Superficial readings of Martin Scorsese’s “The Wolf of Wall Street” characterize the movie as a microcosmic look at the gluttony and corruption of America’s so-called “One Percent,” but it’s actually a broader comment on our society’s confused moral compass. There’s a reason Scorsese and screenwriter Terence Winter chose to tell this particular story of financial […]
Review: “The Wolf of Wall Street” Read More »
First, let’s get the chronology down straight. Usually, we post the latest episode of the Critic Speak Podcast on Monday night. But because James and I were unable to be on Skype at the same time Monday, we were forced to record a day later, on Tuesday. So, despite the fact that this episode is
Critic Speak Podcast: Episode 5 Read More »
Hello and welcome back to Box Office Beat, the column in which I predict the upcoming weekend’s box office results. Now that the rather unpredictable “Iron Man 3” is out of the way—my arbitrary guess ($160.8m) came within 8 percent of the actual figure ($174.1m)—we have two new openers that more easily stand up to
Box Office Beat: Weekend of May 10 Read More »
Quentin Tarantino would make an interesting case study for those interested in what and where Americans learn about history. Tarantino’s new film, “Django Unchained,” which takes place in the pre-Civil War South, is about slavery in the same way that his “Inglourious Basterds” was about the Holocaust, which is to say, it isn’t. This film’s
Review: “Django Unchained” Read More »
An international trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming “Southern,” “Django Unchained,” has hit the web. This trailer is a bit different, with more explicit violence and better looks at the cast. The film stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Leonard DiCaprio. “Django Unchained” rides into theaters on Christmas Day.
New international trailer: “Django Unchained” Read More »
When Baz Luhrmann announced that he would be helming a new adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”–in 3-D, no less–nobody expected it to be a straightforward, classical treatment of the material. (That was already attempted in 1974 by Jack Clayton and Francis Ford Coppola, and the result was less than satisfactory.) Nonetheless, I
New trailer for Luhrmann, DiCaprio’s “Great Gatsby” Read More »
Quentin Tarantino’s latest film has just lost two of its biggest stars. Sacha Baron Cohen and Kurt Russell have both exited Django Unchained, Tarantino’s latest work that’s currently filming. Cohen told Howard Stern that he was unable to shoot his part because of press work for his upcoming comedy The Dictator. On the other hand,
Kurt Russell, Sacha Baron Cohen slip free from Tarantino’s Django Unchained Read More »
The first images from Quentin Tarantino‘s slavery-themed Western Django Unchained have hit the web. One image is of Leonardo DiCaprio as Calvin Candie, a sadistic plantation owner who makes his slaves compete in gladiatorial combat for his amusement. The picture depicts Candie wielding a hammer, tipping off those who have read the script to the
Django Unchained photos unveiled Read More »
Fans of the Martin Scorsese/Leonardo DiCaprio partnership need not wait much longer for another picture from the duo. After months of speculation, Scorsese and DiCaprio, who last worked together on 2010’s Shutter Island, today officially signed on to make The Wolf of Wall Street, marking their fifth collaboration. The New York production will begin shooting in August.
Scorsese, DiCaprio ink deals, make The Wolf of Wall Street official Read More »
