Posts tagged Ethan Suplee
“The Wolf of Wall Street” an Exercise in Excessive Excess
Jan 13th
“Exercise in Excessive Excess”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
The Wolf of Wall Street was directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Leonardo DiCaprio based on a 2007 memoir of the same name written by Jordan Belfort.
DiCaprio plays Belfort himself.
Right at the beginning of the movie Jordan says, “I always wanted to be rich,” and we see him at the start of his career as a licensed stockbroker for a big firm on Wall Street.
Matthew McConaughey plays his mentor at the firm, and he tells Jordan, “The name of the game is to move the money from your clients’ pockets into your pocket.”
Unfortunately, Jordan’s first day as a broker was October 19, 1987, the biggest plummet of the stock market since the 1929 crash, and Jordan was out of a job before he even got started.
Jordan believes that Wall Street swallowed him up, but he finds a job with a tiny firm that sells penny stocks and is surprised to learn that he receives a 50% commission on his sales whereas his previous job would have paid him only 1%.
So, Jordan is selling garbage to garbagemen, as he puts it, and he begins making money hand over fist, so much so that one day in a restaurant he attracts the attention of Donnie Azoff, played by Jonah Hill, and Donnie tells Jordan that if Jordan can prove how much money he is making, Donnie will quit his job right there over the phone and come work for Jordan.
Donnie does, they start their own company with some misfit salesmen, and Jordan teaches them how to sell penny stocks to rich people.
The firm becomes highly successful from practices that are not always entirely legal, Jordan meets and marries a beautiful woman named Naomi, and drugs, wild parties, prostitutes, and naked women become a large part of everyone’s lives in and away from the firm.
And, of course, they attract the attention of the FBI, which starts investigating Jordan, Donnie, and their brokerage firm.
So, the merry band of brokers go through the intricate and illegal process of moving their money into Swiss bank accounts, but of course everything doesn’t go according to plan.
Nothing ever does in the movies, does it?
The Wolf of Wall Street might be too rough for many people’s taste and is just an exercise in excessive excess.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
The Wolf of Wall Street – Movie Trailer
Jan 1st
Martin Scorsese directs the story of New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort. From the American dream to corporate greed, Belfort goes from penny stocks and righteousness to IPOs and a life of corruption in the late 80s. Excess success and affluence in his early twenties as founder of the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont warranted Belfort the title “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
“Brothers” Ending All Wrong
Dec 9th
Ending All Wrong
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
BROTHERS is a remake of a 2004 Danish film, and you just might want to rent that earlier film than see this muddled mess.
Sure, this one stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Sam Shepard, and Mare Winningham, but there are holes in the story, unresolved issues, and problems that continue up until the very ending.
Now, these problems might be the result of the version released in theaters, perhaps because of studio pressure, and a preferred “director’s cut” is waiting in the can for its DVD release and that bane of all writers: the “alternate ending.”
Until then, we are stuck with this one.
The time is 2007, and Gyllenhaal and Maguire play brothers Tommy and Sam Cahill, who are polar opposites. Tommy was always the family screwup, whereas Sam was a star football player in high school, married his high-school sweetheart, and followed in their father’s footsteps to become a captain in the U.S. Marines.
In fact, as the movie opens, Sam is getting ready to be deployed to Afghanistan for his fourth tour of duty, and Tommy has just been released from prison.
Sam tells Tommy, “Stay out of trouble.” And Tommy replies, “All right. You be safe over there, all right?”
Before he leaves, Sam writes a letter to his wife, Grace, that he hopes won’t have to be delivered. But shortly after his arrival in Afghanistan, Sam’s helicopter is shot down by Taliban rebels, and Sam is presumed dead.
Back home, Grace takes the news of Sam’s death hard, and Tommy steps into the surprising role of comforting her and her two young daughters.
However, in spite of what the publicity would have you believe, it isn’t what you think.
Meanwhile, Sam wasn’t killed, but was captured by the Taliban and held prisoner, during which time he does something horrible.
So, when Sam is rescued and comes home, he is carrying a terrible guilt, and his arrival disrupts the new, surprising arrangement at home.
Now, if you do see this theatrical release of the film, ask yourself these questions: Does Grace read the entire contents of Sam’s letter for the audience?
Are we told everything that happened between Tommy and Grace? And does Sam reveal the whole story of his imprisonment?
BROTHERS doesn’t answer these questions, and the ending is all wrong.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
