I liked well enough a few sequences but the movie's too damn long and w/out having read book I wonder if the characters' venality couldn't sustain a three-hours-plus production because unlike Goodfellas they didn't do much day to day that was all that different? At least in Goodfellas Scorsese could show the guys ripping off truckers, feeding finks to the lions, play card games, shoot Spider's foot, Henry cooking veal cutlets, etc. After a couple sequences showing how the scams work and how they spend their dough, what else is there? I don't care about character depth here because, yeah, it's the wrong point to raise -- I just don't think dudes in an office on phones are interesting.
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 24 August 2014 16:29 (nine years ago) link
i get why you're like "no this is trying to be scarface not dr strangelove" in terms of story, but i think scorsese's tone is way more dismissive re: belfort etc than he was with mafia folks or stone was with tony (depalma was mostly taking a paycheck). he doesn't WANT you to get a "real sense of journey" and feel for them, he wants to keep you at a remove even as he chronicles their madness and follies. because they're young little world-wrecking shits even if he too knows that quaaludes were the best
― da croupier, Sunday, 24 August 2014 16:30 (nine years ago) link
if you weren't laughing fine, 3 hours is 3 hours, but man oh man am i glad he didn't try to treat belfort the way he treated jake lamotta, travis bickle, etc
― da croupier, Sunday, 24 August 2014 16:31 (nine years ago) link
I had a better time watching Belfort than LaMotta tbh
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 24 August 2014 16:34 (nine years ago) link
I can see if someone sees it disappointedly as goodfellas minus sympathy but its also king of comedy with more understanding for what the rabble is seen lapping up at the end of the film
― da croupier, Sunday, 24 August 2014 16:44 (nine years ago) link
American friend of mine living in japan saw this in the theater there and said he was the only one who laughed the entire time. Idk how anyone would not find this funny.
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 24 August 2014 16:59 (nine years ago) link
Alfred p otm tho
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 24 August 2014 17:01 (nine years ago) link
My boss had a real "uh I was around guys like that at the time, didn't want to laugh and didnt need another three hours with them" - I totally am not demanding people laugh about the jerks wrecking the economic system any more than I would demand they laugh about nuclear war.
That said if someone says "I wish dr strangelove was more like fail-safe" my response is "I don't"
― da croupier, Sunday, 24 August 2014 17:05 (nine years ago) link
Said boss was way more into American Hustle
― da croupier, Sunday, 24 August 2014 17:12 (nine years ago) link
american hustle is desperately eager to please and oppressively flattering of its audience and god help me your boss OTM
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Sunday, 24 August 2014 17:30 (nine years ago) link
i mean obvs guardians of the galaxy over both
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Sunday, 24 August 2014 17:31 (nine years ago) link
AH was even stupider and emptier but also not funny. Or engaging.
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 24 August 2014 17:32 (nine years ago) link
american hustle is desperately eager to please and oppressively flattering of its audience
― resulting post (rogermexico.)
precisely why it sucked
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 24 August 2014 17:33 (nine years ago) link
Οὖτις, my man, I am an OG russell hater since flirting with disaster but come on, science oven was funny
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Sunday, 24 August 2014 17:39 (nine years ago) link
This movie is like Prometheus in its ability to get hundreds of new answers every time it's bumped
― 龜, Sunday, 24 August 2014 17:41 (nine years ago) link
american hustle was barely even a movie
― lag∞n, Sunday, 24 August 2014 19:56 (nine years ago) link
Haven't seen, mostly because I don't think there's a current auteur that I find less interesting than David O. Russell.
― MaudAddam (cryptosicko), Sunday, 24 August 2014 20:28 (nine years ago) link
AH was just a bunch of costumes and a sdtk
― Οὖτις, Sunday, 24 August 2014 20:35 (nine years ago) link
...and sideboob.
― Randall "Humble" Pie (C. Grisso/McCain), Sunday, 24 August 2014 20:48 (nine years ago) link
This whole thing about us not seeing the inner lives of these characters strikes me as totally wrong...their inner lives are all on the surface. Belford is transparent and honest about his motives, thoughts, desires. He's a superficial person but that's because that's who he is. Nothing is hidden from us
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Sunday, 24 August 2014 20:49 (nine years ago) link
right right but the problem isn't that he's superficial it's that he's boring
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Sunday, 24 August 2014 22:13 (nine years ago) link
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, August 24, 2014 12:33 PM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― RAP GAME SHANI DAVIS (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 25 August 2014 00:48 (nine years ago) link
If you hated the film, you might feel as I do: making a bad imitation of your best self is another way of flattering your audience.
― clemenza, Monday, 25 August 2014 01:07 (nine years ago) link
(Meaning Wolf, not American Hustle.)
― clemenza, Monday, 25 August 2014 01:10 (nine years ago) link
"eager to please" is a weird criticism of american hustle. it's an enjoyable farce; i don't think it aspires to be any kind of serious social commentary. it does more with the love triangle conceit than any recent movie i can remember.
― Treeship, Monday, 25 August 2014 01:46 (nine years ago) link
Personally I kinda enjoyed AH as it was happening but when it was over it felt like nothing was had even happened - similar to reading "A Visit From The Good Squad" in a way.
― RAP GAME SHANI DAVIS (Raymond Cummings), Monday, 25 August 2014 01:46 (nine years ago) link
that's the brilliance of it though. it's a well-crafted movie that doesn't try to transform the audience in any way. compared to other oscar nominees this year, that aspect was refreshing.
― Treeship, Monday, 25 August 2014 01:50 (nine years ago) link
maybe not "brilliance", but i do think that the way the movie owns the fact that it's an entertainment product -- but doesn't use this as an excuse to be boring or predictable -- is a strength.
― Treeship, Monday, 25 August 2014 01:51 (nine years ago) link
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Sunday, 24 August 2014 22:13 (Yesterday) Permalink We watched a different movie
― rap steve gadd (D-40), Monday, 25 August 2014 01:56 (nine years ago) link
Do the haters (and, I mean, I walked out) hate the opening McCog scene?
― the one where, as balls alludes (Eazy), Monday, 25 August 2014 02:34 (nine years ago) link
dug this. isn't fresh in my mind as i saw it opening week, but i do remember that i laughed a fair bit and actually enjoyed LDC's performance, remarkable in itself. wasn't at all bothered by the length, superficiality, or vicarious overindulgence in the characters' amorality. could have been tighter, but i'm not above cheap flash for its own sake. not in any hurry to see it again, but like goodfellas, a hell of a rush the first time through.
raymond c otm re: american hustle
― Adding ease. Adding wonder. Adding (contenderizer), Monday, 25 August 2014 06:40 (nine years ago) link
and fwiw i wasnt crying or moralizing abt it, the characters are just generally flat and not very compelling in this movie
― lag∞n, Sunday, August 24, 2014 9:55 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
except this guy
http://i.imgur.com/k4ApTOw.jpg
― lag∞n, Sunday, August 24, 2014 9:56 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
like he had some idiosyncratic qualities that are the markers of a real person the rest of them were just lazy types
― lag∞n, Sunday, August 24, 2014 9:57 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
the fact that they're based on real people from one's own telling doesn't change this judgment at all?
― goole, Monday, 25 August 2014 17:09 (nine years ago) link
they weren't interesting people!
― goole, Monday, 25 August 2014 17:10 (nine years ago) link
^^^ terrible argument
― socki (s1ocki), Monday, 25 August 2014 17:23 (nine years ago) link
and i say that as a lover of this movie and its non-stop dancing
¯\_(シ)_/¯
― goole, Monday, 25 August 2014 17:24 (nine years ago) link
They *were* interesting dancers, I'll give you that.
― It's Autumn Sunrise (Eric H.), Monday, 25 August 2014 17:25 (nine years ago) link
i mean, they weren't 'naturally' good at anything. they didn't have human qualities that elevated them above being just average-ass dudes. besides raw desire, which they got the chance to let run riot after belfort (who has more going on obv) takes them in. isn't that the point? isn't that what he saw in them?
― goole, Monday, 25 August 2014 17:28 (nine years ago) link
american hustle is desperately eager to please and oppressively flattering of its audience ― resulting post (rogermexico.)precisely why it sucked
american hustle is desperately eager to please and oppressively flattering of its audience― resulting post (rogermexico.)precisely why it sucked― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, August 24, 2014
― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, August 24, 2014
Right. Just (astonishingly) slightly less than TWOWS.
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Monday, 25 August 2014 17:31 (nine years ago) link
― goole, Monday, August 25, 2014 1:28 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
naw i dont think thats the point
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 27 August 2014 01:56 (nine years ago) link
the movies super long yet somehow still feels really sketchy
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 27 August 2014 01:57 (nine years ago) link
leo was fascinated by the book it was his pet project haha leo is dum
― lag∞n, Wednesday, 27 August 2014 02:03 (nine years ago) link
the movie isnt about bit part characters ... duh
― deej loaf (D-40), Monday, 22 September 2014 20:18 (nine years ago) link
What a dishonest pointless slog of a film.
― One bad call from barely losing to (Alex in SF), Saturday, 18 October 2014 21:37 (nine years ago) link
I liked the first half of this movie- basically up to the car wreck- DiCaprio sold the role. On the other hand, Jonah Hill is nowhere near the actor he seems to think he is.
― Dokken played here for a Ribfest and people were total assholes (Sparkle Motion), Saturday, 18 October 2014 22:25 (nine years ago) link
If you want to get to a really meta-level, scroll down and read about the guys who financed this movie.
Mr. Aziz’s film company, Red Granite Pictures, was largely unheard-of when it took over the financing of “The Wolf of Wall Street,” announcing its intentions with a party at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, complete with a fireworks extravaganza and concert by Kanye West. The Hollywood Reporter called it “an audacious hello to the movie industry.”
In the same way that Goodfellas feels like a string of mobster stories that are so close to being incredulous that you know they're true, this one feels like back-to-back stories of "You'll never believe it, this broad was standing there and..." or "...and I was so fucked up that I couldn't walk but somehow...."
― bit of a singles monster (Eazy), Tuesday, 10 February 2015 04:18 (nine years ago) link
and furthermore...
“Global investigators now believe much of the money to make [Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street] about a stock scam was diverted from a state fund 9,000 miles away in Malaysia, a fund that had been established to spur local economic development,” report Bradley Hope, John R. Emshwiller and Ben Fritz for the Wall Street Journal.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/malaysias-1mdb-the-secret-money-behind-the-wolf-of-wall-street-1459531987
― we can be heroes just for about 3.6 seconds (Dr Morbius), Monday, 18 April 2016 16:10 (eight years ago) link
All this stuff is reinforcing my feeling that the whole thing was just one big disgusting commercial for working on wall street.
― human life won't become a cat (man alive), Monday, 18 April 2016 16:11 (eight years ago) link
Talk to some of the film's (younger, mostly) fans--it seems to have worked.
― rhymes with "blondie blast" (cryptosicko), Monday, 18 April 2016 16:20 (eight years ago) link
reminds me of a surprising convo i had years ago: people were talking about requiem for a dream (i think?) and a guy i didn't know came out as a recovering drug addict by saying "there's no such thing as an antidrug film. if you show someone doing drugs, it doesn't matter how shitty it is, it looks amazing to an addict"
― goole, Monday, 18 April 2016 18:34 (eight years ago) link