The Wolf of Wall Street

Leonardo DiCaprio seems to be drawn to movies about excess. And excess is the name of the game in The Wolf of Wall Street.

Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) begins his career working for the shady Mark Hanna (Mathew McConaughey). Belfort loses his job after the firm he works at fails on Black Monday (which is something I'm guessing people in economics will know about). His wife Teresa (Cristin Milioti) encourages him to get a job at boiler room outfit that sells penny stocks, run by Dwayne (Spike Jonze). Once Belfort realises that he can make a higher commission selling these stocks, he begins to accrue wealth and begins a company with Donny Azoff (Jonah Hill), where the two embark on a lifestyle of excess and debauchery. This behaviour grabs the attention of FBI Agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler), who begins to investigate him for a number of financial frauds.

The film is fantastically hilarious from beginning to end. Leo once again proves he is one of the greatest actors of his generation and that he can also be comedic. The film runs for 179 minutes and by the end I did start to feel the effects of that length of time. Although it's a gripping film, I felt as though it ran twenty minutes too long.

Leo's performance is fantastic and he has a great chemistry with the rest of the cast, especially Margot Robbie, who plays his second wife, and Rob Reiner, who plays his father. Robbie is insanely good in this film and I can't imagine how hard it is for an Aussie to pull of a Long Island accent like that or for such a long time.

Jonah Hill also shows that he has game as a serious actor. I know he's been trying for a while and he really breaks through with this film, whilst still drawing on his talents as a comedian. Jon Bernthal is someone who I've had a hard time getting behind (mainly for his role of Shane on The Walking Dead), but his talent playing for playing the scumbag is well utilised in this film. Also the Spike Jonze cameo just made me laugh.

Verdict: Martin Scorsese crafts a wonderful piece of art about the excesses of the Wall Street rich whilst being devilishly funny and accurate. Bonus points for the hilarious joke about cerebral palsy (which I laughed at harder than anyone in the cinema).

Inside Llewyn Davis

The Coen brothers are fantastic filmmakers. They can make light-hearted films (The Big Lebowski), brooding pseudo-action films (No Country for Old Men) and crime films (Blood Simple). Almost all their films are funny. And so is Inside Llewyn Davis. At times. Mostly though, it's just cold and a little sad.

Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is a struggling folk singer. He used to be doing okay until his partner committed suicide. He drifts around staying at his friends apartments in Greenwich Village. The film centres on a week in his life as he tries to get recognised for his solo music, playing gigs, helping his friend Jim (Justin Timberlake) record a new song and traveling across the country to visit a manager.

The film was very weak on story, which is very unlike a Coen brothers film. Normally, they fill a film with so many plot points and characters, it's hard to keep up. But this film is more character based. I'm not sure how I feel about that approach.

On the other hand, the performances are fantastic. Oscar Isaac has really shown that he has what it takes to be a lead actor. In the past he's only been in supporting roles, but he shows an emotional range in this film that can't be ignored. Carey Mulligan (who played Isaac's wife in Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive) is fantastically cold as Jean, a fellow folk singer. There are some great performances by Adam Driver (Girls) and John Goodman (everything!) too.

I was not expecting (and a little stupidly on my part) for all the songs to be played in full. I was a little taken back by this, but it is a movie about a musician so I should have seen it coming. Folk music just isn't my thing.

Verdict: I was a little let down by this film, but then again I don't know what I was expecting. Oscar Isaac gives a fantastic performance.

Her

I find Spike Jonze to be an amazing conundrum. He can go from directing Academy award winning films (Adaptation) to hanging out with the guys from Jackass (in the movies, he is the old naked lady), which he is one of the creators. Despite the fact that he confuses me, his work has never failed to entertain me. Her is another example of this.

Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) works as a surrogate letter writer, who is picking up his life after splitting from his wife Catherine (Rooney Mara). He decides to purchase a new operating system (a personal assistant in the form of an artificial intelligence). Once he starts it up, it takes on the persona of Samantha (the voice of Scarlett Johansson). Samantha and Theodore begin a relationship, that he is reluctant to tell his friends about, especially his best friend Amy (Amy Adams).

The film takes a very interesting look at the state of modern relationships. Theodore goes on dates with girls and realises that he doesn't want anything serious and is just after sex. Most guys these days are after just that. Once he begins his relationship with Samantha, things become increasingly complicated.

The other theme that is touched on is the idea of the singularity. The singularity is the point in time in which artificial intelligence surpasses that of human intelligence. But rather than portray it as a scary concept like in Terminator, it is seen as a rather peaceful passing.

Indeed, the near future that is shown is not a flashy future with obvious technology changes, but is subtle and efficient. The most glaringly obvious change is the fashion, with ridiculously high-waisted pants and high collared shirts.

Joaquin Phoenix plays Theodore convincingly enough that you believe his relationship with Samantha is real. Also, Scarlett Johansson is amazing as Samantha, playing her with a subtlety that doesn't draw attention to her performance. Amy Adams is fantastic as Theodore's closest friend.

Verdict: Jonze crafts an amazing story about love in a future that is believable.

Classic Movie Review: Babel (2006)

In the late 90s to mid 2000s, a swath of films that were made up of interconnected stories were released. Unlike these other movies, like Traffic, Crash and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (all of which are fantastic), Babel took this film structure and made a far greater film. Maybe it's the lack of an ensemble cast (with only two big actors known two mainstream audiences) or maybe it's the plausible storyline that plays on the audience's fears that make this an excellent film.

The film takes place in three different locations around the world and focuses on four groups of characters. The first group of characters are Moroccan goat-herders. Abdullah (Mustapha Rachidi) buys a rifle from one of his neighbours to shoot jackals that prey upon his herds. He gives the gun to his sons Ahmed (Said Tarchani) and Yussef (Boubker Ait El Caid) when they go into the hills. The two brothers begin to fight about who is a better marksman and end up shooting at a bus full of tourists. This is called an act of terrorism by the United States and there is pressure on the Moroccan authorities to find the culprits. The police eventually track down Abdullah, Yussef and Ahmed. Ahmed is shot and killed by the police, at which stage Yussef gives up and surrenders to police custody.

Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) are two American tourists on holiday in Morocco. Susan is increasingly worried about getting sick from poor hygiene in what she considers an unclean country and is desperately missing her children back home. While they are on the tour bus, a gunshot hits Susan in the neck. Being too far to get to any major cities, the tour guide suggests that they go to his village which is closer, much to the apprehension of the other tourists. The busload of tourists eventually decide to leave Richard and Susan in the village. They are later airlifted out and taken to the US embassy.

Back in America, Amelia (Adriana Barraza) is looking after the children of Richard and Susan. She is trying with some difficulty to find someone to look after the children while she goes to Mexico for her son's wedding. Her nephew, Santiago (Gael Garcia Bernal) suggests that she brings the children to Mexico. On the way back, there is some confusion at the border and Santiago, who has been drinking, makes the mistake of driving through the border and into the US, prompting a chase in the night. Santiago stops the car and tells Amelia and the children to stay there and he'll come back for them. Amelia and the children stumble through the desert and get separated. Amelia gets found by the border patrol, who also find the children. Amelia ends up being deported to Mexico for working as an illegal immigrant within the US.

The final story, which is seemingly unrelated to the rest of the film, follows Chieko Wataya (Rinko Kikuchi), a deaf-mute schoolgirl from Tokyo. She is self-concious about her disability and tries very hard to get the attention of boys when she is out with her friends, as she wants to lose her virginity. All the attempts she makes are unsuccessful. A young police officer, Kenji Mamiya (Satoshi Nikaido), has been asking to question her father. Chieko believes this is to do with the suicide of her mother, but it is in fact to do with the ownership of the rifle used to shoot Susan in Morocco.

Now that the plot's out of the way, we can finally talk about the rest of the movie. First off, I love the symbolism of the title of the movie. In biblical terms, the Tower of Babel was built by humanity who had a united language and believed that they could reach God if they built a tower. As punishment, God made all the people on Earth speak a different language. One of the major themes in this film is being able to communicate with one another, whether it be Richard trying to tell the Moroccans what is wrong with his wife or Chieko being able to communicate with anyone.

I really like the casting in this film. Brad Pitt is fantastic and gives one of the best performances of his career, although we see very little of him. Likewise, Gael Garcia Bernal gives a fantastic performance, but he is not in the film for long. The two standout performances come from Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza. The scenes in which Barraza is walking listlessly throughout the desert are fantastic. Kikuchi is also fantastic and it is her story that I can relate to the most. Having a disability myself, I watch the story of Chieko and I can see parallels between that story and my own teenage years.

Surprisingly, that is not the only story I can relate to in this film. I too have been injured in a country where I don't speak the language and although my injury wasn't as bad as being shot, you do feel a certain helplessness in being unable to communicate what you need. Perhaps this is why this film resonates with me, because half of the movie's plot is recognisable.

The soundtrack for this film really sticks out for me too. Gustavo Santaolalla's score is fantastic and his use of guitar makes the film even more evocative. All of the Mexican music played at the wedding is fun to listen to and it makes me want to travel there all the more.

Verdict: A powerful movie that makes you think about how small the world has become.

The Book Thief

For a book that everyone raves about, the movie based on it isn't that greatest. I always like to see movies set during wartime from the perspective of people who lived on the other side (this case being Nazi Germany), but Schindler's List already topped that list for me. And this movie isn't Schindler's List, a movie that made a grown boy cry.

Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse) is taken away from her communist mother to go and live with another family, Hans and Rosa Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson). Liesel is eager to learn how to read and with the help of Hans, she eventually does. One day, a young Jewish man, Max (Ben Schnetzer) comes and begs Hans to help hide him from the Nazis, which he does.

Overall, I found this movie to be quite bland. It glosses over quite a few aspects of Nazi Germany and though it isn't a film about Nazis, it is a film about books and the Nazis did have a particular hatred of books and intellectuals. And while there is a book burning scene, I felt as though the film could have gone into more depth over the distrust of intellectualism.

None of the performances from the older actors were particularly noteworthy in this film. I know Geoffrey Rush is a good actor, but I have never really liked him. His portrayal of Hans Hubermann lacked a certain finesse that he brings to other roles.

However, there was one performance that stuck through the rest and that was Sophie Nélisse, which is lucky, because the majority of the film has to be held up by her performance, which was fantastic. I feel as though she has a bright future ahead of her.

Verdict: A not-so-great look at Nazi Germany. I haven't read the book, but since seeing the movie, I don't want to.

Saving Mr. Banks

A Disney movie about Walt Disney? Now that's meta. I was thinking it would be funny if they put the Paramount logo at the front of the film. I probably would have found it funnier than half the jokes in the film. Not that it wasn't entertaining, it just tried too hard.

The film is split into two stories. One is P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson) travelling to Los Angeles to decide whether to sell the rights of her character Mary Poppins to beloved businessman and entertainer Walt Disney (Tom Hanks). Disney has told her that she can work with the writer Don DaGradi (Bradley Whitford) and composers Dick and Bob Sherman (Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak) to decide if she will sell the rights.

The other story revolves around a young Travers (Annie Rose Buckley) as she grows up in Australia. She is very close with her alcoholic father (Colin Farrell) who only wants the best for his young family.

Overall, this film tries too hard to be both emotionally engaging (as with Travers recollections of her father) and hilariously funny (as with Hanks' portrayal of Disney). Also the flashback scenes to Australia, while an interesting insight into this woman's early life, feel disjointed and at times made me confused.

Tom Hanks, who is an actor whom I usually enjoy, didn't really work in the role of Walt Disney. He was very charming, to say the least, as I am sure the real man was, but I felt as though he was playing Tom Hanks as Walt Disney. The film also brushes over some of the more nefarious aspects of the real Walt Disney, but being a family film, I can understand why.

Thompson did an okay job at portraying Travers, but she played the character a tad too cold for my liking. The film ends with a recording of the real Pamela Travers, who although bitchy, you can definitely sense a playfulness in her attitude, whereas Thompson just played the character as mean throughout.

Colin Farrell was excellent as Travers' father. He did a wonderful Australian accent, although sometimes he would slip into his own Irish one. I can overlook this however, as he was playing an Irish Australian. 

My favourite performances came from relatively minor characters. Bradley Whitford (Billy Madison) played the exasperated screenwriter excellently and both Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore) and B.J. Novak (Inglourious Basterds) did a fantastic job. I only felt as though Novak's character could have been fleshed out a little more. Paul Giamatti (Sideways, Barney's Version) was also good as Travers' chauffeur.

Verdict: An enjoyable film that I felt tried a little too hard to both funny and emotional.

August: Osage County

Over the years, I have always wanted to see a classic film when it first arrived at cinemas, be it Pulp Fiction, Taxi Driver or Casablanca. With the release of August: Osage County, I feel as though I have had that opportunity. With a fantastic cast, extremely well written script and superb direction, I find it hard to fault this film.

It follows a family from Oklahoma who have come together for the first time in years because their father Beverly (Sam Shepard) has gone missing. Their mother, Violet (Meryl Streep), is an abrasive woman who is addicted to prescription medication. The three daughters, Barbara, Ivy and Karen (Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis, respectively), each with their own problems, come together to try and comfort their mother.

For a film with a lot going on in terms of story and sub-plots, everything is presented quite clearly and this comes down to Tracy Letts' brilliant script (he also wrote the award-winning play on which the film is based). It's never hard to keep track of everyone's story and every plot element is resolved without being dismissed too quickly.

John Wells direction is also very evocative. He brings out stellar performances from his entire cast and shoots each scene in an extremely planned way. One of the major scenes in the film revolves around a family dinner and it is shot in such a way that the audience is gripped for the entire duration.

The two standout performances come from both Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Streep is amazingly witty, yet at the same time sharp-tounged, as the matriarch of the family. It is definitely a standout role for her in her recent career (even though her recent career has been full of those). Julia Roberts has come a long way from the roles that she played early on (both Runaway Bride and Pretty Woman were terrible in my book). She is excellent as a long suffering daughter who just wants to be done with her family.

Verdict: A fantastic family drama that is surprisingly funny. Stellar performances from both Streep and Roberts.