RoboCop ****

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Posted: 08/02/2014

robocop

Reboots are often cynically dismissed before sampling the new deal, and 2014’s RoboCop is one such example. However, director José Padilha’s film takes the bare bones of the 1987 original, starring Peter Weller in the title role, and makes the sense of sci-fi future prediction into a possible parallel ‘present day’ reality. With the advancement of robotic technology nowadays, this film just expands the imagination, adding more organic matter and familiar relationship values to the equation.

The way forward in law enforcement in 2028 is machine rather than man keeping order on the streets, the ambition of multinational conglomerate OmniCorp’s head Raymond Sellars (Michael Keaton). However, Congress still has doubts that machines will make the right emotional judgement call in tricky situations. After loving husband, father and good Detroit cop Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is injured in the line of duty, Sellars gets his possible answer: a part-man, part-robot police officer to be ‘built’ by Dr. Dennett Norton (Gary Oldman). However, ethics and compassion begin to surface, especially after Murphy’s wife and small child (played by Abbie Cornish and John Paul Ruttan) are denied access to the RoboCop, and subsequent corruption is uncovered by the man-machine.

The film does not attempt to reinvent the wheel, but just ‘updates’ the technology (and the special effects) for the Noughties audience, so much so that if could be very believable as happening right now, rather than in 14 years time. There is a very topical austerity undercurrent about social factors being affected, such as man being replaced by machines in the work place, and so jobs being lost. Hence, RoboCop (2014) feels very current indeed that authorities could be working on such a model right as we read. This concept is the power behind Padilha’s reboot. On the downside, there is very little that feels ‘unique’ in futuristic concept to offer that the 1987 film ignited.

Another thing in the film’s favour is some great casting in Keaton, Oldman and little-known actor Kinnaman – the latter of whom now has a promising franchise role to look forward to (as the ending would suggest). Keaton is as brilliantly maniacal and on edge as ever as Sellars, opposite Oldman’s seasoned reasoning and accepted wisdom as Norton. Kinnaman does not just provide the face (and chiselled chin under the visor) for RoboCop but gets the chance to ‘flesh him out’ and make a more empathetic character. This is partly due to a greater portrayal of organics fusing with manmade material as we witness the creation of the new law enforcer. There is even a Batman-esque feel to the whole film, as RoboCop/Murphy blasts around on a matte-black motorbike that would make any petrol-head jealous.

The 2014 film has up-to-date action sequences that involve exhilarating, video-gaming-styled war combat with mechanical soldiers, as well as old-styled shoot-em-ups with crooked cops, drug barons and unscrupulous corporate men: There is even a highly topical beginning scene set in Tehran, Iran involving suicide bombing that brings home the ever-present threat of insurgent troubles globally and the ‘new, faceless terror’.

Final word goes to Pat Novak, the film’s flamboyant TV show host and our social commentator, camply played with relish by a toupee-wearing Samuel L. Jackson, who is like a public-opinion gauge throughout and openly ratings-obsessed. It’s hilarious to watch him chop and change his views depending on what gets him the greater viewer figures. Overall, there is a clear sense of marketing in the driving seat in this film too that enhances the overall stench of manipulation by those in power. RoboCop (2014) taps into our fears and technological dreams, blurring the then and now with chilling ease, and is all-round entertainment without disrespecting its groundbreaking predecessor.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Dallas Buyers Club *****

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Posted: 08/02/2014

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Any film relating to AIDS automatically focuses the attention and fuels expectation of a standout performance from the lead. As such, awards recognition is naturally on the cards, cynically so some might say. But director Jean-Marc Vallée’s (C.R.A.Z.Y., The Young Victoria) Dallas Buyers Club offers the career-defining role for stars Matthew McConaughey as well as an acting-career-rejuvenating part for rocker Jared Leto.

Based on a true story, it’s 1985 in Dallas, Texas, and electrician and hustler Ron Woodroof lives the wild, carefree life, partying, riding rodeo and having his pick of women. After collapsing, he is hospitalised and told he has AIDS but is in denial because he is ‘not gay’. Local homophobic taunts and panic sets in, leading Woodroof to sign up to an experimental drug program of AZT-testing, which wreaks havoc with his white blood cell count.

Seeking alternative methods, he discovers there are combinations of drugs, including vitamins that he can take to put the disease at bay, much to the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration)’s disapproval. Woodroof sets up a lucrative business helping others like him, supported by unlikely new friend, transvestite Rayon (Leto), and privately supported by Doctor Eve Saks (well-played by Jennifer Garner).

McConaughey is absolutely fascinating to watch in this – rightfully acknowledged at the Golden Globes recently, winning Best Actor. It will be surprising if we don’t see an Academy Awards repeat of 1994, where Tom Hanks won for Philadelphia with his portrayal of Andrew Beckett, a lawyer with AIDS. This film is far from awards-baiting though; it really is a complete physical and mental transformation by an actor that truly warrants recognition.

Renowned for being cocksure on screen, McConaughey has turned his back on his romcom fraternity-boy persona in recent times, with the likes of indies like Mud (2012). As Woodroof, he has the chance to cement his astonishing talents that seem to be unstoppable and criminally hidden all these years from mainstream audiences. As Woodroof, he portrays the full spectrum of emotions as his life is turned upside down, still relying on that ‘arrogance’ of former roles to take control of the situation.

You would be forgiven for thinking this film is led by one performance. The supporting roles are just a memorable, with Leto as a frightened cross dresser who feeds off the defiance and sense of hope that Woodroof creates, but who is not as strong in belief as his business-savvy friend. Rayon is the only fictional character in the real-life story but Leto makes her believable, swinging from damaged to defiant at any moment and managing to give a fully rounded character that you cannot help but believe was real. The story’s compelling sub-plot is Woodroof’s change in attitude towards the gay community with Rayon’s help, but without Vallée’s film turning to cliché. What is portrayed is very real process indeed rather than sympathy-seeking schmaltz, making it even more impacting.

Do not miss seeing McConaughey at his finest in Dallas Buyers Club; it really is the ultimate in dedication to ones art, plus a chance to see Leto return with a tour de force to the big screen in a small indie way.

5/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Lone Survivor *****

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Posted: 30/01/2014

lone-survivor

We’ve seen conflict in Afghanistan played out on the big screen before. What makes Peter Berg’s gripping drama, Lone Survivor, a little different is the uncompromising assault on the senses that begins as soon as the four-man team of US Navy SEALs lands on a mountainside to monitor a Taliban stronghold. This film holds one of the most gruelling and exhilarating fights for survival where you are placed right in the thick of it on a rocky façade. It would be unbelievable if it wasn’t based on a true story from former SEAL Marcus Luttrell.

In 2005 four SEALs are flown into a remote part of Afghanistan tasked with monitoring and identifying the activities of one Taliban leader and to dispose of the threat. Known as ‘Operation Red Wings’, it was doomed from when they first land as unbeknown to them their radio reception is hampered by the mountainside, which will be a final resting place for all but one.

The title and any knowledge of the real-life, ill-fated operation obviously gives the end away. However, this is not the intention of this film; it’s to submerge and lock the viewer into an alien and terrifying existence. Berg totally achieves this with his use of handheld camerawork and point-of-view shots in the breathtaking, deadly cat-and-mouse game. There is very little respite every time it appears one of the team has survived for a single moment. It’s also quite shocking the toll it takes on the soldiers’ physiques, all because they are at the mercy of technology that fails them.

In addition to the harrowing true story behind the film and some slick directing that keeps you hooked, there is some superb acting that really expresses the unspoken bond that these men had. Mark Wahlberg as Luttrell, Ben Foster as Matt ‘Axe’ Axelson, Taylor Kitsch as Michael Murphy and Emile Hirsch as Danny Dietz successfully portray a flavour of the SEALs’ personalities before the operation, enough for us to grasp how each man fits into the team, and during the fight for their lives under extreme pressure in ‘professional mode’.

Indeed, it’s been said that the film feeds the Afghan conflict’s US propaganda machine, especially with the pictorial roll call of those real-life military personnel that lost their lives at the very end. However, this is tastefully done to reinforce the gravity of what we have just witnessed and the real lives behind the story. Berg also does not paint a black-and-white picture as such with some surprises on both sides in store. Lone Survivor is an intense adrenaline rush of horrific proportions that further sets Berg apart from other action filmmaker in his precision to recreate an all-consuming dramatic scene – one that feels like it lasts virtually the entire film in this case.

5/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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LFF 2013: The Armstrong Lie ****

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Posted: 30/01/2014

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Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney, winner of the LFF 2012 Best Documentary prize for Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God returns this year with an equally absorbing film that literally puts professional cyclist Lance Armstrong on the spot. Oprah has been there, trying to get the truth. Now it’s Gibney’s turn, especially as he was filming the athlete’s cycling comeback in 2009 as he trained for his eight Tour de France victory (as contested). Issues of doping cropped up back then – all denied.

Since doping revelations have since come to light in the past couple of years, what follows is a change of plan to Gibney’s original documentary idea. He goes armed again with his camera to try and get a ‘true’ confession out of the cyclist, especially as he was lied to face-to-face back then. It’s cringeworthy, ‘car crash’ viewing that doesn’t require any knowledge or love of the sport (or Armstrong) to be gripping and entertaining for the full 122 minutes run-time.

In fact, what’s on show is how far one competitive man will go to stay at his peak – and in the limelight he seems to covet. It also shows how delusional Armstrong can be, leaving you utterly astounded at the audacity of the controversial sportsman, even believing his own myth in front of close friends he sets up for the fall. It’s like watching a real-life pantomime villain at play that you want to boo and hiss at. Conversely, Gibney does show Armstrong’s celebrity power in raising funds for cancer survivours, like him, painting a very perplexing character, and one very ambiguous one.

Also inter-cut with early footage of Armstrong denying rumours of doping, getting quietly angry at random drugs tests being carried out by the cycling authorities in front of his family at home, and post-race frankness into how he was feeling, are insights with Armstrong’s equally controversial and publicly illusive Italian doctor Michele Ferrari who likened the hormone EPO (erythropoietin) to ‘taking orange juice’.

Throughout viewing, what’s uglier than Armstrong’s contempt for some of those who where close to him is the fact that his delusion seems to stem from doping being widespread, almost common practice – and therefore not a problem – among professional cyclists. This is possibly a more fascinating and tougher investigation for any filmmaker.

For cycling fans, the film has lots of archive footage of racing to relive, especially the intriguing in-car conversations during the Tour de France that will enhance what they know of Armstrong and the cutthroat rules of the sport. For the rest of us, the film introduces us to one of the most alluring and complex public figures in sport who riles us while begrudgingly impresses us with his sheer determination to stay at the top. Gibney may not be as biting as in his previous work, possibly as there is a glimmer of marked respect for the sportsman. That said Gibney does not let him off the hook either. Do we ever get to know the real Lance Armstrong after this – does Gibney? The man still feels like an enigma.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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LFF 2013: Inside Llewyn Davis ****

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Posted: 23/01/2014

Inside-Llewyn-Davis

Although the latest Coen Brothers’ film, Inside Llewyn Davis, follows a tired-out character in the misfortunate Llewyn the musician, superbly played by actor-singer Oscar Isaac, the sumptuous-looking film is as fresh and Coen cool as any before. Mostly notably, it becomes one of the filmmakers’ most memorable with its musical renditions that pause the protagonist’s self-afflicted suffering for a moment. Through these, the film’s soul shines though as it fights for breath while its lead flounders at every turn. There is a remarkable melancholy at odds with a willful spirit that is all-consuming.

Llewyn Davis (Isaac) is an aspiring solo singer navigating the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961. However, luck is not on his side: he’s broke, has lost his singing partner, and seems set on screwing up every relationship and opportunity that comes his way. All he wants to do is be successful in the entertainment business or he will end up in the family shipping business.

Davis captivates us from the very start, so we can appreciate his talent, but subsequently does not channel that talent very well. He should be a loathsome character from his actions but there is a determination to stick by him to see if things transpire for the better. In the interim, he stubbornly stumbles from one disaster to another like one of life’s victims. As our damaged anti-hero we do empathise with his will to make the dream happen, as well as trying to keep current in a rapidly changing world.

Isaac plays socially obstructive Davis with such flagrant disregard but crippling neurosis that there are wonderful moments of irony and sarcasm. Just when we are losing the will with him, Davis recaptures our faith in his mission with a song, like being placed under a musical spell. Isaac has the impressive acting-singing talent to carry the film and Davis’s weary shoulders in the standout performance of his career to far.

The richly interwoven, subtle humour rises and filters away with every scenario. Like A Serious Man, this film is about life unraveling with signposts along the way. There is a running ‘joke’ about a cat in this that acts as such a prompt for the hapless lead, as much the star of the film as its human counterpart. One of the funniest and most brilliant moments is a road journey taken by Davis with a gregarious but equally pathetic character (John Goodman) and his silent ‘James Dean’ driver (Garrett Hedlund). Everything seems like a barrier to the real person, purely a disguise to get to where they need to go. Part of the Coen magic is figuring out the real character behind the mask.

Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake add the big-hitting credits, but the latter features far less than the former who is hilarious in an against-type role that sees the actress play an angry, shouty acquaintance. Mulligan swears like a trooper, taking out her character’s own frustrations on punchbag Davis while trying to scream some sense into him to wake up to reality.

Inside Llewyn Davis is another beautifully crafted Coen Brothers addition that leaves a mark long after watching as we are seduced by the score. The only frustration – apart from the lead character himself – is the narrative does not satisfactorily go anywhere or resolve things. Still, this could an element of Davis’s repetitive routine as he blindly tries to hang onto any fighting chance of creative success, something some of us can well relate to.

4/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Grudge Match **

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Posted: 23/01/2014

grudge-match

It is with very heavy heart to inform those whose interest has been pricked by the union of two screen ‘boxing’ legends, Robert De Niro (Raging Bull) and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky) that Grudge Match is a lacklustre attempt at capitalising on the ringside magic that made them famous. The fact is the actual fight takes an age to get going, and if it weren’t for some cheap sideshow entertainment from the likes of Alan Arkin and Kevin Hart, there would be no clout. The latter are the film’s much-needed energy, with the top-billed stars – and the filmmakers – in their debt.

Henry ‘Razor’ Sharp (Stallone) and Billy ‘The Kid’ McDonnen (De Niro) are a pair of old-time boxers in their sixties who loathe each other. Dante Slate, Jr. (Hart), the son of their former unscrupulous agent coaxes them out of retirement after cultivating media interest to see them fight one last bout, 30 years after their last meeting. But can they put their differences aside to stage one last match…

Much like its leads, the film mainly mopes about with a deep-set grudge that is never fully explained – except the falling out over a girl (now a woman) called Sally, played by Kim Basinger. Admittedly, there is nothing wrong with seeing Stallone and De Niro having a grump on, and the pair gets quite a few sniggers at their underhand retorts, like two pensioners who can get away with saying anything. The outrageous is left to filter-lacking trainer Louis ‘Lightning’ Conlon, played with devilish glee by Arkin, who injects the naughtiness, while Hart does his rapid-fire verbal performance to keep things lively.

There is enjoyment to be had at watching two ‘dinosaurs’ out of their depth in the new world of technology that catapults them into online stardom. However, much like Lightning’s jokes, you start expecting this in the very next line uttered. Coupled with this are the standard training montages, but with some nice nods to De Niro and Stallone’s iconic boxing characters.

Director Peter Segal and screenwriting team Tim Kelleher and Rodney Rothman shamelessly tug on our heartstrings with some ‘self-discovery’ moments for the pair, with the importance of family: It seems you are never too old for a journey of self-reflection or to be ‘reborn’, and this is the film’s heartbeat.

The fight scene is more wince inducing than blood-thirsty thrilling as you watch two older guys knocking seven bells out of each other. There is a respect for both actors who strip down to their shorts for the very physical finale, potbellies and all exposed. However, what is missing is a real hunger to see the pair go at each other that the previous scenes are presumably meant to be building up to.

Grudge Match leaves you gunning for more, where the line-up delivers more than the event itself. De Niro and Stallone do the best they can and we applaud them for that; it’s the script that is limp. Relying on the star draw is the laziest kind of filmmaking and quite criminal here with two heavyweights of the big screen.

2/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit ***

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Posted: 23/01/2014

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Jason Bourne has created such a high benchmark for any non-007 action film that all seem a poor imitation in comparison. Even more unfortunate is Jack Ryan is a much admired character from the Tom Clancy school of espionage brilliance and very different from Bourne, but the action part of any film adaptation will always be compared. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, which tries to reboot the franchise, is a serviceable enough but feels lacking in anything distinctive to lift it free from the Bourne net for a current audience. That said there is a great retro baddie to enjoy.

We are taken back to when Ryan (Chris Pine) was a mere student, witnessing the 9/11 attacks on the US on TV while studying in the UK. Next, Ryan is a marine serving his country in Afghanistan when a tragic accident onboard a military helicopter happens. We then witness how Ryan and his partner Cathy Muller (Keira Knightley) first get together, to how he becomes the spy we know him as, recruited by ‘man of the shadows’ CIA agent Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner). With his head for figures, Ryan must stop a Russian terrorist threat to US financial security and go into operational duty for the first time, up against the sinister Viktor Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh).

To be honest, there is a certain likeability to Pine in this role, purely because he epitomises the all-American boy thrust into active duty, when all Ryan wants to be is a desk-bound geek on Wall Street. Ryan does not share Bourne’s ingrained survival streak, so his mishandling of a lot of situations seems apt. Pine’s biggest problem is overcoming his notoriety as Captain Kirk. He does in this, and makes a convincing new spy recruit completely out of his depth (bathroom scene). Part of that is down to heavyweight Costner who has a certain unchallenged gravitas to such a genre and is actually the puppet master in this. In this sense, it’s fertile ground for Pine to explore new territory after his less serious spook turn in This Means War.

One of the bizarre things to get your head around with the latest Jack Ryan is not Pine but some against-type casting: From Knightley trying to be an American gal (but coming across as a plumy Brit trying to do an accent still) to thespian Branagh as the most stereotypical Russian baddie in years, complete with an accent that could cut glass. There is even a fleeting appearance by former Brookside actor Michael ‘Sinbad’ Starke as an auto-plant worker. There is always a split-second incredulous reaction to be had before things settle and you are back in the equally incredulous but enjoyable tale. Thank goodness for the anchor in such a film that is Costner that stops things becoming a farce.

That said Branagh injects such theatrics into his part that he steals much of the show, however ridiculous proceedings are, and there is a nice little tense and flirtageous dinner scene between him and Knightley. In fact it’s a pleasant change to witness these actors doing something different and it does work, if only because Branagh’s direction seems as experimental as his casting. It becomes hard to knock in that sense.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is indulgently enjoyable with a dose of old-school villainy in a techno world but seems a little tame, even superficial for a sincere Clancy screen revival. However, even if this ‘simplified’ version may not appease all fans, it does open up the character to a wider audience bred on Bourne and action-packed 007 films of recent years. It is a shame that Ryan is not more cerebral, in honour of the literary character, but that would mean an entirely different film, and not one that follows the action tropes of downtown carnage and explosions – which some of the more astute have pointed out, the latter seem lacking in the actual film but are plentiful in the trailer.

3/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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Devil’s Due **

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Posted: 22/01/2014

Devils-Due

The ‘found footage, handycam horror’ effect is fast becoming the norm in the horror flick stakes because it appears to suggest an ‘authenticity’ to forthcoming filmed events, like CCTV footage. Paranormal Activity paved the way for a new kind of cinematic style. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Devil’s Due borrows from this, with nods to Rosemary’s Baby in terms of storyline. It does well in its cinematographic style but fails to inject enough ‘creepiness’ and oddity that the latter 1968 film achieved. Devil’s Due does chillingly reflect a couple’s fears of parenthood to come though, in a very realistic way.

Newlyweds Zack (Zach Gilford) and Sam (Allison Miller) hitch a ride with a cab driver and find themselves taken to an obscure club on the last day of their honeymoon in The Dominican Republic. After a few drinks, they wake up in their hotel room, confused as to what happened and how they got back. Back home in the States, they receive some unexpected news; Sam is pregnant, much to their families’ joy. But right from the start, Sam feels like something is wrong with the baby growing inside of her, complete with her experiencing blackouts. Zack starts seeing strangers watching their house.

The beginning of the film does well to establish the couple’s relationship; almost a little too much that it begins to drag. The camerawork suggests confusion and mystique at the crucial moment that sets things up nicely for events to develop. The key to the film is from this point, and although there are some great sequences – like Sam at the supermarket and another in a forest with some unsuspecting sightseers, the rest feels all too similar to other demonic horrors in narrative and special effects (such as night vision shots). There is less of a feeling of tension building, less impending doom than in the Paranormal Activity saga. The doom and gloom comes more from a couple not being able to cope with a change in their circumstances rather than anything supernaturally creepy. It all seems a little too gradual in reaction.

In addition, we know Zach is the enthusiastic videographer at the start, but like a lot of such films, confusion grows as to who the shooter is at times, with a few shots that don’t make total sense. We are also prompted to jump when the camera goes static, for example: One of the successes of Paranormal Activity is the camera just rolls and things happen in front of it. Visual prompts take the surprise out of things.

That said although the scenes of ‘those shady characters involved’ feel mysterious and generate curiosity, the ambiguity is too unsatisfactory overall – we don’t need all the answers but some would be helpful. In fact, the climax leaves you frustratingly shortchanged, with the penultimate end scene coming full-circle back to the beginning. The film does set itself up for a possible sequel, but it would be like watching yet another home movie of a pregnant woman’s ups and downs, unless the filmmakers come up with something clever. In short, we feel starved of genuine shocks.

Devil’s Due sets up an intriguing premise for a more sinister Rosemary’s Baby done in the Paranormal Activity Cinéma vérité style but fails to venture into the unknown and develop its own sense of authenticity.

2/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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The Wolf Of Wall Street *****

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Posted: 15/01/2014

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If the Devil were running a company, Stratton Oakmont, the dubious stocks-and-shares brokerage house founded by infamous (former) white-collar criminal Jordan Belfort would be it. In fact, Belfort was possibly Satan incarnated. The 80s/90s antics of the real-life character – now a respectable businessman who has a cameo at the very end – is pure screen adrenaline for a new Martin Scorsese film, and it’s one devilish, entertaining white-water ride.

Charismatic New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort starts up his own firm after repercussions of Black Monday in the late 80s and some career advice from then mentor Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey), determined to make money whatever the cost to his family life or health. Belfort’s easy success is followed by debauchery, excessive drug taking and total, unadulterated greed, co-run by partner-in-crime Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill). When suspicions are raised over the company’s brokerage dealings, a federal investigation is launched, sparking Belfort to try removing the evidence – his money – to a safer haven abroad. But with so much money at stake and greedy people on the payroll, things begin spiralling out of control and the net is closing in.

With such a controversial subject matter displayed with hedonistic vigour and richly black humour on screen, there is bound to be accusations of ‘glorifying’ Belfort’s old ways. It’s ripe for the taking by Scorsese who does unflinching storylines like no other, and he doesn’t hold back for the faint-hearted. Indeed, to appreciate just how out of control and excessive things got, there has to be major visual shock value, with no editing, enough to make a present-day audience blush or giggle in disbelief.

The only ‘admiration’ you may take away from this is the ballsy, ‘will to win’ stance, which isn’t a bad thing necessarily. Belfort at the time was a tragic character and from the moment he’s snorting coke off a hooker’s backside, all his actions are despicable and predominantly selfish, but you do get caught up in the buzz, as much as anyone would with ultimate power at their fingertips, with the chance to opt out of life’s authoritative constraints. It’s pure escapism, Scorsese style.

Brought to life by the filmmaker’s muse, Leonardo DiCaprio – who is long overdue a big, impressive part like this, Belfort makes Gatsby look like an absolute beginner in the affluence stakes. DiCaprio injects as much brashness, narcissism and irresponsibility possible that he’s invigorating in the role, one of his most enjoyable in years. Only one actor steals his thunder initially, admittedly long before the rot sets in; McConaughey as equally narcissistic teacher Hanna triumphs in another memorable but brief role that precedes the release of the noteworthy Dallas Buyers Club.

Scorsese’s cast is a dream team like his Goodfellas days of glory, complete with Hill as toothy Azoff – supposedly based on real-life firm successor Danny Porush. Hill as Azoff finally shakes off his cuddly ‘best bud’ image that he’s best known for in lots of Apatow bromances. Those characters only dream of what Azoff has. Indeed, Hill has found a character to despise who is so repugnant that he deserves all he gets. It’s a career-redefining moment for Hill and a tonic to witness.

The Wolf of Wall Street is stuffed with humour as much as bank notes and coke that it becomes part of the film’s fabric, as we wait for Belfort and co’s own market crash. In the meantime, it has one of the funniest but most surprisingly desperate drug scenes in a film in a long time when Belfort is trying to get home that on face value seems to belittle addicts’ plight but actually reinforces the utter worthlessness. Scorsese offers a daring and great night out at the cinema for anyone needing a break from austere reality and wanting his or her money’s worth, or without paying through the nose for 3D. Do not miss the chance for a bit of chest thumping.

5/5 stars

By @FilmGazer

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