Movie Review - The Wolf of Wall Street

The Wolf of Wall Street

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal, Jon Favreau, Jean Dujardin, Joanna Lumley, Christin Milioti, and tons more.

Directed by: Martin Scorsese Screenplay by: Terence Winter Based on the Book by: Jordan Belfort Cinematography by: Rodrigo Prieto

Premise: Follow Jordan Belfort as he enters the world of stock trading. His triumphs, his discoveries, his loss. As well as the fickleness and obsurdity that is life. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: DiCaprio was outstanding as Jordan Belfort. He delivers both the highs and the lows of Belfort's life as well as his impassioned charisma. Jonah Hill, as Belfort's crazy partner Donnie, couldn't have been a better foil for the insane antics perpetrated by the two partners. Everyone in the cast fit perfectly and looked to have the same insane intensity as the rest.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Yes, though this is a film about the stock market and fraud, there were definitely some special effects in play at several spots. There's one at the very beginning of the film which involves a helicopter. Several others follow later towards the end of the film. The waves, the ship, and the plane - you'll know the spot when you get there.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: The film is 180 minutes long (three hours) - and while it slows down a little towards the end, you definitely won't notice the time flying by for at least two of those hours. The R rating is on the extreme range, so be warned. This is definitely not for younger viewers or a date movie. Lots of graphic scenes as well as profanity and drug use, so the rating should be taken seriously.

The story starts at the height of Jordan's rise, then takes you back to the start before proceeding forward. Jordan narrates off and on during the story, which added a lot of flavor to the tale. And surprisingly, there was an overflowing amount of comedy. There's one scene where Jordan suffers a delayed reaction from a drug that will have you in tears.

This is a story about ambition, of what we all want out of life, and how sometimes even if we get what we thought we wanted, it really isn't. The absurdity in so many of the scenes will have you shaking your head, but you won't doubt they probably happened very close to how they're portrayed.

The film plays a very subtle dichotomy between Jordan and Agent Dehnam. There's a very poignant scene right before the end which is easy to miss - yet it spoke volumes when you think about what the agent has accomplished by the end of the film, yet where we find him at that particular moment.

4) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Since Jordan narrates during different parts of the movie, the cinematography got a little fun in places. At others it was used in sweeping arcs, as boastful of what they were showing as the man speaking about them. During several points, the shots morphed as locations or people grew or changed, yet at the same time remained the same. The chosen locations for the different scenes throughout gave the film a lot of flavor.

Conclusion: The Wolf of Wall Street is a wild ride taking us to the edge of insanity. The R rating should be taken seriously for extreme amounts of nudity, profanity, and drug use. Much to our surprise, however, the film was quite funny and even hilarious in places.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Argo

Argo

Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishé, Kyle Chandler, Chris Messina, Zeljiko Ivanek, and more.

Directed by: Ben Affleck Screenplay by: Chris Terrio Based on the Book by: Tony Mendez Also Based on an Article by: Joshuah Bearman Cinematography by: Rodrigo Pietro Original Music by: Alexandre Desplat

Premise: Six members of the American Embassy in Iran escaped the embassy when it was overrun in 1979. Given shelter at the home of the Canadian Ambassador, it's only a matter of time before someone figures out they're not supposed to be there. As the hostage situation in the American Embassy escalates, the US calls in Tony Mendez of the CIA to help the State Department come up with a way to get the six out of the country without getting caught or be used to aggravate an already volatile situation. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: On this type of film the whole cast has to be good to weave a tale which will mesmerize the audience, and the cast was good. Alan Arkan and John Goodman tried very hard to steal the show as the two Hollywood types Ben Affleck goes to for help after getting the idea on how to get the six stranded embassy members out. Once they truly get going to set up what they need, the three of them will come up with a phrase you won't soon forget. When it comes up at the end and you feel the tug on your heart, you'll know for sure they have you.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The following may not seem like special effects, but since I think they served the same purpose, I placed them here. The film used two things to instantly transport the viewers to the 70's. First, they used the Warner Brothers logo being used in 1979 rather than the latest modern version. Second, they used the same kind of film lenses as were the 'norm' in 1979, giving the entire movie a visual feel of that period. Combine both of these with the historical film clips, recreated scenes from photographs, as well as the clothing, and the hairstyles of the period, and you'll truly feel like you're back in 1979.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: I was a teenager when the events depicted in "Argo" occurred, so there was an odd sense of deja vu as I watched different parts of the film. Clips from different news stories at the time of the events helped solidify the concept that all this actually happened.

The story gets a quick introduction to set the historical context for the audience, but is told in a series of drawings as you'd see on a film studio's story board, connecting it from the very beginning to the idea of film and telling tales. The story then broadens and relates events from different viewpoints rather than just a one sided view of what happened.

Moments of tension were well developed, even when you expect them. It was a nice surprise when one of the people who proved most difficult during the ordeal, in the end was actually responsible for the end success of their escape.

4) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The film had many excellent shots of locations in Istanbul as well as recreated buildings and facades of what places looked like at the time of the incident. The first panned shot of the American Embassy truly drove home the difficult situation we'd stumbled upon as you're shown the crowded street at the embassy gates as well as up and down the street in both directions. The gorgeous window spanning shots of the mountains and the city proved an amazing contrast as the agent sits in his Sheraton hotel room battling internally as he gambles with the lives of the six people in his care.

One sequence, which was fabulous as well as poignant, was the crisscrossing of visual and audio between the party in Hollywood to try to legitimize the "Argo" project and escalating events in Iran. Another was the first view of Hollywood, showing the sad state at the time of the iconic letters in the hills before they were saved by donations and restored back to life.

5) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: With the old logo and old lenses lending to the creation of a 70's feel for the film, as well as the stock footage of the news of the day, the final touches to take the audience back to the past came from the costuming and the makeup departments. The clothing, the hairstyles, the huge eyeglasses, literally 'screamed' it was the 70's. Add in the vintage vehicles and the recreated locations, and we were easily transplanted back in time. A great job all around.

Conclusion: "Argo" is an entertaining and fascinating look at what went on behind the scenes at the time of the American Embassy crisis. If your friends or significant others are into history or politics, it can make for some entertaining discussion afterwards as well. Make sure to sit through the credits! They show pictures from the real fake passports side by side to the actors playing the parts and even compare side by side pictures of the original scenes in 1979 beside their recreations. Fascinating! SF fans will find all sorts of little things to giggle about as well.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Super 8

Super 8

Starring: Joel Courtney, Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Joel McKinnon Miller, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Gabriel Basso, Zach Mills, Jessica Tuck, Ron Eldard, Glynn Turman, Noah Emmerich, Bruce Greenwood, and more.

Directed by: JJ Abrams Written by: JJ Abrams Original Music by: Michael Giacchino

Premise: A group of kids, out at night trying to film a zombie movie for a contest, witness a train crash and catch some of it on film. Then strange things begin happening around town.

Review: From the first time I saw a preview, the movie screamed ET remake. But a more serious, grittier, uglier ET remake. And it was, which was fine by me.

Special effects, as with all Spieldberg productions, were superb. What was interesting, however, was the filming style. They went back and used a look from the old days - don't know if it was old equipment or just new equipment that can do old style or what, but I noticed it right away. It was almost as if on several levels, the film was full of in-jokes for filmmakers, taking them back to their roots. You'll notice these extended light bands on the screen on night scenes, which were prevalent during Spieldberg's super hey day films like ET and Close Encounters of the Third kind. So JJ dod some homage to him, but also to himself and others and all their efforts back when they first got started making movies in 8mm and creating the cheapest types of films you could get away with, like horror/zombie films. (Bruce Campbell's book If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor goes into a lot of the youthful movie making attempts by him, Sam Raimi, and Robert Tapert, and I could see the same energy/need/excitement with the kids in the film. Quite fun!)

There are several subplots thrown into the mix of the main mystery, which eventually cross as matters unfold and the characters grow. Several of these subplots aren't spoken of directly, but are well shown for us to pick up, rather than be told. And not everything is exactly as it might appear either.

The kids were great! Joel Courtney was excellent as Joe Lamb.  Elle Fanning thrilling as Alice, making it especially fun when out of the filming group, Alice is actually the only one who can act. Riley Griffiths and Ryan Lee are great comic relief foils. Felt sorry for Gabriel Baso as not only did he have to wear the dorkiest pair of glasses on the planet, but has to prove his skills in barfing, not once but twice! Heh heh.

Unlike the original ET, the extra terrestrial in Super 8 is mostly sensed and not seen or even directly involved with most of the action. The only shortcoming, in my opinion, was that a skill given to the escapee and a pivotal reason matters unfolded as they did in the first place, would have made a few choices it made later rather hard to believe, but then again I wasn't the one kept by the government. Our original ET might not have been so sweet and just wanting to phone home if he'd had the same treatment as this extra terrestrial.

The films starts slow as it weaves daily life for us and then picks up lots of speed. The main baddy, Nelek, could have used more rounding, but Noah Emmerich worked quite well with what he was given. My new catch phrase will have to be "Production Value" lol. You'll understand when you see it.

Overall it was a very enjoyable film.  And make sure to stay for the credits as you'll get a treat.

Rating: 4 out of 5.  (Hubby's rating: Worth full price of Admission.)