The Wolf of Wall Street

I always thought I'd like this movie. Then when it came to watch it, all these years later, I thought maybe I knew exactly what it'd be, and maybe it wouldn't be all that much. Indeed, it was exactly what I thought it would be, and I liked it, and it wasn't all that much.

Leo is special. He's not just smirky salesman, he's all kinds of charisma, every frequency of energy. Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, and others were great choices as well, and did what they needed to do. Usually I don't comment too much on acting, especially good acting, but this was really good.

I was really wary in the first few minutes. It felt like an old director trying to sound dangerous but actually sounding old. Scorsese was in his 20s in the 60s, and he's trying to sound dangerous in 2013. It was too on-the-nose to sound believable. But it panned out into some genuine grimaces, genuine joys. 2013 was 12 years ago, and Scorsese was in his 20s in the 60s, but there's some electricity here that crosses generations.

Scorsese is going to make a decent movie. After all these years, all these movies, he's a legend just for that: always making a decent movie. I doubt I'll get much out of him again though. His taste just isn't mine. I think that conflict is epitomized by his music taste, which is totally old-fashioned and not that interesting. I like how he uses music, but it's not the right music, like "Gimme Shelter" and the pirate song in The Departed. That movie would kill me with a better soundtrack. The soundtrack is so central, and not my jam. Anyway his taste just isn't quite mine and I doubt it ever will be. I've honestly liked several of his movies, but I doubt they ever again reach the heights on which I always placed The Departed and on which culture seems to place many of his movies.