The Wolf of Wall Street

Manic, crazed, obsessive, extreme, indulgent - these words describe not just Jordan Belfort's life as depicted in the film, but the entire film itself.

It's as if Scorsese, DiCaprio and just about everyone else were on some sort of drug through out the making of this film and virtually every scene contains some kind of out of control element. And at almost three hours long the experience is exhausting.

But this doesn't mean that I didn't like the film. I loved it for all the reasons above. This is Scorsese multiplied by ten and DiCaprio has never been more fascinating than he is in 'Wolf'. All caution was thrown to the wind and the Director and his star seemed determined to push the envelop at every opportunity in terms of taste, explicitness and vulgarity.

Covering similar ground as 'Casino', 'Wolf' shows the rise and fall of a one of a kind man who knows how to make money and dodge the law. Things are rosy and sweet but like any such fable there is a price to pay.

Like a mini Roman Empire, Belfort's financial power knows only how to continually nourish itself with ever more wealth. But all good things must come to an end, or so I'm told.

Perhaps the main downside to the film is that, ultimately, none of the characters are ever really likeable. Belfort is charismatic for sure and we almost cheer his successes despite his greed and bravery to do what he wants, but punching his wife in the stomach and ratting out his friends show him for what he really is, a nasty piece of work. No tears are shed for his eventual downfall and the film might therefore be seen as a warning to avoid such an indulgent lifestyle. But I don't think that was the filmmakers intention.

Cinema works best when it shows us a world we new little about, and 'Wolf' brilliantly shows us the world of the stock broker. I for one though, having had a glimpse of it, know for sure that it is a world I am glad not to be a part of. But I'm still rather keen on casinos...

***1/2 out of *****

Her

Another mind fuck from Spike Jonze and this time he's showing us the pitfalls and promises of what it would be like to have a relationship with a computer program.

Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) seems destined to a single life after his relationship to his rather lovely partner ends, and so he innocently gets an OS (Operating System) with a female personality and before long he is becoming infatuated with her - and her with him.

What follows is, to him, a real relationship. They have sex, talk, go out, have fun, argue et al and the only real revelation is that other people, perhaps lots of others, are doing the exact same thing.

Phoenix carries the film with vulnerable confidence and Scarlett Johansson's sultry, all-to-human voice and persona are an incredible match.

For a while I thought this film could only be a product of the early twenty-first century but then I realised that 'Electric Dreams' back in 1984 kind of did something similar. Ok, Miles loved Madeline and not his computer, but the computer loved Madeline and even wrote songs for her.

At times 'Her' takes itself far too seriously and the weight of meaning and importance begins to smother the rather simple narrative. I'm not sure if that is really a criticism or just an observation, but it's there nonetheless.

I'm also not really sure who to give most of my praise to. Every aspect of this film works perfectly, scarily perfect. How can us mere mortal filmmakers compete with a film like this??

My Siri is still a dumb-arse despite my efforts to corrupt her so the near-future as depicted in 'Her' is still some way off.

**** out of *****

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Ben Stiller directs and stars in this remake of the 1947 film and while he aims high, ultimately the film fails to achieve velocity.

There's lots of grand visuals and amazing stunts and daring-do but somehow it all just doesn't come together. Perhaps it is because Walter himself is such a dull fellow. Sure, he goes off on a quest to track down a ground breaking photo but nothing he does ever seems to really affect him - or us in the audience.

It's just one escapade after another without any sort of emotional mile stones in place to let us know what it is he is actually achieving. It's all quite interesting and watchable but Walter never really rises above himself; he just stumbles rather blankly from scene to scene.

So far I prefer his more straightforward comedies like 'Zoolander' and yes, even 'The Cable Guy' because in the safety of comedy Ben allows himself to be truly silly. But in Walter Mitty it's like he's reigning himself in and preventing the really cool ideas from being allowed to formulate because he's trying so hard to be 'profound'.

Not a bad effort and it certainly has it's insightful moments, but all up it feels rather hollow with one too many missed opportunities.

**1/2 out of *****

400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups)

Francois Truffaut's very first feature film after being a rather brutal film critic for a number of years.

Partly, even perhaps largely based on his troubled childhood experiences of growing up with indifferent parents, '400 Blows' is Truffaut's recollections of his delinquent life in Paris just after the war and how he fought against repressive authority (school, parents, police) to do his own thing. His actions ultimately lead him to an institution for criminal boys and his eventual escape.

I could go on and on about how this film almost single-handedly began the French New Wave movement, but that has been covered by just about everyone else, and far more eloquently than I could ever accomplish. But now that I mention it, the FNW did embolden so many American filmmakers who went on to create the New Hollywood in the late 60's and into the 70's.

Antoine Doinel, the main character, is not really a bad kid at all, he just can't be bothered following one idiotic rule after another and, with his parents more caught up with their own lives, he gradually descends further and further into petty crime.

What we are left with is a young man with too much time on his hands and too much temptation around him. Of course he's going to get into some kind of trouble and the heavy-handed powers that be seem determined to reform the wayward boy no matter what.

Compared to today's young louts and losers Antoine is almost angelic, so perhaps there is the sympathy we feel for him - he's an okay kid who is just getting lost in a stuffy system that doesn't have the resources to deal with his energy and individuality.

What comes across most powerfully is that Antoine is a real person with needs and feelings that society simply cannot recognise nor nourish. As a result, he drifts away and ends up in the institution, only to escape and eventually finding himself on the beach with whatever has drifted on the high seas and washed up there. He is a piece of flotsam himself, removed from society but still forever connected to it.

***** out of *****

The Eagle

Overlooking the absolute absurdity of two men wandering off into northern Britain to find a venerated piece of Roman identity and returning alive with it, the film does make some fairly noble attempts at recreating 2nd century AD life in Roman Britain.

The film opens pretty strongly and there is some rather stunning cinematography, but once Tatum and Bell pass through Hadrian's Wall and enter the wilds of the far north, the story descends into a totally predictable adventure. And what's more, the filmmakers came up with two equally hopeless endings (one is included as an alternate ending on the DVD).

The Seal People, a vicious tribe living 'somewhere' up there, are depicted as being psychotic killers and are no better than old Hollywood films that depicted native American Indians in the same way. And besides, The Seal People aren't based on any actual people or culture indigenous to the place and the time. They are a complete construct and a cliched one at that.

Jamie Bell seems to be enjoying the journey but Channing Tatum looks rather lost and bewildered in those cold northern climes. He appears to be trying to get into the it all, but I wonder if his heart was really in it.

Still, this film is a better historical recreation than what is usually produced and if you just want a simple story with lots of (rather well done) sword fighting, then have a look.

**1/2 out of *****

Saving Mr. Banks

There's a lot one must ignore and or forgive to allow this film to work its (eventual) magic. For a start, have any of the filmmakers associated with this film ever been to Australia? Apparently not, because their recreation of early 20th century Queensland bears no resemblance to the place whatsoever. Okay, I wasn't present in early 20th century Queensland either but their rendition of Maryborough in that time period looks so fake, phoney and artificial that it is clear it was shot in some back lot in Hollywood. "Ah, it's only Australia. Who'll know? Who cares?"

To anyone who watches this film: here is a statement - Queensland does NOT look like the set of an 'Andy Hardy' film.

Added to this, the audience must endure at least an hour's worth of Mrs. Traver's witty but annoying complaints and put downs. For the first quarter hour or so they are rather entertaining, but after an hour her character becomes a one dimensional bore. Yes, we get it - she's pedantic and picky and strange. Fine. But after an hour of this...

And then on top of all that, the film hinders its own narrative strengths by (over) using flashbacks to Travers as a young girl. Just when the story is gaining momentum we have yet another flashback to ye olde Queensland. Flashbacks are fine, but in this film they slow the pace of the narrative right down to a virtual crawl. Come on, crank this thing up to eleven!

But then, finally and thankfully, the film finds its emotional voice in the second half and from then on it becomes an increasingly joyful and entertaining examination of two people (Walt and Travers) as they battle over the final shape of the film 'Mary Poppins'. They'd been doing that already, but with various details suddenly becoming clear and motivations more understandable, the film really gets going.

Walt Disney comes across as squeaky clean (was there any doubt that he wouldn't?) and Travers' weirdo behaviour becomes easier to explain and forgive, leaving us the audience to be happy that they both got what they wanted. Of course they did, it's the Magic Kingdom.

I don't really know the moral of this story but like all Disney films it has a warm glow about that is hard to ignore and even harder to dissect. Whatever, it is what it is.

***out of *****

The Fifth Estate

This film kinda feels premature, and by that I mean the ultimate consequences of the Wikileaks phenomenon are possibly yet to be felt.

As a result, the film never really successfully develops a sense of danger for the main characters. Sure, they are in trouble, and important American politicians in expensive planes are on to them, but where is the jeopardy?

There's lots of passionate talk about freedom and empowering the people which is fine, but Julian Assange comes across as someone who is really more in it for himself. He even makes it clear at the end that it's about everyone, but that it's also "about me".

Ironically, Assange himself has made it clear in several press releases and interviews that he thinks the film is a "serious propaganda attack on Wikileaks and the integrity of its staff". This may help to explain the film's failure to truly get a handle on who Assange really is. Since Assange himself has condemned the film, what then did we really see? Someone else's propaganda? Does it therefore beg the question, who is blowing the whistle on the whistleblowers?

Benedict Cumberbatch's performance (and his Australian accent) are superb and they help to keep the audience at least nominally interested even while the film devolves into standard weak cliff-hanger moments and a chase scenario that never really kicks into high-gear.

With Assange still hold-up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, Wikileaks still in business and no one yet (as far as I know) facing any kind of prosecution, it feels like the third act of this film is still to be written.

** out of *****