It gets very "China is too calculating and competitive to understand the message of true love" about halfway in. A minor complaint, but a complaint nonetheless.
The Wolf of Wall Street - 7/10 Much like the film's subject, it's messy - an exercise I'm excess. It's almost shocking how poorly the humor (at times, Hangover-level), editing (slow-mo shots?), and needle drops ("Everlong!?") have aged in just 10 years. But it's also charming in turns, a time capsule showing just how passionate Scorcese can be even at the age of 70. And at the end of the day, it's three hours of (mostly) fun depravity with a knockout cast. What more could you ask for? The qualudes scene is still golden.
I've seen a few comments like that and I don't get it. I mean, it's mostly very good and fun, the cast is excellent, I just don't see how it could take that title over so many of his other films. But I still like Shutter Island, so maybe it's a taste thing.
It was remarkable how many people misunderstood The Wolf of Wall Street when it came out. There were a lot of people who preferred American Hustle. Time has corrected most of this, though.
What makes The Wolf of Wall Street so powerful is the ways that it shows a complete lack of accountability and how little consequence there is. Most of the guys at the end of movies like Goodfellas and Casino and The Irishman are killed or go to jail, but people like Belfort who destroy so many lives spend a few years in a country club prison before moving on to another grift. Even after we see the consequences, we still want that life. That is why we are the audience at the end, seeking the easy way out. And what is the reward? The FBI agent who brings him down is stuck on the subway, just like Belfort predicted.
Yeah that film just gets better with time for me and I absolutely loved it when it came out. One of his best.
Rob Reiner's rant about spending and Jonah Hill's defense about how good the sides were is alone worth watching the movie.
The movie opens with them playing human darts with dwarves and literally does the freeze frame "Yep - you're probably wondering how we got here" thing lmao
Se7en - 10/10, God the abjectly bleak worldview of this movie resonates more and more with me as I get older. DEPRESSING!
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 8/10 I was very nervous about four-foot CG Joe Biden at the beginning of this, but it turns into such a pure and beautiful fairy tale that you wind up happily taking any missteps in stride. They don't make movies like this anymore and Fincher was the perfect (and maybe only) person to make me take a movie about the Eraserhead baby turning into Brad Pitt seriously
I want to try that one again at some point. Wasn't a big fan when it came out but feel like I might enjoy it more now.
It was my last remaining Fincher blindspot before The Killer. I was a little bit of a skeptic and it really worked for me emotionally!
The biggest problem with that movie was how clearly the screenwriter was just doing Forrest Gump again.
I was really moved by Benjamin Button in theaters. I haven't been back to it since, but I trust my gut.