The Wolf Of Wall Street

 Oscar and general cinematic sweetheart Martin Scorsese rarely hits wide of the mark no matter his genre ventures, his last film Hugo, aimed at children, was an unlikely step to take but one which deservingly rewarded him with only further acclaim for stepping outside his comfort zone. What seems to be a safe bet for the auteur, The Wolf Of Wall Street puts him back in his area of expertise dealing with crime and excess all through the hands of some meaty characters , however it never quite does anything, or says anything, simply screaming in a indulgent world of its own.

 Jordan Belfort ( Dicaprio), once a wannabe stock broker is now a multi-millionaire, leaving behind his life of regularity for one of riches and indulgence, whether his business enterprise was legal or not. With an acting cache at his fingertips it's no wonder that the cast on display here is what makes the film the partially entertaining romp that it is, providing an almost satirical view on the morals of bankers whilst still providing serious performances. The most obvious of which is Leonardo Dicaprio whom, as always gives a fantastic performance which fully fleshes out the complicated character of Jordan Belfort. Perhaps more creditable however is the performance of Jonah Hill, whose bizarre characteristics and transformation in the film is debateably more interesting than the central story.

 Instead we follow Jordan Belfort, a vastly dislikeable millionaire who indulges in sex, drugs and distasteful entertainment, and we see just this, over and over and over again which undoubtedly adds to the films themes of excess but does very little to maintain audience interest, only adding to the running time of a film which runs out of fuel well before the end. It's no wonder this excess gets tired and boring when it fills up a good three quarters of the film with the first being home to Jordan's rise to riches, a story which is far more engrossing and entertaining as we see his growth from young rookie to sales veteran. This transition however is far too fast, done literally in a montage, to fast-forward to the scenes of excess which seem to be deemed far more appealing for the audience than the protagonists' business uprising.

Until this excess is repeated to us however The Wolf Of Wall Street is quite the entertaining ride, with great performances fuelling this, most notably Belfort's first scene of celebration in his company building is both fun and sufficiently over the top, presenting most clearly and most appropriately the greed of the protagonist; as a near nude marching band file into the office. Like the characters we revel in the madness and are shocked at seeing these supposedly composed and professional stock brokers showing their true colours.

 The Wolf Of Wall Street feels like a film which could've been directed by anyone with Scorcese's mark of class and style all but absent from his most recent picture. With the films entertaining value being simply surface-bound, The Wolf of wall street suffers through its lack of content, favouring instead the consistent reminders that its protagonist is a selfish, indulgent pig, neither of which are thrilling or insightful.

7/10- A thrilling ride which soon runs out of speed and leaves you wanting so much more. Bland.

Calum Russell

12 years a slave

Slowly becoming a famous face of the industry director Steve McQueen, famous for his realistic and gritty depictions of life, has never truly found recognition despite two hugely powerful releases. By far the most commercial of his films and clearly out for Oscar attention is his new film 12 years a slave, based on the novel about a free man kidnapped into slavery, which shows to be his best film yet, stuffed with unbelievable performances and power.

Living free with his family Solomon Northup is kidnapped and sold into slavery, the film follows his journey from plantation to plantation and his struggle to survive. 12 years a slave is no easy watch and unsurprisingly so considering its heavy subject matter however what makes this film different is its total upfront honesty which it has with its audience, never shying away from the truth to settle the audience's feelings, always putting us in front of the events with no buffer or filter. This realism and accurate depiction of real events makes the audience question the morality of humans and the ever changing ideologies which we hold. Despite following real events to a key, 12 years a slave doesn't really show tell us anything that we didn't know before about slavery, following a linear path to artistic merit but not perhaps to truly exciting levels. At times when the story slows however the audience is still left captivated, most notably by the truly unbelievable performances from the WHOLE cast, every single person in this film is worthy of some sort of recognition, and to single out one person would be dis-credit to another, the captivating performances of the cast engage the audience fully within the narrative and make us believe even more vividly the horrific actions of the past. Horrific is only one word to describe some scenes in the film, being so harrowing that it's hard to watch, this is aided by the fantastic cinematography which adds depth and meaning to the on screen violence and emotional discomfort.

Being more than worthy of awards praise 12 years a slave is perhaps the best documentation of slavery ever put together on film, recreating images from the novel so brutal and realistic that the shocking content is hard to ignore. All this narrative is brought to life through the emotionally detailed performances of the cast who supply one of the best showcase's of acting talent ever seen in the history of cinema, 12 years a slave is a hypnotic piece of art.

9/10- A relentless view on slavery which brandishes its impact on the brain.

Calum Russell