12 years a slave

DIRECTOR:  Steve McQueen  LEAD CAST: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Alfre Woodard  SCREENWRITER:  John Ridley   PRODUCER:   Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Bill Pohlad, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Anthony Katagas  EDITOR:  Joe Walker  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Hans Zimmer  GENRE:  Drama, Special Interest  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Sean Bobbitt  DISTRIBUTOR:  Fox Searchlight Pictures (US), Entertainment (UK)  LOCATION:  US, UK RUNNING TIME:  134 minutes

Technical assessment:  4

Moral assessment:  3
MTRCB rating:  R 13

CINEMA rating:  V 14

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Based on the autobiography of Solomon Northup in 1853, 12 Years A Slave the movie shows the suffering of black slaves sold to white masters in America.  In 1841, Northup (Chewetel Ejiofor), a well-educated violin player, leaves his wife Anne and two children in Saratoga, New York, for a performance at a circus in Washington, D.C. that was supposed to last two weeks.  He is met by two men who pay him, and then wine and dine him.  He wakes up in shackles; he realizes he has been drugged.  He receives a beating and is dumped into a paddleboat headed south.  It dawns upon him—he is now a slave, no more freedom, no more family, no more dignity.  And will remain one, for 12 long years.  The movie portrays the subhuman existence of the slaves who are regarded as animals by their white masters.

            A few critics note that director McQueen and screenwriter Ridley have taken liberties in inserting episodes that are not in the book, but this should hardly matter—the movie is essentially the same as the original autobio.  McQueen chose the cast well in this searing portrayal of a painful episode in American history.  Backed by extensive research for a historically accurate depiction, 12 years a slave also boasts of production sets showing attention to minute details that effect an authentic looking setting, from costumes to colors used in the plantations.  Lupita Nyong’o as Patsy certainly deserves her Best Supporting Actress Award, and leads the other actors in engaging the viewer to gripping empathy.  Cinematography captures the essence of the film well, and dialect coach Michael Buster certainly did excellently in altering the speech of the actors of various origins. For a movie with a $20-million budget, 12 years a slave is able to etch a name for itself in a moviedom brimming with superheroes and computer generated heroism.

            How would people who are strangers to slavery—or even to realities of man’s cruelty to man—react upon seeing this movie?  Those with queasy stomachs would probably close their eyes or turn away, but even the blasé could cringe at the almost unbearable brutality done to slaves here.  Senior citizens who have witnessed the tortures during war would be reminded by the scenes of injustice and cruelty here, but naive audiences may honestly wonder if it is at all possible for humans to treat fellow humans worse than animals. (Whatever, for Filipinos this should be an introduction to the truth some of our overseas workers experience in the hands of their masters abroad.)  The saving grace of 12 years a slave remains to be the spirit of hope mirrored in the attitudes of most of the slaves, particularly of Northup, subtly expressed in the dialogue and the songs they sing: the human longing to be free, to be with their families, to live in a just society, to be regarded as human beings.  Caution should be applied when explaining the treatment of Christianity in the movie, as the Christians presented in the movie may not be the best examples there are. 

Need for speed

DIRECTOR: Scott Waugh; LEAD CAST: Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Ramon Rodriguez, Michael Keaton SCREENWRITER: George Gatins PRODUCER: John Gatins, Patrick O’Brien, Mark Sourian EDITOR: Paul Rubell, Scott Waugh MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Nathan Furst CINEMATOGRAPHER: Shane Hurlbut; GENRE: Action and Adventure; DISTRIBUTOR: Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture; Running Time: 130 mins

Technical Assessment:  2

Moral Assessment:  2.5

CINEMA Rating: V18

Tobey Marshall (Aaron Paul) is a mechanic by day and an underground street racer by night. The basic plot has Marshall traveling cross country from New York to California to take part in an underground race set up by a guy named Monarch (Michael Keaton).  Marshall has forty-something hours to get to California in order to participate in the race. He manages Marshall Motors Garage, a sinking business his father put up.  One day, Dino, (Dominic Cooper) an old acquaintance, asks Tobey to assemble an unfinished Ford Mustang originally designed by legendary car customizer Carroll Shelby and offers him 25% of the selling price. Being deep in debts, Tobey agrees despite his crew’s hesitation.  However during the post-auction race, Dino runs Tobey’s best friend, Little Pete (Gilberston) off the road to his death and frames Tobey for the crime.  After serving two years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Tobey decides to avenge his fate and his friend’s death through an underground winner take all race wherein only selected drivers are invited. Tobey gets together his old Marshall Motors crew and Julia (Poots) to condition another Mustang and give Dino a taste of his own medicine.  Their cross-country adventure from New York to California and their actual participation takes up most of the running time of the movie.

Let’s talk about the more tolerable part of the film first. The performances are blandly boring and there is just no chemistry between the male and female romantic leads. While Cooper’s Dino delivers some texture, it does so in a clichéd villainy fashion. As an action film it does deliver enough to reach the classification but barely keeps the audience awake and sane with its ever so slow pacing and ridiculous stunts. Cinematography, and car race sequence choreography, despite being on point fails to bring home a maximum impact because of the very thin storyline. Now for the killer: Need for Speed made lame attempts to anchor characters and scenes from other successful movies (e.i Smokey and the Bandit, Speed Racer, Fast and the Furious) but nowhere did it come close in chemistry, wisdom or sensuality to sell the plot. The story is poorly constructed and the script even more pathetic. For a franchise off a popular high-adrenalin video game with a sure following, Need for Speed is a very big disappointment.

How many people have met their untimely demise because of irresponsible egoistic drivers who care not for anyone’s safety? Other race movies try to justify its existence with a good soul of a hero who is just so talented at racing and may have been forced to ignore safety rules for the greater good. But Need for Speed, perhaps because it is based on a video game with no responsibility to deliver a rational storyline, neglects every rule of story telling and just throws in an identifiable hero, a lot of expensive cars and even more crashes and speed. It is simply offensive to see how it puts bystanders at risk—and such carelessness is glorified. More disturbing is the fact that the offenders were merely given a slap on the wrist by the police when they were arrested. Impressionable teenagers, who are more likely also supporters of the video game, will get the wrong message about safety, concern for others and getting away with it.

Devil's knot

DIRECTOR:  Atomm Egoyan  LEAD CAST:  Reese Witherspoon, Colin Firth, Amy Ryan, Stephen Moyer, Dane DeHaan, Mireille Enos  SCREENWRITER:  Paul Harris Boardman, Scott Derrickson  PRODUCER:  Paul Harris Boardman, Elizabeth Fowler, Clark Petrson, Richard Saperstein, Christopher Woodrow  EDITOR:  Susan Shipton  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Mychael Danna  GENRE:  Biography, Drama, Thriller, Crime  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Paul Sarossy  DISTRIBUTOR:  Icon Film Distribution, Senator Film  LOCATION: United States  RUNNING TIME:  114 minutes

Technical assessment:  3.5

Moral assessment:  3

CINEMA rating:  V 14

The savage murders of three young children sparks a controversial trial of three teenagers accused of killing the kids as part of a satanic ritual. The police investigators and prosecutors seem to be affected by the local community’s fear of Satanic cult in the neighborhood. The youth are sentence to death and life imprisonment, released after evidential hearing, but they already spent 18 years in prison. (Full review to follow)

The Book Thief

              

DIRECTOR:  Brian Percival  LEAD CAST:  Sophie Nelisse, Geoffrey Rush, Nico Liersch, Emily Watson, Ben Schnetzer, Joachim Paul Assbock  SCREENWRITER:  Michael Petroni PRODUCER:  Ken Blancato, Karen Rosenfelt EDITOR:  John Wilson  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  John Williams  GENRE:  Drama  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Florian Ballhaus  DISTRIBUTOR:  20^th Century Fox  LOCATION:  United States, Germany  RUNNING TIME:  131 minutes

Technical assessment:  4

Moral assessment:  3.5

CINEMA rating:  V 14

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Although narrated by Death (voiced by Roger Allam), The Book Thief is a life-affirming coming-of-age tale about an adolescent, Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nelisse).  Orphaned Liesel’s foster parents, house painter Hans Hubermann (Geoffrey Rush) and his wife Rosa (Emily Watson) live a frugal life in an obscure German village during the Third Reich.  In school Liesel is discovered to be illiterate; she learns to read only through the patience of her benevolent foster father Hans who turns the basement of their house into a veritable dictionary, with Liesel writing down every new word learned from reading a “The Gravedigger’s Handbook” which she grabbed when it fell from a workman’s coat at her brother’s funeral. 

The Book Thief, adapted from Markus Zusak’s lyrical 2006 best-seller by screenwriter Michael Petroni and director Brian Percival, is a tender story given life by sensitive performances, particularly of Rush and Watson as the forster parents.  Tension is provided by the war setting but it is balanced by the care the director gives to ensure authentic characterization—even in the supporting cast (Auer as Frau Hermann; Lierrsch as Rudy Steiner; and Schnetzer as Jewish fugitive Max Vanderburg).  The horror of the holocaust seems deliberately played down, and the air raid scenes are not as emotionally compelling as they may have been in real life.  Williams’ score is evocative, however, matching Balhaus’ engaging cinematography. 

Hardnosed film critics tend to view The Book Thief as a “Disneyfied” war movie that sanitizes history in order to elevate the better side of humans.  That cannot be all bad.  The movie maintains that even in the worst of times, one can find good people who selflessly help their fellowmen.  The Hubermanns are such people, even if at first they take in Liesel for a government allowance, Hans immediately turns into a compassionate foster father to the orphaned Liesel, and in due time the gruff-mannered Rosa reveals her tender maternal side to the girl.  Frau Hermann, who spots Liesel snatching a book from a book-burning Nazi rally, secretly entertains Liesel in her library when she delivers laundry.  Not all war movies are meant to talk about man’s inhumanity to man.  Don’t go to see The Book Thief for your history lessons, but see it for the hope it brings as it shamelessly portrays faith in the human soul.

The Monuments Men

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DIRECTOR:  George Clooney  LEAD CAST:  George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, Cate Blanchett SCREENWRITER:  George Clooney & Grant Heslov  PRODUCER:  George Clooney & Grant Heslov  EDITOR:  Stephen Mirrione  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Alexandre Desplat  GENRE: Action, Drama & Adventure  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Phedon Papamichael  DISTRIBUTOR:  Columbia Picture & 20^th Century Fox  LOCATION:  United States, Germany  RUNNING TIME:  118 minutes

Technical assessment:  3.5

Moral assessment:  3

CINEMA rating:  V 14

Based on  the book by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter published in 2009 and entitled Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History, The Monuments Men opens with Adolf Hitler building the grand Fuhrer Museum to be filled with great art works stolen from all over Europe by the Nazi soldiers.  Hitler has, however, issued orders to destroy everything should the Reich fall and he die.  To find and retrieve the stolen art works and return them to their rightful owners, Harvard professor Frank Stokes (George Clooney) recruits a team of seven men, most of whom are past their prime with hardly any preparation for a mission that will them expose to real war.  His team includes medievalist James Granger (Matt Damon), architect Richard Campbell (Bill Murray), sculptor Walter Garfield (John Goodman), Jewish art dealer Jean Claude Clermont (Jean Dujardin), British scholar Donald Jeffries (Hugh Bonneville), Preston Savitz (Bob Balaban), and a young German-speaking recruit, Sam Epstein (Dimitri Leonidas).  A woman, Claire Simone (Cate Blanchett), helps out the team, since as a former secretary of a high ranking Nazi officer, it was her job to log the whereabouts of the stolen artworks. 

The title The Monuments Men is the pet name of Army’s Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Program, a group of art historians and experts formed in 1943 to trace and rescue the cultural treasures stolen and stashed away by the Nazis during their occupation of most of Europe.  It is said that in reality there were 350 “monuments men”.  The film’s main attraction is naturally its visual contents, and it must be said that in this department, The Monuments Men has redeemed itself with the exquisite reproductions of great art.  They appear so real that it won’t be a surprise to hear the audience gasp in horror as the paintings are torched by Hitler’s troops.  While the art works look real, the story lacks dramatic momentum due to its episodic treatment which prevents the narrative from cohering and the characters from growing into the flesh and blood men who in reality had great pride in their mission.

The Monuments Men is refreshing in that, at the end of the day the viewer realizes it is a war film that is not focused on blood and violence, not on destruction of human lives, but on the preservation of the life of a civilization.  The moral question may be, Is it worth risking your life to save art works?  The film takes the viewer by the hand and poses another equally important question:  Why are art works so important?  Works of art not only reflect the artists’ perception of their reality but also mirror an entire civilization’s state of soul.  Paintings and sculptures are in themselves teachers of history.  Towards the end of the film children of the current generation are shown viewing the artworks restored to their rightful places in the museum.  CINEMA asks, on the side, if the film’s focus on two works of art—a multi-paneled painting carted away from a Belgian cathedral (which majestically opens the movie), and a Michelangelo sculpture of Mary and the child Jesus (which would demand the life of one of the monuments men protecting it)—is actually a veiled statement about the value and indelible presence of Christianity in the development of civilization in Europe?  It will be remembered that some years back there began a move to erase Christianity from history books, to which Blessed Pope John Paul II remarked that if Christianity were removed from European civilization, then nothing would remain.

Starting over again

DIRECTOR: Olivia Lamasan           

LEAD CAST: Piolo Pascual, Toni Gonzaga, Iza Calzado

SCREENWRITER:  Carmi Raymundo, Olivia Lamasan           

PRODUCER:  ABS CBN  

MUSICAL DIRECTOR: 

GENRE: Romance/Drama/Comedy

DISTRIBUTOR: Star Cinema

LOCATION:  Philippines

RUNNING TIME:  140 minutes

TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT:   3                

MORAL ASSESSMENT:   2.5  

MTRCB RATING: PG

CINEMA RATING: A14

              

            Architecture student si Ginny Gonzales (Toni Gonzaga) at patay na patay siya sa history professor na si Marco Villanueva (Piolo Pascual). Sa simula, hindi pinapansin ni Sir Marco ang ‘panliligaw’ ni Ginny pero nahulog din ang loob ng professor bago magtapos sa kolehiyo ang dalaga. Magkasama silang bumuo ng kanilang mga pangarap hanggang bigla na lang umalis si Ginny. Iniwan niya si Marco na walang sinasabing dahilan at nagpunta sa Barcelona para mag-aral. Makalipas ng apat na taon, napukaw muli ang puso ni Ginny nang makatanggap ng post-dated email mula kay Marco. May pag-asa pa kaya silang magkabalikan ngayong si Patty de Guia (Iza Calzado) na ang kasintahan ni Marco?

            Dahil mula sa direksiyon ni Olivia Lamasan ang romantic comedy na Starting Over Again, umasa kami na hindi formulaic ang dating nito. Kadalasan kasi, unang eksena pa lang o sa trailer pa lang ay alam mo na rin ang huling eksena. Hindi naman kami nabigo. Kahit na sa simula ay katulad ito ng mga nakasanayan na nating kuwento, iba ang ending at pati na rin ang mga characters. Mahusay ang pagganap ng mga lead stars, lalo na si Piolo Pascual. Ipinakita ni Toni Gonzaga na hindi lang siya pang-comedy (kahit na minsan medyo sumobra na ito) kundi pang-drama din. Regal, tahimik at madamdamin namang isinakatuparan ni Iza Calzado ang kanyang papel. Maganda ang pagkabalanse ng kakenkoyan ni Toni at kadramahan ni Piolo.  Buhay na buhay ang dialogo at talaga namang naka-relate ang mga manonood sa kuwento, sa takbo ng istorya at mga characters nito. Nilapatan din ito ng musikang hinihingi ng eksena at may mga kakaibang anggulo na nagpatingkad sa location. Kaya lang, may mga usapan na sobrang haba – mga detalyeng pwede na sanang iwanan sa matalinong pag-iisip ng manonood kaysa sabihin ito. May mga eksena rin na halatang hinuhuli ang kiliti ng manonood o naging dragging lalo na sa iyakan.

        Ang Starting Over Again ay kwento ng bawat isa na nagmahal, nangarap, nagsikap, natakot, nagkamali, nasaktan, umasa, nagpatawad, nagbago, at muling nagmahal. Ipinapakita nito na kailangan ang pagpupunyagi upang maabot ang iyong mga pangarap at kadalasan hindi lang sakripisyo ang katapat nito.  Minsan itinatanong natin, “Magpapakatanga ba ako sa pag-ibig? Gagawin ko ba ang lahat, kahit isakripisyo ko ang sarili at prinsipyo, para sa mahal ko?”  Pero madalas, hindi na natin ito tinatanong; nagpapadala na lang tayo sa damdamin. Ipinapakita rin ng Starting Over Again na ang pag-ibig ay mas malalim kaysa sa kilig moments, na kailangang maging handa sa pag-aasawa, na hindi ito minamadali o pwedeng pwersahin. Na kahit ano pa ang nararamdaman mo, tunay ang pag-ibig kung nagpapatawad ka at nirerespeto mo ang iyong sarili at ang iyong minamahal. Bahagi ng respeto ang katapatan at ang pagpili ng iyong ngayon at bukas. Na hanggang natatakot kang may kaagaw ka sa puso ng iyong minamahal ay hindi wagas ang iyong pag-ibig. Dahil “sa pag-ibig ay walang pagkatakot, bagkus ang ganap na pag-ibig ay nagpapaalis ng takot.” (1 Jn 4:18)

            Maraming aral, masaya at mahusay sana at ang pelikula kung mas nabigyan ng halaga ang pagkababae ni Ginny. Na ang kaganapan ng isang tao, babae man lalake, ay hindi nagsisimula sa iba kundi sa sariling pagtanggap at pagdiriwang ng pagkatao mo, ng realidad mo bilang anak ng Diyos. Maselan naman at hindi bastos ang mga eksena ng pre-marital sex pero hindi dahil ipinakitang katawa-tawa at bahagi lamang ng kwento eh ibig sabihin ay acceptable na ito.

Snowpiercer

DIRECTOR: Bong Joon-ho  LEAD CAST: Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, Ed Harris, Song Kang-ho, Go Ah-sung, Jamie Bell, Alison Pill, John Hurt,  SCREENWRITER:  Bong Joon-ho, Kelly Masterson  PRODUCER:  Park Chan-wook, Lee Tae-hun, Park Tae-jun, Dooho Choi, Robert Bernacchi, David Minkowski, Matthew Stillman  EDITOR:  Steve M Choe  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Marcon Beltrami  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Hong Kyung-pyo  DISTRIBUTOR: The Weinstein Company, CJ Entertainment  LOCATION:  Prague, Czech Republic, South Korea, US, France GENRE: Action/Drama/Science Fiction RUNNING TIME:  125 minutes

Technical assessment: 4

Moral assessment: 2.5

MTRCB rating: R16

CINEMA Rating: V18

            Global warming has reached its peak and the earth’s days are numbered. In July 2014 nations opt for a drastic solution: to use CW7, a chemical substance once sprayed into the atmosphere will halt global warming. The temperature falls but the consequences are disastrous. A real ice age exterminates all the inhabitants of the earth, burying the world in a tomb of ice and snow. It is now 2031 and the only surviving remnant of humanity is represented by the passengers of the Snowpiercer, a high-speed train that has been running around the world for 17 years, powered by a revolutionary and unstoppable energy that provides perpetual motion. The train is a microcosm of human society and is divided into classes. The poor are relegated by force in the last carriages, malnourished and abandoned, while the rich stay in the front cars, and live in luxury and comfort. To keep this balance is extremely delicate and unrest is brewing from the tail end. The movement is led by Gilliam (John Hurt), a former Wilford engineer, and his young right hand, Curtis (Chris Evans). Helping them are Tanya (Octavia Butler), whose son was forcibly taken away to the front car, Edgar (Jamie Bell), Curtis’ best friend, and Namgoong Minsun (Song Kang-ho) security expert who designed the locks on the train. Curtis plans to storm his way to the front car where the elusive Wilford (Ed Harris), inventor and holder of the power train, resides.

            Every once in a while a film comes along that not only entertains but also makes us think. Not of pedestrian problems and the miseries of life, but about deep existential questions. Through imagery, sound and silence, darkness and light, dialogue and characters who linger in your mind long after the last credits roll, Snowpiercer, based on the French comic Le Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette, effortlessly does that. Unlike Marvel comic hero films which rely on extensive CGIs and interminable violent action sequences, Korean director Bong Joon-ho gives us a work of art by combining imaginative cinematography, compelling production design (the various coaches on the train are exceptional—from the dingy slums of the tail end to the luxurious carriages up front), evocative music, engaging story, and unpredictable plot, topped by vivid characters portrayed excellently by the cast particularly Evans and Swinton (playing Mason). Even Korean actors Song Kang-ho and Ko Ah-seong issue their roles effectively in their native tongue. Although Snowpiercer is longer than most action films at 125 minutes, there are very few unnecessary frames. Instead of background storytelling, little details are shown to reveal the characters’ identity and their nuanced portrayal pulls the viewer up or down with the film’s changing mood.

            Snowpiercer is an allegory for social classes and class warfare, a suffocating tale of human misery, perseverance and hope. We see just how twisted humanity becomes in the name of survival, power and control. The conditions at the tail end are hellish. Over and over, tail-enders are bombarded with know-your-place speeches from Mason, Wilford’s second in command, fed with gelatinous protein blocks, separated from their children and viciously punished for any attempt at insurrection. While residents at the top feast on sushi, medium rare steaks, and fresh produce, cool down in the pool or pretty up for a party at their favorite salon, their indifference as cold as the ice surrounding them.

            This is a good movie for discussion on the tendency of human nature to create social stratification and man’s love affair with the machine. The eternal train is seen as sacred and sustains life, and Wilford, the creator God. Social order is predetermined and his religion, to which the young are indoctrinated, is the excuse for control and the elite’s exploitation of the poor and the weak.

            Rich in metaphors, the film also leads us to ask: What is life? What are we doing to planet earth? What sacrifices are necessary for the maintenance of the established order? Is survival the supreme good? Can I be inhuman to preserve humanity? Can we accept and live with the cost of survival no matter how big it is? What ennobles humanity and what reduces him to a beast?

            Ultimately, it is always a choice—something each person has to struggle with while weighing the price of each choice. Will I sacrifice others in order to maintain my lifestyle, or do I sacrifice myself (offer an arm or a limb as food; lead my people to an insecure freedom; fight for truth and justice even if it means death; etc.) so that the others may live? Snowpiercer invites us to see how everyone is a passenger towards eternity and to examine the complex consequences our choices create.

American Hustle

DIRECTOR: David O. Russell  LEAD CAST: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence  SCREENWRITER:  Eric Warren Singer, David O Russell  PRODUCER:  Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Megan Ellison  EDITOR:  Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers, Alan Baumgarten  MUSICAL DIRECTOR:  Danny Elfman  GENRE: Crime Comedy-Drama  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Linus Sandgren  DISTRIBUTOR: Columbia Pictures  LOCATION:  United States RUNNING TIME:  138 minutes

Technical assessment: 3.5

Moral assessment: 2

MTRCB rating

CINEMA Rating: A18 and above

            American Hustle is a crime drama that involves two con artists who collaborate with FBI agents to catch corrupt local and national government officials in a big scam.  Christian Bale is Irving Rosenfeld, a professional con artist who makes money by swindling unsuspecting individuals. While still married to a quirky and unpredictable Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence), he meets the sexy and street-smart Sydney Prosser (played by Amy Adams), who becomes his mistress. Both believe in what they can do and accomplish as a team. With Prosser at his side, Rosenfeld’s swindling activities flourish. But the FBI catches them in one of their loan scams. In exchange for their release, Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) gets Rosenfeld to collaborate with the FBI in nailing some politicians involved in corruption. Rosenfeld befriends Mayor Carmine Polito  (Jeremy Renner) of Camden, New Jersey, a charismatic politician who wants to build a gambling casino in Atlantic City, in order to generate jobs for his constituents.

Director David Russell was able to bring together an ensemble of big name stars who delivered their roles very well. Bale is believable in his portrayal of Rosenfeld as a con artist, complete with thinning hair combed over his head and pot belly. Despite his flawed character, he’s got a soft spot for his stepson Danny, whom he adopted and regarded as his own. Adams is very good in her characterization of Sydney Prosser, with her expressive eyes conveying so eloquently the angst that she feels inside of her. Lawrence also stands out in her role as the long-suffering wife who feels left out and unloved. Meanwhile, the antics of Cooper’s character Richie DiMaso leaves one to wonder if such attitude is indeed tolerated in the agency.  Renner’s Carmine Polito, however, is reminiscent of a typical politician who sweet talks people into believing that he does everything for them, at their service.

            American Hustle received ten Academy award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.  But lest we get carried away by the Oscar’s nod, note that the movie has many disturbing elements that would necessitate discussion in the light of Christian values. American Hustle alludes to the most stunning scandals that rocked America in the late 1970s that involved the mayor of New Jersey, some congressmen, senators and a mafia group. Sex, money and manipulation are all part of the deal.  Although corrupt politicians in American Hustle were apprehended by government authorities, Rosenfeld and Prosser went on to live their life quietly without serving time in prison as part of the deal with FBI. Sex and money serve as potent means to achieve the end. Achieving one's dream at any cost without regards to morality and ethics is, in any language, definitely unacceptable.

Wolf of Wall Street

 DIRECTOR: Martin Scorsese  LEAD CAST:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner  SCREENWRITER:  Terence Winter  PRODUCER:  Marin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCarpio, Riza Aziz, Joey McFarland, Emma Tillinger Koskoff  EDITOR:  Thelma Schoomaker  GENRE: Drama  CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Rodrigo Prieto  DISTRIBUTOR:  Paramount Pictures & Universal Pictures  LOCATION:  United States  RUNNING TIME:  179 minutes

Technical assessment:  3.5

Moral assessment:  2

MTRCB rating:  R 16

CINEMA rating:  V 18

Twenty-two year-old Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a Wall Street broker who just like any devoted family man works hard to fulfill his hunger for a comfortable life.  Unfortunately, the stock market crashes on the very day he earns his license, causing him to lose his job.  However, he has learned the ropes well enough to reinvent himself, and soon lands a position in an obscure “penny stocks” company on Long Island that gives huge commissions.  His slick ways, glib tongue, and drive to get rich quick are his greatest spurs in that ill-regulated branch of the finance industry, propelling him to ill-gotten wealth until he establishes his own company, ritzily named “Stratton Oakmont”, with a handful of money-minded cronies led by Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill).  Attaining such wealth that he never even dreamed of dreaming of, Belfort is changed, dumps his wife to get a new one every man will drool over (Margot Robbie), and acquires expensive vices to match his status.  But Stratton Oakmont won’t remain in obscurity for long; when FBI agent Greg Coleman (Kyle Chandler) opens a file on Belfort, rough sailing begins.

            The wolf of Wall Street is not a documentary but a fictionalization of Jordan Belfort’s self-serving memoir by the tandem of Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter.  Belfort, a white-collar criminal fueled by drugs, greed and sex, emerges—through Winter’s screenplay and Scorsese’s direction—as an ambitious conman who’s given to excess but who nonetheless charms his audience into stupefaction.  DiCaprio plays a character he had never done before, in control of the world by day, controlled by his weaknesses by night, and a slave to his appetites 24/7.  DiCaprio’s untethered performance as a drug addict (particularly in that scene where he hits his wife and endangers his daughter’s life) is more than convincing—it’s as though Scorsese pulled all the stops and let loose the talented actor to play the depraved anti-hero.   While in that scene where Belfort tries to bribe an FBI agent while in his yacht, DiCaprio’s subtlety as an actor is beyond admirable.  The sets and the cinematography blend to render powerful scenes depicting man’s various states of servitude to materialism and the flesh.
            The wolf of Wall Street reeks with sexual stench and profanity; it glorifies amorality and glamorizes vice.  There is one moment when a shadow of contrition whiffs by—when having survived a sea disaster Belfort thinks God has given him a chance to change his unscrupulous ways—but this is swallowed up by the orgiastic excess of his lifestyle.  When justice finally catches up with him he gets a three year prison term at the end of which the arrogant Belfort launches his new career as a speaker motivating future salesmen.  Is the movie to be condemned?  Not the movie, but the reality which it parodies.  Despite the depravity and debauchery portrayed by it, The wolf of Wall Street is an indictment of greed.  But instead of passing a moral judgment on that reality, Scorsese—a Catholic—presents it as a black comedy of America’s addiction to money-making at all cost.  There are two small voices Belfort hears but fails to listen to—his father’s which is the voice of reason, and the FBI agent Denham’s which is the voice of principles.  Often, in the movies, the visible overpowers the audible.  This could happen with The wolf of Wall Street; only  mature and discerning viewers will catch Scorsese’s cautionary tale it tells.