Inside Llewyn Davis Review

Rated R (Language including Some Sexual References)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 44 Minutes

Cast-

Oscar Isaac-Llewyn Davis

Carey Mulligan-Jean Berkey

Justin Timberlake-Jim Berkey

John Goodman-Roland Turner

Garrett Hedlund-Johnny Five

F. Murray Abraham-Bud Grossman

Ethan Phillips-Mitch Gorfein

Robin Bartlett-Lillian Gorfein

Jeanine Serralles-Joy

Adam Driver-Al Cody

Stark Sands-Troy Nelson

Max Casella-Pappi Corsicato

Jerry Grayson-Mel Novikoff

Helen Hong-Janet Fung

Alex Karpovsky-Marty Green

Benjamin Pike-Young Bob Dylan

Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Oscar Isaac delivers a career-defining performance in the Coen brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis."

Note: Screened on Tuesday, December 3, 2013 at Regal Union Square Stadium 14.

'What do you want to be when you grow up?' If you were to go back in time and ask ten-year-old me that question, my answer—delivered without any hesitation—would've been comic book illustrator. I've been an avid comic book reader since I was four-years-old but despite my intense passion for my hobby, to this day it remains just that: a hobby. While my mother doesn't conform to the extreme 'Tiger Mom' stereotype exemplified by the likes of Amy Chua (thank god!), she did want me to pursue a career that at least provided some measure of financial stability. In her mind, 'comic book illustrator' wasn't it so she suggested I become a pharmacist instead. I spent two years in a pre-pharmacy program but as hard as I tried, I just couldn't see myself as a pill pusher for the rest of my life. I ended up switching my major to computer engineering at another school and while I don't have any regrets, I sometimes wonder what would've happened if I had pursued an art career instead. Would I become a wandering vagabond who spends his nights crashing on the couches of friends and acquaintances like Llewyn Davis in the Coen brothers' latest film "Inside Llewyn Davis"? Played by Oscar Isaac, Llewyn (loosely based on real-life singer/songwriter Dave Von Ronk) didn't dream of becoming a comic book illustrator; instead he was a wayward folk singer who eked out a meager existence in New York City's Greenwich Village during the early 1960s. Despite the character being kind of a dick, I still related to his struggle of sticking to your artistic ideals or settling for a more mundane but stable career. Anchored by a soulful performance from Oscar Isaac, "Inside Llewyn Davis" is equal parts funny and melancholy but at the film's heart is a tragic tale of a talented artist being dealt a cruel hand by fate while caught in a tug-of-war between art and commerce. It's a low-key affair from the Coen brothers but for anyone who's ever had their artistic dreams dashed by the harsh realities of 'real life,' this film will hit especially close to home.

Set during a pivotal week in February 1961, Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) once had a promising career as part of a folk duo called 'Timlin & Davis' until his singing partner Mike Timlin (voice of Marcus Mumford) suddenly commits suicide by hurling himself off the George Washington Bridge. Eking out a meager existence in New York City's Greenwich Village, Llewyn struggles to make a name for himself as a solo act, picking up gigs wherever he can but success continues to elude him, with his recent album 'Inside Llewyn Davis' failing to sell. With no money for a place to call his own, the down-on-his-luck folk singer is forced to spend his nights crashing on the couches of friends, relatives, and casual acquaintances. Llewyn's sympathetic Upper West Side friends, Mitch and Lillian Gorfein (Ethan Phillips and Robin Bartlett), allow him to stay at their apartment but the couple's orange tabby cat rushes out the door when Llewyn is leaving the next morning. Locked out, Llewyn decides to take the cat with him for now and leaves the furry feline and his belongings at the West Village apartment of Jim and Jean Berkey (Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan), a popular folk singing husband-and-wife duo. Jean is none too pleased to see Llewyn, secretly revealing that she's pregnant and that he might be the father. He agrees to pay for her abortion and then sets out for Chicago with bullying jazz musician Roland Turner (John Goodman) and taciturn beat poet Johnny Five (Garrett Hedlund) in a last ditch attempt to save his crumbling folk career, before finally succumbing to a go-nowhere existence with the Merchant Marines.

During the ending of the Coen brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis," a young Bob Dylan (Benjamin Pike) prepares to take the stage at Greenwich Village's Gaslight Café just as Llewyn leaves. Dylan would go on to become one of the most influential figures in popular music and culture, but the many folk singers who existed at the time failed to achieve the same level of success despite being just as good as him. Simply put, they were dealt a bad hand by fate. It takes serious talent, as well as skill, to create music; anyone can perfectly play Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 with hours of practice but not everyone is able to produce something uniquely original. Even harder is the ability to produce something original that people actually love. Llewyn Davis is certainly talented but the down-on-his-luck folk singer is seemingly condemned to suffer for his art due to forces outside his control. His prickly personality doesn't help his situation either. Set in New York City amidst a freezing winter in 1961, "Inside Llewyn Davis" opens with the titular character on the Gaslight Café's stage singing the traditional folk ballad Hang Me, Oh Hang Me to a small yet intimate crowd. They respond with polite applause, even though it's clear that Davis just poured his heart out to them with his melancholy vocals. Playing things close to the chest, the Coen brothers slowly reveal that Davis' singing partner Mike Timlin had recently committed suicide. No reason is given as to why Timlin killed himself but many characters, such as the Gorfeins and Jean, voice their fondness of him. Although Davis tries hard to advance his career as a solo act, he continues to be haunted by his partner's death and often angrily dismisses those who only want to help him. He fiercely clings to the past, partially out of elitism but largely because he's unable to move on.

Timlin's suicide isn't the only thing holding Davis back. In spite of his obvious talent and passion, people just don't want to hear covers of the same old folk songs; they want to hear original material. There's always been a clash between art and commerce. Davis wants to at least make it doing what he loves but the truth is that you can't, not without some compromise. Even more important is that people have to want to listen to you sing. There's a moment late in the film where Davis, after a long trip, finally arrives in Chicago to meet with music impresario Bud Grossman (F. Murray Abraham). He beautifully plays The Death of Queen Jane and just when you think that Davis' fortunes are about to turn for the better, Grossman bluntly tells him that he 'doesn't see a lot of money here.' Davis is at a loss for words and can only respond with 'Okay.' For an artist who's at the end of his rope, that has to be the most devastating thing to hear. This serves as a harsh reminder that talent can only get you so far; you also have to have luck on your side. Oftentimes, that's the difference between being a success and being a failure.

For the most part, "Inside Llewyn Davis" is a downbeat affair but it's also quite funny at times. Early in the film, the Gorfeins' adorable orange tabby cat runs out the door while Davis is leaving, forcing the already-harried musician to repeatedly chase after it. The two instantly form an unexpected bond, lending the picture an offbeat dimension while also providing a sad metaphor of Davis chasing his dreams and constantly screwing himself up along the way. Things take on an even weirder note once the folk singer hitches a ride with a nasty, blowhard jazzman named Roland Turner (who may or may not know black magic) and his mumbling beat poet driver Johnny Five. Almost immediately, Davis butts heads with Turner and their ensuing spat leads to several irreverently comic moments thanks to the Coen brothers' sharp, unpredictable dialogue. It's such a random encounter but then again, life is full of random encounters. The plot-less structure of the script reflects life's randomness yet also demonstrates how directionless Davis' life is. Serving in lieu of a traditional three-act story is the music and I have to say, the work that T-Bone Burnett and his team put in deserves the highest of praise. The songs are all modern recordings but not only are they appropriate for the time period in which the film takes place in, they also emphasize the current mindset of its main character. The aforementioned Hang Me, Oh Hang Me and Five Hundred Miles represent the aimless existence Davis is trapped in while the catchy tune Please Mr. Kennedy shows the divide between art and commerce. Folk music is mellow and intimate as opposed to mainstream pop, which is carefree and frivolous. Complementing the music is Jess Gonchor's exquisite production design as he literally turns back time with his depiction of New York City in the early 1960s. The hustle-and-bustle of the streets is accentuated by the chilly grey hues from Bruno Delbonnel's cinematography.  

I briefly mentioned that Llewyn Davis is kind of a dick to those around him. At his worse, he's irresponsible as he comes into people's lives without thinking about the consequences of his actions. In spite of the character's abrasive attitude, Oscar Isaac manages to soften Davis' rough edges with his low-key charisma. For the past eleven years, the actor has appeared in minor or supporting roles but "Inside Llewyn Davis" gives him a chance to prove that he's a force to be reckoned with. Isaac is not the type to chew the scenery; instead he blends into the picture and lets the little details speak for his performance. Llewyn may be outwardly bitter yet when Isaac allows the character to give himself over to his music, then it truly becomes a sight to behold and almost makes his flaws seem acceptable. The actor's soulful vocals capture the full weight of Llewyn's sadness as well as his musical passion. The rest of the supporting cast makes the most of their limited roles, with Carey Mulligan's Jean having a memorable scene where she scolds Llewyn by repeatedly calling him an asshole and how he should always wear double condoms wrapped in electric tape as a favor to all women. Hell, if she weren't so angry, I'd laugh! Despite all that rage, it's clear that Jean still has some affection toward Llewyn. Justin Timberlake is enjoyably clueless as Jean's husband Jim while John Goodman's blustering turn as Roland Turner provides plenty of laughs, lightening the mood in what is a melancholy picture about failure. Finally, there's Garrett Hedlund, who's obviously riffing on his role as Dean Moriarty from 2012's "On the Road."

Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival last May (where it won the prestigious Grand Prix award) and in limited release since December 6, 2013, "Inside Llewyn Davis" has received overwhelmingly positive reviews with 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics hailed the Coen brothers' latest effort as 'smart, funny, and profoundly melancholy.' The film received a minor nationwide expansion on January 10, 2014 but mainstream audiences have failed to connect with it. Honestly, I'm not surprised; people don't want to spend their hard-earned money and watch a depressing film. "Inside Llewyn Davis" is certainly one of the stranger pictures in the Coen brothers' oeuvre and I admit that I didn't know what to make of it initially. Repeated listening of the soundtrack greatly helped in understanding the film as well as allowing me to appreciate its subtler details. Despite its low-key tone, the Coen brothers have crafted one of the best films of 2013, one that stands as a harsh reminder about the sacrifices one must make for the sake of art.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

"I am so f*cking tired. I thought I just needed a night's sleep but it's more than that."

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12 Years a Slave Review

Rated R (Violence/Cruelty, Some Nudity and Brief Sexuality)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 14 Minutes

Cast-

Chiwetel Ejiofor-Solomon Northup

Michael Fassbender-Edwin Epps

Lupita Nyong'o-Patsey

Sarah Paulson-Mary Epps

Benedict Cumberbatch-William Ford

Brad Pitt-Samuel Bass

Paul Dano-John Tibeats

Alfre Woodard-Harriet Shaw

Paul Giamatti-Theophilus Freeman

Garret Dillahunt-Armsby

Scoot McNairy-Merrill Brown

Taran Killam-Abram Hamilton

Christopher Berry-James Burch

Adepero Oduye-Eliza

Chris Chalk-Clemens Ray

Michael Kenneth Williams-Robert

J.D. Evermore-Chapin

Andy Dylan-Treach

Kelsey Scott-Anne Northup

Quvenzhané Wallis-Margaret Northup

Cameron Zeigler-Alonzo Northup

Ashley Dyke-Anna

Directed by Steve McQueen

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, and Lupita Nyong'o deliver powerful performances in Steve McQueen's 2013 masterpiece "12 Years a Slave."

Note: Missed this film when it was released so I'm making up for it now.

Adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence proudly made the following proclamation in its second sentence: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.' Although described as 'one of the best-known sentences in the English language' and containing 'the most potent and consequential words in American history,' Jefferson's statement was only true if you were a white male. How can he declare that 'all men are created equal' yet still allow slavery to exist? This blatant contradiction did not go unnoticed, with British abolitionist Thomas Day denouncing the document as pure hypocrisy with the following remark: 'If there be an object truly ridiculous in nature, it is an American patriot, signing resolutions of independency with the one hand, and with the other brandishing a whip over his affrighted slaves.' We all know that slavery is evil; this was taught to us since elementary school but almost 150 years later, America's original sin has been thoroughly sanitized, used only to pat our country on the back for all the progress we've made since then while the daily brutality that slaves faced is only given a passing mention in history books. Director Steve McQueen's latest film, "12 Years a Slave," changes all that. He doesn't want you to 'understand' or to 'sympathize'; he wants you to face the living hell that all African Americans faced in the antebellum South, to feel the same pain they felt as they were whipped over and over again until they could stand no more, their backs completely torn open. Anchored by an incredible performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years a Slave" is an unflinchingly brutal and emotionally harrowing exploration of America's dark and shameful past, a film that is not only a masterpiece but also stands as an essential piece of modern cinema.

Opening in 1841, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a free-born African American living a peaceful life in Saratoga Springs, New York with his wife Anne (Kelsey Scott) and two children, Alonzo (Cameron Zeigler) and Margaret (Quvenzhané Wallis). A skilled carpenter and an accomplished violinist, Solomon is approached one day by a pair of well-dressed men named Merrill Brown (Scoot McNairy) and Abram Hamilton (Taran Killam), who claim to be professional illusionists for a famous traveling circus. They reveal that they're looking to hire a talented musician who'd be willing to play a few engagements in Washington, D.C. for the circus. Promising to compensate him with all traveling expenses covered, Solomon readily agrees to the offer. Unfortunately, the job turns out be a ruse. Arriving at the nation's capital, Brown and Hamilton treat their new friend to a celebratory dinner and secretly drug him. Waking up the next morning, Solomon finds himself chained to the floor in a dark jail cell and about to be sold into slavery. He desperately tries to convince slave dealer James Burch (Christopher Berry) of his status as a free man but he viciously beats him into submission instead and forces him to adopt the identity of a runaway slave from Georgia named 'Platt.' Shipped to New Orleans, Louisiana, Solomon is sold to a plantation owner named William Ford (Benedict Cumberbatch), who turns out be a benevolent, if willfully ignorant, master. However, when Solomon fights back against Ford's racist chief carpenter John Tibeats (Paul Dano), Ford is forced to sell him for his own safety. Edwin Epps (Michael Fassbender), Solomon's new master, is the complete opposite of Ford as he believes his right to abuse his slaves is biblically sanctioned. He also lusts after a young female slave named Patsey (Lupita Nyong'o) and abuses her with repeated rape. Envious of the attention her husband lavishes on Patsey, Epps' wife Mary (Sarah Paulson) takes every opportunity to verbally and physically assault her. For ten years, Solomon tries to survive despite being frequently whipped by Epps, with the hopes of one day reuniting with his family.

Adapted for the screen by John Ridley from Solomon Northup's 1853 memoir of the same name, Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" is a film that all Americans, regardless of race or color, must see. This isn't the first 2013 film to deal with race relations but many of them, such as Brian Helgeland's Jackie Robinson biopic "42" and Lee Daniels' largely fictionalized "The Butler," feel too sanitized to make much of an impact. It soft-sells the drama in a lame and obvious attempt to uplift the audience, allowing them to pat themselves on the back on how far our country has come in accomplishing racial equality. Yes, it is true that much progress has been made and while Hollywood isn't afraid to explore America's shameful past, they never truly capture its ugliness. This is probably done to avoid controversy. "12 Years a Slave" is an ugly, brutal film that forcefully seizes the audience's attention and has them bear witness to the dehumanizing effects of slavery. The opening scene, a flash-forward, finds Solomon already a slave and being ordered to cultivate cane. When he goes to sleep after a long day of working on the field (in a cramped shack, no less), he makes eye contact with a young woman named Anna (Ashley Dyke), who grabs Solomon's hand to her breast and then slowly directs it beneath her dress. Out of pity, he pleasures her but the release Anna feels is over within seconds. She turns away and silently cries, not out of regret but out of the knowledge that she is back in hell. That is what slavery was like for African Americans at the time: hell. This woman was so desperate to feel alive, to not feel like an animal, even for a few seconds, that she was willing to engage with a total stranger. For close to two hours, McQueen will make you feel as debased and as drained of life as its lead character.

In many respects, "12 Years a Slave" is akin to a horror film. After the title card, it flashes back to 1841, where Solomon leads an idyllic life with his family as an accomplished and well-respected violinist in Saratoga Springs, New York. A mere ten minutes later, Solomon wakes up in a dark jail cell. Chained to the floor, he discovers that he is being sold into slavery. Combined with Hans Zimmer's blaring, ominous score, the trip to New Orleans is something out of a nightmare, with McQueen's camera zoomed-in on a bound-and-gagged slave at one point. 'If you want to survive, do and say as little as possible. Tell no one who you really are and tell no one that you can read and write,' warns Clemens Ray (Chris Chalk), one of the slaves. Solomon is in complete shock and disbelief upon hearing this. 'Days ago I was with my family, in my home. Now you tell me all is lost. "Tell no one who I really am"? That's the way to survive? Well, I don't want to survive, I want to live.' That hope, to live as a free human being once more and reunite with his family, remains with Solomon despite being repeatedly beaten down for over a decade. It's an incredibly moving journey, but one that is frequently upsetting. This is what sets "12 Years a Slave" apart from other films that have dealt with the same subject matter as McQueen is unafraid to show the complete savagery of slavery even if it is graphically disturbing to the viewer. This was an inhumane evil that America willingly allowed to fester, and for all the progress we've made, our country continues to pay the price for it almost 150 years later.

Sean Bobbitt's gorgeous cinematography captures the beauty and tranquility of the antebellum South, but it often stands in stark contrast to the brutality on display, with McQueen having a penchant for lingering shots. He does this in two of the film's most pivotal moments. The first one occurs an hour into the film, with Solomon still under the ownership of William Ford, who treats him with relative kindness given the circumstances. However, Ford's chief carpenter, John Tibeats, is proudly racist and the one thing he doesn't like is having his intelligence questioned. When Solomon presents a less expensive solution to Ford for transporting timber, Tibeats is greatly offended and later looks for an excuse to whip the slave. A defiant Solomon fights back instead and beats the sniveling carpenter with his own whip. Looking to retaliate at this 'injustice,' Tibeats and two of his lackeys string Solomon up in a noose with the intention of hanging him but Chapin (J.D. Evermore), Ford's overseer, stops them. He explains that since Ford is his master, only he can decide his fate. Tibeats and his friends slink away but Chapin doesn't bother removing Solomon from the noose and simply leaves him dangling on his toes while someone fetches Ford. He stays there until dusk and during the entire time, McQueen's camera remains still. Life on the plantation continues in the background and although one slave does come to give him a sip of water, no one dares to rescue him. This is the central metaphor in "12 Years a Slave," where barbaric and unthinkable acts of cruelty were inflicted on human beings every day yet no attempt was made to put an end to it. Slavery had become so ingrained into American culture that the sight of a slave being hanged was considered normal. This is the fact that our history books fail to make: Slavery was normal, and that's not something you can just wipe away like it never existed.

The second pivotal shot is near the end of the film, right around the two hour mark. A drunken Edwin Epps bursts onto the field yelling for Patsy but she is nowhere to be found. It turns out she went to get a bar of soap for herself from a nearby plantation, since Epps' wife refuses to allow her to bathe in an attempt to spite her husband. Edwin believes Patsy was sleeping with the plantation owner and punishes the girl by stripping off all her clothes and tying her to a post to be whipped. However, Edwin is unable to bring himself to do it and forces Solomon to do the whipping. The almost-five minute scene (shot in one take) is unbearable to watch as Patsy screams in pain with each strike. Out of frustration, Edwin takes over and by the time he's finished, Patsy's back is nothing but a mutilated, bloody mess. Why does McQueen linger on such violence? Solomon screams to Edwin that 'sooner or later, somewhere in the course of eternal justice thou shalt answer for this sin' but he replies, almost with pride, that 'there is no sin. A man does how he pleases with his property.' In the eyes of their owners, slaves were not people and with each strike, McQueen forces you to confront the systematic dehumanization of an entire race. Solomon being ordered by Epps to do the whipping calls attention to the self-loathing that many African Americans continue to face. Again, this kind of racial trauma is something our history books fail to capture.

As hard as it is to watch the film at times, the excellent performances from the cast will keep you captivated. Chiwetel Ejiofor's graceful and sympathetic turn as Solomon Northup stands as a perfect example of an Academy Award-worthy performance, with the actor capturing his character's quiet determination and refusal to become a victim despite his harsh circumstances. Michael Fassbender is just as excellent with his frightening and volatile portrayal of Edwin Epps, by far one of the most despicable characters to ever grace modern cinema. Fassbender is paired with Sarah Paulson as his vindictive wife and together, the two make for a convincingly reprehensible couple. However, the standout is Lupita Nyong'o's devastating and heart-wrenching performance as Patsy, who is forced to endure nightly rapes from her master while his wife physically and verbally abuses her at every turn. When she tearfully begs Solomon to end her life, you'd wish he did because at least she'll be at peace. The rest of the supporting cast is brimming with talent, from Benedict Cumberbatch as a benign slave owner to Paul Giamatti's greedy slave dealer. Paul Dano seems to have carved out a niche for himself by playing sniveling characters while Alfre Woodard pops in briefly as a former slave-turned-unlikely Southern belle. The only real misstep is Brad Pitt as a Canadian laborer named Samuel Bass. While there's nothing wrong with Pitt's performance, the actor's larger-than-life presence ends up being a distraction. Fortunately, his role only amounts to an extended cameo.

Released on October 18, 2013, "12 Years a Slave" has received overwhelmingly positive reviews with 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that it was 'far from comfortable viewing, but [the film's] unflinchingly brutal look at American slavery is also brilliant—and quite possibly essential—cinema.' McQueen's film has already received numerous accolades and is guaranteed to be major player at this year's Academy Awards. "12 Years a Slave" will leave you emotionally drained and bring you to tears, and it accomplishes this without resorting to false or overblown sentimentality. The film's power lies in its matter-of-factness and for two hours, McQueen demands his audience to confront America's greatest sin.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

"It would be an unspeakable happiness to see my wife and my family again."

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The Wolf of Wall Street Review

Rated R (Sequences of Strong Sexual Content, Graphic Nudity, Drug Use and Language Throughout, and for Some Violence)

Running Time: 3 Hours

Cast-

Leonardo DiCaprio-Jordan Belfort

Jonah Hill-Donnie Azoff

Margot Robbie-Naomi Lapaglia-Belfort

Kyle Chandler-FBI Agent Patrick Denham

Matthew McConaughey-Mark Hanna

Jean Dujardin-Jean Jacques Saurel

Cristin Milioti-Teresa Petrillo-Belfort

Rob Reiner-Max Belfort

Christine Ebersole-Leah Belfort

Joanna Lumley-Aunt Emma

Mackenzie Meehan-Hildy Azoff

Jon Bernthal-Brad

Jon Favreau-Manny Riskin

P.J. Byrne-Nicky Koskoff

Kenneth Choi-Chester Ming

Brian Sacca-Robbie Feinberg

Henry Zebrowski-Alden Kupferberg

Ethan Suplee-Toby Welch

Barry Rothbart-Peter DeBlasio

Jake Hoffman-Steve Madden

Bo Dietl-Himself

Jon Spinogatti-Nicholas the Butler

Aya Cash-Janet/Jordan's Assistant

Jordan Belfort-Auckland Straight Line Host

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Leonardo DiCaprio delivers a bravura performance in Martin Scorsese's latest magnum opus, "The Wolf of Wall Street."

Note: Screened on Wednesday, December 18, 2013 at AMC Loews Lincoln Square 13.

My mother often says that if she were rich, the first thing she would do is hire a housekeeper. However, she would continue working at her sales job, which may go against the point of being rich (why work when you already have millions of dollars in your bank account?) but we Asians are nothing if not pragmatic. We know full well that money doesn't last forever. New York stock broker Jordan Belfort, played by an insanely brilliant Leonardo DiCaprio in director Martin Scorsese's latest film "The Wolf of Wall Street," doesn't share my mother's quaint view on wealth. By age twenty-six, Belfort had his own brokerage firm and was making forty-nine million dollars a year. He had achieved the 'American Dream' but then he blew all that money away on an endless supply of drugs, hookers, and more drugs and hookers. Belfort is extremely proud of his vices too; after showing off his 'mansion, private jet, six cars, three horses, two vacation homes and…170 foot yacht,' he remarks that he 'also gamble[s] like a degenerate, drink like a fish, f*ck hookers…five times a week and have three different Federal agencies looking to indict [him].' Oh, and have I mentioned that he loves drugs? Hell, with the amount of Quaaludes (read about them here), Xanax, Ambien, marijuana, cocaine, and morphine that he takes per day, it's frankly a miracle that Belfort is still alive and kicking. The man is a thoroughly despicable scoundrel with absolutely no moral compass (since his release from prison in 2006, he still hasn't fully paid back the $110.4 million he owes in restitution) but he remains a charismatic, fascinating individual. A darkly comic, unflinchingly disturbing, and grotesquely hedonistic deconstruction of the moral erosion of the American Dream, Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" isn't just one of the finest films of 2013, it's a bona fide classic that's on par with the director's best works and cements his status as a timeless voice in American cinema. Despite its three-hour running time, there is not a single dull moment in the film thanks to a bravura performance from Leonardo DiCaprio.

Fresh out of college and newly married, optimistic twenty-two year old Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) arrives in New York City in the summer of 1987 with big dreams of making it rich on Wall Street. Starting out on the chaotic trading room floor of investment banking firm L.F. Rothschild, Belfort catches the eye of Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey), who tells the naïve young man that the keys to success are 'masturbation, cocaine, and hookers.' Finally made an official stockbroker after passing his Series 7, Belfort sets out to conquer the world and become a 'Master of the Universe' but his hopes and dreams come crashing down when the stock market collapses on October 19, 1987—otherwise known as 'Black Monday.' With a wife—Teresa (Cristin Milioti)—to support, Belfort decides to take a job at Long Island's Investor's Center, where he pushes penny stocks onto hapless, uneducated blue collar workers. Thanks to a fifty-percent commission rate, he is soon rolling in the dough, allowing him to form his own brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont in 1988 with new business partner Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill). It doesn't take long for Belfort's new firm to become a force to be reckoned with on Wall Street, with the former stockbroker becoming wealthier than he could have ever imagined. Eventually dumping his first wife in favor of lingerie designer Naomi Lapaglia (Margot Robbie)—the so-called 'Duchess of Bay Ridge'—Belfort's life quickly becomes consumed in a sea of money, drugs, and hookers. With the American Dream now within his grasp, Belfort grows careless and attracts the attention of FBI Agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler), who waits for a chance to bring the arrogant and hedonistic stock titan to justice.

Adapted by "Boardwalk Empire" creator Terence Winter from Jordan Belfort's 2007 tell-all memoir of the same name, Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" opens with a soothing, early '90s commercial about the dangerous world of investing, with the narrator comparing it to a jungle. Here to lend a helping hand is Stratton Oakmont, a prestigious brokerage firm that offers 'stability, integrity, [and] pride.' You can almost hear Scorsese yelling 'bullsh*t!' behind the camera as he then cuts to the actual Stratton Oakmont, where three hundred drunken stockbrokers are playing a game that involves tossing a bunch of dwarves onto a dollar-signed bull's-eye. At first glance, "The Wolf of Wall Street" appears to be a redemptive tale of a man who got caught up in his own greed but the film is the complete opposite of this. Sure, Belfort was successfully convicted for securities fraud and money laundering yet he only served a mere twenty-two months in prison. Now he's living a comfortable life in Manhattan Beach, California as a motivational speaker, with an audience who are hungry and desperate to have what he has. Meanwhile, the FBI agent that arrested Belfort is probably still commuting home on the subway. He may have brought the stock titan to justice but where did it get him? That's right, nowhere. As Vanity Fair's Katey Rich puts it, "The Wolf of Wall Street" is a film where 'the bad guys win, over and over again.' For three hours, we watch Belfort rise to the top, not through honest hard work but by lying and scheming on the backs of anyone who were dumb enough to invest with him. In between he's blowing coke inside a hooker's a**hole, crashing his Lamborghini while high on fifteen-year-old Quaaludes, and physically assaulting his wife when it all comes crashing down on him. Scorsese leaves little doubt that Belfort is a revolting individual but you know what? We keep watching because as bad as he is, his charisma and his ability to motivate outshines his worst qualities, creating an individual that is endlessly fascinating from beginning to end.

A big part of the film's success is Leonardo DiCaprio's infectious performance, which I'll get to later but what sets "The Wolf of Wall Street" apart is it's wildly irreverent tone. Scorsese isn't overly concerned with condemning Belfort's behavior; instead he exaggerates the memoir's already-bizarre occurrences to hilarious effect. One scene that will leave your sides hurting from extreme laughter is when Belfort discovers the 'cerebral palsy phase' while high on fifteen-year-old Quaaludes. Transformed into an incoherent, drooling mess, the man starts crawling along the floor like an infant, his every move a struggle. To get to his Lamborghini, he rolls down the stairs. When Belfort finally gets home, he finds an equally-high Donnie (a renamed Danny Porush) on the phone with their Swiss banker (played by a gleeful Jean Dujardin), leading to a ludicrous struggle that ends with Belfort snorting an entire vial of cocaine—while Popeye's famous theme plays in the background—in order to save his best friend from choking to death on a piece of ham. I have to say, this scene was funnier than all of 2013's comedies combined. Scorsese packs his film with outrageous moments like these, each more grotesque and disturbing than the last. We should turn away but we don't because deep down, we crave Belfort's lifestyle.

It's easy to mistake the endless drug-fueled orgies as pointless but that would be doing Scorsese a great disservice. There's a purpose behind every scene and what's great about Winter's script is how it reveals the American Dream to be a total farce, a lie. The ideal of being rewarded for honest hard work is dead. It's been beaten to death by the 'dog-eat-dog' world of Wall Street greed. Everyone wants to get rich quick and while Belfort stole millions of dollars with his numerous 'pump and dump' schemes, his victims are equally complicit. People allow themselves to be conned. We let people like Belfort ruin our economy while he funds his latest orgy with the money that some overeager investor, whether rich or poor, gave him. Even as we're laughing along at his increasingly over-the-top escapades, Scorsese is holding a giant mirror in front of us, screaming that we allowed this. We allow people like Belfort to exist and enabled his behavior by blindly giving him money in the hopes that we will become rich ourselves. HitFix's Drew McWeeny says it best with the following line from his review: 'Wall Street may be a vampire, but America leaves a standing invitation at the door, allowing themselves to be drained because they hope against hope that just maybe they'll get turned and then it'll be them doing the draining.' That's the true genius behind "The Wolf of Wall Street." On the surface, it seems to openly mock Belfort's hedonistic lifestyle but really its showing how morally lost America has become in the crazed pursuit of money.

The performances in this film are absolutely amazing. It pains me that Leonardo DiCaprio has yet to win an Academy Award because in "The Wolf of Wall Street," he doesn't play Jordan Belfort; he becomes him. Never have I seen an actor throw himself into a role with such wild abandon, with DiCaprio transforming into a hypnotic, cult-like figure as his character screams at the top of lungs at his employees, motivating them to 'ram…stock down [their] clients' throats and make them choke on it till they buy 20,000 shares!' This is a career-best performance from DiCaprio and he delivers it with absolutely nothing held back. For three hours, you are convinced that he's the amoral, sociopathic, condescending, sick f*ck that Belfort was. Jonah Hill feeds off of his co-star's kinetic energy as Donnie Azoff and there are moments where his character becomes even more morally depraved than Belfort. The gorgeous Margot Robbie is a revelation here, holding her own in several explosive scenes with DiCaprio as her character Naomi confronts Belfort about his continued infidelity. The rest of the supporting cast only has a handful of scenes but they nail each and every one of them, with Matthew McConaughey being a standout as he hilariously imparts some sage-like wisdom about being a successful stockbroker. Jon Bernthal's Brad has a number of funny moments with Donnie as they express their animosity toward each other while Kyle Chandler shares a great scene with DiCaprio, their characters verbally attacking one another. Finally, there's Rob Reiner as Belfort's father 'Mad Max,' as he's affectionately called. Unable to steer his son on the right path, he tries to enjoy the ride despite expressing his befuddlement that women now shave their vaginas.

Released on December 25, 2013, "The Wolf of Wall Street" has received positive reviews with a solid 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics hailed it as 'funny, self-referential, and irreverent to a fault, [the film] finds Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio at their most infectiously dynamic.' It's pretty much guaranteed to be a major contender at next year's Academy Awards but audience reception has been polarizing to say the least. I'm not at all surprised because when the masses are presented with a film whose subject matter is either unfamiliar or uncomfortable, they reject it. I don't think it really matters in the long run though. It obviously got people talking and if you came away disgusted, I'm sorry to say that the film's message was lost on you. "The Wolf of Wall Street" is a hilarious picture for sure and easily stands tall as one of 2013's best but it's also a disturbing film, and what it has to say about the state of America should frighten you. As critic Matt Zoller Seitz writes, 'We laugh at the movie, but guys like Belfort will never stop laughing at us.' Ain't so funny now, is it?

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

"There is no nobility in poverty. I've been rich, and I've been poor and I choose rich every time. At least as a rich man, when I have to face my problems, I show up in the back of a limo wearing a $2000 suit and $40,000 gold watch! And if anyone here thinks I'm crazy, get the f*ck out and get a job at McDonald’s, because that's where you f*cking belong! But before you depart this room full of winners, I want you to take a good look at the person next to you, because one day in the not-so-distant future, you'll be sitting at a red light in your beat-up old Pinto, and that person’s gonna pull up in a brand new Porsche, with their gorgeous young wife at their side. And who will you be next to? Some ugly beast with three days of razor-stubble in a sleeveless moo-moo, crammed in next to you with a carload of groceries from the f*cking Price Club! So you listen to me and listen carefully. Are you behind on your credit card bills? Good. Pick up the phone and start dialing. Is your landlord threatening to evict you? Good. Pick up the phone and start dialing. Does your girlfriend think you're a f*cking loser? Pick up the phone and start f*cking dialing! I want you to deal with your problems by becoming rich! I want you to go out and spend money! Leverage yourself, back yourself into a corner, let the consequences of failure become so f*cking unthinkable that you'll have no choice but to do whatever it takes to win! You have an obligation here, people! To your clients! To this firm! An obligation to yourself, godammit! You ram Steve Madden stock down your clients' throats and make them choke on it till they buy 20,000 shares! Be aggressive! Be ferocious! Be telephone f*cking terrorists!"

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Frozen 3D Review

Rated PG (Some Action and Mild Rude Humor)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 48 Minutes

Cast (voice)-

Kristen Bell-Anna

Idina Menzel-Elsa

Jonathan Groff-Kristoff

Josh Gad-Olaf

Santino Fontana-Hans

Alan Tudyk-Duke of Weselton

Ciarán Hinds-Pabbie the Troll King/Grandpa

Maia Wilson-Bulda

Stephen J. Anderson-Kai

Edie McClurg-Gerda

Chris Williams-Oaken

Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee

Disney's "Frozen" is by far the best animated film of the year.

Note: Screened on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at AMC Loews Village 7.

I've lost count of how many times I've watched Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" as a kid. If you were to ask my mother, her answer would be an exasperated 'must've been close to a hundred times.' It's not just a great animated film; it's a great film, period—the kind that redefines the word 'timelessness.' I grew up during the so-called 'Disney Renaissance' and many of the films that were released during that ten-year period, such as "The Little Mermaid," the aforementioned "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," and of course "The Lion King," mean a lot to me. These are films that have withstood the test of time, transcending age groups and becoming true classics in the process. Besides having great stories, lovable characters, and colorful animation, one aspect that made the Disney Renaissance films stand out was its music. They were like full-on Broadway musicals and it was what gave them that timeless 'Disney magic.' Unfortunately, the rise of Pixar and CG animation led to the decline of the Disney musical and with it, traditional hand-drawn animation. For the last decade or so, Disney has struggled to adapt to a markedly different playing field. Between Pixar's countless award-winning achievements and DreamWorks' continued global box office dominance, not to mention increased competition from upstarts like Illumination and Blue Sky, the house that Walt Disney built looked like it was slipping into irrelevance. The answer to their revival was surprisingly simple: go back to their roots. What began with 2009's "The Princess and the Frog" has culminated with "Frozen," a CG animated film with big musical numbers, just like the ones that Disney used to do during the 1990s. It's too soon to label Disney's latest as a 'classic' but "Frozen" is by far the best animated film of the year, a dazzling technical marvel that's backed up by memorable music, wonderful voice acting, and a story that cleverly subverts its own princess fairy tale tropes. This is Disney acknowledging its own past while forging a bright new path for its future.

"Frozen" is preceded by a hilarious seven-minute short film titled "Get a Horse!" Starring Mickey Mouse and all his friends, it celebrates Disney's rich heritage in a witty and inventive manner. Living in the idyllic, Nordic-like kingdom of Arendelle, royal sisters Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) used to be close, but a childhood incident involving Elsa's burgeoning ice powers forced their worried parents to isolate their older daughter while her younger sibling's memories were altered. The two are eventually orphaned when their parents meet a tragic accident on the high seas. Locked away in her room, Elsa's attempts to control her abilities strain her relationship with Anna, who grows up confused at her sister's sudden emotional distance. When Elsa finally comes of age, she is crowned the queen of Arendelle during a summertime ceremony attended by many. Meanwhile, Anna falls in love with a handsome prince named Hans (Santino Fontana), with the pair hastily agreeing to get married despite it being their first meeting. Elsa, however, refuses to give her blessing to their marriage, leading to an argument between the two sisters. The emotional distress causes Elsa to accidentally unleash her powers, plunging Arendelle into an eternal winter. With the community turned against her by the arrogant Duke of Weselton (Alan Tudyk), Elsa decides to go into self-imposed exile up in the mountains, where she resides in a massive fortress made of ice. Desperate to make things right, Anna sets off to find her sister and is eventually joined by an unemployed ice cutter named Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and a strangely cheerful living snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad), who dreams of experiencing the delights of summer.

Although it shares the same title as Adam Green's 2010 psychological thriller, Disney's "Frozen" obviously has nothing to do with a group of people who suddenly find themselves trapped on a ski lift and forced to survive against sub-zero temperatures. Rather, the film is loosely (and I must really emphasize this word) based on Hans Christian Andersen's classic 1845 fairy tale The Snow Queen. Development on the film that would eventually become known as "Frozen" stretched as far back as 1943, with the project being halted on-and-off for close to seventy years due to the difficulty in adapting the Snow Queen character into someone that modern audiences could relate to. The critical and commercial success of 2010's "Tangled" inspired Disney to give it another shot and the solution was to rewrite Anna, who was based on the Gerda character from the original fairy tale, as the Snow Queen's younger sister. Establishing this family dynamic finally allowed the project to escape development hell and move forward. You really have to admire Disney's persistence here. What studio today would stick with a concept for close to seven decades in order to make it work?    

What sets "Frozen" apart from previous Disney films is that the female characters aren't defined nor are they entirely dependent on the men around them. However, this is still a princess fairy tale, a fact that directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee fully embrace without apology. There are love-at-first-sights and happily-ever-afters but the screenplay from Lee also includes a subtle modern touch, with the writer cleverly subverting the story's princess tropes without fully resorting to the winking self-awareness of Disney's competitors, namely DreamWorks with their "Shrek" franchise. While the pairing of Anna and Kristoff is reminiscent of Rapunzel and Flynn from "Tangled," "Frozen" recognizes the fact that 'true love' comes in different forms and so the focus is always on the sisterly bond between Anna and Elsa. Anna doesn't understand why her elder sister has grown emotionally distant due to her memories being altered and is hurt by this loss while Elsa, afraid and filled with self-doubt, just wants to be left alone. Arendelle's initial condemnation of her mid-way through the film not only stands as a potent homosexuality parable, it also provides a rich feminist subtext of a woman being punished for not conforming to a man's definition of how females should behave. You could even argue that Elsa's long isolation in her room is symbolic of a male-dominated, repressive society that forces women to hide who they truly are.

In addition to playing with genre conventions, the CG animation in "Frozen" is absolutely gorgeous and sublimely captures the magic of its wintry setting. Even small details like the freckles on Anna's face and shoulders shine through. The only complaint is the 3D, which is fine but fails to really add much to the experience. It's the only element in the film that feels obligatory and workmanlike. However, the real standout is the music. Written and composed by the husband-and-wife duo Robert and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, the songs push what is already a great film into something truly special. Hell, the first thing I did when I arrived home from the advance screening was to download the soundtrack off Amazon. Unfortunately, I was faced with disappointment when the order page revealed that its release was still a week away. Catchy and exceptionally well-written, each song encapsulates the characters' emotional states wonderfully but the most unforgettable, show-stopping number is the power balled Let It Go performed by Idina Menzel. I've already listened to it close to twenty times since I brought the soundtrack and it still continues to send chills down my spine. There's a cover version from Demi Lovato as well which is just as good, even if it is a little too 'pop' for my tastes. Other memorable songs include the delightful Love is an Open Door, a duet from Kristen Bell and Santino Fontana, and the hilariously endearing In Summer from Josh Gad's Olaf. The music pretty much defined the Disney Renaissance and I'm glad that the Lopezes went to such great lengths to recapture that 'Disney magic.'

The voice acting is excellent, with Kristen Bell delivering a lively performance as the plucky and adorably charming Anna. The way Bell conveys her character's optimism and bubbly personality is infectious, and I immediately fell in love with her. Anna may just be my favorite Disney princess yet. Idina Menzel, who's had a long and successful career on Broadway, beautifully captures Elsa's inner fear and vulnerability despite the great power she wields. Not only do they shine in their vocal work but both actresses are outstanding when it comes to their music numbers. I have no doubt that "Frozen" will be walking away with at least one golden statue in the Best Original Song category. Jonathan Groff is affable and down-to-earth as mountain man Kristoff while Josh Gad, who honed his singing chops on Broadway's "The Book of Mormon," is consistently hilarious as the naïve yet kind-hearted snowman Olaf. It's hard not to laugh as he longingly voices his wish to experience summertime, completely oblivious to what the heat will actually do to him. Santino Fontana brings an appropriately princely appeal to Hans and finally, Alan Tudyk disappears into another voice role as the shifty Duke of Weselton.

Released on November 27, 2013, "Frozen" has received overwhelmingly positive reviews with 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. Noting that it was 'beautifully animated, smartly written, and stocked with singalong songs,' critics hailed it as 'another worthy entry to the Disney canon.' Given its prime Thanksgiving release date and its position as the last animated film of the year, "Frozen" is pretty much a guaranteed box office success and should easily cruise to $200 million domestic by the time it exits theaters. Disney has had its fair share of ups and downs over its ninety-year history but the house that Walt built has proven to be surprisingly resilient as the animation studio continuously adapts to new trends while embracing its rich heritage. As Forbes' Scott Mendelson so eloquently puts it, "Frozen" is 'both a declaration of Disney's renewed cultural relevance and a reaffirmation of Disney coming to terms with its own legacy and its own identity. It's also a just plain terrific bit of family entertainment.' Of all the films I saw this year, this is the one that left me with the biggest smile on my face.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

"Some people are worth melting for."

There's a fun little scene after the end credits if you choose to stick around.

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Captain Phillips Review

Rated PG-13 (Sustained Intense Sequences of Menace, Some Violence with Bloody Images, and for Substance Use)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 14 Minutes

Cast-

Tom Hanks-Captain Richard Phillips

Catherine Keener-Andrea Phillips

Michael Chernus-Shane Murphy

Barkhad Abdi-Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse

Barkhad Abdirahman-Bilal

Faysal Ahmed-Najee

Mahat M. Ali-Elmi

David Warshofsky-Mike Perry

Corey Johnson-Ken Quinn

Chris Mulkey-John Cronan

Yul Vazquez-Captain Frank Castellano

Max Martini-SEAL Commander

Omar Berdouni-Nemo

Mohamed Ali-Asad

Issak Farah Samatar-Hufan

Directed by Paul Greengrass

Tom Hanks delivers his best performance since 2000's "Cast Away" in Paul Greengrass' intense thriller/docudrama "Captain Phillips."

Note: Screened on Thursday, September 12, 2013 at Regal Union Square Stadium 14.

Desperate men are the most dangerous men. When four Somali pirates, led by Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, forcibly boarded the merchant vessel Maersk Alabama on April 8, 2009, their plan was to hold the ship for millions of dollars in ransom money but boiling down their motivations to pure simple greed means willingly ignoring the circumstances that drove them to commit such an act in the first place. Already decimated by civil war due to the collapse of its military dictatorship in 1991, Somalia was hit with an influx of illegal fishing at the same time. Tightened regulations from the EU forced foreign trawlers to seek new hunting grounds and with their livelihood now at stake, Somali fishermen decided to take up arms and hijack ships for ransom as a source of income. The involvement of local warlords, who were truly driven by greed, eventually transformed piracy into a lucrative and global criminal enterprise. These are facts that the media all too often 'conveniently' leave out because it's simply easier to paint men like Muse as violent thugs. Director Paul Greengrass' latest film, "Captain Phillips," could've taken the lazy route and demonized Muse and his men but fortunately, it doesn't. No one will dispute that their actions were wrong; however, they are also very much victims of circumstance. This well-rounded approach is just one of many things that Greengrass and writer Billy Ray get right in bringing the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking to the big screen. Aided by a powerful performance from Tom Hanks, "Captain Phillips" is a thoroughly absorbing, tense, and emotionally harrowing thriller/docudrama that will literally leave you breathless. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this grueling real-life tale of survival also ranks as one of the best films of the year, with Hanks guaranteed an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

March 2009. Merchant mariner Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks) wakes up at his home in Vermont and prepares for his latest assignment—a journey around the Horn of Africa. During the drive to the airport, Richard and his wife Andrea (Catherine Keener) ponder the future and wonder how to get their son Daniel to take school more seriously. Despite her husband's increasingly perilous job which keeps him away from home for months at a time, Andrea reaffirms that everything will turn out fine in the long run and says her good-byes. Meanwhile at Eyl, Somalia, Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse (Barkhad Abdi) is awakened with news that the local warlord is seeking to enlist men for piracy missions. Muse is chosen to lead a crew and handpicks Bilal (Barkhad Abdirahman), Elmi (Mahat M. Ali), and Najee (Faysal Ahmed) as his followers. As Muse and his men set out to hijack any foreign cargo ships that come their way, Phillips arrives at port in Salalah, Oman, where he takes command of the MV Maersk Alabama. Loaded with over 2400 tons of commercial cargo, food aid, and more, the ship disembarks and heads toward its destination, Mombasa, Kenya. The trip takes them through the Somali basin, prompting Phillips to order his first mate, Shane Murphy (Michael Chernus), to tighten security measures. In spite of the crew's best efforts, four Somali pirates, led by Muse, succeed in boarding the vessel in the hopes of collecting millions of dollars in ransom money. When that doesn't work out, Muse and his men flee in a lifeboat but not before taking Phillips as their hostage.

Adapted by writer Billy Ray from Richard Phillips' own book (A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea), "Captain Phillips" is a riveting docudrama from beginning-to-end, one that brings new meaning to the word 'nail-biter.' Much like Alfonso Cuarón's "Gravity," director Paul Greengrass strove to create a strong sense of verisimilitude in the production and he decided right from the start to shoot almost 75% of the picture on open water. Cuarón's biggest obstacle was accurately recreating the sensation of being in space and he accomplished this by using the latest technologies in a creative and innovative manner. For Greengrass, the challenge was logistical and I came away really impressed given the infamous difficulties of shooting at sea (Remember 1995's "Waterworld"?), an issue that would also be compounded by the extremely claustrophobic environments the film's crew had to work in. When it comes to depicting a real-life event with as much veracity as possible on the big screen, Greengrass is nearly unmatched. I would say his only equal is Kathryn Bigelow. The meticulous way he handles the material not only enhances the realness of what's happening on-screen in the eye of the viewer but heightens the drama as well. It's what made 2006's "United 93" a great film and it's the same reason for "Captain Phillips."

Basing your film on a true story, especially a recent one, has always been a risky endeavor because how it all ends is already known. Despite this disadvantage, Greengrass has managed to create a film that's immensely gripping and not once does the pacing ever drag. The opening minutes of "Captain Phillips" establishes the titular merchant mariner as a normal, everyday blue collar worker whose job unfortunately takes him away from his family a lot. The following scene introduces Muse, who is dressed in dirty rags and lives in squalid conditions in Eyl, Somalia. For him, piracy is the only type of work he can do, and its work that other poor Somalis are desperate to partake in. For these people, it's their livelihood. It doesn't take long for the Maersk Alabama to encounter the pirates, kicking the film into high gear. The intensity of this initial meeting has to be experienced, with Phillips ordering his chief engineer to 'goose' the ship's engines, churning out large waves in an attempt to disable the pirates' skiffs. To confuse them further, Phillips even engages in a clever bit of trickery by pretending to communicate with a Navy warship on his radio. However, these tactics only offer a brief respite as Muse and his men come barreling toward the cargo ship at full speed the very next morning. You know that they'll eventually board the vessel but the kinetic editing from Christopher Rouse, combined with Henry Jackman's moody score, create an edge-of-your-seat moment as Phillips desperately tries to deter the pirates using high-pressure hoses. Alas, they finally invade the ship. The tension slows to a simmering boil here, with Phillips and his crew thinking quickly on their feet and trying to outsmart Muse by using their knowledge of the ship's interiors to their advantage. The courage and heroism of the Maersk Alabama's crew is presented in a matter-of-fact manner. In their own eyes, they aren't even heroes; they were just doing their job and trying to survive a life-and-death situation.

The tension ratchets up again when Muse and his men forcibly take Phillips hostage and escape on a lifeboat. From there, it's a David vs. Goliath scenario as three Navy warships arrive on the scene, trailing the tiny ship and coordinating a rescue effort before one of the pirates harm or kills the captain. It's really a testament to Greengrass' skill that he's able to maintain this kind of slow-burn, claustrophobic tension for over an hour and the emotional release that comes at the end will assuredly leave many audience members on the verge of tears. While "Captain Phillips" is first and foremost a tale of survival, it's also a tale of desperate men committing desperate acts. Billy Ray's script goes to great lengths to humanize Muse and his men but make no mistake, it doesn't excuse their actions. It also presents a darker side to globalization, resulting in a world of deeply ingrained economic disparity that produces men like Muse. We may celebrate the might of the American military for defusing situations like this yet it fails to address the real heart of the problem. This is a cycle that's unfortunately doomed to continue in one form or another—the age-old battle of the haves of the global economy versus the have-nots.

As the titular Captain Phillips, Tom Hanks delivers an absolutely incredible performance; it's his best work since 2000's "Cast Away." The veteran actor exudes a commanding, no-nonsense presence and keeps his cool once the pirates take over the ship but there's always a palpable fear in his eyes, a fear that boils over during the film's emotionally-charged finale. It could've easily devolved into cheap sentimentalism yet Hanks remains completely authentic here, conveying a raw honesty within an Average Joe who was just smart enough to survive. Even more impressive is newcomer Barkhad Abdi as lead Somali pirate Muse. The realness in Abdi's performance goes beyond physical appearance, with the inexperienced actor exhibiting a range of emotions from ruthlessness, to desperation, to even regret. In spite of his menacing demeanor, Muse remains a very human character due to the way Abdi fully disappears into the role. To hold his own against a two-time Academy Award-winning actor is truly amazing and I'll even go so far as to say he deserves a Supporting Actor nomination. The other three pirates, played by first-timers Barkhad Abdirahman, Mahat M. Ali, and Faysal Ahmed, are great as well, if perhaps one-note. Only Abdirahman's Bilal comes closest to being as fully developed as Muse, playing a teenage Somali who's overwhelmed and ill-equipped to handle such an intense situation.

To be released on October 11, 2013, "Captain Phillips" has received positive reviews so far with 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. I saw the film ahead of its official premiere at the 51st New York Film Festival and security was incredibly tight. I felt like I was back at JFK airport and was fully ready to start emptying all my pockets! Greengrass has certainly crafted an excellent film but the bigger question remains: will people actually go see it? Sony's marketing campaign has been pretty aggressive so a weekend debut of $20 to $25 million isn't too far from the realm of possibility. From there, it'll have to rely on positive word-of-mouth and awards buzz to get to $100 million. Once again displaying a natural talent in bringing nail-biting drama to real-life events, Paul Greengrass' "Captain Phillips" grabs you in a vice grip from the beginning and doesn't let go until the very end. This is a meticulous, visceral film that's breathlessly told. As IGN's Matt Patches so eloquently puts it, this isn't 'so much a movie you watch as a movie you survive.'

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

"Look at me, look at me. I'm the captain now."

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Gravity 3D Review

Rated PG-13 (Intense Perilous Sequences, Some Disturbing Images and Brief Strong Language)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 30 Minutes

Cast-

Sandra Bullock-Dr. Ryan Stone

George Clooney-Matt Kowalski

Ed Harris (voice)-Mission Control

Orto Ignatiussen (voice)-Aningaaq

Phaldut Sharma (voice)-Shariff

Amy Warren (voice)-Explorer Captain

Basher Savage (voice)-Russian Space Station Captain

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

Sandra Bullock delivers a career-best performance in Alfonso Cuaron's sci-fi masterpiece, "Gravity."

Note: At Regal E-Walk Stadium 13.

A person's greatest fear is to die alone. There are over 7 billion people on the planet but despite the rich complexity of our lives, the sum total of all our experiences will be nothing more than an infinitesimal footnote when cast against the cold, unending void of the cosmos. When we are gone, who will remember us? Mourn us? We are alone in the universe yet one thing remains certain: our lives are only worth living if we are willing to fight for it. Hollywood has made excellent films year in and year out but Alfonso Cuarón's "Gravity" easily trumps them all. Not since 1968's "2001: A Space Odyssey" has the experience of watching a film been this transformative. An unrelenting, revolutionary picture filled with breathtaking visual effects and immersive sound design, "Gravity" is a large-scale yet emotionally intimate tale of survival that powerfully reaffirms cinema as a transcendental art form. A thrilling technical marvel that is completely unmatched by its modern peers, Cuarón's film doesn't just rank as one of 2013's best but is also without a doubt a once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece.

NASA bio-medical engineer Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is on her first voyage to space, where she diligently works to install a new scanning system on the Hubble Space Telescope while veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) supervises. Set to retire after the mission's completion, Kowalski is enjoying the view as he zips around on his thruster pack, regaling his fellow astronauts and Mission Control (voice of Ed Harris) with cheesy jokes and reheated stories of his earthbound revelry. However, disaster strikes when a Russian satellite suddenly self-destructs, sending a storm of debris hurtling toward the telescope. The Space Shuttle Explorer is destroyed and the crew is instantly killed, with Stone separating from Kowalski in the ensuing chaos and flung into space. Unable to communicate with Mission Control and facing a dwindling oxygen supply, Stone is forced to rely on her own limited training if she is to survive and return home.

Against a black screen, the following words appear: 'At 600 km above planet Earth, the temperature fluctuates between +258 and -148 degrees Fahrenheit. There is nothing to carry sound. No air pressure. No oxygen. LIFE IN SPACE IS IMPOSSIBLE.' That last line is written to almost sound like a threat before the words disappear and we are treated to an image of our planet, looking peaceful and serene while it floats in the cold, empty void of space. Silence slowly gives way to indistinct radio chatter. A spot appears off to the right of the screen, along the orbital plane of the planet but it is too small to discern what it is at first. Closer it moves until the spot finally reveals itself to be an American space shuttle docked at the Hubble Space Telescope, with a small group of astronauts hovering just outside. All this is shown in the first fifteen minutes in a single, unbroken shot from Cuarón. It's an incredibly immersive moment, so beautiful and breathtaking in its majesty but what makes it so effective is the feeling it creates within the viewer. Cuarón has crafted a cinematic experience unlike any other and the level of verisimilitude he displays is virtually unmatched.

"Gravity" is a film that you have to see on the biggest screen possible (preferably IMAX) and in 3D because it loses much, if not all, of its power if viewed in conventional 2D. Hands down, this is the best 3D film since 2009's "Avatar" and last year's "Life of Pi." Too often, Hollywood has abused and wasted the technology as a gimmick to inflate their coffers but Cuarón proves how transformative the experience is when the extra dimension is applied with vision and purpose. The 3D and photorealistic CGI are all used in service to the story and to make you believe that you are in space, floating alongside Stone and Kowalski. Every image from cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki is gorgeously realized and the sound design is on a whole other scale. To keep it as realistic as possible, Cuarón takes a page out of Stanley Kubrick's playbook by eliminating all sound in space, creating a much more terrifying atmosphere as destruction silently fills the screen, with only the whimpers and heavy breathing of our heroine to comfort us. Steven Price's throbbing score is a work of art on its own and perfectly complements the film. The 3D, the CGI, the cinematography, the sound, and the music all combine to create a sensory experience that is as immersive as it is innovative. Cuarón has set the technology bar that much higher.

What of the story in "Gravity"? It's a simple tale of survival but this description fails to do justice to the nuance in Cuarón's script (which was co-written with his son Jonás). The opening of the film finds Dr. Ryan Stone struggling to adjust to the zero-g environment of space while she installs a new scanning system on the Hubble Space Telescope, completely oblivious to the beauty surrounding her. Nearby, veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski is enjoying his last tour of duty before he retires while joking that he has a 'bad feeling' about the mission. His words prove to be prophetic when a wave of debris from a self-destructed Russian satellite strikes the telescope and sends Stone tumbling wildly off into outer space. It's an absolutely harrowing scene to watch as Cuarón's camera alternates between a first-person and a third-person view that slowly zooms in on Stone's eyes, which are caught in a state of unbridled terror. Kowalski manages to reconnect with Stone and as they begin the long trek toward the ISS, the bio-medical engineer reveals that she once had a daughter, a little girl who tragically lost her life due to a freak accident on a playground. When the one thing you love most is taken away from you, what reason do you have to live? It's a question that Stone grapples with as her situation continues to worsen and she slowly comes to realize that she will die alone and no one will miss her. However, her despair soon gives way to hope and drives home the point that "Gravity" isn't about avoiding death, it's about finding a reason to live because life only has meaning once you deem it is something worth fighting for. It is so easy to give up and give in to your own fear but Cuarón shows through Stone's journey that what defines and inspires us is our indomitable will to hold on, to persevere even when the odds are stacked against us.

There's no question that "Gravity" will go down as a major technical achievement but the real star of the show is Sandra Bullock. Her performance in the film is a career best and brims with a palpable raw honesty. The actress perfectly captures her character's inner struggle to move on from her debilitating grief while also trying to locate the strength and willpower to live. There's a moment where Stone suffers a breakdown and resigns herself to the fact that no one will mourn or miss her if she were to die. She realizes she is all alone as the enormity of where she is comes to bear on her. It's a heartbreaking scene, one that leaves me emotional just thinking about it. Making things even more difficult is the physical demands that Bullock's role requires and I have to say, I was impressed with the way she handled them, as well as her toned physique. In a supporting role is George Clooney, who's essentially riffing on his own real-life personality. The charismatic movie star brings a nice sense of levity that keeps the tone from being overbearingly grim. Finally, Ed Harris voices Mission Control, referencing his role in Ron Howard's 1995 historical docudrama "Apollo 13."

Premiering at the 70th Venice International Film Festival back in late-August and released on October 4, 2013, "Gravity" has received overwhelmingly positive reviews with 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics hailed it as 'an eerie, tense sci-fi thriller that's masterfully directed and visually stunning.' Box office-wise, the film soared to a record-breaking $55.6 million and also marks the highest opening ever for both of its stars. Clooney is probably a lot happier now that 1997's "Batman & Robin" isn't his all-time best debut anymore, although when adjusted for inflation, "Gravity" still falls short by just $7 million. I think it's safe to say that Cuarón's film will sweep all the technical categories when the Academy Awards are held next year and Sandra Bullock is pretty much guaranteed a nomination for Best Actress, if not a win. Cuarón has truly outdone himself here as "Gravity" is a cinematic masterpiece through-and-through, the kind that only shows up once in a lifetime. This is "2001: A Space Odyssey" for the 21st century, and that's a claim I don't make lightly.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

Matt Kowalski: Beautiful, don't you think?

Dr. Ryan Stone: What?

Matt Kowalski: The sunrise…terrific.

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