"Lone Survivor" hits you in the head from almost the beginning in the true, harrowing story of a team of Navy SEALS sent on a mission to locate and kill a high ranking member of the Taliban which goes every which way but right. The movie gets to this set up very quickly and what results is two hours of heart wrenching action and emotion that puts you in the middle of what these true heroes are plighted with on a regular basis.
The movie is based on the memoir by SEAL member Marcus Luttrell, the "Lone Survivor" of this mission played here by Mark Wahlberg. Though Luttrell would be best described as the main character the movie is an ensemble piece with notable co-stars such as Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Taylor Kitsch and Eric Bana. There is not a lot of character development here other than some brief dialogues about home, girlfriends and wives, this is the movies major flaw but it does make up for it in part with the harrowing action and raw emotion that comes from this true story. This appears to be director Peter Berg's main intention as he succeeds in showing the heroism at close range and you come out of the theater understanding the importance that these individuals take on while we the common public live our lives. Wahlberg has always been a dependable actor but due to his popularity in throw away action movies and comedies doesn't get nearly enough opportunities to show his dramatic range. While not a showy performance his role in "Lone Survivor" ranks up there along with his supporting role in "The Departed" and his breakout role in "Boogie Nights".
There is no political agenda in "Lone Survivor", which normally I would say is a good thing but since there is so little character development it at times feels like you are watching just one long battle scene. It is not till close to the end of the movie when Luttrell is rescued by an Afghani villager that the real emotion starts to set in. Director Berg made an impressive movie a few years back "Friday Night Lights" but since has kind of settled into Michael Bay territory with movies such as "Hancock" and "Battleship" that are much more style than substance. I realize that to stay true to fact you can't have long periods of dialogue during the intense battle scenes but I feel its almost necessary to keep the attention of the moviegoer. Berg does deserve credit as this movie is the most accessible to the public as it is about a period in American history that for multiple reasons a lot of us would like to forget. From a technical aspect the battle scenes are nothing short of exhilarating, Berg uses the recently popular "shaky cam" effect to put you on the side of the mountain where the battle takes place but doesn't overuse it to where nausea could take place. The smaller moments, though few they are take precedent over the gunfire and incoherent yelling and the relationship that starts between Luttrell and his Afghani rescuer really add to the overall effect the movie puts on you and is unbelievable, if it weren't true.
I came away from "Lone Survivor" with a much greater appreciation and understanding to what thousands of men and women do for me and our country every day. Just the knowing that this is a unbelievable, true story adds to the emotion that is felt throughout, especially during the end credits when pictures of the real men are shown. The violence is real and no holds barred but isn't excessive or glamorized in any way, shape or form-its necessary. I think true stories such as this do need a platform as no matter what your own opinions are you cannot do anything but admire and respect those that do make the ultimate sacrifice for us.
Monday, January 20, 2014
Sunday, January 12, 2014
The Wolf of Wall Street
"The Wolf of Wall Street" could easily be the most polarizing movie to come out of mainstream Hollywood in quite some time. The movie is the newest collaboration between heralded, legendary director Martin Scorsese and his new, frequent muse Leonardo DiCaprio. Much has been made of the excessive, graphic nature of the movie including sex, drug use and the apparent new record of number of uses of "The F word" at 506 times during its 3 hour running time. The movie does boast all of these things and at times all 3 are going on at the same time. It sometimes goes off into random places and comes back without any explanation as to where it went, its probably about 20 minutes too long because of this but in all it is a chaotic cluster-f*** masterpiece and is my choice for the best film of the year.
The film is based on real life former Wall Street stockbroker Jordan Belfort's memoir of the same name. The film has hints of other movies from this same arena such as "Wall Street" and "Boiler Room" along with Scorsese classics such as "Goodfellas" and "After Hours". This is the 5th collaboration between Scorsese and star DiCaprio and with maybe the exception of the Howard Hughes biopic "The Aviator" is their best collaboration as "Wolf of Wall Street" swims gloriously on DiCaprio's shoulders as his performance is a cross between Gordon Gekko from "Wall Street" and Travis Bickle from "Taxi Driver". The characters in "WOWS" are not redeemable in any way but you can't help but seemingly root for Belfort in his odyssey to simply make as much money as possible and live to the fullest excess of life. Jonah Hill is the closest thing to the second lead in the picture which is full of small but effective supporting roles including director/actor/"meathead" Rob Reiner as Belfort's father, the absolutely gorgeous newcomer Margo Robbie as Belfort's 2nd wife Naomi and Matthew McConaughey in a can't miss semi cameo as Belfort's first boss on Wall Street Mark Hanna. His scene with DiCaprio in which he explains the in's and out's of Wall Street is alone worth the price of admission.
Scorsese, going into his 4th decade of making movies looks to be as fresh as ever. All the normal Scorseseism's are here and it still comes off as if it were directed by a hot young upstart. The soundtrack is also a big plus here even without the inclusion of the Scorsese house band "The Rolling Stones". A lot has been made of the glamorizing the films appears to have towards sex, drugs and the faceless victims of the never-ending fraud/manipulation that goes on throughout. The movie is definitely not for the faint of heart but you should know that going in. From all accounts this is how these people acted during the early 90's and if you have any sense you realize the downfall that is coming to each of them and realistically does not glamorize them. The drug use is furious and throughout the picture but one scene in particular involving Quaaludes at a country club is one of the more powerful "drugs are bad" messages I've seen on film, again all the excessiveness and glamour is followed with consequence. Actress Robbie might be criticized as being just a stunning face on screen, which for the most part she is but towards the end she emulates other strong female performances in Scorsese films including Sharon Stone in Casino and Lorraine Bracco in "Goodfellas".
Much like last years "Argo" and "Zero Dark Thirty", "The Wolf of Wall Street" and another potential Oscar contender "American Hustle" are great companion pieces to each other. Both being period pieces of the not too distant past and showcases greed/corruption all while pursuing the American dream. DiCaprio's performance is the major standout between the two, "American Hustle" as a whole is the best acted film of the year, DiCaprio hands down gives the best individual performance of the year and is in thanks in part to Scorsese continuing to show why he is the best, most consistent director of the last 40 years. I'd say that there is no middle ground when it comes to "Wolf of Wall Street", you will either think it should be collecting Razzie's instead of Oscars or is the masterpiece that I say it is.
The film is based on real life former Wall Street stockbroker Jordan Belfort's memoir of the same name. The film has hints of other movies from this same arena such as "Wall Street" and "Boiler Room" along with Scorsese classics such as "Goodfellas" and "After Hours". This is the 5th collaboration between Scorsese and star DiCaprio and with maybe the exception of the Howard Hughes biopic "The Aviator" is their best collaboration as "Wolf of Wall Street" swims gloriously on DiCaprio's shoulders as his performance is a cross between Gordon Gekko from "Wall Street" and Travis Bickle from "Taxi Driver". The characters in "WOWS" are not redeemable in any way but you can't help but seemingly root for Belfort in his odyssey to simply make as much money as possible and live to the fullest excess of life. Jonah Hill is the closest thing to the second lead in the picture which is full of small but effective supporting roles including director/actor/"meathead" Rob Reiner as Belfort's father, the absolutely gorgeous newcomer Margo Robbie as Belfort's 2nd wife Naomi and Matthew McConaughey in a can't miss semi cameo as Belfort's first boss on Wall Street Mark Hanna. His scene with DiCaprio in which he explains the in's and out's of Wall Street is alone worth the price of admission.
Scorsese, going into his 4th decade of making movies looks to be as fresh as ever. All the normal Scorseseism's are here and it still comes off as if it were directed by a hot young upstart. The soundtrack is also a big plus here even without the inclusion of the Scorsese house band "The Rolling Stones". A lot has been made of the glamorizing the films appears to have towards sex, drugs and the faceless victims of the never-ending fraud/manipulation that goes on throughout. The movie is definitely not for the faint of heart but you should know that going in. From all accounts this is how these people acted during the early 90's and if you have any sense you realize the downfall that is coming to each of them and realistically does not glamorize them. The drug use is furious and throughout the picture but one scene in particular involving Quaaludes at a country club is one of the more powerful "drugs are bad" messages I've seen on film, again all the excessiveness and glamour is followed with consequence. Actress Robbie might be criticized as being just a stunning face on screen, which for the most part she is but towards the end she emulates other strong female performances in Scorsese films including Sharon Stone in Casino and Lorraine Bracco in "Goodfellas".
Much like last years "Argo" and "Zero Dark Thirty", "The Wolf of Wall Street" and another potential Oscar contender "American Hustle" are great companion pieces to each other. Both being period pieces of the not too distant past and showcases greed/corruption all while pursuing the American dream. DiCaprio's performance is the major standout between the two, "American Hustle" as a whole is the best acted film of the year, DiCaprio hands down gives the best individual performance of the year and is in thanks in part to Scorsese continuing to show why he is the best, most consistent director of the last 40 years. I'd say that there is no middle ground when it comes to "Wolf of Wall Street", you will either think it should be collecting Razzie's instead of Oscars or is the masterpiece that I say it is.
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