New to DVD: The Wolf of Wall Street

Picture the scene, quite literally. You’re sitting down to watch this film that you've heard is nearly three hours long; you expect a slow burner, a slow build up featuring pages and pages of dialogue in true Scorsese style. However low and behold, within three minutes you've seen it all; strippers, marching bands, flying midgets, the works. This is Stratton Oakmont, and this is the riotously magnificent Wolf of Wall Street.

The story covers the rags to riches and back to comparable rags story of Jordan Belfort, a man who was, in his own poetic words “shit out” by Wall Street on Black Monday. Nevertheless, he gets back on the saddle and has soon made his own firm dealing with, and manipulating, what are referred to as ‘penny stocks’. Things escalate and whilst Belfort, Donnie Azoff (Hill) and the rest of his friends are living the high life, they inevitably catch the eye of every financial regulation agency under the sun as well as the FBI. To all intents and purposes, the last hour is a Wolf hunt.

Critics with much more of a sense of morality than me said that this film glorified excess, and that was a bad thing, but I think the opposite. The parties and antics the characters get up to are hedonistic to the extreme, and you never see the lives that these brokers undeniably destroyed. However, when you take it for what it is, it’s impossible to not enjoy this film. DiCaprio as Belfort is majestic, with all the superficiality of Jay Gatsby and the immorality of a common crook you shouldn't like him, but he’s so overwhelmingly charismatic that he’s just a joy to watch. The speeches that he gives on the trading floor are inspirational to say the least (the “nobility in poverty” speech is incredible) and when you couple that with the excellent comedy throughout it does create what talent show contestants would refer to as an ‘emotional roller-coaster’.  You go from the heights of comedy to the emotional depths of a man whose crown is slipping at the end – which in turn perhaps conjures up the most shocking scenes.

First and foremost this is a comedy, and it delivers throughout. It ranges from slapstick humour (usually Hill) to cutting wordplay. The support cast supply most of the laughs, with Hill on fine form in particular. However the small role of Mathew Mconaughey as Mark Hanna is quite brilliant. He, in just 5 minutes or so reflects the utterly insane nature of Wall Street and gives the young Belfort a glimpse into the future. There’s enough flesh on show to make Game of Thrones look like prudish, particularly coming from the stunningly incredible Naomi (Margot Robbie), and enough narcotics to make Heisenberg blush. Throughout you get the feeling that all of Belfort’s bravado is there to stick the proverbial two fingers up to the Street that dashed his dreams and in another pair of hands that could get repetitive; not Scorsese’s and DiCaprio’s.

The film is long, no doubt about it, but the pace of the action doesn't make it feel boring or drawn out. A few scenes are perhaps a bit too wordy and long, however the overall picture flows beautifully. It’s one of the bravest films to come out of Hollywood ever, a glamorisation of all of the vices and financial immorality that has caused a stir even as recently as the 2007/8 crash. But overall, you will love the antihero, you will marvel at the decadence, you will howl (get it) with laughter and finally you will find yourself uncontrollably humming and banging your chest for weeks to come. AWOOOOO.

92/100

The Amazing Spiderman 2

To all intents and purposes, this is the fifth outing for Spiderman in recent years, as Sam Raimi’s trilogy had barely gathered any dust by the time the reboot came along in 2012. Clearly, the director, Marc Webber, is trying to up the ante this time round, filling the film with more action and more ‘baddies’ than the predecessor. Although at time these juggling balls may drop, the overall picture is one that is freshly entertaining.

So, Spidey is now inevitably the most famous Spider-human cross breed in the World (Not the hardest accolade, but still). He’s web slinging his way around town and is naturally attracting public adoration and media scorn, whilst still trying to maintain his relationship with Gwen (Stone). When saving the lovably nerdy Max Dillon (Foxx) on one of his escapades, you’d think he’d be grateful, but, when Dillon accidently dices with death he becomes the main villain of the piece; Electro. The shady Oscorp gets a new owner, none other than Peter Parker’s (Garfield) oldest friend Harry Osborn (DeHaan). However this isn’t perhaps the reunion Pete was hoping for and it sets Harry on his way to becoming yet another villain. The high voltage finale brings all three players together for a battle royale, but in turn leaves the door wide open for the sequel, due in 2016.

It seems only right to start with what makes this film live up to its title; amazing. The whole look and tone of the film is somewhat lighter than the Avengers canon, yet just as enjoyable as a spectacle overall.  The action sequences are much more vibrant than say Captain America, but that doesn’t make them look less impressive or less realistic. The whole tone reflects the franchise’s Comic Book origins which in turn makes its fresh and bouncy. At the centre of it is the incredibly charismatic Garfield playing the lead role. It may seem obvious, but the film is at its best when he is on screen. His chemistry with real-life girlfriend Emma Stone as Gwen is constantly fizzing and thoroughly entertaining. This is certainly a character who is more comfortable in their own suit as it were and it really shows. He strikes the balance between cockiness and geekiness brilliantly and really dictates the pace of the film when he’s on screen. The depth added to the story at the start of the film is worthwhile and gives you a bit of context and meaning as to why Peter was abandoned by his parents all those years ago.

However, not everything in the film is as enjoyable. The middle section feels slightly bloated and fleets between story lines in the vague hope that we’ll tie up the loose ends. The two villains are both good, but you perhaps lack a degree of empathy with them, which makes them lack depth. Don’t get me wrong, both Foxx and DeHaan do superbly with the content that they've got, with DeHaan really growing into the sinister role of the Green Goblin that was so brilliantly executed by Willem Dafoe in the first of the Raimi trilogy, but they sometimes fall foul of an erratic script that tries to cover too much ground too quickly. On occasion the score for the film and choice of music is slightly off putting at best and irritating at worst. The use of classical music in the Electro-testing scene seems completely bizarre and that particular scene is made even worse by the most comically clichéd evil German doctor I've seen. (Seriously, they may as well have put a swastika on his breast pocket and be done with it). That one gripe aside, and the rest is perfectly enjoyable, with most of the highlights coming at the start and at the climax of the film.  

Therefore, this second instalment averts complete villain overload and in the main is incredibly enjoyable. The format isn’t your typical superhero film which is something that certainly deserves a lot of credit. The ending gives the franchise a lot of room for manoeuvre; Spiderman has room to grow even more, and is a changed hero by the end of the film, whilst the growing supervillains club is receiving applications left, right and centre. It’s certainly worth a watch and although it’s not perfect, there’s enough ‘amazing’ in it to justify the title. 

83/100

2nd Time Lucky: 5 Sequels That Are Better Than the Original (No.2)

2 – The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

The Plot: The Fellowship is broken after the events of the first film and the story follows the path of the three, now separate, groups. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli have entered Rohan, a sprawling kingdom ruled by a King whose mind isn’t his own. Merry and Pippin are trying to escape their Uruk-Hai captors and Frodo and Sam are moving ever closer to Mordor with the help of the shady Gollum. All of this culminates in a barnstorming battle at Helms Deep, an Entish insurrection at Isengard and the obliteration of Osgiliath.

Why is it Better? A few weeks ago I argued that The Hobbit’s second adventure was much better for being ‘Ringsier’ in tone and I feel that this film defined the mood and feel of the trilogy more than the ‘Fellowship’ did. ‘The Two Towers’ was a benchmark, in a similar vein to Star Wars’ ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, and became a checklist for what films in Middle Earth should resemble. The separate plot lines offer a richer narrative, and whilst I do agree that I much preferred seeing the Three Musketeers getting Medieval with the bad guys to the ever-so-slightly melt-ish character of Frodo whining about his mission, the complete package is balanced perfectly. 

There’s enough clashing imagery and subtle allegory to make an English Teacher get hot under the collar. However let’s set one thing straight, this film is brilliant because it offers action scenes that have seldom been repeated in terms of downright awesomeness. Helms Deep is one of the best set pieces in cinema in my opinion, with a monumental scale peppered with heroism, loss and a layer of humour that is always amusingly ridiculous. Who would have thought that using a shield as a surfboard or chucking a Dwarf across a gorge could be so engaging? That’s not to say that the acting isn’t top notch as well; Théoden’s speech before the battle is positively Shakespearean and there is a sense of danger for the main characters throughout which makes this film more compelling than the first. The fact that teenagers like myself are still just as enthusiastic about this film as they were when it came out almost 12 years ago (yes, 12 whole years), suggests that Jackson’s formula was so entertaining that it has ensured that this film doesn’t just go down as an epic, but also a classic of modern cinema.