The Wolf of Wall Street

 

• Released Internationally on 25/12/13
• Released in Malta by KRS on 17/01/14

Review (15/01/14)

3-word review: Sex, drugs, stocks.

Scorsese is a genius at what he does, and subtlety is not it. In his latest sprawling character study, he brings to very vivid life the true story of disgraced Wall Street big-shot Jordan Belfort, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, making this their fifth excellent collaboration on screen.

Belfort rose quickly in the money-obsessed world of stock brokers, also thanks to some delicious early advice from his first boss (portrayed wonderfully in an all-too-brief performance by Matthew McConaughey). Enlisting a trusty side-kick (Jonah Hill, whose dramatic roles now start to eclipse his comedic ones), he sets up his own firm selling suspect stocks to hapless buyers, and getting super rich very quickly in the process. This all happened back in the early 90s, and as expected, a lavish lifestyle ensued. The cult following Belfort had amongst young stock brokers was not dampened, but rather fuelled by, his ridiculously over-the-top life and fame as a dubious trader. Scorsese and DiCaprio hold nothing back in stuffing the office antics, epic parties, endless drugs and countless women in our face, leaving very little to the imagination.

Ultimately, the film does serve as a cautionary tale, with justice and heartbreak catching up with Belfort and his team. But the ride is arguably entertaining enough, and some scenes are in equal parts amusing and disturbing. DiCaprio and Hill excel in the drug scenes, along with a few wonderful camera tricks and director touches. It’s so fast, loud and vivid that three hours fly by. The blood and gore so frequently seen in Scorsese’s films are absent this time around, but the drama and the depravity are clearly not. This is excellent filmmaking, but not for the faint of heart.

Trailers:
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/thewolfofwallstreet/

Iron Man 3

• Released Internationally on 24/04/13
• Released in Malta by KRS on 01/05/13

Preview (as published 01/05/13 in VIDA Magazine)

If you thought Iron Man’s exploits ended with the multi-hero love-fest that was last summer’s Avengers, then you might be pleased to know that that was apparently only chapter one. Most of the superheroes in question will continue to have their own individual outings, and we can probably assume that this gigantic cash cow will be milked well into the next decade. Personally, I thought Iron Man was the most entertaining of the related films so far, although the period setting of Captain America added some class to that character. Most of Iron Man’s credit goes, of course, to Robert Downey Jr., who managed to combine effortless panache and good acting to make him likeable, but in a ‘roll your eyes’ way.

His new antagonist, because there must of course be a bigger and badder one each time around, is ‘The Mandarin’, portrayed with interesting hair arrangements by Ben Kingsley (Elegy, Gandhi). So Downey Jr. might have met his match in the class and acting departments too. Gwyneth Paltrow returns as the hero’s steadfast partner, and Don Cheadle (Ocean’s Eleven) returns as his sort of sidekick. Guy Pearce (Memento) and Rebecca Hall (The Town) are other high-profile additions to the cast. It remains to be seen how much of what happened in The Avengers will be referenced here, since this film is set after those events. So why exactly is he back working solo?

 

Review (29/04/13)

3-word review: Better than 2.

The song that kicks off this highly entertaining film wasn’t exactly a good start, but it did the job of transporting me back to the turn of the millennium, for an amusing flashback sequence set during one of the many overhyped New Year’s Eve parties that ushered in the year 2000. It reminds us of the Tony Stark of the first film, and also shows us how easily he made friends and enemies.

Fast forward to the present day (at Christmas-time, which is odd for a summer blockbuster), and Tony Stark is having a bit of a delicate moment. The epic events depicted in last summer’s Avengers have taken their toll, and he doesn’t exactly like to talk about them. Which might be why he doesn’t meet his superhero friends for drinks (or a shawarma). Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts gets a bigger, meatier role this time around, and she is clearly one of the few things holding Tony Stark together.

A sort of forced timeout helps Stark regroup, rethink and get his act back together, which is helpful, since the new nemesis, The Mandarin (a wonderful and surprising Ben Kingsley), is proving to be too much for the authorities to handle. The action unfolds with enough twists and surprises to keep it entertaining, and the science-fiction element is taken to even greater heights than it was in Avengers.

As expected, the various Iron Man suits Stark has built over the years feature prominently, and this film provides a sort of greatest hits of all his past models. The film cleverly highlights the man himself, however, clearly showing the suits as mere tools, and ones which can be used and abused as necessary. Once the aura that used to surround the suits is dampened, Stark himself can emerge as the true hero, and hopefully a more stable one than he was in the previous film.

The trilogy is nicely wrapped up by the end of proceedings, and whether or not Iron Man or Downey Jr. return, this chapter is most definitely closed. Everything is rounded off by a wonderfully stylized and scored end credits sequence, and the by now obligatory post-credits scene. I left smiling, and much more entertained than I thought I’d be.

 

 

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/marvel/ironman3/

 

Iron Man 2

 

• Released Internationally on 28/04/10
• Released in Malta by KRS on 05/05/10

 

Preview (Published 01/04/10 in VIDA magazine)

In a nutshell

Although The Dark Knight rightly received most of 2008's attention, that summer provided another smart, slick superhero film, with Robert Downey Jr. bringing zest and charisma to the lesser-known character of Iron Man and his alter-ego Tony Stark. So, before the ironing starts piling up, he's back.

Why we’re hyped

Not only was the original an entertaining and well-written action film, but it also succeeded where many superhero films fail - it gave us interesting characters and a good story. The ending was particularly ingenious, and left us with a cliff-hanger as the world's media finally found out who Iron Man really is. So this sequel was never in doubt.

Who’s in it?

For the sake of continuity, it's good to see that director Jon Favreau has kept his chair, and of course so has Downey Jr., whose renaissance continues to land him great roles which he pulls off in style. His assistant and intermittent romantic interest, Pepper Potts, remains in the hands of Gwyneth Paltrow. The role of his partner James Rhodes has been given to Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Ocean's Eleven), and Paul Bettany (Creation, Wimbledon) returns as the voice of JARVIS. Two exciting new faces have been added to the arena - Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler, Sin City) looks menacing as 'Whiplash', and Scarlett Johannsen (Match Point, Lost in Translation) might cause a few chest pains as 'Black Widow'. The script was a collaborative effort, but the main contributor seems to have been Justin Theroux, who co-wrote Tropic Thunder, and has also acted in Mulholland Drive and American Psycho. Veteran rock band AC/DC joined A-list composer John Debney to provide the music for the film. Let's hope this sequel is at least as good as its predecessor, rather than sinking under the weight of so many big names.

 

Review (04/05/10)

He's back

Iron Man 2 succeeds in feeling like a continuation, rather than a sequel. With the prologue picking up during the final scenes of the 2008 hit, the story arc and characters continue unabated, and the vibrant freshness that was so enjoyable first time around is thankfully evident once again. Downey Jr. is clearly enjoying himself developing this superhero, and he perfectly balances the style and showmanship of Tony Stark's public persona, with the recklessness and inner demons which threaten to derail his success and health. Similarities with the actor's own history are probably more than co-incidental, and they are milked for all they're worth.

Weapons of mass destruction

With Iron Man keeping America's foes at bay, he cheekily claims to have successfully privatised world peace. But the government is wary of him getting out of hand, and wants his armour handed over to the state for controlled use and possible replication. Stark isn't having any of it, and he reassures everyone that the technology of America's rivals is lagging years behind his. But that all changes when a certain Ivan Vanko ('Whiplash') appears on the scene during the Monaco grand prix, with a fancy costume clearly as powerful as Iron Man's, and less noble ideas about how to use it. The son of a former Soviet scientist who used to work with Stark's father, Vanko has inherited the secret to Iron Man's technology, and suddenly Stark's rivals want the unsightly Russian on their team. Rourke is suitably menacing and mysterious as the film's most obvious villain, shuffling through his scenes like he's had too much vodka but showing his skills when necessary.

All together now

I say 'most obvious villain' because most characters aren't so easy to pigeonhole. With even Iron Man himself getting a bit rusty at points, one of the film's plusses is that hardly any of the characters are all good or all bad, and those who, like me, aren't familiar with the comics might take some time to decide who is to be trusted and who needs to be ironed out. All the smaller roles are well-cast and interesting, with the actors managing to establish their presence despite having only sporadic minutes of screen-time to do so. Scarlett Johannsen doesn't need to do much apart from standing around looking, well, perfect, although she does get one scene where she can show off her choreographed moves, and in a catsuit, please note. Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Unbreakable) returns as the spectral head of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organisation, which will apparently be a unifying thread throughout various upcoming Marvel comic adaptations. Sam Rockwell (Matchstick Men, Moon) also manages to make his role as Stark's competitor a memorable one, showing us what a slightly darker version of Tony Stark would look like.

Summer fun

Billed as one of this summer's main blockbusters, the film manages to meet expectations and will probably draw in the crowds over the next month or so. The effects are largely faultless, although the daytime flying sequences I enjoyed so much in the first film have been scaled back. The writing is engaging and interesting without getting too technical, and there are enough one-liners to make you grin without getting too cheesy. The encounters between our hard-headed hero and Whiplash are fun and spectacular, although oddly brief. The film sticks to everything that made the original so great, yet manages to flex its muscles as the bigger (and probably more expensive) sequel – with everything from lavish set pieces in Monaco to appearances by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.

In the end

It’s big, it’s shiny and it’s fun. Yet, unlike other big sequels such as the Transformers one, the filmmakers haven’t gone overboard at the expense of story and soul. It’s not as great as the first film, but probably only because we’ve seen the fancy armour before. Summer is here.

 

 

Trailers:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/ironman/