'Hail, Caesar!,' a Humorous Reminiscence of Hollywood of Old From the Coens&Co.

By V.W.

It was the best of the times. It was the worst of times.

It was the Golden Age of Hollywood. Movie studios were all-powerful, deciding when and what actors appeared in what films.

An era when studio chieftains loaned out actors in their stables to rival studios with little regard for other realities and often with petty motives.

The studio was the parent; the actors were the children. The bosses protected their stars, cosseted them. And punished them if they became too recalcitrant.

It is a comedic treatment of this bygone era that is captured in "Hail, Caesar!," a frothy little souffle from Joel and Ethan Coen.

Sporting an A- and B+-list cast, including George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson, Hilda Swinton and Channing Tatum, "Hail, Caesar!" opens today in U. S. theaters.

A fuller review will be published shortly.

"Hail, Caesar!" is rated PG-13 for some suggestive content and smoking; visit http://www.hailcaesarmovie.com/ to learn more about the film.

No Shame in Game of 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) listens attentively as Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) tells it like it 'tis on The Street in "The Wolf of Wall Street." Photos from "The Wolf of Wall Street" Facebook page.

YOURS Truly has been mulling over “The Wolf of Wall Street” since she screened it more than a week ago.

The film, based on the best-selling book of the same name by former scheister Wall Street stock broker and current motivational speaker Jordan Belfort, had its world premiere in New York City on 17 Dec.

It opened wider in the country on Christmas Day (25 Dec.). Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the former defanged broker in a film directed by frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese. Both men are among the film’s producers.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” has been on the brain because I do not recall the last film that left me so conflicted. Pressed to produce a title, I’d cite “Gone With the Wind.” I love it, though I should not, considering its content.

The former film has filled me with a far greater disquietedness, however. It has only been the last couple of days that I have been able to articulate why, a disclosure that I will make shortly. Critically, “The Wolf of Wall Street” has been generally well-received. Already, LDiC and MS have been nominated for awards; other nominations are sure to follow. (See trailer below).

The accolades are understandable. Is it even possible for MS to misdirect a film? Of course, yet he rarely does. As for LDiC, he has become an actor with a capital A. He’s proved that he is a dramatic actor. But in “The Wolf of Wall Street” he shows that he can manage the far more difficult business that is the comedic performance.

“The Wolf of Wall Street” is definitely a dramedy. When LDiC has to be serious as Jordan, whom he resembles, he is quite good. However, when he is required to bring the funny, he is even better. The long scene that begins at the WASP country club and ends in Jordan’s kitchen about a mile away is uproarious. In those few minutes, LDiC brings to mind Cary Grant, specifically in “Bringing Up Baby.” There are numerous laugh-out loud scenes in “The Wolf of Wall Street. One of the most memorable is toward the beginning of the film and involves Matthew McConaughey.

MMcC has a cameo role as Mark Hanna, a top dog at the first brokerage that employs Jordan before the stock market crash of 1987. He makes very good use of his short time on screen and gives new meaning to the multiple-martini lunch. Don’t be surprised to see MMcC’s moniker on some “Best Supporting Actor” nomination lists; ditto for Jonah Hill’s (Donnie Azoff).

The latter plays Jordan’s partner (whose name has been changed in the film, the case for most of the main players) in Stratton Oakmont, the penny stock firm that Jordan founded shortly after the crash. Indeed, the film boasts a very strong supporting cast, including Margot Robbie as Jordan’s second wife, Naomi. Don’t be surprised to see the name of the Australian newcomer on some “Best Supporting Actress” lists, in part for her command of the Long Island, New York accent.

Katarina Čas as money mule Chantalle in "The Wolf of Wall Street."

“The Wolf of Wall Street” is well-directed. It is also well-acted. So, what’s not to like? It is important to note that Jordan Belfort was a drug and sex addict; this is chronicled in the book. In fact, during that memorable lunch scene, Mark gives an uncorrupted, but eager Jordan to know that the way forward in their business is drugs and sex – pretty much in that order.

Therein lies the crux of my consternation. “The Wolf of Wall Street” gorges itself on sex and drug scenes, as well as general hedonism. It is the sex scenes, however, that still haunt me. Women are terribly demeaned (and men, too, for that matter). In “Gone With the Wind,” blacks are demeaned, but the scenes are not grossly offensive.

No such defense can be made for “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Hollywood standards and practices have become so relaxed and permissive that almost anything goes. And in this film, almost anything does go. Indeed, the going was so bullish at one juncture that MS had to edit some sex scenes to avoid an NC-17 rating, almost certain box-office death for many films. Can't you just imagine that meeting with the suits from Paramount, the film's distributor, trying to diplomatically make such a suggestion to a legendary, Oscar-winning director who generally retains creative control of his projects?

Incidentally, it is too early to prognosticate about how "The Wolf of Wall Street" will do at the box office. Open in the United States at the moment in around 2,500 theaters, it did about $9.1 million and $6.6 million on 25 Dec. and 26 Dec., respectively. The top film for both days, "The Hobbitt: The Desolation of Smaug" on roughly 3,900 screens, brought in $9.3 million and $10.5 million. U.S. audiences won't likely gear into full moviegoing mode until this weekend. Stay tuned for more numbers on Monday (30 Dec.).

But I digress. I am of the school of thought that subscribes to the notion that just because something is written in a book or dreamed up in a mind does not mean that it has to be done precisely so on the screen. Some things can, must and should be left to the imagination. MS leaves very little room for imagining here.

Countless are the sex scenes that could have been excluded. The one featuring the “penny stock” prostitute belongs at the top of the list, closely followed by the airplane scene of Jordan’s Las Vegas-bound bachelor party, and the nursery scene involving his second wife, Naomi, in which she graphically informs her husband of what he will not be getting any of. These women are mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins, aunts. They deserve better, regardless of how far they've fallen or how much they have compromised.

Film audiences in many countries have been numbed by drugs, violence and sex. “The Wolf of Wall Street” continues the powerful anesthetic. MS could have easily borrowed a page from Vincent Minnelli's “The Bad and the Beautiful,” for instance. Kirk Douglas’ movie producer is far more depraved than Jordan Belfort and he was sober. Still, the 1952 film left much to the imagination, perhaps or not, owing solely to standards and practices of the time.

Martin Scorsese (center) directing Margot Robbie and Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street."

Of course, Wall Street will eat up “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and probably take inspiration from it. But one wonders on Main Street whether the film will prove equally disturbing for men as it should for women on any street. What am I saying – and I am not a prude or so-called feminazi? This film should prove colossally disturbing, in spite of the talent involved, for anyone who sees it.

In a word, shame. Shame on Martin Scorsese. Shame on Leo DiCaprio. Shame on Jordan Belfort, the son of accountants, for writing such smut – yes, smut!!! Just because these events happened and Jordan is required to turn over millions in restitution to those he swindled does not mean that a book about his boorish behavior had to be written and the most salacious aspects fed to the moviegoing public. These events have zero redeeming value.

Shame on me, Yours Truly, for not walking out of the screening, instead staying until the bitter, three-hour end of a film that does deserves an NC-17 or greater rating.

Shame, shame, shame on everyone involved in the making of “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Shame!

"The Wolf of Wall Street" is rated R for sequences of strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language throughout, and for some violence; visit http://www.thewolfofwallstreet.com to learn more about the film.

Unorthodox Rise of an Underdog in 'Moneyball'

Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) create a formula for recruiting the best talent in "Moneyball." Photos by Melinda Sue Gordon/Columbia TriStar Marketing Group.

THINKING outside the box or defying conventional wisdom is at the heart of “Moneyball,” but it is really about the competitive nature of a determined man, one who just might have something to prove.

The film is based on the real-life story of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), a former professional baseball player who did not live up to his superstar potential. He quit the talent side of the game and repurposed himself as a management type. (See video below).

Going into the 2002 season, General Manager Billy is tasked with reviving the lowly Oakland A’s, which once again has seen star players poached by elite clubs such as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. It opens nationwide today. (Also opening are “Abduction,” “Dolphin Tale” and “Killer Elite.”)



In his quest to have a winning season Billy embraces some statistical theories that establishment baseball has dismissed as poppycock. He presses economist Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) into service to morph these theories into a concrete player recruitment blueprint that will bring the A’s into some glory. The result is a formula that instructs that the A’s should court very special types: “old” guys, oddballs, the injured and incessant troublemakers. A’s field manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman) ain't buyin' it and refuses to go along.

“The film questions the very idea of how to define success," asserts BP who also has a producer’s credit. "It places great value on this quiet, personal victory, the victory that’s not splashed across the headlines or necessarily results in trophies, but that, for Beane, became a kind of personal Everest.”

“Moneyball” is adapted from the 2003 book of the same name by Michael Lewis, a former Salomon Brothers bond trader. ML, who has emphasized that his book is not the most natural fit for film because of its emphasis on statistical analyses and theories, is pleased with the outcome.

“Whenever a book is adapted into a movie, there are two possibilities: either the filmmakers stick to the book, or they make up their own story … it was an extremely pleasant surprise to see that Bennett [Miller, the director] and the screenwriters did the impossible – not only did I love the movie, but I was stunned by how well it represents my book. It is honest and true to what happened with Billy and the A’s and what they achieved.”

Once everybody is on the same page in "Moneyball" the plan is set in motion. That season the A’s made it to the American League Division Series, which the club lost to the Minnesota Twins.

“Moneyball” has gotten mostly favorable notices, with some critics singling out BP and JH as the economist. There is even talk that BP's performance is worthy of an Oscar nomination.

Philip Seymour Hoffman as a baseball field manager who does not like the way the team is being managed in "Moneyball."

Interestingly enough, several "Moneyball" cast and creative members have Oscar on their resume. BP has a couple of nominations, while PSH won a best actor statuette for “Capote.” That film was directed by BM who earned a nomination for his efforts.

It fell to Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin to cloak ML’s technical jargon into sparkling dialogue. SZ was nominated for his “Schindler’s List” screenplay; AS won an Oscar for his screenplay for “The Social Network.”

Moneyball is rated PG-13 for some strong language.