The Wolf of Wall Street

Now we finish off 2013 with a film that almost didn't make it to 2013. It's The Wolf of Wall Street, an utterly insane display of rich men behaving badly.

Martin Scorsese's comedy of excess is about Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker also known as "The Wolf of Wall Street." Belfort also wrote a book of that title, from which Terence Winter's screenplay is derived from. For this movie, Belfort is played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Belfort begins his Wall Street career in a firm which falls on Black Monday. He joins a minuscule firm and makes a fortune selling penny stocks. He starts his own firm, Stratton Oakmont, and becomes filthy rich. And by filthy rich, I mean filthy and rich.

Belfort makes a fortune manipulating the trust of naive buyers. He does so with the help of right-hand Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill) and his Brain Trust of Wall Street movers. Stratton Oakmont revels in debauchery; but then, FBI man Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler) gets on the case.

And imagine all this going on for one minute short of three hours (that it ran longer at first was why its release date was in doubt).

As Belfort, DiCaprio also narrates the film ala Henry Hill in Scorsese's Goodfellas. His narration lets us know what kind of guy he is: not a good one. He's greedy, manipulative, a drug-user and treats people around him like dirt. The film doesn't hide his amoralism at all. At the very least, the film doesn't want you to accept him as a role model.

Scorsese's constant editor Thelma Schoonmaker contributes to this presentation well. In one scene, Belfort drives home high out of his mind seemingly without a scratch. A few scenes later, we see that's not the case. Belfort saves Donnie from choking in-between those scenes by getting high on cocaine ... punctuated to a Popeye cartoon! Overall, the film plays the effects of drug use for laughs.

The Wolf of Wall Street is an extreme morality play about the insanity of Greed. And it gets to the point rather well. Whether or not you can stand this movie depends on whether or not you can stand a three hour display of debauchery. Just know what you're getting yourself into before you go.

All is Lost

Rub-a-dub-dub,
Robert Redford in a tub

Is that all we need to see?

That pretty much explains All is Lost, starring Robert Redford and only Robert Redford and written and directed by J.C. Chandor (Margin Call).

Robert Redford is "Our Man" (No, really. That's what the credits call him!). He's off sailing the Indian Ocean on his yacht, the Virginia Jean. One day it hits an errant shipping container. He patches it up as best he can. He tries to radio for help. Then the ship sinks in bad weather. Now, he's on a life raft...

I was a few steps away from describing the entire movie. Literally. There are only about four instances of dialogue in the entire movie. The rest of it is just action.

Redford as "Our Man" seems like someone who thought he could take on the world. But being out in the Ocean proved him disastrously wrong. And now his own determinism is tested. I think.

Unfortunately, the film's minimalist approach detached me from the experience of his survival. We know nothing of "Our Man" and no reason to care about his survival or death. Now that's a problem.

The standout is actually composer Alex Ebert. His score suits the film's intended mood quite well. Also of note are cinematographer Frank G. DeMarco's view of the Ocean, the whole sound designer team and visual effects crew. Those aspects make one feel like they're really out in the Ocean.

All Is Lost would make a good short subject. But at 100 minutes, it tests the patience of its viewer. Whether or not you enjoy it depends on your ability to be invested in Robert Redford's performance. And I hope you have a more invested time than me.

Saving Mr. Banks

And now for another film about movie history. This one is Saving Mr. Banks. Even if it's not 100 percent accurate, you'll still enjoy the results on-screen.

In 1906, Helen Lyndon Goff (Annie Rose Buckley) lived in Australia with her alcoholic, yet loving father Travers (Colin Farrell). By 1961, she's become P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), forever identified as the creator of Mary Poppins. And no less than Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) wants the film rights to her story. He's been trying for twenty years to do this and with P.L. needing the cash, she finally agrees to visit him to give her input.

Her strict demands for the film drive the creative team up the wall. Everything from the animated scenes to the Sherman Brothers' eventual Oscar-winning music earns her direct criticism. Meanwhile, back in the past, Travers Goff, a failed banker, deteriorates and the strict Aunt Ellie (Rachel Griffiths) comes to help. Once he realizes her story is her story, Disney finally finds the way to get her to say yes.

Emma Thompson is what makes the movie great. As Travers, she 's uptight, often to a comical degree, yet we see she's been wounded by her past. It's delightful to see her finally hum along to "Let's go fly a kite," and it's scary to see her snap upon mention of cartoon penguins. One can easily understand why she'd be so protective of her story.

The other members of the cast also do well. As the Sherman Brothers, Jason Schwartzman and B.J. Novak are great scene-stealers. On a more serious note, Colin Farrell as Travers Goff is a sympathetic portrayal of a man whom one might not sympathize with. And as Disney himself, Tom Hanks brings out the best of the man's image as a warm mogul.

In real life, Travers was utterly displeased with the results of the finished film. But this film sugarcoats her reception to it a little bit. Saving Mr. Banks mixes comedy and drama quite well; it's so uplifting that one can forgive the liberties taken. If anything, it should hopefully renew interest in not just the 1964 film, but the original books as well.

American Hustle

Some films like to think that they're historically accurate when they're not. American Hustle is a rare breed of film that admits "some of this actually happened." And we're thankful that it exists.

It's 1978 and Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) is a con-man by necessity. His partner in crime is Sydney (Amy Adams), aka "Lady Edith Greensly." Together, they run a dry-cleaner racket. They're found out by FBI man Richard DiMaso (Bradley Cooper), but they're spared from jail time. Instead, DiMaso offers them clemency if they help him bust corrupt politicians with their con-games.

They thus establish the real-life Abscam scheme. In this scheme, Rosenfeld entices crooked politicals with promises of business from a wealthy "Arab Sheik." Their first target is Camden mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner), who hopes to use his Mafia connections to revive Atlantic City. But the operation starts to go awry when Irving and Carmine become buddies. Meanwhile, Irving's much-younger wife Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence) inadvertently almost blows her husband's cover.

David O'Russell's latest film opens with the sight of a bald, paunchy Irving. From then on, we know that this film is out to have fun with history. And indeed, the film has plenty of laugh-out loud moments. Some of the story was a bit hard to follow, especially in explaining the operation's schematics. But the fogginess of the plot doesn't detract from its jovial sense of humor.

As usual, David O'Russell has a great cast assembled together. They're a perfectly-cast and entertaining ensemble of actors. Among them was Renner as Carmine, a real nice guy; I was wondering through-out just how he was even corrupt. But less ambiguous is Louis C.K. as DiMaso's long suffering boss.

It's a stylish trip to the 70's. Michael Wilkinson's costumes stand-out as much as the (hopefully will be Oscar-nominated) makeup and hair people. They go so well in establishing the film's outlandish take on history. The oldies in the soundtrack, as well as Danny Elfman's original score, are very welcome here.

American Hustle is an hilarious entry into the Oscar race. It's always nice to have films like this among the year's best. It maybe foggy at times, but it's certainly not a cheat.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Last year's epic The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was only part of a minuscule book and it felt like it. This year's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is where director Peter Jackson's adaptation expansion gets better.

Once again, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), his band of dwarves, and their Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) are on their way to reclaim the Mountain Kingdom of Erebor, and its massive treasure, from the dragon Smaug.

They have to get to the Mountain by the "last light" of Autumn or all is lost. But the evil Orcs want them dead. The Elves also hate them for some reason. The seemingly dead Sauron is raising an army of evil to take over the world. And yes, there's Smaug, who finally appears in (digital) person with the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch.

That's pretty much it. And it takes about three hours to tell. Though it's slightly shorter than its predecessor.

It holds up the attention span pretty well since it has more of a plot than its predecessor. Its visual effects set pieces are amazing, particularly the encounter and battle with Smaug. Another great scene was one where Bilbo and the Dwarves ride barrels down a river. A few shots though were jarringly out-of-place in that scene because they looked like they were shot from a security camera!

A few objections. One: the Elves' feud with the Dwarves is barely given a reason. Two: it ends on so obvious a cliffhanger. That last part deflates so many plot points, such as the eventual fate of one of the dwarves.

This Hobbit is much better than the last because it feels closer to the end. It's more like "stuff happens for a reason" than "stuff happens." This should keep film-goers at ease a bit until the end comes next year in The Hobbit: There and Back Again.

Philomena

It's one thing to have an old lady gush about Big Momma's House. But when she's Judi Dench as Philomena, the title character of director Stephen Frears' new real life story, it's really fun to watch.

Anyway, the story is from the nonfiction Book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by BBC reporter Martin Sixsmith, who's also a character here. He's played by Steve Coogan, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jeff Pope.

Sixsmith starts out the film having lost his position as a political adviser. He wants to write the umpteenth book about Russian history, but he's pointed into the direction of Philomena Lee.

Lee, as a teenager, had a baby boy named Anthony out of wedlock. She was sent off to an Abbey as "penance" for her "sin." The cruel Nuns adopted out her son against her will. Ever since then, she's been looking for him.

Sixsmith decides to help her out. Their quest goes from Ireland to Washington D.C. Some folks are helpful. Some are not. They'll just have to be prepared when the quest takes an unexpected turn.

Dench's performance as Philomena is what makes the movie what it is. She's an enjoyable, sympathetic character all the way through. She's overly-polite, but it's always worth a chuckle, not irritating (at least to those around her). She eventually forgives those who wronged her, an act which shows her admirable personal strength.

Cinematographer Robbie Ryan shows us some great shots of the Irish Countryside and Washington D.C. But the real star of the crew is composer Alexander Desplat. Desplat's score is one of his most memorable and is easily one of the year's best.

Philomena is not manipulative in the least. It's simply a well-told story about a woman coming to terms with her past. Even if it's ending is not what you might expect, you'll feel good about what does happen.