Archive | 2014

The Wolf of Wall Street Review

4 Jan

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

Jordan Belfort, high out of his mind on Quaaludes, crawls out of a country club; he’s foaming at the mouth, flopping around like a dying fish, and mumbling incoherently. He lives less than a mile away, but he can barely get the door of his Lamborghini open. Yet, he somehow makes it home perfectly fine. The thing is, the trip home plays out very differently in his mind; it’s later revealed that not only is his car busted up, but he’s caused a large amount of property damage.

That right there is the essence of the film. On the one hand, it’s a hilarious, brilliantly acted setpiece that we can laugh at. On the other hand, it emphasizes the delusions of a man high off drugs, women, money, and power. We can’t forget that this story is told through Belfort’s point of view, and Jordan Belfort isn’t a good guy at all. He has no regard for the law, he destroys all his relationships, and he manipulates those around him, whether he calls them “friends” or not. He can spew out a seemingly deep, emotional tale about the “rags to riches” backstory of one of his brokers, but in reality, she’s just an investment. He can try and save his buddy’s skin with a message on a napkin, but he’ll be the one ratted out at the end; he has no friends.

Of course, that brings us to the questions: Why did Scorsese and Winter essentially just remake the book? Why not explore the victims of Belfort’s heinous crimes, the innocent people swindled out of a hell of a lot of cash by a callous maniac? Why not come right out and condemn this behavior? What’s with all the collaboration with the actual Belfort?

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Community “Repilot/Introduction to Teaching” Review (5×01/5×02)

2 Jan

NUP_157951_0694-550x366Guys, I need help reacting to something.

And what a great “something” it was. After a tumultuous fourth season, Community is back to being the show we’ve always loved. It’s always hard to clean something up once someone else has made a mess of it, but Harmon does it efficiently, hilariously, and brilliantly in these first two episodes.

“Repilot” is impressive because it not only is able to reference season 4, but it’s also able to strip these characters down to their bare bones. It unites the characters both physically and emotionally, and it’s a surprisingly dark opening to the season. Of course, there’s evidence of actual character growth. These are human beings who’ve endured similar types of problems, and this “Repilot” is now bringing them all full circle; yet, they’re wiser, more appreciative, and even sadder.

Obviously, any premiere has to navigate some tricky waters, and “Repilot” is no different. For one, the whole “Jeff returns to save Greendale” plot is entirely predictable and a bit contrived, but then again, the important thing is what we get at the end. Adding on to the episode’s problems, it could sometimes get lost in the shuffle of being a premiere, much less one after such a season as season 4 of Community. It has to juggle 50 different things at once, and that’s a hard task.

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