Review: The Wolf of Wall Street

by. Joe Moss
★★★★

Much to the chagrin of my great friend Trevor, I must admit to everyone that I am most assuredly NOT a huge Marty Scorsese fan, nor am I a Leonardo DiCarprio fan. With that clarification out of the way I must say "The Wolf of Wall Street" IS THE BEST FILM OF 2013 hands down!! The 180 minute run time flies by as though on a cocaine high with a quaalude kicker. After I watched the film, I contemplated returning to the theater to watch it again just to be sure that I hadn't missed anything--it was THAT kind of SPECTACULAR!

The film encompasses the debauchery and pyramid scheming from the yuppie era of the late 80's that has made many of the Wall Street-based millionaires legends. Jordan Belfort (DiCaprio) gets a job at a renowned Wall Street stock brokering firm working for the legendary Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) from who he learns the "three rules" on how to make it in the stock brokering world that is New York of the 80's. Unfortunately, his timing for his career happens to coincide with the crash of 1987--an auspicious beginning to say the least. But this doesn't slow young Belfort down, he rebounds working at a penny-brokerage firm on Long Island--and the rest is history in the making.

Belfort is hugely successful at the pyramid scheme that is penny stock options and builds his new firm--Stratton Oakmont, Inc.--with his newly found business partner, Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill). They take their 50% commissions off the backs of the "garbage men and postal workers" and live large. Belfort lives so large, in fact, that his wife Terese (Cristin Milioti) leaves him and his philandering ways behind once she catches him in the throws of foreplay with the nicknamed 'Duchess of Bay Ridge' (Margot Robbie)--wife number 2. They soon become the toast of the Hamptons as well as the highlight of most of the New York social scene.

As all success stories oft do, there must be a down side to all of this wealth. Both the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the FBI take notice of these loud and obnoxious brokers and ride them for 10 years, lead by Agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler). Finally, as the hammer falls, Belfort is looking at 20 years plus fines for fraud, embezzlement, insider trading, money laundering....and the list goes on and on. Do you think that is enough to stop the money machine that is Jordan Belfort? Well, for this point you will need to go watch the movie for yourself to see because I do not want to give too much more away...

I cannot begin to say how incredible Leonardo DiCaprio is in this film, perhaps the performance of his long career. DiCaprio truly immerses himself into this role and BECOMES Jordan Belfort. I found myself liking, despising, rooting for, and disgusted by his behavior throughout the film. Talk about a roller coaster ride of emotions. I am not sure if Leo has done any (or all) of the drugs that are mentioned in this film, but my hats go off to the portrayal of a man on the edge of a binge and in the throws of the neurological meltdown. I was so emotionally involved at one point during the film, I had to shake my head to remind myself it was 'just a film--' but like a great book, the screenplay drew the audience into the fricassee.

To that end, Terance Winter (mostly know for HBO dramas like the Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire), did an absolutely bang-up job on the adaptation of this book (by Jordan Belfort himself) into the screenplay. Coupled with the very capable cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto (Argo, Brokeback Mountain, Babel), the film transcends generations to truly give the audience a small glimpse of the 80's and 90's for the fabulously wealthy socialites in, and around, Manhattan.

I would be completely remise to not mention the incredible job of multi-Oscar winning editor, Thelma Schoonmaker (Aviator, Shutter Island, The Departed) a long-time Scorsese collaborator. I am not sure how she and Marty were able to do it, but they are rumored to have trimmed approximately 45 minutes from this film. I am not sure HOW or WHERE they trimmed from, but you cannot tell. This movie is SEAMLESS in its transitory flow.

Now, please remember this this movie is RATED R, please do not take your three 12-year-old sons to see this film (as did the guy sitting next to me). There is plenty of nudity and drug abuse to scar a person for life--but then again, that was the 80's and early 90's.

Review: The Spectacular Now

by Trevor Kirkendall
★★★★

“The Spectacular Now” revolves around popular high school senior Sutter Keely (Miles Teller). He’s the self-described life-of-the-party wherever he goes. As the film opens, he’s in a relationship with one of the popular girls at school, Cassidy (Brie Larson). But just like many relationships in high school, it soon ends. This sends Sutter on an all night drinking binge.

He’s discovered the following morning sleeping on the front lawn of someone’s house by Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley). While Sutter may be one of the most popular guys in school, Aimee is one of the most quiet and shy girls. She keeps to herself, reading science fiction books, and doesn’t think too many people notice her. Sutter’s attraction to her couldn’t be more odd. But its not surprising to see why Aimee is attracted to Sutter since he’s so popular. Its not everyday when one goes from thinking they’re not noticed by anyone to catching the attention of Mr. Popular.

The film’s focus isn’t set just on Sutter and Aimee. Their relationship is a large part of the plot, but the film is all about Sutter. He is on camera for the entire duration of the film. We get to know him very well. He’s a slacker who doesn’t really care about school at all. Remember that guy in high school? He’s a party animal, constantly drinking alcohol, which makes him a boarder line alcoholic at the young age of 18. Remember that guy in high school? There’s a lot of familiarity with Sutter’s character.

Sutter likes to talk about living in the “now” and not looking back to the past or looking into the future. This is the mindset of many teenagers. Unfortunately, as many seniors are getting ready to graduate and move on, the “now” mindset is replaced by a hopefulness about the future. Not for Sutter. Even his deadbeat father (Kyle Chandler) shares the “now” mindset. 

“The Spectacular Now” is coming-of-age storytelling at its absolute finest. This film is full of heart and of emotional depth, and its built on such a simplistic premise. Here’s a movie chalk full of all the poignant connections we see in other humans and its only 95 minutes long. It relies only on its characters and its story to draw you in and make that connection.

The screenplay, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber who wrote the brilliant romantic comedy “(500) Days of Summer”, is full of subtle passages of dialogue the drive each scene. It never becomes long or monotonous. Instead, we merely have the honor of following Sutter throughout his final year in high school and seeing how the people in his life shape the outlook of his future. I could view this film a dozen more times and learn something new about these characters with every new viewing. I’ve often said that Bob and Charlotte of Sofia Coppola’s “Lost in Translation” were two of the most realistic characters ever captured in cinema. You can now add Sutter Keely and Aimee Finecky to that list.

But only part of the credit for Sutter and Aimee’s realism can be given to the screenwriters. Director James Ponsoldt (who directed last year’s “Smashed” with Aaron Paul and Mary Elizabeth Winestead) also deserves much credit for being able to bring all the happy and sorrowful moments from the script into the performances of his young cast. Ponsoldt has a keen eye for the depths of human emotion found in the screenplays he directs, and possesses the innate ability to draw the performances he wants from his actors. Keep an eye on him.

The most sensational aspect of this film is without a doubt the performances of Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley. While the screenwriters and the director help create the characters, Teller and Woodley bring them to life and they are so realistic with their portrayals. These are two young performers who have as good of a grasp on their craft as any veteran. Both are mesmerizing to watch.

“The Spectacular Now” is one of the finest films made this year. Its a poignant coming-of-age story and a subtle masterpiece; I loved every single frame of this film. The film is full of all the emotions we experience everyday and is really a solid display of what films can and should be.