Wolf of Wall Street

Wolf of Wall Street

This picture exceeded my expectations. The movie trailers give the impression that the financial crisis is trivialized by a bunch of self centered unethical egotists. These guys are in the movie, but the film is more than mere shallowness and greed. It is a story of self destruction and stupidly of ambitious people. Martin Scorsese directed a great ensemble of actors for this entertaining movie. 

Leonardo DiCaprio is outstanding. Wolf’s character is a rollercoaster of emotion. He is the consummate salesman searching for next hustle and his next high. He is a cocaine addict, an alcoholic and an indiscriminate fornicator. Animal House has nothing on the Wolf. The level of debauchery depicted in this movie would make an Etruscan blush. DiCaprio’s characterization of Wolf is the polar opposite of his performance of the Great Gatsby. This is the mark of a great actor.

The company he started is basically a boiler room with high pressure salesmen churning commissions.  He is the leader of this frat house where morality is checked at the door. The manic highs eventually give way to crushing lows and paranoia when the good times cease. DiCaprio plays the bad equally well with the good. There are some scenes played unintentionally funny. If you re offended by sex scenes you will be very offended.

Margot Robbie is wife number two. Her stunning beauty is complemented by a delightful Brooklyn accent that some men find sexy (not bad for an Aussie). Their marriage tumbles from hot sex to bellicose fights. Her beauty belies tenacity and toughness to the chagrin of Wolf.

Jonah Hill basically disappoints. He is the co-founder of the company run by DiCaprio. He does not do much until the end of the movie. Hill plays the same character in all his movies. He plays the winey chubby under achiever who gets trounced reaching for an uncertain goals. Jonah Hill did not leave a mark on this movie.

It was a treat  seeing Rob Reiner in an acting role. He is now a famous director, but in the day he was the lovable Meat Head from the sit com All in the Family. His comic talents have not diminished.  Eventhough his role was brief he provided some laughs as the Wolf’s father. 

Jean Dujardin (silent film The Artist) played the role of a sleazy Swiss Banker (French Swiss). He was very funny and funnier when he spoke only French. If he continues appearing in American movies he can be our modern Maurice Chevalier.

Is The Wolf of Wall Street a microcosm of the financial crisis of 2007? Maybe. Wolf’s people are the bottom of a crowded scum barrel.  They eviscerated customers for the commission. Would it be nice to say in the end Wolf got what he deserved? See the movie and find out.

p.s.- Bathroom alert, the movie is one minute short of three hours.

12 Years a Slave

This is a great and brutal movie. The whippings, lynchings, chains and rapes are all true. The story is based on the protagonist’s, Solomon Northup, own writings of his ordeal as a kidnapped freeman sold into slavery. To some extent we are familiar with slavery but the graphic depictions of cruelty and dehumanization are shocking. A comparable modern situation would be the Nazi concentration camps.

All the components of this film make it a great story. The lead and supporting actors were essential to the film. The two pillars of this movie are Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender. Ejiofor is the slave, Solomon Northup, and Fassbender the slave owner Edwin Epps.

Ejiofor transitions from the bewilderment of being kidnapped to subcoming to the reality of being a slave and assuming a new persona. Even in his subjugation he hopes to gain his freedom. The strongest lashes do not break his will. Ejiofor’s acting is visceral; Solomon’s pain etches Ejiofor’s face.

Michael Fassbender is brilliant. His acting arch is formitable. His characters span from Dr. Jung in A Dangerous Method, to Magnito in the X Men movies to a sex addict in Shame. As Edwin Epps he is a sadistic psychopath who indulges in cruelty and degradation.  Epps has a singular dislike for Solomon and beats him at every opportunity. Fassbender acting was intense with sweat pouring down his face and veins popping on his neck from screaming at his slaves. He is frightingly convincing in his role.

There are other excellent performances. Paul Dano, as John Tibeats an overseer, plays his usual understated role. What belies his passive façade is a meanness based on jealousy and revenge. Solomon is a target of his ire. Dano gives a sheepishly cowardly performance.

Paul Giamatti is the dapper slave trader. His approach to selling slaves is akin to a stud bull auction. He shows the white teeth of the slaves and slaps the males on the chest as if beating a taut drum. He is totally dispassionate in his negations and has no computation to split families for the best return. He is as repulsive as he is well dressed.

Brad Pitt makes a brief appearance. In the story his character is very important, but his air time is humblingly short.

There are other wonderful actors such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Alfe Woodward. The script was focused and even the brief flashbacks worked. This is a tough graphic movie but the acting and the story make it worth seeing.

 

The Hunger Games- Catching Fire

 

Since this film is bullet proof my critique will just bounce off. This is the second installment of a trilogy (I think). From the inflated box office this movie has crossover appeal beyond the book’s devotees. It is a fast paced action film with a female leading star as the main protagonist which is rare in today’s cinema.

The story has two things going on, the nascent rebellion and the hunger games. These two events are related since the contestants of the Hunger Games are involved in the rebellion. From the movies perspective the parts do not complement each other. For now the contestants are more contestants than rebels. The games seem to be less brutal than the first movie; more contestants die off with a canon boom rather than being eviscerated on the big screen.

Jennifer Lawrence is a versatile actress (only 23 years old) who can go from playing a manic depressive to a dead eyed archer.  Acting as Katniss Everdeen is not too demanding; basically she is a super hero and that is usually uncomplicated. She does have some vulnerability, but she prevails with lethal effect. Lawrence has an athletic body which she uses to play the role. The Hunger Games are fast paced and unforgiving; there were some interesting killing scenes.  

Josh Hutcherson plays Katniss’s partner, Peeta Mallark in the games. His emotional range is limited to two facial expressions, stern and not too stern. As the forlorn love interest his bleakness serves him well.

It is refreshing to see Woody Harrelson playing a role other than a homicidal maniac. As the quasi alcoholic mentor to Katniss and Peeta, he keeps them alive during the games. Compared to his other demanding roles this was a cake walk for him.

Donald Sutherland plays evil President Snow with his usual languid performance.  His grandfatherly persona complete with white beard, belies atrocities he willingly inflicts. Sutherland’s air time is limited but his role is pivotal.

 Stanly Tucci plays the most annoying obnoxious TV host ever. Tucci has a rich resume of characters but as Caesar Flickerman he is over the top (in acting and in wardrobe). Caesar sells lies to his Capital audience.

This a great franchise for the stockholders and the audiences. Aside from the unique ways of killing people the script does not break new grounds. History is replete with true stories of resistance fighters sans stunt men.

Amour (2012)

We saw Amour, a French film, on DVD. It is a tender and devastating film. An octogenarian couple played by Jean-Louis Trintignant as Georges Laurent and Emmanuelle Riva as Anne Laurent, who are former music teachers living in Paris. This movie portends the good and bad awaiting us.

The performance of Emmanuelle Riva is amazing. After suffering a stroke she transforms herself from a vibrant woman to a bedridden invalid. Great acting is in the details. With a crooked hand and lop sided mouth she captures the nuances of a stroke victim. She makes these limitations into assets. Her pain is audible even if she cannot speak. Her physical deterioration does not diminish her will to the consternation of her husband.

As the care giver her husband keeps his promise not to return her to the hospital. His tender care becomes more challenging with her deteriorating condition. His burden depletes his health and mind. He shuffles in his rambling apartment visited by a stray pigeon and an absent daughter. Both the pigeon and daughter leave. Even with these tribulations their marriage is enviable.

Georges commits an act of desperation. This deed has to be viewed through the prism of love before judgment can be made. Whatever we think we will do in the future depends on circumstances beyond our control. Let’s hope at that time we will be holding hands with our loved ones.

Thor: The Dark World

This was an entertaining movie. It had the requisite battles to destroy and/ or save the universe; fighting against hideous creatures with dark powers. For sci-fi fans this type of apocalyptic battle is the de rigueur. What makes this movie work is the chemistry of the cast. The audience buys into them. Twirling the hammer is fun to watch, but do you like the guy at the other end of the handle?

The other guy at the end of the handle is Chris Hemsworth, a worthwhile addition to the Australian acting roster working in American cinema: Hugh Jackman, Sam Worthington, Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee) and others. He plays Thor with both graveness and a human touch. Hemsworth is most appealing when he is not using his Thor voice and just doing human things like asking for directions to a train station. His relationship with Natalie Portman’s character is heating up and this will take us to the next sequel. Maybe there will be little Thor’s?

Natalie Portman is an actress with credentials (Black Swan, V for Vendetta, Garden State and other movies); it was a surprise to see her in the first Thor movie. This is light duty for her, but with the reduced voltage she is integrating herself well with the cast. She is Thor’s main squeeze and they work well together.

Antony Hopkins should pay the producers for letting him play Odin. He is having too much fun to call this work. His one eyed glare rules over Thor and Loki. Hopkins was such a ham he could be served at a Thanksgiving dinner.

I cannot say that Loki is likable, because he is despicable, but he is an indispensable part of the landscape. Thor without Loki is like a hot dog without mustard. Not to give anything away Loki is an integral part of the story and there is chemistry, even if it is corrosive.

Darcy Lewis, as played by Kat Dennings, is the film’s second banana. She has more air time in this movie than the first (thank goodness for focus groups). She serves up many funny lines. She is still an intern in this movie, but she has an intern who will likely be the third banana at some point.

There are other notable actors who make up Thor’s merry men and a merry woman. It was nice to see Renee Russo on the screen again (she plays Thor’s Mom).

The movie is the whole of its parts. Let’s hope the producers keep these Lego blocks together.

N.B.-DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL THE CREDITS ARE FINISHED!!

Dallas Buyers Club

My impression of Matthew McConaughey was of a light weight actor doing romantic comedies and at every opportunity taking off his shirt showing off his jacked body and PhotoShopped abbs. Recently his acting credentials improved with pictures like Lincoln Lawyer and Magic Mike. As Ron Woodroof, McConaughey ups his game. His acting in this role is memorable. The anger and desperation which McConaughey projects is palatable. Ron Woodroof is in a life and death struggle and McConaughey is pitch perfect portraying Woodroof’s tenacity to live. The physical challenge of the role required McConaughey to lose 50 pounds (so much for my acting career).

Woodroof is diagnosed with AIDS and in 80’s treatment of AIDS was embryonic and basically a gamble. Ron is given a short time to live by his doctors which he rejects telling them to go f__k themselves (this was before Obmacare). Ron appears to be a womanizing alcoholic cocaine drug user, which he was. But he was smart and very well organized and proceeds to get drugs from outside of the US which are not FDA approved. His battle with the FDA is one of the feel good moments of the film.

Woodroof is a homophobe, but he puts his emotions in check when he accepts that gays are lucrative clients.  A center piece of the movie is Woodroof’s relationship with Rayon, a transgender woman played by Jared Lato. The relationship goes from repulsion to acceptance to commitment. Jared Lato is outstanding in this role. Any actor can put on a dress; the trick is to make the audience see beyond the dress. Lato portrays Rayon’s hopelessness with sad eyes, an emaciated body and cheap make up. Lato’s weight he lost for the role is alarming. I think an Oscar nomination is justified here.

Another character is played by Jennifer Garner, one of Woodroof’s doctors.  She plays the role with limited emotion, but she does use the F word, once. She did a good job but this was not a transformative role for her.  Then there is Steve Zahn who plays the Ron’s cop buddy. Zahn does not have much air time and the role is pedestrian but he is sincere and he is always fun to watch.

The last scene is a very poignant metaphor for the movie. Don’t miss it.

p.s.-This is a true story.

Ender’s Game

The premise  of  Ender’s Game is children (12-15 years old) can process information quicker than adults and their gaming prowess teaches them valuable tactical skills. This makes them the ideal soldiers for future battles. The concept of children soldiers is not unique; it goes back to David and today exists in the battle fields of Africa.

The problem with Ender’s Game is Ender, he is the best. He is told in the beginning of the movie that he is the best. In every situation, be it a school test or a battle simulation, the outcome is no surprise. His ascent in military rank is without obstacle.  Ender is two dimensional. His character would be more interesting if he had to overcome failures. Redemption makes for good story telling; people relate.

Asa Butterfield (the kid in Hugo) plays Ender placidly punctuated with some lively periods of homicidal rage. His performance is functional but not memorable. The other child actors are perfunctionary. There is a transition from hostility of his fellow cadets (no one liked Ender in the beginning) to comradery which coalesced into his squadron.

The adults are Harrison Ford, Viola Davis and Sir Ben Kingsley. The megawatt star power in this movie is wasted. None of their roles was demanding or required any acting range. Even big stars need to pay the bills. Harrison Ford is the colonial in charge of the academy for the young soldiers. In this movie he is the angry Harrison Ford. He is humorless and demanding, a scowl is his mask. Viola Davis is Major Anderson, the psychiatrist. For most of the movie you only see shots of her from the waist up, this is a metaphor for wasted talent. In this movie she does not need to dig deep for emotions.

Ben Kingsley shows up towards the end of the movie as a legendary pilot. The meaning of his New Zealand Maori face tattoos eludes me. He just looks ridicules. To save money they could have hired Mike Tyson for the role and saved money on make-up.

Three quarters into the movie it gets interesting. May be it’s my age but I did not expect it (I am sure all the video brats out there are making fun of me). The ending is hokey and clearly a set up for a sequel (doubtful).

If you are into Sci-Fi go see it, if not put it on your Netflix wish list… maybe not.