Films

[metallimuse]

The Wolf of Wall Street has held up for me.

You mean in the year since its been released?Tough ask that

Was chatting the other day at a course I was on and the trainer was saying how they might not be legendary but Shutter Island & Seven Pounds are pretty timeless.I'd have to agree.

[Ted Dansons Wig]

Here's a new question for anyone bored enough. Anybody got any tips for films on the box over the holiday period? Anything we shouldn't miss (and when it's on obviously).

[kaosmark2]

Here's a new question for anyone bored enough. Anybody got any tips for films on the box over the holiday period? Anything we shouldn't miss (and when it's on obviously).

Casablanca's on on more4 on boxing day.

Everything else I've spotted being on is just the usual Bonds/Back to the Futures. There's a few decent recent superhero films (Kickass, Avengers), but nothing stands out generally apart from Casablanca.

[DomDom1984]

Well... with repeat viewings ( and there's been a lot btw ), Wolf of Wall Street is holding up.

Seven Pounds is a movie that I hated. Managed to make me dislike Will Smith too, which is a feat only After Earth has achieved outside of it.

[metallimuse]

Well... with repeat viewings ( and there's been a lot btw ), Wolf of Wall Street is holding up.

Seven Pounds is a movie that I hated. Managed to make me dislike Will Smith too, which is a feat only After Earth has achieved outside of it.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!?!?!?!?!

You've got no soul dude,you're going to hell.Repent now.Repent!

[Ted Dansons Wig]

Well... with repeat viewings ( and there's been a lot btw ), Wolf of Wall Street is holding up.

Seven Pounds is a movie that I hated. Managed to make me dislike Will Smith too, which is a feat only After Earth has achieved outside of it.

Oh god...After Earth.Routing for the monkeys - kill that little fucker. What an absolutely cheerless dour boring overblown pile of utter dog shite. An paid money and saw it at the cinema

[Wooderson]

Eva Green gives me the horn

Have you seen The Dreamers?

[DomDom1984]

I'd call you an idiot Ted for paying to see After Earth had I not made many similar mind numbing decisions over the years. Probably the worst decision of the lot was paying to see Transformers 3 even after a dire second one.

[Amy Lawn]

I thought Wolf Of Wall Street was an utterly horrible film. What was the message? I really felt like Scorcese was trying to show Leo as the hero, and the feds as the villains. So much of their grotesque behavoir looked like it was being played for laughs, like we were supposed to be finding endless repetitive scenes of them doing various stupid shit outrageously funny. Leo, Jonah Hill and co. felt to me like they were being held up as the heroes of the film, we'd get scenes throughout of those stupid fucking speeches telling us what a great guy Leo was, and whenever he did stupid shit he never really got a proper comeuppance from it. There was little to no focus on the people he was screwing over, all the bad stuff he did seemed to be blamed squarely on the lewds (don't even get me started on the fucking lewds, the film was stuffed so overly long with scenes of him doing zany shit on the lewds that I was seemingly supposed to be entertained by).

For me, it was lost about half way through, after the scene on the boat, where the feds come for him, and there's quite a good exchange between him and the officer pursuing him. Up until this point, Leo had been the hero, he was the small-town guy that had come to make his name in the city, been good, got somewhere, tackled the Wall Street old guard with a rag-tag band of working class eejits that the aforementioned Wall Street old guard would have been sucking money out of, that was a shift of power I could get invested in. But then Leo had started turning into a dick, started becoming just like that Wall Street old guard, man at the top of the Pyramid, doing everything to excess and fucking everybody else over apart from a select few of his pals, so this scene on the boat should be where Leo has become the villain, now the audience is going to get behind this suit who will take down Leo, and the end we're going to get Leo getting a stone cold comeuppance, and a comparison between him at the beginning and him at the end, a message that money and power corrupts and the current system doesn't work for anybody etc etc. However, that's not what we got, the film carried on playing Leo and co's shenanigans for laughs, and we were seemingly invited to cheer for him whenever he gave the slip to the nasty establishment that was trying to bring him down, and Leo's God status would be enforced by characters gathering in a room making big grand speeches about what a great guy he was (horrible, clunky narrative device, that). Eventually at the end of the film, when his comeuppance did come, there was very little focus on his arrest and jail time, the film passed over it very quickly, and gave us a scene about how he's OK now and doing alright for himself. The message I got was "don't do too many drugs", like the poor sap was just trying to have fun, but he lost his wife and kids because the drugs fucked him up, very little focus about what he was doing in his job. No focus at all on the detectives, nothing to counterbalance to show us the things he was making a living off were wrong and that he needed to be taken down, that all got lost in the scenes of him taking loads of fucking pills.

I know that this wasn't Sorcese's intention for the message for the film, so I struggle to think why he played it this way. Were we supposed to be looking at the scenes of excess and shaking our heads and tutting? Because all that deamonises are the drugs, and his did hire Jonah Hill - a comedy actor to be in most of them, the cinema I was in was in stitches at these scenes (simpletons). Why was there very little focus on what he was doing in his job? Why only his personal life? I really don't know what the intention was with this film, I really felt like I'd watched a three hour episode of The Inbetweeners in suits.

Just realised I've written a massive wall of text, there. I didn't really aim to write that much, so I've spoilered it, out of courtesy for anybody scrolling through. Anybody who wants my thoughts on The Wolf Of Wall Street, here you go ^

[Ted Dansons Wig]

I'd call you an idiot Ted for paying to see After Earth had I not made many similar mind numbing decisions over the years. Probably the worst decision of the lot was paying to see Transformers 3 even after a dire second one.

Oh god yr right Dom. There ought to be 20 minute money back point. If the film is so shit at that point you ought to get to go into something else

[bocumaroy]

I thought Wolf Of Wall Street was an utterly horrible film. What was the message? I really felt like Scorcese was trying to show Leo as the hero, and the feds as the villains. So much of their grotesque behavoir looked like it was being played for laughs, like we were supposed to be finding endless repetitive scenes of them doing various stupid shit outrageously funny. Leo, Jonah Hill and co. felt to me like they were being held up as the heroes of the film, we'd get scenes throughout of those stupid fucking speeches telling us what a great guy Leo was, and whenever he did stupid shit he never really got a proper comeuppance from it. There was little to no focus on the people he was screwing over, all the bad stuff he did seemed to be blamed squarely on the lewds (don't even get me started on the fucking lewds, the film was stuffed so overly long with scenes of him doing zany shit on the lewds that I was seemingly supposed to be entertained by).

For me, it was lost about half way through, after the scene on the boat, where the feds come for him, and there's quite a good exchange between him and the officer pursuing him. Up until this point, Leo had been the hero, he was the small-town guy that had come to make his name in the city, been good, got somewhere, tackled the Wall Street old guard with a rag-tag band of working class eejits that the aforementioned Wall Street old guard would have been sucking money out of, that was a shift of power I could get invested in. But then Leo had started turning into a dick, started becoming just like that Wall Street old guard, man at the top of the Pyramid, doing everything to excess and fucking everybody else over apart from a select few of his pals, so this scene on the boat should be where Leo has become the villain, now the audience is going to get behind this suit who will take down Leo, and the end we're going to get Leo getting a stone cold comeuppance, and a comparison between him at the beginning and him at the end, a message that money and power corrupts and the current system doesn't work for anybody etc etc. However, that's not what we got, the film carried on playing Leo and co's shenanigans for laughs, and we were seemingly invited to cheer for him whenever he gave the slip to the nasty establishment that was trying to bring him down, and Leo's God status would be enforced by characters gathering in a room making big grand speeches about what a great guy he was (horrible, clunky narrative device, that). Eventually at the end of the film, when his comeuppance did come, there was very little focus on his arrest and jail time, the film passed over it very quickly, and gave us a scene about how he's OK now and doing alright for himself. The message I got was "don't do too many drugs", like the poor sap was just trying to have fun, but he lost his wife and kids because the drugs fucked him up, very little focus about what he was doing in his job. No focus at all on the detectives, nothing to counterbalance to show us the things he was making a living off were wrong and that he needed to be taken down, that all got lost in the scenes of him taking loads of fucking pills.

I know that this wasn't Sorcese's intention for the message for the film, so I struggle to think why he played it this way. Were we supposed to be looking at the scenes of excess and shaking our heads and tutting? Because all that deamonises are the drugs, and his did hire Jonah Hill - a comedy actor to be in most of them, the cinema I was in was in stitches at these scenes (simpletons). Why was there very little focus on what he was doing in his job? Why only his personal life? I really don't know what the intention was with this film, I really felt like I'd watched a three hour episode of The Inbetweeners in suits.

Just realised I've written a massive wall of text, there. I didn't really aim to write that much, so I've spoilered it, out of courtesy for anybody scrolling through. Anybody who wants my thoughts on The Wolf Of Wall Street, here you go ^

I don't like focusing on all the things a film could have done differently, there's always another way, but there's also always a reason. For me part of the brilliance of the The Wolf of Wall Street is how fun it all looks. As a human I hate the way Jordan and all his cronies behaved, but it was massively entertaining and, dare I say it, at times almost appealing, within the three hour long story world. I'm not interested in watching a film about a good man turned bad who does lots of evil things and gets the punishment he deserves for it, because I have my own moral code and don't need a filmmaker to dictate it for me. I am interested in a film thats capable of taking something alien and repulsive and throwing me into that world's mindset.

In terms of actual representations and consequences, I don't think see it as harmful or distasteful. I struggle to imagine anyone moderately good at being a human watching it and thinking "you know what, he's alright, that Jordan". He's obviously a horrible man and he comes across as exactly that, whilst also being very charismatic and having a lot of fun, with plenty of people along for the ride. It could have focused more on the victims of his antics, but then that would have been a completely different film. It was about him, and he and the people around him didn't care about anyone else. That's what we see.

Questioning the actual message of the film is understandable. I'm not totally sure myself, because it isn't really boring and doesn't spell it out from the beginning like some kind of shakespearian tragedy. It is a comedy and might not necessarily be packed with the greatest depth of subtext and idealogical messages, and admittedly lot of its appeal is just absolutely brilliant performances and sequences (which has always been Scorcese's strength, from what I've seen). But it's certainly not a victorious finale, is it? He's a lonely, pathetic man, really. Not particularly glamorous.

The end can have a lot of various interpretations, which is much more interesting.

Edit: Just to clarify, I don't think there's any doubt how Scorcese wants us to see Jordan. The antics are supposed to be funny and entertaining (successfully, for me), but it's because they're so ridiculous. There's no glorification, or even respect, there.

Edited December 26, 2014 by bocumaroy

[DomDom1984]

There is one reason I loved The Wall of Wall Street. It's funny as fuck. It's a comedy, and it made me laugh. The time flew by and still does every time I watch it. I don't think I've seen a movie with that run time that has felt like such a breeze before.

And I agree with the above. The whole thing is just too ludicrous. There's no way we're supposed to see any glory in what Belfort does. And he's also put across as a total dickhead as well. There's no doubting what he is and how he acts.

[nightcrawler13]

The Rocket - one of the best films I've seen in a while, foreign language film set in the Laos mountains where a boy who is 'cursed' tries to build a rocket to win a festival and bring honour back to his family

Enter The Void - very pretty and a good idea, but I had to turn up the speed of playback as I was getting bored towards the end

Under The Skin - awful, boring, pretentious nonsense. I LIKE pretentious arthouse films, but this was just a waste of time

[Bisque]

I still think Aliens is one of the best films ever & visually is better than it sequels.

I can't wait for the sequel to Prometheus.

My favourite ever film is still Borat though.

[bocumaroy]

Just watched Smashed and it was really lovely. It's on Netflix.

[metallimuse]

My favourite ever film is still Borat though.

A truely shocking statement

[Big Vern]

The Interview - funny as fuck.

[Rufus Gwertigan]

Anthony Mann - wasn't he replaced after a few days shooting? Still more than enough to recognise Kubrick all the way through it.

Clockwork Orange has dated so badly. Looks like a BBC Play for Today now.

I'll get me coat :cheese:

Hey don't diss Play for Today. There were some good ones. Scum, the Black Stuff as well as Brimstone and Treacle.

[Ted Dansons Wig]

just to point out for anyone interested (and who fancies a couple of of hours in front of the TV)...

Today (27/12):

Spartacus 3.20 ITV 4

Zulu 3.35 Ch 4

Hugo 3.50 Film 4

Patton 5.40 5USA

Sleepy Hollow 23.45 Film 4

I Confess 00.15 BBC 2

All worth a watch in my book - especially the last one which is a Hitchcock I've never seen.

[bocumaroy]

Hey don't diss Play for Today. There were some good ones. Scum, the Black Stuff as well as Brimstone and Treacle.

Nuts In May is a brilliant Play for Today feature. Which reminds me, any Mike Leigh fans in here? Watched Happy-Go-Lucky the other night, another one of his to put amongst my all-time favourites.

Edited December 27, 2014 by bocumaroy

[DomDom1984]

I thought The Interview was dreadful. James Franco is actually unwatchable at times. Absolutely horrendous.

[metallimuse]

just to point out for anyone interested (and who fancies a couple of of hours in front of the TV)...

Today (27/12):

Spartacus 3.20 ITV 4

Zulu 3.35 Ch 4

Hugo 3.50 Film 4

Patton 5.40 5USA

Sleepy Hollow 23.45 Film 4

I Confess 00.15 BBC 2

All worth a watch in my book - especially the last one which is a Hitchcock I've never seen.

I was eyeing up Patton,have you seen it before?

[Ted Dansons Wig]

I was eyeing up Patton,have you seen it before?

I have - saw it at the South Bank years back. George C Scott is ace as Patton. Bit overlong - but a real cracker of a war movie

[dentalplan]

I know that this wasn't Sorcese's intention for the message for the film, so I struggle to think why he played it this way. Were we supposed to be looking at the scenes of excess and shaking our heads and tutting? Because all that deamonises are the drugs, and his did hire Jonah Hill - a comedy actor to be in most of them, the cinema I was in was in stitches at these scenes (simpletons). Why was there very little focus on what he was doing in his job? Why only his personal life? I really don't know what the intention was with this film, I really felt like I'd watched a three hour episode of The Inbetweeners in suits.

But why would you be a simpleton for laughing at a comedy film?

[metallimuse]

I have - saw it at the South Bank years back. George C Scott is ace as Patton. Bit overlong - but a real cracker of a war movie

Is it about his time in WW2?I have a real interest in that period so think I will give it a watch.