THE WOLF OF WALL STREET: BLU RAY REVIEW & GIVEAWAY
I reviewed this piece of amazement back in January but now, tomorrow WED 28th MAY, ROADSHOW ENTERTAINMENT is releasing it for you to rent or buy on DVD, BLU RAY and DIGITAL.
Leonardo DiCaprio (D to his friends) has and always will be my favourite actor, ever since I saw him in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape I have been mesmerised with his performances, my two favourite films of all time, Titanic and Baz’s Romeo and Juliet, star him and I am the first to queue up when his films release. Some of the Salty Kernels even refer to him as my husband due to my Leo worship. It is a surprise for me to say it about THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, that he basically stalked Martin Scorcese to make, is by far his greatest performance and invites us all to see Leo next level, he basically Daniel Day Lewised the shit out of this role. And the best part, this is probably the best giveaway we have run – it is LEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The peeps at ROADSHOW ENTERTAINMENT have given us 5X copies to giveaway on BLU RAY. EPIC PRIZE!! It is out this THUR 23rd January in Australia, it runs for 180mins and it is rated R18+.

REVIEW BY JASON KING (JANUARY 2014)
Now I may be shunned for this comment, but I have never really been a huge Scorcese fan, I am not a fan of his gangster films, sure, they are superbly made, but they are just not the film type I am eager to run out and see. His CAPE FEAR remake was the first film of his I truly loved, still do. Besides that I cannot choose a fave but including CAPE FEAR, my all time Scorcese films are BRINGING OUT THE DEAD (an impeccable piece of underrated amazement that is even an amazing film starring Nicholas Cage :)), SHUTTER ISLAND (I just love that book) and HUGO (one of the best films of all time in my humble opinion) and this film THE WOLF OF WALL STREET. I have to be honest, I was never really a fan of Scorcese’s collaboration with Leonardo and found that while the films were decent they were never top notch. To me Leo seemed like a person Scorcese would never touch for a film. He was always more the older actor director. It seemed that Leo was latching and certain that if he kept working with Scorcese he may get that desired Oscar he obviously wants so badly. Does he want it for respect or life goal? If for respect then he need not worry, he is one of the most respected actors on the planet that has dedicated his life to film.

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET ticks every box for me. The production levels are incredible, it is truly a film made by a master and I never thought it possible but Leonardo just blew my mind for his acting. He truly deserves the Oscar for this film, it is beyond anything that you have seen Leo do before, he embraces, owns and goes beyond the required to achieve this role. He has so much of himself invested as the lead in this film you would nearly think he wrote, directed and starred in the film. I whole heartedly clap and cheer this performance, I always knew he was good, I never expected he could be this good.
Enough praise, the story.

This is the life story, or more the rise and fall story of Jordan Belfort, one of the best sellers the world has seen. This is the guy who can sell ice to Eskimos. He starts out at a big trading firm and is mentored by Mark Hanna, in an incredibly underrated but sublime performance by Matthew McConaughey, and then gets his licence and on the same day the market has one of the biggest crashes in history and he is out on his ass. Looking for jobs he stumbles across this little business looking for brokers to sell penny shares, these are itsy bitsy valued shares literally worth a few cents each that will basically never go anywhere, but as opposed to the profit of a 5 or 10% from normal stocks penny shares in this firm generate a 50% profit return to the trader. This is more than incentive enough for Belfort to sell the shit out of them. He starts making big money and starts his own firm milking these shares to unwitting folk and then it hits him, why not sell these in huge numbers to the big spenders? And he does and his firm goes bananas and makes more money than can be imagined. Problem is, it is not strictly legal the way they are doing things…….

I have a couple of issues with the film. It is too long and formulaic, do not get me wrong, I can watch Leonardo marathons for days on end, but we know the film path, we know what is going to happen, the film is about someone who gets onto the good life the naughty way, they love and live up the high life up and up and up and then BOOM, we watch them plummet from heaven. Think BLOW, think THE DOORS, THE SOCIAL NETWORK, THE BASKETBALL DIARIES and so on. I do not have a huge issue with this as yes, it may be formulaic and biopic, but it is so superbly made this can be overlooked, the problem I had was the upwards and immensely insane awesome journey goes on for too long, I know Scorcese likes his epics, and this truly is an epic. At exactly 180mins I thought 20mins less would have been preferable for the majority of the viewers. The next thing is the profanity, if you know me you are probably laughing your head off at that statement, I swear like a trucker most of the time. But at 180mins with the word FUCK said 506 times and breaking the world record for the most amount of F Bombs that works out at saying FUCK 2.81 times per minute – intense – but also will piss my mother off and while I barely noticed it, a lot of people will, was it necessary?

The film is hardcore, I mean, it is the first R Rated film in Australia in a damned long time. And there are many reasons for this. The sexual debauchery, the drugs, OMG the drugs, I was craving a quaalude about 30mins in. I was also shocked to see Margot Robbie so naked and shaved that I am pretty sure I could see what she had for breakfast, and from the beauty of the woman I can see why straight men get all OMFG at a woman like this, it is like me staring at a naked Zac, Francisco or Channing, she is incredible and the way she is presented has not really been seen in a film that is not a porn :). Regardless of Margot Robbie’s body and presented vagina, her performance is superb and she is the perfect match as Belfort’s wife.
The style of this film is like the book, it is a biography, and it is sometimes narrated to you by Belfort/Leo, talking direct to camera, or more you, the viewer, about what is going on, it is high energy, it is fast and Leo owns what he does. You love him, you want to be him, you want the women, the planes, the parties, the drugs, the sex, the bloody boat, everything. The way Leo plays this role is so cocky, it reminds me of a bunch of boys high on sugar showing off to each other and pretending they are gods, bragging about their dick sizes and gesticulating blow jobs and generally being dicks, but they were, they were showering in money, literally burning and throwing it away. And this is when you start to see the effects of this high life, they really are dickheads, self indulgent greedy assholes taking advantage of people. Belfort, while lost in his drug induced self godlike belief is really a fucking bastard. But drugs will do that, just ay NO kids!

The film does make it out to be enticing but it also subtly shows you why it is so bad, what happens when you do the wrong thing, and everything that rises must fall, it is physics after all. But while these guys get up to some hideous things the movie does contain what I consider the best drug taking scene of all time. Watching Leo and the most amazing Jonah Hill fight while they are incapable of using their legs is phenomenal, I was crying with laughter – from the second they took those heavenly top shelf quaaludes to the time food comes flying out of Hill’s mouth you will be laughing so hard. I am laughing just thinking about it 🙂
I have spoken enough, if the film was shorter it would be a perfect film for me, only losing half a pop for the length. THE WOLF OF WALL STREET deserved Oscars, especially for the superb performance by Leo, easily his best performance of all time.
JK’S POP SCORE:
KERNEL BEN’S POP SCORE:
KERNEL DARA’S POP SCORE:
KERNEL ADAM’S POP SCORE:
KERNEL JOHN’S POP SCORE:
KERNEL NICK’S POP SCORE:
With special thanks to ROADSHOW ENTERTAINMENT to win one of the 5x copies of the BLU RAY of THE WOLF OF WALL STREET you need to either like and share this post on Facebook or retweet/ favourite it on Twitter, you then need to answer the following question.
Firstly, just an FYI on how to increase chances of winning a salty comp; commenting on the review generally holds you in better stead of winning as opposed to just comp sexing
WHAT IS THE BEST LEO FILM OF ALL TIME AND WHY? Be warned – Leo is my all time favourite actor 🙂 He has a tie from me – R&J and Titanic.
If you do not have Facebook and Twitter then get with the times old timer haha – You can still enter, leave your entry below and email me at jkdigitaldesigns@gmail.com telling me you don’t have social media
Prizes will be awarded based on skill and selected purely on the thoughts of the judges, said judges being the Salty Kernels.
The prizes will be sent in the next week or two. Good luck! Oh, and minor housekeeping – huge apologies for overseas readers, this competition is only available to Australian residents.
Leo is definitely one of my favourite actors. I went to see Wolf of Wall Street after reading the review here and really really enjoyed it (and would love to see it again!)
For me, I love Leo in Titanic as it is just suck an epic beautiful story, but What’s Eating Gilbert Grape sees Leo in the role of a mentally handicapped young man and I think that’s probably when I really thought to myself that this guy is remarkable.
Gangs of New York (2002)this has to be his best movie so much action and co stars had the best gang warfare scenes great movie
Inception. Although it’s more the beauty of the film and the complexity of the plot than Leo’s performance which makes me love it.
From his brilliant performance as a retarded boy in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (robbed of the Oscar, in my opinion!), to his raw, gritty turn as drug-addicted Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries, Leo’s extraordinary acting ability cannot be questioned. I love his shifty conman role as Frank Abagnale in Catch Me If You Can and thought he was magnificent in The Aviator. Up until recently, my favourite Leo film was Romeo + Juliet, because he was young, mega-hot and it was such a beautiful, modern re-telling of the Shakespeare classic. It’s no surprise that my current all-time favourite DiCaprio flick is also directed by Baz Luhrmann, The Great Gatsby. I read the book in school, and made sure I re-read it before the movie’s release. I LOVED the showy, glittery spectacle of the film, the wonderful soundtrack, the beautiful performances, the indulgence of it. It came to life in 3D beautifully, and as usual, Leo nailed his character. I’m a massive Leo fan and can’t wait for him to finally win an Oscar. Fingers crossed for next year!
Well I loved “titanic” but I’m sure everyone loves that.It’s iconic :). I also loved him in “Shutter Island”.Such a great thriller with an amazing twist.I love watching it numerous times and noticing little things that give the story away.I thought the end was sad.Andrew’s treatment did work,yet he preferred to have the lobotomy and think he was still an FBI agent,than knowing the truth.He still felt guilty for his wife and kid’s deaths.I thought Leo’s accent was fantastic.Very new England ala the kennedy’s
The Best Leo Film – now that’s a question worth much consideration. I did rather like him in Romeo & Juliet – such a fresh face and the perfect styled hair. I also loved him in the Wolf of Wall Street and I felt that he was deserving of an oscar over the other nominees. I think that you might have a typo in the review regarding Matthew McConaughey’s sublime performance. I’m sure this was meant to say slimy. Remembering that scene sends shivers down my back. Yuk!
Lovin’ the final picture above, while I imagine he wraps the phone cord around Jonah Hill’s neck and squeezes. Now that would have been a five star movie. I could almost watch that for the 3+ hours.
Anyway to the question – At the moment (and being fickle this might change in five minutes) I’d go for The Departed, the re-make of Infernal Affairs. Yep you may not love Scorcese, but this is Scorsese on his A game – brilliantly vibrant and entertaining. A great cast! Swift editing – it just flows perfectly at the right pace from start to finish. There might be a profanity or two here as well, but surely not as much as in The Wolf; then again there’s an Irish connection, so they are to be expected.
Thank you for your review. I didn’t get to see this one at the movies, but your review repeats much of what my friends who did see it on the big screen have relayed to me: the length, the excessive swearing, the drugs and the nudity. All reasons that hubby and I do want to finally experience ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ for ourselves. But only when Miss Seven is well and truly tucked up in bed and away in the land of nod!
Teaming Leo and Scorcese is always a good idea. I loved ‘Shutter Island’. It kept me guessing right up to the end. But my favourite Leo film has to be ‘Inception’ – it’s mind bending, confusing, but enthralling viewing. Once is certainly not enough when it comes to viewing ‘Inception’. Dreams within dreams. Are you awake or are you asleep? Reality or imagination? I always discover something new with every viewing. ‘Inception’ certainly isn’t predictable – no matter how many times I watch it – and that’s why I love it so much.
PS. Last weekend we watched ‘Hugo’ as a family. I’d forgotten what a great film it is. Seven or seventy, ‘Hugo’ has something for all ages!
Wow – that’s like asking which is better Original Tim Tam or Double Coated? We all know he’s such a great & versatile actor but the performance that stands out for me is Romeo + Juliet – it’s the first time he played a role no holds ‘Bard’, and with Claire Danes as the perfect foil, I take my Cap(ulet) off to them both.
Nice choice Roberto – I have to brag at meeting Claire Danes in Sydney not long after R&J released – she was lovely and signed a R&J postcard for me – still have it. Another reason I worship the film 🙂
Soooo Jealous 🙂 – used to see her all the time down Bondi when she was dating Ben Lee & she seemed so personable and approachable – always nice when ‘stars’ turn out to be the bees knees!
“Catch Me If You Can”. The story is brilliant and would be totally unbelievable if it wasn’t true. Leo’s cute smile made me fall in love with him and I was shattered when his caper ended.
Of course, “The Beach” is his most influential film. It turned Koh Phi Phi in Thailand into a tourist resort.
I haven’t seen “The Wolf Of Wall Street”, but your review and pop scores have convinced me that it is definitely worth checking out.
I cannot believe you have not seen it Merryl!!!!!!
This Boy’s Life – I have always liked Leonardo DiCaprio. I think that his portrayal in the television show ‘Growing Pains’ was very heartfelt and brought a lot of depth to the show. Since the time that he first started there, I began to fall more and more deeply in love with his acting ability and his talent. Never have I seen better acting than that which is performed by DiCaprio and De Niro in this particular movie. They are a stunning team, work brilliantly together, and truly bring the effect of the relationship between Jack and his step-father home to the audience. If this movie doesn’t make you cry, nothing will! The film industry needs to put out more movies like this more regularly. Nothing can compare to a great movie with a lot of heart that shows, ultimately *reality*. “This Boy’s Life” does just that where many, many others have failed. Brilliant acting by DiCaprio, De Niro and Barkin and outstanding directing make this one to treasure.
Leonardo is just flawless in whatever he does – it is like picking a favorite child. You say R&J and Titanic are your favorites, probably the same here.
I even love Critters 3 – it was his first cinema role and he nailed it. Basketball Diaries is one of my all time favorites also, that scene outside his mother’s door makes me ball every time. In Total Eclipse we got gay Leo – and naked Leo for the first time, no complaints. In The Man in the Iron Mask we got two Leos in one film, it was like a gift :)Marvin’s Room made me cry and The Beach was great. They are all great. I need a Leo marathon sometime soon!
Really looking forward to THE REVENANT too – not out until next year but this is the synopsis off IMDB
“Centers on the 1820’s story of frontiersman, Hugh Glass, who set out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.” – Leo is Hugh.
Confession time i have never seen Titanic or Romeo and Juliet having not really been a big Leo fan but from everything said and written about The Wolf Of Wall Street i think this could be the movie to change my mind and i am dying to see it.i did really like his performances in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape and Basketball Diaries his best movie for me from the ones i have seen would have to be Django Unchained he makes you hate him so much your just waiting for someone to kill him.
I remember first seeing him in Growing pains and a little bit of Leo trivia seeing as hes your fav actor Did you know he had a small part in Poison Ivy and was in an episode of Roseanne?
The Aviator – Leo is a real ‘High Flier’ in this movie as Mr. Hughes…. ‘How ward’ you consider any other role he’s done?
Personally my favourite flick with Leo is The Departed, just such a badass movie and he nails the role as the tough guy cop going under cover with the mob up against some true heavyweights in Hollywood, such an incredible performance
That line in your review about the level of profanity in the movie had me laughing my socks off. What better way to put it that the about of F bombs wil “PISS my mother off” ! I know mine for sure would also be pissed off and turn the movie off after about 5 minutes. My favourite Leo movie is a rather obscure one that I hardly know of anybody who has seen it – Total Eclipse about the young gay poet Rimbaud. I won’t defend it as being his best ever film but for me at the time it was hugely important, I was besotted with Leo post – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape so to see him take on such a challenging role in the early 90s was very impressive and quite an inspiration. Oh and did I mention you get to see Leo naked in it? 🙂
Seeing the real Belfort doing the media rounds ahead of his Aussie tour piqued my interest in this one. He doesn’t look to have lost a lot of the cockiness that you mention Leo portrays in this film. Your review mentions a few of the reasons I didn’t rush to the cinema- the language being one of them, but also highlights the reason I wish I had! Leo!
My favourite movie that he appears in is Blood Diamond. I really enjoy movies that deal with true stories or circumstances and this one really highlighted the wretched plight of those who mine a lot of the sparkly things we might desire. It is awesome when a movie can thrill and entertain, but also draw the world’s attention to an issue.
I’m in complete agreement with you about the length of the movie, anything over 2 hours and I start to struggle badly, when you add in the amount of ads and trailers that some cinemas show this film was going to be 3.5 hours so I confess I skipped it at the cinema in anticipation of the blu-ray release. I reckon I’d have been asleep at the 2 hour mark no matter how good it was. At least when you get drowsy at home all you have to do is press pause and hop up and put the kettle on or maybe just open another bottle of wine 🙂 While I’ve loved Leo in a whole pile of movies my favourite is Inception, Leo and Christopher Nolan is a perfect combination, it’s the closest we’ve seen Leo come to do an action hero type movie, I somehow can’t ever seeing him go the superhero route and Inception is just amazing, it’s a wholly original myriad of emotional and intellectual complexities that make for a mind-blowing movie experience that will make you question your dreams !
Oh gosh what a difficult question to answer – its too hard to pick just one role to be deemed as his best. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape was absolutely oustanding and Leo excelled playing such a challenging role as little Arnie Grape, Shutter Island was thrillingly brilliant – it left me shaken for days, while Leo playing Jack in Titanic left me weak at the knees, it definitely bought out his romantic side. Leonardo has proven to be a multi skilled actor that shines in roles across all genres, I look forward to seeing him once again entertain me in the WOLF OF WALL STREET
Romeo and Juliet is the role I will never forget! When falling in love with the wrong person is so right, a true fight for love, like a white dove. Leo is an awe inspiring Actor with a 10/10 factor!
Let’s be quite honest, whoever the man touches turn to golden masterpieces and over the years he has been one of the most if not only consistent actor in selecting his roles that not only grand him box office success but also Oscar nominations.
But there are two films that stand out to me that were in his younger years, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and The Basketball Diaries.
Before not knowing much about Leo apart from the good looking kid from Growing Pains comes the almost unrecognisable Leo as the retarded boy in Gilbert Grape which I think it’s safe to say stole the show. I remember watching this film saying to myself, “how did they get this kid to act like that considering his disability?” Flawless acting and sadly robbed of a well deserved Oscar.
Several years later we see him again in the controversial Basketball Diaries, transform from a high school kid to full blown junkie and again believable in that role too. But what scene stands out and rips your heart out is a junkie begging for money to his mother through a door, every parents worst nightmare. Another Oscar snub.
Selecting a favourite Leo film is very hard as most would agree that every film is just awesome but these to me are performances that stand out among the rest. Can’t wait to see what the future holds for this incredibly talented man.
Romeo and Juliet. The pain of having to study it in high school is hard enough to endure, but this film, with Leo in all his cuteness, definitely made me pay attention. Still to this day I’ll find myself popping it in just to relive the hotness of Leo.. Oh and Miss Danes… Stay outta my way!
Now that’s a great review 🙂 And what a range of scores, I’d love to see some of the comments that go with them especially from the Kernel who deemed it to be a 5-star masterpiece. I totally agree with you on that drug scene, it’s absolutely hilarious, I choked on my popcorn and couldn’t stop laughing for about 5 minutes. Definitely the best drug-taking scene in the movies. I love both Martin Scorsese and Leonardo Di Caprio and my favourite DiCaprio is one of their many collaborations – The Gangs of New York. DiCaprio is pitted up against the acting heavyweight Daniel Day Lewis here but he’s still a match for him. Everything about the film is vast and ambitious, it’s a magnificent memory to a long ago era of vanished film-making and Scorsese with DiCaprio an Day Lewis’s help creates a violent, blood-soaked story of America’s dark past. I could have picked this movie for my favourite New York movie too.
OK – winners are………………….
Tommy Pacialeo
Patrick Bateman
Di Childs
Judith Maunders
Sam Jones
Special mention – no prize unfortunately – MELANIE – not seeing Titanic and R&J – my two favourite films, tut tut – physical challenge time – I dare you to watch and love them 🙂
Thanks to all that entered – too many comps coming out to cope with!!!
YAY!! Thanks so much! How do we claim our prize? Should I private message my address on your Facebook or do you email us for details? Thanks again!! 😀
You can send me your address to jking@saltypopcorn.com.au please Di and I will be posting in the next week
Thank you! Looking forward to having some adults only time and watching this. Makes a change to be watching Leo and Margot rather than Peppa and George (nothing against pigs – but I do tire of them after a while!)
Thank saltypopcorn! LOL Judith, my son is a massive Peppa Pig fan, too 😀
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