The Wolf of Wall Street

The Wolf of Wall Street
(2013) [Trailer]
Director: Martin Scorsese [IMDB]

Who doesn't love a good Scorsese flick? I'm sure haters are out there, but screw those people. The man is a legend and for good reason. He directed Taxi Driver, which gets him a pass on anything for the rest of his life, good thing he doesn't need it, because he's still cranking out the hits.

Synopsis: TWOWS focuses on Jordan Belfort, a man who came from modest means then rose to become one of the most wealthy men on Wall Street.

The Wolf of Wall Street is a slam dunk and will absolutely make my top ten for the year. If you are a fan of Goodfellas or Casino, you're going to love this installment into the Scorsese universe. It fits in with those titles, but unlike them, delivers way more comedy than I thought I was going to get. Maybe if Goodfellas and After Hours hooked up and made a film baby, you be somewhere near The Wolf.  It's one of the funniest movies I've seen in awhile, but it's also raunchy and messed up as well. When I say messed up... there is lots of nudity, drugs, profanity and things that would bum your folks out... but it felt fitting for the story and the characters.

Speaking of story and characters, those are the main gears that run this film and both are solid. The story is almost unbelievable and the characters within it seem too insane to be real. Whether or not Scorsese embellished on those things doesn't matter, he sells them in a absurd and entertaining way that kept me buckled up for the whole trip. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill gave their best performances of any film I've ever seen them in and there were also a ton of unexpected casting choices that I enjoyed.

The Wolf of Wall Street was a winner in my book and a film I'd love to revisit again. If you're a fan of Scorsese it's a must.

After Hours

After Hours
(1985) [Trailer]
Director: Martin Scorsese (IMDB)

Synopsis: A Manhattanite has the night of his life when he travels down to SoHo to meet up with a girl he barely knows anything about.

This is one of Scorsese's lesser known titles but still should not be disregarded. Actually no Scorsese film should be. I actually quite enjoyed this film and thought it was a unique addition to his filmography. It almost plays out like an episode of Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm where one event plays into another and then you get the callbacks later into the story. It stars the guy from American Werewolf in London and he was pretty decent, you also have cameos by Kevin's parents from the classic... HOME ALONE! There's nothing really earth shattering here, just a really solid film that's pretty entertaining.

Hugo

Hugo
(2011) [Trailer]
Director: Martin Scorsese (IMDB)

After my initial viewing of Hugo last year it secured a seat at number 5 in my top ten of 2011. I will tell you now, I love (sorry Justin) this film and after my second viewing, that outlook has only been solidified. Hugo's like a fine Bordeaux or fine ass honey! However you wanna look at it.

Hugo is as orphan living in the Montparnasse Rail Station in Paris. He stays behind the walls and keeps the clocks of the station in working order. He's a secretive little bastard and gets into a bit of trouble. I don't wanna spoil too much, so I'll leave it at that.

This film is visually perfect in my opinion. The cinematography is stunning and there are shots in this that I can't even begin to wrap my head around. I read that the opening long tracking shot into the station took a year to shoot and was put together with over 1000 computers... craziness. The special effects, set pieces, costumes, and score are all fantastic as well. I have heard a lot of people say this movie showcases Martin Scorsese's love of cinema, and I would say that would be accurate, but it also does a great job telling an interesting mystery while serving tribute. Sorry... I can't think of anything I don't like about this movie.

It just came out on blu-ray and honestly, that's the only way I would recommend watching this. Peep the trailer HERE.