INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (2013) – My rating: 7/10

I can’t say I liked Inside Llewyn Davis.  I found it a little weird.  I understand the movie was about a young folk singer who had no where to live in 1961 and that he slept on anyone’s couch, and that he was unsuccessful at being discovered, and of course, he had little to no money but, because the film only spanned over 1 week of Llewyn’s (played by Oscar Isaac) life, I didn’t really get a since of consistency or relevance.  The cast was awesome but the story, for me, was not.  I’m not sure why this movie received high ratings (I looked it up in IMDB and found it received a rating of 7.8) and 2 Oscar nods.  Maybe I’m missing something.  I found it boring, discombobulated, slow and dreary.  I might add Justin Timberlake played Jim, another singer and friend to Llewyn.  John Goodman also starred in the film as another homeless person (Roland Turner).  The movie took place mostly in Greenwich Village in New York.  Apparently, Llewyn had a singing partner who committed suicide by throwing himself off the George Washington Bridge.  Like I said, this movie was all over the place.  It’s probably worth seeing if you’re into folk music and a bit of Greenwich Village history.  Other than that, I would skip this one.

[INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS is nominated for Achievement in Cinematography and Achievement in Sound Mixing]

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (2013) – My rating: 9/10

The Wolf of Wall Street (“TWOWS”) is based on the true story of Jordan Belfort and is among the best of the Wall Street sagas.  It is 1 minute shy of 3 hours long.  I didn’t find it the least bit boring or uninteresting.  In fact, it is a roller coaster of greed, dishonesty, crime, drugs and sex —  not that this is a good thing but it’s real.  Leo DiCaprio has fulfilled the role of a life time.  His character was somewhat similar to his role in the Great Gatsby, only bumped up 10 fold to round out his performance as an up and coming financial broker.  I haven’t seen the likes of “TWOWS” since Johnny Depp’s “Blow”.  Jonah Hill was equally as brilliant as Leo’s loyal side kick who will do anything to make a buck.  This movie shows us the real risk of investing in the stock market.  Of course all is not corrupt, but that’s something one needs to investigate before jumping in, feet first!

As an older person with patience and sense, I was disturbed by the fast paced craziness that exist with the young and greedy in this environment.  A large part of  The Wolf of Wall Street dealt with extreme, disturbing  behavior.  It took us through the biggest investment banking trading floors, selling stocks to the rich, all the way to a hole in the wall selling penny stocks to the poor, then back to trading with the rich.  It was all about the bottom line, MONEY!  The Wolf of Wall Street is a real eye opener that you won’t soon forget.  Martin Scorsese certainly produced a masterpiece that I think deserves  Oscar nods for best picture, best actor, best supporting actor and best director.  It’s a world wind of a movie.

FROZEN RIVER (2008) – My rating 10/10

Frozen River is one of the most significant, heart felt and emotionally stirring movies I’ve seen.  Two women with equally profound hardship stories end up offsetting their circumstances by border smuggling Indians across the frozen water of the St. Lawrence River.  The performance by Melissa Leo is  convincingly well acted.  Her character, Ray Eddy has two sons that her husband, a gambler, has walked out on with all the money she had in this world.  With no food, and a low paying, part time job, she looks elsewhere to make up the difference.  Ray comes across Lila Littlewolf,  a Mohawk women who is driving Ray’s husband’s car.  Lila’s new born baby was taken from her by her  mother-in-law because Lila is too poor to take care of the infant.  Lea also has a low paying job with no prospects of doing any better for herself.

This story has emotional ties between the two women and leads you on a journey that you have to see to believe.  I guarantee your emotions will be tried in this movie with a very different flavor.  I highly recommend you see this movie by any means.  It’s worth your time.  I rated this movie so high because it has a lesson to be learned and it’s highly entertaining.