Posts tagged Stephen Kunken
“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.”
“Taking Woodstock” It’s the Dream, Man
Sep 3rd
It’s the Dream, Man
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
TAKING WOODSTOCK is Ang Lee’s latest film and is based on the book, TAKING WOODSTOCK: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life, by Elliot Tiber, who was one of the main reasons that the legendary concert happened.
In fact, the film is a comedy and is more about Elliot and his relationship with his parents than it is about the concert itself.
If you are old enough to remember when Woodstock happened or if you were one of the 400,000 who were there, the film brings back strong emotions and even tears. What is more, you cannot take it all in with just one viewing.
On the other hand, if you were born after Woodstock occurred beginning August 15, 1969, you might unreasonably and incorrectly dismiss the film as just another self-indulgence of Baby Boomers instead of the masterpiece it is about the more aptly called Woodstock generation.
Elliot has moved back home in upstate New York to live with his parents in their run-down El Monaco Motel, which is over $5,000 in arrears on their mortgage.
Fortunately, however, Elliot is president of the local Chamber of Commerce, which is in charge of granting permits for concerts, and Elliot is known for the summer “concerts” he puts on at the motel with recorded music, but he says, “This year I’m going to try to have a live quartet.”
When Elliot learns that a nearby town has canceled plans to host a music festival, he gets in touch with the promoters and offers the motel as head-quarters and his own festival permit as all the permission the promoters need.
Sure, there are problems, but Elliot and the promoters, who have already sold 100,000 tickets to the concert, manage to overcome them, and the rest, as they say, is musical, cultural, and revolutionary history.
The film uses the split-screen technique made famous in the 1970 Oscar- winning documentary WOODSTOCK, and even though this film doesn’t concentrate on the music the way the documentary does, it is still an enjoyable experience.
It is truly a creative masterpiece.
As someone said, “It’s the dream, Man. We all could use a little Woodstock in our lives now.”
TAKING WOODSTOCK brings to mind another expression in the news a lot lately:
“And the dream shall never die.”
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
