films, and that this film was a passion project for him.  The film centers around the birth of film making.  Papa George is in fact Georges Méliès, one of most well renowned film makers from the late 1890s through the early 1900's.  Méliès saw film making as process, and art form that could transport viewers into a magical adventure.  Méliès was a magicians prior to being a director, actor etc. and used the magic of editing to create over 500 films.  Scorsese's passion for film and the subject matter is beautifully woven into his direction, and this is his best work since 1990's Goodfellas.

The acting in the film is good.  Asa Butterfield does a wonderful job as Hugo; he plays, the young boy lost, seeking something bigger so well!  Chloe Grace Moretz is one the most talented younger actresses working today she can kick ass and swear in films like Kick-Ass and then create a much softer lyrical character like Isabelle.  There are a few side vignettes throughout this film which center around some wonderful performances from Christopher Lee, Sacha Baron Cohen, Emily Mortimer, Frances de la Tour and Richard Griffiths.  While this vignettes were sometimes distracting, or out place (my only complaint) the acting was great so there were rarely times I felt they took away from the pace of the film.  The main culprit was the one note performance by Sascha Baron Cohen, who while funny was sometimes too cartoonish.  Then there's Ben Kinglsey who played Méliès; his performance is so beautiful and displays a great range showing the role passion played in defining cinema.

The film's star in my book is the beauty captured in the editing, cinematography, art direction, and every other technical aspect.  This is a spectacularly beautifully shot film.  This is also a film that must be seen in 3-D.  I hate the way 3-D has taken over films today, but this film uses the 3-D element better than any film I have ever seen to date.  I felt as though the 3-D makes this film whole and helps to capture the beauty of the story, and the nostalgia of the beginning of film making.

2011 has been the year of nostalgia.  The Artist is nostalgic for the era of silent films, Midnight in Paris is nostalgic for different eras of writing and creativity in France, and Hugo is nostalgic for the birth of the cinema.  Hugo did a wonderful job of transporting me back in time to an era about love and passion. Méliès loved making films, and Scorsese perpetuates that emotional experience in this film.

Academy Awards Best Picture Revisited: The Departed (2006)

When I got back home from Thanksgiving in Albany I did two things, I went to the gym, and then ate Thanksgiving left overs while watching The Departed.  The Departed is the first Best Picture winner I am re-visiting.  The other nominees in the Best Picture category this year were Babel, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, and The Queen.

The Departed was directed by the brilliant director Martin Scorsese.  Scorsese is known as one of the best film makers living today, and he is one of my favorite directors ever.  I love his style of direction, there is always this dark gritty feel, but he also puts unique touches to each film he directs making them all different.  Scorsese's first major film was Mean Streets in 1973 which started his long standing working relationship with Robert DeNiro.  Scorsese continued on this brilliant streak of film making with Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Taxi Driver (1976), New York, New York (1977), Raging Bull (1980), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990); he lost me after this and then in 2002 had a resurgence with Gangs of New York (2002), and The Aviator (2005).  While the the films in the 2000s were not his best this man has made some of the best films ever!  Ironically prior to this Oscar ceremony Scorsese had never won an Oscar.  In fact in 2005 Oscar host Jon Stewart joked Three Six Mafia has one Oscar while Scorsese has zero.  This was a funny joke, but I think the Academy finally got that they had left one of the best directors of all time empty handed and did not want to do the same thing to him that they did to Alfred Hitchcock.

Now I am not saying Scorsese and his film should not have won (although I would have not picked him for director or this for film), but I am glad the Academy got over their bias for his films, and awarded this movie as the Best Film of the year.  The Departed was a solid film, with solid direction.

The best part about the 2006 Best Picture race this year was that the Best Picture race at the time was a big question mark.  Going into the night there were a couple the field was pretty divided.   Letters from Iwo Jima was a surprise nominee and had Clint Eastwood a person who had directed two Best Picture winners.  Iwo Jima was the least likely to win though because the film is in a foreign language, and did not have as much support going in. The Queen was had a shot, as an important bio-pic about Elizabeth II, but the Best Actress prize was the trophy the Academy wanted to bestow to this film, as they saw the film was about Mirren's performance.  And then there were three. Babel was seen as the big sweeping drama that spanned countries and interconnected people in different stories.  Babel won the Gold Globe for Best Drama, but just was too weak of a film.  The critics were not that supportive of it, but it did have a lot of nominations. If there any year where a comedy was going to win this award it would have been  Little Miss Sunshine.  Little Miss Sunshine won Best Picture at the American Film Institute Awards, the Producer's Guild Award (the equivalent to Best Picture), and the Screen Actor's Guild's Best Ensemble Award.  These are three hefty trophies.  When the nominations were announced Little Miss Sunshine only had four nominations and no editing nomination, the film was sunk.  Films rarely win Best Picture without an editing nomination.


The Departed's win seemed destined in the stars. Thinking back to that year, although my memory is cloudy, most people's predictions ranged from Babel to Little Miss Sunshine to The Departed.  Babel had the most nominations.  Little Miss Sunshine had heart.  The Departed had the trump card, Scorsese.  The Departed only had five nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Mark Wahlberg) and Best Film Editing.  The surprising thing about the nominations was that Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for Blood Diamond and not this film and Academy Award favorite Jack Nicholson was also not nominated.  With a small total number of nominations, and two big stars snubbed, this made the film look weak, but it took home the big prize at the end of the night.

I am glad this was an exciting year in this category (for once), but there were several films that should have been nominated in this category and were not.  My personal pick for the Best Picture of the year was Pan's Labyrinth. The film had 6 nominations and won three trophies, and it shockingly lost in Best Foreign Language Feature.  The other two films that should have been nominated were Children of Men (3 nominations 0 wins) and United 93 (2 nominations 0 wins).  I can understand why these three films were not nominated as they are more divisive, and not see as larger crowd favorites.  If the the Best Picture race looked like this: Children of Men, The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine, Pan's Labyrinth, and United 93-I would would have been a happy person.