12 Years a Slave (2013) Review

Director: Steve McQueen
Writers: John Ridley (screenplay) and Solomon Northup (book, “Twelve Years a Slave”)
Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong’o

My thoughts on 12 Years A Slave are a little clouded. It reads like a piece of art more than a film which is not necessarily a bad thing, just different. Good different.

In a nutshell:
It’s the story of Solomon Northup, a free black man living in upstate New York who gets tricked, kidnapped and sold for slave labour in the South (I believe Louisiana) for 12 years, leaving behind his wife, children, home, identity and freedom.

My thoughts:
I’ve been going back and forth, saving this draft for over two weeks now because I can’t quite put my finger on what I want to say about this movie. I think I’ll just stick with my initial reaction of it being a work of art.

Steve McQueen is a beautiful director, in every sense. He’s honest with his camera work and those moments where he just lingers on one shot really just dig into you and nestle themselves inside you. They actually say and evoke so much more than the dialogue. It’s weird to call a film about slavery beautiful but I don’t know how else to describe it. Maybe hauntingly beautiful if I’m being cliche.

The cinematography is stunning and so is the language. It was so rhythmic and elegant, that for awhile it sounded like pure poetry.

I can see why the film is getting such great reviews and attention. All the performances were honest. Chiwetel Ejiofor wears bravery well and he’s the reason you have hope through the movie with lines like “I don’t want to survive. I want to live”. On the other end, Michael Fassbender succeeds in being as revolting as humanly possible. The film and the actors really aim to leave you speechless and thought provoked.

I also thought that omitting the dates to indicate how much time had passed was very smart. It added to the overall feeling of hopelessness and eternal torture.

Now for the not so great stuff. It’s not the most moving film I’ve ever seen about horrid historical events. (Yes I know, please don’t hate me. I chalk it up to years of desensitization.) At times, it felt emotionally distant and that is probably why I’m not connecting 100%. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very powerful scenes, especially from Lupita Nyong’o, but it didn’t hold through the entire film for me. But I can say that I do feel the passion that McQueen put into the film. It is oozing with his essence and conviction and is an important film.

What bugged me a bit too was the score and I was surprised that Hans Zimmer was behind it. Personally, I found that sometimes it was a bit unnerving but I guess it helped keep the somber tone throughout the film. To me, it was just a little choppy and distracting at times.

Despite that, it is still a must-see and it looks like it will probably be the Oscar winner for Best Picture this year.

What did you think about 12 Years a Slave?
Have you read the book? (Yes, there’s a book)

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The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Review

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Terence Winter (screenplay) and Jordan Belfort (book)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie

The Wolf of Wall Street eats its way through your heart and then devours your morality; greed is not just good, greed is great.

Now, people who know me will say that I’m automatically biased towards the film because:
1. I adore Martin Scorsese…and I don’t mean that lightly in any way. I wish I could keep him in my pocket.
2. Leonardo DiCaprio is a God amongst men one of my favourite actors.

 

In a nutshell:
The Wolf of Wall Street is based on the book/memoir written by Jordan Belfort (played by DiCaprio) chronicling his rise to the top as a sharp-tongued stock broker on Wall Street during the ’80s/’90s, which he does in a less than upstanding manner.

Fair warning before you see this movie. Set aside a fair amount of time in your schedule, make sure you use the bathroom right before, get food and call your family and tell them you love them because this movie is 3 whole hours of debauchery. It’s basically Scorsese unbuttoning and spreading his arms as wide as he possibly can. I have to also say that he holds nothing back; if you’re not into seeing sex and drugs in an up-close and more than raw way or are just not fond of hearing the word f*** used excessively, then this movie is not for you………(Nah screw it. See it anyway. It’s Scorsese!)

I’m not sure what to pinpoint this movie as because it’s such a mixture of things but I can say that it is definitely one part comedy. There were moments where I laughed until I cried. It is elegantly directed by Scorsese and he shows off his seamless sequencing (very reminiscent of Goodfellas) especially in the scene where…well if you watched it you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. He really works best with anti-heroes and they truly come alive in his hands.

Some of the dialogue reminds me a little of Tarantino in the sense that there’s an abundance of it but some of it isn’t conducive to the plot so much as it’s there to aid in developing the characters and your feelings towards them when they’re not “on show”. If that makes sense. You’re hoping that in some of the “quieter” scenes you’ll see a different side to these guys but the conversations are still as raunchy and over the top when they’re just sitting around.

Leonardo DiCaprio is phenomenal as Belfort. He’s riveting and most importantly, believable. I was blown away just by the energy coming off of him in the film. He’s my choice for the Oscar but there’s a lot of buzz around other big performances this year. Jonah Hill is also stepping his game up and is actually becoming an actor to keep your eye on.

What I would hate for people to take away from the film is that it’s condoning this kind of excess, simply because it’s masked by such hilarious comedy. I have to point out that (and maybe it’s done on purpose) you don’t really get to see the people that these men have stepped on or the relationships they’ve ruined, for a reason. Think about that for a second…if you saw the wreckage they left behind then you’d feel slightly more judgmental. But! It works to Scorsese’s advantage this way because it plays into the selfishness of the characters. Me, me, me, money, money, money.

At the end there’s a moment where the camera pans to a group of people, listening to Belfort speak and it’s uncanny how alike you and the people on the screen look; both audiences extremely captivated, eyes wide and mouths agape, by the entirety of his personality. Could the road to hell and eternal damnation look anymore appealing than it does in this movie?

The Wolf of Wall Street is unapologetic in every sense of the word. It’s as if Scorsese is handing you this cast of outlandish and perverse characters like a grenade that he’s already pulled the pin on. Another must-see in my opinion.

Fun thing to look for: The real Jordan Belfort makes a cameo appearance near the end of the film. (Introducing DiCaprio.)

 

What did you think of The Wolf of Wall Street?
Should Leonardo DiCaprio finally take home the Oscar?

 

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American Hustle (2013) Review

Director: David O. Russell
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner
Written by: Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell

Let’s start off with a bang! Chest hair, plunging v-necks, an untouchable soundtrack and the best comb-over/toupée combo to ever grace my eyes just scratches the surface of American Hustle.

Written by David O.Russell and Eric Warren Singer, American Hustle is based loosely on the Abscam sting operation of the late ’70s early ’80s, where a con artist helped the FBI catch sticky-fingered members of Congress taking bribes. (There’s a “Sticky Bandits” Home Alone joke rolling around in there somewhere). Russell brings together his favourite actors to form a truly superb ensemble; Christian Bale and Amy Adams (The Fighter, 2010) and Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook, 2012). He definitely hit the jackpot because this foursome is a match made in heaven. Did I mention Robert De Niro and Louis C.K. are also in this mix? He’s been known to say that he likes to focus on character development over plot and this method has brought him a lot of success thus far. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Cut to the opening scene of a, to put it lightly, very rotund Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld meticulously grooming a toupee to perfection. He means serious business with his hair as much as he does with the fake art and false bank loans that he makes a living off of. He meets Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) and it’s an instant connection, complete with eye-gazing and Duke Ellington. When Irving reveals what he does for a living, Sydney jumps on board and kicks their relationship and his conning into high gear. Sporting a new persona as Lady Edith, a Londoner with impressive banking connections and a fake but convincing English accent, she becomes a viper in a v-neck dress that won’t quit.

Naturally, when fraudulence and chemistry is at its peak and they begin to have some serious fun…they get caught…by the tightly permed FBI agent, Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). Oh that head of hair. One way to describe Cooper’s performance is that he’s simply insane. He’s up and down, neurotic, overly ambitious, greedy for recognition and talks without taking breaths. When he inveigles Irving and Sydney to help expose conmen Congressmen (like Mayor Carmine Polito played by Jeremy Renner), things start to get a little unhinged. Alliances change and you’re left thinking, “Wait, are they conning me now?”. To put the cherry on top of this already delicious cast is Lawrence, who waltzes in as Irving’s wife, Rosalyn, and sits on the sidelines like a ticking time bomb. Sitting at home with her son, fawning over her nails, she still pays enough attention to her husband that she could blow a hole in the entire operation if she wanted to.

Through most of the movie, the actors spend a lot of time bouncing intense and humorous dialogue off each other in pairs (Adams and Bale, Adams and Cooper, Lawrence and Bale, you get it) and each pairing is dynamic and entrancing in its own way. Bale is extremely convincing and I would quickly dub him the King of physical transformation. Adams comes off as the heart of the movie and she gives a truly perfect and vulnerable performance. (I think Adams may be one of those actresses that people tend to underestimate though.) Cooper has an uncanny ability to be hysterical without really doing anything? By nothing I mean that he’s somehow mastered subtle comedy which is a relief from the overworked, just plain stale comedy in some of his previous movies…Yes I’m looking at you Hangover 2 & 3. Lawrence is the “it-girl” at the moment and personally, I think will continue to reign supreme. She really can do no wrong and consistently manages to steal the spotlight time and time again. It’s really a great blend of music, striking cinematography, sequencing and is authentic to the mid ’70s era/vibe so I think Russell succeeded in what he set out to do.

My only qualm with the film is that it’s a bit long and during some bits you struggle to keep up with names and faces that ultimately don’t matter in the end. Eep!

But, I give him an A+ for creating such driven, cantankerous and for lack of a better word, ‘real’ characters. The actors have done such a phenomenal job connecting with their characters that you want to cheer for the ‘bad guys’. You willingly strap into the roller-coaster of imploding and exploding characters and when you get to the top, the drop is definitely worth all the wait.

I must add that apart from falling in love with the entire essence of the movie, there’s also a soundtrack woven in that blew my mind. Seriously, have a listen.

So what’s the verdict?

A lot of the reviews/opinions seem to be that people either love it or hate it. To me, it’s a definite must-see.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll be calling your microwave a ‘science oven’, wanting to desperately know the end of the ice-fishing story and raving about this movie for days after.

What are your thoughts on American Hustle? Boring, overhyped or just right?
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