The Wolf of Wall Street

Expectations:

If a film can work the words "Wall Street" into its name, there is a darn good chance that I'm going to get excited about it, and The Wolf of Wall Street had the two words, plus a great cast and big time Oscar buzz. I mean, rarely do movies come along that can fulfill my desires for a film and feature sophisticated financial gab. Even more rarely (in fact, never before) do those movies feature one of my favorite actors, Mr. Jonah Hill. No man can carry an entire movie for three hours, which I knew would make Hill's role as Donnie Azoff extremely important in the determination of judgement for the lead, Jordan Belfort (played by Leonardo DiCaprio). Although I hate to sound like a broken record, DiCaprio is but a mediocre actor, in my opinion, and I can't understand why people are upset about his lack of an Oscar win. The Wolf of Wall Street had a lot going for it, but I wasn't completely sold. So, I figured I better go watch and see for myself...

Plot:

Drugs, Sex, Money... There really isn't too much more to say! 

Was the story interesting? Yes... But, after three hours of extravagance and blatant immorality, I could not wait for the movie to end! On top of that, there was very little financial gab, which really made me mad. In fact, on one occasion, Belfort began to explain what an IPO was, as he talked to the camera, but, after a few sentences, he noted that no one really cared what he was talking about. At that point, I wanted to jump up in the theater and yell "I CARE!!!!!... PLEASE TALK ABOUT IT!!!!!" It just frustrated the crap out of me, because my expectations were gradually plummeting, as they journeyed along for three full hours. I may sound discouraging, but there were some very hilarious moments and great performance... The story just wasn't for me.

Characters:

While The Wolf of Wall Street, as a whole, may not have been my favorite, the actors' performances really blew me away. From Leonardo DiCaprio, as the lead, to the smaller roles, played by Henry Zebrowski and P.J. Byrne, the cast was spot on. The extravagance and blatant immorality (which I previously denounced) allowed for some intense performances that provided many laughs and exciting moments that had me quite impressed.

Negatives:

The only real negative that I found was Kyle Chandler's FBI agent, Patrick Denham, who just couldn't quite pull off the emotions that I believe he was supposed to be displaying. I'm not sure, though, because I could never tell what he was feeling or thinking or anything. If he would have been cut out of the film, it would have gone along just as well.

Positives:

There were so many outstanding performances that it is very hard to narrow this down to a small section, but I will try my best. First, although his screen time was very, very limited, Matthew McConaughey's Mark Hanna was absolutely great. In fact, he was the only one who really had anything to say about the financial markets and how to take advantage of them, and, on top of that, he was quite a cutup. Second, Jonah Hill, who is one of my favorite actors, blew me away, yet again, as he continues to prove his versatility. Hopefully, Hill will merit a second Oscar nom for this performance. I'm certainly going to be cheering him on. Finally, the main man, Leonardo DiCaprio, gave what I believe to be his greatest performance to date. I've never been a huge DiCaprio fan, but with this performance, along with his amazing role in Django Unchained, DiCaprio looks to be headed in the right direction. He certainly put everything he had into this film and is deserving of any recognition that he may receive.

Conclusion:

NEWS FLASH: Leo is going to have to wait one more year for his first Oscar, as 12 Years a Slave begins to overcome the awards season. Regardless, it was nice to be impressed by a performance of his, and the entire cast was quite impressive. Unfortunately, the length and mass of rediculousness failed to accent the great performances, which was quite disappointing. I have been waiting for The Wolf of Wall Street for quite some time, making it's mediocrity a tough pill to swallow. I know that many folks really enjoyed the film, so don't let my comments discourage you completely. If you have three hours to sit there and watch people pop pills and rob people, The Wolf of Wall Street will be the perfect film for you. For the rest of you, go watch Walter Mitty (no pills or robbing) or American Hustle (no pills, plenty of robbing). I give The Wolf of Wall Street 2.71 out of 5 stars.

Horrible Bosses

Expectations:
With the disappointment that was Bad Teacher having come and gone, I longed for a new movie that would simply just make me laugh. Jason Bateman is absolutely not funny in my opinion, so his being in the lead role certainly turned me off. Nobody in the cast of Horrible Bosses really excited me, but the trailers for the film cracked me up, particularly Colin Farrell talking about "Professor Xavier." Also, the entire plot seemed a bit unreal and worried me that I may be once again disappointed by another R rated comedy. People don't just decide to leisurely kill their bosses. Finally, it was between Horrible Bosses and Zookeeper this weekend, which made the choice rather simple. I didn't expect Horrible Bosses to be great, but I just wanted to laugh.

Plot:
As I said the plot seemed unreal to me after watching the trailers, but I think the writers did a pretty good job of carrying out the idea. You could easily tell that these three guys had no freakin clue what they were getting themselves into, and that really helped the plot along. They even needed a "murder consultant" for goodness sakes, and the consultant is one of the greatest parts of the movie, which really surprised me. They really tied the main characters and the bosses together in an unexpected way that I won't ruin for you. The only large gap I found in the plot was Jennifer Anniston's role. It was necessary to have the third lead character and his boss, but her role never tied in with the role of the other two bosses. They basically had to pause the entire movie long enough to fit a scene with her in. It was completely random and useless, especially considering how great her character could have been. I laughed very often at the situations, and really thought the storyline excelled, considering my expectations. I was unable to even predict what was going to happen.

Characters:
As much as I didn't really love any of the three lead actors, I thought they did a fairly good job. I personally would have switched Jason Sudeikis and Jason Bateman's characters. Sudeikis played a sort of man whore, and I personally thought Bateman would have been better in that role, with his more dull attitude. Bateman is one of the least funny comedic actors in Hollywood. If you don't agree with me then he has got you fooled. Kevin Spacey was his normal jerkified self but was a great addition to the cast. Colin Farrell was amazingly hilarious, but he really had very little screen time. I certainly hope to see him playing more funny roles in the near future. As I said Jennifer Anniston was useless, and I didn't quite buy her being such a dirty girl. Surely they could have found someone better (and cheaper) to play the useless part. It was tough to choose the best character, and Jamie Foxx was certainly a close runner-up. His nickname alone cracked me up each and every time, but his role was also a bit too small like Farrell's.

Best Character: Dale, played by Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), was amazingly funny. Bateman may have been the actor that was used to sell this movie, but Day made this movie what it was. His voice alone was enough to keep me laughing. If only Jennifer Anniston had been a better boss.

Worst Character: Kenny Somerfield, played by P.J. Byrne (Dinner for Schmucks), was given very little screen time, which is a VERY good thing. He was one of the most pointless characters in the history of film. I do not at all understand why he even existed, but oh well.

Conclusion:
Very funny movie! I loved the storyline, greatly exceeding expectations. I also loved the characters, which I am still shocked by. Charlie Day made this movie, and I really hope he continues to become a bigger star. Ferrell and Foxx both broke out of their usual roles as more serious actors, and it worked out great. If you need a good laugh or just hate your boss, go watch this movie. Certainly not a family film, but I certainly would suggest it to anybody who longs for something as we wait for The Hangover Part II to come out on DVD. I give it 3.27 out of 5 stars, and still wish Jennifer Anniston was not in the movie.